Chapter 135 The Vaccine

Looking at the cornerstone Motherstone that had become the "vaccine," Hao Ren couldn't help but sigh, "That process sounds really reasonable as hell... The way the immune system works is pretty much like that."

"Sometimes the universe operates like a living thing. Many principles in this world are interconnected," the data terminal said leisurely from the side. "Health bars get longer the more you hit them, and faces get thicker the more you beat them. It's all the same idea..."

"Your analogy is problematic..." Hao Ren glanced at the data terminal. "And what's with the health bars getting longer? Is that a bug?!"

"This unit just wanted to force a rhyme... but it didn't quite work."

Hao Ren twitched his lips and refocused on the vaccine. After being inspected, the black obelisk had been packed into a large storage container by engineering machinery. The container would then be transported via space teleportation to the World Tree Shrine to be properly protected and further studied. He asked Leah about the next steps for the vaccine: "Speaking of which, how do you plan to use this thing?"

"The specific application method will depend on a more detailed analysis report later," Leah thought for a moment. "But after looking at the preliminary data, I do have an idea. That Motherstone has the characteristic of information replication. Perhaps we can use it as an 'information source' and broadcast it on a large scale in the Lord of Madness's area of activity. The vaccine will weaken the Lord of Madness's infectivity and suppress its spread, and these two points are its greatest dangers. If used properly, we can effectively control the size of the battlefield during the final battle."

Hao Ren breathed a sigh of relief. "If it succeeds, that would be great... Being able to control the battlefield size and the spread of contamination will reduce countless losses... After all, many planets in the Dream Realm have begun ecological recovery, and it's not easy for those planets to recover."

"The Heart of God also needs to be moved," Vivian said, looking in the direction of the Heart of God. The floating fragments around the Heart of God had been salvaged, and the engineering machinery was busily installing countless thrusters and warp generators on the Heart of God, giving it the ability to move on its own. "But taking something so big from the heart of Lahrraine... Won't it have an impact on this planet?"

"There's almost no impact," Hao Ren shook his head. "Lahrraine's situation is very special. Its core has long been disconnected from the rest of the planet, and the planet's geothermal system has been cooling for many years. There is very little dramatic geological activity on the surface. The only crustal changes are affected by divine power rather than the core. Of course, our engineering operations here will indeed cause some changes to the deep environment of the World Rift, but the Lahrraine people have never been exposed to this level before, so whether the environment here has changed or not will not have much impact on their development. At most, we can create a database of the original environmental parameters here and give it to the several kingdoms on the surface, and when they develop to the point where they can analyze this data in the future, they can treat it as a historical record."

After that, there were a few days of calm.

The Heart of God was successfully transferred to the Dream Realm, and further research and modification projects were officially launched. The analysis of the "vaccine" was also progressing smoothly. With full access to the Heart of God system, the progress of these tasks was even better than expected.

But these things were somewhat distant for those who remained on Lahrraine.

The sudden war had caused unimaginable catastrophic damage. The power of "Annihilation" was something that ordinary people who knew nothing about the transition of eras could not imagine—no natural or man-made disaster in the world could compare.

Although the war ended in victory in a short time with the help of "foreign allies," the Dragon Empire, as the source of the Annihilation outbreak, was still severely damaged. The central region of the empire was almost a corrupt wasteland, and most towns were deserted. The closer one got to the ruins of the imperial capital, the more thorough the destruction. If viewed from the air, the central part of the empire looked like a blooming black flower of corruption. The festering earth radiated outwards from the imperial capital, and where the black scorch marks reached, the light of civilization had been reduced to almost nothing.

The northern and southern regions were in better condition: in the south, Earl Neaum used Gray Mountain City as a base to launch an uprising at the first opportunity, quickly driving out the Black Knights from the surrounding small and medium-sized towns, and constructing a large number of honeycomb-like, layered isolation zones in the wilderness. This well-prepared action saved a large number of people in the south. Although the monster army tore open many gaps in the defense line constructed by Earl Neaum, at least several important towns were spared; and the situation in the north was even better. The Northern Army took the initiative to attack. Although they were once frustrated and retreated within the six provinces, their advance never stopped after the Guardian Legion joined. From beginning to end, the power of corruption failed to penetrate the interior of the Northern Six Provinces, only leaving some scars on the border.

However, the northern part of the empire was cold, barren, and poor, and it was not a prosperous place. Therefore, even if it was well-preserved, the "value" of the Northern Six Provinces was still not much different from that of the half-destroyed south.

