"How did he leave?" Old Six asked, frowning deeply. "Could it be..." Old Nine looked toward the door leading to the corridor, his eyes flickering. That door was the only way in or out.

Old Second, however, was looking thoughtfully at another door within the space—the one leading to the Matrix. The explosion behind him snapped his thoughts back. He glanced back; Old Six and Old Nine were staring excitedly and nervously at the corridor entrance.

They had just triggered the mechanism in the corridor. No matter how strong that person was, he would face only death against such a powerful weapon. Old Second shook his head.

If that person were that foolish, how could he have infiltrated Sector Four of the base without anyone noticing? If he hadn't activated the mecha just now, the intruder would have already entered the Matrix with Old Six and the others. Since the intruder managed to get this far, it wasn't surprising that he could open that door and enter the Matrix.

His greatest worry remained: who was this person, and what were his intentions? Unable to find any answers, he simply set the matter aside. He had more critical things to attend to.

He walked up to the main gate leading into the Matrix and placed his hand on the scanner. A "beep" sounded, and the system voice announced, "Verification commencing." Old Six and Old Nine heard the sound and turned, seeing Old Second attempting to open the main gate. They exchanged a look, unsure of what to do.

To step forward and stop him was out of the question. Although Old Second had left years ago, driven from the household, he was still a member of the Ketong family. With his former status, entering the Matrix was completely legitimate.

Yet, not attempting to stop him felt wrong. He had been gone for so many years, and worse, he had brought an outsider to attack the base. By rights, he should be considered the enemy.

Just then, the corridor door opened. A figure strode into the room, his gaze locking onto Old Second like a magnet. "Old Second, long time no see." It was almost a reaction of spiritual energy.

Old Second whipped his head around, meeting that gaze. His voice was chilling. "Indeed.

A full thirty years. In these thirty years, there hasn't been a single day I haven't missed Big Brother..." Zhong Yun finally made it inside the starship. He slumped onto the metal floor with no regard for decorum, breaking out in a cold sweat, his entire body weak.

Withstanding that final strike from Old Second had completely drained him. His internal Yuan was nearly exhausted. That Old Second was terrifyingly powerful.

Though he had taken more recoil from destroying the metal door, he acted as if nothing had happened, casually launching a sneak attack that nearly made Zhong Yun vomit blood. That fellow must be Level Twenty or higher. He was truly formidable.

It was fortunate that Old Second had reservations and dared not pursue further; another strike like that, and Zhong Yun would have perished here today. Luckily, he carried the quick recovery fluid made from the World Tree. After downing three small bottles, his internal Yuan began to slowly regenerate.

Feeling some strength return, he stood up. While contacting Xiao Ling, he moved further inside. This was clearly a massive hatchway of a starship, opening into an immense space twenty meters high and spanning tens of thousands of square meters.

However, it had been converted into a laboratory, filled with all manner of equipment. Seeing this, Zhong Yun’s heart sank. According to Xiao Ling, this vessel had actually been used as a storage depot by his previous owner’s predecessor; every compartment was supposedly packed with supplies.

But the equipment in this section was clearly not original to the ship. That meant everything here had been cleared out. Continuing forward, the hatch to the next compartment was open.

He walked down a vast passage for several kilometers until he was blocked by a containment door. Zhong Yun cautiously retrieved a small, black box, about the size of a fist, from his cloak and pressed it against the door panel. Then, he held up his dedicated communicator linked to Xiao Ling, aiming it at the black box.

The small light on the box flashed rapidly. Zhong Yun felt a slight tremor beneath his feet. After a moment, a melodious voice sounded: "Welcome back, my Master." Zhong Yun was overjoyed.

After all this painstaking effort, he had finally brought this starship... The massive door ahead slowly slid open. He stepped through, moving like a king entering his domain.

The ship’s flight module hovered in mid-air. Zhong Yun boarded it, and the module lifted him up. After about half an hour, the craft stopped before another doorway.

