Don't Act Cute with Me

"Damn it! We're done for, we're done for! We've run into a Spatial Rift! This time we're really finished!"

"Oh, man, am I going to die so young? My poor, beautiful wife is still waiting for me to come home."

"Dad, Mom, Grandpa, Grandma, Grandpa, Grandma, First Uncle, Second Uncle... First Uncle, Second Uncle... First Aunt, Second Aunt... First Aunt, Second Aunt... wife, daughter, son... and my little nephew who hasn't even been weaned yet... I'm sorry. I'm afraid I won't be able to walk the rest of this road with you..."

The one rambling on, seemingly intent on naming all eighteen generations of his ancestors and every one of his descendants, was Bai Yang.

Despite his burly build and rugged appearance, he had an exceptionally thoughtful heart.

Even at this critical moment,

he was still set on making his last words complete, leaving no one out.

He could hardly be blamed for panicking like this.

Since reliable records began, across the vast sea of stars and the long passage of time,

not a single person had ever come out of a Spatial Rift alive.

This wasn't the first time Yang Zhi had encountered a Spatial Rift.

But at such close range, with the dark fissure almost touching the nose of the ship,

no matter how fast his reactions or how powerful his Psychic Power,

there was absolutely no room for him to dodge.

Only at this moment did Yang Zhi truly taste what it meant to be powerless for the first time in his life.

Inside the Spatial Rift was violently raging Spatial Turbulence.

That power, which tore everything apart,

was enough to crush their entire ship into dust as easily as crumpling a sheet of thin paper.

But perhaps... there was another way.

Yang Zhi looked back, his gaze sweeping over everyone's faces one by one.

To use this method reliably, he needed his Psychic Power to break through to the next level.

With his current Psychic Power cultivation,

he had barely reached the threshold, but if he gave it everything, he might be able to try.

But he had no right to hesitate.

Vast Psychic Power poured from between his brows, surging toward the rift like a tangible tide.

In front of it,

Yang Zhi forcibly tore through the void, opening another Spatial Rift.

A rift against a rift.

That was the only path to survival Yang Zhi could think of in that split second.

But the rift he had torn open in haste

was far too small.

The ship plunged into it with unstoppable momentum.

At that very moment, the two rifts crashed together.

In an instant, the entire ship lurched and shook violently.

The force tossed the people in the cabin about, and they lost consciousness one after another.

Only Yang Zhi was still struggling to hold on.

He clenched his teeth, veins bulging on his forehead.

His Psychic Power was like a bowstring stretched to its limit, protecting the hull with all its might.

No matter what,

he had to bring his team out safely.

He didn't know how much time passed.

It seemed like an instant, yet also like enduring a long lifetime.

The ship finally broke free of the chaotic vortex

and came stumbling out.

But when Yang Zhi lifted his heavy eyelids and looked through the porthole, an entirely unfamiliar Star Region met his eyes.

Neither the arrangement of the stars nor the paths of the nebulae matched any location recorded on the star charts.

Before he could start the positioning system,

he caught sight of several enormous creatures turning in the distance.

They were Starry Sky Beasts.

They had noticed the ship that had suddenly appeared.

The few beasts swayed their mountain-like bodies and swam leisurely toward the ship.

It was over.

One trouble had barely passed before another arose.

When they encountered the Spatial Rift,

they had still had that infinitesimal one-in-ten-thousand chance of survival.

But having run into Starry Sky Beasts,

even that one-in-ten-thousand chance had been utterly crushed, leaving not a drop.

Yang Zhi's hand slipped from the control console.

He didn't close his eyes.

He only stared blankly at the vast shadows drawing ever closer ahead, blotting out the sky.

It was impossible to tell whether his gaze held calm or despair.

Unless a miracle happened,

everyone aboard this ship would meet their end here today.

"Come here. Don't frighten them."

A voice rang out without warning.

It sounded cool and clear.

Beyond that, Yang Zhi couldn't think of any other words for it at the moment.

The next second,

Yang Zhi saw the Starry Sky Beasts, which had been so aggressive and arrogant moments ago, turn without hesitation.

They didn't look back.

A miracle really had happened.

The thought surfaced in Yang Zhi's mind, and his gaze involuntarily followed the voice to its source.

He stared at the scene outside the porthole.

He almost thought he was dreaming.

In the understanding shared by him and everyone else in the interstellar realm, Starry Sky Beasts were creatures of unimaginable ferocity and violence.

They were living natural disasters that rampaged through the sea of stars, devouring heaven and earth.

Wherever they passed, stars dimmed and all things fell silent.

But now,

not only did those mountain-sized beasts show no trace of ferocity, they instead began rolling clumsily in the void.

Their impossibly enormous bodies twisted back and forth, churning the surrounding nebulae into a continuous surge.

One of them even opened its mouth.

It let out a low whine, still loud enough to be deafening.

The ship's bulkheads vibrated with a faint hum.

But setting that astonishing volume aside,

that tone, that drawn-out ending, sounded unmistakably like... acting cute.

That was right, like acting cute.

Yang Zhi felt his worldview collapsing and rebuilding itself at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Then the voice rang out again.

"Good, don't act cute with me. I won't be able to take it."

It was light and clear, rising slightly at the end, as though tinged with a helpless smile, or as though the endearing antics of these enormous creatures were almost too much to resist.

The words were casual and affectionate,

as if coaxing a group of kittens and puppies circling at someone's feet,

rather than soothing a few overlords of the void that could crush stars with ease.

The moment the words fell,

Yang Zhi saw with his own eyes

that the Starry Sky Beasts, which had barely managed to maintain some semblance of composure, completely gave in.

They could no longer care about their dignity.

One after another, they began rolling through the starry sky.

Their enormous bodies curled and stretched, stretched and curled again.

They were just like a group of kittens and puppies being scratched in the right spot, eager to expose their bellies for a rub.

Then Yang Zhi heard the person laugh.

It was a very soft laugh.

Like a spring breeze brushing over a lake, like moonlight falling on fingertips, it passed through the ship's thick bulkheads

and across the vast, boundless vacuum,

reaching Yang Zhi's ears clear as day.

It spread from his ears, flowing through his limbs and body with a tingling sensation.

At last, it gathered over his heart

and gave it a gentle scratch.

Then another.

Yang Zhi felt something growing hot in his chest.

An impulse he had never felt before surged up without warning.

He suddenly wanted to pilot the ship straight through the Starry Sky Beasts blocking his path.

To force apart their enormous bodies.

To break through barrier upon barrier.

Just to see.

To see who the figure they were so carefully shielding behind them really was.

As soon as the thought appeared,

Yang Zhi jolted, as if a bucket of cold water had been poured over his head.

What was he thinking?

How could he have such a thought?

Those were Starry Sky Beasts. Crashing into them would destroy the ship and kill everyone aboard.

Besides,

the person behind them could make beings like these submit and behave so obediently with a single sentence. How could Yang Zhi presume to offend that person?