The Burke fleet had clearly detected the imminent arrival of the cosmic rays. Having learned a lesson from the Shunche, they dared not underestimate the rays' power. They immediately changed course, heading toward a dense cluster of asteroids in the distance.

At this moment, relying on his formidable piloting skills and a reaction time faster than time itself, Yang Ying expertly maneuvered the Ghost fighter through the dense meteorite field, closing in on the Burke fleet. Seeing their response, Yang Ying’s thoughts stirred. The surrounding area was already riddled with various asteroids, far denser than where the Jushou was located. If the Jushou still had a chance to find a jump point, the Burke fleet had no such luxury here.

"It seems they haven't chosen the futile path of escape. Instead, they intend to use the asteroids to partially shield themselves from the rays. A good strategy indeed. The commander of the Burke fleet made the correct choice. The sudden outburst of cosmic rays is a matter of life and death. To suppress internal panic at such a moment and make the right decision is already incredibly difficult."

Yang Ying pondered, continuing his approach toward the Burke fleet. Observers distributed throughout the gas cloud continued to feed him intelligence, allowing Yang Ying to precisely time the arrival of the cosmic rays.

The cosmos is vast and boundless. On the surface, it appears tranquil and deep, yet it is a place fraught with extreme peril, housing countless extreme environments. As a Master of Carbon Peak, Yang Ying could already traverse space with his physical body; vacuum and radiation could barely harm him, which is why he dared to approach the Burke fleet amidst the cosmic rays. Otherwise, even a Level Two Psyker would first have to worry about their own survival in an environment where cosmic rays are erupting.

"The cosmic rays have already destroyed two Observers... a third one is going down. Perhaps none of the twenty Observers in the gas cloud will survive the barrage. Although the Observers possess stealth, they cannot evade attacks from all directions. Ten seconds remaining until the cosmic rays arrive here."

With a flash of golden light, Yang Ying recalled the Ghost fighter. His position was now extremely close to the Burke fleet. Yang Ying activated his invisibility technique and hid behind an asteroid roughly twenty meters in diameter, awaiting the opportune moment.

As the ten seconds elapsed, Yang Ying felt a devastating force descend abruptly. Immense energy saturated everything, spanning a zone covering hundreds of millions of kilometers.

Yang Ying looked up and saw a ribbon of colored light stretching across the void, one that seemed endless. Yang Ying knew this was the aurora-like phenomenon caused by the cosmic ray striking the gas cloud.

Light, here, expressed its beauty to the extreme. It was incomparably gorgeous, a riot of color and infinite variation—sometimes like ribbons, sometimes like flames, sometimes like vast curtains—all magnificent and soul-shaking, unmatched by any other sight!

However, juxtaposed with this beauty was the sheer violence of the energy. It was seemingly endless, pressing down upon Yang Ying's plasma shield with a momentum capable of crushing everything. This pressure forced the invisible plasma shield to manifest a tangible form: a brilliant, round, blue-white sphere!

Although the plasma shield was only a thin layer, barely possessing discernible thickness, it showed absolutely no sign of yielding under the ray's assault. It remained as solid as bedrock, utterly unmoving.

"This wave of rays cannot yet break through the plasma shield, but this is only an infinitesimal fraction of the ray's true power—like a single drop in the ocean. Yet, this intensity of energy permeates the surrounding area spanning hundreds of millions of kilometers. It is truly a shock beyond description!"

Yang Ying truly felt the difference in the universe now. This difference was being presented to him through an overwhelming, unparalleled spectacle, millions of times grander than the highest realms described by language. Even if all the languages of the myriad races in the galaxy were combined, they could not capture it.

Although Yang Ying was unharmed within the rays, the luck of the Burke warships was not so fortunate. Within ten seconds of the rays striking, one warship had its shields completely depleted and was directly exposed to the radiation. It first experienced an energy overload, followed by a cascade of explosions. Unable to withstand the onslaught, the warship ruptured in mid-air!

"Most of the Xinbu ships were also destroyed this way, forcing them to hastily abandon their search operations. This burst of cosmic ray arrived at the perfect time. It is not enough that the Burkes lost Bibobarn; they still wanted to continue exploring Planet Aer. To them, it was merely a habitat, but to me, it is a critical source of silicon ore, and I cannot allow them to proceed. I hope the news of another cosmic ray appearance will deter the Burkes from targeting Planet Aer again."

Yang Ying thought to himself as he watched one Burke warship after another detonate before his eyes.

The cosmic ray barrage lasted for six minutes before finally passing, leaving behind a scene of devastation. Besides the warships, even the smaller asteroids were shattered into fragments, some vaporized into dust. It merely served to slightly thicken the smoke and dust within the gas cloud.

Yang Ying silently noted that it was time. Of the original twenty warships, only four survived, and their hulls were still racked by explosions, throwing personnel and debris into space in a truly miserable sight.

