The journey took just over two days, and as the Jushou once again descended toward the planet Ael, Yang Ying looked down from the vessel's observation deck. The first Protoss outpost was utterly transformed from how he had left it.

Spanning one hundred square kilometers, thousands of golden structures stood in orderly ranks, rising and falling in precise arrangement. The outermost layer formed a tight defense system composed of both Terran and Protoss troops, reinforced by Photon Cannons and Siege Batteries. Further within lay four distinct sectors: Residential, Industrial, Temple, and Barracks. This place had unequivocally become a complete city!

To erect an entire city in just two days—what an absolute miracle!

Yang Ying was certain that even the Singers, or perhaps the Galan of the Orion Arm’s strongest worlds, would be utterly stunned by this sight!

And the force responsible for this miracle consisted of nothing more than a contingent of Probe-based Protoss workers!

The Protoss did not need to construct buildings from scratch when establishing colonies; they merely required Probes to designate the precise location, and the finished structures would be teleported directly into place. For a single Probe to site a thousand buildings overnight was considered standard operational efficiency.

The city before his eyes was the complete relocation of an existing Protoss metropolis from the floating continent! Thus, it was fully equipped with every necessary component.

In the Barracks sector now stood over six hundred Pylons, standing in rigid formation and continuously churning out reinforcements. Zealots, Dragoon Riders, High Templar, Archons, and Gold Carriers from the Protoss mingled with Marines, Flamethrowers, Medics, Ghosts, Reapers, Marauders, Siege Tanks, Goliath mechs, and Battlecruisers from the Terrans. They marched out of the portals in structured formations, greeted by specialized personnel from both races waiting at the exit to assign immediate tasks.

Above the Barracks sector hovered more than three hundred Stargates. Protoss Transports, Observers, Arbiters, and Carriers were constantly shuttling in and out, alongside Terran Dropships, Wraiths, Valkyrie Frigates, and Jushou-class Battlecruisers. The activity was immense.

The deployed forces boarded specific transport vessels according to their mission parameters. The Terran and Protoss transport fleets were fully integrated; Terran soldiers boarded Protoss shuttlecraft, just as Protoss warriors boarded Terran transports.

Once a batch of transports was loaded, they lifted off, heading toward the eastern and western theaters. Air support from both races would escort them to their destinations, providing covering fire as needed.

Standing at the edge of the observation deck, Yang Ying could see that the second and third outposts were already being established three to four hundred kilometers to the east and west of the primary city. The second outpost was situated upstream of a major river, while the third lay at the river’s estuary. The first outpost, incidentally, was also positioned near the river’s middle reaches.

The two newly established outposts were still in their nascent stages. Their core Nexus structures and Pylons were in place, but numerous functional buildings remained as white spheres of light, awaiting final teleportation from the Protoss territories on the floating continent within a few more hours.

Yang Ying directed the Jushou to land on a cleared expanse of ground to the east of the Barracks sector, which had been prepared as a dedicated landing zone.

The entirety of the Protoss expansion plan for Ael had been handed over to the High Council for drafting. Through his mental link with Executor Valoris Cassian, Yang Ying maintained constant surveillance over the situation's development.

Judging from the encounters the deployed forces were having, Planet Ael harbored numerous beasts of formidable physical power, along with bothersome creatures like venomous insects. Over the past two days, across dozens, if not hundreds, of engagements, these native beasts had proven quite capable. Both the Terran Command Staff and the Protoss High Council shared the consensus that the beasts' attack potency and combat instincts far surpassed terrestrial lions, tigers, wolves, or even the carnivorous dinosaurs of ancient Earth, who seemed considerably weaker by comparison to Ael’s inhabitants.

This pristine world teemed with beasts capable of tearing through armored plating with their claws and shattering steel rebar with their teeth—creatures swift as the wind and cunning in their malice. The variety was immense, and their numbers staggering; groups of one or two thousand were commonplace, and they had encountered swarms numbering fifty thousand or even one hundred thousand on two occasions.

The first instance was the aerial assault by winged creatures they later named the Ael Pterodactyls upon their initial landing. The second occurred the night before the Jushou's return: a pack of wolf-like organisms, dubbed Ael Wolves, numbering over one hundred thousand, launched a concerted nocturnal attack on the perimeter. However, they failed to breach the outermost defensive line, ultimately fleeing and leaving behind fifty to sixty thousand corpses.

Setting aside the effectiveness of tank barrages or massed bullet storms, merely having three thousand High Templar positioned behind the line, unleashing Psi Storms and forming a formidable Barrier of Thunder, was enough to prevent the Ael Wolf packs from crossing the line of fire. After all, the Ael Wolves were not Zerg; even if the Zerg had sent a hundred thousand Zerglings, without support from other units, they would only succeed in piling corpses before the Psi Storms.

Over these two days, under the overwhelming superiority of the combined Terran and Protoss forces, any beast or swarm that actively sought confrontation was simply committing suicide.

The reason Captain Rall had suffered such a heavy defeat earlier was simple: they possessed only a single exploration vessel. Their personnel and firepower were vastly inferior to a regular military contingent. Consider an exploration ship with a crew of a dozen or so—how much weaponry could they truly carry?

