Chapter 159 Final (Thirteen) (Two in One)
"Hello! This is the Star Navigation Competition Organizing Committee. Please repeat your question again. Hello? Hello? Please repeat your question again..." Inside the space station at the end of the first stage of the Star Navigation Competition, the competition staff pressed the communication headset with an anxious look on their faces.
"I can't hear you," he said hurriedly, turning to his companions. "The colorful communication channel was too noisy. I only heard them say they encountered some special situation, but the rest of the voice was completely drowned out by the noise..."
"They didn't issue an SOS, but they disrupted the race course and communicated with us. I had a feeling they were on to something."
"It's possible," his companion said solemnly, "but the signal is terrible. The same is true for the rescue ship. It's just a rustling noise..."
"Lao Zhuang," the staff member's voice suddenly paused. "Do you think the situation with the rescue starship is a little unusual?"
The two men approached the light screen showing the rescue situation of the killer.
And around them, several alarm light screens were flashing.
Most of these light screens showed the team's emergency call for help, but only one was different.
It was a system warning screen, which stated that the Colorful Team had seriously violated the rules and caused extensive damage to the competition equipment.
"The Colorful Team has committed serious violations! They destroyed the surrounding lasers and energy jammers!" The same warning was displayed in front of the plush rabbit.
"According to the rules, the competition should immediately disqualify Wucai Lanlan. However... today's situation is unusual. I believe Wucai Lanlan must have discovered something and was forced to do so!"
"Sure enough, the space station at the end of the first stage received a communication from Colorful! However, due to signal problems, the staff are temporarily unable to decipher the messages." He spoke quickly, conveying the information to the audience while doing his best to calm everyone. "We currently have no idea what special situation has occurred near Colorful's starship, but the competition has been suspended. A communication starship will soon be dispatched to Colorful's location..."
On the screen beside him that was divided into thirty parts, the hull of each starship that sent out a call for help appeared black, almost disappearing in the universe.
"Is it my imagination?" A spectator in the square of Kash Space City looked at the virtual light screen in front of him and said to his companion sideways, "Look at the Killer. The special docking pin that popped out of the rescue starship next to it... seems to be dyed too?"
"I can't see clearly." His companion pushed his glasses and leaned forward. "The docking pin location of the rescue starship..."
"It's been dyed!" the audience member sitting to their right exclaimed, "The rescue starship's docking pin has changed color! The black... the black seems to be alive! It moves!"
He spoke so loudly that the attention of the audience around him, who were originally confused, was immediately drawn to him.
As everyone watched, the black color spread over the rescue starship's docking plug at an increasingly faster speed, eventually completely soaking the docking plug.
"What's going on?!" The square was in an uproar. "The rescue starship didn't move! They seemed completely unaware!"
"It's because the surrounding energy flow is too chaotic. Their observers might not be able to sense it. No wonder Wucaicai wants to destroy those jammers... Rabbit! Rabbit commentary!—" The audience in the square shouted, "Hurry and contact the Star Navigation Competition officials! Notify the rescue starship!"
"I think the tournament's communicator must have seen it! But the signal from the rescue starship has been bad..."
"Why is the video signal good, but the audio is dead? The communicator really needs an upgrade!"
The audience in the live broadcast booth was getting increasingly agitated. The commentator, Rabbit, was pressing the communicator, pushing the microphone aside and speaking hurriedly to the staff.
"It looks like a black tide creature..." He lowered his voice to avoid causing a commotion, "A black tide creature that is devouring food..."
"Yes, this is my guess. I can't be sure, but...but please take this possibility seriously!"
The rabbit-eared young man's heart was beating rapidly.
As a commentator selected by the Star Navigation Competition Organizing Committee, he has extensive knowledge and experience in star navigation.
The commentator originally majored in human energetics, but because his research on mental resonance was not recognized, he simply changed his career and joined the exploration team as an observer.
He wandered in the universe for several years, and then he quit the exploration team because he met his ideal partner and settled down in the central star field with her.
Shortly after returning, he encountered the open auditions for commentators for the once-in-five-year Star Navigation Competition. The young man with rabbit ears immediately entered and emerged as a standout.
Although he did not work in the military or the Star Navigation Department, the civilian exploration team had more freedom in their navigation planning. The rabbit-eared young man had been to countless uninhabited star seas and even to the free travel area. He boldly found the most famous Adeline Exploration Team in the star field.
