At 16:50 in the afternoon, there was still one hour and seven minutes before nightfall.

The sky was gloomy with intermittent thunder and rain. The entry passages to Dawn City’s No. 1 city wall had become a boiling cauldron of steel, chaotic and crowded.

The convoys that had intended to leave the city had decreased by half during the day. Many waiting in line, pressured by the worsening situation, had no choice but to return to the gathering place. The danger of venturing out into the darkness and rushing on the roads was increasing by the minute.

At the southern, northern, and western gates of the city walls, all entry passages were fully opened. Hundreds of thousands of disaster survivors from the outer city flooded into the city like a tidal wave. The crowd was a dense, dark mass. These survivors stationed outside the city had madness burning in their eyes—a desperate will to live. Constant attacks every day had made them hypersensitive and terrified. Now, with the changes in Dawn City and the spreading news of the Star Abyss crisis, they had no choice but to swarm into the city, seeking shelter behind the high walls.

The outer city streets gradually grew desolate and bleak. The rain intensified. Former camps and shelters were now empty. Debris and garbage covered the broken and bloodstained streets, constantly washed by rainwater.

At the very outskirts, some convoys were still busily packing equipment. One after another, doomsday vehicles roared through the streets.

On the high walls of the No. 1 city wall, tens of thousands of garrison troops stood fully armed. From the watchtowers, soldiers looked through binoculars at the dense crowds below, as numerous as ants, tightly packed and extending for kilometers beneath the hundred-meter-high walls.

At the city gate checkpoint, garrison soldiers and various mechas stood in battle formation. Every entrant had to undergo dark mark inspection.

Beep beep beep.

“Level 1 mark, take them to isolation!”

“No! My daughter is only six years old! Please let her in! I beg you!” A bespectacled man pleaded.

“If there is even one mark, the entire city will face a crisis. The isolation zone is protected by armed forces, so please cooperate,” a garrison soldier loudly enforced order.

“Then I’ll go with her!”

Without hesitation, the father picked up his daughter and hurriedly handed their belongings to his wife and companions. Amid his wife’s sobbing, the garrison soldiers took him away.

Under the doomsday sky, no one knew if this hurried farewell would be the last.

Crowded, noisy, crying, and roaring engines—the city’s entry passages had become hellish battlefields.

The hundred-meter-tall doomsday wall, a marvel of the city, completely encircled Dawn City. Every 500 meters, two 120mm electromagnetic railguns known as “Thunder God’s Hammer” stood tall and grim. When charging, blue light flickered through the rifling like a lightning serpent. This electromagnetic railgun, as a base weapon, was several times more powerful than the G-3 railgun. Densely arrayed along the wall were Long Wall-50 base railgun batteries, firing 210mm self-loading destructive howitzers. Rainwater dripped down the dark, hollow barrels.

In addition, various heavy artillery, automatic machine guns, 1130s, ultra-high temperature plasma beams on the city wall defense line, large pulse string vibrators, firearm channels, countless isolation nets, heavy weapon watchtowers built every 500 meters in the outer city, iron-wall isolation belts, and an anti-air network like a sky veil inside the city, underground missile systems, and pulsed laser sky arrays together formed the steel defense line of Dawn City.

The streets of the old city had long become a steel jungle. Numerous doomsday armored vehicles clogged every street and alley. Defense nets were drawn everywhere. Survivors had arranged defensive formations with long guns and short cannons in streets, buildings, windows, and gates.

Tension and fear spread relentlessly as night approached. The internal network was flooded with negative and despairing news:

[Three Star Abysses siege and devouring, is the doomsday of Dawn City here?]

[Federation government disbanded, definitely related to the Crimson World. The underground city can’t hold the darkness;

high officials are fleeing!]

[Many large convoys have run off. Those left have nowhere to go. What should we do?]

[God, no one in the city’s isolation zone has a Level 5 mark. It’s said a sky monster appeared near Star Abyss No. 7. If it’s S-Class!]

[Your world is doomed.]

[Small families unite, survive tonight, and move out tomorrow!]

At Galag White City’s main street, Lu Yi and his group watched the chaotic crowds around the streets, all wearing serious expressions.

“The Polar Night expansion is worsening. Jin Hai will likely be the first affected,” the Sky Veil Barrier said to Zhou Jin at this moment.

