Alien Hotel.

Chapter 713 The Beginning of Black Star Research
Despite a slight unexpected setback, Yu Sheng managed to contact Black Star's exploration expert and veteran victim. After communicating with Qianfeng Lingshan and spending five minutes watching the spectacle, he directly brought the old handsome guy over from Taixu Lingshu.

Then he immediately contacted his own Boundary Bridge research expert and veteran victim—when he arrived, Luo was petting his cat (Momo). Upon hearing that the Boundary Bridge on the Presbyterian side had exploded, and that a black star had sprung up afterward, this golden-haired elf's research spirit ignited on the spot. He practically jumped off his chair, grabbed his cat, and followed Yu Sheng to the Mass Effect.

Now the two of them (plus a lab assistant) are standing on the bridge of the Mass Effect, staring in disbelief at the black star floating in space through the huge observation window.

After a few minutes of silence, it was Master Yuanhao who broke it first.

"What's the underlying principle behind this...?"

“I knew this line had to be there,” Eileen grumbled from the side, “You could at least have used a different word.”

"Leaving aside the principles for now," Luo Ze suddenly turned around, his star-like eyes fixed on Yu Sheng, "Boss, how did you do that?! Shouldn't this place originally be a planet?!"

Yu Sheng was delighted to hear this and pulled the golden-haired elf toward the holographic projection on the main control panel of the bridge: "Please watch the VCR."

That document shows the entire collapse of the Sacred Realm planet, recorded from a first-person perspective by the Mass Effect spacecraft—includes some thrilling footage taken by the planetary ground forces during their evacuation, showing transport ships traversing the wreckage of the disintegrating planet.

Luo's expression throughout was like this:
O～O?

Momo, on the other hand, had already crawled under the table the moment she saw the planet collapse.

Only the old man looked the calmest on the scene—but Yu Sheng suspected it wasn't because the handsome old man was knowledgeable and had a strong mentality, but because he had been chased by his confidante for two days and two nights and hadn't recovered yet.

However, it is clear that Master Yuanhao is still thinking about serious matters.

"Miss Hu Li believes that this so-called Black Star is not a real star, but a strange phenomenon that appears when certain conditions are met. Is that what you mean?" He turned around and looked at Hu Li curiously.

Hu Li Hu Hu nodded: "That's what I think. And based on the current observation results, the parameters of this thing really don't seem to be a physical planet. There are problems with the gravity and spectral data."

“When I fell into the Black Star, the celestial ship malfunctioned, and the data I recorded was not very useful,” Yuan Hao Zhenren stroked his chin, pondering seriously. “However, Hu Li’s words did give me some insight. When I crossed that black barrier, the various scenes I encountered could not be explained by common sense. But if they were all hallucinations and time-space distortions caused by strange phenomena, then they would all make sense… It’s just that the place I finally arrived at, where I saw that ‘messenger’ who called himself Kongdaman… still cannot be explained.”

"How is this thing doing now?" Luo was now in the zone, turning to look at Baili Qing standing to the side—she actually wanted to call him "Faceless" right away, but then she saw the fully armed border guards at the entrance and didn't dare.

“The black star is still stable at present. Its energy growth has stopped and its size is no longer changing,” Baili Qing nodded. “In addition, our antenna system can occasionally capture some signals from the black star, but they seem to be completely meaningless. We cannot analyze their contents. The strength, waveform and even the timing of each signal are completely unpredictable.”

Luo frowned deeply, pondered for a moment, and then said, "I need data about that 'Gate of Eden,' as well as the energy readings released by the Gate of Eden before the Black Star appeared. Do you have them?"

“Our antenna system has recorded a lot of usable data,” Red said from the side, “but we can’t get any close-range parameters of the Eden’s Gate or its internal operation. That thing has already been destroyed, and we didn’t have a chance to go down and collect data when the battle was intense.”

Luo then turned her head and looked at Yu Sheng.

Yu Sheng thought for a moment, then pointed to himself, then to Elin Luna and Hu Li: "Why don't you take a look at our educational backgrounds?"

"Didn't you bring anything back?" Luo asked, a little suspicious.

“…That’s certainly a problem,” Yu Sheng scratched his head. “But it doesn’t seem to be related to the Gate of Eden… No, it’s not my fault. You saw it yourself. In that situation, I was at the Earth’s core, and there was a dark angel in front of me who wanted to take me down with him. The entire planet was collapsing above my head, and the out-of-control Gate of Eden was eating anything it could get its hands on. I didn’t have any recording equipment with me at the time, so where was I supposed to collect data? —How about I bring you with me next time I encounter a situation like this?”

Luo immediately recalled the VCR he had just seen, and his ears instantly pressed back (Yu Sheng saw the elf airplane ears again): "Then forget it, I'm not as lucky as you."

