Dark Space

Yuan's fingers unconsciously rubbed together. The angle at which the Taotie soldiers bowed their heads reminded him of reeds in his village bent beneath the wind.

The radiance of the brilliant star shone upon the dozens of armored warriors. Pale blue light glowed in Yuan's eyes, and his upright figure was cast like that of a true god.

"Bang!"

Yuan had just been about to take a step forward when the movement beneath his feet startled him.

A huge crater had been stomped into the floor beneath him. Fortunately, the alloy supporting the central section was hard enough; otherwise, they would have gotten a taste of the coldness of outer space.

"P-Please... don't do that."

The Science Officer slowly stepped forward and respectfully handed him something resembling an earpiece.

"We are merely an ordinary Astral Civilization and do not understand gods. Ever since your body completed its restoration, we have also lost the ability and means to examine you."

"This is a simple external neural interface. Considering that the planet you originally came from was relatively 'primitive,' this interface can connect to our lower-level systems. It may be of some help to you."

Yuan carefully reached out and accepted it, as though afraid that using even a little too much strength would crush the tiny object. Then he said,

"Thank you, but I think you should give me a set of clothes first. What do you think?"

That was right. Ever since the crystalline body had shattered, there had not been a single thing covering him.

"Of course. It has already arrived."

As soon as Cole spoke, a soldier carrying a huge case hurried over from his side.

"This is battle armor only high-ranking commanders of the Taotie Civilization are qualified to receive. Compared to ordinary primitive clothing, I think you need this more right now."

When the case was opened, a set of black-and-red battle armor came into view. Yuan liked it the moment he saw it, but having realized that his current situation seemed somewhat beyond imagination, he did not show any obvious eagerness.

"It seems like excellent battle armor. At the very least, it's far better than what I saw at the mine." Yuan gently rested his right hand on the faceplate.

With a thought, the external interface at his ear seemed to receive an instruction. The battle armor before him swiftly separated into dozens of components and fitted itself onto Yuan's body.

"Uh, hehe. Yes. That's right."

Cole's expression stiffened slightly. After all, comparing armor from a primitive civilization to combat armor from an Astral Civilization was pure fantasy.

Still, considering that the god before him was probably from the most impoverished place in the known universe, Cole felt he could understand.

However, watching a Divine River Body that had been struggling between life and death one moment become an immortal god the next still left Cole feeling a little bitter.

"External Interface ZS-9462 is requesting authorization. Relevant materials: cultures of civilizations across the known universe, a detailed explanation of pre-nuclear civilizations, the glorious Styx Galaxy, the Thousand-Year War Plan."

"Stop, stop, stop! You seem to be adapting rather quickly?"

The nonstop authorization requests ringing in his ears left Cole a little dazed. He looked strangely at the calm-faced man before him, unsure what to say.

"Yes. After waking up, I found that my mind worked very quickly, and I could read 'books' especially fast. It feels as though they're directly imprinted in my mind. Although it seems I can browse them directly, that would be somewhat presumptuous."

"I think we need to have a proper talk."

"Of course, but this environment seems somewhat unsuitable."

After saying that, he looked at the warships around them, where explosions rang out from time to time. Everyone felt a little awkward.

Yuan was embarrassed because the Taotie seemed to have paid quite a price to save him. The Taotie, meanwhile, felt somewhat ashamed that the first time they had ever come so close to a god, it was in such a crude place.

"Of course. I imagine you are also rather confused about your current condition. Returning to a familiar place may ease your mind and help you better accept what comes next."

"It would be best if you could take me back."

Being able to return alive and see Grandma again was probably his greatest wish right now. At that thought, Yuan's heart stirred with excitement once more.

All at once, the previously quiet scene was once again filled with piercing alarms.

"Warning! A surge in the spacecraft's internal energy field has been detected. Fluctuations have appeared in the gravitational field."

"Warning! A surge in the spacecraft's internal energy field has been detected. Fluctuations have appeared in the gravitational field."

Hearing this, they had no time to search for any Gravity Detectors that might have survived the previous gravitational field.

Cole and the others' expressions changed drastically. This battered warship could no longer withstand another distortion of the gravitational field.

"Your Excellency, please restrain your thoughts. Our warship is now over 60% damaged and can no longer withstand another eruption of your energy."

At those words, Yuan was startled. He then suppressed the longing to return home buried in his heart. After the blue light in his eyes flashed once more, everything returned to calm.

"My apologies. It seems difficult for me to control my body right now."

"Thank you for your mercy. Although we cannot understand the power of gods, judging by the current circumstances, as long as your emotions settle, there should be no effect on the material world."

"Please wait a moment. The warship's Energy Collector system has been damaged, so we can only gather energy through external solar collection equipment."

"The process may take some time, but fortunately, most of the warship's systems no longer require energy to operate. The energy needed to travel to the planet is not much."

High emotional intelligence: The warship's systems no longer need energy to operate.

Low emotional intelligence: You wrecked nearly all the warship's systems. What the hell do we need energy for?

"Whatever!" Yuan nodded. Though the warship before him had suffered heavy damage, many things within it still lay beyond the understanding of his brief life.

"The Commander's Battle Armor can regulate strength and may be of help to you. We will repair the spacecraft and gather energy as quickly as possible. You may look around; this warship is completely open to you."

With that, Cole hurriedly began directing the Taotie soldiers to gather energy and repair the warship. No one noticed that the eye-shaped emblem of the Dead Song Academy on a twisted armor plate was seeping a blood-red glow.

Yuan, meanwhile, carefully walked over to a pile of wreckage and sat in a somewhat damaged commander's chair.

He simply sat there quietly, resting his chin on his right hand without saying a word. As for his circumstances, he only felt as though he were dreaming.

It was like the storybooks Grandma had told him about, where mortals endured endless hardships before ultimately becoming heroes. As he thought about it, Yuan closed his eyes, and his consciousness spread outward.

Soon, he seemed to sense something. A stream of Dark Matter information suddenly flowed into the neural connection port at the neck of his battle armor. His face filled with alarm as he abruptly opened his eyes.

Before him stretched boundless darkness. There was no starry sky, no warships, and certainly no Taotie. There was only darkness and surging, roiling energy.

Yuan raised his hand and examined his palm. Nothing had changed. He was still himself. Just as he tried to move forward, he discovered that he could not control himself at all.

It was as though he had been imprisoned in place. He could move freely, but his position had been fixed.

Suppressing the fear in his heart, the blue light in his eyes grew brighter and brighter.

Finally!

He returned to the warship. Looking at the busy Taotie around him, Yuan found himself strangely reassured, even though they were a little dark-skinned.

The next moment, Yuan seemed to sense something and stretched out his hand.

The space before him seemed to be parted apart like a transparent pool of water. His right hand reached into it and then withdrew, as though an invisible space lay before him.

A delighted smile rose on Yuan's lips, like that of a child who had found a new toy.

"Interesting!"