As for the five exploration vessels, only the main ship remained relatively intact, though it had lost most of its propulsion. The other four had suffered partial or complete explosions, becoming cold, drifting coffins in space.

Yang Ying pushed off an asteroid and shot forward. With a flash of golden light, he summoned over a thousand Self-Destructing Bats, which swarmed around him. Yang Ying pointed toward the direction of the warships, and the bats immediately rushed towards them!

Once a Self-Destructing Bat explodes, its entire flesh converts into explosive force, leaving almost no trace behind. They are the perfect tool for clandestine ambush and leaving no evidence.

With the backdrop of this cosmic ray event, even if Yang Ying annihilated this entire fleet, it would merely be attributed to being wiped out by the cosmic rays—a perfectly normal occurrence. Had the fleet commander not reacted appropriately, they might not have a single vessel remaining; they would have been truly annihilated.

The complete disappearance of the Xinbu’s Si Xixi and the Nim’s Poli previously could also be blamed on the cosmic rays. It was as if the universe itself was covering for Yang Ying—a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!

The Self-Destructing Bats obeyed Yang Ying's will, slamming into their respective targets. Successive, violent explosions erupted everywhere. Every bat explosion delivered the equivalent power of a full-strength Level Six cannon strike. Moreover, their warships were already riddled with holes from the cosmic rays, offering no way to shield against the bats’ assault.

Within ten minutes, all remaining warships were sunk, not a single fighter or escape pod surviving. This was largely due to the immense power of the cosmic rays, which had almost completely destroyed all mechanical equipment.

As the Self-Destructing Bats swarmed in, a few Psyker-users rushed out from the warships. However, they were only Level One or Two, their cultivation negligible. With a flash of golden light, Yang Ying summoned his clones, who swiftly eliminated them in a few moves, not affecting the bats' attack.

Seeing that the destruction of the warships was complete, Yang Ying and his two clones proceeded toward the main exploration vessel. Upon reaching the hull, Yang Ying flicked out an invisible light sword from his sleeve, slicing a hole in the ship’s armor, and plunged inside.

The Burkes revered corpulence, so the obese were numerous. As Yang Ying moved through the main exploration vessel, he noticed that among the Burkes walking past, there was scarcely a thin individual. Their fat strained the space suits, creating a comical sight. Most of them were moving hurriedly, clearly flustered by this sudden crisis. Why had the ships that survived the cosmic rays suddenly exploded again?

Since their reconnaissance systems had been destroyed by the rays, they had not witnessed the Self-Destructing Bats crashing into the warships. Thus, they felt only tension and confusion, not realizing that disaster was imminent.

This applied to everyone except their commander, Warungas, a top Burke explorer like Bibobarn.

He had heard the news of Bibobarn’s death. Due to their long-standing rivalry, he felt a shared sorrow, especially since Bibobarn had returned to the gas cloud to seek revenge against Yang Ying only after Warungas had taunted him, only to die by the electromagnetic cannon of the Jushou.

In Warungas’s view, he at least needed to accomplish something for his fallen colleague, such as eliminating the Earthling in the gas cloud to fulfill Bibobarn's dying wish for revenge. Of course, finding that habitable planet on the way would be even better. If Warungas could avenge his comrade while simultaneously discovering a new habitat, the resulting goodwill could easily increase his prestige several times over!

However, Warungas had never anticipated encountering the same problem as the Xinbu people: the cosmic rays being emitted so frequently and densely far exceeded his expectations!

After finally enduring the end of the ray barrage, Warungas sensed a new crisis approaching step by step. When he activated his enhanced vision, augmented by his Level Three psychic power, he saw the remaining four relatively intact warships being battered and exploding due to impacts from small organisms. He muttered internally, "The crisis is now unavoidable."

Yang Ying used an enchantment technique to question a Burke about the location of the bridge, then headed there. Covered by the invisibility technique, he attracted no attention from any Burkes.

Arriving at the bridge door, Yang Ying cleaved it open with his sword. Inside, Warungas stood, gripping a silver light sword tightly, pointing it at the doorway. He was clearly prepared for a fight.

However, faced with overwhelming odds, all of Warungas’s efforts were futile. Yang Ying advanced, and within two moves, he knocked the light sword aside, capturing the explorer. Then, Yang Ying employed his mind control spell.

As a Level Three expert, Warungas’s resistance to psychic control was far superior to Si Xixi and Poli’s, but it only presented a minor inconvenience to Yang Ying. Yang Ying and his two clones cast the spell together. Within two minutes, they broke through his mental defenses and implanted the will of obedience deep into Warungas’s psyche.

Afterward, Yang Ying placed Warungas into the Floating Continent, ordered over a dozen Self-Destructing Bats to pulverize the main exploration vessel, and then summoned the Jushou again. He left the gas cloud and initiated a spatial jump toward Planet Aer.