Chapter 171: Stellar Crush

The Second Cosmic Net.

Inside the auxiliary space reserved for the Planetary Patrol Council.

In the vast hall, seven Councilors sat in a row at the very top, while twenty-two Council Members were arranged behind them like stars surrounding the moon.

Hundreds of Probationary Planetary Patrollers stood in formation below, listening in silence.

A massive eyeball resembling Earth hovered above the hall, slowly rotating and radiating an overwhelming sense of pressure.

"Honorable Chairmen, Councilors, and Provisional Star Patrol Officers."

The Planetary Patrol Officer spoke in a low voice: "At 23:54:27 on March 7, 2124, local time—that is, eighteen minutes ago—the detection system of the Moon Fortress 'Solitary Star,' modified by the Zhixing Group, was suddenly shielded for thirty-one seconds."

"During this period, although no anomalies were detected by other planetary monitoring systems, the technological level capable of shielding a seventh-rank fortress's detection could easily achieve multi-spectrum invisibility if a small spacecraft entered Earth."

Boom—boom—boom—boom—!!

Immediately after, he also charged toward the fireball alongside those crimson vines.

Although she had received prior orders from the upper echelons of the Zhixing Group—that if the Councilor leading Lin Qing's team ranked among the top five in strength among all Councilors, she must speak up and take command of Lin Qing's team—

Lin Qing looked and saw that the speaker was a burly Zhixing man with a golden vertical eye on his forehead—it was Councilor Bloom.

And this Earth-born genius, without time to inscribe Sacred Characters, could at best barely pass the third layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

At this moment, the orb resembled a terrifying star hurtling toward them in furious rotation! The two Zhixing instantly paled, trying to flee—but their surroundings were already choked with vines, and a powerful domain bound them tightly!

The slender man beside him transmitted a telepathic message without expression: "According to the files, this female Planetary Patroller should be Yan Qingqing from the intelligence reports—she barely passed the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan last year. Hu Ta, push her back; we just need to capture Lin Qing."

The slender man who had unleashed the crimson vines froze.

Before that incident in the air raid shelter, she must have done this more than once or twice.

If we had known back then this would happen, we would have crushed them in the cradle rather than let these three grow up!

Yan Qingqing smiled and said: "This is a special device provided by the superior organization of the Planetary Patrol Council, specifically designed to counter smugglers or star pirates. Anyone who is not an Earth-born cosmic citizen will have their location confirmed the moment scanned by this device."

Yan Qingqing explained: "So the search isn't difficult—scanning all of southern Asia won't take long, though the energy consumption is high. We'll take turns using it." "I see," Lin Qing said calmly. "It's my first time participating in a Planetary Patrol operation—thank you, Councilor Yan."

The tall woman, watching the explosion's firelight through telepathy, murmured: "No way—I used just a tiny bit of power. Could Lin Qing actually be dead?"

"We're ready," Chu Hongjun said coolly. "You'll be the bait. Hopefully, we'll catch a big fish."

Hum!!

The Planetary Patrol Officer scanned the room and ordered: "The seven Councilors will enter space to patrol and descend to the surface as needed for support. The twenty-two Councilors will lead the Probationary Planetary Patrollers, carrying the 'Planetary Rejection Devices' to search globally."

A fifth-layer Yu Xingyuan smuggler? That is, under normal circumstances, the theoretical highest rank of extraterrestrial smuggler to appear on Earth.

Lin Qing responded, then closed the communication and left the Second Cosmic Net.

"Impossible!"

He returned the smile, silently reflecting in his heart: "Fate made you survive that air raid shelter—just for today, didn't it?"

Above the hall, the elderly Zhixing with a pale blue vertical eye on his forehead—Councilor Ke Luo—watched this scene, a hint of satisfaction in his gaze.

Boom—boom—boom—

"His aura is still there. He's fine."

Three figures clad in black combat suits flew out simultaneously from the clouds.

