Chapter 547: The Curtain Falls on Nangong

At the same time, Dita led the First Squad without engaging in a head-on fight; instead, they shook off the encirclement of the Giant Insects and Insectoids. Dita also fully triggered her Precognition Ability, decisively abandoning her Mecha. All Mobile Suits dove into the Kepler Jungle; only by staying alive could they continue the subsequent mission—if they died, there would be nothing left. As for other matters, those could be discussed later. What she worried about most was Li Hao's situation; the situation at that time was very dire for Li Hao, and Romero's power far exceeded that of Fan Liweite and his group. But worry was useless; the situation was somewhat out of control.

The situation for the other four squads was even more miserable, with heavy casualties already appearing. Never mind attacking the base; even self-preservation was difficult. The only thing to be thankful for was that those who came were top experts, and they were piloting the best Mecha currently available. Everyone could only choose to retreat temporarily; a head-on fight clearly had no chance of victory. The key was that the core objective was not to eliminate the Giant Insects and Insectoids—that was meaningless. What was needed was to destroy the base and the source. Now, they had to change plans. The Second and Third Squads were in a more tragic state; to allow the main force to retreat, they both had to leave a squad behind to cover the rear. Facing an enemy with absolute superiority, although they killed a large number of enemies, they still paid a heavy price.

The situation in space was far more tragic than on the ground. All warships were locked in a meat-grinder battle with the swarms of Giant Insects in a rolling formation. The massive number of space Warriors and the even greater number of Giant Insects lit up the entire space. In the Command Room, the Space Fortress had just completed a desperate defensive battle. Giant Insect landing troops had actually charged over, and at the same time, they were almost hit again by that terrifying energy cannon from within the ocean. That was completely different from the energy attacks of the Giant Insects; it was somewhat similar to those of Humans, but the fact that the opponent could achieve such precision strikes after crossing the atmosphere meant their level of technology exceeded that of Humans.

Makemu and the others all had grave expressions. The situation was out of control; the landing plan had suffered a serious setback. All squads were besieged, and support troops were unable to provide rescue. The number of ground Giant Insects remained massive, and the rate of damage in the space battle was too fast. As for Li Hao's side... it didn't seem to be going well either. The final intelligence was that he was being hammered by the Insect God General Romero. Romero's power clearly exceeded that of Fan Liweite and the others by too much; he was already unstoppable. And there was also the unfathomable Nangong Yuhang.

And the fleet in space was suffering casualties every minute; Humans clearly could not keep consuming resources like this. "Prepare the Janibekov Cannon!"

Makemu said in a deep voice. As Commander-in-Chief, he could not stake the fate of Humanity on luck. Wu Fa and Pang Pai looked at each other; neither opposed it. At this point, it was time to make a clean break. The Space Fortress shook violently again; the Giant Insects clearly knew the Space Fortress was the command core of the fleet and launched wave after wave of assaults. Human Warriors were also resisting desperately, and accompanied by various missile and laser cannon attacks from Humans, the Giant Insects were also buried in a sea of fire in droves. But likewise, the Giant Insects had no concept of retreat; at this moment, one could not see the slightest desire for survival typical of intelligent beings in them.

Base One.

Having unleashed his full power, Nangong Yuhang was like a War God, chasing Li Hao and bombarding him wildly. Every gesture carried divine might. Base One had almost been turned into ruins by the two of them. Romero could not care about much else; he was just shielding Polina from the attacks. The other Giant Insects and Insectoids were not so lucky; wherever the ripples of the two's power swept, death almost certainly followed.

Li Hao completely blocked Nangong Yuhang's attacks, and using such power was a last resort. He had always resisted this mutation. His Spirit wandering about had only ever happened in dreams, and Li Hao had treated all of this as a dream. When he woke up, he would live the life of a normal person. He distinguished it well, so he was still a Human.

When his physical body also evolved along with it, he did not know what would happen.

At this moment, Li Hao's body was rapidly alienating. Once this process started, it was irreversible. It was not that Li Hao's body was glowing with golden light; his body, every single cell, was gradually turning into Golden Cells. Those energy-filled cells began to infect each other. Nangong Yuhang's attacks were very powerful, but actually useless; at most, they accelerated this process. All along, this was also what Li Hao had been avoiding and resisting. He never wanted to mutate; he just wanted to be a Human, the same as Zuo Xiaotang, Zhou Naiyi, Er Ya, Wang Laoban, and the others—someone who could feel joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, grow old, get sick, and die, and eat good food together. Even if he was hurt, even if he was in despair, he was still a Human.

Some changes, once started, cannot be turned back.

But now, if he did not change, what he wanted to protect would cease to exist.

Li Hao opened his golden eyes, and the golden light pierced through the sky.

Boom...

A punch landed squarely on Nangong Yuhang, halting his violent attack. *Blech*... a mouthful of blood sprayed out. Nangong Yuhang's body contracted suddenly, as if it were about to explode. His brain also had a feeling of his soul scattering. His entire body was ejected hundreds of meters in an instant, piercing through wall after wall, followed by another deafening explosion.

