Within Hua Qiang's Small World, the sea of clouds rolled like wisps of silk, and morning light pierced the cloud layers, scattering golden radiance.
The Starry Sky Phantom Mother Insect lay sprawled atop a fluffy cloudbank. Her luminous blue carapace gleamed with a pearly luster, while her six pairs of translucent wings trembled now and then, brushing aside the fine cloud wisps around her.
She narrowed her compound eyes and swept her gaze across the churning sea of clouds below—there, tens of millions of Phantom Insects were weaving a radiant starry net, sometimes transforming into a surging river of stars, sometimes condensing into dazzling constellations hanging in the air.
The frequency of every insect's wingbeats precisely matched her will. They were creations beyond perfection.
The mother insect stretched her body contentedly and was just about to sink into the clouds for a nap when a piercing mental fluctuation suddenly struck her mind.
It was an urgent signal sent by a Phantom Insect scouting the perimeter. The image instantly exploded within her consciousness.
A steel fleet of more than twenty starships was tearing through space. The savage cannon muzzles on their hulls and the pervasive aura of slaughter made every plate of her carapace tense, even from a million light-years away.
"Raiders!"
The mother insect's heart sank. She had seen the wreckage left behind by such fleets in the depths of the starry sky and knew of their brutal deeds—devouring planets and selling living beings.
Now, this fleet was headed straight for Blue Star. Not only would it destroy this beautiful planet of life, it would also threaten the safety of her master, Hua Qiang.
She did not dare delay. She immediately mobilized her mental power, compressing the starships' images and coordinates into an urgent thought, then sent it toward Hua