Bang!
Leozi let go of Gio Zieou, dropping him like a dead duck.
"Cough cough, you really went too—"
Gio Zieou had just raised his head when Leozi kicked him in the temple, instantly sending him rolling. Taking advantage of the mont, Leozi silently approached and deftly manipulated the Mandate with his fingers.
"Sequence 3: Paradox."
Leozi’s fingers delved into ti as he spoke emotionlessly:
"Stasis and motion."
The next mont, the spaceti of the cosmos seed to hit the pause button, with all microscopic particles ceasing motion. However, for Leozi, ti continued to move forward.
This was different from the ti stop caused by gravitational distortion. At this mont, Leozi existed completely outside the spaceti and physical laws of the universe. His existence embodied a narrow paradox; he was both an entity in stasis and one in eternal motion.
For him, standing still and willing movent sufficed—the previously halted particles would be given the direction of ’motion’ and ’progress.’ Defying the randomness of the Chaos System, these particles gained unprecedented acceleration—from zero to infinity.
In the stationary spaceti, there were no speed limits. All velocities were faster than light, with particles moving straight forward, colliding with each other, continually building kinetic energy. Despite the energy loss during this process, eventually reducing the speed to light speed, the sheer quantity made up for it.
How many particles were in each cubic ter of air?
As these particles continually accelerated, the resulting current perated space, erupting in orange destructive rays in the air.
Leozi calmly raised his hand and then pressed down.
As the Arcane Energy dissipated, the sound of divine power resonance imdiately followed.
"Leozi, you’re really relentless."
Gio Zieou warned:
"Being too powerful isn’t necessarily a good thing for you..."
Boom —————————!
A dazzling orange light completely obliterated Gio Zieou. The residual high-energy particle storm broke through the atmosphere, influenced by gravity, flying toward the nearest planet. To the fleet mbers in space, it appeared as brilliant orange dust escaping Ziluo Star, drawing a magnificent arc in the starry sky, destroying and collapsing crater fields on nearby moons, tinging them with a disquieting orange hue.
"What on Earth... This exceeds Zeta Rank (6)—no, even Kappa Rank (10) isn’t likely to match this level, right?"
Fleet Commander Dalian took a deep breath, stunned by the spectacle.
"What exactly happened on this planet..."
"Mana Brain detected it as an electric particle storm. Communications are slightly disrupted—Commander, we have one good news and one bad—" The adjutant reported, swiping on the screen.
"Just give the result. I hate the ’which one do you want to hear first’ nonsense." Commander Dalian waved his hand. "Tell , what is it?"
"The bad news is that the entire Northwestern Hemisphere of Ziluo Star’s landmass was obliterated by the initial vacuum damage, forcing 36% of Descenders to resurrect and return to the fleet. Due to the storm, we probably can’t send anyone to investigate in a long while." The adjutant explained.
"The good news is that the vacuum damage and recent ionized particle storm created a distinct pressure differential on Ziluo Star, causing a powerful radiation storm. All civilized centers were annihilated by us. The cities will be swallowed by radiation dust within the next three days. Even if there are survivors, they are expected to die within three weeks."
"By then, due to the decline in civilization, lody from the lodic Society will also choose to separate from the civilization, lifting the parasitic state."
"In short: we can basically announce—Ziluo Star has been successfully liberated."
Upon hearing the news, the staff on the bridge erupted in cheers.
"Well done, boys."
Commander Dalian smiled. Finally, after being away from the Mother Star for so long, they achieved sothing:
"Report imdiately to President Leoz. It was thanks to His Excellency the President’s wise guidance that we avoided many unnecessary casualties."
The adjutant quickly dialed the phone, but the Presidential Palace didn’t answer, seemingly too busy.
But that was understandable; after all, the President was busy with affairs of state.
Commander Dalian stood up, opened the communication channel, and began his speech:
"Dear comrades, fellow citizens of Baizhu Star, and fearless Descender warriors."
"I am honored to announce—we have conquered the first planet in the Red Pupil System: Ziluo Star. This planet is our first colonial planet for the Baizhu Autonomous State. Although it’s still far from being developed, our success in repelling the Society is visible to all, making the entire Starry Abyss proud of you."
Commander Dalian pounded his chest with one fist and exclaid:
"En Ols, Slava Milovan! (Glory to Baizhu!)"
"Hurray! Long live Baizhu Star!"
"Who conquered a planet before version 2.0 arrived? We did! So long live Azure Star too!"
"Long live President Leoz! Can other servers’ NPCs match this? I declare, Leoz is our only designated big brother in the Fiery Sumr District!"
