Alien Hotel.

Chapter 668 Morona's Fault

Once a week, the five council members of the Borderlands gather in the conference hall on the top floor of the Council Tower. Here, they exchange information about their respective areas of responsibility and discuss a variety of other important matters—most of which are related to the development and security of the Borderlands, while the rest concern intelligence from other civilizations or the movements of certain destabilizing factors in the outside world.

The routine communication and reporting did not take long.

“The city has been relatively peaceful these days,” the middle-aged man, whose face always looked tired, said slowly. “Apart from the destruction caused by the invasion of the Hermitage followers a while ago, everything else is fine.”

"Is there something wrong with the simulated starry sky above the suburban ring?" The black-haired girl with her eyes closed turned her head slightly. She always seemed to have a gentle and serene smile on her face, but upon closer inspection, the smile seemed to be just an illusion. "I heard that some stars appeared in the wrong positions, and someone even uploaded it to the internet."

“It’s a deviation in the star projection,” the middle-aged man nodded. “It’s hard to control. After all, the starry sky at the boundary is essentially a projection of the real universe through the space barrier. And the last ‘boundary bridge’ event affected the space barrier around the entire boundary… Some of the projection paths have been permanently changed.”

"How was this matter ultimately resolved?" Baili Qing asked.

“Cognitive guidance allows people to gradually adapt to the changes in those stars,” the middle-aged man said, then nodded slightly to the simple and strange robot next to Baili Qing. “The ‘malfunction’ handled the information circulating online—instead of deleting it directly, it was transformed into something like urban legends. The related hype will probably subside in a few days, and then it will gradually fade from people’s sight.”

“The Boundary Bridge incident is over, but the trouble it caused will last much longer than it actually happened,” the eerie robot known as “Malfunction” said in a slightly off-key voice, a bunch of clocks in its chest ticking and the light bulb that served as its head flickering. “After all, it made such a big hole.”

Baili Qing raised her eyebrows slightly, opened her mouth as if to say something, but before she could speak, she let out a big yawn.

Then the middle-aged man sitting opposite her, who looked exhausted, also yawned uncontrollably.

"Yawning... it's contagious," the middle-aged man said, rubbing his forehead vigorously after yawning. "It's been so many years, haven't you adjusted to your hibernation habits yet?"

Baili Qing said expressionlessly, "It's been hundreds of years. Have you gotten rid of your insomnia?"

The middle-aged man awkwardly touched his nose, while the pale and slender black-haired girl beside him turned her head slightly to face Baili Qing: "Does raising the room temperature really not work?"

Bai Liqing: "...It's not about the temperature."

The old man with white hair and beard coughed softly twice.

“Red, Kant, we’ll talk about this private matter later—Colorless Dragon, any new information about that Sacred Order?”

“Yes, Chairman, and this is a big deal,” Baili Qing’s tone immediately became serious. “The ‘hotel’ recently took down a black spot warlord who had secret communications with the Cult of Saints. If the intelligence is accurate, there may be an ‘artificial boundary bridge’ in the Dark Current Starfield that could go out of control at any moment, and there is also a Dark Angel that could awaken at any time…”

The conference hall was silent, and for a while afterward, only Baili Qing's voice echoed in the huge hall.

After a while, two soft crackling sounds finally broke the somewhat heavy silence—the light bulb on the "malfunctioning" head flickered a few times, and the filament inside burned out.

It calmly unscrewed the burnt-out light bulb off its neck, then pulled a new one out from under the table and screwed it on with a creaking sound.

The new light bulb emitted a soft, steady light from its neck.

“Next time you say something scary, give me a heads-up,” it complained. “I’ll turn off the power first.”

“We have a main fleet currently anchored at the starport of Mera IX,” the black-haired girl known as “Red” said after a moment’s thought. “We can move to the Dark Currents region at any time—as long as we can determine the coordinates of that ‘Holy Land’ planet.”

“Luo and Yu Sheng are already working on a plan—locating the exact location of the ‘Holy Realm’ might be difficult, but finding the other sovereign planets of the Hermitage shouldn’t be a problem. As long as we can take over a springboard, we can find the location of the Holy Realm through their local broadcasts,” Baili Qing said slowly. “But the problem now isn’t how to attack, but to ensure that the threat of the ‘Gate of Eden’ is eliminated at the same time as the attack. Currently, the only feasible way seems to be to send an elite team to infiltrate the ‘Holy Realm’ before the attack begins…”

"To paralyze strategic facilities on the enemy's capital planet with a small squad? That's no ordinary 'elite force'," Kant, looking weary, raised an eyebrow. "I think I know who you're referring to... 'The Inn' and their team?"