He followed Adelin's exploration team and briefly crossed the star line and entered the outskirts of the Black Tide Star Sea.
These moving black energies stirred up his memories.
"We'll consider it." The staff member was hard to believe, but said solemnly, "I'm reporting to the head of the organizing committee..."
"What is that!" His colleague beside him suddenly let out a scream of horror.
The burly man was so frightened by the scene on the screen that he instinctively stepped back, almost kicking over his chair. He looked panicked and shouted into the communicator, "Rescue Starship Number One! Please disconnect immediately! Rescue Starship Number One!—"
On the light screen in front of him, the black color that spread from the Killer to the rescue starship docking pin suddenly surged.
The interference snow on the camera screen began to increase, but despite this, the movements of the killer and the rescue starship could still be easily identified.
Thick black energy threads rushed forward, like a prowling hunter finally baring its fangs. They stretched from slender connecting bolts to the sides and spread their wings.
A giant black moth reveals its true form in the universe.
Its body tightly wrapped around the Killer Starship, giving the moth's tail a strange starship shape.
What's even more terrifying is its size.
Compared with its broad wings, its body tightly wrapped around the large starship is surprisingly slender.
The two pairs of black wings were expanding outward from a narrow connecting bolt and swinging forward.
Amidst the violent energy fluctuations, the observers on the rescue starship finally noticed something was wrong.
He didn't understand what was in front of him, but he instinctively felt that something was wrong and shouted, "Brother Fu! Back off quickly! Fire!——"
The insertion plug at the bottom of the starship was pulled outward, but the moth had already attached itself to the outer layer of the starship.
"I can't shake it off!" Brother Fu retreated faster and faster, his expression growing increasingly grim. "That thing has already stuck to the starship! There's no way I can fire at myself...! - How can a gun barrel be designed like that!"
"Beep, beep, beep—" As he shouted, an alarm sounded in the cockpit, "The starship's hull is corroded by 10 percent! 20 percent—"
The moth's black wings trembled and it fluttered onto the side of the cockpit, completely blocking the view of the starship in front.
Fugo's fingers hammered furiously at the fire button. The cannon barrel beneath the starship flashed, blasting a hole through the moth's wings that had been wrapped around it. However, the hole was refilled in the blink of an eye.
The darkness in front of the cockpit window was like a night filled with despair.
"No." Brother Fu repeated, "No, what on earth is this thing..."
"It's a black tide creature."
The observer also stared forward.
"It's my fault," he said. "I didn't see anything clearly just now...I didn't find any clues at all."
"We have the jammer!" Brother Fu interrupted him, "Don't blame yourself yet! Think about what to do next! How many minutes can our starship hold out?"
The observer took a deep breath.
"We can't save ourselves," he said dejectedly. "Besides, we're a rescue starship. The Star Navigation Competition doesn't have any rescue equipment for rescue starships."
Brother Fu: “…”
The observer is right.
Moreover, perhaps more than one starship encountered this difficult situation.
"The voyage from Kash Space City, the closest city to the competition's starry sea, to here takes at least three hours," the observer said hoarsely. "Even if a starship were to temporarily depart from Kash Space Station, three hours... is too long."
"If we are devoured by the black tide creatures..."
Then no one will be able to rescue them.
There are no starships capable of rescuing the competing teams.
He spoke in despair, but he never disconnected the communication device.
Although the communication channel was filled with noise, he still hoped that he could report the current situation to the Star Navigation Competition.
Whether it's getting rescued or alerting other starships, we have to do our best...
"When the corrosion reaches 100%, we'll activate the escape pod." Brother Fu clenched his fists. "We'll do our best and leave it to fate..."
This seems like a last-ditch option.
However, this moment is not the end of the road.
Just as he finished his words, a crack suddenly appeared on the black wings that tightly covered the porthole in front.
Brother Fu: “?!”
He almost thought it was his own illusion, and quickly turned to observe his hand, pointed at the crack and said, "Look there!..."
Just as he uttered these four words, the second crack appeared.
Then comes the third and fourth.
The cracks became more and more numerous and appeared faster and faster.
And from behind the cracks, bright white flames appeared.
The observer stared ahead, his pupils constricted. In the space of a single breath, the bright white light coalesced into a single mass, spreading rapidly.
“Buzz!”