Zhou Jin immediately responded to the barrier, “Sister Jing, he and Qian Dele are contacting Jin Hai. Have the joint train and the Celestial Dome train prepare tonight. At dawn, we evacuate Dawn City. Now that the Federation is dissolved, no one governs you.”

“The communication nodes between Dawn City and Jin Hai are controlled by the Federation. They’re probably in the hands of the garrison troops. Our messages may not get through,” Jiang Yun said.

“Then we fly back,” Qian Dele said seriously. “There are always more solutions than problems. Without bringing the trains here, these people won’t be able to evacuate.”

Ning Jing nodded and then said to Lin Xian, “Captain Lin, don’t worry. I’ll think of a way with Qian Dele.”

“I’ll handle Star City Rail Station and the Silver Star,” Jiang Yun also said immediately. “The joint trains are coming in. Plus, we need to defend. With this many of us, we need a large stronghold.”

“Good,” Lin Xian looked at Lu Xingchen and Monica. “Then Mie Ge and Monica assist Jiang Yun and Director Jian. For infiltration, KIKI, Shiori, Zhou’s squad, and I will handle it.”

“No problem,” Monica said, crossing her arms, voice serious.

“Rest assured, Brother Lin.”

Monica and Lu Xingchen were experts in large-scale operations. Lin Xian estimated the situation at Star City Rail Station might be complicated. If Jiang Yun’s group was going to confront and seize the train, having these two was a safer bet.

Jiang Yun nodded at Lin Xian’s arrangement. “Okay, wait for my signal. If things change, return to the previous apartment building first. If successful, meet at the rail station. There should be no survivors there except the Wen family and Zhou Mingyuan’s people. The large-scale train teams are withdrawing fast. I estimate only the Silver Star hidden by the Wen family remains.”

“Captain Lin, Chu Yan’s group is synchronizing with Nightwalker Qi’s squad,” Zhou Jin pointed at the huge underground strategic passage in the Dawn City map that looked like a spider web. “We should split up to search important areas. We’re racing against time. Besides finding the barrier-breaking device, we also have to find the person connected to the mycelium. This person should not be ordinary. Also...” He looked at Lin Xian. “There’s the defense control center of Dawn City.”

Lin Xian said gravely, “You worry the Crimson World controls all city weapons and will turn them against survivors and the Iron Guard Brigade?”

“That possibility cannot be ruled out. With the Federation council dissolved, we don’t know who controls the intelligent brain core. Our Phoenix Society is taking over Dawn City. We must secure this control,” Zhou Jin said.

“Then let’s act quickly.”

Lin Xian immediately arranged for everyone to begin. Ning Jing, Qian Dele, Monica, and Mie Ge left with Jiang Yun. Lin Xian led KIKI, Shiori, and Zhou Jin’s special ops squad from an underground parking lot of an abandoned building. He released dozens of construction drones to cut the ground at specific spots, digging a several-meter-long passage. Soon, they reached the dome-shaped underground fortification’s reinforced concrete roof. Lin Xian controlled drones to cut open a tunnel, revealing a dark void below—a dome-shaped military tunnel appeared before them.

“Wow, your mechanical ability really makes infiltration insane,” several special ops members near Zhou Wei were stunned. Female scout Xiao Yan couldn’t help but comment.

“Is the mechanical structure defense door or specific device a mere formality to you?” information expert Li Su asked.

“Enough chatter,” Zhou Jin scolded coldly, and everyone immediately stopped being curious.

“There are many monitoring and detection devices below, but I’ve disabled them all.”

Just as Lin Xian prepared to release drones for reconnaissance, a sharp rushing sound suddenly echoed from the tunnel below, like a high-speed maglev train rushing by. The light flashed and vanished, followed by a jet of air bursting from the tunnel entrance.

“Be careful. This is a high-speed transport network,” Zhou Jin said. “This is the highest-level permanent fortification. Various missiles, space-based weapons, and strategic supplies can travel through this underground network. What we see is just the uppermost layer.”

“The transport device just passed. The Federation is still dispatching.”

Lin Xian sent drones to illuminate and scout while building a hanging ladder. Then he asked Shiori, “Did you detect anything abnormal?”

Shiori shook her head.

“Good.”

