The plunder of the heavens begins with the Spirit Cage.

Xuan Ling, the imperial guard, was the first to pick up food. They already had their own methods for testing and verifying poison.

Even before the dishes were served, she had already picked out a small portion of each dish and placed it on her plate, and now she was gulping it down in one go.

After chewing and tasting, his tense jawline slowly relaxed, and he nodded slightly to Dong Mingxi, indicating that the ingredients were safe.

Dong Mingxi then picked up his chopsticks, took a piece of food that looked like a bamboo shoot tip but had a faint jade-like color, and put it into his mouth.

The refreshing sweetness slid down my throat, instantly dispelling the fatigue of days of travel.

The princess's nostalgic smile immediately prompted the others who couldn't wait to pick up their chopsticks and start eating.

Biting into the firm steak releases a burst of rich juices on the tongue, an intensely fresh and savory flavor unlike anything cloned meat has ever tasted.

Someone picked up a glistening berry, and the sweet and sour juice washed over their tongue, bringing tears to their eyes.

Some people chewed on chewy mushrooms, their throats slightly choked. This fresh, wild fragrance was a memory of their last camping trip before the disaster struck.

The taste buds were completely awakened by the long-lost deliciousness, and everyone's face was filled with nostalgia and sorrow. Even the act of burying their heads in their rice brought out a sense of repression.

Well, this group of middle-aged and elderly people certainly has a lot of stories to tell, but they probably won't get the lively atmosphere they're looking for.

Amidst the silence and the sound of chewing, Dong Mingxi was forced to detach herself from the grief of her father's death in the palace.

He forced himself to remain calm as he looked at Lu Qianwei, his tone full of genuine admiration for the food.

The three captains then snapped out of their reverie, chuckled, and praised the ship, thus warming up the atmosphere.

Lu Qianwei laughed heartily, raised his wine glass and gestured to everyone: "You flatter me, Princess."

To be honest, the origins of these ingredients are quite different from those of species on Earth.

Therefore, I specially hired many chefs with superb culinary skills, and a personal chef took the lead.

It took a lot of effort and repeated adjustments to develop these new recipes that suit these ingredients; at least we didn't let these good ingredients down.

Dong Mingxi put down his chopsticks, looked at the exquisite plating and meticulous knife skills on the plate, and nodded in realization.

"No wonder, I was wondering why this dish looked so familiar. It turns out it was made by the imperial chef. The taste is indeed impeccable."

"You flatter me. Would the princess like to meet the person who came? Perhaps you know them."

The person Lu Qianwei was referring to was actually the middle-aged man who had set up a stall in Fenghuo City at that time.

"No need!" Dong Mingxi shook her head with a hint of sadness. Seeing too many old friends would only add to her troubles.

So she seized on the key question and asked, "General Lu, what did you mean when you said that the origin of the ingredients is different from that of Earth?"

"Hehe, it means exactly what it says." Lu Qianwei picked up a piece of beef tongue and put it in his mouth, chewing slowly.

And you know what? With the ingredients becoming more abundant, foods that used to be relatively expensive are now affordable for ordinary people.

Just as Lu Qianwei was slowly savoring the experience, Dong Mingxi had a flash of inspiration. Different from Earth, literally... she quickly thought of the space technology that Xuan Ling had reported to her when she first came to Fenghuo City.

Following this line of thought, the source of the 10,000 tons of fuel and metal becomes immediately clear.

Dong Mingxi was still somewhat incredulous, so she tried to guess from another angle: "General, you wouldn't be saying that you've dug up the Earth's core, would you?"

Having no other choice, she could only resort to speculating based on previous theories about the inner Earth.

As a physics major herself, she had discussed the feasibility of wormholes with several professors before the apocalypse broke out.

If the Dark Fortress really has this capability, where does the enormous energy that sustains it come from?

A newly developed wormhole is even less likely to be small and lightweight.

It would need to be at least half the size of the moon to break through a wormhole, allowing for further in-depth research and analysis...

The complexity is beyond what Earth's civilization, which has only recently broken free from the Earth-Moon gravitational pull, can grasp in a short time.

Chapter 46. Beyond the hatch, a sea of ​​stars!

Dong Mingxi's answer was truly unexpected.

Lu Qianwei laughed heartily, while the others were puzzled.

He wasn't going to beat around the bush anymore; the spacetime portal originated from his own body, and developing a spacetime portal was already clearly beyond his capabilities.

He needs people; the existing survivors must be brought together!

Of course, Lu Qianwei did not believe he had the ability to command a large following. This matter required a set of rules, after all, the unpredictability of human nature was an indisputable fact.

Seeing that everyone had almost finished eating and drinking, Lu Qianwei stood up and said, "Saying too much is futile."

