Chapter 272

Vill-V raised an eyebrow, but this time she didn't reply.

Of course she knew that Ai Yue was being so generous to an "outsider" because he couldn't bear to let his own family go out and take risks, in order to ensure that the other party could definitely complete the mission. But teasing him at this time was really interesting.

"In conclusion, this problem has been solved."

Ai Yue glanced at the to-do list again. "Let's go back. There's still a lot to do."

As he spoke, he prepared to use his powers to send the two of them back to Earth.

At this moment, Vill-V suddenly spoke up, "Ai Yue, you actually know what the outside universe is like, right?"

Ai Yue paused for a moment, stopped what he was doing, and looked at Vill-V.

"Don't look at me like that. Your vigilance towards the outside world goes far beyond the norm."

"You're so powerful now, yet you're still so wary of the outside world. Anyone can see there's something wrong with you," Vill-V explained.

At this point, Vill-V paused for a moment, then added, "I don't want to know how you know about the outside world. I just want to know... is the outside world really that dangerous?"

"It's ten or even a hundred times more dangerous than you imagine."

Since the other party avoided the question that Ai Yue found difficult to answer, he naturally did not intend to be a riddle-maker. "It is so dangerous that a celestial system of the Solar System's scale could be set on fire at any time by some random guy."

This statement is not an exaggeration at all, because if the Star Gods really exist, then even a small amount of their supreme power would be enough to cause annihilation to the Solar System.

Ai Yue didn't even consider the kind of massive disasters that could sweep across the entire universe or even involve the struggle between several star gods, such as the Cosmic Plague or the Emperor War. Just one force under the command of a certain star god was enough to sweep across the entire Solar System.

Of course, if it were only this level of threat, Ai Yue could handle it perfectly well. However, he wasn't confident that he could protect everyone from harm as he had in the fight against the Cocoon of Finality.

This was unbearable for Ai Yue, so he preferred to postpone contact with the outside world in order to prioritize the safety of Earth and even the entire Solar System.

"I see."

Vill-V and Ai Yue had known each other for a long time, so she could tell from his tone that it was not an exaggeration or a threat. So she nodded and said, "Then, I'll stay."

Ai Yue didn't speak, but just stared intently at the other person, waiting for Vill-V to continue.

"If it's really that dangerous outside, then you probably can't guarantee that this barrier can keep all malice out, right?"

Looking at the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt beside her, Vill-V smiled and said, "After all, the universe is so vast, who knows, maybe someone will find a way to break through here?"

Although this was just Vill-V's own speculation, it inadvertently revealed the reality—at least Ai Yue couldn't guarantee that the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt could stop the locomotive of the Pathfinder Star God.

If it's just the locomotive of the Pathfinder Star God, then it's not a big problem. After all, in most cases, 99% of those people are good people, or at least normal people. But once the Pathfinder Star God's Silver Rail is laid here, then what will follow is something Ai Yue can't guarantee.

At least he knew of another group of people who, under the guise of developing markets, frequently suppressed civilizations outside their own sphere of influence, and were even capable of committing heinous acts of genocide.

"Therefore, I plan to establish a border defense sentry system to link these peripheral planets and form a huge monitoring network."

Vill-V looked again at the asteroid that So had used as a secret base. "Even if we can't stop them, we can at least call the police or something, right?"

"That's a huge project; it can't be completed in just a few years."

Ai Yue couldn't help but glance at the scattered planets around him. "Actually, I've already started planning. Are you sure you want to do it yourself?"

"Of course, shouldn't we do something for our homeland?"

Vill-V said with a smile, "And you, you are the ruler of the Solar System, why do you have to do everything yourself?"

"Isn't it because you guys are too incompetent? You can't be relied on for many things at all?"

Ai Yue glanced at Vill-V, then smiled. "However, this matter is indeed within your capabilities—so, I'll leave it to you."

With Vill-V current abilities, as long as she provides a little assistance with the details, she can complete this border sentry system in place of Ai Yue. Although it may take Ai Yue more than ten times the time and effort, it will make things easier for Ai Yue.

But...

"Then it's settled."

Vill-V nodded, then held out her hand and said matter-of-factly, "Give us more funding."

Ai Yue couldn't help but sigh.

However, the biggest problem is that it's too expensive.

The two bargained as they descended toward the base of Suo. In the last second before their view was obscured by the asteroid, Ai Yue looked back once more at the distant sea of energy.

Don't let me down, Vita.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt, Vita had just gotten up from in front of the control panel.

When they first entered the Imaginary Energy Tidal Belt, everything went quite smoothly. With Vita's current physical condition, she wouldn't feel any discomfort during this intensity of travel.

It wasn't until the white light completely enveloped the Star-Crosser that things gradually slipped out of her control.

