Poverty makes me capable of anything.

Christopher stared in disbelief at Anran, who seemed to have settled into a state of leisure.

"No, this, that..."

"Don't worry." An Ran waved her hand with her back to Christopher. "I will also look into the other matters."

There were simply too many collaborative projects that needed to be reviewed, so Anran had no choice but to call Tan Tang over to be her assistant.

However...

As the investigation progressed, An Ran gradually became Tan Tang's assistant.

Once Tan Tang had fully grasped her thinking, An Ran focused her energy on modifying the new spaceship.

The Demon Ship is too small and not suitable for long-range combat.

The long-analyzed Void Warp Engine cannot be left idle.

In addition, Enron was also very interested in digital life.

If things go smoothly, she could create a civilization all by herself.

Digital civilization can greatly compensate for Anran's shortcomings in virtual technology—it has accumulated knowledge but lacks practical blueprints, and there are very few virtual direction icons lit up on the skill tree.

Anran opened a new digital life cultivation room in the underground laboratory of the Divine Court.

Digital life and AI are different.

AI is an individual, while digital life is a "life form" struggling to survive in the sea of ​​data.

They possess the same instinct for development as civilized beings in the outside world.

For them, the digital world is the dimension in which they live.

When digital life develops to a certain extent, it can transcend dimensions and descend into the outside world.

During the time An Ran became a recluse, the Mechanicus Cult was also making steady progress.

Anran originally thought this period would last for a long time, but unexpected events always happen.

The message from Silent City made An Ran's face tense.

Virginia returned from the planetary graveyard, severely injured and needing a long time to recover, with shadows lurking behind her, watching the Silent City.

While the Eternal Star Road cannot directly attack Silent City, the Time Sea Star Region has eight Star Region Rulers.

Some of them have an ambiguous relationship with the Eternal Star Path.

Is this considered a distress signal?

An Ran glanced back at the digital disk she had created.

Let it evolve on its own.

"Ella, let's get ready to go."

……

The outer perimeter of the castle where the Lord of the Night resides.

The full moon rises.

The descendants of the Night Demons raised their heads.

The moon tonight is more dazzling than ever before.

The atmosphere of the entire castle seemed different from usual.

That vitality seemed to solidify and weigh heavily on everyone's hearts.

"Could it be..." The elder of the Night Demon Clan clenched his fists excitedly, "that the Lord of the Night has finally seen through the desire for victory and has been reborn?!"

Since his defeat in front of everyone, the Lord of the Night has lived a secluded life.

He doesn't seem to be completely withdrawn; at least he still handles internal affairs within the territory.

But anyone with eyes can see that something is wrong with this Lord of the Night!

The sharp edge he once possessed as the ruler of the star field has vanished, or rather, it has withered.

He went from a vibrant soldier to a frail old man leaning on a cane.

This situation has been going on for several years.

The descendants of the Night Demon Clan saw this and were worried. If things continued like this, they would eventually be surpassed by other dominant forces.

Tonight, all this bleakness has finally changed!

The senior was the first to notice the anomaly, and soon the weaker juniors also realized it.

The open space in front of the castle was soon crowded with people.

"This is good news."

"This is fantastic news!"

"Perhaps this failure is actually a good thing."

"Shh, it's best not to say this out loud."

As we were talking, a noticeable black dot suddenly appeared on the large, round moon in the sky.

"Yes……"

The older generation reached out and stopped the impulsive younger generation.

"Don't panic, that's a spaceship from the Eternal Star Path!"

"Yes."

It was a giant ship about 20 kilometers long, floating quietly above the castle. The curved Eternal Starway symbol on the bottom of the ship was illuminated by a faint white light, which contrasted sharply with the surrounding black shield.

A few seconds later, the spaceship's door popped open with a whoosh, and several people walked out of the hatch.

Without further ado, they flew straight into the castle below.

One of them was none other than the Star Domain Ruler who had recently made a big splash in front of the players—"Escape Emperor" Sawyer.

"So it is this gentleman."

The senior nodded slightly.

That's fine.

Everyone knows that the Lord of the Night and Sawyer are the closest of friends.

No wonder they didn't receive any alarms when the spaceship came in; it must have been an order personally given by the Lord of the Night.

The old man thought for a moment, and just then the Lord of the Night's state changed. Could it be that Sawyer brought some good news?

……

"Bartholomew!"

Sawyer strode across the crimson carpet on the ground, opened his arms, and embraced the Lord of the Night, who was forcing a smile on his face.

At this moment, the few people who had come with him stood respectfully at the door, without saying a word.

Sawyer said, "I thought you would be in even worse shape."

The Lord of the Night chuckled dryly: "I've fought my way up, and although I lost badly, I shouldn't have given up like this. I just can't understand it."

Sawyer nodded: "It's alright, you'll figure out why soon enough."

The Lord of the Night remembered the message that Sawyer had sent back—

Virginia has been wounded!

He said, "If the Exiled Empire doesn't interfere, then it might be possible to succeed."

Sawyer smiled: "Virginia is the strongest among those who have defected to the Exiled Empire in recent years, and the Exiled Empire cannot let her go unchecked. But as long as we act quickly enough, we can take care of her before the Exiled Empire can react."

The Lord of the Night largely agreed with Sawyer's words.

With several of them working together to deal with a severely injured Virginia, there was no reason for them to fail.

He asked, "Why did Eternal Star Path suddenly turn against Virginia?"

This is the place that the Lord of the Night finds most perplexing.

Logically speaking, now is not a good time.

If we really want to take action, the best time would be when Virginia is interested in joining the Exiled Empire.

Even if it succeeds now, it will thoroughly enrage the Exiled Empire and provoke a large-scale war between the two sides.

Just recently, there were reports that Eternal Star Road had encountered a major problem.

“The situation has changed,” Sawyer sighed, but his smile quickly widened. “It has become more favorable to us.”

"?"

Sawyer said, "The planetary graveyard is more than just an apex stone for our Eternal Path."

The Lord of the Night was startled.

"You mean there's a big secret in that ruined place?"

Sawyer's lips curled slightly: "A mature civilization, and the vast new world behind that civilization. Unlike the barren outer realms we have explored so far, that new world is a piece of fat meat that no one wants to give up."

The Lord of the Night understood.

From the moment this news was discovered, friction and war between the two major powers became inevitable.

Given this, it's not incomprehensible that they would provoke conflict in advance.

Ultimately, the decisive factor in the outcome of war is the top combat power. The Eternal Star Road cannot simply watch the opportunity to eliminate a star field ruler belonging to the Exiled Empire slip away.

He, Bartholomew, was nothing more than a pawn in the hands of the Eternal Star Road.

but……

The Lord of the Night smiled slightly; he didn't mind becoming a pawn.

After suffering a crushing defeat at the hands of Virginia, the Lord of the Night pondered many things.

There were some things he couldn't understand, such as why Virginia, who had once been weaker than him, had grown so quickly.

But he understood some things—