Zhong Yun knew he had arrived. He jumped down and approached the door, which opened automatically. "Welcome back to the Horton, my Master." The sweet voice from before sounded again.

Zhong Yun entered the main control room and walked directly to the captain’s seat, settling in. Overlooking the entire bridge, he suppressed his excitement. "Initiate sequence." Twenty thousand meters above the ship, Weiwei hid behind a tree, waiting anxiously.

Fewer than a hundred rioters remained guarding the ravaged base grounds; the rest were either dead in battle or had penetrated the base. Twelve hours had passed since Zhong Yun left, and still, there was no word from him. She had no idea what had become of him.

Weiwei’s hand clenched and relaxed, clenched and relaxed. A fine line of sweat beaded on her forehead. Her eyes were fixed on the base entrance, and several times she almost charged in, only managing to restrain herself at the last moment.

"Zhong Yun, you must be alright..." The chaos had already entered its most critical phase. As the unrest deepened, some ill-intentioned elements seized the opportunity to join the looting and murder. The entirety of Ketong Star had plunged into despair.

However, just then, forces like Zhong Yun, dispatched to quell the unrest, finally arrived. Countless fighter jets and mecha units descended from the sky. The largest cities were the first to receive aid.

As soon as the troops landed, they began a brutal suppression. Anyone with a shaved undercut or caught looting was shot on sight. Under the army's iron fist, the riots in the major cities were quickly brought under control.

As more troops arrived and the suppression intensified, the revolt that had caused endless sorrow for the people of Ketong Star finally subsided. The entire uprising lasted eighteen hours, inflicting incalculable damage on Ketong Star, especially the most severely attacked cities, which suffered near-total devastation. Among the hardest-hit sectors, the groups with the highest casualties were the government departments and civil servants—they were the targets of the first wave of attacks.

Post-incident tallies showed the death toll on Ketong Star exceeded eight million, with over a hundred million injured and hundreds of thousands missing. This was the greatest catastrophe in the recorded history of Ketong Star. Subsequently, Ketong Star began reconstruction.

With significant governmental support and the hard work of the Ketong people, prosperity was restored in less than fifty years. These, however, were matters for later. As the military entered Ketong Star, Zhong Yun was activating the Horton.

After startup, his first command to the ground was to rename the ship the Mercury. Then, he began checking the status of his brand-new Mercury, concerned about potential aging in its systems after thousands of years of disuse. The system self-check returned results that greatly satisfied Zhong Yun.

The Mercury was in excellent condition. His predecessor’s predecessor had put protective measures in place, though the Ketong family had damaged one hatch and two cargo compartments; otherwise, there were no issues. Activating a ship larger than the Mars would take time, especially when Xiao Ling wasn't in full control.

The ship housed numerous engineering and maintenance robots; they needed time to conduct a thorough inspection of the entire vessel before they could set sail. After issuing the deployment orders, he started inventorying the ship’s supplies. The system’s database contained a manifest.

He pulled up the list, and despite having mentally prepared himself, his heart skipped a beat after reading just a few lines. The starship had over five thousand cargo compartments for supplies. Half of them were filled with various types of basic machine components—parts needed to construct virtually any machine.

Of the remaining half, another portion contained energy cores, with the rest—over a hundred compartments—holding various manufacturing units and primary fabrication machines. He even found an energy core production line and a mecha production line on the manifest. Reading this, Zhong Yun was so elated he nearly fainted.

The (Omi National Administration Company) could never provide such high-level manufacturing equipment, no matter how much money was offered. Looking further down, there were nearly a thousand compartments filled with various mecha and fighter craft. He skimmed these; he wasn't lacking in mecha.

What he lacked were mecha pilots. The final few hundred compartments held all sorts of strange items: rare materials including various ores and plants, some works of art, and countless small gadgets collected by Xiao Ling’s predecessor whose uses were unknown. While browsing meticulously, Zhong Yun's eyes suddenly glazed over.