Lin Xian first climbed down the ladder into the dug tunnel, then jumped down.

Immediately, a cold, dry air hit them. The lights lit up, revealing a large sealed tunnel with metal structures. On the ground were two special maglev connecting rails. The tunnel ceiling housed an advanced axial-flow ventilation system. Dense pipelines clung to both walls. Additionally, this permanent fortification was filled with automated firefighting systems.

“The nearest underground fixed fortification is here, able to accommodate two thousand people during war. It counts as a central system,” Lin Xian checked the time. “Zhou, I’ll leave that to you. I’ll go straight into Star City inner port. The monitoring systems there are easier for me to handle.”

Zhou Jin nodded and matched times with Lin Xian. “Okay. Chu Yan’s team is at Twin Star Tower and should meet you soon. If we access the underground central system, we’ll likely find clues. Keep in contact.”

After speaking, Zhou Jin led the special ops squad away along the stepping passage toward fixed fortification point A.

There were nearly ten such underground fortifications in the network. Since Wen Hui and Zhou Mingyuan’s clues broke off, this underground fortification was likely a Vanguard Initiative and Crimson World collaboration site. It also provided Lin Xian and the others a fast passage into the inner city. So now, Lin Xian, Zhou Jin, Chu Yan, and Qinuo had to act separately. The first step was to hack into the underground information network. If that failed, they’d have to search thoroughly and then regroup at the starport and i-class underground city.

After Zhou Jin’s squad left, Lin Xian took KIKI and Shiori to a corner of a passage.

“You want to intercept a transport vehicle?” KIKI asked.

“Hitch a ride,” Lin Xian pointed toward the direction. “This passage leads into the inner port. There are three turning nodes midway. If we’re lucky, we can go straight to the starport.”

KIKI nodded. “I thought you wanted me to fly you over.”

“That’s risky,” Lin Xian said. “I can’t disable every monitor. If another train passes, you take me and Shiori and follow.”

He raised his hand. Inside the Black Star Forge space, three sets of Federation-standard tactical power armor appeared.

“Wear these. One, to disguise ourselves;

two, to avoid injury.”

“Got it.” KIKI knew Lin Xian was thoughtful. She and Shiori immediately put on the armor. All three suits were male models. KIKI and Shiori felt a bit awkward wearing them, but the adaptive lining inside allowed some adjustment. From the outside, nothing unusual was visible.

Beep!

At this moment, the rushing sound came again from the dark tunnel’s distance. KIKI immediately used telekinesis to lift all three, pressing them close to the tunnel edge as acceleration began.

Soon, a bright light approached swiftly. KIKI gritted her teeth and charged suddenly. The three instantly stuck to the side panel of the maglev transport vehicle. Lin Xian saw that this was indeed an unmanned maglev transport car, with no one on board and no cargo, speeding through the tunnel at high velocity.

They boarded the vehicle. KIKI opened the power armor’s map and found the transport heading steadily toward the inner city with no turns.

“No cargo? Could it be transporting something from inside out?”

“That’s possible,” Lin Xian said. “No. 1 city wall is concentrating on preparing for battle. This should be a weapons and ammunition supply line underground. Of course, other uses aren’t ruled out.”

“The darkness down here... is very strong,” Shiori, who rarely spoke, finally said. “Much denser than outside.”

“Because of the darkness?” Lin Xian frowned.

“I’m not sure, but it’s more than in other tunnels or dark areas.”

Lin Xian looked up at the pitch-black tunnel. Zhou Jin’s underground fortification map showed this network extended as far as the Qilian Mountains and Ping City, connecting with some inter-city underground transit tracks, usually sealed off. Dawn City’s city underground rails were blocked as well. So where did this thick dark aura come from?

Minutes later, the maglev rail train seemed to slow down. Lin Xian saw some lights turn on in the tunnel. From the map, they had entered the inner city.

Sensing they had reached the internal area, Lin Xian had KIKI lead him and Shiori off the train. The three followed the stepping passage into a mechanized loading platform.

At that moment, a highly confidential reserve fortification appeared before them. Countless drones and loading robotic arms were loading ammunition boxes, various weapons, and even large missiles onto transport sequence railcars.

About dozens of armed sentries patrolled the platform, all wearing standard tactical power armor like Lin Xian and his group.

