The powerful backlash tore deep gashes into his skin. Even with what looked like two different defensive abilities active, he couldn’t completely negate the damage.
’So it isn’t a normal passage—someone has to bear the brunt of it!’
Putting herself in his shoes, Bai Yimo knew that even if she’d found the method, she could never have withstood such a backlash on her own. ’This man is a true monster,’ she thought. ’Just like me—a rare genius in the Star Sea.’
A mere five seconds later, her vision cleared.
A distinct starry sky took shape before her. Unlike the dead vastness from before, this one pulsed with the clear presence of life. In the distance, a large, unique-looking planet glittered with the light of civilization.
’He didn’t lie to me.’
’We really left the Cave of the Stars.’
"Incredible! How did you do that?"
The enchantress deliberately modulated her voice, lacing it with adoration, her eyes seeming to sparkle. Now that she was free from her prison, her entire aura had blossomed like a plant after a fresh rain, and her spirits soared.
Shi Ming’s guard went up instantly.
He rapidly healed the gashes in his muscles and rose from his crouched position.
"Do you remember my second rule?"
"I do. Not to use my abilities on you."
"Then what were you just doing?"
Bai Yimo pulled back like a kitten caught stealing a treat, her tone playful and lilting.
"You..."
"How do you plan on punishing me?"
Her voice trembled like a frightened fawn, yet it held not a trace of actual fear.
Shi Ming continued,
"I paid a heavy price to get you out. Now I need to see you prove your worth. You have three tasks. First, take this loot to that planet and sell it. Your personal vessel is also quite valuable; sell it discreetly. Second, you need to acquire an artifact or treasure for me, something that can traverse the Dark Cosmos using anchor points. It might be rare, but on a planet called Treasure Star, you’re bound to find something if you look hard enough. Third, I want you to establish a trade and intelligence-gathering network that you control, and I want you to infiltrate the planet’s upper echelons. Lastly, the situation on that planet is unstable right now, so you’d best lay low for a while."
Hearing this, Bai Yimo pointed at herself.
"Me? A peddler? A spy?"
Shi Ming glanced at her.
’Is she not suitable?’
"I’m good at putting people’s talents to use. If you want revenge someday, you’ll need this kind of foundation. As your new boss, I’m helping you."
Bai Yimo thought about it and realized he had a point.
"Alright. You’re the boss, you call the shots."
The enchantress who commanded the power of Desire took the ordinary loot Shi Ming handed her, left his ship, and shot off toward the distant Treasure Star as a streak of light.
And Shi Ming could finally breathe.
’Numbered abilities... every single one lives up to its reputation.’
’Without the Bright Eyes of the Void active to suppress worldly desires, spending too much time with Bai Yimo is a real trial for one’s willpower.’
It had nothing to do with the strength of his Spiritual Power; it was simply biological instinct.
He inspected his ship, erased the few traces Bai Yimo had left behind, and slipped back into the Dark Cosmos. ’Time to pay a visit to the Star Spirit Race’s ancestral land.’
...
...
...
Far away, an unknown number of light-years from the Thirty-Seventh Cosmic Country, lay a region belonging to no Cosmic Country—a Barbaric Land.
The Milky Way Galaxy.
A blue planet shimmered with an alluring glow. The sound of crashing waves was a constant, an omnipresent symphony that accompanied this generation through their every waking and sleeping moment.
Near Mount Everest.
Benefiting from the experience gained with [Wall Point], sections of artificial land were being constructed one after another. This was the second such landmass on the Sea of Soaring Dragons, and it was named [Starfire].
And across the other sea regions, more and more similar artificial landmasses were appearing.
[Kindling], [Sky Garden], [New Rome], [Aurora]...
After so many years, "land" was once again a word on everyone’s lips. A small number of those born on the ships had successfully disembarked, adapting to a new way of life, only to discover, to their surprise, that the instinct for solid ground was etched into their very bones.
