Chapter 145: “String Vibration,” Activated
Qualcomm had seen Luo Xue before.
She was very young then, barely able to speak.
Due to malnutrition, all the children in the settlement looked like bean sprouts and were quite mature for their age.
Among these children, Luo Xue was the one who left the deepest impression on Qualcomm.
Not just because of her pitiful appearance, but also the unusual determination in her eyes, devoid of any childish innocence.
Qualcomm had come to take Ling Ling away, but ultimately abandoned the operation.
Because he realized that Ling Ling had already integrated into the settlement, becoming a Wastelander.
Taking her away now would only leave a lingering attachment in her heart, and this wasn’t what Qualcomm wanted.
Great men didn’t dwell on minor details or temporary gains and losses.
Qualcomm had made a mistake and wouldn’t repeat it.
Therefore…
He decided to eliminate all of Ling Ling’s attachments, leaving her with only loneliness.
The adults in the settlement were forced to leave, leaving the children behind, barely surviving on meager resources.
Not all the children in the settlement were killed by Qualcomm. In the dangerous wasteland, accidents were too common.
Even the smallest natural disaster, the weakest beast, could instantly take a child’s life.
As time passed, almost all the older children, either by accident or by manufactured accidents, lost their lives, leaving only Luo Xue to accompany Ling Ling.
The fire that burned Luo Xue during the extreme cold disaster was Qualcomm’s doing, and so was Night Owl’s assassination attempt, but Luo Xue survived both.
What was so special about this girl…
Qualcomm was curious. This was why he was sitting before Luo Xue now.
“I can’t guess, Miss Luo Xue.” Qualcomm smiled, his elbows resting on the armrests of his wheelchair, his fingers interlocked, his head slightly lowered. “Perhaps Xiao Liu and the others exaggerated my abilities, but in the end, I’m also just a mortal.”
“In this world ruled by disasters and calamities, you and I are both mortals.”
Ling Ling finally sensed the tense atmosphere and hid slightly behind Luo Xue, looking at Qualcomm cautiously.
Ceres stood beside Luo Xue, a strange flame flickering in her eyes. Her ability was ready to be unleashed.
Although controlling the nervous system of a Level 9 ability user was a fantasy, she could still slightly influence him.
Ceres didn’t know what Luo Xue’s plan was, but she knew that once Qualcomm activated the so-called “string vibration” device, the entire Suspended High Tower 132 would most likely be destroyed.
“Relax, Miss… Ceres, you’re a veteran Federal officer, you should understand my personality.”
Qualcomm looked at Ceres and said faintly, “If I wanted to activate the ‘string vibration’ device, I would have done it the moment I discovered the leak, not wait until now.”
Ceres’s tense body relaxed slightly, but she remained vigilant.
She knew Qualcomm was right, but she also knew… that he was cunning and unpredictable.
Just like Liu Yun said, don’t try to understand Qualcomm.
Because he was an unreasonable madman.
“It seems you don’t intend to tell me the secret, which is a pity.” Qualcomm shook his head and sighed. “But it doesn’t matter, it’s just a little curiosity of mine, whether it’s satisfied or not doesn’t matter.”
With that, Qualcomm took out something Luo Xue recognized.
A formation rune.
Although she didn’t know what material it was carved from, the spiritual power within it was even stronger than that of a spirit stone, probably artificially imbued.
Luo Xue wasn’t an expert in formations, but she had a Senior Sister who was, so she had seen many ingenious formations and was familiar with formation runes.
“This is the activator for the ‘string vibration’ device,” Qualcomm said, shaking the rune. “Just infuse it with disaster energy, and it will activate the device… Don’t worry, Miss Ceres, hear me out, okay?”
Ceres resisted the urge to snatch the activator. She knew that Qualcomm would have enough time to activate it before she could take it.
“But Miss Luo Xue, it seems… you recognize this?” Qualcomm looked at Luo Xue, his eyes filled with curiosity. “A great creation of the previous civilization, not many people recognize it, and even fewer have seen it in person.”
