What does it mean to fall from heaven to hell?
What does it mean to go from heaven to hell, then back to heaven, and then plummet straight down to the eighteenth level of hell?!
Everyone in the meeting room finally experienced the feeling of riding a roller coaster that drops without warning.
A single thought surfaced in every mind, almost in perfect sync: Are you fucking messing with me?!
“Does Lin Xiaohe have a death wish? Why the hell did she run off to the Sixth Star Ring?! Doesn’t she know there’s a hive there?”
The Fifth Star Ring War Zone leader said, “She knew she was there to rescue people. The survivors from Wasteland, Miluo, and Volkos were all rescued by her and brought into the Ark.”
Everyone fell silent. After all, they were all respectable people; none of them could very well say out loud that those “ants” weren’t worth saving.
“Oh dear. She really doesn’t know how to take care of herself, does she?”
“Young people always think they’re invincible, that they can save the world. And look where it got her—not only did she fail to save anyone, but she also got herself trapped.”
It was obvious that Lin Xiaohe had been outsmarted by the Zerg.
Perhaps the Zerg also realized that Lin Xiaohe posed a huge threat to them, so they decided to use human hands to get rid of her.
As soon as they learned that Lin Xiaohe was trapped, the Federation Government and the Ministry of Security instantly changed their tune: “Meeting adjourned. There’s nothing more to discuss.”
Rescuing her was out of the question. The Dead Hand System was too powerful. Anyone who went would die.
After the meeting, Melina asked her mentor to help get in touch with the head of the Fifth Star Ring War Zone. She wanted to ask about Lin Xiaohe and the Star Grain Party.
Her mentor hesitated for a moment, then sought help from Kailin Reno.
Kailin Reno agreed: “I’m a mother too. My son Bayard is still on the front lines. I completely understand how Melina feels.”
After thanking Kailin Reno profusely, Melina reached out to the Fifth Star Ring War Zone head.
“Ms. Melina, we don’t know the specifics of the Sixth Star Ring either. The Federation has completely lost control of the Sixth Star Ring. According to our various instruments, the gravitational field of the Sixth Star Ring is extremely chaotic, and we do not recommend entering it.”
“As for Lin Xiaohe… based on the last images we observed, she appears to have headed to Xilos Star.”
The War Zone head paused for a moment, let out a long sigh, and spoke with a faint hint of admiration.
“Ms. Melina, your son Wes didn’t choose the wrong leader. Lin Xiaohe is a warrior and a leader who is deeply responsible, principled, and incredibly brave!”
“Even though her actions won’t change the outcome, I believe that Wes and the others have no regrets. Because until their very last moment, their leader was still doing everything she could to save them—even at the cost of her own life.”
Melina’s eyes grew moist, her lips trembling uncontrollably. Her voice choked as she said, “You’re right. They will always follow the starlight, and the starlight will always be with them. With both their hearts and their actions, they live by the ideals of the Star Grain Party.”
“Alas, my condolences, Ms. Melina.”
After the call ended, Melina collapsed to the floor as if her soul had been ripped away.
Her heart felt as though it were being gnawed by countless ants, riddled with holes.
Her mentor stood behind her, wanting to speak but hesitating. In the end, all she could do was gently pat her shoulder.
Melina wiped the tears from the corner of her eye and asked, “Teacher, is there really no way to stop the Dead Hand System?”
The Giant Tomb had already jumped to the Second Star Ring. The Dead Hand System had lost its reason for activation.
Her mentor said in a heavy tone, “Melina, you already know the answer in your heart. The civilization that built the Dead Hand System outclasses the Federation by at least two technological tiers. Some civilizations are born and destroyed without ever advancing from Level Zero to Level One.”
“The Federation is still exploring star regions, but that civilization can already harness stellar energy and destroy galaxies. Perhaps they’ve even mastered space-time.”
“Melina, you can’t ask a single-celled organism why it can’t pilot a starship.”
“I’m sorry, Teacher.”
Her mentor looked at her with pity and helped her up: “Pull yourself together. Besides being Wes’s mother, you are first and foremost your own person. You still have your career, your dreams, and your life.”
“You’re right.” Melina returned to her hotel.
The hotel’s guests were either wealthy or powerful. Some of them had also fled from the Second Star Ring.
The agricultural bases on the Dong family’s planets in the Third Star Ring had suffered severe damage, so natural crops were scarce, and prices had skyrocketed even further.
But that still didn’t affect the hotel’s food supply. All kinds of natural delicacies were available in abundance. As long as you had star coins, your quality of life wouldn’t be affected in the slightest.
The hotel manager sent Melina a small fruit platter, which included some sweet corn purchased from the rebels.
Melina didn’t touch it.
The corner of her mouth lifted into a faint, bitter smirk.
How ironic. Reno Hotel was openly doing business with the rebels, and nothing happened to them.
But back then, Lin Xiaohe was slapped with the accusation of rebellion for far less.
How utterly ironic.
Melina gazed out at the night scenery, then took off her family crest and party badge from her chest. She placed them on the table without even a second glance.
From her pocket, she pulled out a small silver round box—plain and unremarkable. But it was a gift Wes had given her before he left.
Her son had said, “Mom, I’ll work hard. I look forward to the day I can stand beside you and fight.”
Melina pulled herself back from the memory and carefully opened the small box.
Inside lay a delicate Star Grain Party badge, with lifelike great-sounding whales swimming across it.
Melina ran her fingers over the badge, and her gaze grew steadily more determined.
Outside the window, brilliant fireworks lit up the sky—the hotel was celebrating its guests’ narrow escape from death.
Melina solemnly pinned the Star Grain Party badge over her left chest.
The Star Grain Party will never die!
Even if Lin Xiaohe, Wes, and the others had fallen, she—and countless other ordinary, humble people—would carry on the ideals and will of the Star Grain Party.
Lin Xiaohe would live forever in their hearts!
…
On Xilos Star, the planet’s core was trembling violently.
The energy-absorbing beam grew stronger and stronger, while the planet itself let out a groaning cry of unbearable strain.
The battle between Lin Xiaohe and the leader of the Suixing envoy had entered its final, white-hot stage.
Broken white vine filaments danced wildly through the air.
A surge of violent emotion, like a piercing shriek, stirred the dark energy of the fourth dimension into a frenzy.
The red beetle’s shell was battered and tattered. Both of its antennae had been severed, and green energy fluid was leaking out.
“Come on, if you’ve got the guts, come at me!” Lin Xiaohe taunted.
The red beetle’s legs were trembling as it struggled to support its own body. Every step it took sent a tearing pain deep into its soul.
The Suixing envoy leader wasn’t faring much better either. The stronghold it had spent years building with its vine filaments was now on the verge of collapse, smashed apart by Lin Xiaohe’s reckless charge.
The [Purifier] ruthlessly drained both their energies. If this stalemate continued, they would both be completely sucked dry!
In that split second, both made a desperate decision and, in perfect unison, launched their final strike!
All the active vine filaments, like parasites, wrapped around the red beetle and burrowed into it.
The red beetle opened its massive jaws and savagely bit down on the white vines coiling around it.
In the fourth dimension, within the Stardust Human Sanctuary, hundreds of thousands of tiny orbs spun wildly, channeling energy into the [Holy Codex].
The [Holy Codex] hovered above the chessboard. The first page radiated a blinding white light.
Five large golden characters, as if driven by a pair of giant palms, were hammered into each tiny orb of light.
First-Level Evolution—[Food Is the Heavens for the People], begin!
