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

Lu Chenggong volunteered to enter the listening cabin for the first time.

But after the three taps on the third night, he couldn't sit still any longer.

"It's not being knocked on for us to hear," he said.

"Who is that call for?"

"To be knocked on the arrows."

This statement reminded everyone of something.

Chapter 337, the fragments of the nine suns spontaneously pulsed, pointing towards the Zhurong Terrace.

At that time, Lu Chen added two physical barriers to the bow, so that there was no electrical conductivity between the bow and the person.

Now, the Zhurong Terrace struck three times in the rhythm of Ximen Shuisheng.

Lu Chengong placed the broken bow fragments into the listening chamber and activated the lowest level of sensing.

The fragment immediately trembled.

It's not resonance.

That's a response.

It vibrates out the same rhythm.

Fast, slow, fast.

Qin Lan's expression changed, and she reached out to press the cut button.

"Wait a minute," Lu Chenggong said.

"Still waiting?"

"It is responding, not being called."

This distinction is crucial. After Chapter 337, Xu Wangshu established a rule: when called, one may not answer; when responded to, the person answering must be present. If the fragment was merely awakened by the Zhu Rong Terrace, it could simply be severed. But now it is answering on its own, which means that a fragment still retains an old memory that hasn't been completely erased. It recognizes these three gestures.

He recorded the sensations from the fragments and slowly retrieved the historical data of the nine fragments for comparison.

Soon, the numbers of the nine fragments appeared on the screen.

Seven of them are still illuminated.

Both have been extinguished.

Beyond these nine, at the very bottom of the list, there is a tenth row.

No number.

There is only one empty seat.

What should have been in the empty space has been erased.

The erased formatting, the toolbox metal plate, the numbered zero text, and the black area outside the narrow band are all perfectly consistent.

[No analysis provided.]

Lu Chengong stared at the row of empty spaces, remaining silent for a long time.

"I know why it knocked three times," he suddenly said.

Why?

"It's counting." He pointed to the screen. "Seven are lit, two are off, and the last one is gone."

"So, who is it asking when it knocks three times?"

Lu Chengong looked up.

"They're asking if the one who's gone will ever come back."

The listening chamber remained quiet for a long time.

The broken bow fragments were still vibrating at a low frequency, repeating the three beats over and over again.

Xu Wangshu created a separate file for the three characters "the ninth one".

She added a restriction line when creating the file.

This entry must not be made public, included in any summary, or used for any claim to ownership of fire.

Lu Chenggong watched her write, then suddenly asked, "Why not make it public?"

"Because once it's made public, people will come looking for it."

"Why not look for it?"

Xu Wangshu put down his pen.

"To find it, someone has to give it a name first."

She paused.

"Once you give it a name, someone can sign it on your behalf."

Lu Chenggong did not respond.

He looked down at his hand that was pressing on the sensor.

He hasn't slept well for the past three days, and his hands shake. But he's now discovered that when his hands shake, the vibration of the fragments is actually more stable.

It's like the ninth one that's no longer here, always holding his hand.

Xu Wangshu closed the file and glanced at him.

"How long can your hand hold out?"

"I don't know," Lu Chenggong said.

"If you can't hold it in anymore, you have to speak up."

"If I told you, you would drag me down with you."

"Yes," Xu Wangshu said, "but not because your hands are shaking, but because when you're about to give up, the arrow will make the decision for you."

Lu Chengong paused for half a second before releasing his hand from the sensor.

"Okay," he said. "I've got it."