Global Crossing: Empire of Stars

Faced with fully armed Clone Troopers equipped with both light and heavy gear, the pirate base's defense forces quickly collapsed, and large areas were soon occupied.

Meanwhile, Lin Zhichen had already captured five NPC Psionicists, including the pirate leader, and was charging towards the main control room.

Inside the base, three Transformers received orders from Wei Peng and simultaneously broke through towards the main control room. Electromagnetic Cannons fired; no defense system could withstand the attack of the Ship Cannons. Bursts of flame erupted, and the pirate NPCs defending the base screamed as they fell to the ground.

Moving like lightning, like an extraordinary Superman from a Superhero movie, he transformed into a bolt of lightning and flew towards the depths of the base.

Breaking the sound barrier, enveloped in Psionic energy, he was like a missile, effortlessly weaving through the base. With a casual wave, powerful Psionic energy condensed into a bolt of lightning, destroying the hidden defensive turrets one by one.

Treating the base as his own, Lin Zhichen didn't even harm the pirate guards, merely destroying their weapons and equipment, rendering them combat-ineffective.

This large pirate base was divided into five layers, each 2 kilometers high, with varying areas. The main control center was located on the fifth floor, directly above the subterranean magma layer.

Between the upper and lower layers of the base, giant light screens in the central area provided protection and defense.

Flying at high speed, it didn't take long for Lin Zhichen to break through to the second layer.

But at this moment, laser beams wove into a net, rapidly sweeping across the central area. Under the scorching high-energy beams, even alloys could be easily cut into pieces.

However, while they could cut alloys, they couldn't necessarily sever Psionic energy. Powerful Psionic energy surged, directly deflecting the high-temperature rays, leaving scorching grooves on the base's armor.

The originally dense laser net was immediately breached, and Lin Zhichen flashed out of danger. With a casual wave, he unleashed several high-energy lightning bolts, leveling the nearby Laser Cannon turrets.

With a mere thought, powerful Psionic energy destroyed the weapons of the defense forces. Lin Zhichen didn't linger, pushing forward towards the entrance of the third layer.

It wasn't until an hour later that the base's main control room on the fifth floor was in sight. However, his speed slowed down, and he looked ahead with a serious expression.

"Psionic Warriors?!" Lin Zhichen took a breath, sensing the torch-like Psionic energy reactions in his Psionic sense, and was quite surprised:

"In such a large base, there are so many NPC Psionicists?"

He had suppressed seventeen NPC Psionicists on his way here and was already astonished by such a dense Psionic energy reaction. To his surprise, there were fifteen more Psionicists in the deepest part of the base, including five formal Psionic Warriors!

Suddenly, a piece of news, treated as a curiosity, appeared on the Star Net. His heart stirred.

"According to years of research, in certain Dark Galaxies, there exist special monster bases that are gathering places for Psionicists or other awakened individuals.

The peculiarity of these bases is that the density of Evolvers within them far exceeds normal circumstances, and their Psionic ranks are above the average level.

We have reason to suspect that extremely special NPC leaders like Pirate Kings or Rebel Army Marshals, born in the Dark Galaxies, do not spawn directly through the refresh mechanism as we imagine, but rather rise from the bottom.

These concentrated Evolvers are there to provide assistance to the soon-to-be-born Pirate Kings or Rebel Army Marshals.

Currently, there is no direct evidence to prove this assertion, but after long-term research, it has been found that in Dark Galaxies where special circumstances occur, these special bases are not isolated and at least two or more exist. This may be an important clue to unraveling the mystery of the birth of Pirate Kings and Rebel Army Marshals."

"Interesting." Lin Zhichen's gaze became fiery as he looked at the surging Psionic energy in the distance.

NPCs have varying aptitudes. Even among NPC Psionicists, there are huge differences in talent. Those with the potential to become Pirate Kings must possess exceptional talent.

This means that this pirate leader who has broken through to Psionic Warrior likely has high aptitude, and even in terms of intelligence, is not inferior to a Natural Person.

In fact, the major forces of the Federation had long discovered that some anomalies among NPCs possessed intelligence comparable to, or even surpassing, that of humans. However, compared to the complex thoughts of humans, these NPCs appeared more "simple."

"Dong~"

A tremor like an earthquake came from behind, but Lin Zhichen was not surprised at all.

He was moving at high speed, and the three Transformers were not falling behind. They locked onto Lin Zhichen's position via the communication network and followed closely, finally arriving at the fifth floor.

