Star Empire

The outside world is moving away from here, and the prosperity that was once within reach is gradually covered with a layer of mist. The mist quickly turns into a substantial shadow, and finally turns into an endless sky, completely hiding the prosperity.

The branches of the world have withdrawn their tentacles. For these two fields of order, the surrounding darkness... is almost all they have left.

…

"Hello, bxhs5489 monitor, is it your turn to be on duty again this shift?"

"Ah, hello everyone... Yes, it's my turn to be on duty this shift." bxhs5489 raised his hand to greet the colleagues who noticed him around him. The brief interaction did not affect the hurried steps at his feet. He quickly passed through the data processing area where there were relatively many workers and came to his work station.

bxhs5489 is a monitor, and his job is to monitor the void area around the Black Gate Fortress. When working, he needs to check whether there are any abnormalities in these areas, and use his own monitoring results to determine whether the environment around the Black Gate Fortress is normal and whether the Black Gate Fortress is safe.

bxhs5489 entered his workstation and began to activate and connect the testing equipment that he needed to control. At this moment, he has become part of the guard belt of Black Gate Fortress, and together with thousands of people like him, he forms the "eyes" and "ears" of Black Gate Fortress.

The void around the fortress was peaceful. As usual, another order field near the fortress is the anchoring area for those huge transport ships. In the fortress's monitoring system, the order field is releasing continuous and regular fluctuations. The void outside the order is much "quiet", and the feedback received from the void is very weak, or... the response from the void is almost "none".

However, it is precisely this "almost" that is most comforting. Those weak feedbacks come from the virtual information diffused in the void. False information cannot yet be effectively used by the empire, but the empire can still summarize information that can be used for its own use from the activities of false information:

Under normal circumstances, the empire's equipment should be able to detect the activities of false information. If the virtual information indicator readings of these activities disappear from the monitoring system... it may very well mean that a huge fault zone is approaching here - a giant fault zone will form a world neighborhood with abnormal properties and a wide range. This The layer world neighborhood will quietly devour the information in the area shrouded by it.

Using this, the Empire can conclude that before a large fault zone hits the Empire head-on, there will be severe information loss in the part of the territory that will be hit head-on. In this way, the Empire can give a relatively timely early warning to the fault zone. .

"Well... the current situation is normal, enter the relevant data." bxhs5489 nodded.

The actual situation here... seems to be much better than what I expected.

bxhs5489 still remembers the anxiety in his heart before coming here. Although the recruitment document issued by the highest level of the 18th District did not explain the source of the danger and the specific circumstances of the danger, the content of the document itself was so serious and the wording was so severe that bxhs5489 even felt that the full text of the document It can be summed up directly with these five words: "Those who answer the call must die."

bxhs5489 is not afraid of death. If he were afraid of death, he would not answer the call and come here. However, we still need to be cautious and nervous about the unknown. However, after he actually entered the Black Gate Fortress...

bxhs5489 feels that the nervousness and caution he had before seemed to be a bit too much - it seems to be completely peaceful here. Apart from being a little deserted, there is not much difference between this place and the outside world.

However, you can't just relax completely because of this - maybe the source of the danger is the peaceful atmosphere surrounding the Black Gate Fortress.

Forget it, the people in charge here have sealed their mouths as tightly as the armored door of the main entrance of the planet fortress. Even if they are bombarded with a big cannon, they may not be able to open it. Asking them will definitely have no results. And if you guess on your own... If there are things that the empire doesn't want you to know, then I'm afraid that even if you try to break your head, there won't be any results.

In this case, let's make peace with it as it comes. There is no need to be entangled. If there is any challenge coming, just face it head-on...

"...Monitoring position 3-698a, bxhs5489 monitor's 316th rotation. Monitoring data entered, the current situation is normal, and no abnormal information activities that warrant vigilance have been found..."

While bxhs5489 was inputting work data, the ring he was in was gradually sweeping over several floating islands that were slightly farther away from the main structure of the fortress. These floating islands gradually passed in front of bxhs5489, adding additional information to his work records. A slightly different data - these different data are the projections of the floating island's figure in the fortress' monitoring system.

"I still don't understand why everything needs to be recorded. Logically speaking, the impact of the fortress's own buildings should be directly shielded, but the system of the Black Gate Fortress does not do this. It will produce a lot of nothing. Use data.”

bxhs5489 knows those floating islands, they are the firepower base stations of the Black Gate Fortress. Most of them are anchored in the space outside the ring, like stars, bringing some vitality and vitality to this dim and lifeless space, while the remaining floating islands float inside the ring. These are located in the ring. The floating islands in the ring are connected to the main structure of the fortress by huge trusses. The appearance of these additions makes the main structure of the fortress, a rather large artificial star, look a bit funny.

