Chapter 497 - 430: The Final Crisis

Chapter 497: Chapter 430: The Final Crisis

Inside the main cabin.

Guan Tong had just come from the rest cabin when he saw a multi-limbed space robot begin to operate the control console.

Then, a large, folded screen on it rose and unfolded, automatically initiating a video call with ground control.

Once connected, Zhang Minglu and Director Vilanko appeared on the screen.

"Guan Tong, how are you feeling after your rest? Is everything alright with your body?" Zhang Minglu asked with concern.

"I’m just a little tired now, but no other major problems," Guan Tong said.

"Tired, you say... I hate to say this, but now is not the time to rest."

Guan Tong frowned. "What do you mean? What else is there?"

Logically, after the Wailing Furnace was devoured by his title, the Crimson Fear should have receded, resolving this particular crisis of rules.

"Let’s start with some good news," Vilanko said. "After Terra Star returned to normal, the people who were in a state of distress under the influence of the Crimson Fear have had their symptoms alleviated."

"Oh? Have they all woken up?"

"Not exactly. Although the influence has vanished, the damage it caused is irreversible. Many victims have fallen into comas... But in any case, even if just one in a hundred victims can return to a normal life in the future, it’s a good thing, and that will undoubtedly be thanks to you."

Guan Tong nodded.

It was an unavoidable situation, much like how the law apprehends and punishes criminals after the fact, but the harm already done to the victims can never be undone.

He then took the initiative to ask, "Since you started with the good news, that must mean there’s bad news. Whatever it is, please, just tell me straight."

The two men glanced at each other, and Zhang Minglu said, "It’s like this..."

He explained the situation with Robert piloting Dream Ship One toward them, along with all the context, but Guan Tong wasn’t as alarmed as the two of them had expected.

"So, to sum it up, you’ve determined he’s trying to ram this Imperial Pioneer with the Dream Boat?"

"Based on its trajectory, yes."

Guan Tong fell into thought upon hearing this.

Seeing his calm expression, Vilanko and Zhang Minglu were both secretly alarmed.

To remain so calm after hearing such news... As the person about to be hit, Guan Tong’s composure was far greater than that of those who were safe on the ground.

But if Guan Tong knew what they were thinking, he would have found it amusing.

The reason he wasn’t panicking was that he was in no real danger. Even if the two rockets were to actually collide, he would have used Body Shifting to return to Celestial Water Star long before the impact.

After thinking for a moment, Guan Tong said, "You should check on the situation with that ’propagator’ woman from Lu Rui Country. See if she’s returned to normal now that the Crimson Fear has receded."

The two were startled. Zhang Minglu was the first to react, his eyes lighting up. "Guan Tong, are you saying that if she has recovered, Robert might have recovered as well?"

"Yes. Didn’t you think Robert had also become a propagator? Their situations should be similar, right?"

Guan Tong had previously surmised that those who became propagators of the fear must have come into contact with, or even obtained, a small piece of the Wailing Furnace, thereby gaining similar abilities.

Now that the main body of the Wailing Furnace had been devoured and absorbed by his title, becoming a package of upgrade experience, the small pieces they held might also have turned into ’Dead Objects’.

It was just like the Nanomites Swarm Guan Tong possessed. After separating from the greater sapient entity, this small piece no longer had any intelligence of its own, becoming an ’item’ controlled by its holder.

"That makes a lot of sense!" Zhang Minglu said decisively. "I’ll contact Lu Rui Country right now and ask about the woman’s condition. Director Vilanko, could you please have someone increase the intensity of communications being sent to Dream Ship One? If Robert has regained consciousness and can hear them, he might contact us to explain the situation."

After the two of them split up to take action, the screen went blank.

Guan Tong sat by himself, gazing out the porthole at space, when a thought suddenly occurred to him: ’I wonder if my Shadow can exist in the vacuum of space?’

Once the thought appeared, it quickly took root and sprouted.

He immediately decided to test it.

An incorporeal Shadow Line emerged from the sole of his foot and bored into the material of the hull.

He didn’t use a corporeal Shadow because the spaceship’s airtight seal was crucial. Accidentally punching a hole in it would be both troublesome and dangerous in space.

Fortunately, through developing his Shadow ability last month, he had mastered the derivative power of ’Coexistence of Reality and Illusion’.

This way, he could first guide the incorporeal Shadow through the hull, and then, once it was in outer space, he could materialize the part that was exposed. He could test the Shadow’s adaptability to a space environment without compromising the hull’s integrity.

The incorporeal Shadow, like a black thread, quickly passed from inside the hull into space. Under Guan Tong’s control, the part of the incorporeal Shadow that entered space materialized and activated its shared vision.

The moment it became corporeal, the Shadow immediately began to exhibit many changes that were completely different from how it behaved on Celestial Water Star.

First, even under Guan Tong’s control, it began to drift toward the planet on its own. This was likely related to Gravity; with the Shadow’s own negligible mass, it was impossible for it to escape Celestial Water Star’s pull while in orbit.

Second, it was somehow even "blacker" than on Celestial Water Star. This was possibly due to the lack of an atmosphere to scatter light, making the Shadow’s edges exceptionally sharp and clear, and very conspicuous.

If Guan Tong hadn’t extended just a small portion, but instead created a massive amount of Shadow and transformed it into some kind of beast, he could have convincingly portrayed a space monster.