pdf-ebookys Chapter 77: Departure, Dragon Star!
Chapter 77: Departure, Dragon Star!
Extreme Martial Arts Academy, quiet room.
In the still room, two virtual projections are planning the route of a famous interstellar voyage.
"This is the Dragon Star."
Babata, with its devilish horns, waved its little hands, unfolding a vast and dynamic cosmic star map before the three. At the very center of the star map, a coordinate shimmering with an eerie red light was prominently marked.
"Located 320,000 light-years from Earth, it is currently the most prosperous core trading hub known in our star system." Babata's sharp voice echoed continuously in the quiet room.
"Your Earth is currently registered as an unclaimed planet in the universe. This situation is very dangerous. Once it is discovered by those ill-intentioned space adventurers, the entire population of your planet will become slaves who can be bought and sold at will."
"Therefore, the only way to break free from this predicament if you don't want to be a slave is to voluntarily go to Qiulong Star and become a citizen of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Once we become citizens of the Empire, we can legally buy ownership of Earth!"
Dressed in black with a cold expression, Qiu Jian hovered to the side and added in a cold voice.
"On Qiulong Star, forces are intertwined, and all sorts of people mingle. But there, there is a high-level trading market. We can buy consciousness-sensing helmets there that are specifically designed for accessing the virtual universe network."
"A virtual universe?" Thor rubbed his bald head, asking with a look of curiosity, "I can understand buying ownership of Earth, but what's this virtual universe helmet, anyway?"
Babata sighed helplessly, and had no choice but to patiently explain to the three brothers in detail the powerful functions of the virtual universe and the importance of the consciousness-sensing helmet to Earth's current civilization.
Upon hearing this, Luo Feng involuntarily clenched his fists and spoke first.
"My Golden Horned Beast clone is now at a depth of 10,000 meters in the Pacific Ocean. With the massive metal ore we brought back from Mars as its food source, its evolution speed will definitely be faster than we expected. Even if something unexpected happens on Earth during our absence, my clone can arrive immediately to protect our family. We, the main body, have no worries about leaving."
Hong picked up a cup of hot tea that had already been brewed.
The rising steam from the tea blurred his vision.
He silently calculated all his available cards. As a transmigrator familiar with the original plot, he knew better than anyone how important this trip to Qiulong Star was, and he was also aware that Earth was facing a potential threat.
He gently placed the teacup in his hand on the hard alloy tabletop, making a crisp sound.
"Then let's set it on the Dragon Star."
Hong made the decision immediately, bringing the meeting to a close.
"Once we get there, our first priority is to obtain legal citizenship in the Black Dragon Mountain Empire. Secondly, we must do everything we can to acquire consciousness-sensing helmets that can access the virtual universe network. We must connect to the virtual universe network."
……
On the underground helipad, the all-black Black Dragon Mountain X81 spaceship was quietly parked.
"All energy circuits are fully loaded, and the engines are running smoothly. We are ready to depart at any time!" Babata stood in front of the main control panel and excitedly issued the final command.
The eerie blue exhaust plume at the bottom of the spaceship erupted violently in an instant. The powerful thrust propelled this behemoth silently out of the special tunnel deep underground, heading straight for the boundless expanse of space.
After completely escaping Earth's gravitational pull, the spaceship's speed began to increase dramatically.
"Attention, we are about to enter the dark universe!" Babata shouted from inside the command module.
As soon as the words were spoken, an extremely intense distortion occurred in the outer space outside the spaceship. The entire spaceship also trembled.
The next second, the spaceship's speed broke through the speed of light, actually cutting through the solid spatial barrier of the original universe and plunging into a completely different and strange space—the dark universe.
"Activate 100% outdoor scene simulation!"
At Babata's command, the previously pitch-black metal bulkhead instantly became completely transparent. The three brothers now felt as if they were standing directly in the open void, completely exposed. The sight before them filled them with an unprecedented and immense shock.
In the dark universe, the light emitted by countless distant stars is relentlessly stretched into dazzling, colorful bands. A shimmering, iridescent light, like a river of time formed entirely of light, flows silently around them.
"My God, this view is absolutely stunning!" Thor's eyes widened, his mouth agape, and he exclaimed in amazement.
Luo Feng was also deeply attracted by this unique cosmic spectacle. Last time they went to Mars, they were too close to enter the dark universe.
Hong crossed his arms, his eyes gleaming with awe. He had read descriptions of this scene in books more than once in his previous life, so he was somewhat prepared. But when he saw it with his own eyes, he was still overwhelmed with awe at the grandeur of the universe.
He calmly reminded his two brothers beside him, "Tuck your chins in, lest when we get to Qiulong Star, people will immediately recognize us as natives from somewhere."
Taking advantage of the opportunity, Babata brought up various complex data on the light screen and began to give the three a crash course on the common knowledge of the travel ratio between the original universe and the dark universe. He also repeatedly warned them that they must keep a low profile on Qilong Star and never cause trouble.
