Rejecting Tsinghua and Peking Universities: I Will Lead Harbin Institute of Technology to World Lead

Lin Feng and his group traveled through different spaces in the shuttle, searching for the Twelfth Expeditionary Force, but to no avail.

The search fleet departed from the solar system, with Lin Feng personally commanding the flagship, accompanied by ten thousand state-of-the-art death warships and one hundred thousand Death Armor units. The fleet was equipped with all of humanity's advanced detection technologies—space fluctuation detectors, time remnant analyzers, quantum trace trackers, and multi-dimensional space scanning arrays. These devices could detect the faintest energy remnants in the universe, track the oldest spatial fluctuations, and analyze the most subtle changes in time.

The search fleet first arrived at the location where the Twelfth Expeditionary Force last sent its report. It was an ordinary starry sky, without galaxies, nebulae, or any special celestial bodies. Only endless darkness and sparse stars, appearing exceptionally desolate on a cosmic scale.

Lin Feng stood in the flagship's command center, his gaze sweeping across the empty starry sky projected on the holographic projection. "Full-range scan, activate all detection equipment. I need data on every inch of this starry sky, information from every corner."

Ten thousand death warships simultaneously activated their detection systems, unleashing invisible energy waves that spread in all directions, covering an area of ​​millions of light-years. One hundred thousand Death Armor units deployed in the starry sky, black steel giants like countless eyes, observing this cosmos from every angle.

The scan lasted three days and three nights. The detection equipment collected massive amounts of data, analyzed every suspicious signal, and tracked every possible clue. But the result was devastating—nothing unusual, no residue, no trace. The expanse of space where the Twelfth Expeditionary Force disappeared was no different from anywhere else in the universe. It was as if the fleet had never existed, as if they had never been there.

Lin Feng did not give up. He ordered the search fleet to expand its search area, extending outward from the location where the Twelfth Expeditionary Force disappeared, scanning every galaxy, every nebula, and every corner in the surrounding area. Perhaps the fleet had tried to escape before disappearing, perhaps they had been dragged elsewhere by some force, or perhaps the traces they left behind were not at the point of disappearance but elsewhere.

The search fleet traversed the universe, from one galaxy to another, from one nebula to another. Space jump engines constantly activated and deactivated, and death ships appeared in every corner of the cosmos. Time passed; a month passed, two months passed, three months passed.

Lin Feng and his team searched for almost several months.

In the fourth month, the search fleet arrived at a galaxy millions of light-years from the vanishing point. There, the stars were still burning, the planets were still orbiting, and there were no signs of war. The detection equipment found nothing unusual, no signals from any human warships, and no fragments of the Reaper armor.

In the fifth month, the search fleet ventured deep into the edge of the universe. The starry sky there was exceptionally desolate, the density of stars was only one percent of that in normal star systems, and the temperature of interstellar space was close to absolute zero. The efficiency of the detection equipment had decreased significantly, but Lin Feng still ordered the fleet to conduct the most thorough scan possible. The result was still nothing.

In the sixth month, the search fleet returned to the location where the Twelfth Expeditionary Force disappeared and conducted a final comprehensive scan. Lin Feng personally operated the detection equipment, leaving no suspicious signal unchecked and no possible clue overlooked. He analyzed the minute fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background radiation, tracked subtle changes in the spatial structure, and even attempted to use the power of the spacetime portal to rewind time.

However, time reversal requires the power of the universe's origin, and each portion of that origin in Lin Feng's possession is extremely precious. He consumed three portions of the universe's origin to rewind time in that starry sky by a full year, attempting to see what happened the moment the Twelfth Expeditionary Force disappeared.

He saw it. In the reversed timeline, the Twelfth Expeditionary Force's fleet emerged from a spatial jump, ten thousand death ships arrayed in space, one hundred thousand Death Grim Reaper armors deployed in front of the fleet. Then, an invisible force descended from the sky, enveloping the entire fleet. There was no light, no explosion, no warning. The fleet vanished in that instant, along with all the ships, armor, and soldiers, along with their energy signals, spatial coordinates, and temporal traces.

Everything was erased.

The twelve expeditionary forces seemed to have been erased from the entire universe; they could not be found at all.

Lin Feng stood by the shuttle's porthole, gazing at the starry sky that had swallowed the Twelfth Expeditionary Force, remaining silent for a long time. The consumption of three portions of cosmic origin had yielded an even more despairing answer—the Twelfth Expeditionary Force was not destroyed by an enemy, nor swallowed by a spatial catastrophe, but rather utterly erased from the universe by a force beyond human comprehension. That force was countless times stronger than a death shockwave, more terrifying than the Heavenly Emperor's weapon, and even more profound than the primal power of the cosmic will.

