Chương 134: Chapter 133: The Central Holy See, and a Sacred Relic With a Reset Button

A formal parley negotiated by Eleanor had turned the fleet blockade into a supervised audience aboard the Central Holy See's floating grand hall, a white-marble fortress hovering above Aureum Bay. Inside the sanctuary, thousands of flickering white candles filled the air with incense, lighting up two honor-guard rows of six-winged silver angel statues.

On the highest altar, sealed inside a quartz display case bound by dozens of magical chain-locks, sat the Primordial Relic — the church's supreme treasure, guarded and sealed for nine thousand years. Evelyn stood in front of the case, squinting through the four-inch-thick crystal. She scratched her head and muttered, in English:"That's a hardware security key."

It was a rectangular block of metal, finger-length, cast from a matte black alloy, with a gold-plated optical port on one end, and a tiny pinhole in one corner. At the far end of the hall sat the High Pontiff, the appointed custodian of the Holy See's surviving network credentials.

"No mortal is permitted to touch the Primordial Relic! This is sacred proof that the Holy See holds supreme mandate from the Divine Realm to govern the order of the world!" Evelyn crossed her arms and pointed a finger at the lower corner of the metal block.

"It's got a reset hole. You'd need a toothpick to press it." The grand hall went dead silent. The High Pontiff froze, composure cracking.

"You— you cannot blaspheme against the sacred artifact—""And it looks like somebody wrote the default recovery password on the back in permanent marker," Evelyn added, tilting her head to peer through the glass with her loupe. Lucian stood beside her, hands clasped behind his back, asking idly.

"password123?" Evelyn adjusted the angle of her magical telescope lens.

"... Close. It says admin_recovery_01." Ting! The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation. The Unified System V2. 0 panel appeared: [COMPATIBLE DEVICE PROTOCOL DETECTED!] Hardware classification: Security Authentication Token Certificate authority: Root Network Encryption integrity: 98.

2% intact [PRACTICAL COMBAT APPLICATION:] Assessment: ABSOLUTE ZERO (Cannot be used as a weapon to stab people) The High Pontiff stared at the security key, then turned to Lucian, voice trembling.

"Young man... this sacred relic... how much true power does it really hold?" Lucian took a sip from his water bottle, answering flatly.

"None. For nine thousand years, you people have been building temples to protect a login USB stick." Sylvia, standing beside him, quickly elbowed him in the ribs.

"Don't say that so loudly."

"I'm here to request temporary technical access to authenticate one route. Not sovereignty, not your treasury, and not your collection of dramatic hats." Sylvia stepped forward, the hem of her deep blue dress sweeping lightly across the red carpet. She pressed a hand to her chest and bowed to the High Pontiff with proper diplomatic form.

"That is an unusually specific denial," the High Pontiff said. Lucian glanced sideways at her.

"Nice line." Sylvia didn't turn her head, just smiled.

"I know." The Holy See would lend the Root Certificate for seven days under joint supervision. The certificate would remain sealed in an insured carrier whenever it was not connected to an approved console. Ownership and custody remained with the Holy See. Vance Commerce accepted liability for loss or damage during the loan period. The High Pontiff looked at the three-page contract, then at the calm, composed poise of the ten-year-old in front of him.

He let out a long, shaking breath and signed with a trembling hand.

"Thank you... for the Administrator's mercy and generosity." Lucian folded the contract and tucked it away.

"There's no mercy here. Cross-ocean copyright litigation is expensive." Click. The quartz case opened. Evelyn carefully picked up the black security key and plugged it straight into the relay port on her magitech tablet. The crystal screen burst to life with a stream of bright green data. [ROOT CERTIFICATE AUTHENTICATION SUCCESSFUL!] [ACCESSING ROUTE METADATA ONLY.] Evelyn swiped a finger across the screen, opening the most recent communication log. Her pupils suddenly contracted hard behind her glasses.

A newly received packet notification appeared clearly on the crystal display: [INCOMING PACKET: ROOT SERVER MAINTENANCE PING] Source: SECTOR 00 — SEOUL / TERMINAL_04 Timestamp: 14 DAYS AGO! Fourteen days ago. Not ten thousand years ago. Not some fossilized relic from the Ice Age. Evelyn stood frozen at the console, both hands shaking. She turned to Lucian, her voice catching in her throat.

"Lucian... it's still sending regular pings..." She took a deep breath.

"At minimum, a live Earth terminal is still answering. We don't know whether a person is behind it." Lucian stood quietly, staring at the glowing timestamp on the screen. Ting! A red error notification popped up from the System: [REMOTE TRANSIT COMMAND: DENIED.] [MANDATORY REQUIREMENT: PHYSICAL AUTHENTICATION AT THE FLOOR 50 WORLD TOWER CONSOLE!] Lucian crossed his arms, read the red text, and let out a long, helpless sigh.

"So... we crossed an entire storm-wracked ocean just to find out we have to turn around and go all the way back to that elevator on Floor Fifty?!" Evelyn resealed the security key in the Holy See's insured carrier and turned to him with a smirk.

"Welcome to the world of networking, finance boy."