Fated to Die to the Player, I'll Live Freely with My SSS-Class Ship! Chapter 124 124: Seeds of Extinction

About an hour later, my bad premonition ca true.

As soon as the turnover was completed, work started pouring into the office like a broken dam. Paperwork, both digital and physical, piled up into a mountain with no end in sight, threatening to swallow whole.

Apparently, all the newly reinstated officials were giving their 120% best effort to display their competency before . At least, that's what I heard from my ever-dutiful secretary, Herman, who kept adding to the pile without rcy or hesitation.

I paused for a mont, putting down my pen and surveying the total amount of papers stacked around .

If I were to carefully and ticulously read through each and every one, it would take weeks—maybe even months—to finish. Thus... Trusting my subordinates, I decided to only check what absolutely needed to be checked, sign what needed to be signed, and promptly ignore the rest.

Right—no more reading everything in detail. Just move my hands as needed!

This way, my work efficiency multiplied by at least a hundredfold.

With this newfound speed, as long as I didn't rest or slack off, the mountain of docunts in front of should be cleared before the day ends!

"Duke Grail, please work seriously."

"Yes, sir!"

Well... At least, that was my plan.

But Herman quickly noticed my sloppy efforts and reprimanded without rcy.

While being taught the art of skimming important details buried inside long paragraphs of pleasantries, I continued working nonstop, grinding through the endless paperwork. The only ti I paused my hands was during altis.

The adorable maids who arrived to deliver my food pampered to the extre, even going so far as to feed directly. All I needed to do was sit there, open my mouth occasionally, and chew.

Being fed by pretty girls certainly didn't feel bad... In fact, it was revitalizing. But for so strange reason, I couldn't seem to taste the food I was eating.

'Stress...? Has paperwork given PTSD from my forr life as an office slave...?' I wondered silently, but I wasn't too sure.

After finishing my als, I jumped right back into thrashing through—I an, diligently checking reports and signing petitions. As I was doing so...

"Hnn? What's this...?"

I noticed sothing odd among the stack.

Recalling a similar report I had just seen monts ago, I quickly fished the previous one from the top of the pile for comparison. "Yeah, I'm not imagining it. The quantity and quality of food production is definitely falling."

It wasn't a small margin of error, either. It was a full-blown defect, with at least a 20% drop in both yield and quality.

I looked around the room, trying to spot soone to consult with, but realized that no one else was present. In monts like these, there's that classic trope where you call soone's na and they magically appear, right? Half-joking, I gave it a shot.

"Herman, co check this for . What do you think?"

"Yes, Duke."

"WHATAFKDSH!"

My poor heart...! God above! Seeing an old man's face suddenly pop up right before your own is pure horror material!!!

While I was still recovering from a blend of shock and awe, Herman began his explanation with practiced calm.

"It has been troubling the agricultural sector for a while now—starting around three months ago. Crop quality appears to be declining despite all efforts to maintain it." He said. "It's not only in our planet either, but was also observed in the nearby planets around various systems."

The problem wasn't manpower or technique—it seed far more fundantal.

The crops simply didn't grow as well as before, even though the farrs were following centuries-honed thods without deviation.

This wasn't a dieval world where my basic knowledge of farming could sohow help. This was a world where hydroponics and aeroponics were considered basic knowledge, with per-square-ter yields far beyond anything back on Earth.

But... This was still a world I was deeply familiar with.

"I think I know the cause..." I muttered, puzzled yet strangely confident.

In one of the minor side quests, there was one called the "Earth Demon Invasion." Of course, it wasn't an actual "Demon" you fought—it was a space fantasy setting, after all. Rather, it referred to an alien species that burrowed beneath the planetary crust, sowhere deep in the mantle, siphoning off minerals and nutrients from the surrounding soil.

The symptoms matched almost perfectly, making about 90% certain it was the sa underlying trouble.

But if that was true, then there was an even bigger problem to consider.

"If Earth Demons are already on the move... does that an the chapter 18 plot is getting pushed forward?!" I frowned, my mind spinning.

Chapters 1 to 5 covered the introduction phase, where the story centered on unraveling the mystery of the "egg" and its cosmic significance. Chapters 6 to 9 detailed the battle against the Astoria Conglorate, their brutal retaliation for the MC killing Gerard.

Chapters 10 to 12 chronicled the intense Alien Invasion Arc, while chapters 13 to 15 followed the saga of Princess—no, Queen—Cassandra. Finally, chapters 16 to 18 comprised the apocalyptic Extinction Arc.

This section was a major turning point not only in the story, but also for the player's future choices. Their decisions in this part would significantly affect future plots, making it an incredibly important section in the grand sche of the story.