“…No comment.”
Luo Xue replied in a deep voice, but she had already confirmed it in her heart.
Indeed… the previous civilization was very likely a cultivation civilization. The style of these formations had distinct traces of the Immortal Martial World, and the technological aspects were mostly modifications made by the new civilization.
Luo Xue had already tried it before. This world had the conditions for cultivation, just that the spiritual energy was much thinner, making it much more difficult.
Perhaps it was because of the natural disasters, or perhaps because of the broken civilization and lost inheritances, but now, besides ability users, humanity didn’t have another way to enhance their strength.
“Sigh, you won’t even satisfy a little bit of my curiosity.” Qualcomm said with a regretful expression. “But it doesn’t matter. I’ll tell you a story, and after you’ve heard it, you can think about it carefully.”
Without waiting for Luo Xue and Ceres’s agreement, Qualcomm started his story.
“Doctor… oh right, the Lingxi you mentioned, he was actually my childhood friend. We’ve known each other since we were very young…”
Qualcomm’s voice was calm, his eyes filled with memories, as he recounted this unknown past.
Many people knew that Lingxi was the foremost expert in ability user research, but few knew… that Qualcomm was the foremost expert in the artifacts of the previous civilization.
The ninth level of Suspended High Tower 132 was Qualcomm’s laboratory.
So far, Qualcomm had been able to attempt creating Suspended High Tower engines. The engine of the small aircraft was his work.
If he continued like this, within a few decades, humanity would be able to mass-produce Suspended High Tower engines.
At that time, the Suspended High Towers wouldn’t be limited to just a few hundred, and human civilization would enter an unprecedented golden age.
But… was it truly a golden age?
“Suspended High Towers are just… a product of humanity bowing down to natural disasters.”
Qualcomm, the only expert in natural disaster energy research, sneered and came to this conclusion.
“But without the Suspended High Towers, there would be no human civilization today.” Ceres said in a deep voice.
“A raging sea batters a lone boat, waiting for its demise amidst the alternating day and night… Humanity can’t live in a cradle forever.” Qualcomm said calmly. “Lingxi didn’t support my plan. While he was alive, I didn’t continue the research on the ‘string vibration’ device.”
“You can create such a device?”
Luo Xue frowned slightly and asked.
“Are you referring to this?” Qualcomm picked up the formation rune in his hand. “Unfortunately, I can’t. The so-called ‘string vibration’ device… is actually the entire Suspended High Tower, and I… this activator, just provides the necessary energy for the device.”
He raised his hand slightly, looked at his palm, and smiled faintly.
“My ability allows me to hear the sound of the ‘strings’… or rather, to hear the voice of myself in another world.”
Qualcomm pointed to his ear. “A world that is constantly changing, five seconds into the future.”
“A time traveler?”
Ceres couldn’t help but exclaim.
“Sort of.”
Qualcomm nodded.
Hearing this, Ceres finally understood why Qualcomm was so certain about “string theory.” Because he could actually contact another world.
“Only after I reach Level 10 and can merge my physical body with space-time will the ‘string vibration’ device truly have meaning.” Qualcomm’s expression was filled with regret. “It’s a pity… I was one step away, and you discovered me.”
“Perhaps we can keep it a secret and let you continue your plan?” Luo Xue suddenly said.
Ceres’s eyes widened, and she was about to argue with Luo Xue, but seeing Luo Xue wink at her, she held back.
Luo Xue didn’t have any attachment to the Suspended High Tower, but Ceres did. She had been taught since childhood that the Suspended High Towers were the mothers of the new human civilization.
Qualcomm’s actions were akin to matricide, unforgivable to all Tower People.
“Indeed, only a Wastelander would say that,” Qualcomm shook his head, then continued, “My story is over, Miss Luo Xue. Can you tell me about your understanding of the artifacts of the previous civilization?”
