Don't go to the moon, there are gods on the far side of the moon.

The inscription at Beitianmen is cold.

Unlike the fiery Zhu Rong Terrace, or the aloof and unapproachable Deep Space Divine Court, it resembled more of a border patrol log, with neat handwriting and a flat tone, yet sending chills down one's spine.

Please submit your reason for crossing the border.

The breathing that had just eased in the main control cabin tightened again.

Qin Lan immediately sealed the solar sail attitude data to prevent Beitianmen from tracing back through the darkened area to check all ground nodes. Technicians' fingers flew across the keyboard, but the public verification channel was unusually quiet. Many people would rather face the fire of Zhurongtai than confront a mere "gate."

Doors represent rules.

The rules mean that if you answer incorrectly, you will be considered to be illegally passing.

Xu Wangshu isolated the signal from Beitianmen separately.

Don't rush to submit.

Wen Qingyue coldly interjected: "Delay will only increase suspicion at the border."

"Answering nonsense will lead to immediate conviction," Xu Wangshu replied.

Wen Zhaolin stared at the inscription on the North Heavenly Gate, his brows furrowed.

"The North Heavenly Gate is not the South Heavenly Gate. The South Heavenly Gate governs the entrance to the Earth and Moon, while the North Heavenly Gate is more like a border patrol point, responsible for recording who has crossed the outer edge of the old Heavenly Order."

Lu Chengong leaned back in his chair, his face still pale.

Speak like a human.

"It may not necessarily want to come in," Wen Zhaolin said. "It might just want to record us as trespassers."

Once recorded as an overstepping of boundaries by the Northern Heavenly Gate, all subsequent actions of the Deep Space Divine Court, the Nine Suns Fragments, and the Zhu Rong Platform may be labeled as "border handling." The newly established refusal seats, personal rights, and temporary borrowing of darkness on Earth will all be shrouded in a veneer of illegality.

Lin Xiaoman frowned as she looked at the dream website.

At the end of the white corridor stood a tall, imposing door. It wasn't the ancient grandeur of the Southern Heavenly Gate, nor the frigid white of the Moon Palace's cold storage. It resembled a guard post standing on the edge of the starry sky, with countless eye-like stars peeking through the cracks, meticulously recording everything.

"It's looking at the solar sail," Xiaoman said.

Qin Lan asked, "Want to see the tinder?"

"It does look. But what it cares about most is why we block the light."

Xu Wangshu nodded.

"Therefore, the reason cannot be written as protecting the fire-seed assets, nor can it be written as resisting the Nine Suns Array."

"Why?" Lu Chenggong asked.

"The former acknowledges that the fire can be attributed, while the latter acknowledges that the nine days have the status of a verification subject."

Lu Chengong scoffed.

"It's exhausting talking to the old gatekeepers."

A slight static noise suddenly came from the toolbox.

Xu Wangshu immediately approached.

Several broken characters slowly appeared on the screen.

[Do not answer "pass".]

Her eyes flickered.

"Lin Jibai, can you continue?"

The toolbox remained silent for a moment, then lit up again.

Answer: Not open to traffic.

Xu Wangshu stared at those four words, his heart skipped a beat.

The North Heavenly Gate asked for "reasons for border crossing," but the human world did not cross the North Heavenly Gate. The solar sail was deployed in near-Earth orbit to obscure the debris cloud of Xuan Niao III. The old system deliberately replaced "obscuring verification" with "border crossing," so that once the human world answered its questions with reasons, it would be tantamount to admitting that it had entered its jurisdiction.

Xu Wangshu immediately wrote a draft on the public review interface.

[Reply to Beitianmen: Humanity has neither applied for, implemented, nor recognized any border crossing through Beitianmen.]

[The current behavior is occurring within the scope of near-Earth orbit risk management.]

The temporary obstruction of the solar sail is intended to prevent unauthorized nine-day verification and does not constitute an attempt to restrict access to, spy on, or attack the North Heavenly Gate.

Wen Qingyue remained silent for two seconds.

[The wording is too strong and may anger Beitianmen.]

Xu Wangshu countered, "Then how do you suggest I write it?"

Wen Qingyue quickly provided a version.

[Due to abnormalities in the fire source and fluctuations in the remnants of the nine suns, the human realm is temporarily blocking the sun for verification. We earnestly request the North Heavenly Gate to grant an exemption from passage.]

Lu Chengong laughed.

"Isn't this just like kneeling down to acknowledge someone's door?"

Wen Qingyue coldly replied: "Diplomatic language is not an expression of emotion."

Qin Lan also shook her head.

"You cannot write 'grant permission.' 'Grant permission' implies that it has the authority to grant permission."

Wen Zhaolin looked at Xu Wangshu's version and said in a low voice, "We need to add one more sentence: Do not submit the list of human personnel."

Xu Wangshu looked at him.