But honestly, without the "Egg," there's simply nothing we could do against the looming threat.

In short, there's not much ti left. We have to resu the progression of the story quickly!

"Still, what the hell is going on?"

Events that shouldn't occur for several more years were already beginning to show their initial signs. Then, there were the minor inconsistencies between the actual plot and the events of this universe. Could it all have been triggered by my intervention...?

No.

Definitely not.

Gerard Astoria was just a minor character within the broader story. Although his death was necessary to initiate the Astoria battle arc, since we still obtained the Warp Nexus from Anderson in the end, there shouldn't be any more major disturbances.

Butterfly Effect? No way.

The events unfolding now are definitely not happening because of my involvent, but because this universe naturally follows its own progression. And this ans that although my knowledge of how to "clear" the events could help, I would need to push forward through the story first.

"Herman! I need to go!" I shouted as I stood up with urgency.

"Please go after finishing this pile first, Duke Grail."

"...Alright."

But as expected, I couldn't simply run away from my responsibilities. Damn it, I'm definitely dumping this troubleso title onto soone else in the near future...!

---

In the end, it took until the Warp Nexus Module's completion before I was finally released from the tyranny of my deskwork. Of course, since I couldn't install the module by myself, I asked the workers to handle it for —naturally with so added convenience and labor fees.

I wanted to test it out imdiately, but it was already late into the night, nearing midnight when my remaining required duties were finally wrapped up.

A mountain of paperwork still remained, but the rest could safely be left in Herman's capable hands. Everything that urgently needed my attention was already taken care of. I no longer had the luxury of ti to waste on such botherso work.

I rushed back to the Range Falcon, which was parked stealthily above the rear of the administrative building. Of course, I had to use the space suit's thrusters to reach it first.

"You're back?"

"Welco back~!"

"Oh... I'm back."

Upon arrival, Cassandra and Eva were already sitting in the ship's cockpit, waiting for . I wasn't even surprised seeing them here but...

Yep, there's no way I'm asking why they're here, especially not Cassandra. Rather, I couldn't even et her eyes. I felt like I had wronged her sohow, making my chest ache with guilt.

"Where to?" Eva asked, already assuming her role as the ship's navigator.

Right... We might be rushing, but we should prioritize the most urgent matters first.

"Let's set our first destination as..." I took a deep breath, before announcing our course. "Baltheves-402. The hospital where your mother is."

"...!"

Eva gasped sharply upon hearing my words, but soon after, a sweet, gentle smile graced her lips.

"Roger that. Setting waypoint to Baltheves-402. Warp Destination locked. Warp Drives charging, ETA 40 seconds!"

At last, it was the mont for the first test of the new Warp Nexus Module.

After rising about ten kiloters from ground level, the entire Range Falcon began releasing purple sparks as the space surrounding the ship warped violently. The massive power consumption needed to initiate the warp was effortlessly handled by the Type-3 Eternum Core Perpetual Engine.

Everything booted up smoothly, without a hitch.

"Sensor readings are all green," Cassandra added from the side, doing her part to help however she could. "Engine output steady at 20%. Thrusters operating at 1000% capacity!"

I nodded, acknowledging their reports, before issuing the next command.

"Percy! Activate the Wormhole Protection Modules, just to be safe!"

Since it was our first ti using the Warp Nexus Module, there was no such thing as being too cautious. Percy quickly replied.

[Command Received... Extre Gravitational Shielding activated. Radiation Nullifier operating at 100% efficiency. Chrono Stabilizer engaged. Spaceti Integrity Stabilizer online. Wormhole Protection Modules fully operational.]

With all of this activated, even if we encountered unexpected turbulence, we would remain relatively safe.

The sparks around the ship grew more intense, but thanks to the shielding being at maximum, the visors turned completely pitch black, blocking any outside view.

All we could do was monitor the situation through the radars and system displays.

"Crack in Space ford successfully! Range Falcon, moving through the portal!" Eva announced, her eyes glued to the fluctuating spatial readings.

"Brace for impact!" I raised my voice, gripping the armrests of my seat tightly.

The next instant, the entire ship shook violently. The force was incredibly powerful and disorienting, but thankfully, it was brief.

Monts later, the sensor values stabilized, returning to their normal standby readings.

[Space Travel complete. Scanning for anomalies... Negative. Deactivating Wormhole Protection Modules... Complete.]

And with Percy's chanical voice echoing in the cockpit, the visors gradually regained their transparency.

Right then, it beca clear that we were no longer in the yers Star System.

Before us was a colossal planet—one I imdiately recognized.

"We really made it here in a single jump..." Eva muttered in awe, unable to believe what had just happened. "No doubt about it, that's Baltheves-402, my ho planet!"