vncnus Chapter 85: The Vanished Planet
Chapter 85: The Vanished Planet
Inside the control room of the Heilongshan X81 spacecraft, all was quiet.
Hong stood upright in front of the huge outdoor simulation screen with his hands behind his back, gazing at the unknown starry sky.
The distance of 128 light-years is rapidly shortened due to the superposition of speeds in the dark universe.
"Preparing to leave the dark universe and return to our original space travel mode. Countdown: ten, nine, eight..."
Qiu Jian, dressed in all black, had his indifferent virtual projection floating on one side of the main control panel.
The countdown reached zero, and a ripple appeared in the space outside the spaceship. The ship shuddered slightly, then broke through the spatial barrier and steadily returned to its normal space travel trajectory.
100% outdoor scene simulation enabled.
However, the scene that appeared before Hong made him frown.
A vast, desolate, and deathly still expanse.
Apart from the faint light from a few distant stars and the cosmic dust and debris floating nearby, there was nothing else.
The coordinates of this star field in front of them were completely empty.
The massive, life-bearing planet that should exist here is nowhere to be seen.
"What happened? Qiu Jian, where's Sword-Loving Star?"
Hong turned his head and asked in a low voice.
In Qiu Jian's virtual eyes, a massive amount of data flashed by rapidly. He remained silent for five seconds, seemingly comparing the spaceship's navigation system with the ancient star map repeatedly.
After a moment, he spoke again in a confident tone.
"Master, based on the comparison with the original star map sealed tens of thousands of years ago, and the trajectory analysis of the spaceship's navigation log, our current coordinates are those of the Sword Devourer Star. The overall offset of the coordinate point will not exceed one hundred kilometers. This error is negligible on a cosmic scale."
Hong's heart sank.
The coordinates are correct, but the planet has disappeared.
This means that his goal for this trip may have vanished with the disappearance of this planet.
Without that puppet as Earth's military guarantee, what will we use to fight against the Nolan family's main fleet three months from now?
Hong's expression was somewhat grim. Just as he was about to have Qiu Jian immediately expand the scanning range to see if he could find any fragments of civilization relics in this airspace, Taino, who had been standing silently behind Hong, suddenly reacted violently.
He was breathing heavily, his hands pressed tightly against his chest, his weathered face flushed red.
His eyes were fixed on a corner of the outdoor simulation screen, filled with pain, confusion, and a longing that he himself could not understand.
"What did you feel?"
Hong reacted extremely quickly, appearing in front of Taino in a flash and asking in a deep voice.
Taino's body trembled slightly uncontrollably. He struggled to raise a hand that was trembling with excitement and pointed to an inconspicuous giant meteorite in the dark void deep in the background of the screen.
He said haltingly, "Master... I... I seem to... vaguely sense... ahead, on that meteorite, there seems to be something... attracting me."
Hong's gaze immediately followed the direction Taino was pointing.
It was a huge, dark-colored meteorite, thousands of meters long, with a pitted surface covered with traces of cosmic ray erosion. Compared to the countless other cosmic meteorites floating in this starry sky, it was no different.
"Qiu Jian, immediately lock onto the meteorite at those coordinates and conduct a deep array scan with the highest precision."
Without the slightest hesitation, Hong decisively issued the order.
"clear."
Two seconds later, Qiu Jian's cold, electronic voice rang out precisely in the bridge.
"Scan analysis complete. The target meteorite is mainly composed of ordinary star rock, is solid inside, and no signs of intelligent life or high-level energy reactions were detected. Master, based on the analysis, Taino is likely experiencing hallucinations due to returning to its home planet's coordinates."
Hong's gaze swept back and forth between the seemingly unremarkable meteorite and Taino beside him, whose face was contorted in pain but whose eyes were unusually resolute.
"Sometimes, machine scanning can be deceived by more sophisticated methods."
"Come on, I'll take you there and you'll know everything."
Hong didn't say anything more and made the decision.
He strode to the airlock door on the side of the spaceship and gestured to Taino behind him to follow.
The heavy alloy hatch slid open to both sides with a soft "hiss." The vacuum of space was exposed to the two of them.
With a thought, Hong activated his domain.
The black domain power rapidly expanded outwards, firmly enveloping him and Taino beside him.
Even Taino and Hong are not capable of physically traversing the universe. Without the isolation of their domains, they probably wouldn't last even a minute.
The two transformed into streaks of black light, leaping out of the spaceship and flying rapidly toward the giant meteorite hundreds of kilometers away.
The closer Taino got to the giant meteorite, the more violently his body reacted. Veins bulged on his exposed skin, and even some dark red, mysterious patterns began to appear faintly.
Through his domain perception, Hong was able to detect that the blood in Tylenol's body was flowing and boiling wildly.
And this blood circulation trajectory is clearly the operating route of that "Blood Blossom" secret technique.
Hong's heart suddenly stirred.
He also began to operate the "Blood Blossom" secret technique, which he had already cultivated to the first level.
At the very moment when the genetic energy within Hong's body surged and boiled according to the secret method.
In space, two forces of the same origin resonated together, creating a wondrous resonance.
This invisible resonance wave spread out in circles of ripples unseen by the naked eye, reaching the huge meteorite in front of them.
With this resonant touch, the seemingly ordinary giant meteorite began to peel away and disintegrate on a large scale, turning into cosmic dust and dispersing into the surrounding dark void.
Beneath the layers of peeling rock, a hard armor gleaming with a dark red metallic sheen gradually comes into view.
Hong and Taino slowly landed on the metal surface, which had completely lost its disguise.
This was not a naturally formed meteorite at all, but a massive metallic object. Its dark red, hardened surface was covered with terrifying cracks hundreds of meters long. Even after tens of thousands of years of erosion, these horrific marks still exuded a terrifying aura of destruction.
Qiu Jian's virtual image was projected from the auxiliary optical computer on Hong's wrist. For the first time, violent data fluctuations appeared in his eternally emotionless virtual electronic eyes.
"This...this is E9-level metal 'Crimson Extreme Geng Gold'. This level of metal structure is the remains of the highest-level interstellar war fortress on our Sword-Loving Star back then. Only an immortal powerhouse who is proficient in the laws of space could create such a level of camouflage."
Qiu Jian's voice carried a hint of shock.
A hint of joy flashed in Hong's eyes.
Since it is the core remains of a war fortress, it is highly likely that it contains the high-level cosmic crystals or energy blocks that he has been dreaming of on this trip.
Taino, standing to the side, seemed to be guided by something from the deepest part of his bloodline. He staggered to a closed metal door on the surface of the metal wreckage that looked no different from its surroundings.
Without any hesitation, he bit his wrist, letting the bright red blood drip into a tiny, inconspicuous groove on the metal door.
"Creak—"
With a sickening metallic scraping sound, the heavy metal door that had been sealed for tens of thousands of years actually slowly opened to the sides as his blood was poured on it.
An ancient and vast energy aura, carrying a strong smell of blood, surged wildly out from the bottomless, dark passage behind the door.
"Go in."
Hong raised the black spear in his hand and had Taino walk beside him. The two stepped into the unknown dark passage.