Chapter 247: The Drifter's Warship! The World Seed! The Cognitive Domain Access Point!
"Commander-in-Chief!"
At that moment, the communications officer at the front of the central console suddenly turned around and reported to the commanding officer:
"Our connection with headquarters has been forcibly severed by an unknown device. We've now completely lost contact with the Prophet of Regret."
"Also, the commander of the Face-Stealer Beasts is requesting a face-to-face negotiation with you to discuss the next course of action."
The Prophet of Regret mentioned by the communications officer was one of the core leaders of the Covenant, who, along with the Prophets of Truth and Mercy, held supreme authority within the organization.
The interests and strategic visions of these three leaders were so aligned that those unaware might have mistaken them for triplets.
Although these three old geezers looked like emaciated turtle spirits, they controlled all the Covenant's secrets and dictated every strategic deployment.
All members of the Elite species had no choice but to follow their arrangements obediently.
"Face-Stealer Beasts…!"
Upon hearing that, the Elite Commander-in-Chief narrowed his eyes thoughtfully, beginning to deliberate.
"I don't like those sneaky bastards who are always plotting and thinking of ways to stab their allies in the back. Ignore them for now. We'll talk after the fleet stabilizes."
Although the Face-Stealer civilization had been militarily subdued and absorbed as a junior partner of the Covenant, they were a typical case of submission in form but not in spirit. They followed the Prophets like lapdogs, practically becoming their most loyal henchmen.
What's worse, there was deep-seated animosity between the Elites and the Face-Stealers. The two races couldn't stand each other in the slightest.
But since they were all currently focused on "cracking the safe and making a fortune," they had temporarily refrained from fighting.
Still, when it came time to divide the spoils, the Elites were more than ready to strike and teach the Face-Stealers—a bunch of worthless BYDs—a lesson in what it means to be a warrior race that trades brains for brute strength!
"Understood, Commander-in-Chief!"
Receiving a clear signal, the communications officer directly ignored the Face-Stealer commander's request for dialogue.
Meanwhile, the entire Covenant vanguard fleet was about to pass over the outer shell of the Shield World and reach its inner regions!
The ship's crew immediately shared a real-time video feed from the warship's front view to the central control console.
Staring at the mesmerizing inner world wrapped within the Shield World's metallic soil—an enchanting core glowing with brilliant light, filled with seas and forests shifting like a kaleidoscope—countless Elites were left in awe.
To them, only a divine power could have created such a miraculous structure.
For the moment, the Elite Commander put aside his concerns and turned his full attention to the holographic screen, marveling at the wondrous sight:
"So this is the inner world of the ruins… It seems our sincerity has moved the gods—only then would the ruins open themselves to us!"
Cheers erupted inside the ship as the Elite crew rejoiced, convinced that this was a divine sign. They believed it was through divine favor that they had been allowed to enter the Shield World's inner sanctum.
To the Elites, any relic left behind by the gods couldn't possibly contain only those grotesque Flood abominations roaming the surface. Though their race was a bit on the barbaric side, they at least had some sense of aesthetics.
There was no way they'd ever consider those hideous creatures as divine avatars.
In truth, the Elite Commander had already realized the threat posed by the Flood when he dispatched troops to survey the planet's surface.
These repulsive creatures had a ferocious desire to attack intelligent life forms—and even in death, the spores they released could infect and assimilate the living.
With such unpredictable and overwhelming invasive capabilities, there was no way these alien parasites had anything to do with the divine.
What the Elites didn't know, however, was that the Flood were horrifying bioweapons created from the physical matter of the ancient gods themselves.
Even the gods they revered—the Forerunners—had ultimately perished at the hands of the Flood!
After reporting the Flood's features and threat level to the Prophet of Regret, the Elite Commander had received a shocking directive: do not attack the Flood!
The Prophet believed that the Flood were deliberately left on the planet's surface by the Forerunners to serve as guardians of the Shield World.
Yet the Commander's observations suggested that the Flood and the surface Sentinels were in a hostile relationship, engaging in fierce battles whenever they encountered each other.
