The Holy Artifact

Below the holographic image of the Holy Artifact was a passage explaining its origins.

As they read the text, the once elusive mysteries began to unravel, revealing a glimpse behind the veil of secrecy.

The discovery of the Holy Artifact originated from a war between humans and the divine beings.

It was a rare victory for humans in the early stages of their conflict with the divine beings. After winning, humans occupied a planet base of the divine beings and discovered their sacred temple.

Inside the temple, humans found that the divine beings worshipped not some abstract deity, but rather a peculiar crystal with unique energies, which they termed the Holy Artifact.

It was said that the psychic powers of the divine beings stemmed from the Holy Artifact.

No one knew exactly how the Holy Artifact existed, only that it held immense secrets.

It was the source of power for the divine beings!

Humans brought the Holy Artifact back and began over two hundred years of research. The Federal Government hoped to break human limitations by harnessing and utilizing the power of the Holy Artifact, aspiring to become as powerful as the divine beings.

Thus, the Dawn Project was born.

However, the Federal Government's efforts to develop the Holy Artifact were met with challenges. They found that although the Holy Artifact possessed powerful abilities to alter the human body, controlling this power proved immensely difficult. Human soldiers exposed to the energy of the Holy Artifact often became crazed, losing their sanity, and sometimes even dying.

Despite the Federal Government's efforts, they struggled to resolve this issue. Over the past two centuries, they conducted tens of thousands of experiments, with a failure rate exceeding ninety-five percent. Less than five percent of individuals successfully passed the tests, becoming superhuman soldiers, also known as the Ghost Corps.

Biohumans were one such attempt by the Federal Academy of Sciences to address this problem. Genetic modifications were employed to enhance resistance, significantly increasing the success rate of individuals undergoing transformation by the Holy Artifact. This explained why powerful beings like Belboga, the bear-man, possessed such strength; they underwent genetic modifications as well as exposure to the psychic radiation fragments and the Holy Artifact. However, the ferocity and uncontrollable nature of biohumans diminished their practical value, making them less useful than the Ghost Corps.

Furthermore, the energy of the Holy Artifact was not limitless.

After a period of use, its energy would be depleted, rendering it unable to transform anyone else.

This depletion was a significant reason for the slow progress of the Dawn Project. Without sufficient experimental resources, the Federal Academy of Sciences found itself in a dire situation.

Despite the Federal Government's efforts to acquire the Holy Artifact, it remained a challenge. Even in major battles, obtaining a piece was uncertain; the divine beings guarded it zealously and would prioritize its removal if defeated.

Thus, acquiring the Holy Artifact proved exceedingly difficult.

The war with the divine beings gradually shifted from a contest for stellar resources to a quest for the Holy Artifact. Humans coveted the artifact and sought ways to seize it.

The Zero Target assigned to the Abrodi was one such operation aimed at acquiring the Holy Artifact.

During one operation, the Federal Government inadvertently discovered an ancient temple of the divine beings on a desolate planet. The temple emitted energy radiations of the Holy Artifact. To obtain it, the Federal Government dispatched the Abrodi and four other starship fleets to the abandoned planet, retrieving the artifact.

This daring mission was led by Captain Jeram, who selected elite soldiers for the task. They successfully located the Holy Artifact, sparking the attention of both the divine beings and the Yark race. After a fierce battle, the Abrodi managed to bring back the Holy Artifact.

What followed was well known to all.

The retrieved Holy Artifact lost all its energy, but inexplicable mutations occurred in the soldiers of the Abrodi.

This development left the scientists at the Academy utterly bewildered.

Despite their relentless pursuit of utilizing the Holy Artifact to create more powerful warriors, something they couldn't achieve in over two hundred years, somehow manifested in the soldiers of the Abrodi!

One Holy Artifact created over three thousand superhuman soldiers, surpassing the Ghost Corps created through the sacrifice of countless resources and lives by the Federal Government over two centuries!

The scientists at the Federal Academy were driven to madness.

However, no matter how they interrogated the soldiers, they couldn't provide answers.

They didn't know why this happened.

The Federal Academy, desperate for answers, eventually lost patience. They began conducting forced experiments, determined to uncover the truth...

"So that's how it is," Sarah murmured after reading the information.

Although she was a genetic expert at Edward Hospital, she wasn't aware of the background of some individuals until now.

Glancing back, Sarah noticed Reno and Claire's strange expressions, as if lost in thought.

Her heart skipped a beat. "You know the truth about what happened on the Abrodi, don't you?"

After a moment of hesitation, Reno replied, "I can't be sure."

"What?" Sarah was puzzled.

"I can't be sure if what happened on the Abrodi is related to the Holy Artifact we're seeking answers about," Reno answered without looking back.

"What exactly happened?" Sarah pressed.

Reno shook his head.

He didn't answer, and at that moment, the second data storage device finished decoding.

Reno retrieved both storage devices and left the chamber without a word.

Sarah followed, shouting, "Johnny Reno, you have an obligation to tell me immediately about what happened on the Abrodi. It will help us understand the secrets of the Holy Artifact, which affects the future of all humanity!"

"Sorry, but unless I confirm it's related to the Holy Artifact, I won't tell you anything," Reno replied without turning back.

"Why?" Sarah demanded.

"No why. I'm the captain of this starship, and it's my decision. You just need to follow orders," Reno replied, still not looking back.

"But the secrets you're hiding could determine the fate of all humanity!" Sarah shouted.

Reno stopped in his tracks.

He turned to look at Sarah. "The fate of all humanity? Sorry, I don't know of anything that concerns the fate of all humanity. Are you talking about ascension? Give it a rest, Sarah. How many Holy Artifacts could there possibly be in the universe? Maybe just a few. Even if one Holy Artifact can create three thousand superhuman soldiers, what does that matter compared to the entire human society? It's negligible. So forget it, Miss Sarah. This has nothing to do with human society at all. It's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard."

Sarah stood there, stunned.

She hadn't expected Reno's response. She was at a loss for words for a moment.

Glancing at her, Reno turned and walked away.

Back in the command hall, his deputy approached him and handed him a document. "Sir, this is the list of equipment hazards. Mr. Palmer also sent a procurement list, suggesting we should jump for the second round of major repairs on the starship."

"Got it," Reno replied, returning to his seat. He inserted the second decoded storage device into the optical brain. Due to Sarah's interruption, he hadn't had a chance to review the contents of the second device.

To his surprise, the second device contained a letter.

The sender was Phil Barlot, the CEO of Barlot Mining Group, and the recipient was Dr. Fernando, the head of the Milky

 Way Research Institute.

Coincidentally, the previous storage device contained information about the Milky Way Research Institute, located on Star Four of the Milky Way. Its primary responsibility was the research of the Holy Artifact itself. The abandoned Holy Artifact, Zero Target, retrieved by the Abrodi, was currently located on Star Four.

A mining magnate writing to the head of a research institute, relayed through the director of Edward Hospital, piqued Reno's keen interest.