Barren Star – Chapter 76
by Little PandaWe are all free now.
The crimson flash seemed to burn the retina, stealing away vision in an instant. The howling wind carried a putrid stench, as if thousands of beasts were roaring in the empty wilderness.
Ning Buyi was protected in Pojun’s embrace, her eyelids extremely heavy. In the haze, she seemed to hear Hill’s voice.
She was shouting “mask.”
Ning Buyi clutched the complete “Divine Authority Mask” in her hand, her vision filled with silver-white, unable to locate Hill’s position. Her lips moved slightly, and as her grip on the mask loosened, Hua Zhuoyu immediately sent out a strand of spiritual power upon seeing the mask, throwing it to Hill. Among them, only Hill, who possessed the Drop of Life, was most suitable to wear this strange object.
Everything happened in a flash, and Hill, upon receiving the mask, unhesitatingly pressed it against her face. A thunderous boom shook heaven and earth. The remaining divine power in the mask caused Hill’s shattered flesh and body, torn apart by the explosive force, to regenerate. However, that power was far too immense, and Hill still needed to control the Drop of Life to purify the pollution and prevent herself from becoming an aberration [畸變體 | jī biàn tǐ | mutated being] under the mask’s influence. Thus, when the turbulence subsided, her transparent wings on her back were riddled with holes, looking extremely pitiful. The mask itself developed numerous cracks before shattering with a crisp sound.
Nearby, Hua Zhuoyu’s spiritual sea had reached its limit, breaking her connection with Pojun after the final strike. Her face deathly pale, she lay unconscious on the brown sand. Among the three, Ning Buyi received the least impact. She finally opened her eyes, though her vision remained filled with billowing dust and blood mist. Sticky red liquid fell on her body, extremely nauseating. “Ah Zhuo? Ah Zhuo?” Ning Buyi knelt beside Hua Zhuoyu, called her name several times, and seeing no response, her expression immediately turned grim.
Hill slowly walked over, having already retracted her combat form, appearing only somewhat disheveled but otherwise showing no abnormalities. She looked down at Hua Zhuoyu, frowning as she said, “Her spiritual power is damaged.” After a pause, she added, “The mask has shattered, and with it, that era – the age of divine authority has finally perished.”
Ning Buyi nodded absent-mindedly, attempting to lift Hua Zhuoyu, but her limbs were weak, lacking any extra strength. She slightly lifted her head to look at the massive fortress in the sky, pressing her lips together.
At the moment the monster exploded, all signals in the temporary fortress were lost, with screens flickering with black and white snow. Ying Jingqiu heard a buzzing in her ears, her vision completely blurred. Once the impact force subsided and signals transmitted the situation below, she immediately ordered medical troops to descend.
The robotic ambulance landed on the brown earth covered with nauseating blood clots, not stopping but heading straight toward the life signals. Hearing the beeping sound, Ning Buyi’s nerves involuntarily tensed, though she relaxed upon recognizing the ambulance, allowing the medical troops to load Hua Zhuoyu onto the vehicle.
“These blood clots have lost their activity and need to be processed. Would you like to stay here for a while, or shall I dispatch a team to escort you back?” Ying Jingqiu handed Ning Buyi a recovery potion, meeting her gaze with seriousness.
“Let’s wait for Ah Zhuo to wake up.” Ning Buyi’s face showed traces of fatigue.
“The Imperial Star will award you honorary merits.” Ying Jingqiu paused momentarily, glancing at Hill who sat at the side supporting her temples, then carefully added, “Your Majesty Hill, I will do my utmost to promote free trade with the Insect Star.”
Hill raised her eyes, golden pupils gleaming brilliantly, and smiled gently: “Thank you, Your Excellency.”
Three days later.
Hua Zhuoyu woke up.
This wasn’t her first time overusing spiritual power, but this instance was more severe, nearly causing her entire spiritual sea to collapse. Even the strongest spiritual power has its limits. She lay in the medical pod for three full days before regaining some vitality.
“How do you feel?” Ning Buyi looked at the sitting Hua Zhuoyu, offering a glass of fresh orange juice.
“Not so good.” Hua Zhuoyu tugged at the corner of her mouth, “Feels like hundreds of people are swaying around in my head.”
Ning Buyi said: “Then you should continue resting in the medical pod. It’s not suitable to wake up now.”
“The longer I sleep, the more you’ll worry.”
“How could that be?” Ning Buyi stood up, not looking at Hua Zhuoyu’s expression, muttering, “I already know your condition from the doctor, I’m not worried at all.”
“Is that so?” Hua Zhuoyu raised her eyebrows, took a sip of the refreshing orange juice, and gazed intently at Ning Buyi, “This is the last time. We can go home now.”
Ning Buyi let out a light snort.
“The last time” was the most untrustworthy lie.
However, this time, the remnants of the Mythical Forbidden Zone were destroyed, and that era of divine authority had completely ended. What remained was to let plants spread throughout the entire Greedy Wolf Star System. Once each planet was covered with green vegetation, the remaining dark pollution would eventually disappear completely.