As he spoke, Qualcomm seemed to remember something and slapped his forehead. “Oh, wait, there’s one more thing…”
He took out another formation rune and connected it to the activator in his hand. Instantly, a massive amount of disaster energy poured into it.
The rune glowed faintly, and after a moment, the entire Suspended High Tower began to vibrate imperceptibly, accompanied by a sharp, low hum.
From the first to the eighth level, alarms rang throughout the Suspended High Tower, panic spreading among the Tower People, like a disaster approaching.
“Alright, now we can continue our conversation.”
Qualcomm, the culprit behind all this, breathed a sigh of relief, his expression seeming more relaxed. “Activating the ‘string vibration’ device will take some time, but it’s enough for us.”
“You!”
Ceres was shocked and, ignoring the huge difference in strength between her and Qualcomm, rushed forward, trying to snatch the activator.
But unexpectedly, Qualcomm tossed the activator rune to Ceres and said with a smile,
“Here, keep it as a souvenir.”
Ceres, without thinking, immediately tried to destroy the activator.
But it was useless. The changes in the Suspended High Tower continued.
Just as Qualcomm said, this was just the activator. The real “string vibration” device was the entire Suspended High Tower.
Because it required the powerful energy of the Suspended High Tower’s engine to generate enough power for the “string vibration.”
“Why?”
Luo Xue asked in a low voice.
“No reason. I would press this button eventually. I kept it in my hand only because I wanted you to listen to my story.” Qualcomm shrugged. “You don’t understand. Unless I kill you, this matter will definitely reach the Federation, because of Miss Ceres.”
“Besides, killing you isn’t realistic. Imagine… a Level 7 Federal officer dying in Suspended High Tower 132. It would cause a huge commotion, and I would have to resign.”
Qualcomm hadn’t hesitated at all.
Even though he knew that the chances of success for activating the “string vibration” device were low in the current situation, he still didn’t hesitate.
Because if he didn’t activate it now… there wouldn’t be another chance, and that would be a true failure.
As for the price of failure, Qualcomm didn’t care. This was why he was called a madman.
“You wanted to know about my understanding of the artifacts of the previous civilization?” Luo Xue raised an eyebrow and chuckled. “Master Qualcomm, you seem very interested…”
“I am very interested.” Qualcomm nodded.
“Now, you can see for yourself.”
Luo Xue closed her eyes, her senses covering the upper three levels of the Suspended High Tower.
She could clearly sense that some key locations on the upper three levels were emitting spiritual power fluctuations. These should be the nodes of the formation.
There were so many that with Luo Xue’s current cultivation, she couldn’t completely destroy them.
After all, this was a plan Qualcomm had started decades ago, and after Lingxi’s suicide, he had spent nearly ten years on it. It wasn’t something that could be stopped by simply destroying a few runes.
However…
Disrupting a part of it, Luo Xue could still do that.
The moment Luo Xue closed her eyes, Qualcomm’s expression changed drastically. He had heard the future five seconds from now and muttered in disbelief,
“Wait, how… how did you do that?”
Soon, the vibrations on the upper three levels stopped. The “string vibration” device’s operation was forcibly halted.
“I just found the core of the formation.”
Luo Xue opened her eyes and said slowly.
The key to breaking a formation was to analyze its structure, find its core, and disrupt it.
Although the formation Qualcomm had set up was vast and complex, due to the difference in their systems, he had only crudely pieced together the formation runes.
Luo Xue’s understanding of formations was almost non-existent, but she was still from the Immortal Martial system and could see through the essence of the formation at a glance.
Just like in the Mount Fengyin conspiracy, Luo Xue used a small amount of spiritual power to disrupt the entire formation’s operation.
Unfortunately, Luo Xue’s cultivation was limited, and she could only cover the upper three levels. The lower six levels were too vast. If she tried to sense and disrupt them one by one, the “string vibration” device would probably have already activated.
Leave a Reply