Speaking thus, she glanced at Lin Qing and smiled: "I checked the records—you've never participated in a search for extraterrestrial smugglers before, have you?"

The Planetary Patrol Officer scanned the room and immediately approved: "Then exchange positions—Yan Qingqing will lead Group Seven."

At these words, a murmur erupted below.

To prevent him from dying, after each cut of flesh, she even stopped the bleeding, carefully bandaged his wounds, and forcibly fed the other person to keep them from starving to death and rotting into waste.

Had he not witnessed Yan Qingqing's cruelty and deception, he might have actually believed her.

Normally—

After each blade of light struck, even if it directly hit the orb, the orb merely paused slightly, still rotating steadily, showing no sign of cracking—like a true, unshakable star!

"The situation is unclear, but we must prepare."

Nearly a century.

Suddenly, Lin Qing's voice, tinged with a faint smile, echoed through telepathy: "I should thank you—for giving me such a perfect opportunity."

At this moment, every single vine thrust into the fireball was instantly repelled!

Infiltrating Earth?

As the firelight dissipated, a rapidly spinning orb appeared before everyone's eyes.

Bang!

All these restrictions were designed specifically for geniuses among these planetary natives.

"Earthling."

He paused. "But no matter what, you must prioritize your own life… Do you still have what I gave you last time?"

"Normally, among everyone on Earth, only the three of us could possibly break the contract's restrictions—others truly can't help you."

This woman kept herself and the other person alive in that air raid shelter by treating them as food.

"Hm?"

Lin Qing narrowed his eyes slightly.

Yan Qingqing's pupils shrank sharply as she stared in disbelief at the rolling orb, a thought forming in her mind that seemed impossible: "Could it be…?"

Suddenly—

Chu Hongjun gave a slight nod, said no more, and simply said: "Go."

"Nothing. I'm an Earthling too."

"Given the potential high difficulty of the mission, only Probationary Planetary Patrollers of High Primitive Life rank are required to participate."

As a two-star cosmic citizen, one is already a notable figure in the cosmic civilization—why would anyone willingly become a smuggler? Star pirates, perhaps—but rumors say some major star pirates wield power rivaling or exceeding many first-tier civilizations.

She felt a flicker of doubt.

Although the Planet Patrol had originally assigned Bloom, one of the top-ranked councilors in terms of strength, the plan became perfect after adjusting it to Councilor Yan Qingqing.

Now that the apocalypse has passed, she sits upon the high chair of civilization, as if all sins and bloodshed have been washed clean, her clothes still pure white.

At this moment, astonishing flames and explosions suddenly engulfed the flying vessel, causing the entire craft to shatter and disintegrate in an instant.

Led by Councilor Yan Qingqing, those three star pirates could easily pin her down, and then easily kill Lin Qing.

Lin Qing understood his meaning.

That rotating sphere of light, roughly six meters in radius, crashed with a boom toward Councilor Yan Qingqing and the other two aspiring Star Patrol members nearby, rolling over them instantly with terrifying power!

Furthermore, the reminder of the Order Level drop would not tell him whose threat it came from.

At the same time, an invisible force field spread out like a barrier, completely covering this high altitude and hiding all abnormalities.

"The detection range is approximately thirty-five kilometers in radius."

As the voice of the Planet Patrol rang out, rows of lists written in the universal cosmic script appeared in mid-air.

The giant man covered in black fur also couldn't help but pause for a moment.

Suddenly, a dark blue streak of light swept across the high sky at a terrifying speed, flying toward the horizon at hundreds of times the speed of sound.

—According to the contract, these three are not allowed to leave the metropolitan area without permission, not allowed to use power outside the metropolitan area, not allowed to leak any secrets, not allowed...

After all...

As a high-level primordial being, he naturally had to participate in the operation; the Planet Patrol assigned him to Group Seven, whose leader was the councilor 'Bloom' from the Wisdom Star people.

