Xyrin Empire
Chapter 348 - Chapter 348 Chapter 348 A Mess

Chapter 348: Chapter 348: A Mess Chapter 348: Chapter 348: A Mess “Pandora? How did you get here?” I was utterly surprised to see Pandora coming down from the Avalon cargo ship, “Is your body adjustment finished?”

“Mhm.” The little girl nodded almost imperceptibly and then walked in front of Visca without a word, just standing there quietly with her expressionless, murky eyes.

I was wondering what Pandora meant by this when Visca, who had been stared at by her own sister for a long while, suddenly turned her head away disdainfully, scoffing, “Hmph, since when did I need you to care about me?”

Then it hit me.

Had she come all this way because she heard her little sister’s Star Ring was destroyed and fell on Earth, driven by some inexplicable worry?

What a stubborn girl… It’s one thing to be bad at expressing feelings, but can’t she even manage to speak a caring word in front of her sister?

Thinking back, even I hadn’t noticed such subtleties in Pandora’s thoughts, yet Visca understood her sister’s intentions immediately. The bond between these sisters seemed deeper than I had imagined–even though they themselves never acknowledged it.

“How was the Star Ring destroyed?”

Facing her unappreciative sister, Pandora still showed no change of expression, maintaining her icy demeanor as she asked indifferently.

Visca took a slightly awkward step back, then quirked her lips, “Mind your own business…”

The cat-eyed Loli seemed uninterested in directly answering her own sister’s question, while Pandora continued to stare unblinkingly at her sister. This tactic must be one of Pandora’s most deadly skills, almost as powerful as Little Baobao’s sparkling starry eyes. Being stared at by the doll-like but expressionless Pandora, I had never managed to resist.

However, what I couldn’t resist clearly didn’t bother Visca; how was it, being the same species, it was difficult for two Lolitas to cutely annihilate each other?

In the end, Visca just scoffed and turned away, heading towards the boarding gate of Avalon.

Left hanging, Pandora showed no signs of anger but instead walked over to us as if nothing had happened. However, the slight pursing of her lips still revealed a hint of her mild dejection.

“Alright, alright, you know what Visca is like,” I patted Pandora’s little head, “just a kid going through her rebellious phase. If you ask her outright, she naturally won’t answer you truthfully.”

“Mhm.” Knowing her sister’s stubborn ways all too well, Pandora could only nod in agreement with my statement.

A Star Ring fragment over a hundred kilometers long is a tough thing to deal with, not only because of its massive size but also because it emits strong radiation. Even placing it in Shadow City wasn’t a solution. I can’t even imagine the enormity of an event it would be to have a leaking radiation source next to the Tree of Life–probably a bit more severe than crimes against humanity. But having it in Avalon’s space warehouse made me wince at the electricity cost…

In the end, Qianqian came up with a temporary solution by tossing the enormous wreckage into the moon. Visca Barrier Star, where we lack nothing in terms of large spaces–after all, it can accommodate the construction of giant mother ships inside its space. A hundred-kilometer-long chunk of metal was hardly an issue there.

And then, our scientists became really busy.

Components of a Glory-class starship, even those left as remnants after being blasted apart, hold significant research value. Moreover, since Visca was previously with the Imperial Rebel Army, her forces encountered many new technologies completely different from the routine tech of Xyrin technicians during their journeys through various worlds, such as devices specifically designed to counter superpower users. The Star Ring, being an additional component added to the Barrier Star later, naturally contained many specialised techs unknown to Xyrin technicians. As soon as that chunk of metal was placed in the Barrier Star, half of the research institutions in Shadow City suddenly became a lot quieter…

As the owner of the Barrier Star, Visca had also stayed in the Moon Fortress these past few days, assisting with research. Although her memories were quite jumbled, she still retained plenty of relevant data and documents.

So, we finally enjoyed three days of peace, not having to rush to mediate between the two generals before lunch every day, which was truly wonderful.

Besides Visca, Lilina had also not been at home these past few days. Unknowingly, it had come time for the winter vacation. Xiao Ling naturally returned home, accompanied by her long-lost sister, the venomous-tongued and scheming fake lolita Lilina. I wonder if my privately assigned descriptors for her are appropriate?

I’m not sure if her family recognition will go smoothly this time… Lilina once told me that when she was ten years old, her father had abandoned his wife and two young daughters, so aside from her sister, only her mother remains in Lilina’s family. That is what she most regrets after her attempt at self-destruction. Now that she has a chance to start over, she… should seize it well, right?

The Goddess whom she serves even held a ceremony specifically to bless her family–although the way that “Madam” Goddess conducted the ceremony still filled with numerous tear-jerking and laughable points.

“Lin Xue should have been resurrected by now, right?”