*Whoosh*...

Nangong Yuhang's body shot into the sky, sliding through a huge parabola like a cannonball as he killed toward Li Hao. "Li~~~~~ Hao, go to hell!"

His right fist condensed terrifying energy. The surrounding Giant Insects were all wailing. A giant bolt of lightning from the sky struck Nangong Yuhang. Nangong Yuhang absorbed all the power directly; his body was becoming infinite. The power of nature spread through the Emperor Rune of the Nimeier Civilization to his entire body. He could win; he was the strongest!

He was the only one!

——Immovable Wisdom King Nine Heavens Thunder Fist!

At this moment, the last cell in Li Hao's body turned golden. In an instant, the light on Li Hao's body vanished, and even the gold in his eyes disappeared completely. Yet, at this instant, Romero had already knelt down.

Li Hao threw a punch. In an instant, Kepler Planet seemed to stop rotating.

*Whoosh*~~~~~

Boom...

The terrifying power tore through Space and shot straight into the sky, followed immediately by an energy hurricane that blasted outward indiscriminately.

*Hum*~~~~~~~~ Boom...

The entire Base One collapsed and sank directly. The Giant Insects, Insectoids, and countless experimental subjects in the underground laboratory were all annihilated in the ruins.

Romero had shielded Polina at the critical moment. His indestructible Second Turn Armor collapsed directly in the aftermath of the power, and his body began to crack as he was blown away by the hurricane.

After a long while, when Romero stood up again, Base One had disappeared. Feeling Polina's heartbeat, a trace of tenderness appeared in Romero's eyes. He set her down gently, and at this moment, he saw a person standing in the open space.

Was it a person?

Romero did not know, but he still walked over.

No joy or sorrow could be seen on Li Hao's face. He had won. According to BLeem's plan, he had ultimately become the body Theseus needed. Only his state was capable of infinitely carrying a Spirit. The infinite microscopic nature of the Inner Universe was the same as the infinite macroscopic nature of the outer universe; theoretically, it could also carry a massive Spirit.

Nangong Yuhang lay on the ground, his body already in ruins. It was hard to tell if his face showed anger or relief.

"Are you still... going?" Nangong Yuhang's voice sounded intermittently.

Li Hao was silent for a while, then nodded. "Perhaps we are all Puppets, fundamentally unable to change fate."

Nangong Yuhang smiled. Indeed, who isn't a Puppet? It was finally over. The child of the Nangong Family from the past, the Nangong Yuhang who carried all sorts of wills—he never knew what he was while alive, or who he was.

*Crack. *

The crystal on Nangong Yuhang's chest collapsed, and his body rapidly crystallized like a Silicon-based organism, decaying...

Romero looked at Nangong Yuhang. "I will take you."

Li Hao nodded and looked at the sky. The battle was still continuing; the Giant Insect Legion had not been affected in the slightest. This meant that Nangong Yuhang was just a tool, and the true enemy was Theseus. Suddenly, Li Hao's body swayed violently, tottering.

Romero frowned deeply and hurriedly reached out to support him. "Are you alright?"

Li Hao waved his hand and smiled bitterly. "My time is running out."

No one had this experience. Li Hao felt his body was becoming a bottomless pit; the Golden Cells had actually begun to devour each other. He was losing control. "Romero, if I fail and the Janibekov Cannon is also ineffective, do not resist. Leave a spark of hope for Humanity."

Romero was silent for a while, then nodded.

Romero cleared away a patch of ruins; the teleportation array of the Nimeier Civilization inside was intact. An energy channel opened.

Li Hao and Romero entered. This was how Nangong Yuhang had brought Romero here in the first place. In an instant, the two went from Base One to the bottom of the Kepler ocean. What met their eyes was a shocking sight: a prosperous, high-tech underwater city, indicating that a very advanced civilization had once existed here.

Suspended in the ocean of Kepler Planet, which was far more vast than Earth's, was a huge city. The entire city was shrouded in an energy shield. Li Hao and Romero appeared within the city.

It was deathly silent here. Beneath the prosperous exterior lay something eerie. There were no signs of life, yet one could feel a fullness and terror of life force. And in Li Hao's eyes, powerful Spirit energy was drifting everywhere, revealing a trace of eeriness, and a suffocating power shrouded the entire city, radiating toward the ocean.

"This city itself is a huge energy absorber. Nangong Yuhang judged that Theseus led his clansmen to Kepler Planet through a technology mastered by the Nimeier Civilization, a unique type of Space Jump. But something happened, and during this jump, Theseus absorbed everyone's Spirits, turning into a massive, complex life form. In this process, his body must have collapsed, and he could only reside in the entire city, sinking into the ocean," Romero said. "The final step of the Insectoid transformation is completed here at this God Tower. That place should be where the Spirit core is stored. Now that Nangong is dead, the technology of the Nimeier Civilization has perished along with him."

Romero felt a bit of melancholy. The Nimeier Civilization was destroyed just as it was about to reach its peak; what would happen to Human civilization?

(End of chapter)