Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

His thought flashed through his mind, and he quickly returned to the previous topic.

"You mean their current battle is actually two sturdy main battle tanks blasting each other in the face with high-explosive shells that are far too small in caliber and explosive charge?"

His gaze swept across the sky, landing precisely on Esdeath, once again half-buried by Goliath's plasma cannon fire. Yet, the Imperial general, half-dead, rapidly regenerated in mid-air. Her flesh writhed, and regenerating buds raced to form limbs and organs. Then, almost fully formed, a heavy scythe severed half her head.

[That's right, their extraordinary regenerative abilities also constitute a form of armor. Against the level of life they're about to reach, each cell possesses the ability to rebuild itself into a complete individual in an extremely short time. To kill such creatures, one must use extremely high energy manipulation techniques to precisely destroy the more than seven billion cells within their bodies. But they haven't reached that level yet, so you have other feasible options.]

What should I do?

"It's simple, just disrupt their energy supply." Ex replied quickly. "The protagonist of that world receives her energy from the blessing of destiny bestowed upon her by the entire universe. It's impossible to disrupt it before her destiny is exhausted, but the other person is different. She has two energy sources: one is an energy source buried in her heart, similar to some kind of power furnace; the other is the mortals in the camps about a hundred kilometers away from the battlefield."

Logandao's gaze shifted in the direction Ex had indicated, and he indeed saw the sprawling camps over a hundred kilometers away—not long ago, he had even witnessed a puppet army being hastily redeployed at the start of the war to evacuate the population. He had initially assumed it was a ploy by the woman who called herself Alice, whose real name was Arya, to win people over, but he hadn't expected there to be another reason.

Those mortals prayed to a fictitious god, and she intercepted all that faith, transforming it into the power to control her puppet armies. Now, most of those puppets have temporarily ceased functioning, while a small portion has coalesced into the massive war machines that fight alongside her. The remaining faith has been collected by her, becoming her resources for battle.

[Use the Supreme Imperial Arms you stole from the Emperor to wipe them out in the shortest time possible. Her strength will be greatly reduced as a result, and the moment she shows a weakness will be the perfect opportunity.]

Her voice was cold and unwavering, as if her suggestion wasn't about 'killing tens of millions of people' but rather about taking shears to the backyard to weed—perhaps in her eyes, those tens of millions of lives were indeed just a pile of weeds. Yet, Logan felt a chill run down his spine.

He tilted his head and glanced at the Supreme Imperial Arm, which was quietly waiting behind him in an invisible state. He still remembered how he had taken this weapon, which could fly, fight, and release lasers, and was as terrifying as a Gundam from an anime, under the guidance of Ex. He had personally squeezed every drop of blood out of that poor emperor, and then, while he was still alive, he had taken out his brain and installed it on the control panel to deceive the Supreme Imperial Arm. He still remembered the poor man's painful screams before he died.

It was precisely because of this that he gained a full understanding of Ex's coldness and cruelty, and became increasingly wary of her.

Ex knows nothing about this—but more likely she knows everything, she just doesn't care.

“If one side is weakened, what about the other side?” His voice was hoarse, like a stone rubbing against a dead tree.

[No need to worry. After you wipe out those nearly ten million people with the continuous barrage of your Supreme Imperial Arms, this unorthodox blood sacrifice will be enough to activate the 'soul' within you, raising your strength to a level where you can fight them. Of course, you may lack experience, but I can give you ample guidance. And...]

Luo Gandao's neck involuntarily turned, and he was horrified to discover that he had no intention of turning his neck and could not stop his body from moving on its own. As his gaze shifted to the far south at the edge of his field of vision, a huge shadow, seemingly hidden in the far distance, became particularly striking to his senses.

You do have reinforcements, though.

......................................................

"That was an exceptionally powerful and ancient giant insect. It is probably the common ancestor of all the Araqi insects in this universe. I cannot predict exactly how powerful it is, but I think it is definitely much stronger than any of us here."

Patchouli attached Zheng Zha to a massive, complex machine that was painful to look at, and then connected him all over with a multitude of incomprehensible tubes and plugs. The exact density of these connections is too much to describe here, but it's safe to say that Zheng Zha developed a phobia of needles and thread after this incident.

They were currently located in the vast underground cavern at the North Pole of the planet Kolenda. This was an underground cavern covering an area of ​​tens of millions of square kilometers. The distance between its highest and lowest points was enough to fit a hundred mountain peaks reaching the foot of the Himalayas. The Central Continent Team was now standing at the very bottom of this cavern, setting up numerous instruments, some extending deep into the mantle and others resembling towering structures, while surveying and studying the complex surrounding environment.

They had just been discussing the topic of the 'God of the Swarm'.

