Chapter 1 A Covert Action's Observation

The "erasure" effect of the covert ops drone only lasts for an hour, which isn't enough time to do much, but if used properly, it can still observe quite a bit as a probe.

Based on the fairies' chaotic descriptions, Hao Ren had a rough understanding of the so-called "Nexus" (the crystal star he saw in the illusion). He knew that the entire planetary system where the Nexus was located was created by the Goddess of Creation. In the area where the Nexus was located, time, space, and all things did not fully follow the normal laws of the universe. The most distinctive feature was that the operation of each celestial body was independent and artificially controlled.

It was illuminated by an eternal star. However, the planets did not repeatedly orbit the star in accordance with their orbital paths. The "Nexus" was a rocky planet fixed near the star. It rotated but did not revolve, with alternating day and night but no change of seasons. A powerful planetary shield and a large number of defense platforms protected this sacred planet. Three planetary fortresses were distributed around the Nexus. They moved freely within the planetary system and could be anchored anywhere as needed. Before the sudden outbreak of the "rebellion", the three planetary fortresses were anchored around the Nexus at the three vertices of an equilateral triangle. In addition, a large number of temples, fortresses, monitoring towers, and facilities called "gates" were built in the Nexus star system. These magnificent and ancient buildings floated in space and were controlled by a set of programs left by the Goddess of Creation to operate automatically. Even the Guardian Giants did not have the authority to modify these facilities.

After the rebellion broke out, Amantir destroyed Nakodar with the doomsday weapon "Endless Torrent". The aftermath of the Endless Torrent swept through space, causing astonishing damage to everything around the Nexus. More than half of the facilities built in space had probably been reduced to ashes, but the buildings around the Nexus were protected by divine power, and with the perseverance of the last planetary fortress, "Agudar", most of them still remained.

Guided by this information, the drone in the "erasure" state swiftly and tracelessly traversed the wreckage of Nakodar, which was stagnant in space, and opened all its countless sensors, taking advantage of this absolutely invincible concealment time to collect a large amount of local intelligence.

On the images transmitted back, Hao Ren saw many wrecks floating in space. These fragments, lingering with a desolate atmosphere, had been floating here for three thousand years. Some came from Nakodar, and some came from corrupted monsters. The largest of them was almost equivalent to a continent floating in the universe. Hao Ren could clearly see the huge collapsed halls and the city ruins that had long been plunged into darkness. These things covered the entire airspace, silently telling everyone about the tragic and terrible changes that had taken place here in the past.

"Amantir's 'rebellion' happened three thousand years ago?" Vivian asked the fairy beside her casually while concentrating on observing the picture.

"Yes, Your Majesty!" The boy fairy said happily, and the other two fairies followed closely: "Amantir suddenly attacked three thousand years ago!" "Some Guardian Giants on Nakodar also went crazy at that time!" "It scared us to death!" "But I'm not afraid at all!"

Doudou jumped around on the platform next to her: "You're bragging! I know you're the smallest coward among the fairies! You're afraid even if I make a small flame!"

The small fairy whose bragging was exposed became exasperated: "That's because I used up all my courage at once, so I have so little courage now!"

"Were all the Guardian Giants normal before this?" Hao Ren put his hand between the fish baby and the little fairy, and quickly cut off the two little ones' small quarrel, "Before this point in time three thousand years ago, did all the guards show no signs of corruption?"

"No," the three fairies shook their heads together, and then chirped, "The giants were so kind and had such good relationships. Everyone lived together well all the time!"

Hao Ren turned to look at Vivian: "What do you think is going on?"

"So far, all the events we've encountered in the dream plane, all the clues we've found, the turning point was ten thousand years ago, the moment the Goddess of Creation fell," Vivian crossed her arms, her fingers unconsciously tapping her elbow, "But this is the only exception... here it was still operating normally until three thousand years ago. The Guardian Giants on that 'Amantir' only suddenly went crazy seven thousand years after the Goddess of Creation fell..."

"So you think this is a 'delayed outbreak'?"

"No, I think this is evidence that the power of the Lord of Madness is gradually breaking free," Vivian said, "But no matter which possibility it is, the situation is not good."

The images transmitted back by the probe continued, and now it had crossed a cold and dead void space. Some slight flashes suddenly appeared in the corner of the screen.

Without additional orders, the probe automatically enlarged the picture, and Hao Ren saw a battlefield where fierce battles were taking place.

One side of the battle was those familiar corrupted monsters, those indescribable pieces of flesh, mutated giants, and flesh-symbiotic starships—but their scale was much larger than the army that had previously besieged the Nakodar continent, and the other side was the well-organized and clearly marked Guardian fleet.

