The passage of three years blurred by. The people at the base gradually forgot the uproar caused by the Lan Family's Master-level expert, along with three hundred five-star mechs.

With the subsequent arrival of personnel from the Andu Empire, the base had expanded dozens of times over. However, after losing two Master-level experts, no one dared venture near that particular area anymore.

High above a forest roughly ten thousand kilometers from the base, a ripple suddenly appeared in the calm air. This ripple rapidly expanded, coalescing into a black hole.

The black hole widened until its diameter neared ten meters, at which point three objects shot out from its center. Soon after, the black hole vanished as if it had never existed.

They were three towering mechs: one white, one red, and one blue. All three were riddled with scars, large and small.

The most devastating sight was the white mech; an entire left arm and half its torso were missing, exposing a dense tangle of internal components. The red mech bore two intersecting gashes, deep enough to penetrate half a meter, almost cleaving the entire machine into four pieces.

Miraculously, these four cuts had skillfully bypassed the cockpit located at its chest, saving the pilot inside. The blue mech appeared the least damaged, yet it too was covered in scars, with hardly a single intact metal surface remaining.

Its most grievous wound was a hole in the left foot, the result of a direct hit from an energy beam. These three battle-scarred mechs belonged to Zhong Yun, Qin Lianbai, and Lan Yuling—the very trio who had been dispatched three years prior to investigate the disappearance of a mech squadron, only to be dragged into an unknown dimension themselves.

As for the three hundred mechs that accompanied them, they were utterly annihilated; not a single one survived. Zhong Yun and the other two endured countless perils, surmounted countless trials, and only after paying a devastating price did they finally emerge from that "Trial Space." The entire ordeal was a brush with certain death.

“Did we really escape that purgatory?” Lan Yuling still harbored a sliver of disbelief that they had truly left that nightmare place. Qin Lianbai and Zhong Yun remained silent.

They gazed at the vibrant, life-filled canyon, as if speaking might shatter the vivid image before their eyes. After a long silence, Zhong Yun finally exhaled deeply.

“Commander Qin, Commander Lan, I have some matters to attend to. In ten days, I will meet you at the base.

I will trouble you then.” “We will wait for you,” the two Lans replied in unison. Neither asked what business he needed to conduct.

Within the “Trial Space,” their survival had hinged entirely on their close cooperation and mutual support. Over the past three years, an unspoken understanding had long settled between them.

Watching Zhong Yun depart, the two of them turned their mechs toward the base. Their return caused a sensation throughout the entire settlement.

Meanwhile, Zhong Yun, after separating from Qin and Lan, piloted his "Exquisite" mech at top speed northward. After flying a thousand kilometers, he landed on the ground, disembarked from the cockpit, recalled the severely damaged "Exquisite," retrieved the "Lone Goose," and settled into its cockpit.

Piloting the "Lone Goose," he continued flying north. After extorting ten thousand Origin Stones from the Qin family, Zhong Yun had loaded the "Lone Goose" to capacity.

With the exception of the mech’s main processor, all its other functions had been fully restored. According to Xiao Ling, the main processor of the "Lone Goose" was severely damaged, but this would not impede Zhong Yun’s control.

At this moment, the performance of the "Lone Goose" was in no way inferior to the "Exquisite," and in certain aspects, it even surpassed it. Flying at full speed for two days, the journey was uneventful; even when encountering strange creatures, none could match his speed.

Finally, Zhong Yun arrived at the edge of a massive cliff. The "Lone Goose" hovered above the precipice.

Looking from either side, the edge of the cliff resembled a black line stretching endlessly toward a distant vanishing point. Below, the drop was bottomless, revealing only an impenetrable blackness.

This was the very edge of this continent, the true end of the world. Beneath it lay the other side of the landmass.

Zhong Yun looked down into that seemingly endless chasm and plunged downward without hesitation. As he descended, the gravity acting upon the "Lone Goose" grew increasingly intense.

After nearly a thousand kilometers of descent, the gravitational force suddenly vanished. After falling for about ten more kilometers, gravity reappeared, but its direction had completely reversed.

What was previously a downward flight now became an upward one—though Zhong Yun’s direction of travel had not changed; only the gravity had shifted. After flying another thousand kilometers, Zhong Yun suddenly perceived a burst of light and found himself back above the horizon.

Landing on the ground, he realized he was on the opposite side of the continent. Zhong Yun did not linger, quickly flying toward the interior of the landmass.

He flew continuously for ten days until he located a vast, flat plain. Zhong Yun paused above the plain, muttering to himself, “Although this plain is a bit small, it will have to suffice.

Time is short.” He landed on the ground, exited the cockpit, and recalled the "Lone Goose." Then, he took out another mech key and released a massive pile of items from within—metal components stacked into a small mountain. Zhong Yun rolled up his sleeves, located his toolbox, and began the assembly process.

It took nearly a full day to put everything together. What he constructed was a platform, half a meter high and circular, nearly ten meters in diameter, with five circular pillars rising from its edges, each over twenty meters tall, assembled segment by segment.

