The Wizard of Truth: Starting with Analyzing All Things

Inside the control center of "Thorn Base," the atmosphere, which had just relaxed slightly due to its initial completion, instantly tensed up. On the main screen, the energy fluctuation trajectory that Lina had sketched out through her spiritual senses was superimposed on the real-time images transmitted back by Patton's reconnaissance ship. It was clearly shown that in a dense asteroid debris field in the northeast, there were faint, unnatural energy signals flashing regularly, accompanied by ion trails left by engine overload.

"It's not a natural phenomenon. This signal pattern... is ancient, but it carries characteristics of a civilization other than the Stargazers." Instructor Verna quickly analyzed the data stream, her brow furrowed. "The energy signature indicates a hybrid of nuclear fusion and exotic matter decay, a technological approach completely different from ours."

"Is there any life signal?" Luo Wei asked in a deep voice, tapping the control panel lightly with his finger. The Star Key glowed faintly, enhancing the base's stealth field.

"Inaccurate scanning is impossible; the wreckage is too contaminating. But Lina's senses didn't detect any direct malice or abyssal contamination, only a... strong will to survive and a sense of vigilance," Lilith said, looking at the blurry readings on the life sensor.

"It could be other survivors, or it could be a trap," Elder Anderson said gravely. "In this place, any unexpected encounter could lead to annihilation."

Patton's communication came through; the image was shaky as he carefully navigated the wreckage in his reconnaissance boat. "Boss, we've found the source! It's a...wrecked ship! Very dilapidated, unlike anything I've ever seen before, like it was pieced together from various pieces of debris. The engine is still smoking; it must have made an emergency landing here. We didn't see any obvious weapon platforms, but the hull shows signs of combat, both new and old."

A cobbled-together wrecked ship? Survivors? The crowd exchanged bewildered glances.

"Can we establish communication?" Luo Wei asked.

"I tried the standard greeting code and several old, universal codes, but there was no response. The other party seems to be on extreme alert or their communication system is malfunctioning," Verna replied.

Are they friend or foe? Ignoring them could expose the base's location. Initiating contact carries unknown risks.

After a moment's thought, Lowe made a decision: "We can't let this go unchecked. Barton, continue monitoring, but don't get too close. Instructor Verna, do everything you can to shield the area from energy fluctuations and prevent signal leakage. Elder Anderson, activate level two alert for the base. Lilith, Lena, and Annie, be ready to respond to any emergencies. I'll go make contact myself."

"That's too dangerous!" Lilith immediately objected. "Their situation is unknown. What if..."

"It's precisely because the situation is unclear that we need to make contact. If they are survivors, we might be able to exchange intelligence and even become allies. If they are enemies, it's necessary to take advantage of their weakness and find out their true strength. I have the Star Key for protection, and my second-ring cultivation is enough to protect myself." Luo Wei's tone was firm. "The base is our foundation, and it needs your protection. I will bring an emergency beacon; if anything unexpected happens, activate the contingency plan immediately."

Seeing that Luo Wei was determined, the others stopped trying to dissuade him and immediately split up to take action.

A moment later, Luo Wei piloted a small stealth reconnaissance boat, silently gliding out of the base's rift and heading towards the signal source. He concealed all his presence, narrowing the range of the Star Key's sensing capabilities, maintaining only the most basic protection and resonance with the environmental energy.

The closer one gets to the wreckage, the more one can sense the state of the "damaged ship." It's about a third the size of the "Stargazer," its hull welded together from various metal plates of different styles, resembling an interstellar version of "Frankenstein." The engine room has a noticeable breach, still leaking traces of radiation. The hull is covered in laser burns and kinetic weapon impact marks, some quite recent, clearly indicating it has survived a brutal battle.

Luo Wei positioned the reconnaissance boat behind a massive wreckage and used "Star Shadow Step" to approach like a ghost. He stopped a few hundred meters from the wreckage behind a twisted steel plate and activated his Star Domain Perception at full power.

