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墨書 Inktalez
Just when Miao Chengmin thought she could execute Virgil, something strange happened to his body. Miao Chengmin felt increasingly uneasy; although she had her hands around Virgil's neck, he was slowly rising into the air, his pale eyes glowing with an intense brightness. With a powerful shove, he pushed her hand away.
"What...?"
Miao Chengmin was startled, but at that moment, Virgil was already towering over her, glaring down with a ferocity that was almost overwhelming. He slammed his forehead against Miao Chengmin's face with tremendous force. Her head was driven into the ground as he rapidly descended, ultimately being flung back towards the Zombie Horde, who were still reeling from the shock.
"Do you know why I threw you back?" Virgil hovered in the air, watching Miao Chengmin scramble to her feet. His voice was heavy with suppressed rage, as if it could explode at any moment. "Because this way, I can save a lot of time dealing with you."
Before he finished speaking, a black spherical wave surged towards them, igniting panic in their expressions!
At that very moment, a swirling void opened behind the zombies. Miao Chengmin felt an immense pull dragging her backward as all the zombies began to retreat, sucked into the Time Portal. The spherical wave detonated right at Miao Chengmin's feet, the blast sending her flying backward. As she soared through the air, she quickly conjured a Chaos Barrier to shield herself from the shockwave that threatened to engulf the other zombies.
Miao Chengmin had no idea what was happening but guessed that it must be the Chaos Crystals aiding them. The fastest way to escape with all the zombies was through this portal.
Virgil's energy sphere came crashing toward her again; this explosion generated even more energy than before, enough to scrape Miao Chengmin's knees against the ground. Yet she still couldn't fully counteract the tremendous force. Through the transparent barrier created by the blast, she noticed that Virgil had already dived downwards, seemingly turning his entire body into a projectile aimed directly at her barrier!
"Not a single one of you will escape!"
Miao Chengmin wasn't intimidated by Virgil's threat. At the moment of impending collision, she retracted her Chaos Barrier. If he shattered it, she would undoubtedly be caught in the fallout—there was no time left for her to retreat. If she remained here, she would have to fight Virgil to the death; having just gained Chaos Power, she had no confidence in defeating him. Acting almost on instinct, Miao Chengmin executed a perfect sidestep to evade Virgil's charge! In that instant he landed, she seized his arm and swung him around! Virgil had no idea what hit him as Miao Chengmin hurled him into the air. The strength of a zombie combined with Virgil's own momentum created a gap of forty or fifty feet between them!
The entire counterattack unfolded seamlessly and even had an element of grace to it. This series of nearly flawless movements allowed Miao Chengmin to conceive and execute her plan within about a second while facing an enemy descending from above!
This fluid response left Miao Chengmin herself momentarily stunned; it wasn't until she heard Virgil crash to the ground that she turned around and realized she was the only one left behind—the other zombies were anxiously waiting on the other side of the Time Portal. Without hesitation, Miao Chengmin leaped into it. To everyone's surprise, the Time Portal closed immediately after her entry; it was clear it had been waiting for her.
Miao Chengmin wasn't mistaken; this Time Portal had indeed been opened by the Chaos Crystals. "Chaos Crystals are alive," was once again confirmed.
Virgil stood up and gazed at the empty grassland ahead. The Chaos Crystals were still in their possession; fury surged within him but then subsided as he reflected on his newfound strength—powerful enough to leave humanity in awe. Moreover, fulfilling his ambitions was merely a matter of time; today they had managed to escape by luck, but there would inevitably be another confrontation in the future—they could never truly escape.
Virgil forced his rage deep inside himself, transforming it into a long sigh that escaped into Earth's atmosphere.
Kerse Internal Human Colony Ship, The First Star Domain, 740,000 Light Years from Sun System
This colony ship had been traversing this star domain at light speed for many days now, yet it seemed still far from its destination. Due to a lack of fusion control rods for extracting String Energy within the ship’s machinery, Kser—being one of the most prestigious and longest-serving colony ships among Internal Humans—had not achieved even one Water Skimming Warp since returning from battling Ban Sa in Divine Realm back to The First Star Domain.
Water Drift-style interstellar travel was currently the only advanced cosmic navigation technology mastered and widely applied by Lunar Civilization. This technology originated from Nars—the leader of Inner Beings—who personally approved and spearheaded the Forbidden Zone project.
