Lin Xiaohe’s pupils suddenly dilated, her heart raced, and it felt as if the whole world had brightened in an instant.
Inside the Atlas Grand Hotel, the wall-spanning painting and the ten-meter-tall mountain of gifts—this memory seemed to have been wiped clean of dust, becoming vivid and clear once more.
Lin Xiaohe stared blankly at the silent painting, momentarily at a loss for how to react.
It felt like no matter what she said, it wouldn’t match the scene before her.
Yes. This was the road she had come by.
A faint, self-mocking smile touched the corner of Lin Xiaohe’s lips.
Back then, she had poured her heart and soul into it, forcing her way from the Sixth Star Ring all the way into the First Star Ring.
And now, she had to retrace that path, fighting her way back from the First Ring to the Sixth Ring, punching her way right out of the Federation.
Determination hardened in Lin Xiaohe’s eyes once more. If the world was wrong, then she would change the world. If the heavens themselves were wrong, then she would pierce right through the sky!
The universe was too vast. There was not only the Federation and the Empire, but countless alien lifeforms out there.
She refused to believe she couldn’t carve out her own place under the stars!
“Let’s go.” Lin Xiaohe’s steps were resolute. Under the watch of hundreds of ships, she led the Hummingbird out of the Fifth Star Ring and officially stepped into the jurisdiction of the Sixth Star Ring.
Only when their departing silhouettes could no longer be seen did the fleet gradually disperse, each ship returning to its own home planet.
Once inside the Sixth Star Ring, the concentration of Stardust drifting in space surged dramatically.
Lin Xiaohe wrapped every ship in a yellow protective shield.
Seeing this, Thunderbolt’s jaw dropped. He blurted out, “Xiaohe, did your skill just upgrade again?”
“Mhm.”
Lin Xiaohe’s heart was filled with many doubts. She would have to wait until she found a safe place before she could slowly untangle them all.
For example, why had her Plant Summoner system crashed? Why had Tian Tian’s skills changed?
Right now, every kernel of corn she produced could become a protective shield. Even if the defensive power couldn’t match the full version, it was good enough.
Why did skills that originally cost Star Coins or Skill Points now only require drawing energy from her own body to activate?
And what exactly were these mysterious energies so prevalent in the vast cosmos?
Lin Xiaohe felt that with this merging and evolution of her body, she might have just touched the first mysterious veil of the universe.
But the present situation didn’t leave her much time for pondering.
After stepping into the Sixth Star Ring, every time they passed a star system, anywhere from three or four to as many as forty or fifty civilian ships would join them. Flashing the characters for “Party Leader,” they merged into Lin Xiaohe’s fleet like swallows returning to the nest.
When the fleet was about to pass Wasteland Star 7, Lin Xiaohe ran into familiar faces once again.
“Party Leader, I’ve come!” Wesley was beside himself with excitement, pushing his civilian ship to the speed of an assault cruiser.
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes widened. “What are you doing, rushing over to join this chaos?”
With Melina around, Wesley’s future was a clear, smooth road ahead. Had his brain filled with water?!
Wesley just laughed. “I swore an oath under the Star Grain Party flag. I vowed to remain forever loyal to you.”
Afraid of being sent away, Wesley eagerly gave a full report of his work: “Over 8 billion in collateral funds have all been converted into supplies. A small portion is stored with Lin Ye, one third is on Wasteland Star 7, and the remaining half is stored away in the black market.”
Those despicable merchants knew the Star Grain Party was desperate to spend money on supplies. They refused to offer even the smallest discount, and on top of that, demanded the Party cover its own shipping costs.
Worried about robbery, Wesley had simply spent one billion to hire the Black Market’s Mantis Legion to guard the supplies.
The Mantis Legion’s fees were high, but they had strong contractual integrity. They wouldn’t betray a client and steal the goods.
Following behind Wesley’s ship were twenty unmanned cargo vessels, all packed to the brim with supplies.
