Chapter 488: Starry Sky Trial

Chapter 488: Chapter 16: Starry Sky Trial

VROOM!!

Inside the Mountain City.

A camouflaged off-road vehicle sped away from the stone building, kicking up a billowing cloud of dust.

“They’re pushing us too far!” The Superpower Commander of the Red Flame Army, nicknamed Violent Bear, sat in the passenger seat. His face was livid with rage, his fierce, bloodshot eyes wide with indignation. “Boss, that’s our mine. Our brothers bled and sweat to secure it… Are we really just going to hand it over to Lu Weilong?” he asked, unable to stop himself from looking back at Chen Junhao, who sat in silence in the backseat.

The man’s expression was heavy, and he did not offer an immediate response as he usually would.

“Brother Hao. If worse comes to worst, we’ll just fight the Red River Army to the death!” The tall, thin commander driving, named Miller, also spoke in a deep voice, his face equally filled with unwillingness and anger.

The Red Flame Army had made repeated concessions, but it was obvious Lu Weilong wasn’t going to leave them a way out. Since that was the case, they might as well fight and make him choke on his own ambitions.

“How do we fight?” Chen Junhao suddenly asked, looking at the two of them. His calm words carried a trace of coldness. Whether it was Violent Bear or the tall white commander Miller, both stiffened. It was like a bucket of cold water had been poured over them, rapidly bringing back their composure.

Xiao Chen, the only one capable of contending with Lu Weilong, had died mysteriously. The White Bone Army was now leaderless and plagued by constant infighting. Ao’Er of the Rock Mountain Army had been personally recommended by Xiao Chen to take the position of fourth leader, yet he chose to defect after Xiao Chen’s death. In recent days, he had visited Lu Weilong multiple times, shamelessly showing weakness even when humiliated.

Everything seemed to indicate that the Red River Army’s momentum was unstoppable. They were on the verge of unifying the entire Fortress Mountain City, the upper reaches of the Red River, and even the entire northwest wilderness. Without any Transcendence Level experts holding him back, Lu Weilong was poised to subjugate all the Superpower Commanders, and no one could stop him.

When that time came…

“Are we just going to keep enduring this, Boss?” Violent Bear asked, unwilling to accept it. They had originally chosen to rely on Chen Junhao precisely because they didn’t want to work for Lu Weilong. But given the current situation, the entire Red Flame Army was likely being targeted and would be eaten alive, bones and all.

“About this matter…” Chen Junhao’s eyes were deep as he shook his head. He thought back to his late-night conversation. Since then, he hadn’t met with Special Commissioner Chen in private. All plans were quietly being set in motion, and he wasn’t sure if the other party would truly keep his promise and risk…

“Hm?” His train of thought paused as he suddenly looked out the window.

The autumn sun hung high in the sky, accompanied by the occasional biting cold wind. A few dark clouds drifted in midair, hardly worth paying attention to. However…

WHOOSH!!

Several meteors streaked across the sky, tearing through the atmosphere. Like iridescent celestial lights with blinding tail flames, they were visible even from the Mountain City.

“This…” Chen Junhao’s pupils shrank. Violent Bear and the others also noticed the anomaly, stopping their conversation in unison to look at the sky outside the car.

One, three, five… A full nine shooting stars plummeted from the heavens, rending the clouds. Yao Capital, East Port, the Southern Wilderness, the northern wastelands… They trailed flames, streaking on different trajectories toward various parts of Earth Star. One of them was particularly eye-catching, drawing closer and closer as it bypassed the airspace of the Mountain City and headed straight for the northwest wilderness.

In an instant, it wasn’t just them. The upper echelons of the entire Mountain City, and even the entire Earth Star, were shaken at this very moment.

…

“They’re here!”

Yao Capital, Biotechnology Company headquarters.

The board of directors and senior executives stood in the top-floor conference room, watching the outside scene through a holographic projection screen. Fiery red meteors streaked across the sky, seemingly symbolizing some extraterrestrial intent.

By comparing the footage captured by the company’s space satellites, they could see that the trailing flames were not just air combusting from high-speed friction; there was also some sort of thruster propulsion. At the center of the flames, a silver-gray metallic bulkhead, resembling a spaceship cabin, was faintly visible.