"I don't know how long this curiosity can last. I guess it will take about ten more rounds at most, and I will be used to everything. Whether it is "something wrong" or "something that can be improved", I will It won’t be mentioned again.”

bxhs5489 looked through his work diary, which recorded all his submissions and feedback records. I have made many suggestions to the people in charge of the fortress, but those suggestions that seemed extremely reasonable were all rejected.

However, it cannot be said that it is unexpected that all reasonable suggestions were rejected.

After all, the person who presided over the construction of this place was the emperor of the 18th District, the most famous troublemaker and annoying person in the entire empire, Marion Wheeler. This eccentric Emperor is very good at disturbing various departments of the empire. It is even better to say that he has not been troubled by the orders of His Majesty Wheeler since he came to work here. Already considered very lucky.

"Lucky...? That's true for now, right?" Thinking of this, bxhs5489 nodded to himself. Originally, he thought he would go to a chaotic place, such as a test site on the border of the empire where a serious leak occurred.

The moment he boarded the boat of Linyuan, he was mentally prepared to sacrifice as soon as he stepped out of the hatch. But here. Apart from some lazy and abnormal death tide pollution, he didn't see any other dangerous factors. And my work here has lasted for thousands of years.

In this random thought, bxhs5489 recorded everything he saw in detail. The ring rotates slowly following a fixed trajectory. The ring itself is like a clock. Every time it turns a complete circle, the staff living in the ring will take over a shift. bxhs5489 briefly explained a few words to the next group of colleagues who needed to work at this station, and then left.

"Break time. How are we going to rest this time?" bxhs5489 activated the map of the fortress. He stared at the living and entertainment areas of the fortress for a long time. "How about going to try something to eat? Although I heard that the dishes provided in the restaurant cafeteria there are all made with crystal energy arcana, the taste and texture are not worse than the imitated natural ingredients. Well, then, just That’s decided.”

Relatively speaking, the dining area in the living and entertainment area is not large. There is no need to eat in the life of the empire. Under such preconditions, it is naturally difficult for "eating" to become a popular hobby. However, this does not mean that people will ignore it. Even if there are not many people coming to dine, the staff here will still patiently prepare exquisite dishes and wait for diners to come.

"There is also a revolving buffet? It's really interesting. It seems that this will also be a good place to take a break in the future." bxhs5489 found an empty seat and sat down. He took several dishes from the conveyor belt beside him. While doing this, he did not forget to take a good look at the environment here:

The square hall is spacious and bright. Since this hall is constructed with extraordinary materials of the crystal energy series, the interior of the hall can be said to be magnificent. However, this natural style due to the materials does not conflict with the interior decoration of the hall. They sit harmoniously with each other, and together they show the guests sitting in the hall the current identity of this ancient civilization. Beauty.

There are many seats in the hall, but these seats are not neatly arranged like a matrix. In fact, in terms of the overall distribution, they are divided into several areas. The seats in each area are arranged according to the "food rules" that I don't know much about yet. The revolving buffet area where I am is one of them. one.

bxhs5489 looked around, and there was smoke and steam coming out from other areas from time to time, and sometimes there were some strange noises - the dishes provided in those areas may have a different vitality, and they need to be isolated separately so as not to let those The loud noises coming from the dishes disturbed diners who were not interested in meals that required a fight to be eaten.

"Excuse me, sir. Could you please try the latest sauce developed by our company now?" Just as bxhs5489 was about to take a big mouthful of rice into his mouth, a strange voice suddenly sounded from beside him.

"Ah, I'm sorry, I thought this was a single seat - wait, sir?!" bxhs5489 was still thinking about how he was so careless that he didn't see the person sitting next to him, but he soon noticed it Something's wrong - although the word "sir" exists, it hasn't been used to address people for a long time!

"Yes, sir - you will not be delayed for more than five minutes. I hope you can taste the latest sauce developed by our company so that we can improve our subsequent research and development work."

bxhs5489 noticed that there was someone beside him at some point. He was wearing a dress that looked quite ancient and he was standing next to him with a slight stoop. There was a bottle made of some kind of transparent material on his desk - the bottle was full of viscous liquid, and the liquid should look golden.

"It's a bit strange. Is the cafeteria of Black Gate Fortress holding a new event?" bxhs5489 picked up the transparent jar with some hesitation and unscrewed the mouth: the sauce inside the jar looked very tempting.