「It was April.」
At the Mount Everest headquarters of the Xirang Research Institute, Li Jiuyuan, Chongwen, and others were studying the problem of the Unceasing Water. Thanks to the data and expertise transmitted back from the Star Sea, their progress had accelerated significantly.
Right now, an academic conference involving the six great King-level ships was underway.
"Our previous research methods were effective, but we were definitely working in a vacuum."
"The research from advanced civilizations in the Star Sea has opened up new lines of thought. Specifically, this energy leap method can now successfully strip Sea Crystal Stone elements completely out of the seawater! The only catch is that for wide-scale implementation, we need a power source other than Sea Crystal Stones. If we can solve the energy problem—find a stable energy source distinct from Sea Crystal Stones—the Unceasing Water crisis could be significantly mitigated."
"That’s Plan A."
"We also have Plan B. From the marrow of the S-class sea beast, Nether King’s Broken Bone, we’ve isolated a factor that can render any high-energy element inert. If we can replicate it in large quantities and inject it into the Source Water, the Unceasing Water should also become inert."
"Furthermore, Plan F is also showing significant promise."
Seated below, Zhou Huaijin, Xivier, Abraham, and the others nodded.
Despite being separated by countless light-years, they were able to receive transmissions from space. The fruits of advanced civilizations, compressed and sent back, had been nurtured in alien soil and weren’t always applicable to Earth, but they still offered valuable insights. Universal scientific research, in particular, sparked new waves of discovery.
If nothing else, research on the Unceasing Water had progressed by leaps and bounds.
Chongwen also "hypothesized" about some of the required resources.
When Shi Ming next returned to Earth, if he could bring back these and similar resources from the advanced civilizations in the cosmos, their research would likely achieve a major breakthrough. It might even be possible to solve the problem of the Unceasing Water once and for all.
Victory was in sight.
After the meeting, representatives from the various King-level Wandering Ships gathered on the artificial landmass of [Starfire] to tour the distinctive settlement.
"Everything is going well for now, but... we still need to improve our risk resilience."
Elder Zhou was personally acting as their guide.
"In the last few months, three high-intensity tsunamis have struck the Endless Ocean: one in the Sea of Boiling, one in the Fujing Mountain Sea Region, and one in the Lake Baikal Region. The tectonic plates under the Sea of Boiling and Fujing Mountain Sea Region are inherently unstable, that’s one thing. But the Lake Baikal Region isn’t near a tectonic boundary. Southern Siberia has no history of earthquakes."
"This is a warning."
Martinelli, who was touring with them, offered his perspective.
"Perhaps it’s the work of those S-class sea beasts! They can’t withstand our hunting parties, so this is their last, desperate struggle."
But Xivier shook her head.
"But the Map of the Endless Sea hasn’t detected any traces of S-class sea beasts. [Wall Point] and [Starfire] are situated next to high mountains, giving them natural resistance to tsunamis. But what about the isolated [Kindling] settlement at the Earth’s Lung, or the [Sky Garden] near Mesopotamia? What happens if they’re hit by an abnormal tsunami?"
Martinelli fell silent.
The [Kindling] settlement was located on the Earth’s Lung, the former Amazon Plain. In the thirty-one years of the Wandering Era, the area had never experienced any disasters besides sea beasts, fog, and turbulent currents. But past stability didn’t guarantee future safety. As former Navigators and Grand Commanders, they each had to consider every possibility.
"We must be vigilant about any anomaly."
"I propose that the major King-level ships dispatch their most advanced exploration vessels to dive into the seabed of these three tsunami zones and search for any possible anomalies. If the Sea of Boiling, Lake Baikal, and Fujing Mountain all share the same anomaly... then we must prepare for the worst."
"Seconded."
...
For six thousand years, the torch had been passed from one generation to the next, and for six thousand years, disaster was never far behind.
But no matter the crisis, the people of this blue planet had never taken a single step back.