To permanently expel Ban Sa from the Moon, Nars' father and subordinates unanimously decided to mobilize all available personnel in interstellar research before Ban Sa returned to Sun System and establish a comprehensive spatial strategic defense system around Koibo. To achieve this goal, shortening transportation time to reach construction areas in space became crucial for efficiency. Traditional energy propulsion starships could barely reach five percent of light speed and were unlikely to complete tasks within expected deadlines. Thus two new conceptual navigations still in theoretical stages came into focus: widely recognized spatial curvature drive and another often dismissed as fanciful—Water Drift-style jump drive. However, as research progressed further, Nars' father first recognized an issue: curvature size stemmed from energy density or concentration present in space itself; according to their perspective, energy existed everywhere in space and known energy originated from particle movement—even if not absolute vacuum—there weren't many physical particles present; yet some areas exhibited energy concentrations beyond Inner Beings' theoretical analyses.
In Moon People's current cosmology, vacuum contained no detectable particles. Since electricity and magnetism constituted detectable particles, why could electromagnetic waves propagate without detectable particles in vacuum? Why did energy exist in vacuum? If vacuum truly lacked energy then disregarding all celestial bodies would lead to an absolute plane where curvature equaled zero everywhere—but points leading into four-dimensional spacetime contradicted this conclusion’s absurdity.
Thus vacuum must contain energy. As this massive intellectual upheaval spread among researchers causing ideological rifts led to halting curvature space drive studies; fundamentally because they couldn't find effective energy sources for driving curvature changes led to suspension of research efforts on “What kind of energy is this?” With theoretical frameworks and technological applications for anti-space gradually maturing Nars' father categorized this as "dark force"—dark energy—and officially named it String Energy.
String Energy—a type of energy produced by quantum string vibrations within fundamental particles—was classified into four ranges based on observability: first two ranges pointed towards microscopic domains roughly correlating with strong and weak interaction forces’ origins; while latter two pointed towards macroscopic domains forming grand mechanical systems constituting reality itself.
The discovery of String Energy rendered Water Drift-style jump drive theoretically feasible. When proposed initially Water Drift-style jump drive aimed at inducing basic particle-level oscillations across all particles within a certain range—including those making up ship hulls—to create resonance; however no controllable energy existed within known physics capable of initiating such oscillations until String Energy filled that gap perfectly. This minuscule resonance wouldn’t affect macroscopic objects’ physical properties but would induce quantum internal string oscillations across selected spaces. Cosmic spaces must contain regions where spatial curvature equaled each other; thus there must exist ranges with frequencies closely matching those areas where string oscillations would resonate across dozens of light-years leading ultimately like synchronized hoofbeats shattering bridges beneath them—the connected cosmic spaces would no longer restrict traversal conditions; three-dimensional bridges would be temporarily obliterated allowing ships entry into other dimensions—Time would cease measuring their passage instead becoming a broader concept altogether meaning they traveled along alternate routes using different measures of Time. Upon reaching those areas stopping string oscillations would allow return back into original dimensions.
“String Energy... primarily captured and utilized throughout universe; Inner Beings are indeed clever especially Nars’ family... too bad they possess such technology yet remain content farming on this small planet.”
Blue-green algae-like substance grew visibly above Ban Sa’s head forming what resembled a brain shape. Ban Sa sat cross-legged mid-air in deep meditation with hands cradling a sphere resting before his abdomen as if holding onto a burning candle stub whose rising smoke was absorbed by his blue-green algae brain overhead.
“Your Majesty, emergency training for new recruits is complete; please review,” Azores emerged from nearby doorway bowing respectfully before Emperor Ban Sa.
Ban Sa stood up: “Lead me there.”
“Um... no need.”
“Hmm?”
Ban Sa looked up at Azores.
Azores panicked not knowing how to respond shouted urgently: “Come inside quickly!”
Immediately after that a squadron of soldiers marched in step entering before their Emperor Ban Sa standing at attention.
"Your Majesty!" the soldiers shouted in unison, then bowed deeply in respect.
Beneath the mask of Ban Sa, his expression remained impassive as he observed them. The soldiers felt a chill run down their spines, and one in the front row suddenly shivered. The soldier next to him quickly nudged him, clearly worried that Ban Sa had noticed.