Furthermore, after scanning and identifying the Elite troops, the Sentinels also launched attacks on them. This left the Commander confused and conflicted.
His research teams clearly weren't welcome—by either side.
If he had to guess which side was truly a creation of the Forerunners, he'd lean toward the Sentinels.
After all, the two were drastically different in both form and function.
The Flood were covered in powerful tendrils that could even sprout metallic spikes, capable of piercing through and tearing open the protective suits of research personnel.
Once punctured, the victim would soon be infected and absorbed into the Flood's biomass.
Such horrifying invasive methods screamed of eldritch evil. No way could these blasphemous monstrosities have been made by the Forerunners.
From the Elite Commander's aesthetic standpoint, the Flood were pure heresy—filth that needed to be cleansed. But he dared not order a mass purge.
After all, the Prophet of Regret had forbidden such action, and the Face-Stealers were watching every move. The Commander couldn't disobey a direct order and take unauthorized action against the Flood.
And so, the Flood—nourished by the first batch of flesh offerings and other Covenant fanatics—began evolving rapidly, already reaching the early stages of Phase Two.
Given a little more time, reaching Phase Three and producing Graveminds wasn't out of the question!
"Anyway, at least we don't have to worry about the Flood on the surface for now," the Commander sighed.
"The way things are dragging, who knows when we'll finally uncover the gods' true relics?"
Though the entire Covenant was under the iron grip of those old Prophets, and he had many doubts and frustrations, he could only obey.
Still, as commander of the research fleet, he could prohibit any contact with the Flood and forbid fanatical cultists from offering themselves as sacrifices.
Thanks to this policy, the Flood hadn't erupted into a full-blown outbreak.
Watching the fleet slowly advance into the inner world, the Commander calmed his thoughts and issued new orders:
"Prepare an expedition and combat team immediately. We're heading for the relic's core area!"
"Yes, sir!"
…
At that very moment, deep in the core of the Shield World—
Within a massive ring-like chamber, a full holographic map of the entire Shield World was clearly projected. From this vantage point, Halsey could see the Covenant fleet's real-time movements.
Floating before her was the Forerunner AI—a metallic sphere claiming to be the Monitor of this Shield World, designation: 031 Exuberant Witness.
The AI addressed Halsey:
[Honored Reclaimer, I have carried out your command. The Covenant fleet in near-orbit has been forcibly drawn into the Shield World's interior, and their external communications have been completely disabled.]
It turned out that the moment Halsey and her team encountered the Forerunner AI, they were granted full operational authority over the entire Shield World.
Following her instructions, the AI had used the planet's gravity field to drag the Covenant fleet inside.
[Is there anything else you require?]
The AI inquired once again.
Seeing this, David couldn't help but marvel inwardly. This was the privilege of being the designated inheritor of human civilization.
Look at the Covenant—they'd been messing around outside for ages, even feeding the Flood to Phase Two, and still couldn't get in.
Meanwhile, Halsey and her team walked in like they owned the place.
Facing the Monitor's question, Halsey didn't bother with formalities and stated her request plainly:
"I want all the information stored here—especially the Forerunner's technological knowledge. Organize and share it with us completely."
"So we can master and utilize this technology as fast as possible to strengthen human civilization."
She might as well have had "Dear Forerunners, fund us!" stamped across her forehead.
[Apologies. I cannot fully comply with that request.]
The AI's voice was as calm and steady as ever as it explained:
[The Forerunner's technological knowledge has already been fully cataloged, with corresponding prototypes available for study and analysis. What I can do is transfer these records to you.]
[But first, I must communicate with your highest governing official to confirm that humanity possesses a complete and coherent civilizational structure.]
Halsey nodded thoughtfully. So there was still a layer of scrutiny even for designated Reclaimers.
Which made sense. Even if you're spoon-fed advanced tech, you still need a basic framework to support it.
Without a foundation, there could be no breakthrough.