There were indeed signs of life inside the ship, about a dozen or so, but the energy fluctuations were generally weak. The strongest were roughly equivalent to a high-level apprentice, while most were very faint and carried a sense of fatigue and pain. He could also faintly hear hurried conversations in some unfamiliar language, filled with anxiety and despair.

"The engine is completely destroyed. The reactor is barely holding up to criticality, but it won't last much longer!"

"The life support system is running out of energy, and the oxygen regeneration plate is about to fail!"

"There was an energy scan outside! We've been discovered? Are those 'cleaners' following us?"

"It doesn't seem like... the scanning mode is unfamiliar..."

It wasn't a trap; it was more like a group of desperate fugitives. Luo Wei felt slightly relieved. After a moment's thought, he didn't reveal himself directly. Instead, he took out a universal, high-purity energy crystal (starship reserve) from his storage ring, wrapped it in a gentle astral force, and slowly placed it outside the wrecked ship's hatch. At the same time, he used the Star Key to simulate a gentle, non-hostile mental fluctuation, conveying: "We mean no harm. This energy crystal might help you temporarily stabilize the reactor."

The noise inside the wrecked ship ceased instantly, replaced by a deathly silence. A dozen seconds later, an observation slit in the hatch suddenly opened, and a pair of alert, weary, yet slightly suspicious eyes glanced at the energy crystal outside before quickly closing again. A more heated discussion erupted from inside.

Finally, the hatch creaked open, a crack appearing between the metal parts. A middle-aged man in rudimentary protective gear, his face scarred by burns, poked half his body out, clutching a well-worn laser rifle. He stared intently in the direction where Luo Wei was hiding, and shouted in a broken, broken Common Tongue, a mixture of dialects from various star systems, "Who are you? Which star system are you from? Why are you helping us?"

Luo Wei slowly emerged from his hiding place, spreading his hands to indicate he had no weapons. The Star Key glowed faintly in his palms, emanating a reassuring aura. "We are just passing travelers, stopping here for a rest. Seeing your plight, we offered our assistance." He deliberately obscured his origins.

The scarred man saw the Star Key in Luo Wei's hand (he clearly didn't recognize it, but could sense its extraordinary nature), and then glanced at the pure energy crystal. His wariness lessened slightly, but he didn't lower his gun. "Travelers? Besides scavengers and 'cleaners,' there are travelers in this dead zone? What do you want?"

"Information," Rowe said bluntly, "about this star system, about the recent situation, about... the potential dangers. In exchange, we might be able to offer more help, such as... a safe place to land?" He offered the bait.

The scarred man's eyes flickered, clearly undergoing a fierce internal struggle. Ultimately, the will to survive overwhelmed everything. He turned and shouted a few words in their language, then said to Rowe, "I can tell you some things, but you must swear not to harm us, and... first, help us stabilize the reactor!" He pointed to the energy crystal.

"Okay." Luo Wei nodded, gesturing for him to take the crystal.

The scarred man carefully retrieved the crystal and quickly closed the hatch. A few minutes later, the radiation leaking inside the ship noticeably decreased, and the life support system alarms stopped. The hatch reopened, and this time three people emerged: the scarred man, an elderly man dressed in what appeared to be an engineer's uniform, and a pale-faced young woman. They all looked extremely tired, but the despair in their eyes had faded somewhat.

"My name is Kahn, and I used to be the captain of an escort ship for the 'Free Merchant Alliance'." The scarred man pointed to his tattered epaulets. "These are my engineer, Morton, and my navigator, Ella. We... were hunted down by the 'Star Debris Scavengers' and the 'Discipline Purifiers' and fled here."

"The Discipline Purifier?" A thought flashed through Luo Wei's mind as he recalled the controlled assassin.

