?!
Hearing Dr. Halsey use the formal address "Lord Primarch," and even sensing in her tone a hint as if Sui Meng's presence lent "luster" to Grand Device 01, Sui Meng felt not the least flattered but immediately sensed something amiss.
Almost by instinct, he returned the greeting with a gesture of near-instinctive respect, inclining slightly and speaking sincerely:
"Doctor, you overpraise me. It is the Diwuzu Legion, and indeed the entire Human Empire, that should thank you and your team for your selfless dedication and exceptional genius.
It is your tireless research that has given the legions greater combat power and a firm technological foundation, allowing us to open new frontiers for humanity across the multiverse."
Sui Meng's quick and respectful response was no empty politeness.
In his deeply rooted view, Dr. Halsey—like his mother Athena—was a great figure who had created the Primarchs and endowed the Empire with its pinnacle fighting strength, an "elder" deserving the reverence given a mother.
If any Primarch dared show even the slightest disrespect, contempt, or discourtesy toward Athena, Sui Meng would be the first to fly into a rage and deem it an unforgivable blasphemy.
So when he sensed that Halsey seemed intent on lowering herself to raise him up, he responded with the utmost gravity to show absolute respect for a senior.
Seeing Sui Meng become so "tense" at her half-teasing formality—almost at a loss for what to do, though it didn't show on his face—Halsey blinked in mild surprise, then couldn't help herself and let out a soft laugh, laced with playfulness and a rare lightness.
She stepped closer, unconcerned by the pressure and raw power of his power armor. With casual ease, she raised a hand and gave a light tap to the side of his rigid waist plate, producing a crisp knock.
"Relax, Lord Primarch."
Her tone turned easy and warm, carrying her distinctive, slightly teasing lilt. "I was only making a small joke. No need to be so serious. Watching you just now—if I didn't know better, I'd think I was some man-eating pedant."
Her words eased the faint stiffness in the air.
Those familiar with Halsey know this scientific titan's character can be "odd"—at times as rigorous as the finest instrument, at others flashing a near-impish dark humor, her thinking agile and unbound.
Moreover, beyond her academic stature, in terms of her shared role with Emperor Samuel Young in "raising" several Primarchs, she was, by seniority and sentiment, very much Sui Meng's "aunt."
That special kinship meant that beyond formal hierarchy, Sui Meng felt a natural filial affection for her as an elder.
They lingered no further and moved toward a large maglev lift platform on one side of the hall.
The lift's interior was extremely spacious, easily accommodating a giant like Sui Meng and his entire guard.
As the lift began a smooth, high-speed ascent, the huge viewing window to one side showed them hurtling through the ring's massive outer structural layers toward the "surface" on the inner face—the self-cycling ecosystem.
During the rise, Halsey drew her gaze from the flitting structural vistas outside and turned to Sui Meng, asking with a trace of academic curiosity:
"Tell me, I am a bit curious—what made you suddenly request to deploy the 'Grand Device' to resolve this universe's threat?
By standard procedure, and given the Diwuzu's demonstrated strength, completely purging the remnants and establishing firm rule should be only a matter of time."
Sui Meng's gaze stayed steady as he replied, "Doctor, in our recent operations we collected a great deal of samples from blood moon entities, corpse-mutant tissues, and Markers, and conducted preliminary analysis.
These entities' biological signals and energy fluctuations are highly distinctive and interrelated. At the same time, I carefully studied portions of your publicly available internal papers and project summaries on the Grand Device's principles, energy spectrum modulation, and target discrimination and lock mechanisms."
He paused briefly to organize his words, then continued:
"Based on this information, I infer that, after your team's improvements, the Grand Device should possess precision far beyond the Forerunner 'Halo' in its original form.
In theory, it can 'selectively annihilate a single intelligent species' or a specific life-signal lineage, rather than indiscriminately clearing all life on a star-system scale.
Using this, we can precisely lock onto and clear all lifeforms tied to the 'blood moon–Marker' system, fundamentally dismantling this universe's principal threat—far more efficient than military sweeps world by world or region by region."
At that, Halsey's face lit with understanding and even a touch of approval. She laughed and did not deny it:
"Looks like you're not only a commander on the battlefield—you have quite the knack for academic comprehension."
She affirmed his inference. "Indeed, our replicated and improved 'Halo' is, in theory, more 'comprehensive' and 'advanced' than the Forerunner original.
The Forerunner Halo is more like a 'reset' button pressed in despair. Our version tends more toward a 'scalpel' with a tunable frequency—precisely excising the 'lesion.'
You guessed right—it does have the capacity for targeted elimination of specific lifeforms. We still need some real-world data to finalize calibration and validate its extreme parameters."
Her tone brimmed with confidence in her creation, while hinting that this operation would serve dual purposes: combat application and scientific research.
The lift continued upward, nearing that man-made "new continent."
Just before breaking through the final structural layer to reach the ring's inner "surface," Sui Meng's keen gaze swept the silent Spartans standing not far away.
His eyes lingered for a beat on one set of Mjolnir armor. On the left of its chest plate, a white stencil stood out clearly—
That, presumably, was the famed Spartan of the Imperial contingent—Spartan-117, John—renowned for wringing victory from countless dead ends and for his almost legendary luck.
Sui Meng took note but did not dwell.
To him, John was a warrior deserving respect, but his attention was more on his exchange with Halsey—and on the Device itself.
Ding—
A soft tone sounded as the lift arrived.
The hatch slid open without a sound, and a rush of fresh air—grasses, moist earth, and a faint floral scent—washed in alongside natural light, bringing a sudden clarity of spirit.
