Chapter 47: Final Chapter (I)
In the underground level of the Imperial District One palace, 000 was still draped in a black cloak, holding a detector as he searched for the final objective they had entered the palace for this time.
002 clicked his tongue. “Damn that Charlemagne VII. Where did he hide the royal family’s optimal bloodline? Heh. That bastard. The emperor of the Empire actually wasn’t the optimal host body we were looking for.”
000 frowned, his gaze fixed on the detector in his hand, whose left indicator light had lit up. “002, focus on your work. We need to develop the best host body as soon as possible. 001’s body won’t last much longer.”
Their voices echoed through the underground level of the palace. Outside the entrance to the underground level, 004 led a group of first-stage aliens to guard the tower.
“Mmph… mmph.”
Right by 004’s feet, a blond female guide had been fitted with a mental-power suppression hood. Her hands were bound, and she was being restrained beneath the tentacles of several first-stage aliens.
Looking at the guide’s struggling appearance, 004 crouched down with ill intent and lifted her chin. “You’re the guide with the highest chance of ascending the throne? Heh. You’re nothing but trash who can’t even compare to one-tenth of the Charlemagne bloodline. I advise you to obediently tell us where you hid the thing.”
004 gripped her neck, threatening the guide who could not make a sound.
Only after realizing that the other party could not answer did 004 let go, stand up disdainfully, and glance at the helmeted woman with revulsion.
“Useless. But even if you can’t answer, we can flatten this palace until we dig out that thing’s location.”
“Is that so? Flatten the palace?” A voice came from near the tower.
Aphrodite, who had been hanging from a tree, dropped to the ground and then transformed into human form.
“My apologies. I am rather attached to this palace. If you flatten it, how am I supposed to look at it in remembrance and mourn that elder brother of mine?”
As soon as Aphrodite finished speaking, an incredibly fast figure flashed past 004.
In only a moment, the head of the human 004 had parasitized was cleanly severed in a gust of wind. The nearby first-stage aliens also had all the roots of their tentacles cut off and collapsed one after another.
After dealing with them, Felix and Charles transformed into human form. Charles took a specially made jar out of his storage space and loaded the head controlled by 004 into it.
Because it was isolated from the outside world, 004 opened and closed his mouth, yet could not make the slightest sound. Nor could he restore his mobility by transferring to another host body.
“You really didn’t have to participate in this District One cleanup operation,” Charles said in a low complaint, looking somewhat displeased at Aphrodite, who was smiling at them.
Facing his eldest son’s faintly reproachful look, Aphrodite waved his hand and signaled for the soldiers behind him to follow the two of them.
“Didn’t I bring so many people with me this time? Besides, this final experiment of Charlemagne’s requires me to walk the last step.”
Under the protection of the beastman soldiers, Aphrodite led the corps into the passage to the underground level.
As the lights went from bright to dark, then brightened once more, the group finally arrived beside the deep pool in the underground level.
Only now, the water in the deep pool had long since been drained, leaving only a deep pit and the stone pillar standing in the center.
Looking at the sword hilt where the cobra no longer existed, Aphrodite curled his lips and called toward the empty space ahead.
“Are you not planning to come out, you inferior product of interstellar evolution?”
“The Charlemagne clan truly has no manners.” 000’s gloomy voice came from behind a stone pillar.
002 carried a rectangular box and came with 000 to stand before Aphrodite, questioning him. “Where is 003?”
Aphrodite chuckled softly and raised a hand to signal the soldiers behind him.
Immediately afterward, two transparent special containers were brought forward, each containing a head. They were the parasitic bodies of 003 and 004.
“Say something, you two. Greet your kin nice and loud.”
A flash of ruthlessness passed through Aphrodite’s eyes.
“Compared to you creatures who like turning beastmen’s finger bones into bone whistles, the human-head specimens developed by the Empire seem even more disgusting.”
Under 003’s disgusted gaze, Aphrodite relaxed his brows and snorted.
“I dislike the people of the Empire, but repaying kindness is one of us beastmen’s principles. How could I allow the person who fed me to die in a foreign land?”
