Almost the entirety of the warship’s command centre was covered with these white secretions, to the point where it was hard to discern the room’s original colouring. Many strands also hung down from the ceiling, extending from various instruments and walls diagonally across the entire command room
The ripe aroma of rot permeated every inch of the room.
That king insect was in the very center of the room, right on the command console. It didn’t even have a shell. The entire command room was its nest.
As it shifted a little, the lights on the console blinked, followed by the warship roaring to life.
Only now did Ye Muo realize that it was not simply using the warship as a hive. It was somehow controlling the warship.
Ye Muo’s psychic power quickly crossed the distance and completely took over the warship. His psychic power entered the command console, whose connections were all gunked up with strands of the white secretions as fine as spider silk.
The king insect shifted to an upright position and hissed at Ye Muo much quieter than before. Then it swiftly secreted a clear liquid.
When droplets of the clear liquid fell on the white secretions, the latter melted away like snow at a rate visible to the human eye to reveal a little of what was beneath.
At first there were few white eggs. Then the seat in front of the command console.
Finally, a young man’s face peered out between the intertwined spider silk-like secretions. His cheeks still had colour, as if he had simply fallen asleep.
The white secretions continued to dissolve, revealing several other people in the vicinity. Some of them were seated in the chairs in front of the command consoles, others slumped over the console.
Among them were young adults brimming with youth and middle-aged staff in technician uniforms.
Ye Muo clenched his sword tighter by the door, unaware of the profound sadness in his gaze as he took this all in.
The young man opened his eyes and slowly turned to look at Ye Muo. However, his pupils were dilated and unfocused. The awkward movement he made barely constituted ‘turning his head’.
Next, the others also moved, gradually tearing away at the white substance that remained on their bodies.
This process almost seemed like something was being hatched. Ye Muo’s arrival seemed to interrupt their emergence from their cocoons.
The initial young man was the first to rise. There was a large hole in his chest filled with the unidentified white substance. There was a strange lustre to the exposed skin of his hands and feet.
A sharp contrast with his still ruddy face.
He stood there with a dagger in hand. The others who emerged later were the ones to first approach Ye Muo. Their initially stiff movements became smoother and smoother until they moved as they had in life.
Ye Muo braced his sword in front of him.
Their relatively slow pace gave Ye Muo plenty of time to react.
In the command centre, Lin Huixuan had already realized something was wrong on Ye Muo’s end.
All the surveillance had returned to normal, but it was impossible to see inside of the warship Ye Muo had taken over. He tried to contact Ye Muo numerous times to no avail.
At this moment, everyone who was still in the docking hall received the same order: [Go check in on His Little Highness.]
They began searching for Ye Muo’s location. After finally pinpointing the warship he was on, they set off.
As they approached the warship, another alarm sounded throughout the base.
[The next wave of the insect tide is here. Please be vigilant of the underground.]
Several squads quickly assumed offensive positions.
The abnormal amount of king insects surfacing in the docking hall left them almost no time to breathe.
One of the soldiers stood on the high platform meant for warship repair. He was most handy with throwing knives and he was up high already at the beginning. He supported the other members of his squad until they also climbed up and started attacking. He breathed a sigh of relief and clicked his tongue as he tossed another knife. “It’s like they’ve lost their minds.”
In the warship, the white secretions around Ye Muo have already been eliminated. More accurately, most of the secretions in the entire command room have basically been slashed or taken care of in the chaotic battle.
The seats and tables in the command room had been knocked aside.
The soldiers were astonishingly strong. They also continued to move even when decapitated, just like a snake. Fortunately, they didn’t use psychic power as they did in life.
Ye Muo had long since snapped the young man’s dagger. Now he was using his forearm to block Ye Muo’s blade.
Ye Muo had severed both legs of the others early on, removing their mobility.
Ye Muo’s blade did not pause this time. He had a clear course of action in mind. He would sever the young man’s forearm, shoulder and then both of his legs.
However, his blade did not connect in the way he expected. It penetrated the other party’s flesh before getting utterly stuck on the bone.
Ye Muo’s pupils contracted slightly.
The other party seized this moment to slam a fist into Ye Muo’s vulnerable abdomen. When Ye Muo staggered, the young man resisted the sword with his forearm and strode forward.
Ye Muo refused to let go of his sword even as his back hit the wall. He used his sword as a shield to fend off the young man. The other party was astonishingly strong and continued to inch forward to try and crush him.
But the sharp blade that could split a king insect in two and cut into his flesh was helplessly caught on his bones.
The two remained in a stalemate.
Time seemed to slow down to a crawl. Ye Muo even noticed from a gap in the other’s split flesh the beautiful silver lustre to his bones.
Then the already deceased young man stepped back, withdrawing both his arms before using his shoulder to meet Ye Muo’s blade.