Vita couldn't remember the specifics of what happened. She only felt that the moment she was enveloped in light, she instantly lost consciousness. When she woke up, the surroundings had returned to silence and darkness, and she was lying on the control panel, drooling, looking exactly like she had just woken up.

If it weren't for the Star-Crosser's monitoring system detecting that the external environment was vastly different from the data of the Solar System, she would have even thought that she hadn't actually escaped Sa's control and that everything she had experienced before was just a dream.

Thankfully, it all really happened.

Vita gazed at the magnificent view outside the window and couldn't help but stand up.

Under her control, the Star-Crosser activated panoramic mode. Not only the display screen in front of her, but also the screen above her head, behind her, and even the floor beneath her feet began to project images from outside the Star-Crosser. In an instant, Vita felt as if she were walking in a sea of stars.

In fact, the outer starry sky can be observed within the Solar System. However, according to Ai Yue, these are just illusions projected by the Cocoon of Finality by reading information from the outside world. Perhaps they correspond to the real universe, but they are ultimately false.

And now, the real universe is right in front of Vita.

She glanced at the scene in front of her, but subconsciously looked behind her.

Behind her was another dazzling sea of stars, but Vita could not find her way back from those stars.

It seems that the Solar System has truly "disappeared" from this universe, and even if I wanted to go back, I could no longer find the way.

Vita blinked, suddenly reminiscing about everything she had experienced in that small celestial system.

Even under the oppression of Suo, the life of completing the tasks assigned by the other party while trying to find loopholes seems particularly vivid at this moment.

Perhaps I am indeed quite nostalgic.

However, for now, all we can do is move forward.

"Okay, let's get to work."

Vita admired the starry sky for a while before quickly returning to the control panel. "Star-Crosser, enter phase stealth mode, release drones, expand the monitoring range, and search for signs of intelligent life."

More than three hundred drones were released from the Star-Crosser's activated hangar and flew in all directions, constantly transmitting images from further away back to the Star-Crosser's core processor. At the same time, the Star-Crosser's enormous size gradually became blurred and transparent, eventually eliminating any trace of its existence.

A moment later, Vita finally spotted a small fleet of spaceships in the footage transmitted back by one of the drones.

The fleet was actually not very large. Not only were each of the ships only one-tenth the size of the Star-Crosser, but the total number of ships did not exceed ten. In other words, the total size of the fleet was not even as large as a Star-Crosser robot.

However, their technological level should not be underestimated. Vita simply wanted the drones to get closer to observe the details of their spaceships, and the lead ship immediately lit up with a red warning light. Subsequently, the entire fleet entered alert mode, and all weapons were activated, constantly probing in all directions.

Vita noticed that the same symbol was painted on the side of all these spaceships. It looked like the head of some kind of creature, but it was angular and sharp, as if it had been carved from stone.

"Ai Yue is right, the outside world is really exaggerated."

Seeing this, Vita's relaxed smile vanished. "They're just the first group of people we've met, and they already have this level of technology?"

But just a moment later, a slightly excited smile appeared on her face again, "But this is what makes it interesting."

"Star-Crosser, follow them quietly, but don't get spotted!"

And so, the future King of Trees and Seas—his first vanguard—took his first step toward the observable universe.

Ai Yue had no idea what kind of "surprise" Vita would give him in the future, after all, he still had a lot of work to finish.

Vill-V's volunteering did relieve some of the pressure on him, but her words also gave Ai Yue more inspiration.

Since becoming a god, Ai Yue has devoted more and more energy to improving his own strength. Although he is still constantly unlocking the technology in the system as before, it now has a hint of opening a catalog.

Ai Yue was also helpless about this situation, because the technologies that Earth civilization was capable of and qualified to use had all been Ai Yue into the "Great Unity" plan and given away to the United Earth Government for free. The technologies that were capable of being used but not necessarily qualified to be used were all under Su's jurisdiction.

The remaining part, as well as the technology that is being continuously unlocked, are things that humans neither have the ability to use nor are currently qualified to access—and these things are almost useless to Ai Yue now.

After all, having mastered countless powers, Ai Yue can now do things that, when converted into the system's technology tree, even exceed his current unlocked limits. Under these circumstances, apart from helping him better analyze this world, the system's original functions are practically no longer needed.

But Vill-V's words served as a wake-up call for Ai Yue.

Indeed, he didn't need these things, but that doesn't mean the enemy didn't.

After returning to the Star of Light experimental base on the moon, Ai Yue opened the system's technology tree and skillfully found a star emitting a red glow.

It is said to be a single star, but it is actually a small celestial system, similar to our Solar System, with pale red stars surrounding a star that emits a scarlet light. Its name is the "Death Star System".

Vill-V is right. You can't do everything yourself, right?

Looking at this destructive weapon that could be described as "the embodiment of war," Ai Yue revealed a satisfied smile.

