Chapter 443

Chapter 444: Amid Death…

A clump of gray black crystal, twisted like withered roots, floated quietly in space. It bathed in the far starlight. Just a few dozen kilometers below it, the planet shield of the Grand Void Spiritual Axis shimmered with a hazy glow.

That ugly seed hung there only a step from its final target: asleep, or already dead.

The Planetary Guard had rushed into orbit and parked near a shield Node. Leaning on an Immortal Palace that had been hurried into position, they built a defensive line. Masters from every sect stood on high alert, eyes locked on the strange crystal, ready in case it suddenly fell toward the Homeworld.

But after tens of minutes, the “Youth Form” still did not move.

Irene pressed against the Observation Window, eyes wide as she stared at the wrinkled “crystal lump” far away: “Is it really dead? Maybe C Buckle was right, and this thing ran out of strength after fleeing Sentinel Silence?”

This surprise put the gathered masters in a bind. No one dared give the order. Should they attack or not? If they did nothing, the thing would keep hovering over the Homeworld. If they attacked and provoked it, what then? For now it showed no clear “intent” to strike. But it belonged to the Dark Angels. Did something like that even have an “intent” people could reason about?

Yu Sheng received a call from Taia.

Yuan Hao’s image rose above the comm, his face grave: “We released an Automaton Bird, but the thing did not react at all when the Automaton Bird got close. Divine Sense Scrying cannot penetrate its interior, but we can roughly confirm its core still has some energy. We don’t dare let anyone approach, in case of mental contamination.”

Yu Sheng listened, then slowly looked up at the silent “Youth Form” in space, weighing his choice.

A moment later, he exhaled and broke the silence: “I’ll go.”

Immortal Yuan Hao opened his mouth as if to stop him, then caught himself. He recalled the blood red storm at Sentinel Silence; his expression shifted before he asked: “How sure are you?”

“Hard to say, but this might be the last chance,” Yu Sheng said. “I can’t make a storm like that again over the Grand Void Spiritual Axis. If the Youth Form drops into the atmosphere, even I can’t stop it. Better to go now while it’s inactive and try.”

Yuan Hao studied him through the screen, then nodded slowly.

“Understood. What do you need from us?”

“Nothing. Just pull back a little farther,” Yu Sheng said after thinking, then added, “and if I fail, do everything you can to stop it in the atmosphere. No matter what, do not let it touch the surface of the Grand Void Spiritual Axis.”

“Got it.”

Ending the call with Taia, Yu Sheng drew a breath and rose from the captain’s chair.

Foxy stood up at once: “Benefactor, should I take you over?”

“No. I’m going to contact the Dark Angels’ core directly. It’s too dangerous,” said Yu Sheng, waving her off. “I’ll go alone.”

“Then…” Foxy thought, reached behind her, and tugged out a fluffy tail: “I’ll send you with my tail.”

Yu Sheng’s eyelid twitched.

To be fair, that was the standard way to solve problems in the Hotel. Under normal circumstances, he and this fox always handled things like that.

But today, in this setting, a different idea came to him.

“We have a spaceship, don’t we?” Yu Sheng grinned, eager. “I’ve got a new toy.”

Moments later, Yu Sheng entered a bay in the midsection of the Otherworldly Hotel.

The wide hangar held rows of fearsome silver gray bodies fixed to racks. A Heavy Fortress Torpedo was being pushed onto a loading rail by mechanical arms, while other arms hurried to remove the warhead’s protective shell.

Yu Sheng stood beside the “torpedo,” which was the size of a small launch rocket, eyes shining.

Irene stared, stunned, then looked up at him: “Didn’t you say this ship’s weapon system doesn’t work?!”

“It doesn’t. Fire control and the guidance units are still offline,” Yu Sheng said casually. “Only one launch tube works at all, and I need to control it with my mind to activate it.”

He paused, then added: “But torpedoes don’t need complex systems to launch, and our target is fixed. If I can aim and get it out the tube, once the engine lights, we just go straight.”

