Great, we're doomed now!

“Alright,” Megumi said, her voice not loud but enough to quiet down the laughter on the screen, “We should be tolerant of whatever personal hobbies people have. After all, Horii, you’re also secretly developing glasses that can see other people’s favorability ratings, aren’t you?”

"Team leader? That's actually a combat capability measurement..."

"We'll talk about your wasting research funds another time. Let Xincheng rest now; he must be very tired."

Xincheng breathed a sigh of relief and quickly closed the team chat.

"Sigh...doesn't this fit my tough guy image after all?"

Although idol worship is not something to be condemned, he usually presents himself as a hot-blooded and reckless man, and has always been proud of it... Now that his weakness has been discovered, he really has no words to refute it.

However, even a human needs a spiritual oasis!

Ah, our toast of brotherhood~

"Airi-chan..."

-

It seems he's under a lot of pressure these days. Well, there's been so much going on lately. After this crisis is over, let's give everyone a long break.

As Izumi thought this, a helpless yet amused smile appeared on her lips. She then decided to continue her daily routine of communication and summarize the situation in each person's area. It was at this moment that she glanced unintentionally at Ye Shou's profile picture and found that the captain was wearing an awkward expression.

Because she rarely saw Ye Shou react like this, Kijima Megumi couldn't help but feel curious: "Captain Kuze, what's wrong? Are you still thinking about Shinjo? It's not like it's a violation of discipline or anything..."

"No, it's not like that... How should I put it, it's just that I feel... a little sorry for him." Ye Shou stroked his chin, his eyes filled with complex emotions. "If I had realized things had developed to this point, perhaps he wouldn't have..."

"Huh? What do you mean?"

"Captain Intermediary, I have a question I need to ask you."

Ye Shou raised his head seriously: "If you discover a secret that would disappoint your best friend to the extreme, and he himself is unaware of it, and no one will be hurt as long as you don't tell... then should you hide it from your friend?"

"Ok?"

Upon hearing this, Masaki and Daigo both looked over, and the other team members also perked up.

Could it be that they found out I was secretly practicing my transformation moves in front of the mirror and shouting out my special attack?

Could it be that he sensed my dream of chasing him in a Jeep and crashing into him?

Could it be that someone told me I privately complained that he was a protagonist in a light novel?

—For a time, the once united Victory Team began to show signs of division.

"What are you talking about... It's a bit confusing, but it really depends on the specifics. If it violates the law or morality—"

"It's not that serious."

Ye Shou spread his hands: "What will be damaged are men's dreams, hopes, and fragile hearts."

"In that case, you'd better consult some other male friends, right?"

"That's true..."

Ye Shou pursed his lips and then made up his mind: "Let's end this before it gets worse."

Three hours later, the legendary idol group Backstreet Girls announced their permanent retirement and took a trip as a tribute, which was also the group's last public activity.

Midway through their trip, the three idols bid farewell to the cameras and fans, and never appeared in public again. Like shooting stars, they rose and fell quickly, causing countless people to lament, including Shinjoong.

Not long after, TPC's publicity department gained three junior producers. Although they had little formal education, they were very adaptable and well-suited to publicity work. Once, when planning an interview with the Victory team, Shinjo even had a long, close conversation with one of them.

For some reason, even though it was their first meeting, he felt an instant connection with this producer who had a cheerful smile, straightforward manner, and occasionally made some inexplicable remarks... Perhaps this is the resonance between men!

Volume 11: To the Day of Destiny: Chapter 521: Monsters Feel No Pain (Bonus Chapter 4.5K)

On the gravitational boundary extending into deep space from the edge of the star system, the "Uranus Outpost" floats on the outer edge of the solar system. Its shape resembles an elongated hexagonal prism, and its main structure consists of three silver-white ring-shaped chambers connected together. Each chamber rotates slowly at a different speed to simulate the internal gravitational environment.

A thin, resilient energy-harvesting membrane covers the outstretched skeletal structure on both sides, emitting a faint blue fluorescence in the darkness, like a luminescent soft-bodied creature in the deep sea, subtly illuminating its floating silhouette.

Several slender probe arms extend from the base, each equipped with a quantum lens, constantly pointing towards the empty regions outside the solar system where there is almost no starlight.

In the deepest hibernation zone inside the base, dozens of oval-shaped capsules are arranged in three rows. Soft blue-white light shines through the translucent tops, while the inner walls of the capsules are lined with soft padding made of a special material. The ambient temperature is kept constant within the most comfortable range for the human body, and the air flows slowly and evenly, carrying a faint, refreshing fragrance and trace amounts of calming ingredients—the type of fragrance is chosen by the user.