"It seems pretty good?" bxhs5489 picked up the chopsticks to pick out some from the jar: "By the way, does this sauce have a name?"

"Yes, sir, the name of this sauce is Wood Sauce."

"Oh, Wood, Wood, Wood, wait, Wood, that Wood?!" bxhs5489 suddenly trembled, and his whole body trembled as if it had been plowed through by arcane lightning. At the same time, the smell from the jar in his hand was no longer mellow and attractive. Now, the smell from the jar of Wood's sauce had turned into an indescribable pungent smell.

"What's going on?!" Recalling the feeling just now, bxhs5489 felt chilled and frightened, as if His Majesty Victorville was standing behind him just now and glared at him viciously.

After coming back to his senses, he planned to question the guy who used random pronouns about what he wanted to taste. However, he discovered that the salesman who recommended Wood Sauce to him had disappeared without a trace.

"." bxhs5489 shook his head. After being tormented by such inexplicable things, he was no longer interested in enjoying these delicacies. He grabbed the plate and poured all the dishes in front of him directly into his mouth.

"The taste is okay. Then report the situation and go to rest. What's going on?" bxhs5489 cut off part of his memory as evidence, and then reported his inexplicable experience to the Black Gate Fortress. Management structure and logistics department.

"Let's go. Let's take a rest. It will be my turn again for the next shift." bxhs5489 stood up and walked towards the exit of the cafeteria hall. He did not teleport, but slowly walked towards the hall step by step. exit.

Along the way, he saw a dazzling array of dishes filled with restaurant tables. If you want to taste all these foods, you will probably have to try them a hundred and eighty times.

"Researcher, I think you may have misunderstood. Our window does not offer this dish."

"But I have only bought food from you! I have not taken any plates from the assembly line. There is video to prove it!"

"However, our window only produces ingredients from the molten planet, and if you look at the dish in your hand, the ingredients in it are obviously from the ocean. At least, as far as we know, the two thousand and five ingredients we have referenced Among the 1.24 million molten planets, there is no such five-petal-shaped soft-bodied creature in the magma pool of any planet, and our dishes will not have this kind of sauce that can’t even describe the color.”

".What's going on?" bxhs5489 looked back. There seemed to be a quarrel at a certain window, and the reason seemed a bit inexplicable. Five petals, sauce

He didn't pay much attention to this matter, but after leaving the restaurant far away, the sound of the argument still seemed to echo in his ears.

"Researcher, you didn't notice in your video"

"When did there be one more person? Then this plate is..."

"It needs to be investigated. It is not a good thing for this kind of thing to happen in a place like Black Gate Fortress."

".Video? One more person?" It wasn't until bxhs5489 was about to take a good rest that he realized that the vague noise had not completely disappeared, but it was obvious that the sound coming from the restaurant under normal circumstances was impossible. Pass it here.

"Maybe the death tide pollution caused the fortress to corrode? It's not good for corrosion to occur so quickly." After reporting the situation, bxhs5489 relaxed his spirit. This relaxing practice is called "sleeping."

It is said that a long, long, long time ago, life in the empire also required sleep, but it was also a long, long, long time ago that due to the gradual changes in life forms, many originally necessary life activities became dispensable hobbies, just like eating. .

The feeling of fatigue came up in the way he expected. Driven by this tiredness, bxhs5489 quickly fell into a deep sleep, but he didn't sleep well this time - he dreamed that he was lying on the bed of someone. I couldn't stand up on the mucus-covered ground, and I had a disgusting, slimy feeling on my limbs from time to time. Thick and weirdly shaped tentacles would pop out from around him from time to time and then disappear. Vaguely, a very pungent and strange smell began to attack his senses. He couldn't tell what it was.

If he had to make an analogy, bxhs5489 could only think of the jar of weird Wood Sauce that was inexplicably stuffed to him before.

…

"...It's better not to sleep this time." bxhs5489 yawned and struggled to sit up from the sleeping cabin. However, before he could fully wake up, a huge transparent screen was placed in his face.

"Wow! What is this?!" bxhs5489 was startled and almost jumped up. And when he saw the information displayed on the screen clearly, he was stunned:

Currently, all living and entertainment areas in the upper area of ​​Black Gate Fortress are temporarily closed, and the fortress purification troops are conducting disinfection work on all restaurants.

From now on, Kuromon Fortress will temporarily stop providing ingredients that simulate the ingredients and flavors of marine life, as well as dishes made using such ingredients.

