Chapter 2261: Race changes

In the outer sky, several spaceports were under construction, with all kinds of machinery, large and small, busily at work, and occasionally flashes of light would streak by.

These spaceports had all been temporary before; now, they were being made permanent so that they could continue to serve in the future, providing space bases and supply and medical facilities for the cosmic races of the universe who would continue to enter here for exploration and hunting.

While soldiers of various races were fighting and killing on the planet below, the spaceports were busy yet peaceful.

At least here, there would be no splattering blood or roars of monsters.

The Return Voyage.

This flagship of the Huo'er Star people had only just returned today. Over the past fifty cosmic days, it had made one round trip, delivering a large quantity of construction materials.

Now, the spaceport being built by the Huo'er Star people was progressing the fastest; it would basically be completed within twenty cosmic days, and by then, the Huo'er Star people would also be the first major race to enter here for hunting.

Captain Aijiegu of the Return Voyage looked out at everything beyond the ship with a sense of complacency.

It was no wonder he felt that way, because he was of Prince Zimu's faction.

Or, to be more precise, he was seen as belonging to Prince Zimu's faction, because before becoming the captain of the Huo'er Star people's most advanced warship, he had taught at the Royal Academy, and Prince Zimu had been his last disciple.

After Zimu graduated, he had moved from teaching to a command position.

Since Prince Zimu had no hope of inheriting the Huo'er Star throne, he faced almost no exclusion or attacks. At first, there had not even been talk of a "Zimu faction," until news of his marriage alliance with the She Ke Star people spread and was confirmed to some extent; that was when such a designation appeared.

And Aijiegu had been passively labeled with that tag at that time.

But he did not mind, especially after becoming captain of the Return Voyage. He had even begun to fantasize that in the future, when Zimu became an important figure among the Sheke Star people, he could help Aijiegu secure a high-level position in the Huo'er Star fleet, rather than being confined to commanding just one ship as he was now.

If one day he had a say in the entire fleet, then by leveraging his relationship with Zimu, he could easily engage in private trade on the side, and Moonspan Gold would fly into his pockets automatically.

Today, Aijiegu would go to this planet to pick up his fellow clansmen and bring them home, and it would also be the first time in a long while that he would meet Zimu directly.

After this, Zimu's prestige would rise significantly, and Aijiegu felt it was time to give the prince an early heads-up, to pave the way for the future.

With a puffing sound, the metal door behind him opened, and several other deputy captains of the Return Voyage walked in.

"No matter which planet it is, after staring at it from space for too long, it all becomes tedious."

"That's because it's not home." Aijiegu felt quite pleased with himself for being able to utter such a philosophical remark.

The others could also tell that the captain was in a good mood today.

After some casual chat, one deputy captain said, "I wonder why they have to block all signal sources. At worst, we could just not open communications; we could at least have live feeds so we could see what's happening up there and kill some boring time."

"It's still to prevent cheating. Even among the supermajor races, there's not much mutual trust."

"Actually, I just want to know if Lord Kunzuo went to challenge those few strong energy signals."

"He probably won't. The detection results show that these energy signals all have certain ranges of activity and don't seem overly hostile to outsiders. Lord Kunzuo's main task is to protect our people from high-level threats, so he probably won't actively challenge them. But if they attack our people, Lord Kunzuo certainly won't hold back."

"Just wait. In another hour we'll set off to pick up the people. I expect our haul will be the best this time."

Listening to his subordinates' chatter, Aijiegu did not join in. Only after they had pretty much finished did he give his orders: "Once the signal is restored, first check whether those powerful energy sources are still in the same positions as fifty days ago. Then re-establish communication with the ground as soon as possible and ask if there have been any anomalies or other needs. We'll prepare before we set off."

The deputy captains acknowledged the orders and went out to prepare, while Aijiegu continued gazing at the planet.

But just as they all thought everything would go smoothly, an anomaly occurred.

"The ground is not responding to any of our signals!"

"Two of the strong energy sources are no longer in their original positions; one of them is only about a thousand kilometers from the Black Book Absolute Peak."

"No, Captain, look at the real-time image of the Black Book Absolute Peak!"

In the moment the planet hunting ground ended, Aijiegu fell from heaven to hell. A string of bad news left his mind briefly blank.

He saw the current state of the Black Book Absolute Peak as captured by the satellites; it was nothing like it had been fifty days ago; it had... completely changed.

"Activate the highest level of alert. The mothership will remain in the sky for now. Send all special task groups down to investigate—I want answers within an hour. Also, close the spaceports, expel other races currently in port, have all personnel at their stations, and prepare for combat!"

Aijiegu's voice instantly turned hoarse, and then he said with difficulty: "Contact the clan and report the situation, awaiting further orders!"

………………………………

Inside the planet, at a camp some two thousand kilometers from the Black Book Absolute Peak, Elder Huozhi lay on a bed, severely injured and still unconscious. Jie Su, White Robe, Ye Zhongming, Lord Eye, Lady Star, and the others sat around him.

"Two other teams came out with the Elder. They were responsible for provoking the two peak-expert-level native lifeforms on the planet, getting them to leave their habitats and head toward the Black Book Absolute Peak."

"Elder Huozhi probably intended that after his formation was activated, the massive energy reaction would draw the other peak experts there. And if he failed, there would still be a slim chance that these native lifeforms would attack the Huo'er Star people."

Jie Su explained.

"It's also possible that Elder Huozhi was preparing an excuse in advance for our victory." Lady Star suddenly said.

The others were stunned for a moment, and when they looked at Huozhi again, their gazes changed.

If this Su Clan elder, now lying before them as if asleep, had calculated even that far ahead, then he would be truly terrifying.

"We were lucky. One peak lifeform that had left its habitat and was moving this way was detected early by the arriving Reina Star people, which caused them to be delayed considerably along the way, giving us enough time to finish up the battlefield and retreat."

Jie Su paused briefly before continuing. After Ye Zhongming killed Kunzuo, the Huo'er Star people had completely collapsed, but the fighting had still gone on for some time, and they had also used a bit of time to destroy the Black Book Absolute Peak and cover their tracks.

"The two teams..."

"They're fine. They didn't get close to the peak lifeforms; they used some methods from a distance, and after confirming they were effective, they withdrew in time and have already rejoined us."

Everyone nodded. Recalling what they had just done, though they had ultimately won, it had truly been fraught with danger. One misstep, or even a slight bit of bad luck, could have ruined everything, and then the Su Clan and the Star-Eye Clan would have been nearly enemies of the entire world.

"Alright, time's up. Let's send the signal for the aircraft to come pick us up. And... it's time to start the show."

Jie Su shrugged.

Ye Zhongming also stood up, but suddenly he felt something was wrong. He looked down and saw that at some point, Qiuqiu, which he had been carrying on his back, had extended its two white threads into Ye Zhongming's... spatial equipment!