Chapter 1 The Aftermath

The Andea Continent was once a region under the control of Germination. It suffered from the aftermath of old wars, and the Six Nations Expedition a few years ago further deteriorated the environment of this land. The concentration of nuclear radiation was far higher than the warning line, the land was scorched, and the fields were barren. The Wanderer tribes who once lived on this continent had been transferred to the other three continents by the Six Nations. Andea was now desolate, with only mutated beasts surviving.

The ruins of Germination were located on this land. The once magnificent base complexes had become black, scorched ruins. The central base had disappeared, leaving only a black circle in its place. The underground base had also been destroyed. The edge of the circle was marked by black lines radiating outwards, extending for hundreds of miles.

Due to the excessively high concentration of nuclear radiation, the Six Nations only sent some drones to explore the ruins after the nuclear explosion. Nothing of value was left, and there were no signs of life. Everyone had died in the torrent of chain nuclear strikes.

Therefore, the Six Nations did not waste energy cleaning up this mess. Over the years, the ruins of Germination had been covered with a thick layer of accumulated ash. Some metal fragments that had been thrown out by the explosion and stuck in the soil showed signs of wind erosion. Decay and death filled the air.

However, in this area where even mutated beasts could not survive, a figure stood in the very center of the Germination base ruins. It was a charred skeleton. The flesh and blood, as tough as steel, had been burned away in the explosion years ago, but the charred skeleton had been preserved. It had not turned into dust, and after several years, it still had not rotted away. Only the body of a Super would have such resilience.

But it was obvious that the life signs of this body had long disappeared. Gray dust swirled in and out of the empty eye sockets.

Yet this corpse was now slowly moving, walking step by step, staggering. A pool of black mucus adhered to the cervical vertebrae, extending thread-like roots that wrapped around the bones and limbs, as if a puppeteer. The skeleton was like a marionette.

This pool of black mucus was the Heteromorph Apocalypse. After the "infancy" stage of passively absorbing free energy, it could now actively seek energy, constantly changing the bodies it possessed. After trekking through mountains and rivers, it had finally crossed the ocean to the Andea Continent. It shared the senses of countless lives. The energy here was not only vast, but also the easiest for it to absorb: radiation-type energy, rich in nutrients.

The Germination ruins were a restricted area. The beasts possessed by the Heteromorph Apocalypse died in the restricted area, so it had to constantly move its main body to the center of the ruins. The skeleton it was now manipulating was the only corpse in the center of the Germination ruins—it belonged to the leader of Germination. During the explosion, the leader was in the underground base. With layers of protection, coupled with the strength of his body, his bones were preserved, while everyone else had long been reduced to ashes.

On an invisible level, the nuclear radiation in the center of the Germination ruins was being continuously absorbed by the Heteromorph Apocalypse. On a microscopic level, the Heteromorph Apocalypse's self-division and proliferation speed had increased hundreds of times. The proliferating material was constantly volatilized, turning into energy that it controlled, completing the transformation of energy forms back and forth.

In the previous life's storyline, Thayn discovered the Heteromorph Apocalypse after being released from prison and became a Primal Symbiote. However, now Thayn had been captured by Han Xiao and sent back to labor camp. Without this powerful "vehicle", the Heteromorph Apocalypse wasted a lot of time on the road.

But in the previous life's storyline, it also didn't have such a good "cradle" as the Germination ruins.

The skeleton slowly walked, the Heteromorph Apocalypse greedily absorbing energy, the concentration of nuclear radiation slowly decreasing at a speed difficult to discern with the naked eye.

…

Nokap's fleet hovered behind a barren planet. Only a short-range warp was needed to reach Aquamarine Star from here. The distance was very close. This was the last area where stealth was effective. If they got any closer, the cloaking device would no longer be able to deceive Godora's military radar, and the fleet's gravity would expose its position.

It was like being in the deep sea, where the field of vision was pitch black, and one could only use water currents to determine whether an enemy was approaching. The closer the distance, the more obvious the disturbed water flow. Gravity was like water flow. If they were too close, the stealth would fail. The specific distance depended on the reconnaissance performance of the radar.

The two sides had been enemies for many years. DarkStar knew Godora's military equipment performance very well, and was constantly improving its own stealth technology.

The interior of the command ship was a hive of activity, making the final preparations before the attack. Nokap confirmed various intelligence reports with the reconnaissance personnel.

"How much defensive power does Aquamarine Star currently have?"

"There are one hundred and twenty standard Godora frigates in outer space. This is a medium-sized fleet, and should be a unit dispatched from the Nadban Military Base."

"Is there any intelligence from the infiltration team?"

"Yes, they said that in addition to the frigate fleet, there are also a dozen Godora rescue team ships, led by Nago Jin, a senior official of the War Affairs Bureau. A martial artist with Calamity Grade strength."

Nokap was expressionless. "Calamity Grade expert? A bit troublesome. We don't have any high-level combat power here, so we can rule out the option of boarding battles. Fortunately, he is just a martial artist. Is there any other news?"

"Besides the Godorans, there is another force staying on Aquamarine Star, the Black Star Mercenary Group, a Longtan Outpost Armed Force, which also has a dozen ships."

Nokap's eyes showed no emotion. "Black Star… the mercenary who killed Anul at Norius a year ago, right? Also a bunch of troublesome guys. It seems Aquamarine Star is more special. The defensive strength is higher than the previous two planets, which will be a bit tricky, so execute Phase Four."

Upon learning that Black Star was on Aquamarine Star, Nokap wasn't surprised. To him, it was just one more enemy to deal with, nothing to be alarmed about.

It wasn't that Nokap underestimated the enemy. After quickly estimating the combat power comparison, he decided to continue carrying out the attack mission.

In other words, the addition of the Black Star Mercenary Group only made him feel that the difficulty had increased a little, nothing more.

…

"DarkStar may appear at any time. I want you to react at the first possible moment. Open your eyes wide and be alert!"

In the outer space of Aquamarine Star, Batette, the commander of the Godora frigate fleet, spoke loudly in the communication channel. He was a short Godoran with a fiery temper and a voice like thunder, with a natural fat tone.

"Commander Batette, radar has detected a target. A fleet is approaching rapidly… They've stopped! Position is direction C-02-07!"

Batette immediately looked at the radar screen. More than a hundred light spots were displayed on the screen. This was the DarkStar fleet. He looked out of the porthole, but did not see the DarkStar fleet appear in that direction. The distance between the two sides was beyond visual range, and they were both at their respective maximum ranges.

Buzz buzz buzz—

At this moment, an alarm suddenly sounded in the command room, and red lights flashed.

"Alert! High-index energy reaction detected approaching! Collision imminent!"

Outside the porthole, thousands of green spots of light suddenly lit up in the dark universe, and dense ion cannons fired from afar.

Nokap's fleet used long-range strikes!

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