Captain Laixi and his men discovered amid the chaos that the dark focal point emanating an aura of death had moved farther away from their starship.
He and his subordinates stared in disbelief at the still-functioning display. One of them shouted excitedly, "Captain Laixi, we're saved! We're saved!"
Cheers rang out inside the battered starship, and the surviving citizens who had not been swept out by the stellar storm embraced one another and wept.
Because the starship had been pulled back, they were gradually moving away from the center of the star region.
Robots immediately began making rapid repairs to the starship, while the others were able to remain safely in its main hall, no longer at risk of being swept away by the storm in the star region.
Captain Laixi was shocked beyond words.
He had no idea who had pulled their starship out, but he hoped it was not the enemy.
As their starship passed another vessel transporting civilians, they saw that starship hurtling madly toward the center of the star region...
Captain Laixi and the others broke out in another cold sweat. On the starship's display, they watched as that vessel was completely reduced to dust.
Not a trace of it remained.
One subordinate stammered, "C-C-Captain Laixi, th-they're... g-g-gone..."
After saying that, his Adam's apple bobbed several times as he nervously swallowed.
Watching their companions turn into stardust before their very eyes, never to be seen again, everyone felt as if their hearts had stopped beating.
If—if their starship had not been forcibly held back, they too would have been reduced to powder by now, with no chance of saving themselves.
They had just brushed past death.
Everyone seemed to have lost the ability to speak, no longer knowing what they could possibly say.
The badly damaged