Comfortably enjoying the ghost maid’s lovingly prepared afternoon tea, my thoughts meandered wildly, and I unintentionally blurted out that sentence.

“Miss Lin actually slept in the hibernation chamber for a whole day and night,” Anwina, with a smile and in her gentle voice, mentioned beside me.

I couldn’t help but laugh, “A day and a night? And then? That girl must have regained her spirits, right?”

Anwina continued with a smile, “Indeed, she’s full of spirit. When Lord Taville finally remembered to open the hibernation chamber, Miss Lin chased him for a whole twenty-three blocks.”

Me: “…”

It truly is a colorful daily life, whether it’s mine or that of the people around me…

“Speaking of which, what’s Pandora doing?”

Suddenly, I realized that the little loli, who always seems to be sitting beside me and daydreaming around this time, had been acting mysteriously secretive since the day before yesterday, which piqued my curiosity.

“Madam Pandora has recently been personally overseeing the operation of several new war factories in Shadow City, and it seems that the design and construction of two new flagship mother ships have been scheduled,” Anwina explained, but she wasn’t very clear on the specifics.

Manufacturing soldiers? Leveling up technology? That girl hadn’t submitted any proposal for initiating a third war recently, had she? Ah, it came to me; she must be preparing to amass an army to avenge Visca. The culprits, naturally, are those who destroyed the Visca Star Ring… At first, I didn’t fully understand why Pandora cared so much about this matter until Sandora privately explained to me how impactful the Glory-class starship is to the Leader-level Apostles. As the physical manifestation of their spiritual selves, it is akin to another “self” for them–seeing the Visca Star Ring destroyed was almost like someone severing one of her sister’s arms for Pandora. Though it’s tough as an Earthling to empathize completely with such values, it isn’t inconceivable that Pandora would care deeply.

Moreover, that stubborn girl has an extreme personality. If the culprit is not found in time, headaches are indeed likely to occur.

Whichever immortal blew up the Visca Star Ring, for the sake of world peace, show yourself so Pandora can kill you a hundred or eighty times to blow off some steam!

Such random, disconnected thoughts continuously flashed through my conscience, already wandering freely in the mental wilderness. Indeed, idly lying on the balcony, daydreaming without worrying about an abrupt doomsday, this was the life truly suited for me!

However, just as sleep was about to conquer the highland and certain emperor was about to drift into a nap, an untimely voice with high-level priority burst into my mind, abruptly waking me up.

“Emperor, Lord Taville is requesting a connection!”

Instantly, the image of a black-haired woman with eyes resembling those of a royal sister appeared in my mind, along with a cluster of… coffins floating behind her.

To make coffins your identity symbol, Taville, you really should reconsider your aesthetic sense!

“Permission granted for the connection.”

Despite feeling a bit sleepy, I knew that as a standard researcher, Taville rarely allowed irrelevant matters to distract her. Choosing this time to contact me, she must have had some important findings to report.

“We have made a significant discovery in the research on the Star Ring Fragment.”

As she spoke, the holographic projection of Taville, draped in a researcher’s white robe, appeared before us. Behind her was a vast and complex structure of black machinery, presumably a part of the Star Ring Fragment, which appeared to be thoroughly dismantled.

When did Pandora install a holographic projection system on the balcony?

“The cause of the Star Ring’s explosion has now been largely determined,” Taville began to report her findings seriously after receiving my cue, “The main reason was the simultaneous collapse of all energy circulation pipelines along with several reactors ceasing thrust, causing multiple imbalances in the entire star ring’s energy system, eventually leading to a massive explosion, theoretically speaking.”

“I already knew this,” I nodded, “Visca had analyzed this possibility. Did you find the cause of the uncontrolled energy?”

“Yes, we discovered residues of Abyss Energy in several main conduit hubs of the fragment. It seems that the Star Ring encountered Abyss Energy while wandering in the Void Plane, leading to its self-destruction. It is also because of this Abyss Energy that the fragments could drift so long in the void and eventually crash into a Main Material Plane– theoretically speaking.”

“Damn…” I sucked in a breath of cold air through my teeth, “Persistent nuisance, but at least we don’t have to worry about Pandora destroying the world now.”

“Emperor, I’m afraid I have some bad news for you.”

I just knew it…

“Go ahead, I can withstand it.”

With an exceptionally painful… cough, heroic expression, I indicated that I was ready to face any cataclysmic trouble.

“Based on the analysis of the remnants recorded in the surviving monitoring devices on the fragments, the impact force of the Inner Star Ring’s explosion likely tore it into at least one hundred ninety-six pieces, and now, these fragments are still drifting in the Void Space.”

I immediately spat out my black tea three meters away: “You aren’t going to tell me we need to collect each and every one of these fragments, are you?”

I’d rather face the doomsday, damn it!