Yang Ying disembarked from the Jushou and strolled through the nascent city, his mind churning over his own incomplete understanding of the...

Half an hour later, Yang Ying arrived at the Protoss Core at the city's center. Within this pyramid-shaped structure, he selected a grand hall, complete with a balcony, and designated it the conference room, summoning the three explorers he held suspended in the gaseous cloud.

Warren'gas of the Burkes, Siashy of the S-Star race, and Poli of the Nima were the first to be manifested. Upon seeing the interior design of the hall, a flicker of astonishment crossed their eyes; this was their first glimpse of the Protoss aesthetic of gold inlaid with crystal.

Moments later, the three shifted their focus back to Yang Ying, respectfully uttering, "My Lord."

Yang Ying nodded and began to converse with them. He was desperate to deepen his understanding of this galaxy, and the arrival of these three solved an urgent need. They were all seasoned explorers, each having visited numerous sectors of the Orion Arm and engaged with dozens, if not hundreds, of different species—making them incredibly knowledgeable. Warren'gas, the Burke man, was perhaps the most learned among them.

As a Level Three Psionic, Warren'gas possessed a depth of knowledge that was astonishing. He was intimately familiar with most of the advanced civilizations across the Orion Arm and spoke the languages of every single advanced species there. Naturally, he had not yet learned the Common Terran tongue, which had only recently ascended to the status of a high civilization's language. However, Yang Ying considered this a minor detail and paid it no mind.

"Warren'gas, the Burke exploration fleet has been completely wiped out twice now within the gas cloud. Will the Burkes continue searching for this planet?" Yang Ying questioned the man, whose physique resembled a massive water vat.

"In my estimation, no," Warren'gas replied, his tone conveying absolute certainty.

"Why?"

"Because the interval between the two Cosmic Ray bursts was too short," Warren'gas spoke fluently. "Just over two months ago, the Xinbu people entered this gas cloud and suffered devastating losses from the cosmic rays. Barely two months later, the rays erupted again. This timing is highly abnormal; it should not have been this soon. Cosmic rays of such massive energy—the cosmos doesn't simply choose to unleash them at will. Similar to how continental plate movements cause earthquakes and volcanic eruptions, an energy accumulation phase is required."

"Yet, it did erupt," Yang Ying countered.

"Indeed," Warren'gas conceded, nodding. "The rapid succession of the second burst indicates that the energy within the gas cloud is accumulating quickly. Certain celestial activities are becoming violently unstable. Furthermore, what triggers cosmic rays is no ordinary celestial mechanics; it is orders of magnitude more powerful than plate tectonics—perhaps a hundred million, a billion, or even a trillion times greater!"

"Captain Warren'gas means to suggest that...?" Siashy and Poli exclaimed in unison.

"State it plainly. What is it?"

Yang Ying pressed, as he still failed to grasp Warren'gas's meaning. Having spent his life on Earth, this was his first step onto the grand stage of the galaxy, and compared to these explorers long familiar with its expanse, Yang Ying’s own knowledge base was vastly inferior.

Seeing Yang Ying's direct plea, Warren'gas dared not withhold the information any longer. "There is a high probability that a new star is being born within that gas cloud!"

"What!" Yang Ying was taken aback by the answer.

Warren'gas continued, "The galaxy gains about ten new stars annually. New stars are always birthed within gas clouds. The primary component of these clouds is hydrogen, existing at a low, widespread density, maintained in a delicate equilibrium between gas dispersion and universal gravity. Should the density of hydrogen in any particular region reach the critical threshold, this balance shatters. Gravity begins to pull the surrounding hydrogen inward, forming a protostar. The influx of new hydrogen increases the protostar’s gravitational pull, drawing in even more distant hydrogen, creating a feedback loop. This continues until the accumulated mass generates enough core pressure to ignite thermonuclear fusion, and a new star is born!"

"The new star has not yet appeared, implying it is still in formation. This process could take several months, perhaps even a year or two. This means the cosmic ray bursts will continue to occur until the new star stabilizes," Poli added, his voice characteristically deep.

Warren'gas affirmed this: "The shortest explanation for two cosmic ray events in quick succession within that cloud is the imminent birth of a new star. I can deduce this, and the other Burkes can as well. Once this information reaches home, that region of the gas cloud will be immediately classified as an extremely hazardous zone by the Burke military command. At the very least, the Burkes will cease sending exploration fleets."

Yang Ying mused that his trip into the gas cloud had been specifically intended to neutralize potential future threats. Now that the threat was averted, his primary objective was accomplished, and he had gained three expert explorers for questioning. This outcome could not have been better.

"Next, tell me about the advanced civilized races," he requested.

Thank you all for your support; I never expected that a single call yesterday would result in such an influx of monthly votes today. However, it is getting late now, and writing the third chapter would mean sleeping past three in the morning. I will postpone the bonus chapter until tomorrow. I will start writing earlier tomorrow, and I guarantee the Diamond votes will not go unfulfilled. To know what happens next, please log in to Xin, where there are more chapters, support the author, and support legitimate reading!