She suddenly discovered that the nanomachines implanted in her body had lost their signal connection to the outside world! "Boom!!"

"However, the immediate priority is now to confirm whether these three have become Star-Level Divine Servants..."

As for Councilor Yan Qingqing, although she also possessed the strength of the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan, she had only barely succeeded last year; her attacks were strong enough, yet she could not withstand those three star pirates.

There have been many cases in the universe where 'native geniuses, after growing up with the resources of extraterrestrial civilizations, fought back'; naturally, all parties of extraterrestrial civilizations have made preparations.

What is this thing? It can actually block the captain's vines?

And the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan belongs to the elite even among primordial Divine Servants! The key is that one must possess multiple sets of Holy Words; only then is it possible for a primordial Divine Servant to pass the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan. Even with the Sky Islands on Earth, a considerable portion of the councilors have not passed the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan.

As long as Earth remains closed, Star Beings cannot enter Earth, so at most only high-level primordial beings would appear.

Lin Qing stood quietly among the crowd of aspiring Star Patrol members below, lost in thought.

"My telekinesis type is Telekinesis Body, which is not good at searching."

Before the flames of the explosion had even dispersed, three figures clad in combat suits simultaneously rushed forward.

Because...

According to intelligence, the one most likely to know is this Lin Qing!

Even when the three were trapped together in that collapsed air-raid shelter, she had disguised herself well, even voluntarily sharing food with him, once making him believe that the killing intent came from another person present.

Lin Qing nodded with an unchanged expression.

"Attacking me?" Lin Qing pondered for a moment and said, "Indeed, it was a bit strange just now; they specifically replaced me with the weaker Councilor Yan Qingqing to lead my group in the search."

However...

Chu Hongjun slowly said, "No matter how the Wisdom Star Group acts, their ultimate intention is to test whether we can intervene, and also to force Qi Lingxiao to attempt the trial when he is not certain, thereby increasing his probability of failure."

She knew that this operation was definitely targeting Lin Qing, the Earth genius; once Lin Qing suffered any mishap, Chu Hongjun would surely turn his attention to her.

And Councilor Yan Qingqing exchanged a glance with Bloom, nodding slightly and saying, "Good."

If Bloom led the search group, unless Bloom deliberately let them off, those three star pirates might not have had time to kill Lin Qing.

Immediately, he gave another order: "After capturing Lin Qing, Gu Luo, you must immediately interrogate him about the situation regarding Young Lady Carol using mental illusions."

Councilor Yan Qingqing's eyes suddenly shifted slightly. He had deliberately controlled his vines to avoid that Star Patrol member and the other two, charging straight toward the target Lin Qing, but—

"Earth genius?"

This woman, Councilor Yan Qingqing, was an actress before the apocalypse; her eyes contained only profit, she had always known only how to rely on and exploit others, could not develop feelings for anyone, and was most skilled at disguise and acting.

Back then, no one could have imagined that mere three Earth natives actually possessed the potential to become Star-Level Divine Servants?

That tall man also suddenly expanded more than ten times his size, instantly soaring to nearly twenty meters tall, his entire body covered in black fur, his combat suit stretching ten times larger, and he erupted with a terrifying aura!

"Anything a Level One civilization can withstand, you may reveal." Chu Hongjun slowly said.

And that tall woman's eyes burst with light, as a phantom mental storm roared past.

Primordial Divine Servants are theoretically the strongest level of extraterrestrial stowaways.

Moreover, there cannot be such obvious suspicious points.

Councilor Yan Qingqing smiled like a flower and transmitted her voice via telekinesis: "I have long wanted to get to know you, the genius of Earth civilization; this time counts as a good opportunity."

The extension speed of every crimson vine was terrifyingly fast; the fluctuations caused merely by the air being compressed and torn apart were enough to destroy an entire city! The terrifying momentum of those tens of thousands of meters long vines flying out simultaneously would turn even ten high peaks into dust in an instant! "Boom!"

