Poverty makes me capable of anything.

"Luther."

An Ran remained silent.

Simon stepped forward again.

"If you keep babbling on here, don't blame me for issuing a Level 2 violation penalty!"

Luther immediately tucked his neck in.

"Put your things down and begin preparations for battle."

This statement was addressed to both Luther and Enron.

An Ran stood up and followed the crowd into the combat preparation room.

In fact, the weakest of those who were pulled into the investigation team was level 103, and even Ludpi, despite being a level 112 NPC, was still strong.

After changing into the combat uniform prepared by the investigation team, Anran sat quietly in the preparation room and waited.

A few minutes later, the spaceship's AI began broadcasting.

[We have reached the endpoint of the previous investigation and are commencing the new investigation plan.]

The goal is to advance 2 kilometers.

News of the contaminant seemed to have spread, and everyone in the preparation room looked grave.

When the spacecraft had traveled more than 3000 kilometers forward, an unexpected incident suddenly occurred.

A spaceship traveling ahead was swallowed whole by a burst of gray mist because it got too close to the edge of the star path.

The surrounding ships immediately launched an attack.

However, the fierce shelling did not cause any damage to the fog.

The energy beam pierced through the fog and landed at the edge of the star path, disappearing without a trace, like a clay ox sinking into the sea.

"Pure energy attacks are useless against it."

This made the Starkillers in the investigation team restless. They could deal with collecting the contaminants later; their immediate priority was to figure out what the enemy really was.

The fleet came to a stop.

"It seems we won't be moving forward anytime soon."

An Ran watched as the Star Killers and the Gray Mist became entangled.

They probed cautiously, and it was this caution that saved one of their lives.

The black monster emerging from the gray fog was like a surging wave, too abrupt.

The Star Killer retreated quickly, and luckily he did so fast that he was not hit by the wave.

It's a Starway Parasite!

The battle broke out.

An Ran quietly approached the edge of the spaceship. She placed her palm against the wall, channeling her domain power. Moments later, a passage to the outside world appeared on the spaceship, and the small robot that had suddenly appeared in An Ran's palm flew out.

The robot carries the seeds of the Crimson Lotus King.

An Ran remained calm and composed, watching the battle between the people and the parasitic beasts outside, like a detached observer.

Ultimately, the investigation team proved to be stronger, and they gradually gained the upper hand against the relatively small number of parasites.

At that moment, orders came from the command ship.

[Prepare for a live-fire strike to provide cover for the data collection vessel as it collects contaminants.]

"That was close. This operation was definitely not an easy task."

Luther shook his head and walked up to Anran.

"..."

Why are you here again?

An Ran's eyes widened.

"Is there anything on my face?" Luther touched his face.

Good luck.

An Ran stood up and quietly walked to Simon's vicinity.

Luther's expression changed slightly. After hesitating for a moment, he walked over but didn't say anything.

This trick works!

An Ran was secretly pleased.

She saw the spaceship begin launching deep-space torpedoes, the billowing mist gradually dissipating, and the data collection ships launched from the flagship rapidly approaching the edge of the battlefield.

Someone used their fist to force back the approaching parasitic beast, but the force of the fist did not dissipate. Instead, it circled around and then suddenly closed in like a fishing net.

click!

The parasites were immediately trapped inside.

The collection ship seized the opportunity and opened the front cabin. Just as the parasitic beast was about to be sent into the collection ship, everyone, including An Ran, turned their attention to the front of the star path.

There is light!

A faint red light shone from ahead.

As time went on, the red light became brighter and brighter.

An Ran knew that the King of the Crimson Lotus had emerged.

But others may not know.

Seeing the values ​​displayed on the energy level detector gradually rise, the investigation team hesitated repeatedly before deciding to go and take a look.

Standing on the observation deck of the flagship, the commander-in-chief had a bad feeling. If he withdrew this time out of concern, he might miss something extraordinary.

"go ahead!"

He issued the order.

Those bright eyes were piercing.

However, the torch was reflected in the water.

The commander-in-chief's mouth gradually opened wide.

He saw that a section of the star path had turned completely gray, and right in the middle of that gray, a flame was quietly blooming.

The flame was hundreds of meters high.

When the spaceship flew close to the flames, the flames suddenly moved; more accurately, something within the flames moved.

A huge humanoid creature emerged from the flames.

It has six huge wings and long limbs. Because it is covered in flames, it is not clearly visible, only its eyes and mouth are exposed.

It looked like a black hole that had been carved out of the flames.

It carried with it an indescribable fear.

"Buzzing—"

The commander-in-chief heard strange noises coming from all around.

Sound cannot be transmitted through the star system, but this sound was emitted by the spaceship he was on.

Under the impact of the alien energy, the spaceship cried out in pain, like a small boat adrift in a storm at sea.

It felt like they would be crushed at any moment.

"What kind of monster is this?!"

The commander-in-chief raised his head, his teeth clenched.

His gaze was trembling.

As he moved, he suddenly realized that Xinglu seemed to be trembling as well.

"No, this is not an illusion!"

The path to stardom is truly trembling.

Everyone noticed this.

"How could it have turned out like this?"

"It must have been caused by this monster!"

"Attack it! Attack it!"

The Crimson King instantly became a target, with hundreds of ships from the investigation team launching attacks on it simultaneously. The Starkillers who had just been fighting the parasitic beasts also rushed forward.

Xinglu must not be harmed!

With this belief, those Star Slayers unleashed 120% of their power.

However, this is simply not enough in front of the Crimson King, who is now at level 190.

The crimson flames surged, and when the vast net collided with them, the gray areas along the star path burst into flames.

The energy beams that were about to fall on the Crimson Lotus King were all destroyed by the flames.

A martial artist at the Star Slayer level refused to believe in evil and tried to break through the flames despite the protective energy around him, but he quickly turned into a human torch.

They were just some jumping little insects.

The Crimson King didn't take these people seriously at all, and it never intended to kill them.

It also hopes that these people will pass on the news from here.

The flames burning in the gray area of ​​the star path grew larger and larger until they merged into one, forcibly splitting the star path in two.

"We can't stay here any longer; we can't solve this problem on our own."

Realizing this, the commander-in-chief quickly issued a retreat order.

He tried to transmit a signal to the outside world, but the signal transmitter could not find a signal channel due to the oscillations in space.

[Alert! Alert!]