Fast! Ruthless! Accurate! Completely abandoning defense, pursuing only the most efficient killing! This is the most terrifying fighting style of the Null Sector!

Pei Du was forced to lean back to dodge again! The sharp blade brushed past the side of his neck covered with dark gold lines, causing a burning sting!

In just two moves, Pei Du was forced to block and dodge continuously! He possessed the power to crush the Zeroer, but fearing the consequences, he dared not truly unleash his full power! Every block was cautious, fearing to damage the fragile body undergoing transformation! Every counterattack was restrained, fearing to completely destroy the last vestiges of Xu Shuangyao's consciousness, which was being covered by the icy program!

"Clear... Clear... Clear..." A cold, mechanical voice, like a death-dealing incantation, continuously emanated from Xu Shuangyao's lips. Her attacks were like a raging storm, relentless! Knives, elbow strikes, knee strikes... Every part of her body transformed into a deadly weapon, swirling with the faint, pale golden energy imbued with the annihilating properties of the Zero Sector! Her movements grew increasingly fluid, increasingly fierce, as if the icy program was rapidly adapting to the combat potential of this body!

Pei Du felt like he was trapped in a cage woven of thorns and lava! On one side, the frenzied killing program of the Nullifier attempted to destroy his protective will. On the other, the pale golden lines were spreading upward from his neck at a visible speed, already crawling up Xu Shuangyao's jaw and even beginning to erode the skin near her temple! The cold gold was gradually devouring the contours of her familiar face!

Despair! Unprecedented despair was like an icy tide, ready to completely drown Pei Du!

“Ugh—!”

Qing Man, pinned down by the will of the Throne of Thorns, watched this bizarre, nightmarish scene unfold with a scream of agony and terror. She watched as the woman she considered the "key" was possessed by the Cradle's most terrifying weapon program, frantically attacking the "Child of Thorns," newly recognized by the Mother Tree! She watched as the wasteland trembled violently under the collision of their uncontrolled power, on the verge of collapse! Her bark-covered body twisted wildly within its confines, her dark green eyes filled with confusion, fear, and a madness that ravaged everything!

"Pollution! Complete pollution! She is hopeless! Kill her! Kill her quickly! Before she completely transforms and detonates the Cradle Command! Otherwise we will all die!!" Qingman's voice was distorted by extreme fear and the oppression of confinement, like the howl of a demon, penetrating the chaotic energy field and fiercely piercing Pei Du's ears!

Kill her?

These three words were like the most vicious curse, piercing the string in Pei Du's heart that was stretched to the limit!

Kill the only person he wanted to protect? End that stubborn, warm, herbal-scented soul with his own hands?

No!

no way!

A violent will, originating from the deepest depths of the star's core blood, transcending despair, anger, and even life and death, erupted from Pei Du's icy core of consciousness like molten lava suppressed for eons! This will was no longer cold, no longer logical, but instead burned with the most primitive and brutal fire of protection that burned everything!

"You want to devour her?! You want to turn her into your pawn?!"

Pei Du suddenly roared like an ancient beast! The will contained in that roar even caused Xu Shuangyao, who was frantically attacking, to pause! Within those pupils, flashing with a pale golden cold light, a subtle fluctuation, incomprehensible to program logic, seemed to pass through.

In this lightning-fast moment!

Pei Du's left hand, covered in dark gold lines, suddenly lifted up! His five fingers clenched together like a knife! Instead of attacking Xu Shuangyao, he fiercely grabbed at his own chest, which was also covered in dark gold lines!

Swish——!!!

A scalp-shattering, piercing sound as if tearing tough alloy suddenly rang out!

The tough skin and muscles covered with dark gold patterns were torn apart like fragile cloth under his claws, which were infused with all his will and the power of star core blood!

No blood splattered.

There was only... a sticky, heavy substance like liquid molten gold, gushing out from the wound in his torn chest...!

The liquid took on an extremely deep, dark golden hue, heavier than gold, brighter than the stars! It seemed to contain countless miniature galactic vortexes within, emitting a terrifying energy fluctuation that was ancient, vast, icy, yet filled with destructive vitality! This was precisely Pei Du's life source—the essence of his "star core blood," the essence of his most core strength and will...

The moment this essence and blood surged forth, the entire Waste Abyss of Life seemed to be plunged into invisible boiling oil! Space violently distorted! The turbid green sky spun madly! The moss beneath their feet surged like a tsunami! The tangled vines wailed in terror, huddling back frantically! Even the imprisoned green vines in the distance, buffeted by the primordial energy, let out a shrill, distorted howl, their bark veins instantly blazing like a red-hot iron!

The Throne of Thorns erupted with an unprecedented roar! Countless thorns and sprouts entwined within it danced frantically, growing and withering away! The mysterious symbol at the throne's core erupted with a blinding light, resonating intensely with the dark gold essence gushing from Pei Du's torn chest!

All emotion vanished from Pei Du's molten-gold eyes, leaving only a frantic, almost sacrificial determination that froze time and space! He ignored the excruciating pain in his chest, the immense weakness brought on by the loss of his essence and blood, and even more so, the knife-hand wrapped in pale golden energy blades that Xu Shuangyao thrust forward again!

His eyes were fixed on Xu Shuangyao's heart!

"Want to devour her?! Ask me first--!!"

Pei Du let out a final, soul-rending roar!

His palm, which was stained with his own dark gold essence and blood, and was like a burning liquid sun, carried a violent will that transcended time and space, transcended life and death, and wanted to completely burn all destiny. He ignored the deadly stabbing hand, ignored the cold erosion of the light gold lines, and even ignored the crazy warning of the cradle program. He pressed down hard on Xu Shuangyao's heart, on the life core that was being eroded by the core code of the Zeroer, like a meteorite hitting!

The blood burning with dark gold flames collided with the spreading light gold pollution lines with a loud bang!