As soon as Aphrodite finished speaking, the beastman soldiers behind him surged forward, baring their fangs at the two figures ahead.
“000, 002, if you don’t hurry up, this body of mine will expire again.” 001 leaned against a stone wall and rose shakily in a somewhat strange motion, as though he had completely lost control of the body and was trembling violently.
“We got the thing. Let’s go quickly.”
002 nodded at 000, then took out a small spatial transfer device.
Just as he was about to activate the device, Aphrodite laughed softly and mocked, “We installed spatial-instrument jammers in District One. All spatial movement is outside the rules now.”
“A trapped beast’s struggle?” 000 curled his lips disdainfully. “If you drag this out with us, the only thing you’ll lose is your troops. Imperial Planet One is now full of our people.”
“A constantly degenerating species. What makes you think you can challenge the warriors of Iskan and the Empire?”
Aphrodite raised a finger, and the same wicked smile appeared on his face.
“Would you like to confirm that again?”
As Aphrodite spoke, the skies above District One were now occupied by the shadows of tens of thousands of enormous birds.
Every bird-type beastman held a bundle of branches in their beak, and the inside of each branch was releasing faint mental energy.
Tens of thousands of streams of mental energy converged into a powerful source of mental power, spreading throughout the skies above District One’s capital.
Immediately after, a whistle sounded. An adult male lion carried a human guide on its back and crossed straight through the center of the battlefield.
The guide lying on the lion’s back frowned slightly, feeling a speed that humans could never achieve. He asked the lion beneath him, “Iskan soldier, are you sure this will work?”
“Don’t worry. The bodies they control aren’t compatible with their main bodies’ mental power. Before long, they’ll be forced out of their hosts because of rejection. When that happens, all you need to do is kill the detached parasites.”
“Detached from their hosts? Their mental power is so strong. How could they—”
“A species that’s constantly degenerating. What do they have to control us with?” The lion moved to another position and dodged the mental attack sent by a zerg.
A string of evasive maneuvers flowed seamlessly, leaving the guide on his back stunned. “You can see a guide’s mental tendrils?”
The lion curled his lips in disdain, sensing the whistle enter his ears again. “What are you talking about? According to what Father taught me, this is hunting.”
The lion lowered his body and hid behind cover.
Just as the zerg guide’s mental tendrils were about to locate him, the lion suddenly sprang out, carrying the guide on his back as he slipped into the central region of the aliens again, instantly killing several detached zerg parasites.
At the same time, the aliens who still had not lost control released their mental tendrils, swarming the two of them.
Just as the attacks were about to reach the guide’s consciousness cloud, various beastman roars sounded all around them, surrounding the original zerg army.
The Iskan beastman army brought human guides with them and kept the aliens, who were starting to show rejection reactions, within their hunting range.
Just as the aliens were about to counterattack, a powerful mental pressure suppressed their mental tendrils until they could not move.
Jin Chi’an descended from an aircraft, and the mental power he released steadily restrained the weakened aliens.
The guides near the battlefield immediately seized the opportunity. They dragged the second-stage aliens hidden inside the hosts’ consciousness clouds out and killed them completely.
The first-stage aliens around them were also dealt with one by one by the beastman soldiers.
With the situation turning back in their favor, Jin Chi’an turned around with relief, his gaze drifting toward the palace directly ahead.
When his eyes swept across the tower hidden on the outskirts of the palace, the brand behind him heated slightly, reminding him of Felix’s location.
Jin Chi’an took a hover motorcycle prepared by a beastman soldier and drove in the direction he was looking.
At the same time, a message popped up on his optical brain. Ameili’s voice rang out along with the wind rushing past him.
“According to the Empire’s research over the past few days, the degree of fusion between the second-stage aliens’ mental power and their hosts is slowly decreasing. Based on our speculation, their race is undergoing long-term degeneration. They have degenerated from the embodied first-stage form into a second-stage form that must rely on parasitism to survive.”
