Zhao Meng’s gaze left the microscope as a tidal wave of shock surged within him. He looked at the Buddha’s relic inside the crystal container—a small bead-sized object that seemed ordinary, hardly eye-catching. Yet the images he had seen under the microscope still haunted his mind, like a nuclear explosion shattering his thoughts.
How could he possibly look at it with an ordinary heart now? Seeing that Zhao Meng had been so startled, the other leaders of the research team, including Xie Tianshu, stepped forward with cautious and puzzled expressions to inspect the Buddha’s relic. They wanted to see what earth-shattering secret lay hidden inside.
One by one, everyone finished viewing it. The 705 Laboratory fell into a deathly silence. One of the older research team leaders, his chest heaving, nearly swooned from shock.
Fortunately, Zhao Meng and Xie Tianshu managed to help him back to his seat to rest. It was completely against common sense, totally overturning everything they believed. For decades, the worldview constructed under the framework of science had collapsed in that moment.
Professor Xu, now recovered, looked at the Buddha’s relic under the microscope with awe and sorrow as he said, “What on earth is going on? The microscopic world is supposed to hold bacteria, cells, atoms, molecules… So why, why is there this… unbelievable aspect in the microscopic realm?”
The elderly team leader asked weakly, “On Earth, in the microscopic realm that cannot be seen by the naked eye, is this the norm or is it unique to this place?” If the microscopic world were so horrifying, then what kind of planet did we truly live on? And what connection did the microscopic and macroscopic worlds have?
Director Yang found it difficult to answer these questions. Despite decades of research, his understanding of the microscopic world remained exceedingly limited. However, he did know that apart from 705 Laboratory, there were four other ultra-cognitive projects—701, 702, 703, and 704—each advancing independently and under high secrecy.
They only knew of each other’s existence. Zhao Meng said, “The Buddha’s relic is inherently special; it is the treasured jewel of the Buddhist sect. The fact that the Bronze Ship is resting upon it might be inevitable rather than accidental.”
He continued, “Buddhist teachings say that each flower is a world, each leaf contains the Tathagata. It is very possible that some eminent Buddhist monk had already grasped the secret of the relic, and that is why he left those words.” Zhao Meng’s eyes remained fixed on the Buddha’s relic.
The more he looked, the more familiar it became, and then a flash of insight lit up his mind. That was it! The fish eye on the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish—its shape and size were similar to this relic.
However, while the Dao Ancestor’s brow-bone was a pale green, the Buddha’s relic was a light red. Could it be such a coincidence? Could the lost fish eye of the Dao Ancestor Taiji Fish actually be the Buddha’s relic?
Unlike these old scholars, Xie Tianshu did not show pain or bewilderment. His eyes shone with a peculiar radiance. As a scion from a prominent family, he had rarely failed to get what he wanted.
Almost anything money could buy was soon at his fingertips. In this Arctic expedition, his participation was more about polishing his reputation—a pretty resume to more easily gain recognition in both literary and scientific circles later on. That was why he was extremely unwilling to lose to Zhao Meng when it came to the role of First Mate.
With such high self-expectations, the appearance of the Bronze Ship and the opening of the mysterious gate had undoubtedly provided him with tremendous stimulation. He became excited.
“A relic here that is as vast and majestic as a planet! On the Bronze Ship, there clearly was a huge corpse that looked very much like the phoenix of myth. And there was another, a giant serpent corpse with horns on its head—it definitely wasn’t just a serpent; it was the legendary Flood Dragon transformed into myth.”
He continued, “Ladies and gentlemen, does this mean that the ancient myths were not fabricated lies? That immortality, flight, teleportation—they all truly existed?”
“The ancient mythological world might have been even more brilliant and magnificent than the legends suggest; it was just erased by unknown powers, forgotten, and subverted.”
“Now that traces of that mythological era have been found again! In the microscopic, in the microscopic world! Myths have never truly vanished! But where else might there be traces of myth?”
