On the Eight Extremes Star, I awakened the twelve talismans.

"Take back what belongs to me."

Red Eyes didn't explain much, and led the two back to the spaceship, continuing their journey through the sea of ​​stars.

The flame trailed a thin, pale golden streak in the void before being swallowed up by the boundless darkness.

...

On Zenith.

Inside that bright and clean little house, the conversation between the old man and the young man continued.

The tea on the table was changed twice, and Old Ding's words gradually subsided along with the temperature of the tea, shifting from initial excitement and scattered memories to a more down-to-earth narrative rhythm.

Old Ding was a maintenance worker in the fleet back then, specializing in the maintenance and repair of the power plant.

He's been in this line of work for half his life, and there's no engine he can't fix, from nuclear-powered aircraft carriers on Earth to warp engines for interstellar fleets.

Before boarding the ship, Merlin's recruitment team conducted extremely rigorous physical examinations and psychological assessments on every crew member. Lao Ding's physical indicators were all excellent, and his mental qualities were also outstanding. If he failed any of them, it would have been impossible for him to board the flagship that was heading to the unknown star system.

He remembers feeling quite proud of himself at the time; a man in his forties, yet his medical report looked better than that of a man in his twenties.

After leaving Earth, I traveled for several years and remained in good health.

The Infinite Star led the fleet across the Milky Way, successfully navigating the devil's footprints riddled with black holes.

The crew members on board suffered minor illnesses, had conflicts, and experienced several close calls during the long voyage, but overall everything was under control.

Old Ding is busy in the engine room every day.

But the illness appeared so suddenly, without any warning.

When the fleet stopped at Zenith to purchase supplies, Lao Ding developed a high fever and his limbs were so heavy that he couldn't lift them. In the following days, his condition deteriorated rapidly, and he fell into a state of high fever and intermittent coma.

The medical personnel accompanying the fleet conducted several examinations but were unable to find the appropriate medication.

That disease is extremely rare, and the pharmacy doesn't cover it at all.

Captain Merlin made the decision.

After spending a large sum of money to keep Lao Ding on Zentrum for treatment and signing a detailed medical and guardianship agreement with the local authorities to confirm that Zentrum's medical capabilities were sufficient to handle the illness, Merlin led the fleet onward.

As he was leaving, Merlin patted him on the shoulder and said, "Take good care of yourself. We'll take you back together when we return from Rainbow Sea."

On the day the spaceship left, Old Ding lay in his hospital bed, watching through the window as the Infinite Star disappeared into the sky, trailing a long blue tail flame.

He firmly believed that Merlin would return; that man had never broken his promise.

But as time went on, people grew old.

One year, two years, five years, more than ten years.

His hair went from gray to completely white, and his body went from strong to hunched over, but he still received no news from the Infinite Starship.

He began to realize that something was wrong.

Merlin isn't the kind of person who goes back on his word; if he can come back, he will definitely take him away.

Since he didn't come, there are only two possibilities.

They either went to a place they could never return to, or they encountered some misfortune on the way.

Either way, it means the same thing: he can't go back.

In the days that followed, Old Ding stayed here all day long.

The Zentradi have been taking care of him as promised, day after day, for over a decade without interruption.

"Ye Han, what did you say! You're going to Rainbow Sea too?"

"Yes, Merlin's son McDonald is here too; he insists on going to Rainbow Sea as well."

Old Ding nearly dropped the teacup from his fingers, his eyes widened a whole size, and the wrinkles on his face were stretched even more by his astonishment.

"What did you say? McDonald? Merlin's son? He's here too?"

Why would I lie to you?

Old Ding stammered, "Really? You're so old, don't try to fool me."

"It's true. On Jupiter's storm Famila, McDonald and his team came in first place and successfully entered the Devil's Footprint with the Heart of Jupiter. It's just that we don't know which planet they're on now. The Chaotic Star Sea is so vast, we haven't encountered them yet."

When it comes to the second half of the sentence, part of what he said was actually Ye Han's deduction.

He didn't have any definite information about whether McDonald had actually come in, nor did he follow up on the events that followed Storm Farmira.

But based on Ye Han's understanding of him, McDonald wasn't the kind of person who would stop halfway.

Arima's talisman removes the negative effects of the Shadow Dance, allowing McDonald's strength to increase even faster.

With his indomitable spirit, even a black hole might not be able to stop him.

Even if they haven't come in yet, it's only a matter of time.

Old Ding gazed at the darkening sky outside the window for a long time before finally speaking, "Like father, like son. Merlin had the same temper back then, leaving without a second thought. His son is a carbon copy of him, always heading towards danger."

"Ye Han, Uncle Ding has been through this before. To be honest, I'm happy to see a fellow Earthling in this godforsaken place, but there are some things I have to tell you. It's best not to go to Rainbow Sea; it's too dangerous there."

Old Ding spoke earnestly.

"The fact that you managed to get in through the Devil's Footprints already tells you how dangerous those black holes are. Although I've never been to the Rainbow Sea, the fact that Merlin and the others couldn't get out shows that the place is definitely not simple. I don't need to elaborate on Merlin's strength, right? He's invincible throughout the galaxy, and that's no exaggeration. Even someone like him couldn't get out, so you young people..."

Old Ding shook his head, his tone filled with genuine worry, "Keeping your life is more important than anything else. Rainbow Sea is a legend; no matter how beautiful the legend, if you lose your life, you lose everything."

He looked at Ye Han with earnest eyes, his gaze filled with the concern of an elder for a younger generation.

After wandering on an alien planet for more than a decade, he finally encountered a fellow human, and he really didn't want to watch this young man walk the same path as Merlin.

Ye Han nodded seriously: "Understood, Uncle Ding, I've remembered what you said."

Despite listening, Ye Han did not give up on Rainbow Sea.

The old man's concerns are not unfounded; we should just go along with him.

Ye Han didn't press further about the Rainbow Sea. As a maintenance worker in the fleet, Lao Ding was mainly responsible for the maintenance and repair of the power plant, and his knowledge of the overall route planning, the specific destination of Merlin, and the deeper secrets along the way was indeed limited.

He could only provide some fragmented and scattered information, which was far from the complete answer Ye Han wanted.

However, it wasn't entirely without gains.

Old Ding mentioned something inadvertently.

Not far from Zenith, there is a giant planet called Titan, which is about to host a grand resource allocation competition in a day.

The rules of the competition were simple: representatives from all sides would compete in a designated arena, and the development rights of several uninhabited planets would be allocated based on the final rankings.

The prizes for that competition also included several rainbow stones.

There are quite a few.