“They are now in a weakened phase and urgently need to find suitable hosts,” Ameili continued. “We suspect the aliens’ goal is the royal family’s optimal fusion body.”
“The royal family’s optimal fusion body for each generation?”
Jin Chi’an tightened his grip on the motorcycle handles. In his mind, he recalled the many rumors he had heard during his years serving in the palace.
Each generation of the royal family would continuously produce descendants until a child was born who could perfectly fuse with beastman blood and not suffer from mental disease. This child would possess beastmen’s powerful mental power and mental barrier, and would not be affected by mental decline.
And this one-in-a-hundred optimal fusion body was the highest bloodline of the Empire that the founding emperor had pursued.
…
At this moment, in the underground level of the palace.
Felix’s sharp claws cut through the grafted tentacles beneath 000’s black cloak, forcing him back to the edge of the deep pit.
At this point, 001 was already showing signs of being unable to control his host body. In an extremely awkward voice, he shouted, “000, he’s just a beastman! Attack his consciousness cloud directly!”
Hearing 001’s order, 000, who had already begun falling behind under Felix’s attacks, frowned and impatiently extended the mental tendrils from his body toward Felix.
Just as he was about to touch the white tiger’s consciousness cloud, a layer of mental power wrapped around the barrier blocked his attack completely.
It was also at this moment that, through his mental tendrils, he saw the Maine Coon lying on the white tiger’s back, hissing at him fiercely.
“Jin Chi’an?” 001, protected by 002, lay to the side and stared in shock at the Maine Coon on the white tiger’s back.
Just as he attempted to continue controlling Felix, he realized that all the “hounds” he had collected and controlled had returned to their original owners after his main body was damaged and the replacements were restored.
At this moment, dissatisfaction appeared on 002’s face. The attacks from several beastmen left him unable to cope. Under the assault of a wolf-type beastman, he finally lost his grip, and the rectangular box instantly fell to the ground.
A child’s body spilled out with it.
“How impolite, Kashmire alien.” Aphrodite laughed softly, then put on an expression of disgust. “Stealing someone else’s ancestor really is something only you aliens would do.”
After Aphrodite said this, Charles, who had been guarding him, received his order and went forward to seize the child’s body.
002 noticed his movement and immediately shifted his attention to Charles, summoning the sentinel’s mental body to delay his actions.
At the same time, 000, who had been forced to the bottom of the deep pit by Felix, separated the tentacles grafted to his body. Using the innate offensive ability of each tentacle to hinder Felix’s attacks, he removed himself from Felix’s attack range.
Just as everyone was focused on the battle before them, a loud noise from outside made everyone freeze.
A triumphant smile appeared on 000’s face. “Since you want to play, let us invite you to Kashmire’s territory to play.”
As soon as 000 finished speaking, the spatial transfer device in his hand successfully activated, pulling every living creature in the underground level into the device.
When Jin Chi’an arrived at the tower, a snake’s hissing reached his ears.
A golden cobra climbed onto his arm and drew close to his ear. A woman’s voice came from it.
“They were taken away by the transfer device.”
“You are…”
Jin Chi’an stared at the cobra by his shoulder in disbelief.
“We met before, in front of that mirror.”
Jin Chi’an looked into the snake’s eyes and reacted. “You’re that snake eye.”
Under Jin Chi’an’s astonished gaze, the cobra led him to the now-empty underground level.
As the door to the underground laboratory opened, a layer of liquid spilled out to Jin Chi’an’s feet.
Before him, a huge container tank had been broken open with a large hole, and the liquid inside was still leaking out.
Compared to the broken container, the other intact containers all held the bodies of the royal family’s optimal fusion bodies from past generations.
“This is… human experimentation?”
Following his instincts, Jin Chi’an walked toward a boy who resembled the emperor. His gaze unconsciously fell on the boy’s arm.
The brand totem on it was releasing a faint red glow, entering Jin Chi’an’s field of vision.
“This is the twin brother of the seventh-generation emperor,” the cobra explained. “In the later stages of his mental illness, the seventh-generation royal family struck a deal with the Kashmire aliens. The Empire would hand over the optimal fusion body the other party needed, while the aliens would provide a method to transfer mental brands.”
