The plunder of the heavens begins with the Spirit Cage.

It doesn't look like a weapon; it looks more like some kind of crystal.

It even has a nice-sounding name – Green Tide.

Press a button on the side of the device.

A deep, resonant hum resounded.

The green crystal at the top suddenly burst forth with an intense light that was impossible to look at directly.

The light was no longer a simple beam, but transformed into countless green lightning bolts, instantly disappearing into the scorched earth beneath their feet and the surrounding polluted air.

Then, the anomaly began.

The ground, the purplish-black scorched earth that was as sticky as rotting flesh, suddenly began to churn and boil violently!

But instead of exacerbating the decay, it seemed as if it had been infused with unparalleled vitality.

Visibly, the green color has worsened.

Plants that could only survive in the still toxic oxygen environment began to be parasitized by the emerald green buds.

As time went on, they grew wildly.

Polluted air, boiling acid, and even highly toxic chemical gases are all nutrients for their vigorous growth.

As the vines spiral upwards, the toxic gases in the air seem to encounter an invisible purifier.

The pungent stench was quickly washed away and diluted, replaced by a fresh scent that blended with the fragrance of rain-soaked earth, newly sprouted grass, and faint flowers.

The observers who remained hidden saw even more green tides erupting from underground, from rock crevices, and even from the still-lingering acid rain clouds.

That wasn't fog, but a torrent of life formed by billions of newly formed microorganisms and plant spores.

Wherever they swept, the filth melted away like ice and snow.

The corroded, pitted rock surface was instantly covered with a layer of moist, vibrant green moss. Short shrubs then sprang up like lightning, their branches outstretched, their leaves gleaming healthily in the lingering rays of the toxic clouds.

In just half a month, a vibrant, lush ecosystem modeled after Earth's tropical rainforest was forcibly constructed in the heart of this dead zone.

When a group of distraught pioneers, now without cardinals and a large number of high-ranking members, discovered the anomaly, the Green Tide had already gained momentum and began to spread in all directions.

The pioneering force tasked with exploring the area was instantly annihilated the moment they stepped into the territory.

Their lungs, accustomed to being filled with sulfurous fumes, took a simple breath of pure oxygen at a concentration far exceeding their tolerance limits.

The burning of their internal organs instantly penetrated their fragile semi-biological respiratory tracts.

The pioneering warriors didn't even have a chance to issue a warning before collapsing, convulsing, onto the newly sprouted green grass, where they were quickly absorbed by the plants and converted into new nutrients.

Subsequent troops launched a frenzied attack using biological weapons and energy beams, even flattening the entire mountain.

The spreading greenery is like a virus, omnipresent.

First, tender green grass sprouts emerged from the cracks in the city streets and alleys, wrapping around the exterior walls of buildings covered with corrosion marks.

Then, in the ventilation ducts of the underground nest, the spores sneak in with the airflow and sprout green shoots in the dark and damp corners.

Even inside the shelters the Pioneers used to hide supplies and avoid danger, and inside the wreckage of abandoned warships, vines crawled in through broken openings, taking root and spreading at an astonishing speed.

Green tides don't need to deliberately seek out landing spots; as long as there is a trace of pollution or a wisp of toxic gas, they can quickly take root and grow.

The fresh oxygen gradually displaced the deadly sulfurous fog, and the vibrant vegetation gradually covered the scorched, toxic soil. The green spread from the initial release point to the suburbs, then swept across the entire city, and continued to expand towards the more distant pioneer territory.

Countless pioneers, unable to adapt to the sudden change in ecology, suffocated and collapsed in their homes, outposts, and city streets, utterly powerless to stop this unexpected ecological disaster.

Meanwhile, the high-ranking officials who had lost their cardinals were now fighting each other for power.

Chapter 192 Exploiting Freebies

A fleet of heavy cruisers is stationed above the thin atmosphere of Mars.

They silently cruised in near-Earth orbit, their cannons pointing straight into the deep space, a tight defensive line sealing off the entire airspace.

After a thorough investigation, Lu Qianwei boarded an airship and entered the Martian atmosphere, arriving deep within the Alpha Crater on Mars.

What appears to be a natural meteorite crater is actually an unnamed research base that has been meticulously disguised.

The base is buried deep beneath the rock walls of the ring mountain, with only a few hidden entrances and sensing devices remaining on the surface, blending seamlessly into the desert.

Only those with the highest authority could approach or detect this forbidden area.

After all, Mars has laboratories of all sizes scattered throughout the planet to accommodate the experiments of some eccentric scholars.

This place is completely insignificant compared to other research institutes that have made outstanding contributions and achievements.

The moment Lu Qianwei stepped into the base, the cold alloy floor echoed with the sound of his steady footsteps.

Unlike other laboratories, this place is extremely deserted.

There were no staff members walking around, no researchers scratching their heads, and no group of professors arguing amongst themselves with spittle flying everywhere.

Lu Qianwei was dressed in a dark gray uniform, with a faintly glowing diamond-shaped access chip on his collar, which was his only credential for passage.

Each level you delve into presents an extremely challenging obstacle.

The outer gates of the base automatically activated as he approached, and the hidden scanner instantly completed the simultaneous verification of iris, facial bones, gait characteristics, and biometric codes.

Identity confirmed!

