Xyrin Empire
Chapter 392 - Chapter 392 Chapter 392 Space Amber

Chapter 392: Chapter 392 Space Amber Chapter 392: Chapter 392 Space Amber A beautiful girl with long green hair stood before me, her eyes as pure as the sky itself–yes, pure is the only word I can use to describe her. She seemed like an elf who had escaped all material filth and existed solely in a pure spirit world; you would never find a speck of impurity in those bright eyes.

This unfamiliar girl stood in front of a door fashioned from vines, simply watching me in silence, just like a fairy who had accidentally encountered a stranger in the forest. Then she blinked, and a joyful smile suddenly spread across her face, rushing towards me like a fresh breeze. The delightful sound of her voice rang by my ear like the chime of windbells:

“Ah Jun! You see, you see~~~ Dingdang is so awesome, right? Dingdang succeeded~~~ Where’s my reward? Where’s my reward? Dingdang wants some candy! Dingdang is too incredible!!”

My body instantly stiffened, every muscle in me jumping in shock.

Dingdang!?

Dingdang!!

Dingdang—-Dang—-Dang…

I mean, seriously, how come no one is stopping me from padding my word count here?

But seriously, I’m shocked! Horrified! I feel like I’ve crossed into another realm!

This beautiful tall girl in front of me… she… she… she says she’s Dingdang! And she’s rushing over to ask me for candy! Damn it, give me back the holy, elegant little fairy from just now, you bastard!

Crap, I went off on a tangent…

Okay, let’s get back on track… I’ve already lost the motivation to quibble.

Now I have in my arms a mysterious green-haired girl who claims to be Dingdang (please allow me to describe a girl by her color), who is rubbing against what should be a stranger to her with no self-awareness of her femininity. She boldly rifles through every pocket on me, deftly finding a big handful of candies I had on me (is this really a dad’s essential item?), happily boasting about her find, while I…

It took me a full dozen seconds to come to my senses and slightly push the girl–who still wasn’t satisfied despite her hands filled with candy–away from me. Then I focused my eyes, the krypton gold dog sight flashing continuously within them.

Enter scanning mode!

After carefully observing, I finally realized that the “stranger” in front of me really did look quite a bit like Dingdang–no, it would be more accurate to say that if Dingdang didn’t have wings on her back, she was practically a blown-up replica of Dingdang–identical!

And this manner of speaking, voice, actions, clinginess, and, more importantly, this magical skill of fetching her favorite candies from every pocket on me within five seconds–no one in the world apart from Dingdang could mimic that.

I can only blame myself for getting used to her tiny peanut-sized face; seeing such high resolution all of a sudden is a bit hard to take in…

“Ding…dang?” I hesitated before asking, not quite certain.

The green-haired girl in front of me immediately puckered her lips in offense: “Why is my name drawn out so long? Dragging out the word ‘dang’ like that sounds really strange!”

Alright, it is indeed Dingdang, albeit the high-definition version… cough cough, I mean Dingdang.

With a puzzled tone, I looked over the enlarged version of Dingdang, her hands full of lollipops and a candy stick in her mouth, “I mean, little… Dingdang, what’s with your current look…”

“What’s wrong? Ah Jun, did you notice something?”

Dingdang blinked in confusion, then lowered her head to look at herself before remaining perplexed.

…You seriously didn’t notice, you dummy! You’ve grown nearly dozens of times taller, you former Three-inch Ding! If Pandora finds out, can you imagine how delighted that girl would be?

You’ll be sliced up for research by that eternal Shorty–what the heck am I even trying to say, damn it!

“Ah! Ah Jun, are you trying to say Dingdang grew taller?” Dingdang tilted her little head, pondering for a long time before finally revealing an expression of sudden realization, “It’s because Dingdang switched to her Divine Form! Every True God has a Divine Form that’s suitable for using their powers, and Dingdang’s Divine Form is just like this~~”

So, does that mean… this girl in front of me… is the real Dingdang? A Pocket Goddess that I’ve been nurturing for so long, is this what she really looks like?

