"Yes, the shape confirms it was made by intelligent beings. Unfortunately, our Earth-based radar can't scan this object. We can only capture images with the Hubble telescope. The 'Helios 1' solar probe is broken and can't get close," Porter said to James.

"Hello! This is James. I need to speak with the Director. It's urgent!" James grabbed his phone and called the NASA director's office, asking to meet the director.

"Understood. Please hold for a moment," the secretary replied.

Three hundred kilometers below Egypt’s Great Pyramid, deep in the ruins of an ancient spacecraft, a crystal Platonic solid appeared. It floated in the dark. Its light flickered, as if it could go out at any moment.

A sad voice echoed from within, but no one could hear it.

"It’s been too long. Without the other Platonic solids, I can’t understand the mystery of consciousness. My soul is fading. My consciousness will soon vanish. Our people used all their resources to get these solids, but we destroyed our empire. Our souls are trapped on this planet with no hope of escape. The souls of the first imperial descendants will soon disappear. Only the souls born after we arrived remain."

In the solar orbit, aboard the No. 1 spherical ship, the progress bar for the Soul Modification Matrix reached 100%. A 'Ding' sounded. A 3D avatar appeared and said, "Please input memory disturbance information to confuse Earth's human history."

Garba laughed. "Let’s have some fun. Set some people’s memories to think Mandela died in the 1980s. Change others to believe the thinker statue has a fist on its forehead. Some will remember Pikachu with a black tail. Let’s also change song lyrics. Make them remember 'Fifty-six nations, fifty-six flowers.' Ha! Now that Earthlings are in the digital age, let’s give some memory fragments to their scientists. Let them start researching artificial intelligence. It’s what their ancestors did. If they develop AI again, I’ll ask the United Federation of Intelligent Life to destroy them."

Garba hated Earthlings. During the First Galactic War, the Panhua Empire, the ancestors of Earthlings, invaded his homeland. Only after the war was his nation restored.

Far from the Milky Way galaxy, on a secondary life planet of the Cabas Empire, a young man named Justin was exploring the Universal Holo-Network in a virtual reality internet café in Rift Valley City.

The Universal Holo-Network connected all known nations in the universe. Intelligent beings used it to learn, communicate, play games, socialize, and more. It worked based on quantum theory, with information traveling faster than light.

The network worked like Earth’s internet. Users connected through terminals and used the network outside their bodies. There were also life pods where a user’s soul entered the network. Inside, they experienced it like the real world. At that moment, Justin was piloting a triangular-winged fighter jet from the Cabas Empire, in the middle of a combat mission.

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“Carl, watch 3 o’clock, cover me. I’m going after Phoenix 9,” Justin shouted.

"Forget it, Justin. You’ve been killed by that guy 500 times. How about you cover me while I handle that b*tch?" Carl replied, frustrated.

Grace, leader of the Phoenix Squadron, piloted Phoenix 9. She aimed her laser cannon at Fire Fox 6, trying to lock onto the target, but couldn’t fire.

"Hmph, at least you have some skill. Unlike the other rookies. One’s been killed 500 times, the other 450 times," Grace thought, annoyed. She noticed a pattern in the game. The system always matched her against Fire Fox Squadron, with Fire Fox 6 as her main rival. This top-tier pilot could engage her for hundreds of rounds.

"Captain, watch your 12 o’clock! Fire Fox 4 is coming in from 9 o’clock!" A woman’s voice warned Grace over the comms.

Grace, blonde and blue-eyed, replied coolly, “Got it. I’ll take care of this one.”

The Phoenix 9’s anti-matter engines roared as Grace suddenly accelerated upward, breaking off from Fire Fox 6. She turned to face Fire Fox 4, her smirk widening. "Ha, die!"

With a sharp ‘ding,’ the targeting reticle turned red. Grace fired a brilliant white beam from her fighter’s cannon, hitting Fire Fox 4’s anti-matter engines.

"Justin, help me..." Carl cried out, just before a massive explosion sounded. Fire Fox 4 exploded in a fiery ball, crashing toward Earth.

Carl was forcibly disconnected from the game.

In these immersive network games, players could only enter once per day. After being killed, they could only log in again the next day. If a soul entered these games too often and was killed repeatedly, it could suffer permanent damage. In the worst case, the soul could die, leaving only a lifeless body behind.

"Heh heh, congratulations Major, you’ve taken down that guy again," said a familiar voice, Xiao Xun’er, from the communicator.

"Heh, it’s nothing. They’re too weak. Be careful, Xun'er!" Grace warned Xiao Xun’er, who was still talking to her.

Grace noticed Fire Fox 2 flashing white, signaling a laser shot. Too late—Phoenix 5's Xiao Xun’er was ambushed and taken offline.

Inside Fire Fox 2, Justin smiled. "Poor Carl. Even though I didn’t kill Phoenix 9, taking down Phoenix 5 gave our Fire Fox squad some pride back." Carl would never hear it. Justin left him a message in the "Empire's Eagle" game.

“Damn Fire Fox 2, you’re asking for death!” Grace angrily slammed the Phoenix 9’s joystick, charging toward Fire Fox 2 after Xiao Xun’er was killed.

High in the sky, Phoenix 7 and Fire Fox 6 were locked in a deadly duel.

Back in the mysterious spacecraft ruins beneath Egypt’s Great Pyramid, the crystal Platonic solid flickered. The melancholic voice cried out in panic.

"Ah! Why... why is this happening?" No answer came. The Platonic solid continued to glow erratically, as if waiting for something.

"Alright! I’m tired too. Two hundred thousand years of existence have worn my soul down. The souls of my comrades have long dissipated into the universe. The souls of the Panhua Empire's descendants will never restore the empire's glory. On this planet, this prison built by the United Federation of Intelligent Life, every time our people gain the ability for interstellar travel, they are destroyed by their destruction mechanism. You came to help the empire rise, but you also brought disaster. Go now, find your kind. You’ve helped guard the empire's descendants on Earth for 200,000 years. Now, I must disappear. Who remembers the Panhua Empire anymore? Ah..."

The elderly voice sighed one last time, full of weariness.

The Platonic solid fell silent. Its glow faded. The spacecraft ruins were still.

Suddenly, the Platonic solid flashed brightly. It turned into a golden energy construct, filled with swirling data streams. The golden Platonic solid spun rapidly, emitting high-pitched frequency waves.