Chapter 733: This time, Knight Sir lets you eat your fill in one go!

At the moment the pollution node was pierced, the entire starfield shuddered violently.

The roar, capable of shattering the starfield, still echoed in its aftermath, while the black mist sea began to recede at a speed visible to the naked eye, like a tide whose source had been drawn away, withdrawing layer by layer.

The fleets of three civilizations stared blankly at the distant Alliance fleet, and at the very front, that golden mecha.

After a brief silence, various communication requests came flooding in, one after another.

It actually succeeded.

The Alliance civilization is truly unbelievable.

To come up with a solution first in such a short time and actually carry it out is hard not to admire.

The speaker was the commander of the Herland Expeditionary Force, a being whose body was made of a translucent light membrane, with orange-red energy flowing inside.

He was the first to send a communication request to Zhang Jie, and his voice, formed by energy vibrating the air, was deep and heavy, like a great bell resonating in the starfield.

Alliance Leader, the node is clean; the Alliance pulled this off beautifully.

The credit isn't solely the Alliance's.

Zhang Jie responded with an acknowledgement, and his gaze fell back onto the black star that was collapsing.

Without you holding the line outside, we couldn't get in, nor could we obtain this.

On the other end of the communication, there was a moment of silence.

Leader Sir, you're being too modest.

Honestly.

Zhang Jie said.

Once the wreckage is recovered, the data will be shared, and everyone can get a copy.

"Oh, you can take a copy of the data."

"This..."

Before he could say anything, communication requests from Novas and the Huanhuan World came in one after another.

The envoy sent by Novas was a lifeform clad in gray-black bone armor, speaking like two pieces of metal grinding inside a mountain, and right off the bat demanded to buy a wreckage sample.

The Huanhuan World's spiritual sound is ethereal and elusive; they are likewise willing to pay a price for just a record of the energy flow inside the node.

No need to buy.

Zhang Jie directly interrupted them.

These wrecks already entitle you to a share of the credit; I'm giving them to you for free.

This...

Take it, study it, and it'll be good for everyone.

Zhang Jie's expression remained calm.

A heavenly disaster represents both catastrophe and opportunity; whoever first masters what's inside will gain an extra edge in the battles to come.

"Furthermore..."

"In the face of disaster, no one can stay uninvolved; doing this is also for our own sake."

Within the communication channel, all was silent.

Finally, the voice of the Herland commander came through, carrying a hint of solemnity never before seen.

We have noted this favor from the Alliance.

If there's a place where it will be useful later, just speak up.

Zhang Jie gave an acknowledgement and then cut off the communication.

Inside the research institute.

The wreckage had already been transported here; with a grunt, the massive black wreck came to a stop at the Alliance's port.

Although it was wreckage, its extremely exaggerated size still drew many people's attention.

Especially Blue Sapphire; upon seeing this, the greedy catgirl immediately came over, sniffed it, and her eyes lit up.

Knight Sir! Can I eat this?

You can have a portion.

Anyone who knows Blue Sapphire's true form understands: one bite of it, and not only would this broken wreck be gone, but even the Alliance would be left in pieces.

This piece is for Yuan's research; I'll get you another piece later.

Meow....

Blue Sapphire's face fell, and her tail drooped.

Yuan glanced at him from the side.

You really decided to give it all away for free?

Zhang Jie nodded.

Without them, we couldn't enter the pollution tide.

That's not wrong.

Yuan thought it over, then didn't say anything more.

Just then, the Huanhuan World's observational data came through.

On the star chart, what had been a solitary red dot had become a dense cluster of light spots.

Two hundred thirty, and even that number is still increasing.

The average influence radius of a node is about five light-years.

The Huanhuan Civilization's observer spoke; she had no fixed form, only a cluster of pale blue spiritual energy hovering in the center of the silver observation ring, her voice ethereal and distant, with a slight echo.

This is merely the early stage of the spread.

A single node's influence range isn't large, but the nodes are forming recursive connections between them; once they overlap, a new pollution source will arise at the junction.

The number of nodes will no longer increase linearly.

but will expand in a geometric progression.

Zhang Jie stared at the star map that kept turning red, his eyelids twitching wildly.

Not bro, back then you guys weren't that badass either!!!

What's up? After a few eras without seeing, everyone's evolved and ascended, right? Each of them has exceeded the limit into what state?

If it weren't for Zhang Jie having seen the original state of these things, he would even suspect that some entropy disaster had come!

Moreover, what's appearing now is only the first-layer nodes; after they connect with each other, they will split off new diffusion sources.

The new diffusion sources continue to split, producing more nodes, like giving birth to offspring, and basically can't stop.

And the growth speed of pollution will also continually accelerate as the coverage range expands.

This is typical compound expansion; the later it goes, the less time is left for them.

Just three hours ago, the number of nodes was only one hundred sixteen, but now it's already two hundred thirty.

If it passes a certain critical point, the entire diffusion will completely lose control.

By then, the speed at which all civilizations destroy nodes will far lag behind the speed at which pollution generates nodes.

This war is no longer a question of whether they can resist, but how long the Star Sea can still exist.

Zhang Jie's fingers lightly tapped on the control panel.

Without him saying it, all civilizations already know that time is very precious.

Every minute of delay could produce several more nodes.

This is also why he is willing to freely share the wreckage and high-dimensional energy technology.

The more civilizations that research, the more chance the Star Sea has.

Have the node coordinates all been sent over?

Sent.

Yuan stared at the screen, his tone sank.

However, at this speed, relying solely on the Alliance to take them on one by one will definitely not be enough time.

Then we need to find a way to be faster.

Zhang Jie said, his gaze falling back onto that piece of black wreckage.

First, let's study this piece thoroughly; I'll see if we can find the nodes' common weakness.

Yuan glanced at the sapphire still sulking in the corner, then looked at the star map, and sighed.

You really don't plan to leave her a bit more?

Mom Yuan is still too gentle.

What's the rush?

Zhang Jie said, pointing at a node that had turned red to black.

The next piece, soon it was ready.

The sapphire's ears twitched, and immediately perked up again.

Really?!

Really.

Zhang Jie narrowed his eyes, looking at the restless little catgirl.

"This time, Knight Sir lets you eat your fill in one go!"