“So the mental brand on his arm belongs to the emperor.”
“Yes. Ever since the seventh-generation emperor learned of the lifespan limits of royal sentinels, he began searching for a way to transfer brands. And the seventh-generation optimal fusion body, a living corpse, was the best brand container.”
Jin Chi’an did not even have time to be shocked by those words before Ameili and Lin Chuan’s voices sounded in his ears again.
When he activated the video communication on his optical brain, alarms were sounding throughout the command level of the Iskan starship. Lin Chuan’s nervous voice came through.
“Jin Chi’an, several meteors detected with Zerg mental power are currently about to land in various districts of the Empire. Also, District Fourteen of Iskan sent word that an unidentified starship is approaching the outer perimeter of their planet.”
Lin Chuan was currently overwhelmed by the chaos in the command center. Seeing that the other end of the call had not responded for a long time, he could only continue.
“Jin Chi’an, we currently cannot reach Felix, the emperor, or Charles. As a member of the royal family, you must return to the starship immediately.”
Jin Chi’an tightened his fists, then turned and left the laboratory.
“All right, I understand. Notify the medical troops first. Have them come to my current location and transfer everything in the laboratory.”
“What are you planning to do?”
The cobra stared suspiciously at Jin Chi’an’s movements, waiting for his answer.
“Since the Fourteenth Prince is currently lying in Iskan’s medical cabin because of the onset of mental illness, don’t you want to meet him, Founding Empress?”
Jin Chi’an glanced at the suspicious snake pupils on his shoulder, then turned and left the laboratory.
…
“You said the seventh-generation emperor’s Fourteenth Prince?”
The cobra, lying on Jin Chi’an’s shoulder, followed him back onto Iskan’s starship.
Before long, the container tanks that had originally been in the laboratory were transported by beastman soldiers to the medical level of the starship.
“What are you doing?”
The cobra hissed threateningly, questioning him with utter distrust.
“Why did you bring them out? What difference is there between you and those aliens?”
“Founding Empress, don’t you want to see what the answer you have been waiting for all this time looks like?”
A chill flashed through Jin Chi’an’s eyes before he curled his lips again.
“I also saw the seventh-generation emperor’s memories while sharing senses with Felix.”
“What did you say…”
“Don’t you want to see what the perfect fusion body without a genetic disease, the one the Charlemagne royal family has always pursued, actually looks like?”
Jin Chi’an led the Founding Empress to the laboratory. As the laboratory door opened, the Imperial mental-illness research guides inside all gathered around.
“We have more or less figured out the instrument. If we need to rebuild a patient’s consciousness cloud, we must achieve co-connection with a successful fusion body before we can copy a consciousness cloud that matches the patient’s own mental power.”
“I have already brought the royal family’s optimal fusion bodies. The experiment can begin immediately.”
Jin Chi’an set down the Founding Empress, whose hood was flattened, and spoke to the researchers before him.
The researchers, now in possession of all the experimental equipment, nodded at him, declaring the start of the experiment.
But just as the Founding Empress was about to speak and stop them, Edwen’s voice came from outside.
Edwen rushed over and grabbed Jin Chi’an by the arm, dragging him outside. “brother-in-law, we can’t connect to His Majesty or the Marshal right now. Without royal authority, we can’t mobilize the soldiers.”
Jin Chi’an’s expression darkened. He followed Edwen to the command center.
On the command center’s large screen were monitors showing the meteors entering the Empire’s star domain, as well as the front-line battlefields where fighting with the aliens was taking place.
“Marshal’s wife,” a soldier at the side stepped forward and reported, “our soldiers are also close to being unable to sustain such prolonged combat. But according to the deal with the Empire, only members of the Iskan royal family can bypass the Empire’s command center and mobilize the beastman soldiers providing support.”
Hearing this, Jin Chi’an looked at the exhausted beastman soldiers shown on the monitors. Then he gave an order through the command line connected to the Empire.