"Yes! Those damned lunatics who claim to uphold 'order'!" Kahn gritted his teeth. "They operate on the edge of this star system, wiping out any forces that 'don't conform.' Our caravan refused to submit, so they attacked us with a gang of ruthless scavengers... Only a few of us escaped..." He briefly recounted his experience, which partially matched what Rowe and the others knew.

"Do you know anything about 'silent courts'?" Lowe asked tentatively.

Kahn and the other two looked bewildered and a hint of fear on their faces. "The Court of Stasis? Never heard of it... Is it something even more terrifying than the Purifiers?" Old Morton asked hoarsely.

It seems they're not at that level yet, unable to access that realm. Luo Wei changed the subject: "Are there many survivors like you in this 'Shattered Star Remains'?"

"There are some," navigator Ella said softly. She seemed to have a keen sense of energy, glancing occasionally at the Star Key in Luo Wei's hand with curiosity in her eyes. "But they're all hiding deep inside, fighting their own battles and wary of each other. There's not much of value here, besides the wreckage, there are some dangerous star beasts and... strange energy vortexes. It's said there are ancient ruins deeper inside, but no one dares to venture in; that's the territory of the 'Rock Spirits.'"

"Rock Spirit?"

"A strange silicon-based life form, said to live in the largest fragment of the planet's core remnant. They rarely attack unprovoked, but are extremely hostile to outsiders, and their strength is unknown," Kahn added. "We were just looking for a place to hide, but we were discovered by the scavengers..."

The information is valuable. This star system is not a dead zone; it is inhabited by native life forms and other survivor factions, making the situation more complex than imagined.

Keeping his promise, Lowe provided them with some basic necessities and medicine, and gave them the coordinates of a relatively safe wreckage area with a water source nearby, but did not reveal the exact location of the base. Kahn and the others were extremely grateful and promised to keep quiet.

Just as Rowe was about to leave, the engineer, Morton, hesitated for a moment and whispered, "Sir... there's something I don't know if it'll be of any use. When we were being hunted, we intercepted a very faint encrypted signal pointing deep into the nebula. The pattern was very ancient and sophisticated, unlike what the Scavengers or the Cleaners could send. We couldn't decipher it, but it felt... very important. If you're interested..." He handed over a damaged data storage device.

Luo Wei's heart skipped a beat. He took the memory card and said, "Thank you. This might be useful. Take care." He gave the three of them a deep look, then turned and left.

Back at base, Rowe informed everyone of the situation. Verna immediately began hacking the memory.

[Decryption complete. Significant information remains, but the core content is readable. This is an automated beacon signal from the 'Stargazer Era,' containing: '...Guardian Protocol activated... 'Spark' Chamber coordinates...Confirmed...Awaiting...Inheritor...Verification...' Attached is a dynamically changing set of star map coordinates, pointing to the deepest part of the nebula, to the largest planetary remnant known as the 'Rock Spirit's' home!]

The Starfire Chamber? Verification of the Inheritor? Everyone was excited! This could very well be a secret base or knowledge base left behind by the Stargazer civilization, which had not been discovered by the Stasis Court!

"It seems that contact with 'Rock Spirit' is inevitable." Luo Wei's gaze sharpened. A new target had emerged, bringing both risks and opportunities.

However, just as they were celebrating their new discovery, no one noticed that in the shadows of a distant nebula, a monitor disguised as an ordinary meteorite had quietly recorded the brief encounter between Lowe and Kahn's group, especially a close-up of the "Star Key" in Lowe's hand that emitted a unique vibration. The monitor then transmitted this encrypted information through an extremely secretive quantum channel to an unknown coordinate beyond the nebula.

At the receiving end, a cold voice announced: "High-priority target 'Star Speaker's Legacy Token' fluctuation detected... Coordinates locked to the 'Shattered Star Remains' nebula... Executing tracking and surveillance protocol... Awaiting further instructions..."

Eyes are already fixed in the shadows. A new storm is brewing.