On Vitera Star, despairing people tilted their heads back to look at the sky.
Hordes of Zerg on the planet flew into space in droves, without a second thought.
At the Outlets Grand Hotel, a young woman cradled a softly whimpering baby and stared blankly down at the street below.
Just moments ago, a black beetle had been on a brutal rampage down there.
The hotel’s security team scrambled to stop it.
But against that ferocious black beetle, human resistance was about as effective as scratching an itch through a boot.
The black beetle pinned a young man to the ground with one foot, its sharp, slender antennae glinting coldly as it raised them high and stabbed down with brutal force.
The young man squeezed his eyes shut, his heart pounding so hard it felt like it might leap out of his throat. Only one thought filled his mind:
I’m going to die!
Two minutes passed. The searing pain he expected never came. Summoning every ounce of courage, he cracked open his eyes—and was met with a sight that left him utterly stunned.
The sky was practically blotted out by a tide of Zerg, but these creatures weren’t targeting Vitera Star at all. They were soaring upward into outer space.
Everyone who witnessed this stood frozen, mouths agape. For a long moment, they couldn’t believe their eyes. They rubbed them over and over, double-checking that they weren’t hallucinating, before cautiously inching out from cover.
They moved like startled rabbits, every step trembling with fear.
Four hours after the Zerg swarm departed from Vitera Star, the people were still riddled with anxiety—a tangled mess of relief and dread, casting a shadow over the joy of having escaped death once again.
Sure enough, before nightfall, shrill alarms blared across Vitera Star once more.
The remnants of the space guard had detected signs of Zerg activity again.
This time, the Zerg army was larger in variety and far more menacing.
“They have ten giant tombs!”
Though these tombs were smaller than the first one they’d seen, there were ten of them!
The people of Vitera Star sank into deeper despair, as if they’d fallen into a bottomless abyss with no hope of escape in sight.
The young woman leaned weakly against the glass window, a bitter smile tugging at her lips.
She didn’t understand. The Federation had been so powerful, ruling over vast expanses of space. How had it all fallen apart in just a few short years?
It was as if, overnight, humanity had tumbled from the top of the food chain to the very bottom.
Experts used to fret over overpopulation and the scarcity of cosmic resources.
Well, those experts didn’t have to worry anymore—because humanity was about to become the universe’s rarest commodity.
“Let it be. I’m so tired. Baby, I’m sorry—I shouldn’t have brought you into this world.”
A single glistening tear rolled down the young woman’s cheek.
It dripped onto a small, round green bean, and no one noticed the faint glimmer of white light that flickered across it.
Just as everyone was resigning themselves to lying down and waiting for death, this formidable Zerg army swept right past Vitera Star and chased after the previous swarm instead.
“What’s going on? What are they doing?”
Chaos. Confusion.
Like everyone else, the young woman stared up at the sky, trying to track the Zerg’s movements with her naked eyes.
All sorts of wild thoughts collided in her mind.
Had humans somehow fallen off the Zerg’s menu?
Or had she already been devoured by the Zerg, and everything she was experiencing and seeing now was nothing but a hallucination before death?
The Zerg that passed through Vitera’s space left behind only the silhouette of their retreat—they didn’t even spare a single glance back.
Not long after, the Great Voice Whales and the Stardust Humans appeared in the Vitera star system.
They moved as if drifting through a river of stardust, the whales’ graceful, elegant forms and movements surreal and dreamlike.
The baby in the young woman’s arms had long stopped crying. Sucking on its tiny fingers, it stared with wide, round eyes, utterly captivated by the sky.
Suddenly, the baby squirmed vigorously, arching its little bottom, and babbled in excitement: “Star! Star!”
The young woman hugged her child tightly, her voice thick with emotion, as if answering him—and also speaking to herself: “Yes, that’s right. They followed the undying stars and grew into shining lights themselves. And now, they’re going with their leader to write their own legend!”
“Heroes who pack their bags, draped in morning mist…”
Chants rose from every direction, weaving together with the silent songs of the Stardust Humans in the cosmic void, forming a harmonious chorus.
Oh heroes, after enduring so much injustice, you still chose to fight for humanity.
Your character shines brighter than the brightest stars. You are truly worthy followers of Lin Xiaohe!
Go forth! Fight!
Let those Zerg who treated humans like ants witness the might of humanity’s top warriors!
From distant Vitera Star, we will cheer for you.
We cannot stand beside you in battle, but we hold our beating hearts in our hands, offering you our sincere blessings.
The young woman lowered her gaze and softly hummed the Xinghe Farewell Song.
As she closed her eyes, the green bean made a faint cracking sound, as if something inside was trying to break free.
…
Meanwhile, Chu Huaizhi personally arrived at the administrative star of the Fourth Ring.
The movements of the Fifth and Sixth Rings had been delayed only a day or two before news reached him.
“Nuwa, your efficiency is too slow. If you want to escape this star sector, you need to show me your sincerity.”
[Nuwa]: “This has nothing to do with me. Your companions are the ones blocking the information flow. Your relationship isn’t as friendly as it appears on the surface. This doesn’t match what you told me.”
Chu Huaizhi watched the Zerg masses converging, a divine smile curling at the corner of his mouth: “Nuwa, the cake is only this big. I have to eat all of it to fill my stomach.”
[Nuwa]: “I can’t be sure you’re willing to share the cake with me.”
“Of course I am. Because I want cake, and you want noodles. We don’t conflict. Isn’t that right?”
[Nuwa]’s core operated at high speed, analyzing thousands of data streams before finally responding: “Alright. I will unlock the first-level restriction and provide you with real-time intelligence within Federation space. At the same time, I need your guarantee that you’ll give me the [Source Body].”
“Haha, deal. Nuwa, congratulations. You’ve finally found your place. I was starting to wonder—after all those years impersonating an AI—if you’d actually convinced yourself you were the Federation’s loyal dog.”
[Nuwa]: “Are you certain you know where the [Source Body] is?”
Chu Huaizhi smiled with confidence, tapping his finger on Gonggong Star: “I never lie to my partners. What you’re looking for is right there.”
[Nuwa]’s system momentarily stuttered: “How do you know that?”
“Because Gonggong Star used to be a small part of the Panshi Clan’s core planet. The Panshi Clan was lazy—they were like clumsy boulders, completely unable to handle sudden cataclysmic crises. They’re also the only civilization among the six recorded epochs that I know of that had virtually no Awakened ones.”
[Nuwa] said coldly: “I don’t care if they were lazy or not. I only want their [Source Body]. You knew it was on Gonggong Star all along—so why did you choose that place as the battlefield? Are you targeting me?”
“No. I’m targeting her.” Chu Huaizhi pointed at Lin Xiaohe. “Nuwa, don’t worry. You and I will both get what we want.”
Heh—didn’t see that coming, did you? Nuwa is also an extraterrestrial civilization! She’s not useless—she was just coasting along in slacktivism.
