The Great Clock Activates!

Yuan's words struck Bruis like a bolt from the blue. His eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Yuan, who stood before him with a half-smile. Bruis's lips moved, but no words came out.

After a long moment, he lowered his head bitterly.

"You! You really know?"

"I've known for a long time. You should know too. Otherwise, you wouldn't have rushed in last time pretending to be oblivious."

Bruis shook his head, surprised that Yuan knew even this. He had thought Cole had become foolish, but now he realized he wasn't any better.

Silence fell between them. Yuan wasn't in a hurry. He fiddled with the data in his hands, letting Bruis linger in his daze. The command hall fell into a deathly quiet.

The Taotie soldiers also sensed something. The God-Slaying Spear? The name alone gave them a rough idea of what it was.

They dared not speak, not even move. A tense atmosphere spread throughout the entire warship, growing heavier by the moment.

"Hoo!" In front of Bruis, a familiar blue projection appeared before everyone's eyes.

Yuan watched Bruis's actions with interest, seemingly unconcerned about what he would do next. Meanwhile, in the shadows, Qiming had already begun operating at full power.

Every action Bruis took was laid bare before Yuan. The moment any code with aggressive tendencies appeared, Qiming would immediately cut off his system permissions.

Yuan's leniency seemed to embolden Bruis. He continuously inputted data, and the torrent of information beneath his faceplate never ceased.

Finally, with the last piece of information entered, a large block of data was transmitted to Yuan's battle armor.

"This is? The activation key for the God-Slaying Spear?"

"Yes, Your Excellency. The activation key for the God-Slaying Spear is a separate operating program, with no direct connection to the central system database.

I don't have the high-level access of Officer Cole, so I can only slowly call up the key through information input."

After speaking, he turned his chair. He lowered his head and said with the most sincere tone of his life:

"Now, it's yours. I hope you won't hold Officer Cole's words against the current Taotie. They don't understand the situation. Please!"

"Clatter!"

"Bang!"

Seeing their highest-ranking officer act this way, the soldiers instinctively stepped forward as well. Their synchronized footsteps echoed on the floor.

"Alright, why so serious? If I had intended harm, you would all be gone by now."

As his voice fell, the Taotie felt a chill run down their spines. They turned in fear, only to see dozens of energy cannons already glowing with fully charged energy.

Even the targeting systems were activated.

"He's even worried we might escape, so he's specifically providing one-on-one service. One energy cannon per person, fully charged, plentiful and satisfying, fair and just. He's truly... I'm crying!"

Everyone, including Bruis, felt cold sweat breaking out on their foreheads. Terrified, they didn't dare to wipe it away, their fearful eyes fixed on Yuan, who was playing with the God-Slaying Spear.

"Take it back."

A gentle command, but to the Taotie, it sounded like the music of heaven.

As the energy cannons behind them disappeared, everyone quickly wiped the sweat from their brows and stood even straighter.

Seeing they had composed themselves, Yuan continued, "As for you saying the God-Slaying Spear is a separate system with little connection to the central system, you're mistaken.

The computational units in your battle armor are insufficient to allow the God-Slaying Spear to lock onto a target.

Furthermore, this thing is a one-time use. Once activated, there's no recalling it. This inevitably requires the use of the central system's database cloud computing. And once that's used, the consequences are what you see now."

"So, we've always been living under your shadow." Bruis felt completely powerless under Yuan's gaze.

"Heh, life! Even a miracle requires being alive first. You saved my life, which allowed me to attain my current Divine Body.

So, despite this, I was still willing to travel to outer space to resolve your predicament. But!"

He paused, his serious eyes fixed on Bruis: "Because of you, I may have attracted Death God Karl's attention. I can no longer risk traveling to Dobilun Star!"

"Yes, Your Excellency, you are always wise." Bruis understood Yuan's meaning and lowered his head, no longer questioning him.

"Bruis!"

"At your command, Your Excellency," Bruis replied respectfully.

"Keep an eye on him, Bruis. This isn't the first time. Three strikes and you're out; I've run out of patience. I've always believed that not distinguishing between good and evil isn't important, but self-awareness is. Bruis, I've been more than kind enough, don't force my hand, alright?"

His words were gentle, but to Bruis, they sounded like a death knell. Bruis knew that Cole's repeated transgressions had exhausted the god's patience.

"Thank you for your mercy. Cole will not appear before you again. I guarantee it with my life." Bruis gritted his teeth, bowed solemnly before Yuan, his words filled with gratitude.

"However, Your Excellency. You mentioned earlier that Cole had been tampered with. Does this require investigation, or what should we do now?"

"No need to worry for now. I've searched the warship meticulously dozens of times and found nothing. To achieve this level of stealth is beyond our ability to provoke.

I suspect Death God Karl may have tampered with you or this warship. Once we reach our destination, this warship will be destroyed directly."

Yuan's words were decisive. If the warship was compromised, they would simply discard it; building a new one wouldn't be a major issue. He was concerned that the Taotie's genes might be problematic, which would be more troublesome.

"Now, set the warship's engine power to maximum. No delays. Time waits for no one. The sooner we leave, the better, to avoid further complications. We'll be temporarily safe once we reach the Great Worm Bridge."

"Naive!" No one noticed, not even Yuan. No one saw the wreckage in a corner of the warship, bearing the mark of Dead Song Academy, emitting an eerie red glow.

Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Yuan said no more. After reminding Qiming to monitor the warship's course, his attention shifted to the God-Slaying Spear in his hands.

This is a very strange weapon, Yuan's assessment of it. Without the Dark Matter Computer, Yuan couldn't scan its dark information or analyze it.

However, whenever his gaze fell upon the spearhead, he felt a faint, lingering sense of threat.

"Knowledge base data insufficient. Cannot enter Dark Dimension. Cannot analyze target."

This was Qiming's answer, just as he expected.

"The priority now is to perfect the Divine Body. Taotie's knowledge and technology have too many limitations."

"Master, we are about to enter the Great Wormhole region," Qiming interrupted Yuan's thoughts. The incoming message slightly eased the urgency in his heart.

"Follow the plan. Charge straight in, don't worry about anything."

"Understood, Master!"

Under Yuan's command, the warship charged towards the Great Wormhole at maximum speed. But he didn't know that an accident was quietly unfolding.

"Buzz!" With a dull sound, Yuan, in a daze, seemed to see a shining celestial body. Then, the warship rushed into the Great Worm Bridge.

"Activate the Great Clock!"