Poverty makes me capable of anything.

Her task was to pinpoint the other targets in the mission.

Hyperspace signal base stations were listed as targets for destruction.

Just lock it in.

Ultimately, it will be destroyed by either Anran or the King of Crimson Lotus.

……

A light drizzle was falling from the sky.

On the spacious training ground, An Ran looked up at the middle-aged man giving a speech.

"Our goal for this voyage is to extend the exploration range by 2 kilometers. In addition, as required by the Engineering Institute, we need to collect some pollutants."

"Hey."

At that moment, someone nudged An Ran on the shoulder.

"what happened?"

An Ran turned her head in confusion.

A smiling young man appeared before him.

"My name is Luther. Is this your first time joining the investigation team?"

An Ran nodded: "That's right, I was just recruited last week."

Luther looked around and, finding no one paying attention to him, whispered, "I've heard this investigation is going to be dangerous."

"Ok?"

An Ran raised an eyebrow.

"Because we need to collect contaminants."

An Ran humbly asked, "Why is it said that collecting contaminants is very dangerous?"

"I heard it from someone else. This contaminant, or rather, this infected entity, is the culprit that infected the star path. They can move..."

boom!

Before Luther could finish speaking, a stick suddenly came down and struck both Anran and Luther.

Luther immediately stood up straight.

A man with a hideous scar on his face walked over and angrily shouted, "The Commander-in-Chief is speaking up there, and you two dare to whisper among yourselves down there? Don't you want to live?"

Luther didn't reply, and neither did Anran.

Scarface stared at Luther and Anran with an unfriendly expression for a long time before walking away angrily.

After that, Luther finally breathed a sigh of relief when the commander-in-chief issued the order to board the ship.

"Hey hey—"

He shook his head and said to An Ran, "Don't let Lao Dao's fierce appearance and his physical violence fool you. He's actually a good person, just a bit strict. Oh, and the scar on his face isn't because he can't afford to get it removed; it's supposedly to commemorate a comrade who died saving him."

An Ran nodded silently.

She didn't reply.

Because I can't reply.

Scarface, whom Luther called Old Knife, was standing right behind Luther at that moment.

"Luther!"

The voice sounded like it was being forced out.

Luther was so frightened that he ran away with his head in his hands.

After giving Luther a severe dressing-down, Scarface finally approached Anran.

"I'm Simon, the one in charge of you. Alright, you two, get on the ship now."

"Yes."

An Ran did not argue further.

Using her shapeshifting ability and [Soul Absorption] skill, she disguised herself as a soldier involved in the operation. Although there weren't many people here who knew the original owner, and they were scattered in various places, it was still best to remain silent as much as possible to minimize the possibility of being exposed.

An Ran boarded the research spaceship bound for the star path.

After waiting there for about ten minutes, the spaceship took off.

"Actually, it's quite efficient."

An Ran nodded secretly.

She planned to close her eyes and rest for a while, but then Luther, who was always so friendly, came over again.

"Old Dao didn't give you a hard time just now, did he?"

"..."

An Ran shook her head.

"That's good. It's strange, really. Old Dao is a serious person. If I hadn't talked to you, he wouldn't have taken his anger out on you."

Grass.

You know that, yet you keep nagging.

"Hey."

Luther sighed.

He suddenly stood up, his back to Anran.

Go ahead and hit me!

"..."

What the hell?

An Ran looked surprised.

Is this guy some kind of gay tyrant?

Luther's expression changed.

“Don’t get me wrong, I’m a normal person. I’m neither gay nor a masochist. I just feel bad.” He explained, “Because of my mistake, you got hit by Lao Dao for no reason. I feel bad. Go ahead and hit me. You’ll feel better after you’re done.”

An Ran said, "Do you want me to be arrested by the law enforcement department?"

Luther scratched his head.

that's true.

If you fight your own comrades on the spaceship, you'll be invited for tea immediately.

“How about this then?” Luther changed his approach again. “I’ll call you after this investigation is over and we’ve disbanded.”

Although Luther vehemently denied it, Anran still felt that Luther was gay.

and--

"Did you just set a goal for yourself?"

"flag?"

An Ran was too lazy to explain to him: "Forget it, I hope you get back alive."

Luther said with a smile, "Although collecting contaminants is dangerous, we are actually quite safe with the higher-ups protecting us."

If you say so, then so be it.

Anran was thoroughly annoyed by him and wished she could find a zipper to shut him up.

After being bothered for over an hour, Luther was finally called away by the others.

An Ran also received a task: to test whether the instruments were malfunctioning.

"I can finally breathe a sigh of relief."

Four hours after the spacecraft set sail, the investigation team finally arrived near the star path after two space jumps.

Anran didn't see any star trails, but she did see a large metal door that was right next to the Dyson sphere that enveloped the star.

"You can enter the Star Road by going through this door."

This door is not a relic left by the Forerunner civilization, but was built on the orders of the current rulers of the Eternal Starway.

It's about to begin.

An Ran's heart suddenly started racing.

The red lotus seed was pressed against her palm. She skillfully operated the instrument in front of her, while quietly infiltrating the spaceship's monitoring system.

boom!

The scene of the spaceship passing through that gate appeared directly on Anran's retina.

She saw the space ripple like water.

The spaceship sank from the "sea surface" into the deep "seabed".

Moments later, the world before their eyes underwent a tremendous change.

An Ran found herself and the spaceship entering a huge void. There was a faint white light in the center of the void, while the surrounding area was deep black.

It looks very strange.

Within these black areas, it's clear that some parts have become lighter in color.

It changed from pure black to dark gray.

"The area affected by the pollution has expanded again."

Luther walked in from outside.

"..."

Grass.

"The entrance wasn't contaminated last time, but if this continues, we'll be in big trouble."