This power armor was developed by Lin Xian in Silent City. When Zhou Mingyuan and Wen Dong visited Wang Yue Zhenshi, Lin Xian scanned Zhou Mingyuan’s guards’ paint scheme. After discovering the underground passage at the recruitment assembly, he began manufacturing this tactical power armor for infiltration.

But this was Lin Xian’s first infiltration mission. Facing armed troops, he was somewhat nervous. Just as he prepared to blend in, KIKI suddenly grabbed him.

“The garrison power armor has identification systems. Wait a moment.”

Lin Xian was surprised. He hadn’t considered this.

KIKI quickly operated a mobile terminal. Soon, she registered virtual organization signals for their armor matching the sentries’ signals on the platform, then relaxed.

“All set.”

“Are you sure?”

“Yes,” KIKI said seriously. “If you’re worried, I can stun them all.”

“How about the tens of thousands above? How to handle those?” Lin Xian was speechless. He straightened up, imitating the sentries’ posture, holding his pulse assault rifle diagonally. He said to KIKI and Shiori, “Stick close to me.”

“Okay,” they replied simultaneously.

Lin Xian took a deep breath. As a patrol squad left, he stepped out from the darkness. Shiori nervously followed. Lin Xian glanced back after a few steps and said, “Shiori, take bigger steps.”

“Okay, okay...”

Shiori was small, and the male power armor felt awkward on her. She tried to take big strides, which looked somewhat odd from outside.

However, as the three walked out, other patrol sentries noticed nothing unusual—whether it was KIKI’s identification system or the internal disorder was unknown.

Along the way, squads of soldiers rushed past them. People were busy everywhere, and no one spoke. An extremely oppressive atmosphere spread.

They took the elevator to the starport. No one detected anything along the way. The higher they went, the fewer people there were. Yet at the starport entrance of Dawn City, a line of garrison armored units guarded the passage tightly, seemingly allowing no one through.

“So many?” KIKI was surprised.

“They’re all Vanguard Initiative guards. The launch is imminent. The starport is in its highest defense state,” Lin Xian said.

“What now...?”

Lin Xian used his mechanical ability to move a monitor overhead and stood aside. From afar, he saw soldiers escorting a mechanical transport device carrying some kind of shipborne equipment. An idea struck him. He immediately had KIKI telekinetically stun the group and hide them in a storage room. Then the three copied the armor codes and replaced the device, transporting it through the passage.

“Stop!”

As they neared the starport passage, a lead garrison soldier raised his hand to stop them. Lin Xian and KIKI immediately halted. Nervous Shiori accidentally stepped forward and nearly bumped into Lin Xian.

The soldier’s attention wasn’t on them but on the device behind. He took out a detector and scanned it, then waved them through.

“Pass.”

Phew~

KIKI and Shiori both relaxed, and the three passed through smoothly.

“What were they checking? Their own stuff?”

“They check for unauthorized devices like spy drones, bugs, or harmful things,” Lin Xian said. “With the Federation council dissolved, internal conflicts will explode. Such precautions are normal.”

At this moment, after they exited a ship’s bridge passage, an imposing scene unfolded.

At dusk, Dawn City’s rain briefly cleared. Sunset light shone on a massive starship port. Exiting the A-17 bridge passage, they faced a gigantic starship. The 300,000-ton expeditionary giant was stably docked at the port’s superconducting levitation array. It was hung by docking robotic arms. Countless supply arms were fueling the ship with various fuels, water, and coolant.

Large cargo conveyors transported yellow standard cargo boxes onto transport racks, then lifted by unmanned robotic arms into the ship. On the ship’s weapons platform, gamma-ray laser arrays rotated and calibrated. Cargo shuttles were loading the last ecological cabin modules into the ship’s belly. The white starship bore a special code:

[CN-243 - Natural Selection]

This was just one of the starships in the port. Seven starships were docked in total, six of them 300,000-ton “Stellar-class” vessels. At the front area was a 500,000-ton “Far Star-class” ship.

“Natural Selection seems to be the only one still loading cargo...” KIKI looked at this magnificent fleet in awe.

“The flagship should be that Far Star-class ship,” Lin Xian looked at the setting sun and hurried toward it.

