Collapse Iron: Cosplaying the Near-Death Star, but with a full destiny.

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The expected gale did not rush in the instant the hatch opened.

The first to leap out was the star.

The moment her body broke free from the constraints of gravity, it was enveloped by a thick, cold air filled with the smell of rust.

That smelled like the atmosphere of planet 4546b. It wasn't fresh; instead, it had a musty, decaying quality, like opening an ancient tomb that had been sealed for thousands of years.

Next came Xing, March 7th, Xilian, and Sunday. The five figures, like five tiny shooting stars, plummeted into the unfathomable azure.

Falling.

Plunging rapidly.

But this feeling of falling was quickly replaced by another, more bizarre sensation.

The surrounding scenery began to crumble.

The sky, which should have been a clear, deep blue, now resembled an old, faulty display screen, with color blocks jumping wildly.

The white clouds were stretched into thin, elongated pixelated strips, the sunlight was cut into countless irregular polygons, and even the sea below presented a dizzying, constantly flickering mosaic-like appearance.

"What...what's going on?!"

March 7th shouted over the communications channel. Her voice sounded somewhat distorted, with noticeable static.

"My camera! My viewfinder is full of gibberish! This place is like... like a game bug!"

Hoshi narrowed his eyes. Within his golden pupils, the clock of the end spun wildly, attempting to decipher the surrounding data stream.

This is not a visual disturbance at the physical level.

This is... a conceptual "necrosis".

The garbled text was colorful and piled up illogically.

Some resemble strings of broken code, some resemble torn pictures, and others are merely clumps of writhing, meaningless noise.

They fill the entire field of vision, making it impossible to distinguish up from down, left from right, or even whether one is falling or floating.

A strong feeling of nausea welled up inside me.

The feeling was like having your cerebral cortex scratched hard by a rough hand.

"This is a barrier."

The sound of Sunday came through.

Even amidst this chaos, the former head of the family maintained his elegant tone, though it carried a hint of gravity.

"A firewall built of 'chaos.' It's rejecting us. It's trying to discourage us, or... drive us insane, by modifying our sensory data."

He raised his hand, attempting to use the power of "order" to smooth out the garbled text.

Golden commands danced at his fingertips, like a dutiful conductor trying to bring this chaotic melody back on track.

But the results are minimal.

Those garbled characters were like stubborn viruses; as soon as one piece was smoothed out, another immediately popped up, even becoming more distorted and violent.

Just then.

Deep within those flying noises and color blocks.

A huge, golden, and incredibly familiar logo slowly emerged.

The logo is composed of countless diamond-shaped blocks, solemn and weighty, with an indestructible texture.

It lies between heaven and earth like a rusty iron gate. Although it is broken and mottled with garbled code, the oppressive aura of "god" is still clearly discernible.

That is......

A wall.

A wall that is collapsing.

"This is......"

Xing gripped the Flame Spear tightly. The flame at the tip of the spear flickered erratically amidst the jumbled code.

She recognized the logo.

There is no one in the entire universe who doesn't recognize this logo.

It could even be said that the Star Train's ability to travel throughout the universe is largely due to its dealings with these guys.

"Interstellar Peace Corporation?"

Xing's tone was filled with disbelief.

"A sign of preservation? Cripper's Wall?"

"The company...has gotten involved here too?"

Hoshino's heart skipped a beat.

Interstellar Peace Corporation.

The largest commercial entity in the entire universe, and a fervent follower of the Amber King.

Their footprints are all over the galaxy. For the sake of the concept of "preservation", they can buy planets, wage wars, and build high walls.

But why here?

Why in this ghostly place that was swallowed up by the "Disaster" and where even the Yaoqing Immortal Ship has been fighting for so long?

And judging from this situation...

This enormous security marker, this scrambled barrier that envelops the entire planet.

It is clearly some kind of... blockade facility.

Or perhaps... a quarantine zone?

"It seems our General Jingyuan has been hiding quite a bit of information."

Hoshi sneered.

"Or rather, even he didn't know that there were already 'previously visited' people in this place."

She extended her right hand.

On the regenerated arm, golden end runes suddenly lit up.

Since it's a wall.

Then smash it.

"Who cares what kind of company it is or what kind of god it is."

"A good dog doesn't block the way!"

He let out a low shout.

He accelerated like a cannonball, hurtling straight toward the huge golden logo.

As she drew closer, the gibberish became even more frantic.

They were like countless flies, buzzing and swarming towards the five people, trying to crawl into their ears, their eyes, and their brains.

"Sizzle... sizzle sizzle..."

The static on the communication channel in my ear suddenly increased.

It's like fingernails scraping across a blackboard.

It also sounds like the screeching sound of an old radio tuning in.

Just as everyone was about to crash into that barrier.

The noise disappeared.

Instead, a man's voice came through.

The sound was very clear.

It's almost too clear.

It didn't travel through any communication devices; instead, it resonated directly deep within everyone's minds.

It was the voice of a middle-aged man.

He sounded tired and weak, yet possessed an extreme calmness.

That calmness was like the final words left by someone who knew they were going to die.

[Buzz... Recording initiated.]

[ID: IPC-7749]

[Position: P45-level Strategic Investment Specialist at Interstellar Peace Corporation... ahem...]

A violent cough interrupted the narration.

Accompanied by the sound of liquid dripping.

It's probably blood.

Our spaceship...crashed.

On a planet covered in water.

The man's voice continued.

There was no emotional fluctuation; it was as if he were reciting a dry report.

[Damn data... this isn't even on the aeronautical chart.]

The Amber King's protection... has failed.