Attention all fortress staff - no sauces will be available in any food service areas at Black Gate Fortress going forward. Please don't accept any sauce from anyone, especially - Wood's Sauce.

Ask everyone preparing to eat to check all of your dishes before eating. If you find an unfamiliar or difficult-to-identify dish, please do not eat it. At the same time, we strongly recommend that you refrain from eating all dishes at your table and leave the food service area quickly when this happens.

[Black Gate Fortress-Black Gate Fortress Upper Region Headquarters Joint Announcement]

"What's happening here?!"

A vague worry, wrapped in a chill that could scare him, gradually began to boil in bxhs5489's heart - the Black Gate Fortress is a very powerful unit, from all aspects. The announcement from the regional headquarters already means that a major event has occurred. And if the regional headquarters and the high command of the fortress jointly issued a notice...

It means something great has happened.

And the reason is just because of a dish with no visible ingredients and a jar of sauce?

…

That twisted dish, and that jar of sauce of unknown origin...

They are like the first shots fired in a war.

After their appearance, a large number of strange phenomena began to occur in the Black Gate Fortress. Not long ago, the fortress still retained a peaceful atmosphere. However, now, under the continuous destruction of accidents one after another, the once precious peace has now been completely torn into pieces.

"Please note to all personnel, before you talk to other personnel, please make sure you can see the other person's face clearly. The face of the imperial life should be clearly identifiable. If you cannot see the other person's face clearly, please do not talk to him Communicate verbally.”

"Please note that all personnel in the Black Gate Fortress require all personnel to wear uniforms from now on. Please note that at any time and under any circumstances, please do not take off your uniforms, and please do not exchange uniforms with others. .You must keep in mind that the uniforms provided by Black Gate Fortress have special identification lines. There will be at least one identification line and a maximum of nine identification lines. Please note that there is no uniform with five identification lines. If you find such a Uniforms or personnel wearing such uniforms, please report it immediately."

"Please note to all personnel that you do not and should not know any of your colleagues. You should only know and must know all your supervisors, both direct and indirect. You must remember their soul ID, style and demeanor. Characteristics. Again – you don’t know any of your coworkers, and if you feel familiar with any of your coworkers, it’s just because you’ve worked together. Don’t get into the details.”

"Please note that all personnel should not send information to external parties for any reason."

"All personnel please note that there is no activation zone inside the Black Gate Fortress."

"Attention all personnel."

"Attention all personnel."

"please"

"please"

"What on earth happened here?!"

It’s the end of another vacation. bxhs5489 dragged his still tired body to his work station.

I don’t know when it will start. Everyone will no longer take the initiative to say a word to others. From the corner of his eye, he could see that there was depression and heaviness everywhere. Now, maybe this could match the scene I originally envisioned?

No, that's not right.

No matter how dangerous the scene he had imagined was, bxhs5489 always believed in the premise that the dangerous factors he was about to face were known. The enemies he needs to face are ones the Empire has seen and recorded. But at present, it seems that this premise has been denied.

He was indeed on the battlefield, but this time, he had no idea what kind of enemy he needed to face. Don't even talk about yourself. At present, it seems that even the commanders of Black Gate Fortress don't know much better about this unknown enemy than they do.

Sometimes, the most fearful thing is the unknown.

bxhs5489 sat at his desk. There is no doubt that the sack-like work uniform is not as comfortable as his previous personal clothes. bxhs5489 can't remember the last time he saw such a uniform. It should be said that for a long, long time, the entire empire has not seen such ugly and baggy "sack" work uniforms.

"...3-698a monitoring position, bxhs5489 monitor's 1,132,543,487th rotation. The work card matches the card slot, confirming that there are no abnormal shifts. It has been confirmed that there are four identification lines on the work clothes, which comply with relevant rules. Safety inspection Completed, entering the formal work stage. Monitoring data has been entered, the current situation is being comprehensively investigated, and the work log left by the previous monitor has begun to be proofread..."

Now, because there are more and more pieces of work, the work process of a shift is becoming more and more cumbersome. The current work of a shift is almost six times longer than before.

"Looking back at the work logs, the virtual information activities in the void are generally normal. This station detected a fluctuation in abnormal information. After a joint inspection, it was shown that these abnormal information may come from a failed Genesis activity. Why do these logs look weird? Is it contaminated?”

bxhs5489 suddenly found that the work logs he was looking at suddenly looked very blurry: they looked like they were written on a piece of paper that did not absorb ink at all with a pen that produced a seriously excessive amount of ink, and then moved the paper back and forth. It’s the same as throwing it 10,000 times.

"How is this going?"