That power could erase the existence of a fleet, erase their spatial coordinates, erase their traces of time, erase everything they left in the universe. As if they had never been born, never existed, never died.

Lin Feng and his group had no choice but to return to the solar system. After all, they couldn't find the expeditionary force and needed to continue their expansion; they couldn't keep searching.

The day the search fleet returned, the atmosphere in the solar system was exceptionally heavy. Ten thousand death ships lined up in space, and one hundred thousand Death Armor suits were ready for deployment in military bases, but a heavy weight pressed on everyone's hearts. The Twelfth Expeditionary Force's ten thousand warships, one hundred thousand armor suits, and one hundred thousand soldiers had vanished, vanished forever. There were no remains to be buried, no relics to commemorate them, and even the evidence of their existence had been erased.

Lin Feng stood at the porthole of the command center, gazing at the sun a thousand times its size, his eyes flashing with complex emotions. Six months of searching, the depletion of three portions of cosmic origin, had only brought him deeper despair. The being that had devoured the Twelfth Expeditionary Force far exceeded the current comprehension of human civilization. It was not the Divine Tree, not the Blood Demon Civilization, and perhaps not even the will of the universe. It was something far more ancient, far more profound, far more powerful—some unknown mechanism of the universe itself.

Continuing the search will only waste more time and resources, and put more soldiers in danger. Human civilization cannot stop moving forward because of the loss of a fleet, nor can it give up its growth because of an unknown threat. The sacrifice of the Twelfth Expeditionary Force is irreversible, but the future of human civilization must continue.

Lin Feng then issued another order, and the expeditionary force was mobilized once again to plunder various forces.

"Pass down the order." Lin Feng's voice echoed in the command center, deep and firm. "The search operation of the Twelfth Expeditionary Force is officially over. All search fleets, return to base for rest and reorganization. The Expeditionary Force, resume operations. Continue the galactic conquest plan, continue to plunder the star's essence, and continue to obtain the gifts of the universe's essence."

"The warriors of the Twelfth Expeditionary Force will not have sacrificed in vain. Whatever that thing that devoured them was, no matter how powerful it was—human civilization will one day be strong enough to face it, one day find the answer, and one day avenge the warriors of the Twelfth Expeditionary Force."

"But that's for the future. Right now, our task is to continue to grow stronger, to continue to plunder all the power we can. Only when human civilization reaches its limit will we be qualified to face that unknown existence and have the ability to uncover the deepest secrets of this universe."

"Yes!" Everyone answered in unison, their voices filled with grief and indignation, yet also with unwavering resolve.

On the outskirts of the solar system, half a million death ships have re-formed their ranks, their silver hulls gleaming brilliantly in the sunlight. One and a half million Death Grim Reaper armored vehicles stand ready in military bases, these black steel giants standing silently. The soldiers of the expeditionary force, carrying with them the sorrow of the Twelfth Expeditionary Force, the vigilance against unknown threats, and the belief in the future of human civilization, once again embark on their conquest.

The first expeditionary force headed to the super galaxy deep in the universe, the second expeditionary force headed to the barren galaxy at the edge of the universe, the third expeditionary force, the fourth expeditionary force, the fifth expeditionary force... one fleet after another set off from the solar system, using space jumps to reach every corner of the universe.

Every month, good news arrives back to the solar system. Every month, new galaxies are conquered by humankind. Every month, new cosmic origins are bestowed upon us by the will of the universe.

One hundred portions, one hundred and fifty portions, two hundred portions, three hundred portions.

The sun continued to expand, from a thousand times to a thousand five hundred times, and from a thousand five hundred times to two thousand times. Its golden light illuminated the ever-expanding universe, becoming the most dazzling presence in the starry sky.

Lin Feng stood in front of the porthole in the command center, looking at the sun that was two thousand times larger than the sun, at the fleets that were conquering the starry sky, and at the ever-increasing amount of origin energy on the holographic projection.

A cold flame burned in his eyes.

Brothers of the Twelfth Expeditionary Force, rest in peace. Your sacrifice will not be forgotten, your disappearance will not be accepted. One day, human civilization will be powerful enough to uncover the deepest secrets of this universe, powerful enough to confront the being that devoured you.

Before that day arrives, humanity will continue to grow stronger and stronger, and continue to plunder all the power it can.

The origin of the universe, the weapons of the Heavenly Emperor, the gates of time and space, space jumps—all of these will become stepping stones for human civilization to climb to the pinnacle. When humanity stands at the very top of the universe, all secrets will be revealed, all enemies will be destroyed, and all sacrifices will be rewarded.