Even the Divine Sovereign dropped his aloof act and stopped putting on airs. He jumped up, practically itching to grab the green cage and shake it violently.
“The White Tower! Get to the White Tower!”
Oh crap.
That familiar aura of world-ending doom made his scalp prickle and his very soul tremble!
Lin Xiaohe clutched the “Source Body” to her chest and sprinted toward the White Tower as fast as her legs would carry her.
Lava lake? She’d rather jump in and swim across than sit around waiting to die.
Lin Xiaohe had braced herself for a swim through molten rock, but to her surprise, every step she took caused the lava beneath her feet to instantly solidify!
What was there to hesitate about?
Move it, legs! Run!
Xiao Hei found Lin Xiaohe too slow. In a flash, it shifted into its true form, scooped her onto its back, and bolted straight for the White Tower.
Lin Xiaohe ran in front, with the world-ending energy chasing right behind her.
She could even feel the space behind her collapsing inch by inch.
Xiao Hei’s legs blurred into afterimages.
Lin Xiaohe quietly crawled forward and settled into the spot where Xiao Hei’s head met its shell.
Sensing her movement, Xiao Hei used its antennae to curl around her and lift her to its front.
Lin Xiaohe was deeply moved. “Good Xiao Hei, I love you. If I make it out of here, I’ll put Doudou in the Giant Tomb so you two can be together.”
Clang.
Xiao Hei shot into the White Tower like a gust of wind.
The tower was deathly quiet. The council members had long since found their respective sleeping spots and sunk into deep slumber.
Lin Xiaohe had no choice but to jump into the green lake at the center of the White Tower.
“Xiao Hei!” Lin Xiaohe started layering on defenses one after another, clutching the “Source Body” for dear life.
The next second, that wave of energy crashed down upon the entire planet with a thunderous roar.
This was the first time Lin Xiaohe had experienced the full process of world-ending destruction.
First, she lost her five senses—even her sixth sense.
She could feel her body being broken down. First into individual cells, then into organelles, and then into biological macromolecules.
Lin Xiaohe observed her own body from a higher dimension.
She had a vague suspicion—this might be the perspective of the Origin of Life itself. She couldn’t wield it freely, but at critical moments, the Origin of Life would activate on its own.
Her body fragmented into countless helices—some human, some from mutant stardust plants, and some from the Zerg.
But that wasn’t the limit.
Those helices were broken down further into molecules—atoms—nuclei plus electrons—protons plus neutrons…
Lin Xiaohe smiled wryly. Broken down to this extent—could she at least leave behind an intact corpse?
The entire decomposition process was agonizingly long.
Lin Xiaohe couldn’t even feel the passage of time.
These tiny elementary particles drifted and floated through the cosmos, bobbing along aimlessly.
It was a fantastical, dreamlike world.
She felt like she existed, yet didn’t. There was no direction here, no time.
One of her particles might be on one side of the universe—and simultaneously, on the other side too.
It was a hazy, omnipresent cloud of probability.
No one knew how much time passed. Then, the particles began to entangle with each other once more.
However, Lin Xiaohe noticed that this cluster of particles had gained many new things—it was the “Source Body”!
Quantitative change led to qualitative change. The quantum field had been triggered!
Lin Xiaohe felt hot and a little out of breath. The space around her felt stuffy and confined, making her want to poke her head out and stretch.
Where am I? What am I doing?
Her thoughts were rusty, like old gears. Even a simple thought took a long time to process clearly.
But her body awoke far faster than her consciousness.
The environment around her kept changing, and “Fanfan” kept clamoring to get out and have a look.
Ah… Fanfan.
Who’s Fanfan?
After thinking for a very, very long time, Lin Xiaohe finally figured it out—she had probably transitioned from the Origin of Life state back to her normal state.
But where exactly was she now?
…
Fifth Star Ring, Gonggong Star.
In space, the 54th Division’s warships were locked in a standoff with the Yani Damu Church’s transport vessel, the Jiyuan.
“Sorry, but we haven’t received orders from the military command. You cannot enter Gonggong Star.”
The Jiyuan took a hard line. “We are here on the orders of the divine Yani Damu, approved by Federal Marshal Chu, to spread our faith. What’s your angle in blocking us?”
The 54th Division’s Chief of Staff looked at the Division Commander. “They have Marshal Chu’s pass.”
The Commander sneered. “Have you forgotten Vitaria? They took so many people from Vitaria, and not a single one sent back a safe-arrival message after reaching the First Star Ring. There’s definitely something fishy going on.”
The Chief of Staff’s face turned ashen.
His family had been on Vitaria. After being taken away by the Yani Damu Church’s transport vessel, they’d vanished without a trace.
But that was abnormal!
Because his daughter and son were staunch members of the Xinghe Party. The reason they’d stayed on Vitaria was to spread the spark of revolution.
There was absolutely no way they’d betray the Xinghe Party and join the Yani Damu Church.
The Commander opened a holographic screen and pulled up the star map of the Fifth Star Ring. “The planets marked in red are the ones they’ve visited. Aside from massive population outflows, these planets have also seen a surge in missing persons.”
His eyes deepened. He couldn’t protect every planet, but he could protect Gonggong Star!
“No matter whose pass they’re carrying—it doesn’t work here, plain and simple!”
The people on Gonggong Star were almost all federal military personnel and their families.
They had paid a heavy price in the war against the Zerg.
He would never allow them to become pawns in some conspiracy, the way Lin Xiaohe had once been.
The Jiyuan couldn’t be bothered to waste any more words on these stubborn fools. They left with a curt “Just you wait.”
The 54th Division kept a close watch on the Jiyuan‘s movements and spotted it heading toward the administrative planet of the Fifth Star Ring.
The Commander frowned deeply. Was the Jiyuan planning to file a complaint?
That couldn’t be right.
The key was—as long as he didn’t budge, even their complaints wouldn’t do them any good.
“Old Cheng, what are those religious fanatics up to on the administrative planet?” The Commander contacted his friend on the administrative planet.
“What else? Running their human-trafficking business.”
The Commander: “Why do they need so many people? Feeding them to the Zerg?”
“Haha, you’ve got quite the imagination. The First Star Ring’s locked in a bitter fight with the Zerg—how could they possibly be feeding them?”
The Commander raised an eyebrow. “They’re fighting again? I thought the Zerg had quieted down for a while.”
“Sigh, fighting’s breaking out everywhere now. Several deities in the frontier star domains are duking it out with each other. The Zerg are waging a two-front war against both the Federation and the Empire. My guess is, the two major deities of the Empire and the Federation are bound to face off sooner or later.”
Old Cheng was a high-ranking official in the intelligence system and well-connected.
He toyed with an e-cigarette in his hand, his brow furrowed with worry. “Our situation’s getting worse by the day. The Sixth Star Ring is full of that one’s little pets. No one can cross the Sixth Star Ring to probe the Black Domain. Sigh… I have no idea what that one’s stance really is.”
The Commander: “Didn’t Party Leader—ahem, Lin Xiaohe—propose cooperating with the Federation? They even agreed to hold peace talks on Haige Star.”
Old Cheng rolled his eyes. “Your info is way out of date! They did go to Haige Star, but they never got to talk. And they never brought it up again after that. I reckon the peace talks are as good as dead.”
After saying that, Old Cheng couldn’t help but take a drag from his cigarette, his brow knitted tight. “Something’s off about the Sixth Star Ring. That one’s little pets are way too active. The Stardust Humans and the Giant Sound Whales have been patrolling far more frequently. I just can’t tell—whether it’s trouble in the Black Domain, or whether that one is planning something.”
