Chapter 722: Crimson Vajra, get lost!

Zhang Jie opened his eyes and immediately saw his surroundings, as well as the Intelligent Machine Empress looking at him from ahead.

The memory in his mind, spanning countless timelines and so long it seemed endless, had now been fully integrated.

He felt no discomfort, no splitting headache, no memory confusion—just as if he had had a very long dream; upon waking, everything was as usual.

Yo, you finally woke up.

A somewhat speechless voice came from beside him; Zhang Jie looked up and gazed at the Intelligent Machine Empress.

I thought you'd sleep until the end of time.

Nothing happened in between, right?

Zhang Jie had just gotten up, his head still a bit fuzzy; after saying that, he realized something was off.

Isn't that just nonsense?

If nothing had happened, how could they have been taken away fleeing?

Your earlier eye-rolling and foaming at the mouth scared Yunxiao silly.

Zhang Jie opened his mouth, but before he could respond, the Intelligent Machine Empress had already brushed past the topic and slapped her forehead.

Ah, right, let's get down to business.

We're withdrawing, and your cognitive virus has been undone.

Withdrawal?

Zhang Jie stared blankly for a moment.

Hmm.

The Intelligent Machine Empress nodded, her expression turning serious.

The people you want to save have released something tremendous in the ruins of the hidden civilization.

Zhang Jie instantly felt uneasy—what tremendous thing had they released? Could it be those anomalies carrying high-dimensional energy?

If it were the same energy we first encountered in reality, that would be fine—there's no sign of amplification or spread.

But if it's the thing from the simulation, then we're totally screwed.

What does it look like?

A large group of monsters mutated and deformed by strange energy, they look... uh... well...

These empresses thought for a while, then decided to directly hook him up to a livestream.

The screen showed a fiercely battling battlefield; Zhang Jie could see many familiar figures, and most importantly, the monsters rampaging.

Fuck your brother....

Zhang Jie's face changed drastically, and he blurted out, "This thing isn't just an anomaly, is it?"

What is an anomaly? It's not just some monster unique to that simulation; it's a bodily mutation caused by high-dimensional energy.

So, the relics of the hidden civilization before us might not be so-called self-destruction.

But rather, they were wiped out by the anomaly!!!

The empresses beside him still didn't know what had happened, fiddling with the panel before them and muttering something.

What the... wasn't the cognitive virus supposed to be undone?

By the way, what's wrong with you?

Nothing... how are Yunxiao and the others?

Yunxiao has already taken the fleet to reinforce; before leaving, he ordered the Deep Space Giant Sword to withdraw first, and he's going to go rescue your people.

Zhang Jie listened, then fell silent for two seconds.

Rescue people?

Yeah, the Intelligent Machine Empress won't die, but your people could.

Zhang Jie felt a headache; his worries had come true. What he feared most now was Yunxiao, Weiniya, and the others being directly contaminated and turned into monsters like the anomaly.

At least in this era, he'd never heard of such contamination. So if something went wrong, nobody knows what would happen.

No way, I have to go too.

Zhang Jie started to rise, but the Intelligent Machine Empress pressed him down at once.

What are you going to do over there?

You don't know— that thing is especially dangerous; if we don't handle it, they'll likely all be killed.

The Intelligent Machine Empress shook her head, firmly blocking Zhang Jie.

I think, compared to their own lives, they should be more worried about your safety.

Zhang Jie:.....

That's right; if it were me, I'd definitely think the same.

You know you can't stop me.

Zhang Jie gazed at the Intelligent Machine Empress; she stared for a moment, then shrugged and laughed.

Alright, alright, hero, I definitely can't stop you.

Thanks.

Not enough nanomachines? I'll help you make more.

In the hangar of the Deep Space Giant Sword, Zhang Jie stood on the empty deck.

Nanomachines surged from all directions like a liquid metal tide, covering his whole body, forming a hard skeleton, heavy armor, a fearsome outline—a huge mecha slowly taking shape.

Identical to the hundred-meter Vajra form of 118 after flame tempering.

A familiar link came through, and Zhang Jie's perspective synchronized with the mecha's frame.

Crimson Vajra.

He softly called out.

The heat pool inside his body began to flow, and pale blue flames spread from the mecha's core, burning brighter and brighter, shifting from pale blue to deep blue, from deep blue to blazing white, and finally turning gold.

The mecha turned completely red, as if it had just been tempered in the core of a star.

That scorching body kept burning, like a judge returning from hell.

"Let's go."

He didn't look back; his huge figure rushed out of the hatch and dove straight into that cold vacuum.

Behind him, the deep space giant sword was withdrawing.

Ahead lay the star region being anomalously eroded.

The Crimson Vajra traced a blinding flash of light across the Star Sea.

Weiniya had lost count of how many monsters had lunged at her.

Golden light flashed, cutting down, cutting down again, but the strange monsters were too many, pouring endlessly from the cracks in the split ruins, as if they would never run out.

Their original forms varied—some human, some insect disaster, some marine life—but now they were all twisted into the same feral shape, skin peeled away to reveal reddish flesh beneath, their bodies oozing an incomprehensible black mist.

Staring at them felt like something had violently stirred his brain.

Cognitive contamination.

She could only fight with her eyes closed, relying on sound to locate enemies and on the instinct inherited from the deep space knight tradition.

But she couldn't hold on any longer.

A mutated beast lunged from the side, its claws slamming down onto the back of her neck.

It was too fast; she didn't have time to turn, only hearing a clang! Someone had blocked that attack for her.

But it wasn't Zhang Jie—it was Yunxiao.

"Be careful, young one!"

"If you die, I won't be able to explain it."

Yunxiao said in a deep voice, the huge silver-white mecha unfurled, and in an instant countless lasers shot out like heavenly maidens scattering flowers, instantly covering the monsters before him.

Boom!!!

Not far away, a golden sword light shot up to the heavens, tearing countless monsters to shreds and obliterating them; 'Xiao Yi' closed her eyes and raised the sword blade.

"All of you, retreat!!!"

"Knight's Oath·Judgment!"

(Yesterday I was too tired, so I rested the ginseng for a day.)