Wen Zhaolin said, "The Northern Heavenly Gate patrol is best at obtaining lists. Who participated, who overstepped their bounds, and who is responsible. Once the list is given out, both the Nine Suns Fragments and the Deep Space Divine Court can index it by name."

Qin Lan immediately added to the comment.

Do not submit individual lists, do not submit the DreamNet interface, and do not submit details of the Fire Seed's location.

[The record of responsibility is kept in the public review room on Earth and is not transferred to the old Heavenly Court's border system.]

Lin Xiaoman whispered, "What if it says we're not worthy of keeping our own records?"

Xu Wangshu looked at the inscription on the North Heavenly Gate.

"Then let it talk."

Before sending the reply, all participating nodes must confirm their real names.

This confirmation was faster than before. Perhaps because they had just experienced Gonggong's broken chain, Houyi's refusal to hunt, and the fire seed borrowing from darkness, more and more people realized that every question asked by the old system was not neutral. When it asked for your reasons, it might be trying to induce you to admit that it had the right to judge.

Xu Wangshu pressed send.

The text "Beitianmen" on the main screen paused for a full ten seconds.

For ten seconds, the faint red light under the shadow of the solar sail remained still. The broken bow fragments also stopped vibrating. Lu Chengong kept his eyes closed, as if enduring waves of empty pain deep in his right arm.

At the eleventh second, Beitianmen responded.

[Record: The human side refused to submit a reason for passage.]

Qin Lan frowned.

Xu Wangshu remained calm.

"It's rewriting."

She immediately added more.

[Correction: The route is not passable between humans and other regions, therefore there is no reason for passage.]

The scene at Beitianmen pauses again.

[Record: Humanity refuses border control.]

The toolbox flashlight turned on.

【right.】

When Xu Wangshu saw that word, the corner of his mouth twitched almost imperceptibly.

She continued replying.

[Confirmed: Humanity has refused to grant unauthorized border control.]

This time, someone on the public channel gasped in shock.

This statement essentially makes the issue clear.

It wasn't a secret visit from the human world.

It is the North Heavenly Gate attempting to project its shadow onto the near-Earth orbit of the human world.

The signal at Beitianmen grew brighter, and the stars in the crack of the gate opened up simultaneously in the dream network. Lin Xiaoman felt a chill run down her spine, but forced herself not to look down.

[The duty of the Northern Heavenly Gate Patrol: to record anomalies at the borders of the ancient gods in deep space.]

[Human shadows obscuring solar data during inspections could affect border security.]

Please submit the minimum required evidence.

"They're here," Wen Zhaolin said in a low voice.

Xu Wangshu asked, "What kind of testimony does it want?"

The next line of text appears.

[Submission: Fragment of a broken bow.]

Lu Chengong opened his eyes.

All eyes in the main control room were on the stabilization shield.

The Broken Bow had just refused to return to the formation, and now the Northern Heavenly Gate was demanding it as a border witness. If it were handed over, it might not immediately return to the Nine Suns Formation, but it would be re-registered in the old Heavenly Court's border system. After registration, everyone knew the outcome.

Lu Chengong's voice was very soft.

"They're quite good at lining up."

Xu Wangshu did not look at the North Heavenly Gate, but instead looked at Lu Chen Gong first.

Your right to refuse remains valid.

Lu Chenggong raised his hand and pressed confirm.

I refuse to submit the broken bow.

Lin Xiaoman also pressed the button to confirm her attendance.

[DreamNet Witness: The Broken Bow Refuses to Return.]

In the toolbox, Lin Jibai struggled to light up a line of text.

[The evidence does not leave the human realm.]

The blue light from the fragments of Nuwa is stable.

Imperfection can be a testament to rejection.

[Refusal does not require submitting one's own information.]

Xu Wangshu suddenly understood how to answer.

She packaged the records of the broken bow not returning to the formation, the fire seed not returning to the platform, and the cost of Gonggong breaking the chain into a summary that cannot be called, located, or traced back to an individual interface.

[A witness summary can be submitted.]

[No witness statements may be submitted.]

The North Heavenly Gate remained silent.

Sent by Xu Wangshu.

A few seconds later, some of the starlight in the crack of the door slowly dimmed.

The abstract is insufficient for verification.

Just as Qin Lan was about to speak, Lin Xiaoman's expression suddenly changed.

"It's not that it's insufficient."

In the dream network, behind the shadow of the North Heavenly Gate, a deeper darkness was moving. Those star-like points were not eyes, but rather like nails squeezed out from behind the door by something.

Xiaoman's voice was strained.

"It's stalling for time."

Xu Wangshu suddenly looked at the orbital diagram.

At the edge of the solar sail's shadow, the second old maintenance star of Tianheng lit up its dormant beacon.

Wen Zhaolin's expression changed instantly.

"We didn't activate that one."

The characters for Beitianmen reappeared.

The border has expanded unusually.

[Inspection team intervened.]

In the shadow of the solar sail, a cold white door slowly opened.