The Thousand Sunny Modified moved like a ghost through the cold graveyard of starships, surrounded by massive wreckage that silently testified to destruction. Oppression and deathly silence were the dominant themes here, until a faint but regular energy fluctuation, like a heartbeat, came from a structure resembling a small space station, barely pieced together from the wreckage of several starships.
"There's an energy reaction! It's... it's a life signal!" Chopper exclaimed excitedly, wearing a specially made life detector. Discovering signs of life in this land of death was undoubtedly a shot in the arm.
The group's spirits lifted, and they cautiously maneuvered the Thousand Sunny closer. The "space station" was dilapidated, its outer shell riddled with impact marks and energy weapon damage, with only a few observation windows emitting a dim light.
When the Thousand Sunny entered a certain range, a broken, universal distress signal (which appeared to be some kind of universal standard format) was received:
[... This is a fragment of ' Ark of Hope '... Requesting assistance... Repeat... This is...]
"They're still alive!" Nami immediately began trying to establish a communication connection.
After some adjustments, a blurry image with lots of static appeared on the screen. The image showed a middle-aged man with a haggard face, wearing a simple spacesuit. Behind him were a rudimentary control panel with flickering malfunction lights and some survivors with pale faces and eyes that were a mixture of fear and hope.
"Who... who are you? Which star system are you from?" The man's voice was filled with wariness and disbelief.
"We are travelers passing through this place," Sabo calmly replied (via remote communication). "We have detected your distress signal. What happened here? Are you survivors of this... graveyard?"
Upon hearing the words "graveyard," the survivors in the scene all showed deep pain. The middle-aged man, who called himself Keith, was the temporary leader of this group of survivors. He began to narrate in a hoarse voice:
"We come from a star system called ' Green Source '... where there were once seven inhabited planets, nurturing a thriving civilization..." His eyes revealed a mixture of reminiscence and fear, "Until 'them' arrived... those ' World Devourers '... they were like locusts, no, billions of times more terrifying than locusts! They devoured the core energy of planets, stripped away the atmosphere, and turned the earth into scorched earth... our fleet was utterly helpless before them..."
Keith's voice choked with emotion. "We were the last crew members of the ' Ark of Hope,' escaping before our home planet was swallowed up... We've been drifting in these ruins for a long time, barely surviving by collecting energy and supplies from other wreckage... But our life support systems are nearing their limit..."
Through Keith's narration and Robin's deciphering of the symbols on the surrounding debris, a brutal cosmic landscape slowly unfolds. This graveyard of stellar remains is a mass grave formed after several neighboring star system civilizations were destroyed by " World Devourers." These " World Devourers " are terrifying beings that cannot Definition by conventional good and evil; they feed on planets and civilizations, leaving only death and desolation in their wake.
"Do you know what ' World Devourers ' are? Where do they come from?" Allen asked, this was his biggest concern.
Keith shook his head, his face filled with confusion and fear. "I don't know... They seem to appear out of thin air, and their form... is hard to describe. They're like aggregates of energy, or perhaps living laws... All we know is that any world targeted by them has almost no chance of survival."
Just then, a piercing alarm sounded from inside the " Ark of Hope " fragment! Keith and the others turned deathly pale instantly!
"Oh no! It's an energy detection alarm! Something... something's approaching! It could be a patrolling 'cleaner,' or worse..."
Almost simultaneously with the alarm sounding, Allen sensed spatial fluctuations in the distance. His eyes narrowed. "Something's definitely coming, quite a few of them, and their energy signature is stronger than the previous 'scavengers'."
From the shadows of several massive wrecks, seven or eight even more menacing and larger black warships silently emerged. Their prows resembled bared fangs, with dark red energy gathering within them, clearly indicating they were not benevolent.
"They're the minions of the ' World Devourers,' the ' Predator' -class warships!" Keith cried out in despair. "They're even stronger than the 'Scavengers,' specifically designed to clean up those who slip through our net! We're finished..."
Faced with the approaching threat, Luffy clenched his fist. "Whatever it is, I'll just knock it away!"
Zoro and Sanji were also ready for battle.
But Allen raised his hand to stop them. He looked at the desperate survivors on the screen, then at the approaching warships radiating cold killing intent, and made a decision.
"Mr. Keith, how much energy do you have left? Can you perform a short-distance space jump?" Allen asked quickly.
Keith was stunned for a moment, then grasped at a straw. "Yes! We still have one last high-purity energy crystal! It can support a short jump! But... but the coordinates..."
"I'll provide the coordinates!" Allen interrupted him, his eyes flashing with a silver-purple light. He quickly sensed the relatively stable spatial nodes around them. "Listen, I'll temporarily disrupt those warships' locking systems and give you safe jump coordinates. Jump away immediately!"
"And what about you?!" Keith exclaimed in astonishment.
"We have our own way," Allen said firmly. "Remember, survive, and pass on the existence of the ' World Devourers,' and the experiences of your civilization! The Spark of civilization cannot be extinguished!"
There was no time to hesitate! Keith nodded emphatically, a renewed spark of hope in his eyes. "Thank you! May the light of the Xinghai guide you!"
Communication was cut off. A burst of intense light shot from the tail of the " Ark of Hope " debris.
At the same time, Allen formed hand seals, and the power of spacetime surged!
"Space-Time Disruption, Refraction of All Things!"
An invisible wave spread out from the Thousand Sunny, causing the locking systems of the approaching Predator warships to malfunction instantly, their attack trajectories to become chaotic, and their energy cannons to fire haphazardly at the surrounding wreckage.
Taking advantage of this precious chaos, the fragments of " Ark of Hope " transformed into a streak of light and vanished instantly at the predetermined coordinates.
A few minutes later, the spacetime disruption effect disappeared. The Predator warships returned to normal, but their target had vanished. They seemed to turn their fury on the Thousand Sunny, unleashing several thick beams of dark red energy!
"Now it's our turn!" Luffy roared, his rubber arm expanding, " Gum-Gum Giant Thunder Axe!"
Zoro's Three-Sword Style, Sanji's Purifying Flame Diable Jambe, Franky's General Cannon... The Straw Hat Pirates went all out, engaging in a fierce battle with these even stronger " Predator " warships above this graveyard of civilization!
This battle was even more difficult than before, but these battle-hardened warriors still maintained a firm advantage. Finally, after Allen's precise " Spacetime Cutting " separated the engine room of the last warship, the remaining " Predator " warships realized they had kicked a hornet's nest and retreated in panic.
The battle ended, Void returned to its deathly silence, with only fragments of the starship wreckage drifting slowly.
Everyone watched in silence in the direction where the " Ark of Hope " had disappeared.
"Can they... escape?" Chopper asked softly.
"I hope so," Allen said softly, his gaze distant. "We can't save all the destroyed civilizations, but at least we've allowed a Spark to continue. And perhaps that's one of the reasons we've journeyed through this Xinghai."
The Thousand Sunny Retrofit sets sail once more. Their brief encounter with the survivors of the " Ark of Hope " gives them a more direct understanding of the threat posed by the " World Devourers," and also adds a heavy responsibility to their shoulders. In the Xinghai, there are not only adventures and wonders, but also protection and inheritance.
The journey to freedom ahead is still long, but their will, like an undying star in the darkness, grows ever stronger.