“Swap the soldiers assigned to District One and District Seven, District Three and District Ten. Beastmen in the remaining districts are to retreat to the starship. Proceed at full speed to Iskan District Fourteen.”
Jin Chi’an looked solemnly at the large screen, at the unknown starship rapidly moving toward District Fourteen. Feeling the change in the brand on his body, he once again obtained the mental power circulating within Felix’s body.
On Kashmire’s starship.
Several beastman soldiers formed a protective circle around Aphrodite, keeping him within a safe zone and blocking the aliens’ attacks for him.
They had been transported into the experimental level of the starship. There, a huge energy furnace released powerful mental energy.
Beside it, within the consciousness-cloud decomposition experimental instrument, the consciousness cloud belonging to the seventh-generation emperor had been completely broken down. Its structure had also been copied and used to create several replicas.
000 followed everyone’s gazes toward the seventh-generation emperor’s position, the coldness in his eyes spilling out uncontrollably.
“The Imperial royal family truly doesn’t keep its word. The thing I hate most is people who deceive me.”
“Doesn’t keep its word…”
Aphrodite lowered the mocking smile on his face and uncontrollably recalled the days when he had still lived in the Imperial royal family.
In terms of treatment, as twin brothers, the seventh-generation emperor had not treated him badly. It was just that every time he dragged his shackles and looked outside, Charlemagne VII would always look at him with an indescribable gaze.
When he left at the end, he only threw down one sentence: “Give up. I won’t let you leave.”
Aphrodite’s brief memory was interrupted by the sound of an instrument operating.
000 had placed the body of the first-generation optimal fusion body into Kashmire’s consciousness-cloud replication instrument.
Before the Iskan soldiers could stop him, the instrument began operating.
As the divine tree extract born from the furnace was injected into the instrument, the fusion value on the experimental instrument’s screen shot upward in a straight line, nearly reaching ninety percent.
“The experiment succeeded, 001,” 000 signaled to 001, who was lying to the side.
001 immediately understood what he meant. Following the rejection reaction in this body, he took the opportunity to detach and move toward the experimental replica’s consciousness cloud.
Seeing the original host body of 001 go still, Felix swiftly broke free from the tentacles around him and attacked the replicated body.
“Felix!”
At Aphrodite’s cry, several first-stage aliens stabbed their tentacles toward Felix’s body.
But in the instant before they succeeded, Felix flashed behind cover, making all the aliens’ attacks land on the starship’s control console instead.
Facing a Kashmire army several times larger than the beastman soldiers, Felix’s offensive was dismantled one by one. Then, just as a tentacle ambushed him from behind and cut across the white tiger’s hind leg—
An alarm sounded throughout the Kashmire starship they were on.
“The starship’s outer layer is under attack. The starship’s outer layer is under attack…”
“000, an Iskan starship has appeared in the star domain to the left of the starship. They are attacking our central control layer.”
002 took the report handed over by his subordinate. His brows furrowed as he looked at 000, who was focused entirely on the replica.
The expression beneath 000’s black cloak was extremely grave. A trace of worry flashed through his eyes as he looked at 001, who was currently fusing with the replicated consciousness cloud.
Only after several minutes had passed and no rejection reaction appeared in the replica’s consciousness cloud did 000 let out a breath of relief. Then a mysterious smile appeared on his face.
Immediately afterward, the voice within the starship sounded again.
“Approaching Iskan District Fourteen. Please prepare for descent.”
“District Fourteen?”
Aphrodite’s brows tightened the moment he heard the broadcast. His heart sank, and he turned to look at Charles, who had frozen in place.
Immediately after that came 000’s voice.
“Lieutenant General Charles, thank you very much for all these years of development in District Fourteen.”
Charles’s expression went blank. In a daze, he looked at the screen of the zerg starship, where the surface garrison camp of District Fourteen was being occupied by aliens.
“Why… why District Fourteen?”
“Of course, because District Fourteen is the most habitable planet for us Kashmire.”
Not long after 000’s voice fell, Kashmire’s starship arrived above District Fourteen.