With a brief AI command, the heavy, high-density alloy gate silently slid open, revealing a 100-meter-long vacuum isolation channel behind it.

The air was instantly drawn away, and the life support system of the suit was immediately activated. A beam of dark blue energy swept over his entire body like flowing water, completing a comprehensive molecular-level investigation to check for implants, weapons, and biochemical hazards, and even monitoring his hormone and brainwave status.

After confirming that there were no abnormalities, the gate at the end of the passage opened, and he passed through several biometric key security doors to reach the core area's dedicated elevator platform.

On either side of the platform, mechanical sentry sensors firmly locked onto him, while two guards clad in full-body power armor completed a dual verification process using both visual and handheld devices, armed with heavy pulse rifles.

Lu Qianwei raised his hand and pressed on the elevator control panel, his fingertips infusing a subtle flow of energy to complete the final DNA and neural signal verification.

The elevator doors slowly opened, and it descended rapidly for nearly a minute, penetrating deep into the core of the base.

The elevator doors opened again, revealing a wide, dark corridor stretching forward. The walls were made of a special light-absorbing material, creating a soft yet oppressive atmosphere.

At the end of the corridor, a round, silver, airtight door without handles or buttons stands before you, and the central holographic scanning interface lights up instantly.

Lu Qianwei stared directly at the scanning light spot. As the red light swept across his eyes, he focused his mind and silently recited the quantum dynamic key that was jumping in real time on his retina, completing the highest level of brainwave-retina dual verification.

The next second, the airtight door swung open like flower petals, but the laboratory filled with sophisticated scientific instruments that I had imagined did not appear.

What comes into view is an incredibly vast, enclosed space.

The walls and floor are all made of a special insulating alloy that gleams with a cold light.

The walls are covered with a dense array of energy lines and monitoring instrument cables. Thick cables, as thick as arms, meander along the walls and extend all the way to the very center of the space—the slender, withered Mana Giant, who is in a semi-paralyzed, reclining position.

His skin was darker and drier than it had been more than 20 years ago, like the hardened skin of an old corpse.

However, the prominent reddish veins all over his body throbbed faintly.

Despite being withered and decayed, it still possesses a vitality, as the multi-elemental complex extracts the life essence of organisms to prolong its life.

Humanity has yet to acquire the vast amount of ancient knowledge in the other's mind, so how could we let Him die so easily?

Lu Qianwei stepped over the Klotor system, which was several meters high and had a suspended head that was half mechanical and half flesh and blood.

Standing before the Giant Mana, I looked at its empty eyes with a sense of melancholy.

"You're here again." A pleasant, sweet female voice drifted out quietly, carrying a hint of reproach, coming from the right side.

Lu Qianwei turned his head upon hearing the sound.

Then a slender, beautiful young woman descended the only high step.

Exquisite eyebrows and eyes, delicate and fair skin; if it weren't for her slender thighs, her clothes and high heels would be seamlessly integrated.

Lu Qianwei was starting to treat the other person as a human being.

Instead of answering the question about fleecing the Mana Giant, Lu Qianwei changed the subject and asked, "ASH, uh... Bai hope, how much knowledge did you get from Him?"

"Less than 10%!"

Bai hope's tone was still pleasant, but it carried a hint of human helplessness.

"His body contains the essence of an ancient civilization accumulated over countless years. It would take an immeasurable amount of time to completely extract it from His mind."

She walked slowly to the Clotho culture tank and looked indifferently at the Mana Giant.

"His own consciousness has been instinctively resisting my analytical penetration. The deeper I explore into the core, the stronger the spiritual barrier becomes."

This kind of ideological game is one I cannot forcefully break through; I can only slowly peel it away, deduce it, and decipher it little by little.

"With the current level of human technology, without major technological innovations and breakthroughs, it would take at least one or two thousand years to fully decipher His entire knowledge heritage."

"Okay, I don't quite understand what you're saying either." Lu Qianwei shrugged, indicating that he didn't care.

Anyway, he came here to absorb the energy from the Mana Giant's stomach.

This isn't the first time he's done this. Ever since the crisis in the Mana ecosystem was resolved, the acquisition of source material has been decreasing.

Although the Psionic Research Institute replicated the device for absorbing biological essence using knowledge of Titans, it was not very complete.

It could even be described as inferior.

Teleportation portals and time-space gates require enormous amounts of energy to maintain. After Lu Qianwei finally reached level three, he set his sights on the Mana Giant.

Although he could still ask Ava and Jianmu for energy, it would be more worthwhile to come over and bleed the Mana Giant from time to time so that it wouldn't have the energy to cause trouble.

Of course, during this period, the Mana Giants would put up fierce resistance.

But in front of Brother Tongzi, she was just a helpless little wife, completely at his mercy.

Bai hope was curious about Lu Qianwei's methods, but she was also full of resentment and complaints about this guy taking advantage of her and leaving her to bear the wrath of the giant and clean up the mess.

He's utterly despicable!

"Let's make this clear beforehand, you can only inhale for five minutes this time!" Bai hope said solemnly, holding up five fingers.

"The pure energy within the Mana Giants is a substance of great research value."

It would take Him a very long time to transform those inferior source materials into pure energy; He can't let you continue doing this haphazardly.

"Okay, this is the last time, I promise!"

Chapter 193 Night City