Wesley was utterly nervous. He licked his lips and said dryly, “Over two-thirds of the Star Grain Party members want to follow you all the way. The remaining members, due to various reasons, couldn’t make it in time. I’ve instructed them to go dormant and lie low within the Federation.”
Looking at the long list of supplies and the roster of Star Grain Party members Wesley had sent over, Lin Xiaohe felt the world spin before her eyes. She knew the terror of being buried in minutiae that a corporate drone feels all too well.
Lin Xiaohe could farm, and she could fight, but she really didn’t want to be buried under all this tedious administrative work. Fortunately, there was Wesley.
She believed Wesley would definitely handle everything in perfect order.
The vast, mighty fleet swept past Wasteland Star 7 and came to a halt at the edge of the Black Market.
The Black Market was located at the intersection of the Federation, the Empire, and the Black Domain. All kinds of people and creatures gathered here.
Both the Federation and the Empire tacitly acknowledged the Black Market’s existence, using it as a buffer zone between them.
Merchant ships came and went frequently here, and the spaceport’s daily cargo throughput was enormous.
But right at this moment, the normally bustling Black Market spaceport was dead silent.
The silent, dark cosmos seemed to be brewing a giant beast, ready to swallow Lin Xiaohe’s fleet whole.
A ship marked with the words “Federation Security Department Special Operations Unit” lifted off from the Black Market spaceport.
As its lights blazed fully on, everyone finally saw clearly what that hidden monster was.
The previously quiet Stardust belt suddenly boiled. Countless twisted, semi-transparent forms condensed and appeared within the drifting nebular dust.
These creatures, looking like little jellyfish, flickered with eerie Stardust light—sickly green, dark purple, or morbid pink. They silently filled all the shipping lanes.
They had no roaring engines, only a chilling, hair-raising silent glide.
Everyone braced for a deadly confrontation.
Wesley recognized them at a glance. These creatures were Stardust-mutated jellyfish. “Party Leader, watch out! It’s Andrei’s Stardust Mutant Creature Manipulator squad!”
Sitting in the main seat of the ship’s passenger cabin, Andrei narrowed his eyes. A dangerous, dark glint flashed deep within his gaze. His voice was slightly hoarse as he spoke: “Go, my little darlings! Use the blood of our enemies to show the Federation who the most powerful beings in the universe truly are!”
…
First Star Ring, inside the premium VIP ward of Tigray Star’s First Central Hospital, Chu Huaizhi lay inside a repair pod filled with green liquid. His eyes were tightly shut, his brow deeply furrowed, as if enduring endless agony.
Cassian was only allowed into the ward after his identity was verified through multiple layers of clearance.
Inside the ward sat a man nearly three meters tall, his muscles as hard and solid as rock.
His gaze was fixed on the repair pod, not leaving it for a single second.
Cassian sat down beside him. “How is Chu Huaizhi? What do the doctors say?”
“His physical constitution has dropped to C-class. His mental energy is practically depleted.”
The good news was, Chu Huaizhi wouldn’t be blown apart by his own rampaging mental energy.
The bad news: Chu Huaizhi might become an imbecile, or even slip into a vegetative state.
Cassian rubbed his throbbing temples. His face was scruffy with stubble, the skin beneath his eyes bruised with dark circles. “That’s truly an unfortunate piece of good news.”
The man’s face was dark and grim, his eyes radiating a fierce light. “Cassian, we are still alive, not dead. Regarding what happened to the boss, don’t you think you all owe us an explanation? If you are incapable of taking down the real culprit, we wouldn’t mind doing it ourselves.”
Cassian met the man’s fierce glare head-on and spoke with sincerity. “Chu Huaizhi is a dear friend of mine. My concern for him is no less than anyone else’s here. I swear on my personal honor, Lin Xiaohe absolutely did not poison him.”
“Then who did it?”
Cassian was at a loss for words.
“I’m giving you just two years. If the boss still hasn’t woken up within two years, we will come to claim justice ourselves.”
