Herta Space Station, Base Module Corridor.
The Antimatter Legion's invasion had yet to end.
Every researcher in the corridor was incredibly busy.
Some were transporting data.
Some were ordering Star Destroyers online.
Some were fleeing in panic.
Others were singing at the top of their lungs.
"OOOH OOOH OOOH~~~"
THUD THUD THUD THUD THUD—!!
At last, someone grew sick of listening and began pounding wildly on the door of the room the singing came from.
Accompanying the furious knocking was a childish, milky voice:
"Stop singing—! The stationmaster told me to hurry you up. Finish washing and go support Captain Arlan!"
Before long, the sound of running water inside stopped.
The door opened.
A calm-looking young man in a new black coat stepped out.
He did not forget to close the door behind him.
Yan Huan sighed. "Ah, it really wouldn't have mattered if I hadn't washed. They're just making a mountain out of a molehill."
The one who had come to rush Yan Huan was a little girl named Wen Shiling.
She was not even as tall as Yan Huan's leg. If she did not speak, one might not even notice where she was standing.
Wen Shiling looked at Yan Huan's smug expression with great disdain.
"So you're Yan Huan? I didn't expect you to look pretty decent."
It had to be said, Yan Huan really did have a good face.
He was actually quite handsome.
Of course, it would have been better if there were nothing wrong with his brain.
"Heh, not worth mentioning!"
Hearing the compliment, Yan Huan's lips curled upward wildly.
As Wen Shiling led him onward, he swaggered along, occasionally shaking out his coat for no reason, looking as flamboyant as could be.
The researchers they passed also kept their distance.
As if they had seen a lunatic.
Wen Shiling noticed this too. Her mouth twitched slightly as she shot Yan Huan a dark look.
"Hey, can you walk normally? So many people are looking over here. Aren't you embarrassed?"
Faced with Wen Shiling's rebuke, Yan Huan smiled and put on what he believed was an inscrutable expression.
"I, Yan Huan, have lived my life as I pleased. Why should I explain myself to anyone?!"
Come on, he was now at the strength of a first-rank Emanator.
He might not be able to dominate Herta Space Station, but was it not basic etiquette to walk a little arrogantly?
Besides, his martial arts had reached mastery. Mere Antimatter Legion fodder was beneath his notice.
But in Wen Shiling's eyes, he was just an insufferable man. Her childish voice rang with mocking laughter.
"Heh, you should really learn more from Mr. Kapote. The two of you are worlds apart."
Yan Huan froze at her words. Even his steps came to a stop, his expression turning utterly serious.
"Who is Kapote? Is he even one-tenth as handsome as me?"
Upon hearing the question, Wen Shiling snorted.
"Heh, compared to Young Master Bo, do you even deserve to be mentioned?"
Then, with a worshipful expression, the little girl began introducing the idol in her heart.
"Young Master Kapote is the greatest being on Herta Space Station. At least, in the eyes of us fans, he is the only light!"
As Wen Shiling led the way, she animatedly recounted Young Master Bo's legendary life.
She waved her hands around, did several backflips, then crawled about on the floor.
She said she was demonstrating Young Master Bo's flashy footwork when facing enemies.
She looked like some kind of malformed creature.
"You know, Young Master Bo once..."
Yan Huan: "..."
She could recite all sorts of Young Master Bo's unbelievably glorious achievements and famous quotes from memory.
She wore a foolish grin, utterly unaware that snot had dribbled down to her chin.
"Hehehehehe... Let me tell you more."
The nearby researchers all moved aside when they saw Wen Shiling's deranged state.
Yan Huan also quietly took several steps back to keep his distance.
This kid.
She was probably beyond saving.
At her age, she ought to be doing more homework and preparing properly for middle school entrance exams.
As the two continued onward, the scenery around them gradually changed.
After walking all this way, Yan Huan had not seen any sign of March 7th or Dan Heng. He had not even seen Stationmaster Asta.
What he saw most often was—
Groups of researchers wrapped in bandages, gritting their teeth through the pain as they carried stretchers with other researchers lying on them, barely clinging to life.
Reeking of blood and disinfectant, they hurried past Yan Huan.
Yan Huan did not know what the Space Station had once been like, but now it had already become a desolate ruin.
Smashed screens lay crookedly off to one side.
Several large pits appeared along the corridor from time to time, forcing them to detour around them.
Several researchers wrapped in bloodstained bandages sat by the roadside, breathing lightly. Their expressions were tense, entirely unlike Wen Shiling's endless chatter.
This place had just endured an unprecedented crisis. Those they knew were either dead or wounded.
Every face was grave.
No matter the world, humanity could not avoid suffering.
There had once been the Heavenly Principles, acting with impunity, and Herrschers, committing all manner of evil.
And now, Aeons stood at the very top of the food chain.
"Humanity really has it hard." Yan Huan mourned for mankind.
The existence of Aeons was nothing in itself.
But the existence of an Aeon born solely for "Destruction" was the misfortune of all things.
It sought nothing but the withering of all existence.
Its reasoning was that since the universe would eventually meet its end anyway, it might as well hasten the process.
These Antimatter Legion Voidrangers were the Aeon of Destruction's lackeys.
And Wen Shiling, walking ahead of him, continued leading the way while her mouth never stopped moving.
"Do you understand Young Master Kapote's greatness now?"
Yan Huan said helplessly, "Since you put it that way, I'll reluctantly admit that Spinach has one ten-thousandth of my strength."
Wen Shiling: "..."
By then, the two had reached their destination, and the Crack Realm crystals around them had grown increasingly thick.
From the dark corridor ahead came waves of low growls.
Wen Shiling turned around, looked up at Yan Huan, and said unhappily, "It's Young Master Bo, not Spinach! Also, you're just jealous of Young Master Bo's reputation. You'll never reach his heights."
Her childish voice rang out clearly at that moment.
Yan Huan merely smiled and said nothing more.
Half a second after Wen Shiling finished speaking.
CLANG—!!
A flash of blade light swept through the air, slashing toward the little girl's head.
"Ah...!!"
At that instant, Wen Shiling's pupils shrank sharply!
She held her breath and stared blankly as the blade came straight for her eye.
Fear, terror, and despair.
All surged from within her heart like a flood in that instant.
Instinctively, she tried to move her legs and flee, but they felt as heavy as lead.
Just as Wen Shiling's eyes turned bloodshot and her entire body stiffened.
CLANG—!! The sound of metal striking metal rang out before her.
A hand gripped the sharp blade tightly, like an iron vise.
The little girl stared blankly at the scene. Her legs went weak, and she quickly lost her balance and fell hard onto the floor.
"M-Monster...!!" Wen Shiling cried out.
The one whose blade Yan Huan had caught barehanded was, astonishingly, a Voidranger that had been hiding in the shadows.
"Tch, making a fuss over nothing."
Yan Huan immediately delivered a left front kick to the ambushing Voidranger.
BANG—!! The sound of air tearing apart rang without end.
The Voidranger was actually kicked flying backward by Yan Huan, letting out a pained wail.
After tracing a beautiful arc through the air, it slammed viciously into the metal wall.
Its life had left it.
"All right, this is as far as you need to take me. See? Wasn't that left front kick of mine much cooler than that Spinach guy?"
After showing off in front of Wen Shiling, Yan Huan smiled faintly, clasped his hands behind his back, and strode toward the dim Crack Realm ahead.
The little girl remained kneeling on the floor, unable to recover for a long time.
One strike.
He had killed a Voidranger in one strike?!
Her bewildered eyes stared blankly at the towering figure ahead.
Before you continue