With a strange energy vibration, the black wings shattered and melted.
It was as easy as if what they had just experienced was just a nightmare at night.
However, the uneven bumps caused by corrosion on the porthole reminded them that all this was just reality.
Only through the metal glass that was about to break could the observer see the situation in the universe.
A bright white line hung high above his starship.
It was like a winding river in the sky, with continuous rain of fire falling from it.
And this rain of fire fell on their starship.
It didn't just fall on this rescue starship.
A rain curtain drawn by large threads of burning spiritual power fell down from the sky above the universe.
A long, bright white river filled with flames was their source, and as the flames fell, the rain curtain encompassed the entire competition area.
All interferometers and lasers were destroyed, and the dust and debris floating in the sea of gas stars evaporated and disappeared, making the observers' vision clear.
The warships, rescue starships and communication starships of the competition teams are anchored and suspended in the universe.
Most of them were dyed black and covered in a rain of fire.
Under the burning of bright white flames, the moths that were originally devouring the starship no longer disguised themselves.
They flapped their wings in a desperate struggle, but were quickly burned by the flames.
All this is reflected by the long river of fire above the universe.
“…Is it Mingyu and Mu Baixing?” Mu Lian had a complicated expression in the Ranger battleship.
He had just been trying to blast the moths, but the results were not ideal.
Mulan suddenly realized that from the first time he met Mingyu in the starship design history class until today.
The speed at which young people grow up is truly astonishing.
…though the Celtic King’s presence is even more astonishing.
"Brother Yu and the others are so cool!" Cui Xiaoduo, still in shock, subconsciously followed Mu Lian's sigh, "But what was this river of fire originally? What did they burn?!"
Through the moth fragments engulfed by the flames, they also saw the silver-white starship reflected below the burning river.
The starship's main gun barrels were still glowing with the afterglow.
Bright white birds of light circled around it, like the starship's guards or its outposts.
The elegant white bird raised its head, and its flaming wings that covered the sky swept over the crack above that was filled with the spiritual power of Mu Baixing and Mingyu.
Not a trace of black tide energy, not a single moth seeped out from here.
But the space crack did not close.
Deep in the Black Tide Star Sea, a giant creature that is constantly growing is moving its body.
A low sound of energy vibration came from the huge body composed of pure energy, and the white eyeballs looked towards the bright white flames that seeped in from the space cracks in the distance.
The flame was like a beacon in the dark night, attracting all its attention.
And a large amount of black tide energy is gathering in front of it, nourishing it.
"Found it." The vibrations of energy formed a language unique to the Black Tide creature, and its body quickly stretched outward. "Children... those two children again..."
It began to move.
A large mass of black moved towards the light, like a giant butterfly crawling on the ground and walking on its legs, constantly growing larger.
The two wings of this giant butterfly are not the same size.
One of its wings was only a third of the length of the other, as if someone had torn it in half. New tissue was growing outward from the tear, and bright white sparks occasionally burst out from the darkness.
It was as if some energy embedded deep within it was preventing it from reviving.
That was the wound left by the last shot between Mu Baixing and Mingyu in the Star Line battle.
The giant butterfly changes its shape as it walks.
A human figure emerged from its body and then fell back down. Ming Zhuofeng's head appeared on the white spot in the center of its wings, and was replaced by Albin's face.
Human limbs began to grow out, and then turned into bumps and lumps in unknown parts of the body.
As it walked, large numbers of moths, mixed with a large amount of black tide energy, were sucked into its body. The moths in the starry sea had originally been flocking to the gap in the distance, but now faced with the bright white flames, they were forced to retreat.
Then it devoured it completely.
It kept moving forward, always leaving a long, thin trail behind it.
Like a baby's uncut umbilical cord, it extended into the depths of the Black Tide Star Sea. Along the umbilical cord, most of the energy he had absorbed was also transmitted back.
At the end of the umbilical cord, in the thickest darkness, it seemed that even more terrifying creatures were looming.
As more and more black tide energy was rapidly devoured by it, the Second Legion stationed near the star line at the edge of the Black Tide Star Sea also discovered clues.
In the temporary space station where the Second Legion is stationed, the soldiers responsible for monitoring the Black Tide Star Sea discovered that the values on the energy monitor were changing dramatically.
Not going up, but going down.
This seems like a good thing, but it's also too strange.
