"Interesting..." Han Feng narrowed his eyes. The powder exhibited a more complex structure under the power of the stars—each particle was not a simple crystal, but rather composed of countless nested hexagonal structures, like a microscopic honeycomb.
A small black dot was approaching on the distant sea. Han Feng looked up and saw a fishing boat. He released his consciousness and discovered it was Chen Feng, who was there to meet him.
"Any results?" Chen Feng asked impatiently after pulling Han Feng onto the fishing boat, his eyes quickly scanning Han Feng for any injuries.
"Get me a sample bottle." Han Feng interrupted him abruptly, shaking the blue powder enveloped in starlight. "This stuff dies in sunlight."
Chen Feng immediately took out a small bottle from the cabin. When Han Feng transferred the powder into it, a layer of frost immediately formed on the inside of the tube.
"What the hell is this...?" Chen Feng frowned. "Found at the bottom of the sea?"
"A 'ghostly thing' that actively attacks people." Han Feng closed the sample tube. Seawater dripped from his hair onto the tube wall, instantly turning into tiny ice crystals. "There's video footage in the submersible's recorder."
On the return voyage, Han Feng sat in the cabin fiddling with a portable analyzer. The data on the screen made him frown more and more—the atomic arrangement of these blue substances completely violated known crystallographic rules, and some bond angles even exhibited a theoretically impossible 72 degrees.
"What did the test results show?" Chen Feng handed over the towel.
Han Feng turned the analyzer towards him: "Each particle is a perfect dodecahedron, with an even more complex internal structure. Like..."
"What does it resemble?" Chen Feng asked, his expression grave. "How similar is it to the residue found on Nangong Wentian's body?"
"87%." Han Feng typed on the keyboard to bring up a comparison chart. "But this time the activity is even stronger. Look here—" He pointed to a fluctuating curve, "They are continuously releasing some kind of pulse signal."
As if to confirm his words, the sample tube suddenly began to vibrate violently, rattling on the tray. The blue powder inside spun wildly, forming tiny vortices, while emitting a high-frequency hum that was almost beyond the range of human hearing.
"Damn it!" Chen Feng grabbed the sample tube. "What is it responding to?"
Han Feng gazed at the approaching coastline outside the porthole, his pupils slightly contracting: "Perhaps it's not 'what,' but 'who.'"
---This is the dividing line---
The temporary base was set up in an inconspicuous commercial and residential building in Yokohama's port area. As soon as Han Feng entered, he pulled off his soaking wet coat and carefully placed the sample tubes into a lead-lined isolation box. Chen Feng had already activated the encryption device and begun transmitting underwater images.
"Signal encryption level A, send it directly to Elder Lin." Han Feng shook the water droplets off his hair. "The analysis data will be packaged separately and marked 'Extremely Dangerous'."
Chen Feng's fingers flew across the keyboard: "The quantum channel has been used. However..." He glanced at the buzzing isolation box, "Will this thing hold out until the base's inspection?"
Han Feng didn't answer immediately. He put on special gloves and opened the isolation chamber again. The blue powder inside the sample tube was still spinning at high speed, but the frequency had decreased slightly. Through his perception of the power of stars, he could "see" that each particle was releasing faint energy filaments, like the tentacles of a bioluminescent creature in the deep sea, trying to connect to something.
"It's searching for a source of resonance." Han Feng suddenly understood. "Like radio frequency modulation... wait!" He slammed the lid shut. "Wanwan, immediately scan for all abnormal energy readings within a five-kilometer radius!"
Su Wanwan quickly switched to another device. The radar map on the screen began to rotate, initially without any abnormalities, until the third scan, when a faint red dot suddenly appeared in the northwest direction and disappeared in an instant.
Liu Mengran and Dongfang Wantang watched them nervously from the side.
"There's something there!" Chen Feng zoomed in on the area. "Near Yokohama Park, but the signal is too weak..."
Han Feng grabbed his coat: "You guys stay here and continue monitoring the samples. I'll go check on them."
Before anyone could stop him, Han Feng had already slipped out the door. The security camera in the corridor happened to be turned to the other side, perfectly missing his figure.
Within the cultivation space, Zero's light and shadow fluctuated violently, a rare occurrence. He circled the blue powder suspended in the air three times, and with each circle, the brightness of his soul body dimmed slightly.
"Confirmed." Zero's voice was serious. "This is the Moon Spirit Clan's 'Condensed Crystal,' essentially their energy battery and communicator."
Han Feng frowned: "Moon Spirit Clan? Not the Nether Crystal Clan?"
"The Nether Crystal Clan is merely one branch of an extraterrestrial force." Zero appeared unusually tense. "The Moon Enchantress Clan excels in mind control and energy parasitism, and is responsible for infiltration within the Extraterrestrial Alliance."
With the interpretation of zero, space projects a new holographic image: a group of translucent, jellyfish-like floating creatures whose tentacles are made of pure blue energy, leaving similar blue crystals in the air with a gentle wave.
"These crystals will autonomously seek out hosts," Zero continued. "They usually infiltrate a biological nervous system, slowly transforming the host into a vessel for the Moon Elves. The most troublesome thing is..." The light and shadow suddenly flickered, "...it's completely undetectable in the early stages of parasitism."
Han Feng recalled the strange conditions underwater: "So, neither the missing fishermen nor I saw those creatures on the seabed..."
"It's most likely already an incubator," Zero said. "Watch out! The sample you brought in is trying to connect to the outside world!"
The suspended blue powder suddenly burst forth with blinding light, and the system space began to distort. Han Feng immediately mobilized the power of the stars to form a confinement field, but the crystal's activity far exceeded expectations, and it actually began to devour the surrounding energy!
"It's absorbing the power of the stars!" Han Feng was shocked to discover that his energy was being rapidly drained away.
Zero's light and shadow suddenly rushed towards the crystal: "Forced Isolation!" A silvery-white light membrane enveloped the rampaging sample, and the space finally stabilized.
"Did you see that?" Zero's voice was weary. "This thing has adapted to Earth's energy environment. The Moon Spirits' infiltration... is probably deeper than we imagined."
"Aren't these things unable to absorb the power of stars? How come they suddenly did so just now?" Han Feng said, still somewhat shaken.
“Perhaps the Moon Demon Clan hasn’t seen the power of stars for a long time, and this kind of energy is rare on Blue Star, so it’s hard to tell at first glance. Look more closely,” Zero said.
Following Zero's gesture, the blue powder that was originally active suddenly lost a lot of its activity, and more than half of it disappeared.
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