Patchouli glanced at the floating light screen beside her—good, the two members of the Senzhou team were being held back by swarms of frenzied insects that had 'accidentally' appeared around them. It would take at least five more minutes for them to successfully reach this underground cavern—her gaze then shifted, and another light screen monitoring the expeditionary fleet informed her that the expeditionary force planned to act in seven minutes, erasing this insectoid planet from the universe as she had done to Tango Ghost Star.

Time was still plentiful—perhaps a matter of life and death for the planet, but for her, it was a long, relaxing stretch of time. She swiftly set the start time of the stellar extraction tower to four minutes and thirty seconds later, then grabbed a multi-needle joint as thick as a baby's arm and plunged it directly into Zheng Zha's chest!

"Awooo—!" Someone let out a terrifying, shrill scream, as if a demon had seen him. The scream echoed continuously in the underground cavity, eventually transforming into some indescribable sound that reverberated throughout the entire underground world.

There were no small animals in this cavity, because there was nothing on this entire planet except insects. And the insects seemed to have some strange sense of awe towards this underground cavity, so they never approached it.

It's very quiet here, so it can be very annoying if it gets noisy.

Patchouli picked up a book from the side and slammed it down on Zheng Zha's head. Her brows furrowed slightly, her face full of displeasure. "What's all the fuss about? It's just a needle in your heart, it won't hurt you."

She glanced at the tube directly connected to Zheng Zha's heart. This tube would directly infuse energy into Zheng Zha's heart, and then the most powerful organ in the human body would transmit the energy to his limbs and bones—she was quite certain that her insertion hadn't damaged any strange nerves or glands. Moreover, this was someone who had one foot in the fourth stage of the genetic lock; even with this specially made wire and connector, capable of piercing his muscle protective layer and withstanding large energy transport—it shouldn't cause the person receiving the injection to feel pain beyond the limit.

—A person who can endure being half-evaporated without uttering a sound has no reason to complain endlessly about such a trivial matter.

"But it looks so painful!" Zheng Zha exclaimed. "Needles! So many needles! The thing I hated most when I was a kid was going to the hospital for injections! And you've stuck so many in me all at once! So many needles and tubes!"

“If you keep making noise, I’ll give you two more, even bigger ones.” Patchouli picked up two more energy delivery lines, each with multiple syringes, and looked at Zheng Zha with a malicious expression.

Zheng Zha shut his mouth in horror. Then... Patchouli still connected the two wires.

"You!" Zheng Zha was speechless with anger.

“I didn’t say we wouldn’t add two more if you didn’t make a fuss; besides, this is a necessary measure.” Patchouli had a faint smile on her lips; clearly, this teasing made her a little happy. And to make herself even happier, she added, very 'kindly,' “If you think they’re in the way, you can remove them, but that might cause the ‘Foundation Building’ effect to be incomplete. Perhaps you’ll be able to experience what it feels like to be paralyzed on one side—speaking of which, I really want to see what a paralyzed supernatural being is like.”

So Zheng Zha had no choice but to swallow the string of unfriendly words that were already on the tip of his tongue. He looked sadly at his other companions—at Zhang Jie, who had somehow slipped away to a rock pillar at least a hundred meters away to get some fresh air—at Zero, well, he couldn't see him, because Zero had already settled in a perfectly suitable sniping spot. It was unclear whether this guy was naturally suited to aura concealment, but even with his senses fully extended, Zheng Zha couldn't detect him at all.

This was good. Although Zheng Zha didn't feel good. But when all the pipes were connected, the ground in the distance began to shake, and the equipment beneath him started operating and emitting an eerie light, he felt even worse.

....................................

It seems there's hope that this volume will end around chapter seventy.

Chapter Sixty-Two: Metamorphosis, Part Four

His premonition was correct, because when Patchouli pressed a large, unsettling red button and he didn't immediately run away, his bad feeling came true.

"Wait! I have a feeling—"

He only got halfway through his sentence before the rest disappeared from the others' sight. He and the obviously dangerous machine plummeted downwards, and as he fell, he probably understood why Patchouli had specifically chosen a location so deep beneath the Earth's surface, with a significant portion extending into the mantle, as the execution site for this 'foundation-building' project!

It's not because a stellar extraction tower is built here, but because this is the fastest way to the Earth's core! Since it was agreed from the beginning that the foundation-building would be a simulation of a supernova explosion, the location for foundation-building should naturally be the very core of the explosion!

The ground shatters at the slightest touch.

The geology of Korendadu itself is quite unstable, to the point that even a super-heavy tank could potentially collapse the ground. Such terrain is a nightmare for infantry and a death trap for armored troops, but for Patchouli, who was temporarily working as a drilling engineer, it was paradise where she could truly shine. And the instant gratification she felt after successfully connecting all the energy pipelines and resolving the energy problem, and pressing the big red button, was even more exhilarating than heaven itself!

