Chapter 399: Unknown

The mechanical spaceship continued its steady journey.

"A scale? That's impossible!"

From among the scientists in white coats, an astonished cry erupted.

A profound silence then fell over the Ishdarians, broken by no further sound.

This reaction, in fact, mirrored the thoughts of all the scientists. They stood frozen, their minds reeling in disbelief. The idea of encountering something so bizarre while traversing spatial turbulence seemed utterly preposterous.

Could there be life capable of surviving in spatial turbulence?

And a colossal giant, no less?

An unknown, mysterious entity capable of lifting their mechanical spaceship with one hand, weighing it, and then simply leaving?

The mere thought sent shivers down their spines, giving them the chilling sensation of having brushed with death.

"What happened?"

Caroline strode over.

Noticing the unease, she looked at the grim-faced scientists and asked, "Has there been an anomaly in the survey data? Data loss?"

The primary objective of their mechanical spaceship was exploration, so it was equipped with over a hundred types of external environmental survey instruments, serving two main purposes:

First, to study the means of traversing worlds, detecting and collecting data during the journey to another world, and initiating research. Perhaps this would allow them to open new scientific fields, elevating Ishdarian technology to the level of world traversal.

Second, to inspect and survey the vacuum environment. This might be an unknown, dangerous, and mysterious world—perhaps where the previous ultra-ancient human civilization was destroyed. Therefore, collecting various data was imperative.

This mechanical spaceship was equipped with countless types of advanced detection instruments.

"Madam Caroline, according to our readings, this is the image we observed while passing through the spatial turbulence..." Mielivina, the President of the Western Human Empire, paused for a moment before finally speaking.

Caroline looked at the virtual physics simulation, her expression slowly hardening.

"This..."

She took a deep breath. Instead of showing alarm, a smile spread across her face. "This is certainly peculiar. I didn't expect that the several tremors our spaceship experienced might conceal such a major secret... Recalculate! All scientists in the lab, activate multi-core inference mode."

"Yes!"

Numerous scientists responded. Over thirty individuals quickly connected their minds to a special large mechanical screen before them.

Dual-core, tri-core, quad-core processing power rapidly increased.

Each of them functioned as a "computer," possessing ultra-fast computational abilities. When linked together, their combined processing power reached an even more formidable level.

This collective intelligence, complementing each other, significantly reduced the error rate of their inferences.

"Recalculate," Caroline commanded, donning a white coat. Her expression was stern and cold as she intently watched the large screen.

*Whirr!* "Loading in progress—"

The spaceship's ultra-large liquid crystal display gradually lit up, and images began to appear.

The virtual simulation displayed a stationary mechanical spaceship, suddenly grasped halfway by an unknown object.

"Analyzing the spaceship's metallic hull and the applied force area to deduce the shape of the object gripping it!"

A mechanical voice announced.

Gradually, a colossal five-fingered hand appeared, beginning to grasp the spaceship and toss it upwards.

"Palm print calculated!!"

A precise image of the palm and fingerprints quickly appeared on their computer screens.

"What is this? Human fingerprints?"

"They perfectly match human palm prints!"

"My heavens! What kind of human possesses such an enormous hand, capable of easily gripping an entire spaceship!"

The Ishdarian scientists' faces turned ashen.

Undeniably, their technology had reached an unprecedented level, so precise that it could deduce such details merely from the contact on their spaceship, akin to a fingerprint unlocking a device.

Caroline's gaze fixed on the colossal hand emerging from the void, grasping their mechanical spaceship. Her expression grew solemn. "Continue the calculation!"

"Calculating now!"

The inference continued relentlessly.

Before their eyes, the hand grasped the spaceship, initiating the first toss.

"The hand tossed the mechanical spaceship upwards by thirty-seven meters! The upward toss was not vertical, and the force application period was uneven, consistent with how a hand tosses an object... Based on the angle, the area of force inclination, this hand possesses an elbow!"

In the virtual mechanics display, a connected virtual arm began to appear behind the hand.

"Preliminary inference suggests that based on the spaceship's toss, the angle of inclination, and the upward amplitude, the forearm's length is highly likely to be three thousand seventy-one meters. This length aligns with the measured lever movement and all other practical data."

"Furthermore, the ratio of this arm length to the palm perfectly conforms to human body structure!"

Upon seeing this, a stunned silence fell over everyone. In the Ishdarian cockpit, the sound of hurried breathing filled the air. This was a collaborative calculation by a group of scientists, making errors almost impossible. There truly was a colossal giant, holding their spaceship...

In that moment of mental blankness.

"Continue the inference," Caroline said calmly, staring at the screen, though her knuckles were white, betraying her inner turmoil.

"Calculating!"

"One hundred seventy-three measurement instruments are aggregating data!"

In the entire research hall, only the hum of mechanical instruments remained.

In the subsequent display, based on the forces applied to the spaceship's surface, they observed a hook firmly latching onto its stern. The entire mechanical spaceship hung like a large black fish, hoisted upside down, completely defenseless.

"According to the displacement data, after being hooked, it performed a circular swing... It is inferred that there's a suspension rope structure above the hook!"

As the data was processed, the display changed again.

A large fishing hook had snagged the mechanical spaceship, and a virtual rope began to appear above the hook, swinging back and forth like a pendulum, displayed on the screen.

Their technology was so advanced that from the motion data of the hand tossing the mechanical spaceship, they could deduce the elbow's length. And from the hook snagging the spaceship, they could infer that a rope must be attached above the hook.

"At this point, after being suspended, the overall mechanical spaceship's displacement showed angular deviation and changes in applied force, similar to a 'lever balance offset' movement. It is suspected that it was placed on a scale and weighed."

The screen simulated a long balance beam with a fulcrum in the middle. On one side, the hook held the mechanical spaceship, which was positioned lower, while the other side held an unknown weight.

Initially, the spaceship's position was very low, but it was gradually raised until the lever balanced, and the weights on both sides became equal.

The forces and inclinations involved, along with various complex real-time data transformations, could be calculated by the supercomputer, indicating it was placed on a lever and balanced.

"According to the data, it appears the counterweight was being adjusted to measure the hooked mechanical spaceship!"

"During the adjustment, the entire balance beam vibrated slightly seven times, suggesting the counterweight moved past seven notches on the scale before finally stabilizing!"

"Data is being integrated!"

"Real-time simulation in progress—"

The images gradually integrated.

They saw an arm, complete with a hand, grasping the massive mechanical spaceship and tossing it in the air. At this moment, the fingerprints and palm prints of the hand quickly appeared on the virtual display.

Next, a hook latched onto the spaceship's stern, suspending it on a scale. The hand moved a counterweight, continuously adjusting the measurement. The counterweight moved seven notches before the scale finally balanced. Then, the entire mechanical spaceship was released, seemingly entering a new space, enveloped by soft, square segments... and resumed its steady flight!

This was the entire simulation!

When the complete results of the inference reappeared on the screen, the Ishdarians were left in awe.

"Oh! Unbelievable!"

"This process... what exactly is this? The truth of the world?"

"The universe? Vacuum? An unknown giant encountered while traversing dimensions?"

Their hearts were filled with both excitement and dread.

This moment challenged the very boundaries of their understanding of the world.