Chapter 267

It's important to understand that compared to the entire universe, the Solar System is nothing more than an insignificant speck of dust. Yet, even in such a remote and remote place, the terrifying Cocoon of the Cocoon of Finality is hidden. So what kind of landscape lies beyond the Solar System?

Faced with such unknown risks, it is clear that relying solely on one's own strength would only lead to continued dependence on others—since one is going to be dependent on others anyway, why not choose someone reliable enough?

Since Ai Yue can tolerate someone like Suo, there's no reason he would refuse her, right?

That's why Vita asked to join the Moth to Fire; in her view, if she wanted to get something from Ai Yue, she had to give something in return.

And the reality was pretty much as she expected. Judging from Ai Yue's reaction, if she hadn't expressed her loyalty beforehand, Ai Yue probably wouldn't have agreed to her request so readily.

"No need to thank me. Strictly speaking, this is what I owe you."

Suo's expression remained as calm as before, revealing little emotion. "However, it seems there will probably be no chance to settle this score again in the future."

"I never thought I'd hear such words from your mouth one day."

Vita looked at So with some surprise, beginning to wonder if Ai Yue had brainwashed her. "However, with you saying that, let's call it even."

The thought that the other person was now a prisoner while she was about to explore a new world made Vita feel that these things didn't seem important anymore.

Ultimately, the other party was also responsible for her birth. Without this connection, she might not have been able to get involved with Ai Yue.

"Then I wish you all the best."

So nodded to Vita, then turned and disappeared into the chaos. "Take care."

Vita stared blankly in the direction where the other person had disappeared.

For some reason, she suddenly felt that the other person was deliberately waiting for her here.

However, Vita quickly put the matter out of her mind, since the most important thing right now was to find Ai Yue's location.

With that in mind, Vita continued to follow the arrow's guidance, traversing the Sea of Quantum.

After an unknown amount of time, the arrow suddenly disappeared, and Vita finally remembered the familiar source.

Pure white light separated from her body and transformed into an oval doorway in front of her.

Through this gate, Vita could vaguely see a majestic and towering metal colossus.

This is the secret base that Sa established on the edge of the Solar System—the "Star-Crosser," her savior ark that she attempted to cross the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt, was placed here!

Chapter Thirty: Are you sure your alloy name doesn't include a "Z"?

Through the Teleportation Gate, Vita stared blankly at the mechanical behemoth before her.

That was the Star-Crosser, belonging to the Ark of Frossa—although Vita often returned here, due to So's design, these agents could not come into contact with the Star-Crosser, so this was the first time Vita had seen their full appearance.

For some reason, even though the other person was silent, she had a feeling that she was being watched by them.

Finally, Ai Yue, who peeked over from the side, interrupted her reverie, "What are you doing? Why aren't you coming in?"

"They're here, they're here."

Coming to her senses, Vita quickly agreed before stepping through the door. "Speaking of which, it's been a long time since I've been back."

The moment she stepped through the Teleportation Gate, a familiar aura, along with a cacophony of sounds, rushed towards her. Only then did Vita notice that within this tall, empty space, countless devices were in operation, clearly indicating that this was not just a launch pad, but also a factory.

"What are you doing?"

Vita looked at the space, which had been completely altered, and couldn't help but be somewhat astonished.

This place wasn't always this lively.

"Of course, we should upgrade this big guy."

The one who answered her was not Ai Yue, but a female voice with a hint of cunning.

Vita looked up at the sound and saw a woman wearing a top hat and a dress, dressed like a magician, busy in front of a device. Eight slender, spider-like mechanical arms emerged from a mechanical box on her lower back and were equally busy operating several other devices.

Despite being so busy, when Vita looked over, she still had the energy to give her a simple hat-tipping salute.

"You must be Miss Vill-V?"

Vita quickly connected the other person's appearance with the information she had gathered recently. "No wonder I couldn't find you on Earth. So you were here."

"Yes, someone said there was a big project that I was indispensable for, but after I got here, I realized that it was actually so far away from Earth."

Vill-V rolled her eyes with a hint of complaint, but then smiled. "But considering how good this project really is, none of that matters."

"Ha, you weren't like this before. I remember someone complaining that I was looking for you so late?"