The starport was vast. Just after leaving the bridge passage, not far on a platform appeared a large formation of personnel—thousands of them. All wore uniform starry anti-load suits, looking young and fresh-faced, none seemingly older than 35. They stood there with determined expressions, though nervous and fearful beneath. At the front stood a man in military uniform, upright as a sword.

He seemed to be delivering a departure declaration.

“From this moment on, the Natural Selection is both our home and our tomb.”

Lin Xian and KIKI quickly passed through the docking platform. The man in uniform did not look back at them. Lin Xian caught a glimpse of the nameplate on his chest—it seemed to say “Zhang.”

“That’s probably not him. Intelligence says the Vanguard’s captain is Chu Jing, son of Chu Zhaonan. This must be the captain of this last starship.”

Lin Xian said this as he hurried toward the distant Vanguard ship. No one seemed to notice their actions once inside the starport platform.

“Lin Xian, this starship... looks fully loaded.”

At the bridge entrance of the largest Far Star-class ship, Lin Xian looked up. The massive ship stood quietly docked. All docking compartments and loading ports were closed. The hull bore the black characters [Civilization Vanguard], solemn and calm. This would be the first starship of the Vanguard Initiative to charge toward the Sky Veil Barrier. In some ways, it was the one with the least margin for error. If the barrier break failed, it would be the first ship to crash. A wave of sorrow and loneliness surged in Lin Xian’s heart.

He felt like laughing because, inexplicably, he somewhat approved of Chu Zhaonan’s plan. Yet he also felt sad for having such thoughts—he was one of the humans the leader had chosen to abandon.

“The passage is open. The barrier-breaking device must be on this ship.”

Lin Xian took a deep breath, looked around, and hid the mechanical transport device in a corner of the passage. Then he, KIKI, and Shiori entered the Civilization Vanguard through the bridge passage.

Passing through the alloy airlock doors, automatic sensors lit up one by one. The cold white glow extended along the corridor, illuminating the steel corridor leading to the ship’s core.

At the corridor’s end was a circular central chamber about two hundred meters in diameter. The chamber walls embedded holographic projection panels, currently in standby, glowing faint blue. The floor was covered with anti-static grids. From the central chamber, nine decks spread upward and downward, connected by central elevators and stairs.

What puzzled Lin Xian was that since entering, they had seen no one. Checking the starship deck map, he ran toward the central control room. Passing through a hydraulic sealed door, the temperature dropped sharply. They arrived at a vast cryo-chamber. On both sides were honeycomb-arranged cryo-pods, numbering over a thousand. Every pod contained a young face, peacefully asleep behind transparent portholes.

“How have we already reached the cryo-chamber? Are there no other crew?” KIKI asked curiously.

Lin Xian had a strange premonition. He hurried past the cryo-chambers to a central control room. After confirming no one was around, he immediately used the Black Star Forge to release Grace.

“Grace, connect me to the starship. I want to check the ship’s status.”

A Far Star-class ship was not something KIKI could simply hack. To perceive the entire ship’s condition required a quantum intelligent brain like Grace.

After a long time underground, Grace seemed to have learned a lot. She quickly recognized emotion in Lin Xian’s tone and acted immediately.

[Bad captain, you will now connect to Lu Yilong’s central network.]

Meanwhile, KIKI had just opened the server compartment of a control system with Ning Jing and left with the others. The starship extended cables to connect to internal systems. Seconds before, the starship’s internal lights flickered once. Then it said to Zhou Jin:

[Starship connected to “Civilization Vanguard” central network. Do you require any rollback actions?]

“Lu Yilong, you need to find a barrier-breaking device. It’s used to break the Sky Veil Barrier. Also, retrieve all logs—personnel, launch information, everything.”

[The “Civilization Vanguard” is currently set to launch with a special formation task. The mission time will start in 16 hours, 46 minutes, and 31 seconds. Launch sequence 2.]

Hearing this, Zhou Jin’s expression changed. KIKI and Shiori were also surprised.

“16 hours, tomorrow morning at 10?!” Zhou Jin looked at the time, disbelief on his face.

“That’s too soon compared to my expectations.”