"Your Highness, would you be interested in coming with me to see what you believe to be the inner world of the earth?"

"The general's invitation is certainly welcome."

Dong Mingxi led everyone to the elevator shaft with Lu Qianwei.

Upon reaching the 13th floor, everyone got into the car and continued their journey.

Dong Mingxi frowned slightly. The speed at which they arrived was too fast; it didn't seem like they were going to the inner world.

"General Lu, are we transferring to an elevator here?" Xuan Ling asked.

“No, this is our destination.” Lu Qianwei shook his head and pointed ahead to the D3 area where the car had entered.

The crowd followed their gaze and were greatly surprised to see cars coming and going in the open space.

As they passed a heavy truck, they both saw a huge corpse in the truck bed.

The creature's scales gleamed with a dull metallic sheen, its limbs were as thick as cannon barrels, and a single severed body filled the entire carriage. The ugly image of its head, covered with fangs, sent chills down one's spine.

"This...this is a creature from the inner Earth?!" a captain exclaimed in surprise.

Lu Qianwei smiled faintly and shook his head, "The Dark Fortress doesn't have the capability to dig to the Earth's core. I don't know if there's even an inner Earth."

These are all creatures from a planet called Gina.

"Another planet? General, are you sure you're not joking?" Xuan Ling questioned.

“You’ll see for yourselves,” Lu Qianwei shrugged.

It's pointless to say anything now.

With a skeptical attitude, the car slowly approached a heavy metal hatch with the four prominent characters "D-4 Sector" engraved on it.

Dong Mingxi looked up and saw that the two sides of the hatch were heavily guarded, with several fully armed armored vehicles parked at both the front and rear doors.

The soldiers, armed to the teeth, stood ramrod straight, their metal shells gleaming coldly. Behind their masks, their eyes were constantly watching and recording the passing vehicles.

"The door is still too small," Lu Qianwei thought to himself, determined to build a big one after the negotiations were over.

As the cave continued to widen, Lu Qianwei had already moved the time portal to a deeper location inside.

Dong Mingxi and his group looked at the so-called D-4 area without realizing that they had actually left Earth.

They were simply curious and observing the environment that had been transformed into a semi-military fortress.

As trucks reeking of blood drove past, Dong Mingxi seemed to believe that the Dark Fortress had indeed developed space technology.

Just as I was filled with anticipation and wonder what the space equipment looked like, the car slowly drove out of the brightly lit exit.

At that moment, everyone was astonished. Vast expanses of lush greenery and towering forests came into view, while giant birds, resembling pterosaurs, soared through the sky...

The sky, the white clouds, and the tactile sensation of the warm sunlight shining through the window onto their skin constantly reminded them of one fact—they were no longer on Earth!

Dong Mingxi opened her mouth, but things still felt so...dreamy.

"Is...this really true?"

"Of course it's true." Lu Qianwei smiled and wiped the recorder on his chest.

The Imperial Princess's surprised expression will definitely be a hit in the future.

"Your Highness, would you like to get out of the carriage and take a walk?"

If you'd like, I can also take you on a spaceship ride for a scenic view of the planet from above.

As her emotions gradually calmed down, Dong Mingxi smiled faintly, "Now that we're here, we naturally want to see for ourselves if it's true or not."

"But before that, I have a question."

"Princess, please speak freely."

When did we pass through the wormhole?

I haven't seen any special devices along the way.

“Uh… the spatial technology of the Dark Fortress is a bit special.” Lu Qianwei touched his nose, and without being careless, pointed in the direction they came from.

"The metal hatch we just passed through has actually already left Earth."

Upon hearing this, the carriage fell silent, everyone's faces filled with disbelief.

That door really looked exactly like the cabin door.

It feels like opening the bedroom door to reveal the hallway or living room.

"This is outrageous!" a captain couldn't help but mutter under his breath.

What kind of space technology looks like this?

There's no spatial distortion, no energy transfer, and you can even see what's on the other side—this is zero-distance folding!

This completely defies all common scientific sense!

"But aren't the facts right in front of you?"

The theories of wormholes and space folding are just theories; how can they be compared to facts?

As soon as Lu Qianwei said this, the shock and discussion among the crowd immediately fell silent. They stopped worrying about it and decided to let the scientists deal with this kind of problem themselves.

Following Lu Qianwei's directions, Dong Mingxi was the first to step out of the car.

The first thing that greeted me was a breeze carrying the scent of grass and trees.

She tilted her head back, enjoying the warm sunshine on her face.

The dangerous roars and cries of beasts coming from the distant jungle now sounded like beautiful music.

This vibrant life is something Earth has never seen since the apocalypse.

The current situation can only be described as a miracle by Dong Mingxi.

The advent of space technology... gave the people of Jingxu a real way to survive.