Hao Ren saw the Guardian Giants' black warships appear on the battlefield in formation for the first time. Various types of combat ships, large and small, shuttled through space, bravely fighting the enemy with dazzling artillery fire, and behind the warships, many towers and platforms floating in the universe could be seen. From the light surrounding those facilities and the interlaced beams, it could be judged that they should be some kind of orbital defense facilities.

The two armies were fighting fiercely in space, and the light that erupted was clearly visible from several astronomical units away, and in the background of this battlefield, a planet wrapped in a bright shield could be clearly seen.

That planet had a thick atmosphere, and the lingering clouds caused all the landscapes on the planet's surface to be hidden, and outside the atmosphere was a layer of energy barrier that looked exceptionally strong. That barrier was so powerful that it seemed almost substantial, and it looked as if the entire planet was wrapped in a crystal shell.

That was undoubtedly the place Hao Ren had seen in the illusion before—the Nexus.

However, he did not see the figures of the planetary fortresses "Agudar" and "Amantir".

The fairies stared at the battlefield on the screen, more at their homeland that had been separated for thousands of years in the background of the picture, but they still answered Hao Ren's questions: "The planetary fortresses should be at the other end of the battlefield." "Agudar is probably obscured by the light of the Nexus!" "Amantir is hiding in the shadows! The rebels certainly can't let it be exposed casually!"

The probe began to warp towards the battlefield, preparing to collect as much intelligence as possible near the destination before the "erasure" effect ended, and Hao Ren's gaze was completely focused on the planet wrapped in the "crystallized shield". In the dark, he seemed to feel some kind of call...

There was an answer there, an answer that the Goddess of Creation left to posterity, an answer not only for Vivian but also for him.

His arrival in the X-cluster was not an accident, but almost inevitable under the impetus of a series of clues and events. This planet in the midst of war was not some "strange project made under mental split". It was designed with such care and importance, with such powerful protection, and even had inextricable links with Vivian. The Goddess of Creation must have had some expectations for it.

"The guards are still holding on, but it looks like they're completely on the defensive," Vivian's voice woke Hao Ren up, "Those monsters... their numbers seem to be much larger than the guards."

"The biggest characteristic of the power of corruption is that the more you fight, the more there are, and some of them also master the power of the Fallen Sourceblood, which means they can continuously create soldiers," Hao Ren nodded, "Now the best news is that those corrupted monsters probably don't know that we've touched their doorstep... if we can hit them hard from behind before they react, we should be able to achieve great results—and if the guardians cooperate on the front line at the same time, the effect will be better."

Vivian looked Hao Ren up and down: "You have a plan again?"

"Have a plan... if we can contact the Guardian Giants near the Nexus," Hao Ren said, looking at a countdown device next to him. The jumping red numbers looked a bit glaring at the moment, "Our probe doesn't have much time left."

The "erasure" state of the probe had a limit. The law-level concealment attribute meant a short duration. The one-hour validity period was coming to an end soon. After that, the probe would become an ordinary covert operation unit—although it could still maintain invisibility, it was no longer the perfect state where it could not be searched from the causal line. In this case, continuing to cross the battlefield was likely to be discovered by the claws of madness.

But Hao Ren still intended to try it—anyway, even if it was really discovered by those corrupted monsters, it would only be a loss of a probe. Although it might arouse the vigilance of the enemy commander, the drone swarm had already been exposed in the X-cluster, and this risk was still worth taking.

Receiving orders from the rear, the probe shut down some reconnaissance modules. It supplied most of its energy to the engine and began to rush towards the battlefield at the fastest speed, preparing to pass through the combat zone and enter the occupied area of the guard force.

After the probe entered the combat zone between the two sides, its speed had to slow down: the spatial structure around the Nexus was chaotic and abnormal, and even sub-light speed travel became very difficult. In order to prevent being caught in spatial turbulence, it could only start its conventional thrusters, and at this moment, the countdown of the "erasure" effect came to an end.

"I just hope that our drones won't be shot down by those Guardian Giants in a muddle," Vivian twitched the corners of her mouth, "People on the battlefield are nervous, and if they see a non-friendly unit suddenly popping up, they'll probably fire a volley."

"It's okay," Hao Ren waved his hand, "I installed an IFF (Identification Friend or Foe) device on that covert ops drone to prevent it from being accidentally injured by the Guardian Giants when it runs to that battlefield."

"IFF?" Vivian glanced strangely, "Where did you get the IFF device of the Nexus guards?"

Hao Ren grinned at Vivian, revealing his eight big white teeth, and gave a thumbs up: "Trust me, with wisdom!"