For example, Lucia likes a plant called tulips, and she likes to pair them with a glass of refreshing wine while working to help her get into the zone faster.

She now lay in one of the capsules, her hands folded in front of her abdomen, her breathing steady and long. Her eyes were slightly closed, her eyelashes fluttering occasionally, as she observed the movements "far away" through a sensory channel far deeper than dreams.

From the outside, Lucia is almost indistinguishable from an ordinary Earth woman, and strictly speaking, she is even considered very beautiful. Her facial features are slightly more three-dimensional than those of a human, and her skin has a very light bluish sheen under the cold light, which is the effect of blue blood showing through the capillaries.

—She is not from Earth.

She and her people came from a planet that was destroyed long ago. They were then conquered and enslaved by the Muzhen aliens during their wandering. Fortunately, they were saved by the legendary giant of light.

After being liberated by Ye Shou, some people immigrated to Earth, while most of the eligible individuals entered the Space Development Bureau, using their innate spatial perception abilities to provide human civilization with positioning accuracy far exceeding the limits of instruments.

They can identify coordinates during interstellar travel without any external equipment. If amplified by specialized equipment, they can even detect the slightest disturbances in a gravitational field at distances spanning astronomical units. They are truly gifted!

For a long time to come, as long as human interstellar navigation technology has not matured, they will remain an indispensable part of the human race. And considering the vastness of the universe, there will always be unexplored unknown areas... It is no exaggeration to say that they are forever bound to humanity.

In fact, they have now begun to live among humans, and it is generally not noticeable that they are different.

As they integrate into Earth society, their population base is overwhelmingly smaller than that of the locals, and intermarriage with humans has gradually occurred. Not long ago, they even successfully gave birth to the first batch of mixed-race children. According to Ye Shou's estimate, after two or three generations, this bloodline from another planet will be completely integrated into the overall Earth civilization and become a human subspecies with special talents.

Ye Shou wasn't worried that this would cause any racial conflict. After all, Earth under TPC's rule wasn't as crazy as the X-Men comics, where superpowered people were specifically targeted and bullied...

The future Earth is destined to have more aliens and superpowered beings, and there may even be a collective evolution of humanity... In comparison, accepting Lucia and her people is really not a big problem.

The key point is that Lucia and her group thought the same way. They not only did not reject being assimilated by Earthlings, but also actively cooperated with the process.

Therefore, while Ye Shou was providing them with relief, he did not intend to treat them as guests, but rather to encourage them to actively integrate into the Earthling system.

Incidentally, the vast majority of ordinary people were unaware that they came from another planet, and a few high-ranking officials respected Ye Shou's opinion and did not take any targeted action against them.

Let's just assume they're superpowered individuals recruited from the general public!

After the dark vortex appeared, Ye Shou informed the Space Development Bureau to pay close attention to the movements of the alien enemy. Lucia and her team then took the initiative to enter the newly developed work pod that could amplify mental perception, and did their best to expand the defensive range.

Firstly, it was to repay Ye Shou; secondly, it was to fulfill their duties and be worthy of their salaries; and thirdly, Earth had now become their home, and they couldn't stand idly by!

If you hide away when this planet faces a crisis, how can you have the face to call it your "second home planet"?

They are a race that knows how to be grateful, and they understand that it is precisely in times like these that they must stand firmly with the people of Earth!

"Beep~ Beep~ Beep~"

During what was supposed to be a normal routine observation, a discordant noise suddenly broke the silence.

Lucia twitched her fingertips slightly, and the sensors on the cabin wall immediately detected the subtle change in her heart rate, displaying an inconspicuous reading on the monitor before it returned to normal.

Although the anomaly quickly disappeared, her brow furrowed slightly, as if she were increasing her power... that somewhat vague sensation was becoming clearer and clearer—

Unlike the fluctuations that could be generated by normal celestial activity, these waves were traveling from the edge of the solar system, traversing the vast vacuum region, and landing on her sensory network.

"Hmm? That's not right!"

The girl opened her eyes, and her voice was transmitted to the control center of the outpost through the loudspeaker inside the cabin. Although she had just emerged from deep sensing and was still a little hoarse from sleep, her tone was unusually serious, leaving no room for doubt as to whether she was awake or not.

"Something has appeared outside the solar system, not a meteorite... There's a very unusual fluctuation, and its trajectory is clearly heading towards... I'm trying to confirm its location and quantity!"

"Received, understood."

The operator at the control center confirmed the instruction, and the main sensor array of the remote control base was aligned with the direction she indicated. Fifteen minutes later, a small patch of irregular clutter appeared on the radar screen, slowly moving inward.