Before them spread a vast, vibrant temperate grassland.
"Sunlight" from the ring's central lighting matrix poured down. Blades of grass swayed gently in the breeze, shimmering in green waves.
In the distance, herds of herbivores like deer or antelope wandered at leisure, and, farther off at the horizon, the outline of forests showed faintly.
In the sky were not only simulated clouds, but also birds with bright plumage wheeling freely, filling the air with crisp song.
The ecosystem felt so real and complete it was easy to forget they stood inside a colossal man-made celestial body.
Farther out, at the grassland's end near the ring's curved horizon, stood a sizable township.
Buildings were laid out with measured grace, their style blending practicality with the Empire's austere aesthetics. Towers for comms and energy channeling rose at the highest points.
That was one of Grand Device 01's principal garrisons and living zones.
By Halsey's offhand note, this settlement and several similar sites on the ring together housed about four million people.
They included Imperial troops for maintenance and defense, technical personnel conducting various research programs, administrative staff managing ring operations, and accompanying families.
Inside the town, schools, hospitals, shopping streets, and entertainment facilities were all present—a fully functional, vibrant miniature city no different from any Imperial city.
They did not stop, heading straight for an open-air platform beside the lift.
A large maglev railcar—designed for engineering transport and rapid personnel movement—was already waiting.
It had no enclosed cars, only sturdy railings and a canopy, seemingly meant to let passengers enjoy the views along the way.
They boarded, and with a barely audible hum, the train glided along tracks through the grassland, speeding smoothly toward the settlement.
On the way, Sui Meng couldn't help looking up at the "sky."
It was not a blue sky in the usual sense, but the ring's opposite inner wall.
Due to the ring's "curvature," he could clearly see what lay in the far "overhead" across the ring—
a swath of deep "ocean," edged in bands of golden "desert," with even the outlines of long "mountain" ranges and cottony "clouds."
The uncanny sight seemed to splice two different worlds into the same field of view in defiance of reason—full of surreal grandeur and "strangeness."
He knew of the Halo's existence and had read the technical briefs on the Empire's replicated Grand Device in detail, but theory was nothing like standing upon it in person.
The magnitude and oddity beyond imagining drew a silent sigh even from a well-traveled genetic Primarch.
The technology and energy required to create and sustain such a world were staggering.
Noticing Sui Meng gazing up, a little lost, Halsey teased:
"Well, child? Knocked your breath away? When this consolidation war wraps up, want to come back with me to Universe 08 (Halo) and have a look? There are a great many Forerunner sites we still haven't fully cracked waiting to be explored. I promise they're even more interesting than this."
Being addressed directly as "child," Sui Meng felt not the least offense—rather, it seemed more natural, fitting their special kinship.
But he politely declined the invitation, shaking his head with a hint of helplessness:
"Doctor, please don't tease me. Legion affairs are many. I fear I cannot get away."
"Hahahaha~."
Seeing that rare mix of embarrassment and resolve on Sui Meng's stern face, Halsey looked as though she'd seen something delightful. She laughed heartily again.
Her infectious laugh rang out unrestrained across the ring's open prairie, startling a few colorful seed-pecking birds nearby.
"You really are adorably serious sometimes, child."
She chuckled and shook her head, her tone rich with an elder's teasing affection.
The maglev continued its silent sprint at high speed. In short order, the neatly planned, high-rising settlement came into crisp view.
The train did not go to the surface living area. Near the settlement's edge, it smoothly diverted into a broad entrance marked clearly and sloped underground.
The light dimmed at once, then was replaced by the tunnel's evenly spaced illumination.
After a short stretch—like drilling through a thick mountain—the train pulled into a vast underground transit hub steeped in futuristic tech.
It was bright as day. Under the soaring vault, mirror-smooth alloy walls reflected an icy gleam.
The air "hummed" softly with machinery in motion.
Holo wayfinding panels hovered everywhere, their icons and text pointing the way.
Clone soldiers in standardized armor patrolled set routes. The ocular sensors on their helmets gleamed dim red as they scanned the surroundings with vigilance.
Led by Halsey, they disembarked in order and transferred to more agile internal transports waiting by the platform.
These too used maglev tech, gliding down reserved corridors toward deeper, more central zones without a sound.
Heavy doors marked with different functional areas flicked past on both sides—emphasizing the site's high secrecy and importance.
Soon, the convoy reached its destination—
the ring's main control center, at the fortified core deep beneath Grand Device 01.
The control center's interior was vast, the vertical clearance astonishing, as if a small "metal mountain" had been hollowed out for it.
The ring-shaped layout made the central area stand out, with several tiers of stepped platforms rising from low to high around it.
More than a hundred technicians in uniforms of various colors worked in intense focus at consoles awash in complex data and graphical interfaces. Low murmurs and the hum of systems formed the ambient chorus.
Most striking was the enormous main screen spanning the curved front wall, divided into multiple panes showing a live structural cutaway of the ring, energy-flow data like coursing "veins," and a detailed star map of the external Dead Space universe—with Earth and Shengdun 7's orbits highlighted.
At the center stood a gigantic, circular master console, its surface dense with touch interfaces and physical ports, glowing with a faint blue backlight—the command and control heart of the entire ring.
Halsey moved through with the ease of one at home, stepping straight to the master ring console. Raising both hands, she traced a few seemingly casual motions in the air.
At once, several translucent hard-light holoscreens sprang to life, floating before her as if alive.
Multiple live monitoring feeds flipped into view on the displays.
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