Chapter 28

Early in the morning, with a successful start to their journey, both Qin Fei and Xi Yuan were in good spirits. Their current destination was the edge of the ice mountain continent, where a small, adorable creature lived—a creature called the sea cat, which was only about a quarter of the size of a typical zerg.

Neither of them were particularly fond of pets, but now that they were here, it wouldn’t hurt to take a look at these famously cute animals. After all, these sea cats could only thrive on the ice mountain continent of Aurora Star.

Although sea cats could technically exist in other places, they wouldn’t be as healthy outside of this environment. In fact, they’d often be weak and sickly. So, if they wanted to see the lively, healthy sea cats, coming to Aurora Star was the only option.

—

After enjoying a glimpse of these legendary, and indeed very cute, sea cats, it was time for lunch. They headed to the most famous local restaurant to enjoy a meal.

What was unique about this place was that all the buildings were made of ice. From the outside, they could vaguely see movement and stillness through the thick layers of ice.

Due to the low temperatures here, constructing buildings from ice blocks was no easy feat. As a result, the architecture was highly imaginative, with every building showcasing the creativity of the different zerg species.

They entered the restaurant, which resembled a giant turtle. Upon closer inspection, it appeared to be a strong sea turtle swimming through the ocean. The surface was even etched with patterns similar to a turtle’s shell, making the design remarkably lifelike. The place they were entering was located in the turtle’s wide-open mouth—essentially, it felt as though they were being swallowed by a sea turtle.

As soon as they entered, the sounds of a lively atmosphere, muffled by the ice layers, filled the air. Xi Yuan showed the staff his reservation at the counter, and they were led to a secluded small booth.

If they hadn’t made a reservation, they wouldn’t have been able to get in. There were already about ten groups waiting outside, and if they had to wait, it would have wasted a lot of time.

Not long after, their pre-ordered dishes were brought to them. These were all specialties of the glacier road, with many featuring seafood from the icy seas, while the rest were root vegetables and fruits from the ice-based magical plants that grew in the region.

Many of these dishes were new to them, but of course, the seafood from this area lived up to its reputation for being exceptionally fresh and delicious.

After lunch, they didn’t leave. They went up to the “turtle’s back,” which had large platforms. Several zerg patrons who had finished their meals were already up there, relaxing and digesting.

At this time, the sky had started to darken slightly.

They admired the scenery for a while, and then the sky turned dark. Not long after, the entire sky was filled with the aurora, the namesake of this planet.

It felt like a lifetime’s worth of colors and endless transformations had all been witnessed during this brief moment.

Perhaps it was due to the location, but it seemed that the aurora here was much closer than the one they’d seen over the Red Ocean. It felt as if by simply extending their hand or jumping, they could reach out and grab those shifting lights.

It was a grand visual feast.

—

On the third day, they visited the most famous street in the area, strolling from one end to the other. Anything that caught their interest was bought, and if they thought it had sentimental value, they also bought some items to give to friends. The three days passed in the blink of an eye.

After packing up, on the fourth morning, they boarded a spaceship, heading to their next destination.

The next stop was a planet named Mercury, which was covered by 99% ocean, with only a few scattered small islands. However, this Mercury was the birthplace and dominion of a water-based magical species called Seaweed.

The entire surface of Mercury was covered by 80% of the leaves of seaweed. These leaves resembled the lotus leaves found on Earth, and as the seaweed aged, its leaves would grow larger and stronger. The older the plant, the larger its leaves would become. The largest leaves now were comparable in size to the biggest small islands, capable of supporting hundreds of thousands of zergs living on them.

However, the leaf itself wasn’t the most important part of this magical plant. The real core was its root system, which extended deep into the ocean. This was a forbidden zone set by the magical plant. Any foreign creature attempting to enter the depths of the sea would be killed by the plant’s roots, without exception.

They wanted to go there because this magical plant would flower, and its blossoms were not only beautiful but also emitted a unique fragrance. The incense made from the flowers of this seaweed was very popular among the zerg species, and the reason for its popularity lay in the flower’s meaning—“A lifetime of happiness.”

After leaving the Aurora planet, they would need to spend five days on the spaceship to reach their next destination. The problem arose during these five days.

At first, everything seemed normal, but when their spaceship entered a small asteroid belt, Xi Yuan sharply sensed something was wrong.

To be cautious, he sent a message to the other two ships, advising them to be alert to their surroundings. Two female zergs were sent outside the spaceship to check the situation.

As soon as they went outside, they never returned, confirming that something was wrong. All three ships accelerated to their maximum speed, hoping to fly out of the asteroid belt as quickly as possible.

In this intricate and chaotic asteroid belt, if any zerg species wanted to carry out some ill-intentioned actions, this would be the ideal place to set up their plans. If they tried to send a distress signal, it was highly likely it would be interfered with.

Before they could reach full speed, they were intercepted by three ships that suddenly appeared in front of them. Qin Fei and Xi Yuan stayed together in the command room.

Xi Yuan looked at the screen in the command room, where six red dots appeared on the radar. His face immediately turned ashen.

“Master, please do not leave my side.”

Saying this, he issued a command on the screen, and two of the escort ships fired blue smoke from both the front and rear. The six red dots’ movement slowed down slightly.

However, the opponents had taken a huge risk to target the Empire’s level 9 male zerg, so they were fully prepared.

They had likely identified their target on the ship, so the particle cannons all targeted the two escort ships.

At first, they seemed to be handling things with ease, but this position was far too disadvantageous. There was little room to maneuver, and the exits at the front and rear were both blocked.

As time passed, they could only endure the attacks with the ship’s energy reserves. It wasn’t that they didn’t want to counterattack, but their ship was equipped for civilian use, not military. The range of their weapons was easily blocked by the opponent’s energy shields, rendering their attacks ineffective.

However, the two escort ships managed to buy them a little more time. Xi Yuan had thoroughly studied the route, and he had also done some homework on this asteroid belt. He slammed into a massive asteroid nearby, using the rebound force to break free from the encirclement at the cost of the ship being damaged, and then adjusted the ship’s angle to escape. He activated the ship’s jamming system.

The distress signal had been sent, but whether the Empire would receive it in time was another question. Even if they did receive it, it would take time for them to arrive. The 9th Escort Fleet, which was patrolling nearby, was currently on the other side. According to protocol, it would take at least half a day for them to arrive here. Half a day… they couldn’t hold out for that long! Those six ships were clearly high-level military vessels, but how did they get them? Could it be that there was a traitor in the military?