Chapter 47: Time Sealing – Section 9

Black Hair moved swiftly, arriving even faster on his return. After obtaining the mysterious crystal handed to him by Baroka, he didn’t pause for a moment. He immediately boarded the shuttle he had just arrived in. The poor shuttle pilot didn’t even have time to set foot firmly on the ground before being hurried away by his attendants, sent soaring back into the starry sky once more.

But this time, they weren’t heading back to Death Star. Instead, they were going to the nearby Thor Fortress. Once the most terrifying strategic weapon in the hands of the Blood Wolves, it was now assigned by Black Hair to the Prisoners of Darkness for their protection. Just this alone showed how much Black Hair valued these scientific madmen.

Soon, Black Hair saw that massive artificial star.

On the rooftop at the top of the fortress, Black Hair encountered Cobra. The thin young man wore a smile and seemed in good spirits. But when Black Hair took out the crystal, his expression changed instantly.

“I’ve seen this before.”

“Hm?” Black Hair was startled. “You have?”

“Yes, I have,” Cobra nodded firmly, then pushed up his thick glasses. “In the leader’s room. That’s right—I remember I went there to ask about a mecha project. He was fiddling with this thing. It caught my eye because it was so beautiful, so I remembered it. But he hid it right away. So, where did you find this?”

“In your lab room. In the ruins,” Black Hair replied nonchalantly, staring intently at the beautiful crystal in his palm.

“In the ruins!?” Cobra exclaimed in shock. “With such intense heat, how did it survive? No. That’s impossible!”

“You saw it with your own eyes, didn’t you?” Black Hair sighed. Suddenly, he raised his right hand and threw the crystal out. Panicked, Cobra quickly shouted for Luo to catch it.

“Is there any way to figure out what this thing is?”

“Should be fine. Give me some time,” Cobra replied cheerfully, pushing up his glasses.

“Though this thing seems mysterious, I can roughly guess its purpose. Among us in the Prisoners of Darkness, there’s a rumor that each of us has a carrier of our own making, one that can preserve everything we’ve acquired throughout our lives, so that our research won’t be lost. If I’m guessing correctly, this must be Leader Madaro’s carrier. We call it the Second Life.” With that, Cobra looked melancholic.

“This also explains why Chief Madaro hid it when he saw me back then. After all, Second Life is the most important secret for every prisoner of Black Prison. Not even one’s own parents are allowed to know about it.”
“I don’t care about that. Since you say Second Life is so important, Madaro must have had a reason for keeping it. I want to know what’s inside it,” said Black Hair, gritting his teeth and speaking firmly. Then he added, “Moreover, I believe the technology behind this crystal exceeds what exists in Black Prison. If possible, analyze it as well. I want to know how Madaro managed to do it.”
“Understood. It will take about three hours to get preliminary results. Come and pick them up later,” replied Cobra with a silent nod.
“No, I’ll wait here,” Black Hair refused softly. He then walked over and sat down. “Go and get the answers I want.”
“Mm,” Cobra nodded and left the room.
Waiting was agonizing. On the silent rooftop of the fortress, only Black Hair was left. Above him, the beautiful starry sky shone brightly. A huge transparent dome was the only protection for the rooftop.
Yet Black Hair didn’t consider this a lack of security. In fact, Thor’s Fortress had the most advanced defense systems. After extensive research by the prisoners of Black Prison, its capabilities were even greater than those of the Moors’ space stations. It was highly effective against both energy weapons and conventional weapons. As for this transparent dome, it was just normal under normal circumstances. Once combat started, the entire rooftop would sink into the main body of the fortress, and a giant hybrid main cannon would rise in its place.
In short, Thor’s Fortress was essentially an artificial planet that combined living and combat functions. It held an irreplaceable place in the Blood Wolf’s arsenal.
Of course, for Black Hair right now, it could only serve as a leisure park. The transparent rooftop provided him with a great view, but using it for sightseeing seemed rather extravagant. Having spent so much time in space, he had long become accustomed to the stunning starry sky that most people found breathtaking. If it weren’t for waiting, he would never want to stay on this rooftop for another second, let alone three hours.
Reaching into his pocket, he lit a cigarette. Helplessly, Black Hair sat down.
Perhaps today’s discovery would be meaningful?
Staring at the door through which Cobra had left, Black Hair’s gaze grew increasingly expectant…

He waited for a whole day. From morning till late at night, Kurokami didn’t see a trace of Cobra at all. The attendants who had come with him had returned several times, but Kurokami sent them away each time. As time passed, he grew more and more uneasy. He knew Cobra’s character well. As a new leader who trusted and supported him, Cobra would never break his word. Three hours had been agreed upon—Cobra would never make him wait even a minute longer. So, if he still hadn’t appeared after such a long time, there were only two explanations: either he couldn’t decipher that crystal, or… the content inside the crystal was extremely important—and vast in quantity! It was so important that Kurokami had to keep deciphering it until he understood everything before he could feel at ease.