“Who else could it be?” Baili Qing spread her hands. “The ‘Star Evolution Body’ incident at least proved that it is possible for such an incredible and difficult task to be accomplished by a novice.” The directors present were silent for a moment, only exchanging glances.

But saying they looked at each other isn't entirely accurate—because the "malfunctioning" head is just a light bulb, and "Red" doesn't even open its eyes... Anyway, just get the gist of it.

“Yu Sheng…” Hong frowned slightly, turning to face Kant, “Still don’t understand how he ‘came’?”

“She couldn’t find anything about the colorless dragon, so what could I possibly find?” Kant shook his head, and after being stared at for a few more seconds, he finally sighed. “Alright, alright, I did go down into the ‘lower’ area to investigate, but even in the shadows left by the previous era, I couldn’t find any ‘echoes’ related to the person ‘Yu Sheng’. He really just seemed to have appeared out of thin air.”

"Appeared out of nowhere, yet 'imprinted' in the original archives of the border region..." Red crossed her arms, her slender, pale fingers unconsciously tapping her forearm. "Not a physical entity, not an echo, not an angel, in every way she looks like a human, her self-perception is also human, but the least likely option is also human..."

“At least he’s on our side,” Kant said. “Based on the intelligence we have so far, as long as we don’t take any provocative or hostile actions, he and his ‘team’ are reliable friends.”

“Even so, we can’t put all the blame for success on one person,” the chairman’s voice came from the side, interrupting Kant and Red’s conversation. “Next, let’s discuss our alternative plans—and alternative plans to alternative plans—in case the inn’s operation in the Holy Land fails.”

Baili Qing nodded gently: "Okay."

……

At the same time, deep within the Dark Currents region, in a place far removed from all major celestial bodies and prosperous shipping routes.

Space is desolate, cold, and barren; the nearest star is hundreds of light-years away.

But this place is not empty—countless fragments of celestial bodies, large and small, float in the dark and cold space. They may have once been a complete planet, but for some reason, they broke free from the constraints of their star and ventured alone into this deep space. Some powerful force tore apart this planet that was lost in the darkness and ripped its remains into a belt of debris that floats in space for hundreds of thousands of kilometers.

Amidst the debris field, the once scorching Earth's core has cooled into an ugly, roughly irregular, potato-shaped black sphere. The fractured continental plates and mantle layer collide and merge indiscriminately, forming a series of discontinuous space mountains. Near this desolate space debris lies a vast, immeasurable rift valley that faintly glows.

It is a rift valley floating in space, its true form indistinguishable to the naked eye. Only sensitive gravitational wave radar or subspace probes can detect its full appearance. As for those glittering parts, they are actually just luminous phenomena caused by the residual gas after a planet is torn apart and swallowed by the rift valley. The true complete size of the entire rift valley may even be measured in light-years. It stands abruptly across the dark space, pressing a "fold" into the real space that is invisible to the naked eye. The terrifying and invisible gravitational tides on both sides of the rift valley vibrate incessantly, with an intensity strong enough to tear apart a planet that has wandered here.

This is the Morona Fault—one of the most famous gravitational faults in the Dark Currents region.

The universe is vast and deep space is full of dangers, some of which come from gravitational faults. However, this phenomenon is rarely seen elsewhere, but in the Dark Current Starfield, a land of outstanding people and abundant resources, the locals have even become accustomed to its existence.

In the areas with the densest fault lines, these gravitational "razors" of varying sizes can even form a "barrier matrix" spanning tens of light-years, enveloping several planetary systems.

It is said that some pirate groups that possess "witchcraft" would place their lairs inside such "barriers," relying on the surrounding fault lines to block their opponents. Their so-called "witchcraft" is actually the Algrid elves' "astrologer" talent—the Algrids' keen psionic senses allow them to avoid dangerous rifts and find safe routes through the fault lines.

It is said that the best Algerians can even find the exact coordinates of their home planet from several star systems away without relying on a navigation system.

Listening to the stars and seeking answers from them is a talent ingrained in the bones of the people of Algeria.

Unfortunately, Luo's bones were removed—so she can't hear.

She can only rely on equipment for assistance now.

A low-profile, gray-black shuttle leaped out of the warped space, activated its stealth system under the cover of the gravitational fault, and then, hiding among several massive celestial fragments, released two deep-space probes.

Luo sat in the cockpit of the shuttle, his gaze fixed solemnly on the dark depths of space outside.

(End of this chapter)