Qiu Jian stood to the side with his arms crossed, coldly stating that as long as they could acquire a suitable energy core to power the C5-level puppet, they could roam freely on Qiulong Star as long as they avoided provoking those at the high-ranking cosmic level or above.
The two advanced intelligent beings each held their own version of events, and Babata, unable to contain his anger, was about to attack Qiu Jian, causing chaos and confusion. This, however, added a rare touch of fun to the otherwise monotonous space voyage.
……
The journey through the dark universe was both tedious and novel. Nearly ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
"Attention everyone, prepare to slow down, we're about to leave the Dark Universe," Babata's voice rang out.
The reverse thrust of the spaceship's main engines began to gradually engage. The dazzling streaks of light around them began to slow rapidly, and space itself experienced another slight distortion.
With a barely perceptible tremor, the spaceship broke through the spatial barrier and returned steadily to its original universe.
The outdoor simulation also presented a completely new visual experience.
In the starry sky ahead, a colossal planet lay silently at the edge of their vision. This planet was countless times larger than Earth, and was surrounded by a ring of stars composed of countless meteorites and cosmic dust, radiating a captivating and majestic aura.
"This is... the Dragon Star..." Luo Feng couldn't help but exclaim in admiration.
"We've received the navigation signal from the Qilong Star Airport. To keep a low profile, let's choose to dock at a public docking port in outer space." Babata quickly took over the spaceship's landing procedure.
The spaceship smoothly entered the giant metal docking port, which was comparable in size to half the Earth. Looking around, the port was filled with countless spaceships of various strange types and sizes.
"laugh--"
The hatch opened, and Hong led his two sworn brothers out on foot.
Two green-skinned alien staff members in matching uniforms strode up and demanded parking fees from them in perfect universal language.
Luo Feng tossed out a Qianwu Coin from his storage space.
The green-skinned alien took the coin, his face immediately plastered with a respectful smile, and he quickly arranged a parking spot for them.
Hong's gaze swept quickly across the surrounding crowd, as if searching for something.
In the original story, Luo Feng would encounter Gao Sheng, who has a powerful background, here, thus saving him from a lot of unnecessary trouble.
But now, Hong couldn't see the fat man in the crowd.
He slowly withdrew his gaze, thinking to himself, "This is normal. The timeline has been advanced considerably because of my intervention. It's also normal that Gao Sheng hasn't come to Qiulong Star yet."
……
Following the signs inside the airport, the three boarded the fully automated rail transit and officially set foot on the land of Qiulong Star.
The moment their feet touched the ground, a heavy pulling force was instantly applied to the three of them.
The gravity here is more than three times that of Earth. For an ordinary Earthling, it would be enough to crush their internal organs in an instant. But for the three brothers, this gravity only caused their steps to pause slightly as they fell, and they immediately adapted and continued walking forward as if nothing had happened.
Stepping out of the station, the bustling scene before them overwhelmed their senses.
The wide streets were paved with an unknown dark alloy. In the sky, streaks of light, radiating powerful primal energy, flew by at high speed; these were powerful beings from the universe, flying on various psychic weapons of different shapes.
On both sides of the street, towering, bizarre buildings stood side by side. Shoulder to shoulder, they were filled with all sorts of strangely shaped alien races. Some had a single horn on their foreheads, some were covered in hard scales, and some even had three arms.
Star-level powerhouses can be seen everywhere here.
Huge alien beasts were pulling luxurious metal carriages, rampaging across the wide alloy road.
Hong, Lei Shen, and Luo Feng completely concealed their auras, disguising their primal energy fluctuations at the planetary level. They disguised themselves as ordinary interstellar travelers, flying and weaving through the streets, heading towards the destination Babata had already marked.
Following the map's directions, they needed to cross three blocks to reach the administrative building of the Black Dragon Mountain Empire stationed on Qiulong Star to complete the final procedures for acquiring imperial citizenship.
But just as they were crossing a huge intersection, a sudden uproar erupted from the street on their left.
It was a vast plaza, its area extremely expansive. Hundreds of enormous iron cages, crafted from high-strength alloys, were densely packed together. Inside, crammed with slaves of various races, their eyes vacant and their clothes tattered, were slaves. Armed guards stood around, loudly hawking their wares.
This is the largest slave trading market on Qiulong Star.
"Stop looking. In the vast universe, without the protection of the strong, the weak are just commodities that can be priced." Babata's voice gently echoed in Luo Feng and Thor's minds.
Hong's gaze casually swept over the rows of slaves for sale. He was about to speed up and fly over them when his body suddenly stopped.
His gaze pierced through the noisy crowd and settled on a corner at the very edge of the line.
There, crouched, was a down-on-his-luck martial artist bound by several heavy energy chains.
Although the martial artist had his head down, the faint aura emanating from him resonated with the "Blood Blossom" secret technique in Hong's mind.