Chapter 43: The Shadow of Redeem

"Xu Yan, you have already..."

Ouyang Nan could not help but want to say something, yet the words died on her lips, and she did not know how to continue.

Xu Yan's composure aligned with the facts, but...

His calmness was almost mechanical.

Originally, she had thought he would remain entirely indifferent upon losing this opportunity, never expecting that he would actually offer an apology.

Duan Peng seemed either not to notice or simply not to care. "Xu Yan, what is our next move?"

"We will rest temporarily," Xu Yan said softly.

The cabin fell into a brief silence.

After a short respite, the group resumed their work.

Although they had missed the prime opportunity, the environment of the Echo Valley itself was a vast treasure trove.

Xu Yan and Ouyang Nan concentrated fully on analyzing the residual spatial data, attempting to reconstruct the patterns of the spatial folds from it.

Duan Peng, accompanied by Wu Mingjie, began an urgent inspection of the engines and the wear and tear on the guide rings.

"Damn it, the superconducting ring shows signs of thermal fusion; we need to cool it down," Duan Peng muttered, his voice muffled as he buried himself beneath the lower section of the engine compartment.

Kneeling on one knee at the entrance, Wu Mingjie handed him tools and diagnostic instruments with one hand while monitoring external telemetry with the other. "The stern sensors have captured a faint but regular energy pulse. It doesn't look like a natural phenomenon."

Hearing this from the main control room, Xu Yan immediately grew alert. "Coordinates? Characteristics?"

"Coordinates 7-Alpha-9. The signature... is very chaotic, resembling a leaked signal of encrypted communication, but the encryption method is entirely unfamiliar." Wu Mingjie transmitted the data stream over.

Ouyang Nan immediately took over the analysis. A few minutes later, her expression shifted slightly. "This isn't standard encryption from the Star Fleet or any known colony... The pattern is quite ancient, but the core algorithm... carries a strong degree of destructiveness and concealment. It somewhat resembles... the signal characteristics recorded in the archives from the early activities of Redeem!"

"Redeem?" Duan Peng crawled out from the engine compartment, his face smudged black with grease and only his eyes wide open. "Those persistent pests? What are they doing in a ghost place like this?"

Xu Yan's heart sank heavily. The Echo Valley, spatial turbulence, anomalous signals, Redeem... Linking these terms together generated an intensely ominous premonition.

The failed and mysterious expedition undertaken by his parents all those years ago had its final reported disaster zone right on the periphery of the Echo Valley!

Could his parents' disappearance be connected to Redeem?

"Can you decrypt the content?" Xu Yan's voice carried a tightness he himself had not noticed.

"The signal is too weak, and the encryption level is very high. It will take time..." Ouyang Nan attempted to proceed, when suddenly, a red warning box popped up on the screen in front of her. "Not good! The signal source seems to have detected our probing and has initiated counter-tracking! It is trying to trace our location in reverse!"

"Cut off all non-essential external reception immediately! Engage electronic camouflage!" Xu Yan commanded instantly.

Duan Peng and Wu Mingjie moved with swift precision.

The lights within the bridge flickered, and following a slight tremor, the electronic camouflage system activated. The *Explorer 7* vanished from the adversary's detection network like a fish slipping into the deep sea.

Yet everyone knew clearly in their hearts that they might have inadvertently stumbled upon something monumental.

Redeem's activities in this hazardous stellar sector were undeniably significant.

Xu Yan gazed at the now-empty set of coordinates on the screen, his stare seemingly piercing through the hull, cutting through the endless spatial turbulence, to behold the truth hidden behind it.

The mysteries of the wormhole, the disappearance of his parents, the shadow of Redeem... All of these seemed to be slowly interweaving within the ripples of the Echo Valley.

The *Explorer 7* drifted like a silent ghost amidst the distorted light and shadow of the Echo Valley.

The electronic camouflage system operated at full capacity, reducing the vessel's presence to the absolute minimum, yet everyone could feel an intangible pressure pressing inward from all directions like the deep sea.

Although Redeem's counter-tracking had been temporarily evaded, that chilling sense of observation had not entirely vanished; it lurked in the shadows, ready to strike back at any moment.

"The signal source has completely concealed itself." Ouyang Nan massaged her temples wearily.

Only a mess of background noise remained on the screen. "They are extremely vigilant and left no trace behind."

"Damn it, they've got a guilty conscience!" Duan Peng slammed his fist hard against the console, rattling several old indicator lights.

The grease on his face remained unwashed, and his eyes burned with suppressed anger. "What the hell are these gutter rats plotting?"

Xu Yan silently stared at the coordinates where the anomalous signal had just vanished: 7-Alpha-9.

That area now appeared completely tranquil, with only the distorted spatial background radiation resembling a silent vortex.

The fragmented and vague records from the end of his parents' exploration log, the encoded emergency distress signal sent out before they lost contact... intersecting and overlapping in his mind with the fragments of Redeem's signal characteristics captured moments ago.

A strong, almost intuitive premonition seized him—the answer lay right within the folds of that spatial sector.

"We cannot leave empty-handed," Xu Yan's voice broke the silence.

"Redeem's activities here are bound to be connected to the spatial anomaly. Restart the resonator, focusing this time on the 7-Alpha-9 sector. Keep the energy output at the threshold; we aren't trying to stabilize the fold, only to disturb it and see what is truly hidden underneath."

*‘Risky strategy. Disturbing unknown spatial structures may trigger an uncontrollable chain reaction, increasing the probability of collapse to 68.3%,’* the Anima gave its cold evaluation immediately. *‘Evacuation is recommended; the data collected is sufficient for preliminary analysis.’*

Data analysis could not reveal what Redeem wished to conceal, and Xu Yan mentally rejected the Anima's advice with absolute finality.

"Everyone, execute orders."

"Duan Peng, resonator power at 85%, frequency Gamma-4, intermittent pulse mode."

"Ouyang, focus the scanning array on that sector, filtering out all unnatural signals."

"Mingjie, monitor structural stress on the hull, especially the energy shield junctions."

The orders were carried out swiftly.

Despite the extreme risks, no one raised any objections.

The appearance of Redeem acted like a poisoned thorn, awakening the fighting spirit and inquisitiveness deep within everyone's bones.

A low hum resonated once more, more restrained than before, yet carrying a precise and penetrating force.

The deep blue energy beam pierced cautiously into the void at coordinates 7-Alpha-9 like a probe.

The scenery outside the portholes began to grow even more bizarre.

That region of space looked like thick ink being stirred; light was bent and torn apart more violently, forming shifting, unnatural geometric patterns.

"There is a response! The spatial structure is being disturbed!" Ouyang Nan stared intently at the screen, her voice sharp with tension. "Strong energy-shielding reactions detected! There really is something down there!"

"Increase power! 90%!" Xu Yan commanded.

The humming sound escalated abruptly.

At the center of the disturbed spatial zone, an extremely tiny black dot suddenly appeared, then expanded violently, as if the void had opened a chilling eye!

That was no natural spatial fold, but a forcibly torn, highly unstable temporary spatial rift!