Cole and Bruis's Duel!

"Heave ho!"

"Heave ho!"

The Taoties, each controlling their own machinery, carried out repairs according to the procedures, positions, and precision set by the system on their tactical visors.

"Hey, Officer. Are you sure this scanning system isn't mistaken? It feels a bit off to me."

Bruis, hearing this, shot him an annoyed glance and said:

"Even if you were the wrong gender, Your Excellency wouldn't be. Don't use that brain of yours, which would make a dung beetle cry, to question the Supercomputer. If you spout any more nonsense, you'll be digging mines too!"

"Heh, exactly. This guy barely slept last night, who knows what he was doing?"

"Hahahaha, probably researching: 'The Feasibility of Studying Live VR Simulation Rooms within the Central System Database.'"

"Hurry up, get a move on, there's only this much left. All of you, get to it. Be careful not to get caught by the Officer. He's been digging mines so much lately his face is black. Be careful, or you'll have a hard time."

Having witnessed Yuan's capabilities and now being able to leave this planet, the Taoties, who had been cooped up for too long, began to work with renewed vigor.

"In the future, even if I can't become a god, just with this experience, becoming an awesome super-soldier should be no problem, right?"

The Taoties thought happily to themselves. They had heard from the instructors that powerful super-soldiers could live for tens of thousands of years.

Every time they thought of this, they felt their days were getting brighter and more promising.

Invisibly, Yuan's status and prestige were rapidly growing. Even Cole didn't notice, just feeling that everything was as it should be.

In less than a month, with the Supercomputer's assistance, everyone quickly completed the warship's repairs.

Although about half of the systems and areas were still offline, it no longer affected the warship's normal flight safety.

"Where is Your Excellency?" Cole asked.

"On the hill behind us. He's probably about to leave. Let's go say goodbye."

"Divine River Bodies, always so indecisive. Even when they become gods, they're still like this." The voice behind was almost imperceptible, but Bruis beside him heard it clearly.

"Officer, don't you think a god like this is worth following?"

"What do you mean?"

"Since we've found a new god, a benevolent and generous one at that, why shouldn't we support him?"

Bruis's direct words caused Cole's expression to change drastically. He pointed at Bruis and roared angrily:

"Bruis! Your thinking is dangerous. Get rid of that idiotic idea of yours. We've finally managed to escape one hell, and you want us to jump into another?"

"What hell? Where is this hell?" Bruis was surprisingly sharp and unyielding in the face of Cole's reprimand.

"You! How dare you!" Cole looked at Bruis in disbelief, trembling with anger, as if he were a stranger.

"Look, Commander. Times have changed. Look at these Taoties. They have names, flesh and blood, emotions.

They don't blindly pursue that damned death, that damned mechanical modification. Living people aren't like people, and ghosts aren't like ghosts. Oh, no, we haven't been human for a long time! We are ghosts, demons with engine oil flowing in our veins."

"This is what we have pursued for hundreds of years! The future of the Taotie Civilization rests on my shoulders. It's me, not you!" Cole roared, his eyes bloodshot as if he wanted to devour Bruis alive.

"Didn't Your Excellency's words a year ago wake you up? Or have you been avoiding it all this time?

We are merely an Astral Civilization, or even an Astral Civilization with locked genes and civilization. Where did King Shihao get the ability, the technology to so easily avoid the blockade of the Academy's technology and the Great Clock's brainwashing?

Heh, hundreds of years of pursuit? Is it our pursuit? Or the King's self-righteousness?

Who does he think he is? The King of Demons or the King of Angels?"

"What exactly do you want to do?"

"Completely side with Your Excellency. We had no choice before, but now a new hope has appeared. Respected Officer Cole, we all want a bright future."

"Don't you want freedom anymore?" Cole's voice had returned to calm, as if he had been persuaded and had no emotional fluctuations.

"Where is this freedom? Even the powerful Demon Queen is chased by Angels. Compared to freedom, we'd rather see hope."

"That day, you almost extinguished our hope. Officer Cole, wake up.

Although the so-called hundreds-of-years plan was a joke, the outcome is good, isn't it?"

"You were playing dumb that day." Bruis's sudden, immense strength made Cole feel like a clown before.

"Whether I was playing dumb or not isn't important. What's important is that they can all have a bright future, right?

The Taotie Civilization is gone. It disappeared the day it was chosen by Death God Karl."

"Bastard, you're looking for death!" Bruis's words caused the seemingly calm Cole to suddenly erupt.

"Ching!" The right arm of his battle armor lit up with a faint glow, and Cole's fist exploded with a roar as he swung it towards Bruis's face.

Bruis had long suspected that Cole might lose control and was not surprised. However, he had no intention of resisting. He quickly opened the tactical visor on his head to block Cole's punch.

The sound of tearing air echoed throughout the quiet warship. Bruis was knocked down with a single punch. Against the inner wall of the warship, the immense force created a huge dent in the super-alloy wall.

"I don't have Your Excellency's ability to forcibly calm you down. I can only let you vent and blow off some steam. So, are you calm now?" Bruis's voice was filled with mockery.

"Bruis, you are truly seeking death."

"Thump! Thump! Clang! Clang!" With a series of metallic collisions, numerous Taoties appeared in Cole's sight.

"Officer, what is this? Sparring?"

"Why did you guys come running over?" Cole's armor retracted, and the anger on his face softened.

He didn't want to expose their thoughts in front of so many people; it wasn't a good thing.

"Hey, we heard explosions from this direction. We thought something had happened to the warship. So, we brought our equipment."

As he spoke, one person raised a molecular repair gun, and another held up a huge piece of ore.

Looking at Bruis lying on the ground, everyone seemed to sense the subtle atmosphere between the two. After exchanging glances, they started to chatter.

"Damn idiot, is that waste oil dripping from you? You're not even wearing your armor, do you think you can fix it?"

"Bullshit, I'm just a miner. Why would I know how to fix it? Is the faceplate on your head useless? Are you using it to watch porn?"

In an instant, the tense cabin atmosphere was filled with a sense of joy.

Bruis saw through their intentions and waved his hand, interrupting their well-meaning concern.

"Alright, all of you, go back. Hurry up and debug the warship. We need to depart when Your Excellency returns."

"Yes, Officer."

As the crowd dispersed, Cole's face was full of mockery.

"Is this what you chose? Officer?"

"You know I don't want these things. Do you see, Officer Cole? This is the closest we've ever been to hope. Everyone wants change. And you? Are you still going to crush it?" Bruis slowly stood up from the ground.

"Hoo! Hoo! Hoo!"

Cole panted, suppressing the anger in his heart. After the tense atmosphere was broken, he no longer had the desire to fight again.

"I won't interfere with you anymore, but remember this: I won't give up the 'God-Slaying Spear.' It's our last insurance."

With that, he turned to leave.

"You've always been so wise," Bruis said softly behind him before following his footsteps towards the command hall.

"Hoo, spectacular. It's just that there were too few fight scenes; not exciting enough. With that punch, Bruis's brains would have been splattered if he wasn't wearing armor."

Yuan was in the middle of saying his final goodbyes to his grandmother when Qiming's voice interrupted his thoughts.

Then, the scene of Cole and Bruis arguing was played on his tactical faceplate.

"Ha, this universe is indeed full of smart people. Are you truly leaning towards me, or are you testing me?"

A foxy smile spread across Yuan's lips.

"Don't do anything rash, or I'll beat you to death."