Ying Jingqiu led the Civilization Fleet to deal with the monster’s remains.
Only when no traces could be detected did the Civilization Fleet decide to return, though to prevent further accidents, she left a small team to guard the sky fortress. When leaving, Ning Buyi departed with Ying Jingqiu and the others. However, upon entering the Construction Star Cluster, Ning Buyi declined Ying Jingqiu’s invitation, choosing instead to return directly to the Mountain and Sea Star. As for Hill, although she needed to discuss “free trade” with the Da Xia government, it wasn’t appropriate to go without an invitation, so she also went with Ning Buyi.
The spacecraft landed on the outskirts of the base.
As her feet touched the ground, Ning Buyi sensed the familiar atmosphere, a genuine smile rising to her lips. Unlike the barren Black Sea Star, the Mountain and Sea Star was vibrant with life factors and green plant energy, the incoming wind carrying the scent of grass. Wide roads led to the base’s center, tall trees casting dense shadows on both sides, with beast clan cubs occasionally rolling and playing among the vegetation.
“Where did you go? I missed you so much!” Little Feng Jiu, fluttering her wings, rushed from the forest. Although she had long learned to transform into human form, like most cubs, she preferred maintaining her beast form. The heavy little yellow ball flew straight into Ning Buyi’s arms, but before she could stay long, Hua Zhuoyu picked her up like a swinging pendulum. Little Feng Jiu puffed up angrily, raising her head to peck at Hua Zhuoyu’s hand.
However, her attention quickly shifted as, following the appearance of Baize and the Nine-Tailed Fox, more furry cubs came along. They called out softly, nuzzling against Ning Buyi’s legs to gain her affection. Little Feng Jiu’s sense of crisis suddenly increased, and she struggled free from Hua Zhuoyu’s grasp, proudly trying to drive away the other cubs. But those cubs didn’t give Little Feng Jiu face, and the scene quickly descended into chaos.
Ning Buyi watched this chaotic scene with an amused smile.
The cubs were full of vitality, like a star system breaking free from its constraints, everything flourishing and thriving after emerging from the shadows.
In the second year after the disappearance of the “Mythical Forbidden Zone.”
The seeds distributed to various experimental bases had begun to grow robustly, and scientists, naturally unsatisfied with this pace, tried every method to propagate and clone, turning “one” into “many.” Perhaps realizing something, they no longer kept everything hidden as before, but distributed seeds and plants outward, establishing various online cultivation courses. Currently, not every household could own a plant, but they were working toward this goal, striving to spread greenery everywhere.
On the Mountain and Sea Star, the second round of the pioneering plan officially began. This time, rather than the Mountain and Sea Star directly facing the Star Network Universities, it was the government under Xia Sang’s leadership and the Beast Alliance Council recruiting pioneers and builders. From application opening to approval, there was a six-month observation period, with everyone on the Star Network in a state of excitement and agitation. In less than a year, cities rose one after another on the Mountain and Sea Star, and Aurora City was no longer an isolated island on the planet. Merchants recognized this as an opportunity, contributing to the construction in an attempt to seize market share in the Mountain and Sea Star’s development.
“Once outside merchants move in, our Aurora market share will be divided,” Xiong Xun was so busy his feet barely touched the ground, with applications flying in like snowflakes, leaving him barely able to process them.
“How could we possibly swallow the entire market?” Jin Feifei gave Xiong Xun a side-eye, then added, “Only we can use the ‘Aurora’ brand. Besides, with the Planetary Master backing us, other merchants can’t possibly push us out.”
Feng Er Mao eyes flickered as she looked at Xiong Xun: “Stop taking on more work, I don’t even have time to play games anymore.”
Jin Feifei flicked Feng Er’s forehead, snorting: “You’re terrible at games but addicted to them, just take a break.”
Xiong Xun glanced at the lazy Feng Er Mao, not wanting to communicate with her at all. After finishing his work, he put away his light brain and prepared to find Ning Buyi. Who knew that upon arrival, he’d discover Ning Buyi and Hua Zhuoyu had already left, leaving only the head steward Beidou behind.
The spacecraft sailed through the vast sea of stars, gradually moving away from the Mountain and Sea Star.
In the immense universe, that planet seemed like an insignificant speck of dust. In the past, it was a barren star, unvalued by people, but only now did people realize its weight. In the long river of history, the Mountain and Sea Star would surely leave a profound mark, and its planetary master Ning Buyi would be remembered by the future.
At this moment, Ning Buyi woke from her sleep.
She stretched lazily, looking at the Mountain and Sea Star, now just a dot, then turned to glance at Hua Zhuoyu.
“Is this okay for us to do?”
“With Beidou there, what is there to worry about?” Hua Zhuoyu raised her eyebrows with a smile, grace flowing in her features.
“From this day forward, we are all free.”
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