Seeing this, the directors and executives present were visibly shocked, their expressions turning solemn yet excited. Han Feng, one of the members, temporarily set aside her pursuit of Lu Chao and the biological potion experiments, joining the others in witnessing the iridescent meteors plummet toward the wilderness.

She thought, “The information provided by the emissary is actually true…”

Expectation filled her phoenix-like eyes, and a certain ambition surfaced on her face. She wondered if, once the experiment results were finalized, she could use that contribution as a stepping stone to request the emissary’s intervention, forcing Ji Lixian to hand over that little bastard surnamed Lu. Even further, might she also have the opportunity to board these extraterrestrial visitors’ spaceship and head into the Starry Sky?

As these thoughts flashed by, the various directors and security consultants present harbored different intentions, but a shared ambition surfaced among them.

At the same time, the top brass of other megacorporations also convened emergency meetings. Even some Al-Qaeda factions noticed the anomaly and entered maximum combat readiness.

Meanwhile, in the very center of Yao Capital, inside the building belonging to the Joint Committee Headquarters.

A lean man in a black Platinum-brand suit with parted hair stood by the floor-to-ceiling windows on the top floor. His eyes reflected the different trajectories of the nine meteoric lights.

“Ji the Kid, the Starry Sky Trial has begun,” an old-fashioned, patronizing voice echoed in his ear, even though there was absolutely no one beside him. It was as if some invisible existence was conversing with him. “Tsk tsk, the Clare People are truly a bunch of cunning foxes. If my guess is right, they probably want to use your war with the Rebels to let their geniuses complete their trial and undergo a metamorphosis…”

Ji Lixian fell silent briefly upon hearing this. He stood his ground, his expression somewhat serious. In his line of sight, the nine meteors streaked across the sky, tearing through the clouds and landing across Earth Star. Three of them were even falling not too far from Yao Capital, which had already alarmed the nearby Alliance Country troops stationed there.

“How many will there be?” he asked, his eyes grave.

As if guessing his thoughts, the invisible existence chuckled. “It’s impossible for anyone at or above the Non-human Level to appear. This is a trial for geniuses. Clare is a galactic-level civilization, after all, and they naturally don’t want their civilization’s geniuses to be sheltered children in an ivory tower.

“Blood and fire, war, life and death… this is how every civilization’s geniuses grow.” At this point, his tone shifted. “Moreover, I reckon the scope of this trial won’t be small. Other planets within the Clare star system are definitely experiencing similar situations.

“At most, there will be someone using a quantum communicator to monitor their movements and life signals, or perhaps they’ll be waiting for the results while navigating through space…”

Hearing this, Ji Lixian nodded. This was roughly in line with his previous deductions. As long as there were no entities above the Non-human Level, the Alliance Country would still remain the order maintainer of Earth Star, and generally speaking, massive chaos wouldn’t break out.

However…

“Navigating through space…” He looked up at the higher sky, as if gazing past the atmosphere toward the vast galaxy. A complex look quietly emerged in his eyes—curiosity and expectation. That was a level of technological advancement Earth Star still couldn’t reach, and it was the crucial first step for any planetary civilization entering the Starry Sky.

“Heh. Actually, you guys should consider yourselves lucky. If the Cosmic Government hadn’t enacted the Fortress of Peace regulations, the Klar Civilization wouldn’t have been this gentle with you,” the invisible entity’s voice echoed in his ear again, seemingly teasing his thoughts.

Then, as if remembering something, he reminded him, “By the way. These Clare People coming for the trial probably hold high status. Some might even be the figures backing the Biotechnology Company. Are you still going to protect that kid with the surname Lu?”

The moment those words fell, the atmosphere grew dead silent.

For a full few seconds, Ji Lixian stood alone by the window, looking out over the Radiant Capital City Circle. The city-within-a-city connected by high-altitude corridors, the bustling metropolitan districts, the deeper underground cities… He seemed to be weighing the pros and cons, or perhaps recalling the admonitions left behind by the Starry Sky Heroes.

Finally, Ji Lixian’s eyes grew calm as he tightened the collar button of his coat.