The Iskan starship following closely behind continuously launched attacks at them.
But the charged-energy cannons striking Kashmire’s starship were blocked by layers of defensive barriers, unable to stop its descent in the slightest.
At this moment, inside the Iskan starship’s command center, Jin Chi’an’s expression was cold.
“Notify the soldiers of District Fourteen to press forward at the border. The remaining people are to stop the invading aliens from entering the underground city. We absolutely cannot let the zerg starship enter District Fourteen territory.”
Edwen said in a low voice, “The soldiers of District Fourteen have fought aliens all year round. Their current combat power is insufficient, and they cannot buy us effective delay time on the front line. We still need some time to break through the other side’s defenses.”
Jin Chi’an hesitated for a moment, then said, “Can the technical team analyze the main weakness of the other side’s barrier?”
“Yes. After the technical team’s close-range observation just now, the starship’s barrier is highly stable. Its only weakness is that it is easily damaged from the inside, and internal repairs are difficult.”
Edwen tapped his five fingers lightly on the console, waiting for his order.
Jin Chi’an opened his mouth. As if thinking of something, he made his first attempt to use the mental co-connection he shared with Felix.
As their mental powers met and overlapped within the consciousness cloud, Jin Chi’an seemed to see the scene where Felix was.
Inside the zerg starship with its unusual layout, experimental instruments filled the white tiger’s vision.
And through the emotional connection, Jin Chi’an completely sensed the anger Felix had buried deep in his heart.
“Felix, can you hear me?”
Jin Chi’an’s voice entered the white tiger’s consciousness cloud like a sedative.
Their mental co-connection allowed Felix to sense the other’s mental guidance, and he responded within the consciousness cloud.
“Mm. I can hear you.”
Receiving his reply, Jin Chi’an finally felt relieved. He tried to sense whether Felix was injured, but the crisis situation on the large screen, where the zerg starship was about to enter District Fourteen, forced him to suppress the worry in his heart.
“Felix, can you destroy their starship’s defensive network from the inside?”
“Defensive network?”
Felix dodged the continuous attacks of the first-stage aliens and glanced around at the starship’s internal defense facilities.
“Yes. The enemy starship’s defensive network is special. It needs to be destroyed from the inside. See if you can attack its defensive network from where you are.”
Felix frowned and scanned the consoles around him. Through their consciousness-cloud connection, he replied, “We’re currently in its experimental level. It might not be possible…”
“Felix!”
Before Felix could finish speaking, Charles’s beast form appeared within the transport hub of the experimental level.
The golden cobra’s body coiled around the transport device, and the teleportation gate at the center of his body had already opened, waiting for people to enter.
Understanding his signal, Felix flicked his tail and knocked away the tentacles blocking his path, advancing toward Charles’s location.
Just as the first-stage zerg tentacles behind him arrived, Charles’s beast form spat venom from his mouth.
For a moment, the beastman-enhanced venom corroded the highly aggressive tentacles one by one, dissolving the other side’s attack.
The two smoothly entered the zerg starship’s transport passage.
“To the central control layer.”
Felix transformed into human form and covered his nose with slight disgust, looking at Charles, who was still in beast form.
“Why does your mouth stink so much?”
Before Charles could retort, a fluffy ball appeared out of thin air again and latched onto Felix’s clothes.
Then Jin Chi’an’s voice once again appeared in Felix’s consciousness cloud.
“Follow me.”
Puff jumped down from Felix’s arms and rushed out the instant the transport device arrived.
Under the mental body’s lead, the two dodged the guards and the zerg soldiers who came to obstruct them, successfully reaching the starship’s defensive system control area.
One wall of the control area turned transparent, revealing the true form of the protective barrier.
“They’ve already confirmed our position. They’ll catch up soon.”
Jin Chi’an’s voice entered Felix’s consciousness cloud through their mental brand.
Puff’s mental web spread across the entire starship, absorbing mental-power fluctuations from the outside world.