"A total of 5 Psionic Warriors, with one already at the peak of the Warrior stage!" After a brief scan, the three Transformers stepped forward and charged towards three of the Psionic Warriors.

With defenses comparable to a Battleship, the attacks of the Psionic Warriors could not even shake the Transformers.

""

The air exploded with a bang, the sonic boom of high-speed movement. Lin Zhichen, like lightning, thrust his high-temperature ion sword towards the pirate leader.

"Zzzt~"

Two lightsabers collided, and a Psionic wave violently dispersed. The alloy floor was immediately torn apart by the chaotic Psionic energy, revealing clear cracks.

When experts clash, you know their skill.

As the lightsabers met, Lin Zhichen's gaze sharpened. This pirate leader's mastery of lightsabers had reached a high level, at least expert level.

A solid Psionic field continuously fused and ignited matter in a confined high-temperature and high-pressure environment. The extreme heat of hundreds of millions of degrees was constrained into a sword, melting and vaporizing the alloy deck wherever it passed, leaving clear gouges.

Having elevated his lightsaber skills to the master level, Lin Zhichen now appeared like an eight-armed Arhat. His lightsaber flashed, piercing hundreds of times in an instant.

To an observer, the two figures fighting now had transformed into a gust of wind. Only the continuous explosions in the air could be heard as illusory shadows darted across the base, carrying the wind like roaring giant waves.

The unleashed Psionic energy was comparable to cannonballs, exploding in the sky and on the ground. Metal structures roared and collapsed. NPCs caught in the crossfire fled in terror, but some unfortunate ones were torn apart by the rampant Psionic energy.

With high-level Psionicists clashing, apprentices had no room to intervene. Led by four Psionic Warriors, over a dozen Psionicists jointly attacked the Transformers.

""

A Psionic shockwave roared forward. Metal machinery caught in its path was torn apart like cloth, emitting piercing groans as it was hurled towards the towering Transformers.

Sparks flew from their bodies, but the unharmed Transformers completely ignored the weak attacks of the Psionicists. From their shoulders and hands, three Electromagnetic Cannon turrets fired alloy projectiles.

Violent tremors shook the ground. Sturdy buildings were as fragile as paper under the bombardment of the Ship Cannons, being destroyed in large swathes.

However, no matter how fierce and powerful the Ship Cannon attacks were, they couldn't hit the agile Psionicists. They had already dodged far away long before the cannons could aim.

Not intending to cause widespread destruction, Lin Zhichen cautiously restrained his power, sparring lightsaber techniques with the pirate leader. His skills rapidly improved in the real combat. The lightsabers of both sides collided dozens of times per second, and with each thrust, over a dozen variations were produced.

As Psionicists, their thought speed under Psionic enhancement was comparable to computers. In an instant, they could contemplate hundreds of thousands of attack routes, simultaneously deduce thousands of possible counterattacks from the enemy, and consider over a thousand defensive measures.

This is a competition of combat intelligence, a clash of psionics and strength, and a battle of computing power. The lightsaber in hand has become an extension of the limbs, and the psionic field sometimes tightens, sometimes cracks open a rift, turning the originally limited range of the lightsaber into an area-of-effect weapon, firmly locking onto the pirate chieftain.

With master-level lightsaber skills, his understanding of swordsmanship has reached an entirely new level. A single thrust can even link with psionic precognition, sensing the opponent's myriad responses.

At first, Lin Zhichen, who hadn't experienced real combat for a long time, couldn't grasp the essence of swordsmanship. But amidst the fierce battle, the skill's depth, which had been forcibly enhanced by talent, was gradually digested.

By the end, his swordsmanship had simplified from complexity to simplicity. A single thrust would send the light blade flashing, seemingly containing infinite variations, covering all of the pirate chieftain's evasion paths and forcing the opponent to block.

A psionic tremor made the pirate chieftain recoil violently. His fluid movements suddenly faltered. This brief moment of stagnation immediately triggered a chain reaction. Lin Zhichen's lightsaber attacks did not pause in the slightest, thrusting out one sword strike after another, completely disrupting the pirate chieftain's rhythm.

In a duel between masters, victory or defeat is decided in an instant.

One second they were evenly matched, but the next, the pirate chieftain fell like a scale bowl, crashing heavily onto the floor. Raging psionic energy roared, tearing through the alloy deck.

