Yuan's words exploded beside Bruis's ears like a bolt from the blue. He stared wide-eyed at Yuan, who wore a faint, unreadable smile, his lips twitching as he struggled to find anything to say.
After a long while, he lowered his head bitterly.
"You... really knew?"
"I've known for a long time. I think you should have known too. Otherwise, you wouldn't have rushed in last time pretending to be clueless."
Bruis shook his head. He had never expected Yuan to know even that. He had thought Cole had become a fool, but now he was no better himself.
For a time, neither spoke. Yuan was in no hurry. He toyed with the data in his hand, letting Bruis stand there in a daze and think as the command hall sank into deathly silence.
The taotie soldiers sensed it as well. God-Slaying Spear? Its name alone made its purpose obvious.
No one dared speak, or even move. Tension spread throughout the warship, and the atmosphere grew increasingly heavy.
"Whoosh!"
A familiar blue projection appeared before Bruis, in full view of everyone.
Yuan watched Bruis's actions with interest, seemingly unconcerned about what he intended to do next. In secret, Qiming had already begun operating at full capacity.
Qiming saw every one of Bruis's actions clearly. The moment even a single line of attack-oriented code appeared, Qiming would immediately revoke his system permissions.
Yuan's indulgence seemed to give Bruis courage. Data streamed continuously from his hands, while the torrent of data beneath his visor never stopped for an instant.
Finally, after the last piece of information was entered, a massive block of data was transmitted to Yuan's armor.
"This is... the activation key for the God-Slaying Spear?"
"Yes, Your Excellency. The God-Slaying Spear's activation key is a separately established operating program and has no direct connection to the central system database.
I don't have Commander Cole's level of access authority. I can only slowly activate the key through manual data input."
After saying that, the chair beneath him turned around. He lowered his head and spoke in the most sincere tone of his life:
"Now, it is yours. I hope you will not hold Commander Cole's words against the taotie as they are now. They do not understand what is happening. Please!"
"Clatter!"
"Bang!"
Seeing their highest commander act this way, the soldiers instinctively stepped forward as well. Their unified footsteps struck the floor, producing a deafening sound.
"Alright, why are you making this so serious? If I had meant to kill you, you would have been gone already."
As soon as those words fell, the taotie felt chills run down their spines. They turned their heads in panic, only to see dozens of energy cannons already glowing with fully charged power.
Even their targeting systems had been activated.
"He was even worried we might escape, so he specially arranged one-on-one service. One energy cannon per person, fully charged and generously supplied, fair and impartial. He really... I'm moved to tears!"
Everyone, including Bruis, broke out in cold sweat. Too terrified to wipe it away, they could only stare fearfully at Yuan, who was playing with the God-Slaying Spear nearby.
"Put them away."
That soft sentence was no different from heavenly music to the taotie.
As the energy cannons behind them vanished, everyone hurriedly wiped the cold sweat from their foreheads and stood even straighter.
Once he saw that they had composed themselves, Yuan continued.
"As for what you said about the God-Slaying Spear having a separate activation system and little connection to the central system, that is wrong as well.
The computing units in your armor are nowhere near sufficient for the God-Slaying Spear to lock onto a target.
Moreover, this thing is single-use. Once activated, it cannot be recalled. That means the central system's database computing cloud must be used. And once it is used, you have now seen the consequences."
"So we have always lived beneath your shadow." Under Yuan's gaze, Bruis felt that his people had no ability to resist at all.
"Heh, life! Even miracles require one condition: being alive. You saved my life, and that is why I have the Divine Body I possess today.
So even so, I was still willing to travel to another star system and try to resolve your predicament. But!"
As he spoke, his stern eyes fixed on Bruis. "Because of you, I may have entered Death God Karl's sights. I cannot risk going to Dobilun Star any longer!"
"Yes, Your Excellency. You have always been wise." Bruis understood Yuan's meaning, so he lowered his head and did not question him further.
"Bruis!"
"At your command, Your Excellency," Bruis answered respectfully.
"Watch him, Bruis. This is not the first time. There will not be a third; I have run out of patience. I have always felt that whether one can distinguish good from evil is unimportant, but one must know one's place. Bruis, I have already been kind enough. Don't force me, alright?"
The words were gentle, but to Bruis's ears, they sounded like a death sentence. He knew that Cole's repeated offenses had exhausted the god before him.
"Thank you for your mercy. Cole will not appear before you again. I swear it with my life." Bruis clenched his teeth and solemnly bowed to Yuan, his words filled entirely with gratitude.
"However, Your Excellency, regarding what you said earlier about someone tampering with Cole, should we investigate it? Or rather, what should we do now?"
"For now, there is no need to worry. I have searched the warship thoroughly dozens of times and found nothing. Whoever managed this without a sound is not someone we can afford to provoke.
I suspect that Death God Karl may very well have tampered with you or this warship. Once we reach our destination, destroy this warship immediately."
Yuan's words were full of resolve. If there was a problem with the warship, then they would simply discard it; building another would not be much trouble. What concerned him was whether something had gone wrong with the taotie's genes. That would be troublesome.
"Now raise the warship engines to maximum output. Do not delay at all. Time waits for no one. The sooner we leave, the less likely anything will go wrong. Once we reach the Great Worm Bridge, we will be safe for the time being."
"How naïve!"
No one noticed it, not even Yuan. In a corner of the warship, wreckage that had once borne the mark of Dead Song Academy was emitting an eerie red glow.
Seeing that the situation had calmed down, Yuan said nothing more. After instructing Qiming to monitor the warship's course, he turned his attention to the God-Slaying Spear in his hand.
It was a very strange weapon—that was Yuan's assessment. Without a Dark Matter Computer, he could neither scan its dark information nor analyze it.
Yet whenever his eyes fell upon the spearhead, he always felt a faint but persistent sense of danger.
Insufficient database data. Unable to enter the Dark Dimension. Unable to analyze target.
That was Qiming's answer, just as expected.
"The pressing matter is still to perfect my Divine Body. The taotie's knowledge and technology are too limiting."
"Master, we are about to enter the Great Wormhole region." Qiming interrupted Yuan's thoughts, and the news slightly eased the urgency in his heart.
"Follow the plan. Charge straight in and ignore everything else."
"Understood, Master!"
Under Yuan's command, the warship charged toward the Great Wormhole at maximum speed. But he did not know that an accident was quietly unfolding.
"Buzz!" As a dull sound rang out, Yuan vaguely seemed to see a luminous celestial body. Then the warship plunged into the Great Worm Bridge.
"Activate the Great Clock!"
Before you continue