Ai Yue's voice came from the other side, "Alright, stop talking and get to work. Try to finish this job as soon as possible. We're waiting for the inspection."

"Ugh, you wretched overseer, all you do is exploit me!"

Vill-V complained, but a smile remained on her lips. "Don't just sit there. We've used up almost all the Radiant Alloy. Go and fire another batch!"

Ai Yue's eyes widened immediately. "I did say there was no limit to the resources for this project, but you shouldn't be using them like this! That's 30,000 tons! Don't tell me you used Photon Alloy for it all?"

"Of course! With such convenient materials, wouldn't it be a waste not to make full use of them?"

"Besides, "Vill-V said matter-of-factly, "I need to keep some for myself too!"

"You're becoming less and less secretive with people these days, aren't you?"

Ai Yue shook his head helplessly, "Just don't cause any problems, or I'll tear down your workshop when I get back!"

"If you demolish my workshop, I'll move to the Star of Light!"

"Excuse me, may I interrupt?"

Seeing the two arguing so fiercely, Vita had to interrupt their conversation, "What exactly is Photon Alloy?"

"Something I've just discovered,"

Ai Yue gave a brief explanation, then walked outside, saying, "You'll understand once you come with me."

As he spoke, he snapped his fingers and summoned a Teleportation Gate, then walked in. Vita followed without hesitation.

After all, she really wanted to know what kind of good stuff could elicit such a strong reaction from Ai Yue.

It's important to understand that while 30,000 tons of alloy sounds like a lot, it's actually quite inefficient for industrial use. It would be used up in the blink of an eye. Judging from Ai Yue's performance, even for him now, producing that much alloy wouldn't be an easy task.

Vita soon found out the answer.

After purchasing the Teleportation Gate, she left the asteroid containing the Star-Crosser and ventured into space.

Before her, the surging Imaginary Energy roared silently, transforming into a boundless sea that separated the Solar System from the outer starry sky.

That is the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt. Within its active range, nothing can last long. Even solid planets will soon be swallowed up, torn apart, and burned, leaving not even ashes behind.

Therefore, the area around the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt is always very clean. Even though the planet where Vita and the others were just now is nominally on the edge of the Solar System, it is actually hundreds of millions of kilometers away from the active range of the Imaginary Energy tidal zone.

But at this moment, Vita could almost feel the Imaginary Energy about to hit her face, which meant that if the Imaginary Energy surged at this moment, it would likely engulf her.

However, Vita couldn't care less about her own situation, because there was something even closer to the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt than she was.

It was a strangely shaped asteroid.

It is slightly smaller than the asteroid where the Star-Crosser is located, with a diameter of about one-eighth that of the moon. It is completely black and looks just like a piece of coal.

If it were just a matter of color, there wouldn't be anything strange about it. After all, there are all kinds of celestial bodies in the universe, and even pure gold asteroids are a dime a dozen. But this asteroid is different because it is hollow inside.

Yes, from Vita's perspective, it is very clear that there is a huge circular opening on the surface of the asteroid, and the opening is completely empty.

In addition, its surface is covered with many special patterns, the marks are very regular, and it doesn't look like it was made by a passing meteor.

This is definitely not a natural formation, but rather the result of some kind of artificial sculpting.

"Did you do this?"

Vita couldn't help but look at Ai Yue beside her, "Why did you hollow it out? Are you going to use it as a boiler?"

This was just a joke, but the fact that the dark asteroid was hollowed out really does look like a blackened boiler.

To everyone's surprise, Ai Yue nodded. "Pretty much, but it's not a boiler, it's a steelmaking furnace."

Vita: "Huh?"

"Didn't you ask what Photon Alloy is? To put it simply, it's just a new type of alloy, but the manufacturing process is quite demanding."

Ai Yue pointed to the black asteroid, "So I need to use the asteroid as a furnace body and use Imaginary Energy as a forging energy source to manufacture it."

Isn't this already a bit too high a level?

Vita rarely showed a look of astonishment, after all, she had never imagined that someone could make such a commotion just by refining steel.

At first, she actually thought that the Photon Alloy was made from a special metal mined from this asteroid.

Who knew this thing was just... uh, a tool?

However, considering the other party's identity, it doesn't seem unacceptable...

"Then, what about the materials?"

After calming down a bit, Vita seemed to have thought of something and looked around. "The forge is an asteroid, so the materials should be similar, right?"

