Chapter 6203: Soul of the Machine Ideal Land (70)

Chapter 6203: Chapter 5213: Soul of the Machine Ideal Land (70)

Shiller was eighty percent sure that if it wasn’t the Outer Gods who did it, then it was the Black Hand of the Star’s Favored Clan. After all, the Ancient Ones were always fighting with various Old Day Dominators on Earth and were somewhat advantageous. At their peak, they even drove Cthulhu into the deep sea. Those who wanted to stay on Earth would definitely try every means to deal with them.

Bat Cat knocked something again, and this time, he spoke a long passage, and the Ancient Ones fell into collective silence. After a while, the letters on the sea’s surface began to surge again.

“…From a faraway place, and also home. We are pioneers. This planet is great, we want to stay, but the method was wrong, too arrogant.”

Shiller looked for a long time and roughly understood the Ancient Ones’ meaning. Their clan wasn’t extinct; other Ancient Ones still existed in the cosmos. The Ancient Ones who came to Earth were the vanguard of interstellar pioneers. They discovered that Earth’s deep sea was very suitable for their survival, and the environment of the Solar System was also good, so they tried every means to stay.

This race, which had developed to the point of interstellar colonization, found a planet without even a civilization, in a very primitive state. Naturally, they didn’t need much thought to consider that this planet should be theirs, so they moved over with their families.

After moving, they discovered Earth’s waters were too deep; those beings flying in the sky and swimming in the water seemed like wild animals, but each one was a master, none easy to deal with. Yet they were reluctant to give up here, and there was also a kind of mentality of “I’m so strong now, can’t even seize a primitive planet, am I developing in vain?” So they stubbornly stayed here.

In the beginning, they might have thought that they, as a strong dragon, could suppress these local snakes, but later, possibly due to a technological break or degeneration, they lost contact with their home planet and could only persist here until they consumed themselves to death.

“Great white space,” the Ancient Ones gestured another word, “It’s a door, find that door, we’ll go home, help you.”

“The cosmos is very frightening,” the Ancient Ones spelled out letters faster and faster, seemingly eager to express something. “The universe has unreachable places, filled with horror. We need help, mutual help, to survive.”

Bat Cat showed a look of contemplation, immediately followed by the continued spelling from the Ancient Ones, “Your strength, from the unreachable place. He will come to destroy everything, just as he destroyed us.”

Shiller understood, the unreachable place mentioned by the Ancient Ones was deep in the stars, which is the time and space filled with Outer Gods beyond the Material Universe. The Ancient Ones likely guessed that the batch of people stirring trouble internally at the time, the so-called believers of foreign gods, were actually bewitched by the Outer Gods.

They probably saw the power of Outer Gods on these people, which is why they were terrified of the power of Nya possessed by the cats. However, after the cats helped them, they felt that the cats might also have been bewitched, deceived by the Outer Gods to gain his aura, and sooner or later, the Outer Gods would use the power lent to the cats to destroy Earth.

It seems that despite the Ancient Ones being a very advanced civilization, they knew very little about the world beyond the material, far from being a match for the Outer Gods. Indeed, developing a civilization within the framework of the Cthulhu Mythos Universe is too difficult; strong as the Ancient Ones, they still stepped into traps and suffered heavy losses.

“We need to help them find the teleportation portal,” said Bat Cat, “They are right. In such a cosmic environment, if civilizations cannot help each other, there is only extinction as the outcome. To make this world enter order, all weak lives need to unite.”

Shiller nodded. Although he didn’t think it possible to restore order in the Cthulhu Mythos Universe, sending the Ancient Ones back would also be good; if they stayed on Earth, such a planet wouldn’t be enough for the development of two civilizations, even the entire Solar System isn’t enough, sending them back home would make it possible for both sides to watch over and support each other.

Though humans aren’t as advanced as the Ancient Ones in technology, they are apparently quite gifted in mysticism. A Shuggos not much related to the Outer Gods could nearly wipe out the Ancient Ones, but humans managed to kill two Yog’s offspring two years ago, and more Legendary Investigators will step forward, showing various Old Day Dominators or Outer Gods what a Black Hand is.

Combining the Ancient Ones’ technology with human mysticism, perhaps not invincible, but it would at least allow them to enjoy relative safety in the Cthulhu Mythos Universe, creating a relatively secure space for development.

This was also beneficial for Shiller and the others. Since there was already a way to reach this universe, it would naturally become routine to come and go. Summoning an Old Day Dominator or an Outer God is much more convenient here than in American Comics; there are more types of existences, stronger powers, like a large museum of terrifying creatures, occasionally visiting and bringing back some local specialties, just thinking about it feels delightful.