Irene gaped, then blurted after holding it in as long as she could: “So your ‘new toy’ is to stuff yourself into a torpedo and shoot yourself out?! Please pick something normal for once. Or think about the Silly Fox’s tail again. At least we’re used to that style.”

Yu Sheng reached over and pressed a hand on Irene’s head.

“Foxy’s tail doesn’t pierce armor,” he said seriously. “It’s mainly explosive damage, and it might blow most of me into space. I need to ‘drill’ into the Youth Form’s interior. We may only get one ‘boarding’ chance. A Fortress-Type Torpedo, built for capital ships and heavy fortifications, is the best choice.”

The little doll blinked hard: “So this is your carefully thought out plan?!”

“Of course. I always think things through,” Yu Sheng glared. “Ever since I learned about the Youth Form, I’ve been working on ways to deal with it. You think all my brilliant ideas and perfect plans come from a ‘flash of darkness’?”

Irene nodded straight-faced: “Yeah. What else?”

Before she could say more, she popped behind Foxy and stuck her head out from the pile of tails to look at Yu Sheng: “No settling personal scores. Also, does this ‘move’ of yours have a name?”

Yu Sheng didn’t bother arguing with the doll. At her last question he only grinned and said, easy as anything: “Considering the tactic and the carrier, I call it the ‘Boarding-Yu Torpedo’.”

Irene: “…?”

The little doll worked it out after a long moment, but before she could start chirping again, Yu Sheng had already turned toward the now “modified” giant warhead.

They had removed the Heavy Fortress Torpedo’s warhead entirely. The empty payload bay now held a welded frame and a seat. Yu Sheng stepped in and strapped himself down. Nearby arms swung in and began welding the protective shell closed.

As the shell was about to seal, Yu Sheng glanced out from the payload bay and mused: “Should I say something now? Something rousing and heroic…”

“Say what?” Irene glared with scarlet eyes. “You picked the spookiest plan and now you want to be proper?”

Foxy thought for a second, then stepped up: “Benefactor, come back for dinner when you’re done.”

Luna nodded beside her: “Yes.”

Sitting in the torpedo bay, Yu Sheng suddenly felt life grow dim. When he thought about coming up with such a cool idea and getting these reactions, he could not help thinking: [What kind of people am I surrounded by…]

The next second, it really did go dim.

[…Should have put a light in here.]

He switched to the Otherworldly Hotel’s sensors and view, then gave the launch order.

A small shudder came first, then an acceleration strong enough to kill an ordinary person in an instant.

The airlock opened. The tube vented. With a puff of vapor spreading into space, a silver gray spark shot from the midship launch tube of the Otherworldly Hotel.

After a short glide, the torpedo engine ignited. The modified “round” traced a silent bright line through the dark and flew straight toward the “Dark Angels” mass hanging in the distance.

Countless Celestial Ships in high orbit tracked the little missile. Though it was huge compared to a person, it still looked like a tiny bug beside the gray black “crystal clump.”

Moments later, the “bug” touched the Youth Form.

There was no giant explosion, no sky changing scene of a “secret weapon.” The contact was nearly silent, with hardly any flame. With its warhead removed, the Fortress Torpedo hit a knot of entwined roots on the crystal and made a small flash. Then it smashed through the brittle, loose outer layer, broke several “crystal branches” in a row, and finally jammed deep inside the structure.

Only after that did the small charge in the payload bay arm and pop. A faint flash flared and vanished within the clump.

Yu Sheng vanished too.

A muddy darkness. Senses stripped away. Yu Sheng felt himself floating in endless void. The feeling was so familiar it was almost like coming home.

By now he could quickly rebuild his “sense of self” in such emptiness, and use the link through blood to restore his sense of the real world ahead of time.

Just like now.

He felt himself diffusing through something cold and hard. He seeped into the crystal mass as if into a new body. He touched what still lived inside it. In the darkness, a little light grew… and a voice.

“Go… find a new home, take root, and try to live…”

He snapped his eyes open.

In the broken light, a vague but familiar figure stood not far away.

“Fellow daoist, you are here.”