“I’m not protecting him.” Putting away all his emotions, he stated with a peaceful expression, “I am protecting the future of Earth Star. The Alliance Country needs more geniuses. Earth Star also needs more Non-humans.”

…

RUMBLE!!

Fortress Mountain City.

Almost at the exact same moment, whether it was Lu Weilong and his trusted subordinates who were plotting to take control of the Mountain City, or the residents standing by the streets and the warlord patrol squads—everyone looked up to see a meteor streak across the sky above the Mountain City, plummeting toward the distant lands beyond the fortress.

This scene left everyone staring in bewilderment. Even Yan Zhengfeng and his security assistants in the negotiation team’s residential building were frozen in place, somewhat dazed.

“Nine meteors?”

“What’s going on?”

“Wait, report this to Yao Capital immediately…”

As hasty voices reached his ears, Lu Chao stood by the window on the second floor, the look of surprise and doubt in his eyes gradually fading. Penelope had just woken up, but before he could ask her about her situation, he witnessed this extraterrestrial phenomenon.

He wondered, “Could it be more visitors from the Starry Sky?” The speculation subconsciously popped into his mind as he recalled a similar sight he had witnessed back in the Red Maple City Circle. Back then, a fiery red meteor trailing flames had also shot straight toward Yao Capital. Later, when he personally met Ji Lixian, his guess was confirmed—it was a visitor from the Starry Sky, an emissary belonging to the Klar Civilization.

“YOW?” Ghost Element rested by the window, human-like surprise flashing through its ruby-amber eyes. It had never seen such a situation before, and its first instinct was to leave and chase the meteor’s trajectory into the wilderness.

But soon, before it could act, a pair of large hands scooped it up.

The beast’s eyes looked up in confusion to see Lu Chao meeting its gaze and shaking his head.

“Not for now.”

He couldn’t be sure what the real situation was. If it truly was a visitor from the Starry Sky, could it be at the Non-human Level? Ghost Element had only just recovered from its injuries. If they ran into trouble, it could be disastrous.

Instantly, the man and the beast fell silent. Understanding his thoughts, Ghost Element didn’t insist on leaving.

Lu Chao nodded upon seeing this, then glanced again at the desolate land outside the Mountain City. The meteor had fallen quite a distance away, its trajectory no longer visible to the naked eye. Regardless of whether it was connected to the Starry Sky, he believed the Alliance Country’s higher-ups had already noticed the incident and would definitely notify them of the investigation results.

And right now…

Retracting his gaze, he turned his head to look at Penelope. She was lying on the bed with a splint on her arm and bandages wrapped around several wounds, having just woken up from a coma. Taking down Fortress Mountain City was his main objective for this trip. Only by doing so could he ensure the negotiations ended smoothly, allowing him to earn more mission contributions and massive resources.

Therefore, he needed to know a few things now.

“You saved me?” Penelope was a bit dazed. She surveyed her surroundings, her expression somewhat guarded.

Unsurprised, Lu Chao knew this was the instinct of a Dark Web assassin and an Exploration Level expert. Anyone would act this way in an unfamiliar environment.

However, he shook his head. “No.”

Penelope was slightly taken aback and subconsciously glanced at the black cat in his arms.

“YOW~~”

“It was Celestial Hunter.” Lu Chao interrupted Ghost Element’s almost cat-like cry and stared at Penelope. “He told me that you should know some secrets.”

He knew these Dark Web assassins only respected the strong. His identity as a Special Commissioner of the Alliance Country might not hold weight, but the name “Celestial Hunter” would definitely make her understand the rules.

Sure enough, Penelope’s expression changed upon hearing this, actually believing it a little. Because no one would casually bring up the name “Celestial Hunter,” especially not someone from the Alliance Country. Not to mention, she had faintly caught a glimpse of his back earlier.

“Where is he?” Penelope asked anxiously, seemingly wanting to ask for help.

Seeing this, Lu Chao felt reassured and stepped closer.

“Before you answer my questions, you should first understand your situation.” He stared into her brown eyes, his attitude forceful. “Tell me. What exactly did you and Raccoon Cat encounter?”