The vast starry sky stretched on without end.
Inside the command cabin, after admiring the view of space, Lin Fan let his consciousness sink back into the Bronze Hall in his mindscape.
He looked up at the Black Giant Egg. Two lines of blue text had appeared beside it.
[Current gestation target: Golden Horned Beast.]
[Estimated gestation time: 1 year, 6 months (Earth time).]
"One and a half years?"
Lin Fan furrowed his brow.
Although that was much faster than the time it took Luo Feng to recover his strength after taking over the Golden Horned Beast in the original story, Lin Fan couldn't wait that long.
He looked toward the lower part of the hall.
After breaking through to the Planetary Level, ten golden True Selves now stood in neat rows inside the hall.
"Though deducing secret techniques is important, creating a clone has to take priority right now."
Without further hesitation, Lin Fan gave the order.
"Put them all into the Origin Placenta and accelerate the gestation of the Golden Horned Beast clone!"
At his command, the ten golden True Selves instantly turned into ten streaks of golden Flowing Light and crashed into the Black Giant Egg!
Each time a True Self merged with it, the golden secret patterns on the egg's surface flashed violently, and its life force surged.
[Consumed 1 True Self. Gestation progress +1%.]
[Consumed 1 True Self. Gestation progress +1%.]
[Consumed 1 True Self. Gestation progress +1%. Current progress: 10%.]
[True Self recovery time: 24 hours.]
Looking at the progress bar, which had jumped straight to 10%, Lin Fan's eyes widened.
"What???"
"One clone increases the progress by 1%?"
Lin Fan stared at the system notification in shock.
This was actually a precious percentage-based bonus? Each clone added one percent, meaning he only needed ten days to finish the gestation, no matter how long it would have taken otherwise.
"System, you're awesome."
After who knew how many times he'd praised the system, Lin Fan withdrew from his mindscape.
He gazed out the window at the blue planet growing smaller and smaller. There was no reluctance in his eyes, only boundless anticipation for the future.
"Earth, this is goodbye for now."
Then he turned to the owl in front of him.
"101, set a course for Qiu Long Planet. Full speed ahead!"
"Prepare everything I'll need: the Universal Language, an entry permit, and the rules for the route."
"Yes, Master."
101 bowed gracefully, then the X-101's speed began to climb rapidly.
"Master, the ship will reach the speed of light in ten seconds," 101 announced.
"Nine!"
"Eight!"
"Seven!"
Lin Fan looked outside. He could no longer make out the planet with the naked eye. The surrounding stars blurred completely, and gradually, even the light faded into darkness.
"Three... two... one!"
The black ship, blurred against the starry sky, vanished into the universe as space rippled faintly around it.
Boom!
Lin Fan felt the ship tremble slightly. The shaking lasted about ten seconds. Everything around them was pitch-black, then the ship steadied.
"Cosmic Shuttle successful. We have entered the Dark Universe." 101 bowed gracefully before Lin Fan. "Master, I'll turn off the exterior simulation, since the ship is now traveling at the speed of light and can't capture the view outside."
Lin Fan nodded. The darkness disappeared, and the cabin reappeared around him.
"Master, the Dark Universe and the Original Universe where we live have corresponding coordinates."
"However, if we travel a certain distance in the Dark Universe—for example, '30 light-seconds'—then after shuttling back to the Original Universe, the distance we'll have traveled will be '30 light-seconds multiplied by 10.081 million.'"
"The ratio between the Dark Universe and the Original Universe is 1 to 10.081 million."
"Also, though the X-101 can reach twice the speed of light, it's best to maintain 1.2 times the speed of light to conserve energy."
"At that speed, we should reach Qiu Long Planet in about ten days."
"Ten days?"
Lin Fan's eyebrows shot up.
That was perfect. By the time they reached Qiu Long Planet, the Golden Horned Beast clone would be ready.
"Good. I'll leave things to you for now. I'm going to cultivate."
"Yes, Master!"
After giving his instructions, Lin Fan went to the rest cabin, sat cross-legged on the bed, and began learning the Universal Language.
Ten days passed in the blink of an eye.
"Master, we'll begin the Cosmic Shuttle and arrive at Qiu Long Planet in five minutes."
Lin Fan nodded, then sent his consciousness into his mindscape and entered the Bronze Hall.
He looked up at the Black Giant Egg and gave the order.
"True Self, accelerate the gestation of the Golden Horned Beast clone."
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh.
The ten True Selves instantly turned into streaks of light and merged into the Black Giant Egg.
[Consumed 1 True Self. Gestation progress +1%.]
[Consumed 1 True Self. Gestation progress +1%.]
[Consumed 1 True Self. Gestation progress +1%. Current progress: 100%.]
[True Self recovery time: 24 hours.]
Crack, crack, crack.
The Black Giant Egg broke apart, and a colossal creature appeared in front of Lin Fan.
"The Golden Horned Beast..."
As Lin Fan watched the Golden Horned Beast crawl out of the egg, a strange feeling rose within him.
Looking at the beast was like looking at himself, yet somehow it was different.
"But I can't let the Golden Horned Beast out yet. It's better to keep it in the Bronze Hall for now."
Watching the Golden Horned Beast land in front of him and begin receiving its inherited memories, Lin Fan withdrew from his mindscape.
"Master, we've arrived. Prepare for the Cosmic Shuttle."
"Mm."
With Lin Fan's agreement, the ship began to decelerate sharply, slowing all the way to a stop.
Then he felt the ship beneath his feet tremble slightly. The shaking lasted about ten seconds, and everything settled.
"Master, Cosmic Shuttle successful. We've returned to the Original Universe."
"Exterior simulation at 100%."
Whoosh.
A planet whose entire surface shimmered with iridescent light appeared before Lin Fan, accompanied by two moons slowly orbiting it.
"Master, that planet is Qiu Long Planet."
"Mm. Move closer."
"Yes."
As the X-101 stealth battleship approached Qiu Long Planet,
"Beep!"
"We've received a guidance signal. Master, the ship will now follow it to the planet's docking port."
"Good."
"Beep—guidance signal received from the Qiu Long Planet Port Authority. Signal level: B."
At the docking port on Qiu Long Planet, the X-101 stealth battleship slowly descended and finally touched down.
Once the ship had docked, the hatch opened and Lin Fan disembarked alone.
Just then, a green-skinned, muscular man wearing a uniform flew over and landed in front of him. He stood about two meters tall and had two curved horns on his head.
With a smile, he spoke fluent Universal Language in a polite, humble manner.
"Welcome to Qiu Long Planet, respected sir. The docking fee for your X-101 stealth battleship is 300 Black Dragon Coins per year! Any period shorter than a year will still be charged at 300 Black Dragon Coins. Here is your docking card."
As he spoke, the man handed Lin Fan a silver, translucent card bearing the letter B.
Lin Fan nodded, turned his hand over, and took out exactly 300 Black Dragon Coins—no more, no less—before handing them to the man.
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