However, Ban Sa acted as if he had seen nothing, standing tall and looking down at the ranks of soldiers. He approached the trembling soldier and patted him on the shoulder, saying, "Well done. You are all qualified Kumul warriors. The great journey ahead requires you to expand for me."
Ban Sa turned to Azores and said, "Take them into the ranks. I don't need to oversee their training; it seems satisfactory."
"Uh..." Azores was at a loss for words. "But we were all... Alright, I'll take them into the ranks right away."
Originally, they had planned for Emperor Ban Sa to review the troops, with soldiers performing a combat dance before him. But how could Emperor Ban Sa not understand martial arts? If something went wrong during their performance and displeased him, Azores did not have the courage to face the consequences. He wasn't worried about the soldiers' lives; rather, he lamented his own efforts. People could be replaced, but his energy was limited.
Azores understood well that the Emperor's lack of interest was not due to trust but rather indifference; if someone else could handle it, he would let them. If that failed, he would step in himself. This was similar to Azores himself—despite being a deity, even he had limited energy. If the soldiers could handle it themselves, there would be no need for him to intervene personally.
In other words, he had not taken the mission to infiltrate Earth and seize the Life Crystals to heart; it was merely a minor episode in his grand journey.
The bridge was now empty except for Ban Sa, who paced back and forth. Suddenly stopping, he turned toward his seat and input several runes into the backrest.
Then, the ground beneath the throne split apart, revealing a circular platform upon which lay the Life Crystals seized from the Stone Giant Clan. Facing the Creator Deity, Ban Sa was cautious as he retrieved his Tear Star battle axe from behind him and used its blade to lift one of the crystals for closer inspection.
As expected, the Life Crystals began to emit a dazzling light and radiated intense heat as if enraged. The temperature was high enough to melt steel, yet it remained unharmed on the blade of Ban Sa's Tear Star battle axe.
The Tear Star battle axe was made from an aerogel-like nuclear food substance with a density that instilled fear; its physical properties allowed it to disdain any material in the universe.
"You are merely a stone," Ban Sa said dismissively as he slowly retracted his fist before the Life Crystals. "Even as a deity, you are only fit to be my possession."
"Tear Star is a supernatural life form I created in the Divine Realm... like you. When it stands against your wrath, do you feel any surprise? You are stone; I cannot fathom you either," he continued.
Bending down while maintaining a distance of about a foot from the Life Crystals, Ban Sa leveled his gaze at them: "Perhaps even you did not expect that in the universe's Dimension of the Cradle of Life, there exist great beings capable of creating gods like you—supernatural life forms are truly marvelous."
"My ambition is so powerful that even nuclear food weapons bow before me. I wonder when will the Goddess of Life deign to assist me?"
Ban Sa felt satisfied with his pet's silence and couldn't help but reach out toward the Life Crystals. Suddenly! The Life Crystals erupted with a powerful wave of energy like an unannounced storm; everything in the room fell to the ground as energy ripples flickered through the lights like desperate struggles before fading away. The Life Crystals crackled on the back of his axe, emitting rapid echoes from within.
"Brave indeed," Ban Sa said nonchalantly after regaining his balance. "No worries; once I reach the demon realm, you and your beloved will finally be reunited. How many billions of years has it been since you've seen each other?"
To his surprise, the Life Crystals fell silent and ceased their strange humming.
Ban Sa lifted his giant axe and poured the Life Crystals onto the circular platform as if pouring vegetables. As soon as they were placed down, a purple suppression array immediately rose up and sealed them away.
"The ship is accelerating downward; all crew members prepare accordingly. Intelligence personnel please return to cryogenic chambers by number. Command center acknowledges; phase two devices are ready. Direction requests will be sent once anti-gravity engines reach activation thresholds; pilots please ensure protective measures are in place. End transmission."
"Command center received; end transmission."
As those words concluded on the bridge, Ban Sa just managed to retract the circular platform. He looked at the large screen on the bridge where Kerse Colony Ship had already aligned with supply station N193 for Cosmic Energy.
Azores entered the command room and activated the system switch while calling out: "All logistics personnel assemble immediately at the retractable ladder entrance. We need to replenish over seventy percent of our energy reserves for future long-distance flights."
