A cataclysmic explosion erupted from Hera's petite body, and towering flames poured out in all directions like a tidal wave.

The robot's screen instantly displayed a loading symbol, and after weighing the pros and cons for 0.01 seconds, it decisively lunged at Commander Qiao next to it.

It uses its broad, sturdy body to shield the opponent from the impact of the explosion.

The woman in black slipped into the shadows the instant the explosion occurred, escaping the blast radius at lightning speed.

boom--!!!

The entire house, with its crumbling structure, was shattered by the powerful impact.

Large and small fragments burst forth from the thick smoke, tracing dark red arcs as they fell to the ground.

The once luxurious headquarters of Night Planet has now been reduced to ruins.

Amidst the raging flames and devastation, a ruin slowly trembled, and then, a robot, almost reduced to scrap metal, emerged from the ground.

After standing up and swaying for a couple of moments, he collapsed again.

Where he had previously protected, an old man stood up, trembling.

His once white beard had been burned away by the towering flames, and his entire face was charred black, making him look both terrifying and comical.

Commander Qiao steadied himself, his aged eyes now bloodshot.

He looked around, and everywhere he looked, there was wreckage and flames.

Veins bulged from his dry skin as he gripped the cane tightly, eventually crushing it to pieces.

"That damned mutant... it actually tricked this old man..."

Commander Joe was furious. He had calculated everything, but he hadn't anticipated that Hera would break the agreement and self-destruct after getting what she wanted.

After all, in Commander Joe's mind, the kind of self-destruction that would lead to mutual destruction would no longer be done after Hera obtained the video intelligence.

After all, she should have been able to bring the video camera back alive.

But to everyone's surprise, the cunning alien species threw the video recorder out and then self-destructed.

"Commander Qiao! Are you alright?"

The woman in black emerged from the shadows behind Commander Qiao, looking at him with concern, then glanced at the robot lying on the ground, its screen flashing incessantly.

Commander Qiao clenched his fists, suppressing his anger as he slowly spoke.

"I'm fine... Night Star Guardian is also mostly unharmed."

Commander Joe paused, then a flash of hatred crossed his angry eyes. "Where's Noah?! Where's that traitor who disobeyed my orders?!"

“Noah…” The woman in black pursed her lips and lowered her head slightly, “I saw him use his abilities to save many people after the explosion, and then he ran away carrying someone in his arms…”

Commander Qiao was stunned for a moment, then an imperceptible smile of triumph appeared on his lips, but his outward appearance remained extremely cold and angry.

"Noah, for disobeying orders and revealing classified information to the enemy, I sentence him to death! Execute him immediately!"

Upon hearing this, the woman in black was startled and quickly pleaded with Commander Qiao for mercy.

"Commander! He was forced into this situation, and considering his numerous past merits, please spare him this time!"

"Zi Ge... are you trying to disobey orders and protect the prisoner at the same time?"

Commander Qiao's eyes were incredibly cold, sending a chill down the spine of the woman in black.

"No, that's not it..."

"Then execute it as soon as possible!"

"……yes."

Commander Qiao smiled and said, "I didn't want to either. After all, he has been the deputy commander for many years and will soon become the commander-in-chief. It's a pity that he made this mistake at such a crucial time."

After saying that, Commander Qiao turned and walked away.

The woman in black stood there with her head down, gripping her long knife tightly in her hand, her expression extremely conflicted.

"How could this happen..."

...

“I joined Night Star when I was 16 years old. I entered the stationed squad in City A of District A with the first place in the training camp.”

"Actually, my purpose in becoming a Night Star was very simple: I wanted to protect the world and the weak."

“That’s what I’ve always done. I give my all in every rescue operation, and I do my best to help my teammates.”

"But as my strength grows and my status among the Night Stars rises, I seem to... grow to loathe this identity more and more."

In the pitch-black night, Noah, carrying a young girl, walked alone through the desolation.

The girl he held in his arms was Elifa, who had lost all vital signs and become a corpse.

Beneath his disheveled hair, Noah's eyes had long lost their luster, as if he had lost his only faith.

"I don't think you've done anything wrong..."

"The captain was killed, and your teammates, with whom you spent every day, disappeared in an instant, leaving you all alone in the world, isolated and helpless."

"It must have been very painful... I'm so sorry to have troubled you."

He unconsciously tightened his grip on Elifa, and a tear rolled down his cheek, landing on Elifa's already cold face.

"I'm sorry... I failed to keep my promise to protect you... and I let you die at the hands of your own kind."

"I'm really... sorry."

His figure, like a ghost, finally reached the very center of the desolate place.

The scorched earth here is incredibly flat, and coupled with the gray sky, it feels like the end of the world has arrived.

"Your teammates must have died here..."

A storm eye appeared on the ground, then suddenly exploded, leaving a large crater.

Noah bent down and gently placed the body into the pit.

Then he used his hands to gradually cover the girl's body with soil.

The girl's body was slowly covered by the scorched earth, and was eventually buried completely beneath this land.

Looking at the small mound of earth he had built with his own hands, Noah shed tears once again.

These tears, brimming with complex emotions, slid gently down and dripped onto a patch of scorched earth.

He raised his hand to wipe away the tears from the corners of his eyes, took a deep breath, and slowly stood up.

"You really came..."

He didn't turn around, but kept staring at the small mound, speaking as if to himself.

"Hmm...you really can't run away."

Several meters behind him, the woman in black was holding a long knife and looking at him with a complicated expression.

Behind her were more than ten Night Star cultivators whose cultivation levels were also quite high.

The lowest level is 'Extraordinary', and the highest level is 'Ten Thousand Stars'.

At this moment, they were all staring intently at Noah.

The gleaming longsword was slowly raised, emitting a faint hum in the air, and pointed at Noah.

"Goodbye." A resolute glint appeared in the man's eyes. "I will show no mercy."

Noah slowly turned around, looked at everything in front of him, and suddenly sighed deeply.

"How did things turn out this way... Was my pursuit of justice wrong?"

He closed his eyes and took two deep breaths.

Then, two wind blades slowly rose from his palm...