The Fleet Gets in Their Faces
Before these people could even ask a question, the massive Mana Pool in the Laboratory activated, silently pouring out packaged Mana orbs.
The Survivors, who had already exhausted most of their Mana from maintaining high-speed travel and strengthening the "cocoon's" concealment and defense, were instantly invigorated by the pure and abundant Mana replenishment. They greedily absorbed it, the abundant energy flowing through their bodies, quickly replenishing their losses. They felt that squeezing out a little bit wouldn't hurt.
"Restore speed, adjust posture, and prepare to respond," Su Luo said succinctly.
Meanwhile, Yuncang No. 29 was still showing off the toys in his home:
"The Yuncang Civilization during the planetary era once had a period of 'endless energy,' which occurred two hundred years after the success of nuclear fusion technology, when energy extraction efficiency far exceeded demand."
"Now, the Yuncang Civilization, having initially established its Dyson Cloud, has once again entered an era of endless energy. Energy has suddenly become almost free and abundant, giving rise to an explosion in computing power, an extreme boom in the Virtual World... and all sorts of mega-projects that were unimaginable in the past."
"For example, Fixed Star cannon can blast away half a planet in one shot."
Just as Yuncang No. 29 finished sending its message through the silver-white communication cube, the "cocoon" collided with something, causing its semi-solid outer shell to tremble slightly.
What's going on?
"There's a sensor array positioned ahead; that's what we just collided with. We've been marked. A fleet is expected to reach effective interception range shortly. We must quickly destroy its vanguard, clear a safe passage, then everyone re-enter stealth mode and drastically change course."
Su Luo's mental fluctuations resonated directly in the minds of everyone inside the cocoon.
"Now, follow my guidance to avoid obstacles, and stay close!"
The next moment, Su Luo began to veer slightly to the side and accelerate. The Survivors behind her were confused, but they did the same.
Only Yuncang Twenty-Nine, which was floating in mid-air, was flung away and crashed into the membrane of the cocoon. Its metal head dented instantly, and its neck even twisted unnaturally. Several tiny components flew out from the interface.
"I'll provide you with your respective attack targets in a moment. Don't worry about whether you can see them or not, just go and fight." Su Luo quickly assigned tasks.
"[Xingkong Wuyu], you lead these people to defend. Be careful not to let the cocoon break, and pay special attention to preventing possible high-energy laser sneak attacks. Your Talent [Absolute First Strike] is key to preventing light-speed attacks."
"Goushi, your mission is to intercept those overwhelming swarms of small units..."
"[Xiao Kou Chang Kai], you're the one who covers the bottom and the opening. And [Kuangxuan Dabaji], Barton, and the others, join me in this board-jumping..."
Just then, a Survivor skilled in earth magic listened to Su Luo's instructions, nodded thoughtfully, and said nothing more. He simply raised his ancient staff and gently pressed it against the Void outside the cocoon.
A small, grayish-brown hill, nearly a hundred meters on each side, formed from pure Mana, appeared, complete with various concealment techniques from the cocoon.
With a gentle push from the Survivor, the "hill" was removed from the area and slowly "drifted" towards the general area warned by Su Luo ahead at a constant speed. Its trajectory deviated slightly from the original course of the "cocoon," making it more like a tentative landmark.
After giving his instructions, Su Luo continued to look outside. The Mana in the Laboratory and other energies that the Survivors did not recognize flowed towards him continuously, clearly indicating that some kind of observational ability was being used.
Goushi's body shimmered with icy blue light and Holy Light as it silently activated a divine spell.
"O supreme god of the cold prison, could you temporarily grant me eyes to see my enemies clearly? I would gladly..."
Soon, Goushi's expression turned puzzled. God had granted him divine grace, but the problem was... he could only see a few scattered interceptor machines nearby. Further away, there was still deep darkness and distorted light. Those deadly ships seemed to have completely melted into the Starry Sky background.
And the consumption must be too great; the Yuncang Civilization's concealment technology is incredibly advanced.
"They've arrived."
Almost at the same moment Su Luo issued the warning, a subtle change occurred in the cosmic background outside the cocoon.
Tens of thousands of tiny, dust-like silver lights lit up, as if fragments of Stars were being Ignite. These silver lights connected with each other, instantly forming a light network covering tens of millions of square kilometers, constantly extending and adjusting.
This was a laser net that suddenly appeared in deep space; looking forward and backward, there were dozens of them. The power wasn't high, but if Su Luo and the others had continued traveling in their original direction, they might not have had time to change course and would have crashed into it.
If the "cocoon" crashes into the target at its original trajectory and speed, even if it doesn't hurt, it will inevitably be completely exposed, followed by a truly devastating attack from all directions: the fleet's entanglement and saturation of beyond-visual-range strikes.
Meanwhile, the artificial hill that had gone ahead to explore the path bumped right into one of the light nets.
Laugh--!
The anticipated violent explosion did not occur. The instant the phantom of the small mountain made contact with the laser net, a large chunk of the starlight in that area seemed to be instantly "swallowed," and then—
Boom!
As if a hornet's nest had been stirred up, the once empty Void suddenly "boiled"!
Countless energy beams, some thick and some thin, dense kinetic energy projectiles, missiles trailing flames, and even some strangely shaped and unpredictable energy attacks poured out from all directions and from the seemingly empty darkness, all bombarding the artificial mountain and its surrounding area!
In an instant, that airspace was completely engulfed by a dazzling, destructive energy that was both colorful and breathtaking. The explosions merged into one, forming a brief but brilliant Ocean of light.
Its firepower density and instantaneous burst intensity are immeasurable, and its visual effects are a hundred times more shocking than the previous "Flare" level orbital laser single attack!
"If that crashes, it'll be nothing but skin and bones..." [Kuangxuan Dabaji] muttered to himself, looking in that direction.
"What's wrong? Has the fight started?" Yuncang No. 29 asked.
Since entering the Yuncang World and being encased in a cocoon, it has become useless to all external sensors and unable to transmit information. Su Luo couldn't possibly be unprepared for it.
Su Luo didn't answer it, but kept adjusting her direction before speaking:
"So, we've been discovered, or rather, we've been 'caught'."
"A full squadron of the enemy is nearby, already deployed in search formation, and is further compressing our space for maneuvering. We can't wait any longer."