"...Legion Commander!" He was confused and quickly connected to Musa's communication. "The instrument shows that the black tide energy is rapidly shrinking!"
Musa quickly accessed the numerical values on the instrument light screen he sent.
Judging from the energy values, the Black Tide Star Sea is indeed shrinking towards the center.
However, according to the information brought back by Hao Ru and An Qiang, this should be a sign that the core of the black tide is about to explode with energy.
The contraction of the black tide core is to wait for the energy to be released again in an instant.
"..." Musa frowned and couldn't help but whispered, "What a big move."
He sent an emergency report to the military and Mu Boxing respectively, and then stood in front of the window of the command room, silently looking at the universe outside the window.
As the Black Tide Star Sea shrinks, more and more space in the Northern Star Region is exposed.
Musa subconsciously tightened his grip.
Although he knew that this was a sign before the core of the Black Tide erupted, he still couldn't help feeling restless in his heart.
This is a good opportunity.
A good opportunity to clear the black tide and regain the territory of the Northern Star Region.
However, he had no way of knowing what was happening in the core of the Kuroshio. Sending a fleet into the Kuroshio at this moment would be too risky.
Musa's expression shifted between bright and dark. After a moment, he said, "The shuttle warship is carrying exploration equipment."
"Drive five star miles forward from the Space City and report back on the changes in the Black Tide's energy."
"If you encounter any abnormalities, use space shuttle to return home at any time."
The Second Legion's warships once again used the Black Tide Star Sea.
They didn't go deep enough to see the movements at the core, but Mingyu's vision was much farther than theirs.
Because his mental power penetrated the space cracks and truly penetrated into the Black Tide Star Sea.
Black energy of varying shades flowed in the space, surrounding the walking giant butterfly.
With just the first brief glance, the young man saw its two wings of different lengths.
"Like 'Ming Zhuo Feng'..." His voice was cold.
"It's consuming Kuroshio energy, Kuroshio insects, and moths..."
Mingyu's voice paused slightly.
"Ming Zhuofeng" is devouring moths...even though they are clearly its descendants.
The moths flapped their wings, sending out waves of energy one after another, trying their best to get away from the giant butterfly they were hunting. They rushed in all directions, including this spatial crack, even though it was burning with fire.
But they seemed to be hoping to escape through the flames.
"Those moths that just rushed out of the cracks were all running for their lives." Ming Yu murmured.
Use space cracks to escape.
The young man's expression was slightly tense.
That space crack obviously did not originally exist in the competition star map.
...Were those white-eyed moths creating the cracks while escaping?!
The Black Tide creatures can create space rifts?! But if they always had this ability, humanity would have been defeated in the Dawn War...
This was probably a newly acquired ability, and they weren't yet proficient in using it, so they hadn't even used it to invade human space. They only used it in critical moments when their lives were threatened.
Mingyu: “…”
The young man had a flash of inspiration.
The white-eyed moth is a descendant of "Ming Zhuofeng", a brother of "Albin", or perhaps, also a descendant of "Albin".
The nature of Albin's mental power is space tearing.
Mingyu looked cold.
He suddenly realized that the space crack caused by the explosion when leaving the Ming family manor and killing Elbin, and the space crack in the Star Line battle, might not be caused just because the energy wave of the explosion was too intense.
It was also because of "Albin" and "Ming Zhuofeng" that they wanted to escape.
If so, the situation is bad! .
His expression was dull, and he subconsciously looked at Mu Baixing. The driver looked at the young man and nodded, his expression calm.
"The Black Tide creatures may acquire the spiritual properties of humans after devouring humans." The Celtic King, who had fought with the Black Tide creatures a long time ago, obviously thought of this.
This was a very serious incident, but because of the calm tone in which he spoke, it seemed less scary.
“This is not the most important thing to be solved right now.”
Mingyu sorted out his thoughts after hearing his voice.
"Yes." The young man took a deep breath. "The most urgent thing is to stop them. Don't let them kill and devour more people and gain more abilities..."
"Judging from Ming Zhuo Feng's size, its recovery speed far exceeds our expectations."
After the Star Line Battle, they thought that the Black Tide would remain stable for at least half a year.
But the appearance of the giant butterfly at this moment... made Mingyu feel that even if the white-eyed moth had not opened a space crack to escape today, the next attack of the black tide would be imminent.
If "Ming Zhuofeng" continues to develop, the consequences will be unimaginable.