If it weren't for Vill-V's reminder, he would have almost forgotten that the system has no shortage of all kinds of war machines, with extreme firepower, terrifying range, and exaggerated endurance... Even just looking at the blueprints, one can understand that they are all top-of-the-line.

Just imagine, those guys with ill intentions towards the Solar System sneaking in, trying to seize the peaceful and tranquil human civilization, completely unaware that they've already been targeted by all sorts of weapons—at that time, these highly skilled war machines will surely give them a big surprise!

Thinking of this, Ai Yue couldn't help but smile, as if he could already see the enemy's desperate eyes when they tried to escape in terror, only to find themselves trapped like turtles in a jar.

"Doctor Ai Yue?"

Ai Yi's voice pulled Ai Yue back from his reverie. He looked up and saw Ai Yi standing in front of him, holding a glass of dark liquid. "The smile on your face doesn't look very kind."

"You can even tell this kind of thing now?"

Ai Yue suppressed his smile, lest he set a bad example for the child, and then changed the subject to the other person, "What is this, coffee?"

"Yes, this is coffee that I made for you myself."

Ai placed the cup in front of Ai Yue, a hopeful smile appearing on her face. "Although I am Artificial Intelligence, theoretically speaking, this should be considered hand-ground coffee, right?"

"At least to me, it's hand-ground coffee,"

Ai Yue picked up the cup, took a sip, and then his expression turned strange. "What did you put in it?"

"Nothing was added, just pure coffee beans."

Ai Yi looked at Ai Yue and said, "From planting to harvesting, from drying to roasting, from grinding to extraction, I did it all myself. It's the purest coffee."

"So what's the spiciness here?"

Ai Yue pursed his lips, then realized, "Wait, starting with planting? Which kind?"

Ai hesitated for a moment, but finally answered honestly, "In the Ecosystem Zero."

"That's all."

Ai Yue immediately understood, then shook his head helplessly, "The coffee beans in there aren't edible... no, theoretically they are edible, but..."

Ecosystem Zero was created and managed entirely by Ai Yue himself. It is a fully automated ecosystem and the prototype of all ecosystems. However, unlike other ecosystems, the plants in Ecosystem Zero are all planted by Ai Yue himself, and can be described as a chaotic mix of plants.

These plants were created by Ai Yue using a technology called "combat plant gene editing." Although the initial idea was to recreate the ecological atlas from "Plants vs. Zombies," the entire ecosystem became bizarre after the introduction of grafting technology.

The coffee beans were grafted with chili pepper genes, which is why they have a chili pepper flavor. Fortunately, Ai Yue hadn't completely finished editing the genes of these "Explosive Coffee Beans" before Ai Yi planted them in the ground. Otherwise, once they matured, they would have exploded violently if stimulated by external factors.

Incidentally, according to the design drawings, when it explodes, it will also awaken or even accelerate the growth of all the combat plants around it, and give them a "Frenzied Burn" buff.

"I'm sorry, it seems my actions have led to the wrong consequences."

Seeing Ai Yue's hesitant expression, Ai Yi naturally realized what was going on, so she decisively lowered her head and said, "Please punish me."

"It's nothing. I forgot to tell you about the Ecosystem Zero; it was my oversight, and I can't entirely blame you."

Ai Yue downed his coffee in one gulp, then looked thoughtful. "Besides, maybe I've gone in the wrong direction with my research."

Even if plants could be used in combat, their weaknesses are too obvious, so they are difficult to actually be put to use. In the end, it is just a pastime for Ai Yue to amuse himself.

But he suddenly realized that if he could create plants with special effects through gene editing, then he might be able to strengthen the physique of ordinary people in a more general way.

In addition, the "qi" invented by Hua has already begun to be piloted and promoted globally...

In this way, I might actually have the ability to create a true "cultivation civilization"?

Chapter Thirty-Five: This area should have a spiritual energy revival tag.

Enabling a civilization to collectively ascend is no easy feat.

Taking current Earth civilization as an example, if we want people to possess great power while also ensuring the peace and stability of society as a whole, then people need to have a sufficiently high spiritual realm. In turn, a spiritual realm requires a very rich material foundation as support to ensure its stability.

Therefore, although Ai Yue was able to grant everyone great power after his promotion, Ai Yue ultimately chose not to do so in order to avoid uncontrollable internal strife and destruction.

After all, he had managed to save so many lives from the clutches of the Cocoon of Finality, and he didn't want Earth's civilization to ultimately be destroyed by the expansion of human power.

Fortunately, Ai Yue did not do that, thus averting an even more terrifying disaster.

Because he wasn't fully familiar with the power he possessed at the time, he didn't know how exaggerated the impact of this power was on the will of ordinary people. If Ai Yue had really chosen to distribute the power to everyone on Earth, then Earth's civilization could now be renamed the Ai Yue Family.

However, not all methods of strengthening one's power must wait until a utopian society is achieved before they can be used—because cultivation itself is a means of elevating one's spiritual realm.