The walls built by the city builder... have crumbled.

Something seems off about this planet.

The sound suddenly paused for a moment.

then.

The tone of voice changed.

It started to tremble slightly.

There's something in the water.

No...not in the water.

Yes...it's everywhere.

It was as if something... was staring at me.

It's reading my journal.

It's watching me breathe.

It's watching me...bleed.

Hoshi felt the hairs on the back of his head stand on end.

That sound...

It felt like the man was lying on her back, whispering in her ear.

[Sizzle...]

The static crackled again.

The man's voice suddenly became high-pitched.

It carried a kind of hysterical madness.

If you hear this recording...

If you're also here looking for that thing...

Run!

Don't look back.

Don't look.

Don't listen.

【because......】

The last sentence.

The voice suddenly became extremely low.

It was as low as a sigh.

It sounded like a...

welcome.

【Now.】

I saw you too.

boom------!!!

With the end of that sentence.

The garbled world before everyone's eyes shattered with a crash.

That enormous preservation symbol, that shimmering golden cube, was like a shattered mirror, turning into countless points of light and dissipating into the void.

barrier.

Breakthrough.

The nauseating dizziness vanished instantly.

A fresh, salty sea breeze wafted over me.

My vision became clear again.

But this clarity did not bring any sense of security.

Instead, it brought about...

An even greater shock.

They passed through the atmosphere.

We passed through the firewall that the company had built, but which was already ineffective.

just now.

They were suspended 10,000 meters in the air.

feet.

It is a vast, deep blue ocean.

There is no land.

There are no islands.

Only the rolling waves stretch to the horizon, merging seamlessly with the skyline.

But that's not the point.

The key point is...

On that distant sea horizon.

In the heart of that turbulent deep sea.

One was lying there...

giant.

That was a spaceship.

A super spaceship so enormous that even the flagship "Sky Strike" of the Azure Sky would appear tiny.

Its hull is in the distinctive silver-white color of the Interstellar Peace Corporation, and its streamlined design is full of industrial aesthetics.

But on its side, the huge, golden "IPC" logo had been torn in two.

A black column of smoke rose from the ship's hull, shooting straight into the sky.

Countless fragments were scattered on the surrounding sea surface, like floating garbage islands.

The massive ship has broken into several pieces.

The bow of the ship was deeply submerged in the seawater, with only half of the upturned deck visible.

The stern resembles a tilted steel mountain, standing alone on the sea.

The fire was still burning.

Even on this water-filled planet, the flames fueled by special fuel stubbornly licked at the wreckage, crackling and popping.

It is named "Starship".

Gravity recaptured the body of the free-falling object.

As the planet felt the whistling wind in its ears, the sound gradually changed from a sharp shriek to a deep, resonant one, as if the deep blue planet was issuing a warning to the intruder in its own unique way.

Beneath my feet, the boundless ocean was expanding and enlarging in my field of vision at a visible speed. The once calm, sapphire-blue sea surface now revealed its ferocious side.

The waves surged and rippled, the white spray like the fangs of a giant beast, tearing wounds into the deep blue curtain.

At the horizon where the sea meets the sky, the wreckage of the giant ship named "Starship" was engulfed in flames, its black smoke pillars like towering tombstones, turning half the sky an ominous gray-black.

"Prepare for the attack!"

Sunday's voice rang out on the communication channel, maintaining its elegant composure. Golden lawful light flowed around him, instantly constructing a semi-transparent force field that enveloped the five people.

Puff-!

A huge splash of water erupted.

The icy seawater instantly swallowed up the view.

The moment he entered the water, Hoshino felt his bones being squeezed and making a cracking sound.

The seawater on planet 4546B seemed to be more viscous than ordinary water, with a heavy texture that quickly robbed the surface of its heat.

Bubbles surge and light refracts.

Hoshi opened her eyes.

Golden pupils contracted slightly against the deep blue medium, adapting to the sudden change in light and shadow.

The underwater world is eerily quiet.

The roar and the crackling sounds of burning in the air were all blocked out by the thick layer of water.

Instead, there was a subtle sound that was ethereal, distant, yet strangely vibrant.

That is......

The sound of life.

With the help of the buoyancy field exerted by Sunday, the star paddled its arms and quickly rose towards the sea surface.

"Splash—"

Five heads emerged from the water almost simultaneously.

The salty, damp sea breeze filled my nostrils, carrying an unknown fishy smell.

"Cough cough... Ptooey!"

On March 7th, he spat out a mouthful of seawater, his little face scrunched up in a grimace.

"This water...why is it bitter? And it also has a...rusty taste?"

She wiped the water droplets from her face, but before she could complain any more, her gaze was taken over by the enormous shadow in front of her.

Several kilometers away from them, the wreckage of the Starship lay like a collapsed steel mountain on the sea.

The groaning of twisted metal could be heard from afar, and the occasional secondary explosions on the sides of the ship created bursts of fire, causing ripples to spread across the surrounding seawater.

The massive thruster was still spewing out streams of blue particles, clearly indicating that the reactor had not completely shut down and was on the verge of melting at any moment.

"Interstellar Peace Corporation..."

Himeko's voice sounded particularly solemn during the communication.

"The P45-class strategic ship is 2,400 meters long and is equipped with a firepower system capable of annihilating a small fleet."

"It just... fell to the ground and became scrap metal."

Hoshino stepped on the water, keeping herself afloat. She squinted, examining the giant ship.

There were no signs of damage from external heavy firepower.

The broken section of the ship's hull presented a bizarre twisted shape, as if it had been forcibly twisted in half by some unseen giant hand.

"Stop looking."

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