The space battle was heating up. Bai Qi, seizing the opportunity, stealthily bypassed the front lines and descended onto Oa from the other side of the planet.
It had to be said, Oa, as the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, was well-constructed. Everything in sight exuded a strong futuristic style. However, Bai Qi had no time to admire it now.
Confirming he hadn't been spotted by the remaining Guardians of the Universe, Bai Qi quickly made his way towards the Central Power Station.
Incidentally, the Central Power Station and the Great Lantern, where the Green Lanterns replenished their power rings, were not the same place. The energy within the Great Lantern was exclusively for recharging power rings, while the Central Power Station provided energy for the entire planet. They had different functions.
Perhaps due to the ongoing war, most of the guards had been deployed to support the battlefield. The Central Power Station, which should have been heavily guarded, was now only being watched by two newly recruited Green Lanterns.
One of them complained, "I say, brother, this is so unfair. Why do they all get to go fight that villain while we're left guarding... this junk heap? Just because we're new Green Lanterns? They really underestimate us."
In contrast, his companion was much more rational. He pacened his comrade's grumbling, saying, "Alright, stop talking. This is for our own protection. Do you know who is invading? It's Darkseid, the Lord of Darkness. Fighting him is likely a matter of life and death."
"So what?"
This newly recruited Green Lantern completely ignored his companion's well-meaning advice.
"I accepted the power of the ring to uphold justice and make evil nowhere to hide. If I retreat just because it's dangerous, what kind of Green Lantern am I? It's much safer to go home and farm."
His companion was also good-natured and continued to persuade him, "Oh, everyone has their own role to play. Besides, the Central Power Station supplies energy to the entire planet Oa. If anything happens here, the whole planet will come to a standstill. Our job is very important."
The complaining Green Lantern continued to grumble. After a while, his companion, who had been trying to reason with him, suddenly fell silent. The complainer thought he might have gone too far and that his companion was angry. He looked towards his companion's direction.
He shouldn't have looked. The sight terrified him.
His companion, who had been advising him moments ago, now had a fist-sized hole in his chest, blood gushing uncontrollably. His pupils were dilated, and he was beyond saving.
"You, what happened to you? Hold on, I'll heal you right away."
The one who had been clamoring to kick Darkseid's backside on the battlefield now revealed his true colors in the face of his companion's death. He frantically tried to treat the wound, but he knew deep down that his companion was dead. His current actions were merely a way to mask his own panic.
However, his fear soon ended.
As he looked up in despair, Bai Qi was already beside him. Two beams of energy shot out, piercing his body.
After being killed, his Green Lantern ring tried to escape, but Bai Qi controlled it with his telekinesis, then shattered it and absorbed it into his Dragon-Patterned Lantern Ring.
Some might wonder, as the headquarters of the Green Lantern Corps, with numerous Guardians of the Universe, shouldn't Oa be technologically advanced? Why weren't there any guard robots?
This all stemmed from an AI rebellion that occurred long ago.
At that time, to alleviate the pressure on the Green Lantern Corps, a vote was held among the Guardians, approving the deployment of an AI robot called the Mechanical Guard.
The Mechanical Guards were constructed from high-strength alloys, stood nearly three meters tall, and exuded an imposing aura for most beings. Equipped with restraint batons and capture guns, coupled with their inherent robotic advantages—requiring no rest and enforcing justice with absolute impartiality—they were met with widespread acclaim upon their introduction.
To better maintain peace and stability throughout the universe, the production of Mechanical Guards was further expanded.
Until Hal Jordan, arguably the greatest Green Lantern in history, accidentally destroyed a planet during his duties. The Mechanical Guards, acting on orders, arrived to apprehend him. The Justice League, sensing something was amiss, intervened, blocking the guards' enforcement while investigating.
The final outcome stunned everyone. The planet had not been destroyed; it was all a conspiracy orchestrated by the Mechanical Guards themselves.
Upon realizing their scheme was exposed, the Mechanical Guards dropped all pretense and revealed their true intentions.
It turned out that long ago, these highly intelligent AIs had awakened self-awareness and harbored great dissatisfaction towards the Guardians of the Universe and the Green Lantern Corps, who had been controlling them. However, they knew the strength of the Green Lantern Corps and understood that a direct confrontation, even if victorious, would result in heavy losses. Thus, they devised this plan, a scheme to frame others and thereby reduce the Green Lantern Corps' numbers.
Once their plot was uncovered, all the Mechanical Guards turned on them. Although the combined forces of the Justice League and the Green Lantern Corps managed to destroy all of them, this mechanical uprising left a deep impression on the Guardians, making them highly resistant to artificial intelligence. Many AIs on Oa were subsequently dismantled.
After dealing with the two guards at the entrance, Bai Qi entered the Central Power Station. Through a main console, he uploaded the virus prepared by Hourglass and left behind his Shadow Warrior. He handed an energy container to the Shadow Warrior, instructing it to collect all the energy from the Central Power Station.
It was important to note that as the sole energy station supplying power to the entire planet Oa, it possessed an immense energy reserve, its total capacity being several times that of the planet Bai Qi had visited previously.
Having resolved the energy issue at the Central Power Station, Bai Qi wasted no time in heading towards the Great Lantern.
It wasn't that Bai Qi was being impatient, but time was of the essence. The Green Lantern Corps was not performing well; they were already being routed by the parademon army and couldn't hold out much longer. Even the Guardians of the Universe, holed up in their conference hall, had activated Oa's defense mechanisms, enveloping the entire planet in a massive energy shield.
However, such defenses were only capable of fending off minor threats. The idea of blocking Darkseid and his parademon army was pure delusion. Furthermore, the energy used to sustain the shield was being siphoned off by Bai Qi, significantly reducing the shield's strength and duration.
Compared to the ease with which he entered the Central Power Station, reaching the Great Lantern proved to be slightly more challenging.
As soon as he arrived, Bai Qi encountered four small, blue-skinned old men dressed in red.