"Loyalty!"
Amidst the cheering players, one figure stood aloof, quietly sitting on the stairs, lost in thought. Compared to the warriors around him, celebrating their conquest, he appeared quite out of place.
[Society Corruption Level: 0.03%]
[Li Aozi Favorability: -30 (Current Favorability: Cold)]
"...Am I wrong?"
Caral Snail raised his hand, noticing a faint purple musical note scar on his palm.
He couldn’t rember what had just happened, maybe due to the Cognition Filter.
But one thing was clear.
This mark was obviously left by the lodic Society’s manipulation.
"I had fought Li Aozi... and lost."
Caral Snail clenched his fist, feeling conflicted.
"They keep saying the Society is our enemy... but for those mortals, does the Society and civilization really matter that much?"
He rembered so mories, especially about the first-generation Xia Beiluo, and along the way, he had seen too many mortals living at the bottom, struggling and striving.
On the ship, players and soldiers drank heartily, the usual prohibition on alcohol temporarily lifted. People chatted and laughed, talking about their families and lives, feeling no guilt or remorse for destroying a planetary civilization.
"They don’t feel guilty at all... Once connected with the Society, do people stop seeing them as the sa kind?"
Caral Snail questioned this phenonon:
"It seems to ... the Society offers a way of redemption for those struggling at the bottom."
"Although there are monsters like the chanical World Society, there are also harmless ones like the lodic Society."
"Why must it be a fight to the death... Can’t civilization and the Society coexist?"
He held his forehead, rarely deep in thought:
"If we didn’t pursue cosmic colonization, Ziluo Star wouldn’t be destroyed. If we could show the harmless aspects of the lodic Society, we might change the relationship between civilization and the Society."
The experience on Ziluo Star weighed heavily on him. Before this, he had never cared about the lives of those at the bottom, never regarded the natives of the Starry Abyss as living beings.
They had welcod him warmly, yet how did he repay them?
Artillery bombardnts, orbital strikes, street battles, destroying their civilization.
The Society didn’t destroy their planet; civilization killed them.
Is our cause truly just?
Caral Snail remained silent for a long ti.
"Regardless, invasion and colonization are absolutely wrong... If only through proper communication, civilization and the Society might change."
He clenched his fist, eyes firming up:
"Even in a ga, I don’t want to commit such atrocities again... I can’t view the natives of the Starry Abyss as re data. I want to do sothing... change sothing."
"Li Aozi’s thods are too extre. The Society is also a type of hope. I must tell him this. I need to make Li Aozi understand."
"However, looking at my current self compared to Li Aozi, I’m still too weak. Our relationship is already fractured..."
Strength.
Caral Snail clenched his fist, nails digging into his palm, drawing blood.
"I need to beco stronger, on my own, much stronger."
"Only when I surpass Li Aozi in strength can I start a dialogue with him, understand each other’s perspectives. Given his power and status, only this way will he understand ."
"Or, I’ll beat him into understanding."
Caral Snail wasn’t one to idly make declarations.
He was stubborn. Though his emotional awareness couldn’t allow him to continue the colonial enterprise, it didn’t an he’d abandon his efforts.
"Now, Li Aozi is at Zeta Rank (6), and I’m only at Gamma Rank (3). Considering his rapid level-up speed, there’s only one way to catch up to him."
Caral Snail quickly identified his objective:
"I need to—Descend into the Starry Abyss."
——————————
The blue glow faded from his eyes.
Li Aozi’s fingers trembled. When he regained his senses, he noticed he was no longer on Ziluo Star.
The world around was pitch-black, with only a patch of whiteness beneath his feet, flowing like a stream, rippling with each step.
Tap, tap, tap...
For so reason, Li Aozi felt a surge of inspiration.
Instinctively, he moved his foot, walking forward step by step. Soon, he saw a solitary, towering figure.
The other’s body was about three ters tall, shrouded in shadow, with skin that seed to possess a porcelain-like quality. He... It sat cross-legged, back facing Li Aozi.
When he got within five ters, he found himself unable to get any closer, no matter how much he advanced.
"You—"
"You can only co this far, no farther."
Before Li Aozi could speak, a cold, chilling voice resonated within him.
"Ti is limited. The power of the shield approaches. Be efficient."
Instinctively, his body sought to kneel, yet despite the overwhelming pressure, he looked up and calmly questioned:
"—Are you Leoz?"
"Yes."
Leoz didn’t waste words.
"Are you the Executor of the Will of Morphederia, the God of Reality, Lord of the Pantheon, the last heroic Savior—"
"Yes."
Leoz answered.
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