“Yu Sheng’s fate isn’t tough,” Eileen muttered beside her, “but rather that he’s very adaptable.”

"Have any detectors been sent inside yet?" Luo pretended not to hear the little thing's mutterings and turned to ask.

“Two unmanned probes disappeared at the observable edge of Black Star,” Red nodded slowly. “Communication was lost the moment they crossed the boundary, and not a single useful piece of information was transmitted back. Considering that this thing was ‘transformed’ from the Gate of Eden, we did not send a second batch of probes to prevent any accidents.”

“I think we need to build a long-term observation post here—if this black star can remain stable,” Luo said immediately. “We’ve never been able to observe this thing stably before, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. In addition, we need some more effective detection methods—the unmanned detectors you’re using in the border area are too outdated. I know those old models, I’ll get you a batch of good ones later, just at cost price…”

Baili Qing silently watched the golden-haired elf.

Luo immediately lost his temper: "Can't you be reasonable? You have to pay the cost price! I just reopened those factories, and raw materials cost money too—this boss doesn't even pay wages, and I still have to share profits with him from my trading lines..."

Bai Liqing: "..." Yu Sheng: "..."

“As you wish,” Red finally spoke, “we can station a mobile star fortress here as an observation station. It may not be as large as your somewhat ridiculously large Black Rock space station, but it will be sturdy with thick shields and be able to handle general cosmic disasters. However, there is a prerequisite: all observation data and research results must be shared with us. The mobile star fortress itself will only be rented to you free of charge, and we will take it back after the project ends.”

Luo immediately turned to look at Yu Sheng, and only after seeing Yu Sheng nod did she nod as well.

As a result, Baili Qing also glanced at Yu Sheng.

"Let's not get angry about this, shall we?" she said softly.

Yu Sheng: "..."

He desperately wanted to righteously point out that this was a stereotype and refute it with a question like, "What do you take me for?", but because what the other person said was so true, he couldn't bring himself to speak.

After all, he is an upright and honest person.

Luo Wei sighed almost imperceptibly.

“I will also return to Thousand Peaks Spirit Mountain to bring some disciples with me,” Master Yuanhao added, “as well as some magical artifacts for reconnaissance that I designed after encountering the Black Star.”

As he spoke, he turned his head and his gaze fell quietly on the dark "celestial body" in space.

"...I let you get away last time, but this time I'm determined to find out who you are."

Upon hearing what Master Yuanhao said, Yu Sheng's focus clearly shifted to another area: "You still have disciples?!"

Yu Sheng was genuinely surprised. After all, this old man's personal deeds and behavior patterns didn't seem like the kind of person who could attend classes normally in the sect. He would go clubbing on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, meet his soulmates on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays, and be tied up in a cave as a bandit's partner on Sundays—his disciples studied on their own seven days a week.

Then he saw the old handsome guy take out a fan and wave it in front of him, looking inscrutable: "I can poach people from Junior Brother Yuanling."

Yu Sheng: "..."

Anyway, this matter is settled.

The pitch-black "cosmic void" still floats quietly in the location of the former Gate of Eden. Although its mass seems to be zero, it is still orbiting the local star along its path, just like the previous Holy Land. It seems that it will exist stably for a long time, and Luo and Yuanhao Zhenren's research work will therefore become a long-term project.

For others on this "battlefield," much of the work is just beginning.

After all, although the battle was fierce, Yu Sheng and his group had only dealt with the Hermitage's home planet—they had chopped off its head with a single strike, and they still had to figure out how to deal with the monster's still struggling, convulsing, and blood-sucking corpse.

Within this cult territory, surrounded by gravitational fault lines, there are 11 habitable planets, as well as an uncertain number of resource and industrial planets that are certain to exist.

Because in the middle of the battle, the unified fleet and the rebellious Holy Knights successfully cut off all communication between the Holy Realm planet and the outside world, other planets in this star sector should not yet know that their home planet has fallen. There may even be support fleets coming from all directions to rescue their "church brethren".

Of course, if these support fleets do arrive, they should be in for a huge surprise—

Where is my hometown? My big hometown? What is this black ball?.JPG

"Our engineers are working hard to export the star map data recorded in that stargate," Baili Qing said to Sheng in the corridor after leaving the bridge. "Fortunately, our battle at the stargate went relatively smoothly. Those cultists haven't had time to destroy the star map server yet, and soon we'll be able to figure out the locations of the other Secret Order colonies in this sector. The enemy's strongest forces have already collapsed on their home planet, and the defenses of the other colonies are not a threat."

Yu Sheng nodded slightly, then glanced at Luna and the artificial angel walking silently beside him.

“The key is to find a planet called Ranch Star,” he said, “and then… liberate it as soon as possible.”

"Don't worry, I understand."

(End of this chapter)