[Yes, the “Civilization Vanguard”’s launch preparations are not yet complete. The fusion core runs continuously. The human embryo vault has preserved 500,000 cryogenic embryos (covering 97% of global genetic diversity). Nitrogen-3 fuel reserves are 1,200 tons, estimated endurance 1,500 years. Shipborne weapons are offline. The civilization repository contains photon disks and mechanical optical film backups, encompassing human literature and art archives from the Stone Age to gravitational wave application science maps, Blue Star biological gene maps (6.5 million species). Meanwhile, seven cryo pods still house 4,520 crew members asleep. Life cabins hold 2,125 registered crew. The barrier-breaking device is in the space science laboratory, named (White Dark Corrosion Cell Barrier Activation Monitoring Experimental Device), including ultra-pure germanium detectors, cryo-electron microscopy low-speed scanning units, bioenergy capture traps, and radiation spectral analyzers. It’s presumed to monitor data changes of corrosion cells during white-dark invasion energy conversion.]

Lin Xian immediately used the Black Star Forge to retract Grace, letting KIKI temporarily take over starship monitoring systems. Then he and KIKI ran toward the space science laboratory.

“So there are already more than 5,000 people on this starship. Where are those people?”

“Don’t know. Maybe they’re holding a launch ceremony.” Lin Xian had no time to think. Passing unnoticed was already a blessing.

When they reached upper decks from the central control room below, they saw crew members in standard uniforms walking in work areas and corridors. Some glanced curiously, but since the three wore garrison power armor and walked orderly, none suspected anything. They likely thought it a routine garrison inspection.

Lin Xian and the two nervously passed through the crew and entered the space science laboratory. The metal door was locked, but Grace had preloaded access codes, so they entered without difficulty.

Inside, Lin Xian found it was no ordinary lab. A large white research device stood in the center, resembling a huge sphere with countless cables and sensors connected.

As they approached, Shiori immediately said,

“There is a strong dark aura inside!”

“That’s it!” KIKI walked over and looked through a small observation window at the device’s core. Inside was a fist-sized corrosion cell sealed in a special cultivation unit.

Lin Xian immediately looked and narrowed his pupils.

“This isn’t right. There’s no mycelium device?”

“Did you scan it?” KIKI frowned.

Lin Xian nodded. As soon as he entered, he had used mechanical ability to scan. The device contained the scientific instruments Grace mentioned but no mycelium brain-machine device.

“That’s strange. Isn’t this the barrier-breaking device? Just placing a corrosion cell here could break the Sky Veil Barrier?” KIKI was surprised.

“Not that simple. The Crimson World must have activated the corrosion cells through the mycelium. Otherwise, the three major Star Abysses’ anomalies can’t be explained.” Lin Xian said.

KIKI analyzed, “Could there be other devices that need to be linked during the barrier break to activate this device?”

“Possible.”

KIKI’s expression was strange. “Lin Xian, are you really going to... connect to this... this thing?”

Lin Xian sighed helplessly, “Even if I want to, I don’t have the mycelium now. How did this barrier-breaking device end up with a corrosion cell completely unlinked to mycelium? It’s very strange...”

“So what now?”

“Someone... is here.”

At this moment, Shiori, standing at the door as lookout, whispered to Lin Xian and KIKI.

Their eyes met, and Lin Xian decisively said,

“Retreat first. Don’t alert them. The launch is still 16 hours away. We have time to find the real corrosion cell linked to the mycelium.”

KIKI nodded. Just as Lin Xian prepared to leave, he suddenly thought of something. He created a miniature device and placed it in a secret spot under the spherical device. Then he left the space science laboratory with KIKI and Shiori.

“Who are you?” A young female scientist with a clean face and glasses was surprised to see the three at the passage.

“Routine inspection,” Lin Xian said coldly, striding past.

“Oh~” The scientist adjusted her glasses and watched them leave without saying more.

Minutes later, Lin Xian and KIKI again pulled the mechanical device toward the starport exit, preparing to leave.

“Chu Yan, Zhou, Qi, how’s your situation? On my side...”

Walking quickly, Lin Xian tried contacting the squads to synchronize information.

At that moment, a man in military uniform with a stern expression slowly approached from the passage. His gaze was sharp as a blade. He quickly scanned Lin Xian’s group and frowned slightly, sensing something unusual.

Lin Xian and the others stopped and saluted him.

He returned the salute naturally and continued walking slowly without stopping.

This man wore no name tag but had colonel shoulder insignia. His deep gaze was like a song.