None of them could answer, and all were lost in deep thought and shock. Still excited, Xie Tianshu added, “I have heard that drinking phoenix blood grants eternal life. If we can salvage this Bronze Ship to the macroscopic Earth, or if we descend into the microscopic realm, doesn’t that mean we could obtain immortality?
We could gain extraordinary power to rule the Earth!” Director Yang shook his head, “Actually… that is not the phoenix’s corpse, but should be the Golden Crow’s corpse, because it has three legs. In mythology, the Golden Crow represents the sun, and it stands for destruction.
Drinking its blood will most likely not grant immortality; instead, you’ll be reduced to ashes.” The 705 Laboratory had observed the Buddha’s relic and the Bronze Ship for many decades, continually pondering and testing, mining every detail. Their understanding was far deeper than what any brief observation could ever reveal.
Zhao Meng looked at Director Yang and said, “I am very curious—could this truly be the Buddha’s relic? I feel it is more like a macroscopic world, a planet compressed into the microscopic.”
Professor Xu added, “Yeah, if it really is the Buddha’s relic, doesn’t that mean the Buddha practiced cultivation within his body to form a whole planet, a complete world?” The very thought made him hardly recognize himself. How had he become so delusional?
Xie Tianshu remarked, “The Buddha’s relic is not just one! It is said that after the Buddha passed away, his disciples found relics from the ashes sufficient to fill eight hu and four dou.” Captain Gao Xin then said, “Director Yang, please explain once again: Why did 705 Laboratory come to the Arctic?
And why do we presume that the two ferocious beasts were attracted by the Buddha’s relic?” At the mention of the terrifying bear-like creature and the even more terrifying giant Nine Infants beneath the ship, everyone’s thoughts were abruptly dragged back to the brutal reality. The sense of crisis was even stronger than before.
It felt just like a group of mortal beings caught in a battle between gods and demons—a feeling of insignificance as small as dust and absolute helplessness. Director Yang collected his thoughts and said, “As Second Mate Xie mentioned, many high-level figures who are aware of 705 Laboratory’s existence are in pursuit of eternal life, desiring to acquire extraordinary power.
They have been urging us to figure out a way to salvage the Bronze Ship to the macroscopic Earth.” He continued, “For decades, we have studied many classic texts, searched for items related to the Buddha, used all sorts of scientific instruments, and tried countless methods, but the Bronze Ship showed no reaction at all.”
“Until this year, during a long journey, we unexpectedly discovered that the canvas on the mast of the Bronze Ship began to rotate.”
At this point, someone could not help but return to observing the Bronze Ship under the microscope. Director Yang continued, “Later, after several tests, we found that the ship’s canvas changed its angle with the variation of latitude. The higher the latitude, the more the canvas turned upright.
According to our calculations, if we bring it to the North Pole, that is, to 90 degrees north latitude, the canvas on the mast would be completely upright.” Xie Tianshu exclaimed excitedly, “And once it is completely upright, what then? Will the ship set sail?”
“There is that possibility, which is why we have been testing.”
Director Yang said.
“Now… isn’t all the canvas on the ship already upright?” asked the person watching the microscope.
“Because we are very, very close to the North Pole.”
Director Yang’s expression grew clearly excited as he added, “Just last night, when the canvas was nearly completely upright, the Bronze Ship trembled slightly. In the space around the ship, some strange mountain and sea patterns appeared, almost as if… another unfathomable world was unfolding.”
“Boom!”
“Rumble!”
Above the ship, first came a dull impact sound and the sound of the crumbling ship breaking apart. Then, a series of explosions rang out. The ship shook violently, the sounds growing more thunderous each time.
Inside 705 Laboratory, everyone’s faces changed dramatically.
“It really didn’t leave. It came back again!”
“Why are there explosion sounds? Who brought explosives onto the ship?”
(End of Chapter)