Bat Cat communicated with the Ancient Ones again, probably inquiring about the teleportation portal. Unfortunately, around 250 million years ago, their super temporal teleportation technology, the “Great White Space,” had already become unusable.

The exact reason is unknown; it could be due to missing certain startup conditions, or lack of technology for maintenance. However, as this was their clan’s most important technology, it would have been passed down through generations to the place of ultimate death, the South Pole.

The reason the Ancient Ones agreed to brave the cold and explore the Antarctic Mountains with them was the belief that the Great White Space could be in the cities within the Antarctic Mountains, possibly retrieving the Holy Artifact.

The cats communicated with the Ancient Ones before flying back to the shore. By this time, Professor Dale was already discussing with Frank about preparing to head to the edge of the Black Mountain Range to see if they could find some equipment.

This was also their previous plan. Since there was danger in the mountain range, it’s better to find some equipment for the Ancient Ones before further exploration. Shiller meowed at them several times, then remembered he was a cat, not understanding human language.

That is to say, they could communicate with the Ancient Ones, but they couldn’t communicate with humans. Although tapping Morse code was possible, given humans’ auditory capabilities, saying a passage would require tapping until the end of time, if they missed anything in between, they would have to start over, and could even forget the beginning after hearing the end. Comparing with the Ancient Ones, it seemed like upright apes hadn’t fully evolved.

Nevermind, considering that they treated the cats well, Shiller decided to let go of past grievances. He jumped onto Professor Dale’s shoulder, wanting to go explore with them. But after stroking his head, Professor Dale said, “Sorry, little guy, but you all must stay here and watch over our Squid friends, I’m a bit worried about them.”

Shiller truly wanted to question them, what is there to worry about the Ancient Ones? They seemed like returning home when entering the sea, freely navigating the Mariana Trench, with nowhere inaccessible except Lalaiye. Are you worried they can’t handle penguins or seals?

Professor Dale apparently saw through Shiller’s thoughts; he said, “They mentioned that there are those monsters under the sea too. So although their numbers have increased now, they might still not have the strength to fight a battle. At critical moments, they will need your help after all.”

“As for me, I’m not planning to enter the mountains, just to look around, so it shouldn’t be dangerous.” After a pause, Professor Dale added, “Even if we might die, there are many human scientists, we aren’t afraid of sacrifice. But if these few remaining aliens encounter danger, we may never have another opportunity to glimpse the wonders of the universe.”

Shiller opened his mouth. There are times he really couldn’t understand these scientists. Including scientists like Iron Man and Spider Man, they expressed that if a unique, never-replicated specimen in the universe was in danger, they would rather sacrifice themselves to protect it.

To scientists, a unique specimen was extremely precious, absolutely intolerable to any danger, even if they couldn’t figure out its use now, they must protect it for future generations.

Professor Dale almost straightforwardly stated, humans exploring the mountains may die, but with tens of billions of humans on Earth, humans can afford the deaths, the current people may die, but there’ll always be others in the future. However, the Ancient Ones were on the edge of extinction, if they die, all truths will be buried, humanity might face the same fate. In this situation, their safety compared to the Ancient Ones’ was insignificant.

Though Shiller admired their spirit of sacrifice, this was contrary to his ideology. He always adhered to the principle that “humans are the most important resource, lose the land, and both humans and land are lost” and believed that people must be saved at all costs.

Shiller firmly disagreed, clinging tightly to Professor Dale’s shoulder with his paws, refusing to come down no matter how hard Professor Dale tried. In the end, Professor Dale sighed deeply, realizing once again his impossibility of winning over a cat, and resignedly accepted.

However, Bat Cat stayed behind. Whether it was due to similar views to Professor Dale or because as long as Shiller went along, they wouldn’t face any danger, he simply decided to stay to continue communicating with the Ancient Ones to glean more information.

Knowing the journey was extremely dangerous, Professor Dale rejected Frank’s offer to accompany, and he brought no students. He planned to venture alone to the mountains.

Frank disagreed too but was evidently unable to out-stubborn Professor Dale. Ultimately, he packed his bag and embarked on the journey of exploration alone.

In the distance, that towering mountain held many secrets, some undoubtedly insane, but nothing could be crazier than the human thirst for knowledge and spirit of exploration. William Dale, this elderly professor with graying hair, was filled with courage and determination, just like when he was 19 and set foot on his first geological exploration journey.