Lin Xiaohe felt herself being held in a gentle embrace. It was warm and comfortable, like a mother’s arms, like a spring breeze, like the morning sun—like everything good in the world. It was a deep, soothing comfort that seemed to emanate from the very core of her spirit, carrying with it a faint sense of familiarity.
She could clearly feel the white filaments piercing into her body, steadily siphoning away her energy and life force.
“Danger… danger…” she murmured.
But in such a blissful state, that warning felt as flimsy as the casual “I really need to lose weight” she used to mutter back on Earth—light, fleeting, utterly weightless.
Her logic screamed that she was in grave danger.
Her body and senses, however, whispered: What danger? Why not just relax and enjoy this?
The light in Number 741’s eyes faded completely. Her spiritual power had been drained dry, leaving behind nothing but an empty shell.
The Sui envoy leader, still holding her, began to change. The blue glow at the tips of his hair crept upward, spreading across his scalp, while fine root-like tendrils sprouted from the soles of his feet, burrowing into the planet below.
He pulled Number 741 tighter and tighter, his face twisting into a smile of pure, delirious joy: “Here you are—finally! That’s it, just hold on. Once we successfully fire the weapon, your civilization will be saved.”
His hair turned fully into translucent, ethereal blue, splitting into two strands that wrapped around Number 741’s hands, guiding them toward a red button.
Just a little more power, and then—press that button—and it would all be over.
Suddenly, his expression soured, as if catching an unpleasant smell. His lips curled downward, his eyes brimming with disgust.
Little Black was frantically gnawing at the thin vines coiling around her.
“AHHHH! You nasty thing! Let me go! Let Xiaohe go! I’ll bite you to death!”
The thin vines hesitated for a fraction of a second—then summoned even more vines to ensnare the red beetle tightly.
But that momentary pause was all Lin Xiaohe needed. She broke free from that hypnotic, frog-in-boiling-water state of bliss!
“Screw you! Playing dirty, are you?!” Lin Xiaohe knew she’d been played.
Why should she just hand over all the spiritual power she had worked so hard to cultivate—for free?!
With his disguise torn away, the Sui envoy leader dropped all pretense, revealing his true, monstrous form.
All around them, the once peaceful planet began to crack—craaack, craaack—like glass shattering.
Lin Xiaohe activated her True Sight. Wherever her spiritual sea swept across, the fragments dissolved into specks of starlight, scattering into the air.
The world returned to its true face.
It was a barren, lifeless planet—nothing but a single, massive, elongated cannon mouth aimed straight at the heavens.
Lin Xiaohe’s spiritual power was still trapped inside Number 741’s body, but now the body was stiff, withered, shriveled like a mummy.
The entire space was filled with white vine-filaments, glowing with a silvery light.
As if enraged, the white vines flexed slightly—and Number 741 crumbled like a brittle doll, cracking apart with a dry snap.
The white vines trembled violently, releasing glowing spores laden with data.
Lin Xiaohe caught one spore and scanned its contents.
It carried a tangled web of emotion—rage, madness, repression, and perversion.
“Stay! Stay with me!”
The realization hit her like a thunderbolt. The white vines were the Sui envoy leader’s true form.
In a flash, every scene she had experienced while trapped inside Number 741 raced through her mind.
The overlooked details, the things that hadn’t made sense—they all clicked into place now.
Number 741 was never truly capable of operating the Cleanser. So the Sui envoy leader had to take over himself.
But for some reason—perhaps he didn’t want to sacrifice himself, or perhaps the Cleanser imposed restrictions on who could pilot it—he needed a human decoy. A scapegoat.
And Lin Xiaohe was that unlucky scapegoat.
Once the Cleanser—which was actually the Federation’s Dead Hand system—finished charging, the Magellanic Cloud would be reduced to nothingness. Lin Xiaohe, being the closest to Xilos, would have her physical body obliterated by the shockwave—reduced to ash.
And without a body, no matter how powerful her spirit, she would be trapped on Xilos, unable to escape, slowly fading into nothing.
What a vicious, venomous scheme!
Lin Xiaohe’s spirit immediately split off a fragment—a little Dou Dou.
Dou Dou transformed into a cannon and started firing—pfft, pfft, pfft—green peas at the white vines.
But the peas seemed to miss, landing without effect.
One sneaky white filament slipped past Dou Dou’s guard and pierced into its root.
“AH! That hurts!” Dou Dou shrieked.
The green cannon visibly wilted, its leaves curling and browning.
Damn it! The Sui envoy leader is a parasitic plant!
Lin Xiaohe hastily recalled Dou Dou, watching the thrashing white vines with renewed wariness.
Parasitic plants were natural-born killers to ordinary vegetation.
She didn’t dare summon Tiantian or Fanfan now. All she could do was fight for her life in her red beetle form.
But the white vines were endless—an infinite, suffocating tide.
The red beetle was bound tight, the white vines squeezing until it felt like it would shatter into pieces!
Little Black wailed in agony: “It hurts! It hurts so much!”
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes burned crimson, a surge of wild fury rising in her chest.
Everyone dares to scheme against me!
Chu Huaizhi schemed against her. The Security Department schemed against her. The Federation government schemed against her. And now—some random lifeform from a so-called Sui civilization—dared to scheme against her too!
Damnit all! You schemers plot and plan—but did any of you calculate that Lin Xiaohe is born with a rebellious bone in her body?!
You want me dead? I refuse!
My fate is mine—not yours!
As a wise man once said: In the face of absolute power, all conspiracies are paper tigers.
And she—Lin Xiaohe—was the strongest being in the universe!
Rise! All of you, rise!
The red beetle’s carapace vibrated at high frequency, sending ripples through the fourth dimension.
The Stardust Humans back in the third dimension felt Lin Xiaohe’s call. They offered up their spiritual power with devout reverence.
Not enough—still not enough!
Wesley’s eyes snapped open. The Party Leader was in deep trouble!
The spiritual power of just over a thousand Stardust Humans was far from sufficient. They needed to expand.
Wesley turned his gaze to the 3 million or so survivors aboard the Ark.
The time to repay their debt of life had come!
Guo Hai, summoned over, was utterly stunned. His voice cracked with disbelief: “You want to turn all of us into Stardust Humans?! Why?!”
Wesley’s face was expressionless, his eyes cold. “Because survival demands it.”
Darcy asked the practical question: “What’s the success rate?”
“I don’t know. When we evolved, the Party Leader protected us.”
Wesley’s tone left no room for debate. Guo Hai and Darcy exchanged glances, knowing this was not something they could change.
Darcy: “Do you have any advice—any experience to share—to improve our chances?”
Wesley walked to the flag of the Star Lotus Party, bowed his head, and spoke with fervent devotion: “Loyalty! Absolute loyalty to the Party Leader will guide you along the right path!”