He stared so intensely at the next entry, as if trying to burn a hole through the three-dimensional virtual paper, that his gaze became fixed. Source Stones! And over a thousand of them!

Zhong Yun felt an excitement that threatened to explode within him. With a thousand Source Stones, the energy issues for the Lone Goose were solved, and Xiao Ling’s energy needs were met. What would Xiao Ling become, powered by a thousand Source Stones?

The mere thought was thrilling. "Retrieve the Source Stones immediately," Zhong Yun commanded urgently. "Yes, Your Excellency," the female system voice replied.

Zhong Yun continued reading, eager to see what other surprises the ship held. He scanned the rest of the list rapidly. Though nothing made his heart pound as violently as the "Source Stones," the remaining contents were still exceptional.

Zhong Yun felt unbelievably fortunate; the contents of this single vessel were likely worth more than an entire natural star, not to mention the "Super-Satellite Class" warship—the Mercury. With these resources, his strength could see a massive leap in a short time; tripling or quadrupling it was certainly achievable. Add to that the priceless World Tree.

Once Yu Daoqing awoke, with her status as the Saintess of Jialan and the rallying power of the World Tree, she could gather numerous Jialan descendants to settle on Qiyun Star. Rebuilding the Jialan Empire seemed distant, but the prospects ahead were vast. Just as he was immersed in these beautiful thoughts, the system delivered a near-fatal blow.

"Your Excellency, my apologies, the Source Stones are gone." "Gone?" It was like being struck by lightning, nearly stunning Zhong Yun senseless. "How can they be gone?" "The cargo hold, for unknown reasons, has had all its materials vanish," the system's emotional simulation module was highly sophisticated and anthropomorphic, delivering the apology with full apparent sincerity. "You must be joking." Zhong Yun nearly jumped up.

"What do you mean 'unknown reasons'? The Source Stones were sitting right there, how can they just disappear..." His voice abruptly cut off. A thought flashed through his mind like lightning.

"That... where is the cargo hold located?" he asked, his voice trembling. A three-dimensional terrain map materialized before him, a red dot marking the warehouse location.

Upon seeing it, his vision went black, and he nearly went into shock. Before the gate to the Matrix, the battle between the current head of the Ketong family and the family's most outstanding contemporary member reached a fever pitch. The entire space was a swirling mass of white, orange, and blue, inextricably intertwined.

Only the two of them were present, adhering to Ketong family tradition; everyone else waited outside, awaiting the outcome of their duel. Violent energy burst forth, slamming against the metal walls with dull thuds. Even the walls made from the hardest metal could not withstand the energy of the two fighters, showing varying degrees of dents and distortions.

"Boom! Boom—" After several thunderous impacts, the two figures separated, facing each other in a standoff. Externally, Old Second appeared more composed.

Wielding orange in one hand and white in the other, he surprisingly possessed two rare abilities simultaneously. He grinned, "You’re as insidious as ever. But against an absolute advantage in strength, you have no chance." The Elder Brother looked calmly at his younger brother, a trace of blood seeping from his lip.

"You are still as confident as before. Saying anything before the final moment is premature." He moved toward him, "Then I shall hasten that moment." The orange and white lights surrounding him flared brilliantly. Just then, the entire space shuddered.

He started, his gaze sharp as electricity, fixed on the Elder Brother opposite him. "What trickery have you employed?" Yet, he saw a flicker of surprise cross the Elder Brother’s eyes too. His guard shot up, and he hesitated to launch an offensive.

"Rumble! Rumble!—" Amidst a continuous series of booming sounds like thunder, the space vibrated violently, eventually shaking like a ship caught in a storm, rocking up, down, left, and right. "What is happening?" the Elder Brother exclaimed in alarm.

Could it be an earthquake? : That's all for today's chapter. (To be continued.

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