Congratulations, Little Thing, I can finally treat you as a girl now.

I grabbed my hair forcefully, finally sorting out my thoughts that had become a complete mess. Meow, it really is hard to accept explosive news.

“Uh, Dingdang…” I organized my thoughts and reached out my hand to the girl in front of me, instinctively wanting her to jump onto my hand and be stowed away in my pocket. Instead, I met her curious gaze, and I realized something else–it seemed… slightly difficult to talk to this True God version of Dingdang.

That mild, mysterious pressure that kept emanating from her, as well as the pure and noble aura from Dingdang, made me feel restrained–of course, I’m not saying that Dingdang is using Divine Power to suppress me. It’s just that instinctive feeling from deep within when facing an absolutely pure being… Although it was filled with a cozy and comfortable vibe, it made it utterly impossible for me to communicate with the “Little One” in front of me in the usual way–I definitely didn’t see any feasibility in having the goddess version of Dingdang having afternoon tea on top of my head.

Wait, have I actually gotten used to having a tea-drinking goddess on my head all the time?

“Ah Jun! Dingdang is hungry!”

While I was still figuring out how to communicate with the holy version of Dingdang, she bounced over and tugged at my arm.

“Dingdang wants pudding! Now Dingdang can finally eat an entire pudding by herself!”

Are you telling me the most significant aspect of your Divine Form is just the ability to eat more goodies? Are you of the same Glutton attribute as Sandora, damn it!

Despite my internal rant, I eventually found a sense of connection with the pet version of Dingdang and pulled up the green girl beside me, then turned towards the vine-infested corridor to walk away.

The next second, a green glow flashed beside me, and I suddenly felt my hand empty. Turning my head, the girl from a moment ago had vanished.

A Three-inch Ding fluttered past me, then seemed to scratch its head in confusion, flipping up and down in the air before dejectedly settling back on top of my head.

“Ah! Why did I have to change back so quickly! Dingdang hasn’t even had her pudding… Eating a whole cream pudding by herself has always been Dingdang’s greatest wish…”

…I’m not even going to comment.

Dingdang, back to her pet form, vigorously complained while plucking at my hair, continuing until I plucked her off: “Little Thing? Is there a time limit on your transformation?”

My tone was slightly regretful–I admit, Dingdang’s sacred and pure girl form had made too deep of an impression on me–well, until she pounced on me asking for sweets.

Depressed, the little thing was swung around in mid-air by me holding her wings: “It’s not that Dingdang has a time limit, it’s just that if Dingdang maintains this form, the entire spaceship will turn into plants…”

Dingdang was right. As I approached the vicinity of the third command room, a lush green scene filled my vision, even the heads of the two “Tyrant” mechas standing guard were adorned with purple flowers dancing in the figure-eight pattern–Life Divine Power had already begun transforming every inanimate unit throughout the flagship.

I wasn’t sure if this was because Dingdang couldn’t properly control the power of her Divine Form, but now I was not about to underestimate the normally weak Dingdang with a combat strength of only 5, even though she had, at this very moment, spread a tablecloth on my head and was leisurely enjoying an afternoon tea.

“Ah Jun, keep it a secret, okay?” Dingdang, while sipping from her tea cup that was even smaller than a green bean, said, “You have to pretend you didn’t see Dingdang’s Divine Form!”

I lifted my eyelids curiously, “Weren’t you just about to go enjoy some pudding with everyone? Why keep it a secret now?”

“If I say don’t tell, then you don’t tell! Dingdang will bite you!”

Sheesh, this illogical little thing. To think that Dingdang’s stunning Divine Form just vanished like that, I feel regret once again!!

After returning to the bridge, I discovered that although Dingdang’s Divine Power had once enveloped the entire flagship, the “invasion” wasn’t too severe. Besides each mechanical soldier having a comically placed flower on their head, things here were still rather normal.

