Chapter 320: The Opening Method of "Black Square"_1

The second passage of translation is about the "Dark Forest," which is the description of that treasure: The elders say that this treasure contains a device that can turn stones into gold and has a secret recipe for eternal youth.

There's even divine power that can bring the dead back to life!

All this was said by the tribe's "Creator" before passing away; that treasure is the entrance to the realm of the gods.

But our tribespeople have long been in decline, and after the last "Creator" died, everyone lost the drive to continue the search.

Some left the tribe and never returned, and although we continued the search, without the guidance of the "Creator," subsequent attempts yielded no results.

In the end, only I remained. If you are fortunate enough to read these words, then go find that treasure and open it as I have instructed!

In return, please bring me back to life.

Analysis:

The existence of the "Creator" is the most convincing evidence of the existence of the "Dark Forest," especially the longevity of the "Creator" that made the tribespeople firmly believe that the "Dark Forest" truly exists, which is why they were willing to search generation after generation.

However, once the "Creators" had all died, that piece of evidence ceased to exist, and the tribe quickly dissipated.

Those who left were a group skeptical about the "Dark Forest"; without the confirmation from the "Creator," they deemed the treasure a legend.

Yet, there have never been reports about finding a wild tribe, so perhaps those who left died in those tumultuous times.

The ones who stayed behind firmly believed in the mystical powers the "Creator" described, and some even became somewhat deranged.

Moreover, they seem to have become very superstitious, completely abandoning scientific concepts, attributing everything to "divine powers" and "magic."

...

The final passage of translation is about how to open the "Dark Forest": First, one must find the purple sunlight mentioned by the "Creator" and locate the entrance on the treasure.

Then, pour ginger juice on the entrance, which will briefly activate the divine power of the entrance, turning the black entrance red, and one can take the opportunity to open it and enter.

Annotations:

Purple sunlight: Refers to ultraviolet light.

Analysis:

1. The use of ginger juice is entirely speculative; the original text contains a foreign term that reacts to the "Dark Forest" in a way similar to ginger juice.

2. Could there be some energy in ginger juice that we have not yet discovered?

3. Is this a simple charging process?

...

Upon seeing Jiang Yu finishing the translation, Wu Zheng exclaimed, "Back in the day, we even poured horse urine on the 'Dark Forest,' how come we never thought of shining ultraviolet or infrared rays on it to give it a try!

"When shone with ultraviolet light, lo and behold, we found thirty-six entrances of varying sizes!

"The smallest is only the size of a palm, and the largest is over a hundred meters in both width and height!"

Some of Wu Zheng's subordinates laughed and said, "It's not too late to know now."

Then everyone turned to look at Jiang Yu, just waiting for his command, and they would be ready to enter the Dark Forest.

Jiang Yu let out a long breath; he too was filled with emotion, as a mystery that persisted for two centuries was finally about to be unraveled!

With the "Dark Forest," humanity would have the chance to stand up against the Trisolarans! But...

Jiang Yu calmly ordered, "I now command that all research activities related to the 'Dark Forest' be immediately ceased!"

Wu Zheng thought he had heard wrong: "Stop, stop?"

"Yes!"

The room fell silent for a few seconds, and the atmosphere became somewhat congealed.

Everyone looked perplexed, not understanding why Jiang Yu would make such a decision.

Jiang Yu explained to everyone, "I, too, want to know what's inside the 'Dark Forest', but we cannot open it now!

"Because Sophons from Trisolaris surround us, and all our research would be exposed to the Trisolarans!

"This is something I cannot tolerate! It should also be something all of humanity cannot tolerate!"

A researcher said, "The 'Black Square' should not be a secret to Sophons, right? After all, Sophons operate in higher dimensions and can penetrate the 'Black Square's' shell."

Jiang Yu shook his head with great certainty, "Sophons will not enter the 'Black Square'!"

Everyone was once again puzzled, but naturally, Jiang Yu could not reveal that he had previously commanded a Sophon to go into the 'Dark Forest' and meet its death.

He could only bluff, "We all have methods to shield against Sophons, wouldn't the 'Black Square' have its own?

"We do not know the current situation inside the 'Black Square,' and if we open it, Sophons might enter freely. If that happens, their gain would surely be greater than ours!

"Even if Sophons still cannot enter the 'Black Square', we can't possibly move all research into it. Any research outside the 'Black Square' is like spending money to help the Trisolarans with their research!"

The silence in the room persisted, and the atmosphere suddenly turned extremely disheartening.

After a few seconds, Wu Zheng asked, "I understand the Wallfacer's painstaking efforts, so when can we open the 'Black Square'?"

Jiang Yu stood up and said, "Just wait a bit longer, until Hou Junsheng's 'Blind Zone' covers the entire Space City.

"His project is now the top priority of the Solar System State. I estimate it will take about twenty years or so to achieve this goal. As soon as we can turn the Blind Zone into a city-wide scale, I will be the first to seal off this city!

"I suggest you go into hibernation now. Once this Space City is remodeled, start the new work immediately."

The people in the archives room fell into deep thought.

At this moment, Ai Qi knocked and entered, "Wallfacer, following your orders, the 6th Legion 2nd Division has now taken control of this Space City."

The feeling of loss among Wu Zheng and the others deepened; clearly, Jiang Yu had not given them an opportunity to negotiate.

Jiang Yu said, "Starting from today, the area near 'Black Square' is a military forbidden zone.

"Prepare for hibernation if you want to. The Governing Council will arrange hibernation for everyone. For those who do not wish to hibernate, I will reassign you to other units temporarily. You can return to this project after it restarts if you wish."

Jiang Yu looked over at Wu Zheng apologetically and then left the archives room.

Just as he said, he really wanted to know what was inside the 'Black Square', but it might be humanity's only trump card, no negotiations!

Jiang Yu arrived at the large chamber that housed the 'Black Square'. He stood on a high platform, overlooking the immense 'Black Square'.

The sense of déjà vu from that lifeform came rushing at him again, and Jiang Yu knew that as long as that feeling remained, the 'Black Square' was definitely not "dead".

However, to play it safe, Jiang Yu purchased an item from the Wallfacer's Shop called "Sophon Intrusion Monitoring System for Three Minutes".

As expected, there was a Sophon not far from him.

He tried to use the Sophon's perspective to enter the 'Black Square', but as it was about to enter, the perspective was suddenly raised.

Clearly, in the Sophon's programming, it was still not allowed to enter the 'Black Square', indicating that even the Trisolarans considered the 'Black Square' a threat to Sophons.

Jiang Yu heaved a sigh of relief, looked at the 'Black Square', and silently urged in his heart: You must hold on!