Chu Jing walked out along the passage. Outside the starport, the sky was again covered with clouds. Light rain drizzled down.

“Captain Chu.”

After boarding the Vanguard, a senior officer approached. “The launch sequence is ready.”

“Notify below: effective immediately, full lockdown of the starport.”

“Yes.”

...

Lin Xian contacted Chu Yan. The two teams met on the closed, abandoned Twin Star Tower.

Combining information, Chu Yan confirmed Zhou Jin’s team had hacked into the underground fortification’s internal network and found logs of a confidential plan. But since the fortification was rebuilt by Dawn City, all codenames were changed. With some sensitive information missing, they could not locate the Crimson World’s hiding place.

“So we have 16 hours left?” On the high tower, Chu Yan and Lin Xian’s squad looked at the rainy city and exchanged information.

Night was approaching.

“Strictly speaking, we have more than 16 hours,” Lin Xian said, rain streaking his face. “But once the Vanguard launches, finding the person linked to the S-Class or the one activating this corrosion cell will be almost impossible. Of course, using mycelium to connect to the S-Class ourselves is an option.”

“Is there still time to connect ourselves?” Chu Yan asked.

Lin Xian said, “Don’t we already have a corrosion cell?”

“It’s from the same S-Class body the Crimson World uses to activate,” Chu Yan said. “You forgot—the Gray Mist Messenger?”

“What does that matter? Then we can get the same information, right?”

Lin Xian suddenly realized something.

“Wait, the Gray Mist Messenger, that dead S-Class anomaly...”

“What?” Chu Yan looked at him.

“I’ve always wondered why the Crimson World retrieved this S-Class anomaly corpse,” Lin Xian said doubtfully. “They should have obtained the operational brain cells and cultivated them in the Star Abyss already.”

“Because live corrosion cells are not only for studying dark invasion energy conversion. The real goal is to connect the dark through mycelium,” Chu Yan said.

Lin Xian’s expression hardened. “Connecting to the dark is the goal, but there’s a missing step.”

“What step?” KIKI asked.

“Reviving the S-Class operational brain!” Lin Xian suddenly recalled the giant biological experimental implant beneath Jin Hai’s ring star factory. He’d always wondered why the dead anomaly had suppression devices and restraints.

If the anomaly couldn’t move by itself, the devices would be meaningless. The mycelium link wouldn’t work.

“Chu Yan, do you remember the info you got from Zhou Mingyuan and Wen Hui about Dawn City transporting large mechanical devices?”

“Yes.”

“If it’s star navigation devices, that’s normal. Starships are constantly built. But this ‘large mechanical device’ they spoke of, could it be something else?!”

“What are you trying to say?” Chu Yan asked.

Lin Xian’s face darkened. “Is it possible the Crimson World intends to cultivate a complete S-Class operational brain to connect to the mycelium? And a single corrosion cell is meaningless. That’s why the corrosion cell must be cultivated on a living organism and why they recovered the Gray Mist Messenger’s corpse—to cultivate the operational brain and then connect the mycelium!”

“You mean they plan to revive an S-Class?” KIKI said in surprise.

Chu Yan looked puzzled. “Why would Dawn City allow that?”

Lin Xian suddenly remembered something. “KIKI!”

“What?”

“Replay the logs on the Vanguard again, no—the launch sequence info!”

KIKI immediately took out a mobile terminal. “The ‘Civilization Vanguard’ is set for a special formation launch mission, starting in 16 hours, 46 minutes, 31 seconds. Launch sequence 2.”

“Launch sequence... 2? Why 2? I always felt something was off. If the Vanguard isn’t sequence one, then what is?”

In that instant, countless thoughts crystallized clearly.

Corrosion cells growing on living tissue, the Gray Mist Messenger recovery, the A-Class implant experiment under Jin Hai, mycelium brain-machine devices, dark connections, Sky Veil Barrier, barrier-breaking device, Star Abyss anomalies, Dawn City transporting ultra-large mechanical devices...

Lin Xian looked toward the darkening rainy night and said solemnly,

“If the Vanguard only carries a corrosion cell and not an operational brain, that means somewhere out there is a super-large S-Class that has been fleshly implanted and revived with an operational brain...

“...that is the real barrier-breaking device!”