Next, Zhong Yun took out a box of Origin Stones and, with a visible wince of pain, removed one hundred, placing them at the base of the platform. Stepping back fifty meters, Zhong Yun took out a communicator specifically designed to interface with Xiao Ling and announced, “It can begin.” He silently chanted, It must succeed, it must succeed… Several minutes later, the center of the platform began to shift; the space rippled with texture, and a tiny black dot suddenly materialized at the core—identical to the black hole that had abruptly appeared above the great canyon three years ago, pulling Zhong Yun and the others into the Trial Space.

This time, however, Zhong Yun showed no panic; instead, his face broke into relief. “It worked.” The small black dot, situated precisely between the platform's five pillars, expanded rapidly to cover the entire platform area in an instant.

At the location of the pillars, it seemed to be halted by an invisible force, unable to spread further outward. Zhong Yun murmured to himself, “I can’t believe this small-scale spatial transporter actually works…” This platform was something Zhong Yun had discovered in the Warehouse of District Six after gaining Level Six clearance for Base Number One.

He had been genuinely stunned when he first saw it on the manifest. A portable spatial transporter—its value was immeasurable.

With it, no matter where Zhong Yun was, he could instantly return to the Galaxy Empire. It was essentially a magic door.

However, using it was not without cost: each activation consumed one hundred Origin Stones. If left running, it could remain active for a full year.

But if one intended to move it, it had to be deactivated. Under normal circumstances, it was only activated once or twice before being shut down.

If not for the ten thousand Origin Stones extorted from the Qin family, Zhong Yun wouldn't even be able to afford to use it now. As he mused on this, the spatial jump point on the platform began to change.

The center of the black hole churned, like water dropped into boiling oil, with concentric waves spreading outward. As the ripples intensified, a human figure suddenly flew out from within.

When Zhong Yun clearly saw the figure, his spirit jolted, and he exclaimed, “Qiqi!” The figure emerging from the black hole hovered in the air, clad in a white dress and flowing white robes, ethereal as a celestial being. Who else could it be but his wife, Liu Yunqi?

“Yun,” the suspended Yunqi turned to face Zhong Yun, her eyes, as bright as black gems, now veiled with a hint of moisture. Seeing his wife, untouched by the passage of three years, possessing an added layer of fragile, heart-stirring beauty, his heart felt warmed by a gentle breeze, and all other concerns vanished from his mind.

In this moment, his world contained only her. Yunqi’s chest rose and fell twice, and with a graceful leap, she threw herself into her husband’s embrace.

Zhong Yun held her tightly, squeezing her so closely she could barely breathe. Zhong Yun gazed greedily at the face he had longed for day and night.

In that purgatorial Trial Space, he had thought of his friends and family constantly, but his thoughts most often centered on the wife before him. His overwhelming emotion could no longer be restrained; Zhong Yun captured his beloved wife’s delicate lips, greedily savoring the sweetness.

Contrary to her usual reserved nature, Yunqi responded to his kiss with equal intensity. Another figure shot out from the black hole beside them, stopping mid-air and cautiously surveying the surroundings.

Seeing the embracing pair, the newcomer paused slightly, a kind smile touching their lips. After a moment's thought, they quietly retreated to the side, not wishing to disturb the long-reunited lovers.

About a minute later, a second person flew out of the black hole. Before he could react, he was seized by the person already present, who placed a finger to their lips, signaling silence.

Then, the first person pointed toward the couple, locked in an embrace as if no one else existed. The newcomer looked over and a look of sheer joy spread across his face.

Although he desperately wished to rush forward and exchange years of absence with Zhong Yun, he understood that now was not the time to interrupt them. These two were Chen Wen and Tian Hai, Zhong Yun’s two closest comrades.

Though still young, they had become the two towering figures of the Galaxy Empire’s military. Upon hearing they could go see Zhong Yun, they immediately dropped their ongoing affairs and were among the first group to pass through the spatial jump point.

More people trickled out of the black hole subsequently. Chen Wen and Tian Hai intercepted each of them, motioning for quiet, and directed them to a distant area.

These soldiers instantly recognized their supreme Emperor and Empress; they dared not stare for long, wisely moving to a distance to keep watch. “Little Yun…” Finally, it was Yun Rong, who arrived later, who broke the silence.

Chen Wen and Tian Hai would never dare stop the Empress Dowager. Seeing her approach, they swiftly retreated far away.

Despite being Zhong Yun’s confidants, they prioritized allowing the family reunion to proceed first. Zhong Yun reluctantly pulled away from Yunqi’s lips, releasing her body.

Having been caught by her mother-in-law while being intimate with her husband, Yunqi appeared slightly flustered, yet she still clung tightly to Zhong Yun’s arm, unwilling to be separated from him for even a moment. “Mom…” Zhong Yun stepped forward, his face a mixture of shock and delight.

“How did you get here?” First published