"Yes."

Ai Yue closed his eyes, and an invisible wave spread outwards. "I remember that the materials that were previously listed as candidates should all be here..."

Soon, countless meteoroids, pulled by gravity, flew straight toward the asteroid furnace, leaving long trails of flame.

"That's it?"

Vita blinked, feeling like she'd missed something. "If that's all there is to it, then what does the 'photon' in Photon Alloy mean?"

"Of course, that's what I mean."

Ai Yue sighed, "That's why I said this thing has high technical requirements. After all, every steelmaking process needs divine power as its core."

After saying this, Ai Yue didn't give Vita any time to react. He left only a portion of his energy to protect her before transforming into a streak of light and instantly falling into the dark asteroid.

The next second, the patterns on the surface of the furnace lit up with a brilliant white light. The Imaginary Energy seemed to be stirred by this power, instantly erupting into a terrifying wave of energy that then completely engulfed the entire furnace.

Such a huge reaction even triggered an exaggerated energy wave that swept out in all directions in an instant. If Vita had not been protected by the power left behind by Ai Yue, she would probably have been blasted into ashes by this energy wave.

However, the submerged asteroid furnace was not instantly torn apart by this terrifying power. Instead, it "burned" under the protection and guidance of the white energy, clearly beginning to enter the melting process.

From Vita's perspective, she could even see that the interior of the asteroid furnace was now filled with molten lava-like liquid, and upon closer inspection, she could see specks of black matter floating within it.

Once the material inside the furnace has completely melted into a liquid state, the entire furnace begins to rotate. In this way, countless impurities are separated out, and as soon as they leave the furnace, they are completely destroyed by the torrent of Imaginary Energy.

During the rotation, the orange-red liquid, which originally resembled magma, gradually turned into pure white under the influence of light. When only white remained in the furnace, the asteroid finally stopped rotating and was then pushed out of the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt by an invisible force.

Ai Yue finally escaped from the furnace, revealing his human form, and returned to Vita's side.

"Is it finished?"

Vita looked at the man in front of her with a complicated expression. "Uh, you've had a hard time?"

A god would actually do such a thing for his own wish; if Vita hadn't witnessed it with her own eyes, she probably wouldn't have believed it.

To be honest, although she had heard from Aponia and others about Ai Yue's unreserved, almost "doting" feelings for humanity, those were just other people's accounts. For Vita, who had seen countless worlds, it was hard to feel any real emotion.

But after witnessing this scene with her own eyes, Vita truly believed that the Ai Yue that Aponia and the others had spoken of was real.

Even for someone he had only known for a short time, Ai Yue was willing to make such sacrifices, so naturally the other party would only take even better care of those he spent every day with.

For a moment, she almost wanted to stay.

After all, strictly speaking, since Vita was born, she has almost never met anyone who takes such good care of her.

However, the longing for the outside world quickly suppressed this impulse.

But from this moment on, Vita truly felt a sense of belonging to the Moth to Fire, or rather, to the place where the gods before her were.

If their relationship was merely one of cooperation before, from now on, Vita is willing to truly consider what she can do for the other party.

Of course, Vita managed to conceal such complex and subtle emotions so well that Ai Yue, whose attention was focused on the furnace, didn't notice them at all.

"And then there's the final cooling process, which, to be honest, is the most troublesome part."

Ai Yue stared intently at the furnace in front of him, sensing the changes within it. "It not only needs to be slow enough, but also needs to be uniform, otherwise imperfections will appear inside. I ruined several furnaces at the beginning because of this, it was really hard work."

As they spoke, the pure white liquid inside the furnace began to solidify gradually. At the same time, a few red lights appeared on the furnace's black surface, seemingly indicating that the heat energy absorbed from the inside was being released outwards.

Seeing Ai Yue's cautious demeanor, Vita naturally didn't disturb him. It wasn't until much later that Ai Yue finally let out a sigh of relief, "Finally finished."

As he finished speaking, the asteroid furnace in front of him suddenly exploded, revealing a cube-shaped pure white metal inside.

"It exploded?"

Vita watched this scene with some nervousness, and couldn't help but subconsciously look at Ai Yue, "Has this failed?"

"No, it's just that the furnace's durability has reached zero."