"Dean Chu?" Lin Qing looked at Chu Hongjun on the communication interface.

Suddenly—

"Given that the Level Seven fortress is suffering from shielding interference, the danger level of this extraterrestrial stowaway might be extremely high."

Even after surviving the apocalypse for many years, Lin Qing had never seen anyone so cold and cruel, so skilled at disguise.

"We must finish and leave before the Hidden Star force field is broken."

"Good."

Back then, she and another apocalypse survivor met him together, pretending to be truly innocent survivors.

Hmm, she is good at dealing with people, and also good at eating.

Rows of crimson vines, each at least tens of thousands of meters long, grew wildly from that thin man's body simultaneously, rushing toward the ball of explosive flames from all directions like tentacles, blotting out the sky!

"Things that cannot be revealed?" Lin Qing was somewhat puzzled.

He knew that Chu Hongjun was referring to the crystal, like a black pearl, that had been given to him last time.

"What is that?" he murmured.

In the end...

The female Zhixing beside him glanced at Lin Qing and felt too lazy to say any more.

"It's fine; I can spare a little attention without any impact."

Bloom ranks thirty-ninth in the Yu Xingyuan, capable of easily passing the fifth layer of the Yu Xingyuan, nearly second only to the top-tier powerhouses who have transcended into Transcendent Stellar Beings across the entire metropolis circle.

Bloom murmured: "However, my team and Councilor Yan Qingqing's pair of Provisional Star Patrol Officers often coordinate; working with them makes it easier to use the Planetary Rejection Device for searches."

"Move!"

"For this operation, we are responsible for the southern Asian region."

Inside the aircraft.

"Lin Qing."

So what if he's a genius? He's not a genius of the Zhi Star Group, and his strength isn't enough—they naturally look down on him.

The darkness before dawn gradually faded.

Yan Qingqing slightly shook her head, looked at Lin Qing, and sent a telepathic message: "Don't worry; even if we truly encounter smugglers, I'll do my best to help you."

Yan Qingqing and the other two Provisional Star Patrol Officers hovered nearby, staring in disbelief at this scene.

"Aside from your unrevealed trump cards, you may unleash everything freely," said Chu Hongjun.

But the Authority and the Divine Walker ability must not be exposed.

They all acknowledged that this Earth genius indeed had some talent, but even with Dean Chu's help, having long since transcended into a High-Level Primitive Being, his strength was still just that.

"Then I'll have to teach you how to use this 'Planetary Rejection Device.'"

Lin Qing sat in a corner seat inside the aircraft cabin, his gaze quietly sweeping over Yan Qingqing; she noticed his look and immediately returned a gentle, beautiful smile.

When he realized it, it was already too late.

Chairman Ke Luo's eyes were cold. "If Qi Lingxiao, Yi Leina Duo, and Chu Hongjun are still restricted and cannot act, this Earth native genius is dead."

"Hm?"

……

……

This plan was originally meant to test whether the three Earth powerhouses are still bound by contractual restrictions.

Another tall man murmured telepathically: "The Star Patrol Officer protected him."

"Yes, Captain."

In such a short time, one can barely manage to transcend one's life tier—how could one possibly re-inscribe multiple Sacred Glyphs using sixth-tier energy? Without the Sacred Glyphs catching up, his strength drops by an entire tier.

"Then… operation begins."

Lin Qing paused, then asked: "What do you think I should do?"

A young Zhi Star beside him, with a black vertical eye on his forehead, frowned slightly: "Star Patrol missions aren't as simple as the child's play tasks you did at Headquarters. With your level of strength, either stay hidden, or if the smugglers are truly too strong, Councilor Yan will have to protect you—and that will only drag all of us down."

Both of them are top performers in the Yu Xingyuan third layer, even nearing passage of the fourth layer.

After Lin Qing left, he was about to exit the Second Internet when he received a call from Chu Hongjun.