Felix scooped up the little cat with the stern face and walked straight to the console in the defensive system control area. He began operating the starship’s entire defensive system with unfamiliar movements.
“What are you doing?”
A second-stage alien, who had just escaped Puff’s mental control, came back to his senses and was about to attack Felix.
Before the alien’s attack could land, the roar of an explosion came from not far away.
As the aftershock of the tremor reached the defensive control area, Charles steadied himself and looked at Felix in disbelief.
“Felix, what did you do?”
Felix said calmly, “Activated the starship’s self-destruct system.”
“Fuck, are you insane?”
Charles seized control of the console in front of Felix, trying to modify the command.
But a powerful mental attack invaded his brain, attempting to pierce through his mental barrier.
The guide controlled by that second-stage zerg released mental tendrils. Ignoring the self-destruct sequence activating within the starship’s cabin, he launched an attack at the two of them.
As the pain in Charles’s brain intensified, Puff leapt onto the zerg guide. While resisting the mental attack, he also scratched up the other party’s face.
“Felix, our side is intercepting the fragments from the starship’s self-destruction. You need to leave the zerg starship as soon as possible.”
Inside the Iskan starship command room, Jin Chi’an frowned at the zerg starship currently exploding on the large screen. He could not help but sweat with anxiety. Then he restrained his emotions and ordered, “Notify the soldiers stationed at the surface camp in District Fourteen to evacuate. Starship Unit Seven will use the defensive network to control the enemy starship’s crash.”
…
Meanwhile, inside the zerg starship, Felix looked at the zerg dragged out of its host, and at Puff, who was baring his teeth and returning to the spiritual sea. Then he turned and signaled for Charles to transform back into his beast form again.
The moment the snake beastman transformed, Felix similarly turned into a white tiger. He grabbed one section of Charles’s body in his mouth and began fleeing the control area.
As the starship’s self-destruction continued, the vibrations became even more violent.
Charles could not stop his body from swaying wildly. Suppressing the urge to vomit, he was carried by the white tiger as they jumped into a collapsed section of floor.
Felix stepped across the broken fragments of the collapsing starship and returned through a gap to the experimental level.
Following the familiar scent, the two made it back to the area where Aphrodite was just before the regional gate closed.
They saw 000, standing opposite Aphrodite, press a button on a console. He turned and looked at the two who had suddenly burst in.
“You really have caused me quite the trouble, Felix…”
The moment 000 finished speaking, the area where they were located completely separated from the starship’s self-destructing sections and began rapidly falling toward District Fourteen’s northern hemisphere.
Amid the weightlessness of the rapid descent, zerg tentacles lashed toward Aphrodite.
Aphrodite’s pupils turned into vertical beast pupils. He drew the dagger at his waist and blocked the other party’s attacks one by one.
Around Aphrodite, the beastman soldiers who had followed protected the seventh-generation emperor’s body.
“You can have the body of a failed product if you want.” 000 snorted softly and admired the newly obtained grafted body of 001.
A body injected with Quetzal divine tree extract, and a consciousness cloud copied from the Imperial first-generation optimal fusion body.
After 001’s main body had gone through the near-death phase from his battle with Jin Chi’an, and the rejection phase after fusing with the 110th-generation zerg main body for repair, he had finally obtained a perfect body that would not be affected by rejection and could be controlled permanently.
“How does it feel, 001?”
000’s tone carried a smile, and the gaze he used to look at that body was tinged with excitement.
Under the fusion of abundant mental power and the consciousness cloud, 001 excitedly sensed the strength of this body.
“It seems the degeneration and rejection problem of our people after the 110th generation has been completely overcome.”
Amid the aliens’ excited exchange, Felix and the others were completely ignored.
Only countless first-stage zerg tentacles remained, blindly launching attacks toward them.
Felix tore off a tentacle that had tried to ambush Aphrodite, then shifted his attention to the window.
As the section of starship they were in continued to fall, the landscape of District Fourteen’s Burial Ground gradually entered his sight.
Immediately afterward, with a loud crash, the separated starship section successfully landed beside the river valley of the Burial Ground.
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