"No way... what is this?"

The edges of those clutter waves spread out more widely and were more concentrated in depth than she had expected—meaning there were a great many enemies!

"It will take time... The distance is far, but the speed is not low... Will we perform another space jump? But it's easy to deviate within a star system... Half an hour?"

"Headquarters has completed its combat readiness work, and our mission is accomplished. However, judging by the speed at which this is happening, it will be difficult for us to evade it. Let's prepare for battle!"

Kazuma Asuka appeared at the control center. As a member of the "Victory Uranus Squad," this was his original post, and he had been assigned the important task of sniping distant enemies by Ye Shou early on.

More than half an hour later, the deep space probe at the edge of the solar system captured the first clear signal. Rows of energy source indicators lit up on the screen, and hundreds or thousands of light spots appeared one after another in the same area. The density was extremely high and the arrangement was neat, clearly indicating that they had collectively jumped back to reality from space.

The outlines of those points of light gradually became clear under radar scanning—

The ship has a long, narrow, spindle-shaped hull covered with a dark armor layer, and the engine nozzles still retain the afterglow of light that is unique to warp jumps.

The array they formed resembled the jaws of some gigantic creature opening in the darkness, slowly gnawing at the entire solar system...

Lucia's gaze didn't linger on the warships for long, but continued to follow the unusual fluctuations. Just then, a startling message arrived from headquarters:

Something else happened on the other side too!

A terminal device located in Venus's orbit, used to monitor sunspot activity, captured a set of unusual flight paths.

A bright spot of light is cutting in at high speed from the other side of the solar system, moving towards the interior of the solar system in a near-straight path. Its trajectory does not conform to the characteristics of ordinary celestial bodies, and it seems to be actively adjusting its course.

When it was captured by the Venus probe, it had already left Venus's orbit and entered the Earth-Moon system in just a few minutes!

By the time the duty officer identified the impact point, it was too late to adjust the defense platforms in orbit. The ball of light plunged into the far side of the moon, crashing into an area on the rim of the Copernicus crater, kicking up fine lunar dust and debris, leaving behind a deep, scorched crater.

At the bottom of the crater, the object that had pierced the surface remained still for about ten seconds. Then, its surface began to deform, and the cracks in its outer shell opened to the sides, transforming into a pair of wings covered with dark scales. The hard shell on its surface peeled off like dry soil, revealing the true form beneath.

Finally, a giant bird over sixty meters tall stood up from the bottom of the pit!

Its head is streamlined, its neck is short and powerful, its beak is slightly curved, and its belly is covered with a darker shield-like pattern with a distinct outline, as if some kind of internal structure supports the shape under the skin.

After the strange bird straightened up, it turned its head slightly, its unblinking pupils shifting as if trying to determine its location. Then it abruptly turned its head, its gaze passing over the edge of the crater and landing on the distant Earth… that blue planet entangled in a dark vortex.

A beautiful celestial body, facing the crisis of destruction, hovers at the edge of its field of vision, like a gem suspended on a black curtain.

"Moo~"

The cosmic monster "Bemstein" roared twice in that direction. Its voice was squeezed out from deep in its throat, deep and with a metallic friction texture. It could not travel in a vacuum, but the vibration waveform was captured by the seismic monitoring device near the impact point and converted into audible audio.

The sound had no clear meaning... but it was permeated with a primal, undisguised desire. Driven by its animalistic instincts, it made a judgment in that moment:

The great whirlpool is calling it!

—The two messages appeared on the screen in front of Sawai almost one after the other.

At this very moment, he was sitting at TPC headquarters, and he seemed calm and composed in the face of this sudden challenge, as if he had been prepared for it all along.

The left side displays a deep-space scan image transmitted from the Uranus outpost, showing swarms of shuttle-shaped warships crossing the edge of the solar system. The right side of the screen shows a real-time image of the craters on the far side of the moon, where the strange bird has emerged from the crater, and doesn't look particularly ferocious...

Yoshioka stood a few steps behind him, watching the screen with equal composure.

“The dark vortex will continue to attract evil forces, and this level of threat is already quite good.” Sawai’s voice was just loud enough for everyone in the command room to hear. “After Gatanothor’s defeat, that gap is like a beacon shining in the deep sea. For some time to come, Earth will be repeatedly subjected to similar impacts, and that is why we must repair it.”

"Isn't it a bit too much to carry out a lunar terraforming program while simultaneously defending against external enemies?"

"We have no choice."

He paused, tapping his fingers lightly on the edge of the table: "What we need to do is adapt to changing circumstances. Once we take this step, the future of humanity will be bright—Victory Team, move out!"