Back then, everyone was ordinary; unless armed with firearms, danger levels were all 0.1—impossible to distinguish by strength.

"Stop!"

According to the file records, this Earth native only transcended into a High-Level Primitive Being less than half a year ago.

Chairman Ke Luo slightly narrowed his eyes. "With our current strength, as long as Qi Lingxiao hasn't achieved it, we still have a chance to capture that three-eyed race's sixth-tier genius."

Lin Qing glanced at the list.

"I request an adjustment."

Fortunately, she was accustomed to maintaining a perfect facade; unless there was decisive evidence, few ever doubted her.

The Planet Patrol Officer's voice echoed through the hall: "This anomaly provides grounds to suspect that extraterrestrial smugglers have infiltrated Earth during this window."

"Here is the assignment list for this operation; those needing adjustments may apply now."

"Is this fate…?"

But… she didn't understand the reason.

One by one, crimson tendrils like tentacles, upon touching the ball of fire, shuddered violently as if electrocuted, then were flung backward!

Yan Qingqing, with skin so pale it nearly glowed, like a young girl of sixteen, dressed in pure white, stood before the three Provisional Star Patrol Officers and smiled: "The mission focuses on search; once an enemy is detected, immediately notify Inspector Yan, who patrols in space."

The Planet Patrol Officer's eyes slowly swept over everyone present: "Thus, the hypothetical enemy for this Star Patrol is defined as the highest theoretical level—Yu Xingyuan Layer Five."

The plan went smoothly.

Lin Qing said nothing more.

However, Lin Qing didn't care who he was paired with; with his current strength, while some Councilors were stronger, none could harm him.

"Here," Lin Qing nodded.

Divine Techniques may be exposed.

Following the Planet Patrol Officer's order, all Chairmen, Councilors, and Provisional Star Patrol Officers left the affiliated space of the Star Patrol Council.

"What is this?"

As she spoke, she retrieved from her subspace storage device a device no larger than a palm, resembling a silver-white mirror.

Chu Hongjun said expressionlessly: "The extraterrestrial smugglers' arrival is suspicious; though we have no proof, they are likely targeting the three of us—and may strike at you."

Extraterrestrial smugglers? He couldn't help recalling the words Chu Hongjun had once told him.

Yan Qingqing's eyes changed; powerful energy surged around her, coalescing into blinding blades capable of cleaving mountains, all slashing toward the glowing sphere! Yet—

In an instant, the rapidly spinning sphere suddenly moved.

At that moment, a low voice suddenly rose from among the Councilors.

Telepathic transmission was completed in an instant.

Lin Qing raised an eyebrow, glanced at the two Zhi Star Provisional Star Patrol Officers, then smiled casually: "Aren't you going to prioritize protecting these two, Councilor Yan?"

An astonishing aura erupted instantly.

It is said that Councilor Bloom is among the strongest in the Council, having long passed the fifth layer of Yu Xingyuan.

"Star Pirates?"

The three of them were merely commissioned by a great noble of the Dilarxi Civilization to search for the missing Noblewoman Karol on Earth.

He knew very well.

It was a saucer-shaped, deep blue aircraft.

At that moment, the wildly spinning light sphere, like a rolling miniature star, crushed straight through.

Even under full defense, the two Starwise beings held for only an instant before shattering completely, their bodies instantly turning to pulp and blood, splattering everywhere!

Even the defense barrier set by the Original Blood Demon of the fifth layer of Yu Xingyuan could not withstand the relentless crushing force of the Star Spin Divine Art—how much less could two Starwise aspirants who hadn't even passed the fourth layer of Yu Xingyuan? Even a Divine Art focused purely on defense still carried crushing force beyond what a typical fourth-layer Yu Xingyuan cultivator could resist! "Boom—"

The invincible miniature star traced an arc through the air and rolled again toward Councilor Yan Qingqing!

(End of Chapter)