Inside the dimensional space, the Arbiter moved around the star in the shape of a massive spindle.
Using technology drawn from various civilized races, the star’s radiation fell upon the Arbiter’s Zerg shell and simply vanished, as if the ship were a black body that reflected nothing.
At the same time, the Arbiter’s hull remained at extremely low temperatures. Viewed from far away, the Arbiter looked like a flat ellipse.
Gaia also moved along with the star. It and the Arbiter were like twin moons orbiting this star.
Being this close to the star was pure misery for the Jishe people, who had been clinging to the Arbiter’s tail the whole time.
They had no choice but to detach from the Arbiter and float alone in place, unsure which faction to turn to. In the end, they simply stayed put and didn’t move.
The energy in the dimensional space was too abundant, so Lin Xiaohe just let Xiao Hei come out.
Xiao Hei’s task was to use the energy here to rebuild a basic Zerg system—namely, ordinary filler bugs, giant tombs, and abyssal mothers.
Xiao Hei chose to build the giant tomb at the edge of this star system, making it one of the barriers guarding the Arbiter.
Out of caution toward this unfamiliar space, the ships that had entered were all quietly repairing themselves and going about their own business. They were no longer blasting away at each other like before.
This made Xiao Hei very comfortable. It could quietly do what it loved.
It loved breeding all kinds of bugs. An endless Zerg army gave it a strong sense of security.
If some blind fool came looking for trouble, it would make them pay a terrible price—until victory or death.
At first, the small giant tomb didn’t attract any ship’s attention.
Because it was hiding behind a massive star, and the star’s gravity and intense radiation were enough to conceal any trace of the small giant tomb.
The entire space was like a calm lake. The Domain River once again returned to its original width. The nearly broken energy reconnected, becoming an insurmountable chasm.
Everything seemed as if it had never happened. The Domain River still flowed coldly, though its light seemed a little dimmer.
The Black Domain returned to dead silence.
Only near the Domain River, more densely packed and more despairing wreckage was left behind, along with those ships that had ultimately failed to board the path to survival.
They floated silently, like tombstones abandoned on the shore of eternity.
Behind the hanging windows were countless pairs of eyes that had completely lost their luster, staring into that cold darkness that had just swallowed their last hope.
The giant tomb expanded madly, ripples spreading outward ring by ring.
The Jishe people were the first to discover the giant tomb.
Because the ripples were almost spreading right in front of them.
!!!
“The Zerg?! How can there be Zerg here?”
“Ahhh, don’t come over here!”
The Zerg were the Jishe people’s natural nemesis. They weren’t afraid of being parasitized at all.
Because of the Zerg’s terrifying digestive ability, they turned parasitic species into nutrients!
Now, the Jishe people didn’t need to hesitate at all about whose side to join. They accelerated toward the nearest scattered fleet.
As they left, almost all the ships in the entire space knew: the Zerg had arrived.
Chu Huaizhi, Yanidamu, and Jörmungandr—all three sides were only startled for a moment before returning to calm.
Instead, the extra-dimensional ships that had entered through the Domain River felt panic and unease. There was a bit of commotion, which then settled down under the Aureans’ show of force.
The Aureans raised Lin Xiaohe’s threat level by one grade.
They sent an Envoy, who stopped at the edge of the Arbiter’s managed zone.
The Envoy’s gaze fell upon the Arbiter. Looking at its ferocious form, the Envoy’s brow furrowed slightly.
In its eyes, the Arbiter was like a crude fortress cobbled together, piled high with all sorts of weaponry.
With a simple scan, it could identify all kinds of irrationalities—for example, the energy conduction routes were poorly planned, which would cause energy waste.
For instance, the Arbiter’s exterior design wasted a great deal of Zerg shell material.
In its eyes, the Arbiter’s level of technology was like a child’s work, randomly assembled from whatever materials could be found.
However, the Envoy hadn’t come here for this starship. It wanted to meet Lin Xiaohe.
It asked several of its subordinates—all of them affiliated races that the Aureans had gathered during their cosmic travels.
“What price do you think we should offer to trade for her body?”
One subordinate said, “Pick a technology from the tech vault and offer it in exchange?”
The Aureans’ tech vault was inherited from a Level 10 civilization. A large portion of it even the Aureans themselves hadn’t mastered.
But with just the small portion of technology they had mastered, the Aureans had already become one of the most remarkable civilizations in the universe.
If not for the existence of high-tier combat systems like the [Domain Sovereign], the Aureans could have swept through most cosmic civilizations with technology alone.
The Envoy was silent for a moment, then said, “I hope one technology will satisfy her greedy appetite.”
The mothership had issued a death order: the Envoy must obtain Lin Xiaohe’s body.
The Envoy didn’t know why, but it would give it its all.
It gathered up its side’s negotiating advantages and felt there was one problem: the Aureans lacked any truly effective threat against Lin Xiaohe.
If Lin Xiaohe refused the exchange, the Aureans had no way to force her. They could only restrict her freedom or seal off the range of energy she could obtain within the dimensional space.
After all, the collapse outside the Domain River was still continuing. If a large-scale, high-intensity battle broke out in the dimensional space, it would easily break the dimensional wall.
Lin Xiaohe arrived at the edge of the managed zone and met the waiting Envoy. “You said you want my body? That’s a pretty outrageous request.”
To negotiate better, the Envoy had switched to a crystal body.
The new body was like a colorful crystal-glass person. Even its voice had the crisp ring of glass colliding.
“Yes. You can’t bring out the full power of that body of yours. Why not trade it to us for something more practical? After all, you have quite a few enemies, don’t you?”
Lin Xiaohe stared at its rainbow-colored long hair, the corner of her mouth twitching slightly. “Do I look stupid to you? Without a body, wouldn’t I just die?”
“No, we can transfer your consciousness and spiritual power into another body.” The Envoy proudly straightened its chest.
“I can say without hesitation that among all the civilizations present, only we Aureans have this mature technology. What kind of body do you want? Humanoid or liquid? Metal or carbon-based? I wouldn’t recommend a carbon-based body. Countless civilizations have proven that carbon-based bodies limit the development of individual combat power.”
The Envoy said with a hint of excitement, “How about we custom-make a body for you from our Aurean special materials? After all, you were once our Descender. You should be compatible with our special materials.”
Lin Xiaohe didn’t refuse directly. Instead, she asked, “What do you want my corpse for? It’s essentially evolved from a carbon-based organism too. Don’t you look down on carbon-based life?”
The Envoy answered honestly, “I don’t know either. That’s not within my authority.”