That's right, those messy, seemingly impressive pipes weren't for charging Zheng Zha at all—the solar extraction tower wasn't even activated, so where would the energy come from to charge him? On the contrary, their true purpose was to extract energy from Zheng Zha's body and apply it to this massive drilling machine that led straight to the Earth's core. The actual result of this design was that Zheng Zha would continuously unleash numerous, fully-powered 'destructions' towards the depths of the Earth's core, and this enormous drain wouldn't stop until his energy was completely depleted!

He couldn't help but scream—in fact, he couldn't. However, the words of shock and anger were abruptly cut off by the rapidly accelerating drilling machine in the tunnel, becoming a long and extremely sharp, resonant sound. Before the sound even reached his ears, it was completely overshadowed by the drilling machine, which was going beyond the speed of sound in an instant, leaving only a distorted, sharp sound transmitted through the bones of his skull to the back of his eardrums!

"You're messing with me!!!!!"

Zheng Zha was in unbearable pain.

The rapid depletion of energy caused his body to operate automatically. The enhanced blood energy and true qi, previously stored to an excess that exceeded the body's capacity, were rapidly mobilized and quickly exhausted by the extraction machine. The terrifying energy-devouring talent hidden within every cell of his body was also fully activated, and, under the intervention of pre-prepared machinery, rapidly projected in a specific direction!

The drilling rig was undamaged—it was unclear what materials Patchouli had used or how it was designed, but this massive machine, filled with countless intricate pipes and red and green indicator lights that Zheng Zha found incomprehensible, remained as sturdy and stable as a rock despite the immense energy exchange. Neither the gradually increasing ambient temperature nor the various geological obstacles could cause any harm to the machine itself. Since the machine was unharmed, the problem must lie with the people.

Zheng Zha felt like he was about to explode.

He could clearly feel his body, like a giant sponge, constantly absorbing the 'nutrients' called energy from underground. Whether it was geothermal energy, underground radiation, or the large underground mineral deposits encountered by the drilling machine, the energy contained within them was completely absorbed by his fully unleashed energy-devouring body. However, before this energy could even warm up within his body, the sturdy tubing with its intricate needles completely drained it!

He felt as if he had become a reservoir that was both pumping water in and releasing it out. However, the excruciating pain emanating from his limbs and bones made him abandon this incorrect perception in an instant—a reservoir with sufficient buffer capacity could not compare to his current miserable state; he was now simply a racing car cylinder working at full capacity.

A cylinder that burns nitrogen!

Every part of his body (except for the sections connected to the tubing) was rapidly collapsing, and the process of collapse was only halfway complete before the previously damaged areas were rebuilt. The two processes alternated and cycled, and even the slightest imbalance would cause the entire body to explode like a firework. To prevent this, he had to exhaust all his computational power, pushing the third-tier genetic lock to its limit to balance all the cells undergoing the cycle of life and death!

The brain is working at lightning speed.

His heart roared with fury.

[Once I get out of here, I'm going to settle this score with you!!!]

Patchouli Knowledge!!!

The surrounding temperature rose higher and higher, and the environment grew brighter. Undoubtedly, he had reached the lower mantle from the upper mantle in this short time. His speed didn't decrease; instead, it steadily increased with the depth. If it was only slightly over Mach 1 at the beginning, the speed of the borehole carrying him upon contact with the lower mantle was at least Mach 5. And this speed continued to increase as he descended.

The faster you drill, the faster you lose energy.

Zheng Zha dared not sever his pain receptors, because he needed to rely on this complex and comprehensive mental network to accurately perceive the slightest abnormality in his body—yes, it hurt. But pain is never unbearable. Because its essence is ultimately just nerve signals, and physical pain is merely an alarm the brain raises to signal a threat.

Zheng Zha had understood this long ago, and now he was beginning to apply this understanding. Even though he was still furious inside, so furious that he wanted to drag Patchouli out and beat her up, his own computational power was being used without fail, and he was relying on this neural network that caused him pain to build a balance of energy within his body.

People are forced to do things.

While he felt like an overloaded nitrogen-burning cylinder, facing the imminent threat of explosion, Zheng Zha discovered that his control precision was constantly improving. Initially, he could only interfere with his own muscles like a typical third-tier cultivator, but by the second minute, he could touch slightly larger cell clusters. And now, he could even control the aggregates of tens of thousands of cells within his own body!

The human body contains seventy trillion cells, seventy trillion basic units. When Zheng Zha ventured deep into the lower mantle, about to touch the outer edge of the Earth's core, he discovered he could now perceive his own body as a structure composed of seventy trillion functional units and intervene accordingly. And as time passed, the proficiency of this ability continued to increase.

If your skill level doesn't increase, you're doomed—that's obvious. This logic is so simple, and that's precisely why it's so effective.

effective.

However, how effective it will be depends on the individual.