Qianqian and Lin Xue immediately surrounded me when they saw me coming onto the bridge with Dingdang on my head, babbling their various envious and jealous thoughts about Divine Power, not even considering how heaven-defying their own abilities were, while Sandora looked at the tiny Dou Ding kneeling on my head with an odd look in her eyes.

“Hey, Dingdang, didn’t you mention you were just a Low-level Goddess?” Sandora’s voice, filled with curiosity, finally broke the silence, and Qianqian and Lin Xue quieted down as well, blinking and looking at Sandora attentively.

The little fellow nodded, then added, “But if Dingdang can pass the Junior Creation Certificate and a few other tests, then I can apply for promotion!”

I think you’d better just stay as your Low-level Goddess self.

“A Low-level Goddess,” Sandora curved a finger, propping it under her chin, “the talent of the Divine Race can perhaps explain the canceling of existences through interference with the laws, but in a few seconds turning an Interstellar Coalition Flagship thousands of kilometers in length into a Life Aggregation, and all that caused by the unintentional release of your aura… Are you really just a Low-level Goddess?”

Dingdang, clutching my hair nervously, responded, “Ah… ha… haha, because… because Dingdang is too amazing…”

Spare my hair, oh too amazing Lady Goddess!

Sandora clearly knew much more about gods than the rest of us and must have guessed what kind of trump card Dingdang had just used. However, before she could carry on with her curiosity, a Subordinate Commander suddenly arrived on the bridge, interrupting our conversation.

“Reporting to the Commander!” The reporting officer saluted, “We have found the second meteorite sample with mechanical structure encapsulated! It has already been retrieved to the Research Center!”

The Research Center–ordinary Earthlings would probably find it hard to imagine such a place on a space warship, but in reality, as a comprehensive front-line command center, the “Imperial Admiral” with its hundreds of kilometers of colossal Cross-shaped hull contained departments akin to a complete military city. The central cross-section served as the conventional front-line Command Center, encompassing the Information Center, Tactical Studies Room, Officers’ Council Hall, and War Readiness Dispatch Center in full assembly. Its longitudinal section housed a series of War Factories and ship docking areas, including the Main Cannon within its heavy firepower systems. The two arms of the “Cross” were designed as comprehensive modules, containing small residential areas– two city towns within the ship, training institutions, and several Research Centers. In comparison, our Xyrin Research Institute on Earth was merely the scale of a comprehensive laboratory…

The sample captured by the third Interceptor Fleet had been delivered to the analysis hall. It was an irregularly shaped meteorite about several tens of meters in radius, glowing faintly orange-red due to its rich metal content. It was suspended in mid-air under the effect of the anti-gravity field, rotating evenly. The scanning grates used to analyze multilayer structures painstakingly sliced its outer shell, a considerably time-consuming and meticulous job. According to the central computer’s analysis, the mechanical body inside was now as fragile as tofu dregs. A typical material dissociation force field would turn that heavily corroded metal into dust even faster than its outer stone layer within just one second. And the special micro-dissolution device, which would have been suitable here, wasn’t equipped: this was a warship, not an archaeological vessel.

When we arrived, it had just been cut less than one-third through.

“This thing is indeed huge.”

Looking at the meteorite sample, Qianqian murmured to herself.

Back then, you were the one piloting a battleship that shattered three meteorites much larger than this…

“Your Majesty, this is the data we have just collected,” a Xyrin Technician dressed in a researcher’s white robe approached me and handed me an information screen respectfully, “We have successfully analyzed its surface composition.”

I took the information screen and then decisively handed it to Sandora–back in the day, it wasn’t just my liberal arts that failed; in fact, my science scores weren’t up to par either…

Well, even if my science had been better, the truth is, I still wouldn’t understand this thing.