With this thought, Kurokami suddenly stood up. Just as he was about to move, he saw the door to the rooftop open. Cobra’s gaunt figure appeared before his eyes. In just one day, this young man seemed to have aged by a year. His usually energetic face was unnaturally haggard, his eyes bloodshot.

Kurokami’s heart sank instantly.

“What’s wrong? Why have you ended up like this? If it was really difficult, you could have told me. There’s no need to force yourself to finish it.”

Waving his hand, Cobra tiredly walked to a corner of the rooftop and collapsed heavily onto the sofa. After closing his eyes for a long time, he finally spoke, his voice hoarse as if sand were rubbing together.

“Boss… I… I found it…”

“What did you find?” Kurokami was stunned, filled with doubts. What could possibly have made this young man so exhausted? Was it fatigue, or something else? Seeing Cobra looking like he might collapse at any moment, Kurokami realized the situation was serious.

But Kurokami didn’t know that things were actually far worse than he imagined. Because Cobra’s next words struck him like thunder.

“Madaro… it’s Leader Madaro…” Cobra took off his thick glasses and covered his face with his hands, groaning in pain.

“He’s in that crystal… alive…”

“What!?” Kurokami was shocked, frozen in place. “Alive… what does that mean?”

“It means he’s alive. No heartbeat, no physical body, but complete thoughts and memories. Boss, my initial guess was correct—it’s a carrier. I just didn’t expect Leader Madaro to use it as a brain.” After resting for a while, Cobra’s complexion improved significantly, and his speech became smoother.

“Can you understand? An alternative kind of brain. It doesn’t need nutrients or a physical body; it can operate forever as long as it has enough energy supply. Through a translator, it can even directly control a mecha suit!”
“How is that possible!? That goes against the laws of the universe!” The black-haired man grew anxious. The thought of the old man who once helped him turning into such a state filled him with sorrow. At the same time, he couldn’t believe such a strange existence.
Wait… hadn’t he encountered something like this before?
Lily!!
Lily’s memory crystal was still in his body! Could it be that Madaro was in the same situation as her?
Of course not. Before he could ask the Cobra, he dismissed that idea himself. Lily’s crystal contained pure memories—no consciousness at all. Even after ten thousand years, if extracted again, her memories would remain up to the moment of her death. But Madaro was completely different. According to the Snake’s description, he still had consciousness within that crystal?
Having consciousness meant he was alive. Though his way of living was somewhat unusual, there was no doubt—Madaro wasn’t dead. He was still alive, living in a way others couldn’t comprehend. And that crystal, just like his life-support device in the past, was his new home.
This was reality!
Even he found it hard to believe. Yet the black-haired man easily accepted what the Cobra wanted to tell him. He nodded and sat down next to the Snake.
“So, you’ve been talking to Madaro all this time?”
“Yes.” The Snake let out a deep sigh. “We’ve been in constant conversation. And we discussed very important matters. Madaro, the leader, asked me to create a body for him.”
“In the form of a mecha?” the black-haired man asked.
“Mm. A fully mechanical structure.”
“Then there’s no need to tell me. You decide for yourself. That’s not what I want to know.”
“I know.” The Snake’s expression grew more serious. “What you want to know is the truth behind this accident. Madaro, the leader, also told me. But I think it’s not good news.”
“Hm? Why?” The black-haired man was stunned. He clearly didn’t expect the Cobra to say that.
“Why? You’ll understand soon enough. But I’ll tell you the truth about this accident first. That’s because Madaro, the leader, has made progress in his research. He discovered a law of the universe and is trying to utilize it.”
“What law?”
“Time.” The Snake gently put on his thick glasses, then stared intently at the black-haired man and replied in a deep voice.