Ming Yu: "Then we must kill it before it fully recovers."
Today.
Ming Yu: "The giant butterfly's energy level is still growing."
Mu Baixing: "Direction of movement?"
"It's approaching us, approaching the crack."
"Try to contact the Star Navigation Competition again to explain the situation and request that nearby space cities and planets enter a state of defensive readiness." Mu Baixing said methodically, "Inquire how long it will take for the remaining participating teams to be rescued."
"Hello, this is Colorful--" Zimao responded to his boss's order and tried hard to call the communication signal of the Star Navigation Competition.
The silver-white starship moved downward, through the rain of light, and approached the communication starship on the side.
As the distance to the communication starship narrowed, their call was finally connected.
"It's all colorful here!—" However, the signal was unstable, and Xiao Zi still couldn't hear the other party's words clearly. He could only raise his voice and talk to himself, "A space crack leading to the black tide has appeared above the starry sea! Please notify the nearby space city—please hurry to rescue! A high-level black tide creature is about to appear—"
"There are high-level black tide creatures! Please rescue them immediately! Evacuate the space city..."
Boom.
As he almost shouted, the vibrating energy waves spread outward with the space crack as the origin.
Zimao subconsciously raised his head and saw the changes in the universe above.
The narrow crack was extending towards both ends.
Black cracks spread across the universe, as if a sharp blade were cutting through fine leather.
It became longer and longer, from a few miles to a dozen miles, and then to hundreds of miles.
In the square of Kash Space City, everyone looked up.
They looked extremely terrified as they looked up at the universe above.
Today is the final day of the Star Navigation Competition. In order to allow the audience to see the grand spectacle of the starship leaving the port, the space city did not turn on the artificial weather system.
They faced the starry sky and saw the cracks spreading from afar through the transparent energy shield.
"Ding! Cash Space City has activated a state of emergency! All residents, please find underground shelters! -"
However, the moment the public broadcast was turned on, the crack had already been opened by "people" from the inside out.
The giant butterfly's tentacles drooped, followed by its wings covered in white spots. The entire space city was attracted and rose upward.
"Start the engines and reverse thrust!" The captain of the Space City Guard stood on the command platform and shouted, "Don't get sucked in!——"
The protective panels outside the base below the space city folded, revealing dozens of large engines.
These engines, originally used to assist the movement of the space city, were operating at maximum power, emitting colorless, high-temperature flames downwards.
Kash Space City was no longer rising, but the thick black tide energy was descending.
The giant butterfly's wings drooped, brushing past the protective shield of the space city, splashing bursts of energy sparks.
And under this unintentional energy touch, the entire space city trembled.
This slight tremor was like a switch, bringing the frightened people in the Space City Square back to their senses.
"Ah!!--" shrill screams rang out one after another, and people surged, frantically looking for a path to the underground shelter.
But the volume of people entering Space City today far exceeded its original design capacity. The lower entrance, insufficiently wide, was quickly clogged with people. More people were forced to remain in the square and surrounding streets, screaming and despairing.
"Stop pushing and shoving!" On the livestream, the young man with rabbit ears turned pale, but he didn't move, nor did he jump off the stage to join the fleeing crowd. He held the microphone in one hand, standing high above, and shouted, "Audience members near Street Six! Please turn left onto the intersection of Street Five and evacuate! There's a bunker entrance in the distance! There's still time! Stop pushing and shoving!"
Even as he said this, his palms were covered in cold sweat, and he looked up at the universe anxiously.
He also didn't know how long the protective shield of Kash Space City could last.
This is just a transit station in space travel, not a military fortress, and its defense capabilities are not top-notch.
The giant butterfly in the sky was still moving outward.
The black wings brushed past the space city again, but at that moment, the plush rabbit saw a bright white line of fire.
It meandered from afar, burning with a roar as it filled the ever-widening crack and collided with the moving giant butterfly.
Amidst the screams and cries, the rabbit-eared young man's heart suddenly relaxed a little, although he himself could not explain this sudden relief.
There is only one colorful large starship, and it is like hitting a rock with an egg to fight against this huge butterfly.
But... he felt inexplicably at ease.
After all, it is colorful.
It can ignite star maps, ignite energy rivers, disperse black tide attacks on star lines with a single strike, and travel through hundreds of stars...
A colorful world that can bring countless miracles.
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