Zheng Zha felt he was probably fine. Although the trial was painful, it didn't mean it was unmanageable. Zheng Zha knew very well that he hadn't actually faced a formal challenge yet—the Foundation Establishment Ceremony hadn't even officially started. What he was doing now was at most a warm-up.

Soon, the artificial drill carrying him plunged into the core of the planet.

The foundation-building ceremony begins.

......................................................

“We must hold out here for thirty seconds until he completes his Foundation Establishment enhancement.” Patchouli shifted her gaze from the gaping hole left by the suddenly activated underground drilling base. Then, she spoke earnestly to the others within her sight—in reality, only Zhang Jie.

“Once he completes his upgrade, taking down the two members of the Morizu team will be no problem at all. Therefore, we should adopt a defensive strategy based on that.”

"Position warfare, just pure defense?" Zhang Jie lit a cigarette between his fingers. He took a deep drag, the white smoke swirling around him, gradually transforming into a swimming dragon shape. "I guess accidentally taking them out shouldn't be a problem, right?"

“No, this is very problematic.” Patchouli shook her head slightly. She glanced at the light screen beside her, where the two members of the Senzhou team, looking utterly disheveled, were being chased around by 'precise' orbital fire and 'passing' insects. She had to resort to some tricks to guide the two unfortunate souls to a suitable position.

Her gaze shifted, and a new pop-up window quietly appeared, displaying various data from the cross-shaped container where Alice and the others were asleep.

“We can’t kill them now, even if they seem to have been weakened to their limit.” Patchouli made a cautious gesture. “Although they are weakened and injured, this level of pursuit and misfortune is actually not enough to harm two powerful individuals whose abilities complement each other and who possess some extraordinary power. A rash attack will only lead to an unpredictable outcome. So it’s best to wait until Zheng Zha completes his enhancement, and then let him completely suppress these enemies with overwhelming force… before considering who should allocate these reward points.”

Zhang Jie's lips curled up slightly at a tiny angle.

“So secretive.” He shook his head slightly. “Okay, I get the gist of it. Basically, you can suppress them, defeat them, even cripple them until they lose their ability to act. But you can’t kill them, right? Because you still need them as bait, and you’re planning to poison the bait.”

Patchouli raised her hand and shut down all the projected light screens.

"Communicating with intelligent people is indeed much easier than communicating with gorillas. Yes, I still have some use for those two. They are no longer a threat to us, but I still need to extract enough value from them—you can certainly defeat them and cripple them. But you have to consider that a certain gorilla might directly reach the fourth stage after completing its enhancement and then re-enter a state of indiscriminate friend or foe. And at that time, something suitable is needed to awaken it."

Zhang Jie remained silent for half a second.

"You mean... the scoring hints from the Supreme God?" he asked uncertainly.

“That is indeed one of my objectives,” Patchouli said, noticing that the dome of the underground cavern was beginning to collapse, with massive chunks of rock falling in bursts along with the sunlight streaming in. The explosions from the orbital artillery fire above were becoming increasingly clear. The earth trembled, and the two members of the Morizumi team, whom she had been deliberately guiding, were about to reach their designated positions.

“After all, it’s a one-time bait, so we need a suitable hook as a cue.” She looked at Zhang Jie, a strange glint in her eyes. “I’m not entirely sure how Alice has planned things, but the operation should be happening in the next few minutes. Listen carefully for the main god’s prompts. If any of our newcomers die, or if the Southern Flame Continent team receives a point deduction, then the time has come for the final battle. If not… then hold off for now.”

“…A heartless fellow.” Zhang Jie shook his head slightly, then nodded to indicate that he fully understood the current situation and the necessary countermeasures. Just as their exchange ended, a muffled explosion rang out. The entire underground cavern, spanning approximately three thousand square kilometers, collapsed simultaneously. Two figures enveloped in red and purple light vanished in a flash!

The time has come.

..........................................

Meanwhile, on Earth, somewhere outside Earth.

"Time's up." Chu Xuan closed the case of a mechanical pocket watch, sealing the clear and precise ticking sound within this simple yet exquisite handcrafted object. He nodded to someone beside him, and a clear instruction was conveyed along with his previous words and gesture.

The planet erupted in a frenzy at his command.

This is neither a metaphor nor an exaggeration. Anyone who holds such thoughts should stand in his current position and look around; then they would all abandon their foolish ideas. Because he is currently on a space station between the Earth and the Moon, not listed in any official records. And his gaze is currently directed towards Earth.

Earth.

Earth is transforming from rocks and oceans into steel and energy.

In his vision, the mountains on the Earth's surface collapsed, the oceans dried up, and countless enormous and intricate steel buildings rose from the ground and the sea. Soon, brilliant white light bands lit up in these buildings, and a massive torrent of energy surged in the light bands on the surface. Beneath the strata, the entire star core was transformed into a giant reactor, circulating and consuming immeasurable light and heat within it.