He once again slammed Ye Muo against the wall and tried to wrap his now free hands around Ye Muo’s neck. Ye Muo adjusted the sword’s angle and ducked out from beneath his arm. He slashed down on the young man’s back.
The blade was caught on bone once more. Ye Mo’s opponent was stronger than him. His arms trembled slightly due to how much force he was using.
Soon, his other hand also braced against the flat of the sword. Ye Muo subconsciously channelled psychic power continuously along the blade.
Ye Muo’s whole body was tense. Cracks gradually appeared throughout the blade, just like on his body.
Ye Muo used even more psychic power, layering it on the sword through his body.
Actually, he couldn’t freely control his psychic power. The way Ye Muo used psychic power has always been very rough and brusque. He only mobilized a small portion of it as well. You could also say his body’s movements have always been enhanced by his psychic power.
Much of his psychic power seemed to have a mind of their own. They expanded outward relentlessly, bringing back vast amounts of unwanted data to him.
Like a sword without a hilt, a touch was enough to injure. This was the first time Ye Muo made the decision to voluntarily grasp the blade.
The little bit he tapped into had great success. The blade finally inched forward, cutting into the bone.
Ye Muo felt all the blood in his body was burning. He could hear every one of his joints grinding together.
But at this moment, Ye Muo suddenly snapped out of it. His aimlessly expanding psychic power also stopped and headed in one direction with a new purpose. In the end, even the psychic power assisting him left his body and the warship.
They drifted across the endless wilderness to the rift before crumbling, drifting down into its depths like snow.
If the sight was visible to the naked eye, it would definitely be a scene more magnificent than even the boundless galaxy and the vast, starry sky.
Ye Muo’s sword cracked even more. A delayed sense of pain came from his palm. Due to how much force he was using, the flat of the sword had sunken deeply into Ye Muo’s palm.
The sword made of precious and rare metals finally reached its limit. It snapped from the middle, its fragments flying all around the room.
Almost in an instant, the young man who was originally suppressed twisted to pin Ye Muo down against the floor by his shoulder. There was a loud thump.
The young man’s other hand tightly grasped Ye Muo’s throat.
Ye Muo’s hand touched something cold and sticky.
He grabbed the other party’s wrist. It was very cold and felt more like metal than skin. Ye Muo coughed. Blood seeped out of the corner of his mouth. It was a little salty.
Ye Muo eyes widened slightly at the white secretions hanging overhead.
So it wasn’t a dream.
The wounds on his body tore open. A metallic scent faintly pervaded the command room full of intense, strange aromas.
The dying king insect that Ye Muo had managed to stab at the beginning of the fight shifted from its hiding spot in the corner.
Lin Huixuan was still trying to contact Ye Muo. He gave up command to someone else and focused solely on Ye Muo. After who knew how many attempts, Ye Muo’s response finally appeared in the channel, just like before.
[Everything is fine.]
….
Norton’s psychic power forced their way into Ano’s psychic domain. As soon as he did, Ano’s suddenly twisted expression evened out.
Norton was already familiar with his current condition.
It was very painful to have one’s psychic domain invaded. Norton was prepared for a struggle each time, but he’s already killed so many Grantz, including his father, like this. All of them quietly allowed or even welcomed Norton to kill them.
Ano suddenly moved before his entire body started to tremble slightly. His hand suddenly fumbled its way to Norton’s arm, resting so lightly on it that it almost couldn’t be considered resistance.
But Norton’s psychic power stopped. Now that he was in Ano’s psychic domain, he could notice even the slightest changes in Ano’s condition.
The psychic power Ano released when he lost control calmed bit by bit. The storm raging moments earlier went away.
Norton had yet to let go, but the amount of force he used lessened significantly.
Ano shifted minutely. “Big Brother.”
His voice was very hoarse. “It’s so beautiful.”
Ano continued to stumble over his words, “Do you see it, Big Brother? The glowing snow falling from the sky…”
Norton was still covering Ano’s eyes. It was a long moment before he made a sound of acknowledgement.
：：
Lin Huixuan was a little relieved receiving a response, but that soon changed with the other feedback coming in.
“Secretary-General Lin, a warship has been activated but the command centre can’t find its signal.”
The warships in that docking hall were reserved for emergencies. They could take off directly.
Lin Huixuan keenly sensed something was wrong. He contacted Ye Muo again only to receive the same response.
He quickly compared this sentence with what he had received just to confirm. Lin Huixuan couldn’t help but slam a fist on the table. It really was the exact same as before.
The first time this message came in was before Ye Muo entered the warship. This meant he had received two identical messages since then.
“Start the rest of the surplus warships immediately! Be prepared to pursue.”
“Establish a forced comms override with the rogue warship.”