“Iron and a large amount of radioactive Pei Na elements; the composition is nothing strange,” Sandora analyzed professionally from the data on the information screen, “It’s not artificially synthesized, and due to the presence of Pei Na, these things turn into a gel-like substance under specific electromagnetic conditions, which might explain why these mechanical remnants were wrapped inside a meteorite, showing signs of slight corrosion by Abyss Energy. It’s not unusual, it seems these unlucky space devices just happened to be in a Pei Na-rich asteroid belt after they were normally scrapped, forming this kind of ‘Space Amber.'”

To be honest, I basically didn’t understand any of it–what on earth is Pei Na?

The laser device in the hall was still operating at a steady pace, squeaking as it meticulously cut open the meteorite sample, peeling off its shell while ensuring the internal mechanical structure remained as intact as possible. Gradually, a somewhat twisted alloy armor plate was revealed before us, pocked with pits and hollows.

“From the perspective image, it appears to be some kind of flying vehicle,” Sandora pointed out to us, referencing the holographic image that displayed the entire meteorite’s cross-section on the side, “Now it’s the engine cover, and look, the nozzle is coming out…”

The careful cutting drew to a close, and what ultimately appeared before us was a… jet with long legs?

Cough cough, to be exact, it was a jet with treads–well, whether it had long leg or long treads, as a plane, it was already odd enough.

“A flying vehicle?” I muttered with a weird look on my face, “Can this thing actually fly?”

“It seems to have some sort of transforming function,” Sandora pointed out the connection points on the legs of the “flying vehicle” in the holographic image, “Rotating parts, folding slots, and joints that shouldn’t be here — this device likely has two postures for aerial combat and ground combat. What we’re seeing now is a scene from its transformation process. The Xyrin Empire also made something similar in the past, and even equipped them in large quantities. However, since the introduction of the Super Space-Time Component swap system, this type of technology that significantly weakens mech strength was phased out.”

“Transform?” I heard this and immediately my eyes gleamed with excitement, “Does this thing have any relation to Optimus Prime?”

Sandora burst out laughing, “Pff–Ah Jun, can you not be so whimsical? This has nothing to do with those unlicensed vehicles, it’s just a weapon capable of transforming.”

After the exterior rocky layer was completely removed by lasers and micro-robots, this nearly ten-meter-tall transforming fighter was fully exposed before us. Even though we had already seen its shape on the perspective model, seeing the actual object now gave a different impression.

“It seems very human in style–I mean, like future warplanes in human sci-fi movies.”

I took a few steps closer, observing the cockpit section carefully.

“Is it really not made in Earth?”

“Of course not,” Lin Xue came beside me, placing her hand gently on the fighter wreckage’s shattered treads, her eyes sparkling with a silver light, “But it was indeed created by humans, from a world whose technology was already well-developed, very close to Earthlings… but very distant, and the information is severely damaged. Aside from these fuzzy impressions, I can’t see anything more.”

Earthlings’ distant relatives?

This is really… interesting. A coincidence? In the vast universe, we find advanced equipment made by another Earth civilization–although this thing came crashing down like an uninvited guest.

“How long ago was it destroyed?”

I stepped back a few steps, looking at this warplane wreckage weathered by time. The high-energy radiation in the universe is definitely a foe of youth. Judging by its aged appearance alone, I might even wonder if it was made by humans of a previous Earth epoch, then, after a long drift through space, it returned to its homeland in such a dramatic fashion, which, of course, is a bit far-fetched.

No need for radioactive isotopes or anything like that for testing. Qianqian is the most accurate clock in herself, but she just glanced at the wreckage and lost interest in analyzing it, “Its timeline has been severed. Clearly, this thing doesn’t belong to this universe; it was pulled here by the force of the Star Ring Fragments. Because of the temporal discontinuity of crossing planes, I can’t determine its age. It could have been destroyed tens of thousands of years ago or just yesterday. It might even be made a few years from now… Ah Jun, if you want to understand, I can find you a copy of ‘A Brief History of Time’ to read… uh, that might not be quite right either…”

Me: “…”

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