"Ugh~"

Spitting out a mouthful of blood, the pirate chieftain, having suffered a heavy blow, was as pale as paper. His internal organs were severely injured, and he couldn't exert force for a while.

Lin Zhichen didn't hesitate. A vast wave of psionic energy surged down, suppressing the pirate chieftain's brewing counterattack and knocking him unconscious with a mere thought.

Only then did he have time to survey the battlefield. The Transformers were locked in a fierce battle with the Psionicists, the roar of combat echoing endlessly as large swaths of buildings were destroyed.

"Such a waste!" he winced. With the pirate chieftain defeated, half of this base was already theirs. Any damage now was to his own property.

He didn't immediately intervene in the battle. With a sweep of his psionic energy, he lifted the pirate chieftain and, moving like lightning, instantly arrived at the central control room. Psionic waves spread out in a ring. The pirate NPCs under attack had no time to react before a sharp pain shot through their heads, and they collapsed on the spot.

Looking at the slumped operators in the central control room and feeling the sense of crisis that had lingered since entering the base finally disappear, Lin Zhichen finally breathed a sigh of relief.

After all, every base had a self-destruct mechanism. If pushed to the brink, the enemy might very well choose mutual destruction. But now, that threat was gone.

Moving like lightning, he swept across the battlefield. His master-level peak lightsaber skills allowed Lin Zhichen to perceive the flaws in his opponents' swordsmanship with each strike. Often, he would rout Psionic Warriors of the same rank within a few rounds, taking them down in under a second.

From his appearance to the end, four Psionic Warriors and ten Psionic Apprentices lasted less than half a minute before lying defeated on the ground. Lin Zhichen then gathered them with his psionic energy and brought them to the central control room, awaiting the final moment.

With the fall of the central control room, the pirate base's defense force lost its command center. Each unit fought independently, their combat effectiveness further diminished. Conversely, their morale, already low due to the enemy invasion, plummeted to rock bottom.

Watching the rampaging Transformers and the rapidly advancing invasion forces, pirate NPCs defending various areas began to surrender one after another.

Initially, resistance was sporadic, but as more and more ground troops were transported into the base by Transport Ships, the desperate pirates finally began to surrender in large numbers.

From the first to the fifth floor, the Meteor Mercenary Group's ground forces swept through repeatedly, capturing the last hiding pirate NPC. Five days had passed.

Only then did Lin Zhichen announce that control of the underground base had been secured. The envisioned hidden base was finally captured.

"Big Brother." In the central control room on the fifth floor, several people gathered.

After days of continuous fighting and guarding against hidden enemies, Wei Peng and the others had personally led troops in sweeping operations, only now having the chance to reunite.

"Big Brother, the base has been taken. Can our plan begin now?" Wei Peng seemed quite excited. This time, they had captured over 30,000 pirate NPCs within the base, including at least 5,000 pirate guards. With a period of training, their current ground force could be doubled.

"Of course. Do you have any plans?" Lin Zhichen looked at the holographic surveillance footage within the base, the situation on all five floors laid out before him.

"Big Brother, I've done a preliminary survey these past few days. The first floor is mainly barracks and training centers, used for training NPC soldiers and engineering technicians, and also serves as base defense. This area has the base's most stringent defenses; every building, every street, is part of the defense line. Honestly, if it weren't for the Transformers going in first, and these indestructible behemoths disrupting the pirate base's defense plan, our ground forces might have faced a military fortress with complete fortifications. According to some introductions on the Star Net, medium-sized and above NPC bases possess considerable defensive capabilities. Even if the turrets were destroyed, fighting inside the base would not be easy. There was once a private Legion that attacked a large ground base and encountered fierce resistance. Over 200,000 ground troops, fully equipped with light and heavy gear, and supported by space Ship Cannons, launched an assault on the base. As a result, they were bogged down by ubiquitous hidden bunkers and automated turrets within the base. After several days of fighting, they suffered tens of thousands of casualties, and had not even captured a third of the base. Then the Legion got angry and carpet-bombed with Ship Cannons, leveling the base. Generally speaking, underground bases are more secretive and occupy less space than space bases or ground bases, but their defensive capabilities are the strongest of the three—even orbital bombardment is impossible. In that regard, we've really gotten a great deal!" Wu Tianyi said, causing Wei Peng to nod repeatedly. As a ground force general, he was well aware of this base's defensive capabilities. If heavy firepower hadn't been drawn away by the Transformers, the attacking ground troops would have suffered heavy casualties.