Then he carefully transmitted an image message to Emperor Ban Sa and asked cautiously: "Your Majesty, there has been an increase in energy costs for capturing String Energy resonators... should we proceed according to our original budget?"
"Try to negotiate for the lowest price possible; if that fails, use any means necessary."
"Your Majesty," Azores advised cautiously, "this is the largest energy trading hub in the First Star Domain; its status is too high for us to act against it easily. If we resort to violence, it may provoke an energy blockade from the Star Domain Alliance against us."
"Their status is indeed significant..."
"Then do as you see fit; I trust you." Ban Sa twisted his wrist slightly as if still wary from earlier's outburst from the Life Crystals. "Also, I want your real-time visuals; if anything happens, I need to intervene."
Azores felt a sudden shock: "My honor, Your Majesty."
Even when it came to war, the Emperor would consider whether to take action personally. But why was he suddenly so alert during what seemed like an ordinary resupply in the middle of a star voyage? Azores was unsure. As he turned around and put on his isolation suit, he suddenly remembered that the soul of the station master here had once been reincarnated from the Demon Realm.
Azores was actually quite familiar with this station master.
Back during the Lunar Civil War, he had led a colony ship through this area. Since there were no resources to exchange for energy here, he had planned to leave shortly after stopping. However, upon hearing that they were from the internal Human Fleet, which was renowned throughout the star domain, the station master personally came out to stop them and provided energy without charge.
This incident had always stayed in Azores's mind. Just recently, during a pickup mission, he had deliberately changed his route to circle back to the N193 supply station to see him and returned all the energy supplies he owed from their last encounter.
"Perhaps..."
But no matter how Azores thought about it, he felt it was unlikely. He had always wondered why Trick had been so enthusiastic about refueling his battleship back then.
The hatch opened, and all the logistics personnel disembarked, heading toward the supply station.
"Hey, our old friends are here!" The news spread quickly among those who saw their ship. Soon, the station master Trick learned of their arrival.
"Azores is here?" Trick immediately stood up, excitedly looking over the messenger's shoulder, thinking that Azores was right behind him. "I haven't seen a friend to chat with in ages!"
"Station Master, they just disembarked; if you wish..."
"Do I not wish? What kind of talk is that? I'm going out now!"
Trick immediately ran away from his seat, pushing through the sensor door and rushing outside—though he could have waited for the door to open on its own.
As soon as he stepped out of the command center of the supply station, he saw a group of people approaching in the distance.
"Azores!" Trick waved his hand and broke into a bright smile.
In the distance, Azores nodded vigorously, afraid that Trick might not see him. It wasn't that he didn't want to shout; he simply didn't dare to speak easily—Ban Sa was connected through holographic imaging and was watching everything happening before him in real-time.
The two locked eyes as they walked in together, seemingly with endless things to say. Trick certainly felt that way, but Azores was simply too nervous to speak up.
"Wow! Long time no see, old friend! How have you been? Have you been drifting through space? Let me tell you, there seem to be many major events happening in the universe lately—wars everywhere! It's making it hard for us at the supply station to get energy sources; prices have gone up again! But don't worry; hey hey, considering our friendship, I won't raise my prices..."
With his duck-like voice, Trick chattered non-stop as if he hadn't spoken in half a lifetime. Azores found it somewhat amusing; he wasn't sure whether to interrupt Trick. Then an idea came to him: why not just join in on his topic and gradually guide him towards discussing bargaining? Although Trick had said there would be no price increase, Azores knew that even if he felt fine about it, the Emperor's orders were absolute.
"Hey, what can you tell me about recent happenings in the Demon Realm? You were reincarnated from there; you should know something," Azores said as he draped an arm over Trick's shoulder. They chatted as they walked while their respective teams followed them. Little did Azores know that what he thought was casual conversation would turn out to be a turning point in the entire cosmic war situation.
"Are you silly? I was reincarnated from the Demon Realm, but I'm not there now; how would I know?" Trick looked up and thought hard for a moment. "Oh, but there is something I didn't share with you last time—uh, according to rumors from our previous Demon Realm sources, Chaos Crystals are no longer in the Demon Realm."
"What?!"
Azores found it hard to believe and trembled all over. He felt fear because it was he who had suggested to Emperor Ban Sa to go into the Demon Realm and seize the Chaos Crystals.
And Emperor Ban Sa was still watching everything here in real-time.
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