In addition to these places, the eastern and western parts of the empire were also corroded by the power of Annihilation. The situation in these two directions was not optimistic, but compared to the almost completely destroyed central region... at least there was still hope.

Night fell, and Constance finally finished her day's work. She freed herself from the heavy and complicated official duties, opened the door, and came to the open-air balcony. Looking at the clear night sky, she took a deep breath and slowly exhaled.

There was still a faint smell of焦臭 in the air, the scent emanating from the unhealed earth.

This was not a magnificent palace, nor a castle in Frostwind City, not even a temporary palace. It was just a dilapidated noble mansion on the edge of Eagle City. The original owner had fled, and it was unknown where he had died, and the remaining residence was used as Constance's foothold after some reluctant repairs.

This was already better than most places in the city—at least its walls had not all collapsed.

Constance looked in the direction of the imperial capital. Of course, she could not see anything, but she could still clearly remember the scene when the city turned into complete dust: in order to remove the last trace of corruption left after Berrentin's death and to prevent some special monsters that had not completely died from becoming hidden dangers, Leah ordered the city to return to dust. Now the imperial capital had become a black plain, and except for a few rescued precious文物 and souvenirs, nothing remained.

Therefore, Eagle City became the emergency "capital" in this time of crisis.

Fortunately, the magic net relay tower in the center of the city could still be used, otherwise Constance would really have to face the embarrassing situation of finally winning against the monsters but losing contact with the army and being trapped in the center of the ruins.

A flash of light suddenly lit up behind her, and Constance turned her head to see several "foreign friends" standing behind her.

"How does it feel to be queen?"

Hao Ren looked at the "Princess", and couldn't help asking with a smile.

"Physically and mentally exhausted," Constance put down her usual reserve and norms in front of these special friends, and said sincerely, "To be honest, I never thought that I would have to do these things after becoming queen... I didn't even think that this battle could be finished so quickly, and that we would win."

"Originally, you went to the battlefield with the intention of perishing together, but suddenly you returned in triumph. It's normal for you to be confused," Lily said, waving her hand. "The first time I entered Peking University, I had the same mentality—that was the first time in my life that I looked at the cafeteria and didn't know what to do..."

Constance: "...?"

"Ignore her, she's talking about something from another world," Vivian pushed Lily aside. "As for you... you're definitely not the kind of person who can give up, so keep going."

Constance smiled: "Thanks for the encouragement, it's actually okay—at least there are a dozen clones who can help me share some things. When Duke Owen recovers, I can hand the affairs of the Northern Territory back to him, and I'll be much more relaxed."

Hao Ren nodded: "Did Charlemagne and Aivanna return to Isu?"

"They left yesterday, taking the White City Federation army with them," Constance said, and then made a joke, "After all, with the current situation of the Dragon Empire... we can't afford to support them."

"I heard that Charlemagne lost an arm," Hao Ren touched his chin. "I originally wanted to help him take a look, but I heard that you helped him heal it?"

"Biochemical technology and bionic machinery are the strengths of the Dragon Empire, and Charlemagne specifically asked us to customize a mechanical arm with a distinct shape for him, rejecting the suggestion of self-cloning," the corners of Constance's mouth slightly raised. "That arm and this war will become his capital. If there are no accidents, the future King of Isu will be him."

Leah looked into Constance's eyes, revealing an admiring gaze: "It seems that you have all handled your affairs well, and there is no need for us to continue to intervene."

"You have done enough for us," Constance bowed deeply. "Let us walk the road ahead ourselves."

"Keep going, and walk well," Leah stretched out her hand, touched Constance's hair, and smiled gently on her face. "When you walk out of this planet, I will give you a big gift..."

Constance raised her head, but there was no one in front of her.

"A gift..." Constance looked into the distance. In the dilapidated city shrouded in the night, a few scattered lights were lit. The survivors gathered together, just like the pioneers advancing into the wilderness in the era of exploration, huddled together to dispel the darkness with that meager light, preparing to survive the long night ahead.

"Surviving is already a great gift."

Passing through the teleportation gate of the World Tree Shrine, the fresh and vibrant air inside the shrine made everyone couldn't help but take a deep breath.

"Speaking of which, is this okay?" Vivian asked. "Their days ahead will be very difficult. Although the power of madness in many places has been purified, the damaged land still needs many years to heal itself. The reconstruction of the Dragon Empire will be even more difficult than the pioneering days."

"This is fine," Leah said quietly. "I believe they can walk well, and we... still have things to do."