“Of course it’s not that severe,” seeing my frantic expression, Taville hurriedly explained, “Not every fragment is dangerous. Most of them are completely wrecked and will eventually be assimilated while idling in the void. Only those that still retain thrust need attention, and their number should not exceed ten. Moreover, we have already contacted the Divine Race, and they will also help handle some of these fragments when encountered.”

I exhaled, finally resurrected.

“Still maintaining propulsion means they could potentially break into the Main Material Plane, causing cataclysmic disasters on a world-ending scale,” seeing the relaxed expression on my face, Taville probably thought I wasn’t taking the issue seriously, so he stressed the severity of the situation again, “Based on our current assessment, the fragment you recovered from world S-327 appears to be the smallest among all Star Ring Fragments. If it were another fragment that fell on Earth, humans would probably be wiped out within a day–of course, that is the theory.”

Facing this older sister figure who became overly serious due to her constant immersion in research, I had no solutions, “Okay, okay, I know it’s serious… But we can’t just search aimlessly without a target. The worlds in the Endless Void are as numerous as hairs on a cow; you should at least define a rough range, right?”

“Of course, my Emperor,” Taville nodded, yet his expression seemed a bit odd, “We have already confined the possible locations where those objects might fall… Uh, since the Glory-class starships are an extension of the will of the Leader Apostles, part of Lord Visca’s consciousness was preserved in that Star Ring, and just before Lord Visca ‘left’ this world, his last thought was ‘Attack Earth’. Now, it seems that this notion has been preserved as a main attacking component in the Star Ring, and due to the effect of Abyss Energy, it has been amplified. Based on our estimate, ever since Lord Visca came to Earth, the Barrier Star has partially awakened and then issued a ‘Continue Attack’ command to all Star Ring fragments. The fragments that are still moving are all heading towards universes with Earth-like planets. World S-327 was attacked because it is too similar to Earth–yes, theoretically speaking.”

I… I have a wonderful little sister…

No wonder Taville, not Visca, reported this situation to me; he was afraid of getting scolded.

After defining that the types of worlds likely to be impacted by fragments are those “with planets similar to Earth,” our search area became much smaller. Additionally, some locations that are relatively far from this universe can also be directly ruled out. Frankly speaking, it is already a surprise that these shattered remnants have any mobility after being battered like that.

Finding these “small” fragments, which have been out of contact for hundreds of thousands of years and whose current whereabouts are unknown, within the Endless Void remains a daunting task even after we narrowed down the general area. Fortunately, aside from the barely useful technological means in this scenario, we do have a few supernatural options to choose from.

Thus, having barely regained her vitality, Miss Lin was inevitably drafted by us.

The location was still that regrettably designed Space-Time Management Center, and the main participant was still our temperamental Miss Lin.

“I say…” lured in by Big Sister with a few words to join the “Saving the World Adventure,” Snow, upon seeing Taville, realized she had been tricked, “Wood, you better explain why I am always being used as a radar by you guys…”

Taville meticulously took the role of narrator on the side, “That is because the abilities of Lady Lin Xue are irreplaceable by ordinary technological means, and we are indeed weak in the area of Mysterious system technology.”

Alaya immediately nodded unabashedly on the side–You silly angel! Can’t you keep a little dignity as an angel!?

Taville’s compliment (though in the eyes of the other party, it was mere stating of facts) did not improve Miss’s mood much. It seems being locked in a hibernation chamber for a whole day and night last time indeed left some profound mental scars on her: “Don’t tell me I need to sleep in a coffin again this time?”

Taville smiled slightly, then turned and pressed something twice on the console. Accompanied_by the faint sound of mechanical friction, a brand new device gradually rose from the platform.

“Madam, you don’t have to worry at all. The device we used last time was an energy reverse tracing device, while this one connects your spiritual power with the Star Ring fragments, allowing the other fragments to resonate with you so you can see their locations. They are two entirely different devices, and you don’t have to worry about using that hibernation chamber again.”

Oh, hearing Taville put it that way, the principle of this device should be similar to letting a little dog sniff a handkerchief first, then letting it find the missing person… I wonder if mentioning this analogy would drive Lin Xue crazy on the spot?

“I always feel like you’re imagining some highly impolite things,” the Prophet, with her sensitive young girl’s heart, immediately cast a dangerous glance my way.

I immediately took on a serious expression and swore earnestly, “I am merely concerned if the Prophet might be hurt by connecting with the Star Ring fragments. I swear this in the name of God!”

“Who needs your concern, scientists aren’t idiots…” Lin Xue mumbled under her breath, then raised her head brightly, facing Taville, “Alright, since I don’t have to sleep in that coffin as last time, then… Damn! You switched from a Western-style to a Chinese-style, but it’s still a coffin!” (To be continued. For more, please visit www.NovelFire.net. More chapters, support the author, support genuine reading!)

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