"The highest authority of human civilization…"
Halsey instinctively thought of the UNSC, but quickly shook her head. That bunch of useless bureaucrats were in no position to inherit the Forerunner legacy.
After all, by this point in the Halo timeline, humanity's governments had fractured. Only massive corporate entities and military organizations remained—more feudal lords than unified rulers.
Only the LA Megacorp had ever succeeded in unifying three human worlds, even establishing powerful trade networks across alternate universes.
That was the true will of the people.
And as its founder, Li Ang was undoubtedly the "supreme leader" referenced by 031 Exuberant Witness.
"Very well. I'll arrange a meeting between you and the governing official of humanity as soon as possible," Halsey nodded.
Then she made another request:
"Now I want you to report all of the Shield World's technological weapons, artifacts, and core installations."
"Include basic information about the Shield World itself—I want everything."
Without further delay, 031 Exuberant Witness transferred the full dataset.
[All relevant data has been uploaded to your powered armor's internal network. Please review it at your convenience.]
As soon as the words fell, Halsey indeed spotted a flood of data files appearing on her helmet's screen. The content was all about Shield World—its internal systems, background details, and weaponry.
After carefully reviewing the material, Halsey finally understood that Shield World actually possessed a complete ecosystem, complete with native wildlife.
For instance, the sky rays that glided through the cloud oceans were unique lifeforms found only on Shield World.
But that wasn't the most important part. What truly shocked—and thrilled—Halsey was the technology: the warships and devices hidden here!
Shield World housed a large number of Sojourner-class dreadnoughts, titanic ships from the Forerunner civilization. These supercapital vessels stretched up to 9,430 meters long and weighed tens of billions of tons—they were the Forerunners' primary warships.
The Sojourner's onboard weapons included 28 mass-light cannons and several light mass accelerators. But the real game-changer was the distortion engine—the ship's deadliest weapon.
This engine could emit powerful gravitational waves, warping enemy shields and armor. Against lighter warships, it could destroy them outright in one blow!
In the Forerunner era, their most common interstellar warfare tactic involved organizing formations of a dozen Sojourner dreadnoughts to unleash devastating gravitational waves that warped entire enemy fleets.
It was nothing short of technological sorcery.
Even more astonishing was the level of automation these ships featured. Despite their enormous size, they could be operated by just a handful of individuals.
Take, for example, Infinity—a UNSC carrier five kilometers long. It required thousands of personnel to manage. But the Forerunner Sojourner? Fewer than ten people could control the whole thing!
That level of automation was nothing short of outrageous.
Most crucially, the Forerunners had deliberately designed these ships to be operable only by humans.
Yes—deliberately excluding all other alien civilizations!
Even the Covenant, famed for its reverse-engineering capabilities and its talent for hijacking.
If this wasn't the definition of being "the favored child," what was?
But the Sojourner-class wasn't the only miracle of technology hidden within Shield World. There was also a legacy from the Forerunners known as the [World Seed].
As the name implied, the World Seed was a technological artifact capable of creating new planetary environments and even generating new lifeforms. In fact, the Shield World Halsey was currently observing had been brought into existence by such a seed.
It was beyond extraordinary—it could "grow" oceans, forests, and grasslands from a metallic planetoid.
It even contained genetic material capable of automatically generating new species. It wasn't just planting life—it was seeding civilizations, performing feats that only gods could hope to achieve!
No wonder the Covenant regarded the Forerunners as gods. They could do things no ordinary race ever could.
This must be the technology the Forerunners inherited, she thought.
Having already learned the true origins of the Halo universe, Halsey understood that the World Seed was likely a relic left by the Precursors—the original caretakers of life in the galaxy—used to spread new civilizations.
Perhaps even ancient humanity and the Forerunners themselves had been seeded this way.
And now, humanity possessed this godlike tool—a means to cultivate an entire civilization on a barren world, to birth a thriving, living planet.
After exhaling softly and calming her racing thoughts, Halsey turned her attention to the final and most critical piece of technology.
It was only then that she discovered Shield World's most important secret—
The Domain Access Point!
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