Chapter 183: Eggshell World, The Net of Pursuit

In the final three seconds before the tracking beacon's countdown hit zero!

Hum——!!!

From the core of the Prism Hub ruins, an indescribable, blinding light erupted! It was no explosion, but a violent twisting and reshaping of space! The metal base node, along with Xiang Lingna and Zero's core console wreckage, was instantly swallowed by a rapidly expanding colossal cocoon of light, woven from countless flowing chaotic nebulae and pure stardust!

The cocoon of light was no solid body, but rather a micro spatial bubble forcibly carved out, independent of the main material plane! Its inner walls flowed with chaotic streams of light in interwoven dark purple, emerald green, and milky white, like the embryonic form of a cosmic nebula, radiating a strange, awe-inspiring pressure that embraced all things yet contained destruction. And at the cocoon's core, a single point of pure stardust light burned steadily like a star — that was Lin Mo's beacon of will, and also the sanctuary's energy core and spatial coordinate anchor.

The instant the cocoon of light formed, a condensed-to-the-extreme dark purple energy beam radiating an aura of absolute annihilation, like a kiss of death crossing space, precisely bombarded the spot where the cocoon had just existed!

Boom——!!!

The already teetering core region of the Prism Hub collapsed utterly under this destructive force, like a sandcastle! Metal was melted and vaporized, space was torn open with brief, purple-flame-burning fissures! But the cocoon's location was already empty!

The dark purple energy beam returned without success, dissipating into the twisted spatial turbulence. A cold will, carrying a hint of surprise and deeper amusement, echoed through the void like a venomous snake:

"Oh? Hiding inside an… eggshell? How interesting… let's see how long you can hide…"

Inside the Stardust Sanctuary.

There was no cold metal of the Prism Hub, nor the energy star river of the Holy Tree Core. This place was more like a nascent, unformed chaotic space. Beneath one's feet flowed an energy "ground" with a tri-colored halo; overhead, a chaotic nebula "sky" slowly rotated. The space was small, only the size of a single room, and at its core floated that single point of stardust light source, radiating a gentle glow that illuminated Xiang Lingna and Zero's core console wreckage suspended within.

Xiang Lingna collapsed onto the flowing halo ground, gasping violently, her whole body aching as if it were falling apart. The dark purple crystal stump on her right arm glowed dimly, but its structure seemed more condensed, with fine, circuit-like energy patterns appearing on its surface. Her internal strength was nearly exhausted, yet an unprecedented sense of security enveloped her — this place cut off all external detection, the Doctor's will completely shielded!

"Stardust Sanctuary… construction… successful…" Zero's projection stabilized with difficulty on the console wreckage. Though still carrying static, its logic seemed somewhat clearer. "Spatial bubble… diameter 7.2 meters… structural stability… 72%… energy core (Lin Mo's stardust)… excessive consumption… status: extremely weak… continuously deteriorating…"

"External… time flow… differs… from this space… ratio… approximately 1:10 (external slower)…"

1:10! This meant they had relatively more time here to catch their breath and recover! But Zero's warning tightened Xiang Lingna's heart again — Brother Lin Mo's stardust core was continuously deteriorating! This was the sanctuary's energy source, and also the embodiment of Lin Mo's will. Once it went out, the sanctuary would collapse, and Lin Mo might completely dissipate!

"How do we replenish it? Use my power?" Xiang Lingna asked urgently, struggling to sit up, trying to mobilize the dormant chaotic energy within her body.

"Negative…" Zero's projection flickered. "Your chaotic energy… conflicts in nature… with the stardust origin… forced injection… may trigger… core collapse… only viable solution… find… same-origin stardust crystal… or… Lord Lin Mo's… main body…"

Stardust crystal… Lin Mo's main body… Xiang Lingna's heart sank. This was no answer at all! Lin Mo's main body's fate was unknown, and the stardust crystal was the source of Lin Mo's power. They were now trapped in this "eggshell" — where could they possibly find one?

"Analyzing… Lord Lin Mo's… stardust core… deterioration cause…" Zero's data streams ran once more. "Core damaged… energy output… maintaining spatial bubble… continuous consumption… no effective… replenishment… solution… reduce energy consumption… or… external… high-efficiency energy source… connection…"

Reduce energy consumption? That meant shrinking the sanctuary's space or weakening the shielding strength — either could be detected by the Doctor. A high-efficiency energy source… was even more of a luxury. Xiang Lingna gazed at that faint yet stubbornly burning point of stardust light suspended at the space's center, feeling the familiar, resilient will of Lin Mo within it, and a pang of heartache welled up. She had escaped, but the price might be Brother Lin Mo's final will being drained away bit by bit!

"Zero… sister… is there any way… to temporarily stabilize him? Even if… just to delay it?" Xiang Lingna's voice carried a hint of choking sobs.

Zero's projection fell silent for a moment, seemingly running calculations at its limits. "Solution… exists… high risk… utilize… hub's remaining… data core… construct… virtual consciousness cradle… transfer Lord Lin Mo's… stardust core… partial consciousness… into it… reduce real-world consumption… but… data core… damaged… risk of… logic contamination… may lead to… consciousness fragmentation… or… logic erosion…"

A virtual world? An existence like Zero's? Xiang Lingna was stunned. This was undoubtedly a high-stakes gamble. If successful, it might buy Lin Mo time; if it failed, it could plunge his already feeble consciousness into deeper chaos, or even contaminate it with Zero's damaged logic core.

Watching that increasingly faint point of light, Xiang Lingna had no real choice. She could not let Brother Lin Mo simply disappear like this!

"Do it! Sister Zero!" Xiang Lingna's voice was incomparably firm. "I trust you! And I trust Brother Lin Mo!"