"Qin Feng, want to take a trip into outer space with your queen?"
With the resource problem solved, Morgana was in an excellent mood. She winked at Qin Feng, her tone carrying a hint of invitation.
Qin Feng glanced at her and shook his head without mercy.
"Forget it. That place is barren. I'd rather stay here and watch Animal World."
"Hmph!"
Morgana stamped her foot in displeasure, planted her hands on her hips, and deliberately thrust out her chest. "Am I really less attractive than those beasts?"
At her words, Qin Feng looked her up and down.
His gaze slid from her long black hair to her face with its smoky makeup, lingered briefly on her tight leather outfit, and then silently moved away. His tone was as flat as if he were judging a dish that wasn't to his taste. "If you weren't wearing makeup, I'd be interested in admiring you. As you are now... it's hard to say."
"Screw you!"
Morgana exploded, her face flushing scarlet, though whether from anger or embarrassment was unclear.
She gritted her teeth and glared at Qin Feng, then abruptly turned and raised a hand, tearing open a dark purple space wormhole beside her.
"Ato, entertain them properly for your queen. I'm off to fetch Demon One first. Hahaha!!!"
Her laughter echoed through the air for a few seconds, but she had already vanished into the wormhole. The rift closed behind her, leaving only a ring of gradually fading energy ripples.
The tribe fell silent in an instant.
Ato stood rooted to the spot, his dark red eyes fixed on Tara, every muscle taut. The Demon Wings spread slightly behind him, like a beast ready to pounce at any moment.
Qin Feng glanced at him and chuckled, then turned to Tara. "Tara, stay here and watch our things. Notify me when Morgana returns. I'll go back to the Kingdom to check on the research progress first."
"As you command, my king."
Tara bowed slightly, his golden slit pupils sweeping calmly over Ato as though looking at an insignificant ant.
Qin Feng raised a hand and sliced open a shadow rift, slipping into it and disappearing into the darkness of the Shadow Realm.
On the tribe's scorched earth, Tara and Ato faced each other from over ten meters apart.
Ato clenched his fists until they cracked, but Tara stood with his hands behind his back, not even bothering to take a defensive stance. His golden slit pupils remained utterly calm.
"You'd better behave yourself."
Tara spoke, his voice neither loud nor soft. "Otherwise, I wouldn't mind disciplining her subordinate on your queen's behalf."
Ato's teeth ground audibly, but in the end, he did not lash out.
Meanwhile, in the infirmary at the Super Soldier Company base.
Du Kao slowly opened his eyes, his blurred vision gradually coming into focus.
His head felt as though it had been stuffed with cotton, heavy and groggy, and his limbs had little strength.
He turned his head slightly, then abruptly froze.
Sun Wukong and Ryze stood at the head of his hospital bed, neither looking particularly well.
There were two horrifying holes in Sun Wukong's chest. Though the wounds had stopped bleeding, they were still ghastly to look at.
"Wukong, who did you fight? How did you get hurt so badly?"
Du Kao's voice was hoarse and weak as he struggled to sit up.
His gaze roamed over the two holes in Sun Wukong's chest, uncertainty and alarm churning in his eyes.
He knew Sun Wukong's strength very well.
A peak third-generation beast body-combat power like that would be a core fighting force in any civilization.
Not to mention the contingency Teacher Wu had left inside him.
Even against Morgana, he could put up a fight.
Du Kao truly could not imagine what sort of opponent could have left Sun Wukong in such a sorry state.
Sun Wukong involuntarily glanced at Ryze. Seeing him standing silent with his eyes lowered, he finally said gruffly, "Nothing much. I just exchanged a few moves with that junior's subordinate. Old Du, don't let these two big holes in Old Sun's chest fool you. They didn't actually damage any muscles or bones. They'll heal on their own in a couple of days."
"That's good."
Du Kao breathed a sigh of relief. His weakened body left him without the energy to ask for more details.
Besides, he no longer wanted to hold Sun Wukong accountable for going after Qin Feng on his own.
Compared with that, figuring out how to meet the angels' demands was the highest priority.
He turned his head toward Ryze.
"Teacher Ryze, I imagine you already know the whole story. The Angel Civilization is now demanding that we repay the resources spent researching the Galaxy Power. What do you think we should do?"
At those words, Ryze's brow furrowed deeply.
If they had to repay those resources on their own, even selling off everything they had left probably wouldn't cover thirty percent of the debt.
Divine Kaisa had truly presented them with a difficult problem this time!
"At this point..."
Ryze began slowly, "we only have two paths left."
"What are they?"
Du Kao asked hastily.
"First, use every resource we have to meet the angels' demands."
"I don't agree to that!"
Du Kao rejected it outright, his voice carrying a rare urgency.
"Leaving aside whether our meager resources could satisfy the angels' demands, even if they did, how would we develop the Galaxy Power afterward? Without enough resources, Ge Xiaolun and the others probably wouldn't even be able to deal with the Taotie, let alone become a blade that cuts through the void!"
Ryze nodded. That was his concern as well.
"Then there's only one path left: find someone to borrow resources from!"
"Borrow?"
Du Kao froze for a moment, then gave a bitter laugh. "Who would lend to us? Teacher Ryze, you should know better than I do that our current situation is like a bottomless pit. Without any shared interests, who would be foolish enough to lend us their treasured resources?"
The corners of Ryze's mouth lifted slightly, and a glint of depth passed through his ever-smiling eyes.
"Someone will, of course. And that person will certainly be very willing."
Looking at his certain expression, Du Kao frowned even more deeply and asked tentatively, "You're not talking about Lieyang, are you?"
Ryze smiled without speaking and merely nodded lightly.
"How is that possible? Lieyang Star may have deep reserves, but Pan Zhen is shrewd. Why would he lend us resources for no reason?"
"Old Du, you're right. Pan Zhen certainly wouldn't lend us resources for no reason. But don't we have something he wants?"
Du Kao paused. "What?"
"Blue Star beneath our feet!"
Ryze's voice was neither loud nor soft, as though he were stating something perfectly ordinary. Yet in the other two's ears, those words were like a massive rock crashing into a tranquil lake.
"What did you say?!!"
Sun Wukong, who had been resting against the wall, abruptly straightened, two dazzling bursts of golden light erupting in his Fiery Eyes and Golden Gaze.
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