Chapter 1: Leaving the Lianwen Star (Part 2)

Li Ran nodded and said, “If that’s the case, let’s follow then.”
The three were overjoyed and quickly stepped forward to express their gratitude. Sheyajita said, “I have a place here where we can go; there are communication devices there.”
Guo Shier said with a smile, “Alright, let’s go to your place.”
Sheyajita and the other two breathed a sigh of relief. They all knew that ever since Li Ran and his group had spared the people of Zihui Villa, they had been in a desperate situation. Only by following Li Ran and his group could they stay somewhat safe. Once they got the chance, they would run as far as possible.
In such times, it was essential to follow the stronger ones. But what Sheyajita and the others didn’t know was that the entire United Spirit Kingdom had now mobilized. They had offered large amounts of wealth and various precious materials, recruiting experts from the Secret Race everywhere to hunt down Li Ran’s group. However, due to the long distances, it would take some time. Once these hired experts gathered, the place where Li Ran’s group was would become an extremely dangerous area.
Soon, they arrived at Sheyajita’s residence. It was a small house hidden in a residential area, covering only a few hundred square meters. He had a large communication room in the basement, with strange instruments on three of the four walls.
Sheyajita said, “Please sit down.” There were many round cushions on the ground, about a foot high and very soft. Everyone sat down. Sheyajita turned on the instruments and began adjusting them. After a while, a large amount of data was transmitted. Soon, his expression changed, and he couldn’t help but look back at Li Ran and the others. The news that came through was astonishing. As a member of the Secret Race, he had high access rights, so the information he received was even more accurate.
Li Ran knew a little about these instruments, while Guo Shier knew almost nothing, but he understood the basic principle somewhat. It was related to his past life on Earth, so he understood the general process of communication here. Of course, the level of advancement here was beyond what he could have imagined in his past life.
Sheyabana and Burobugong stood aside, also checking the information. After a while, they too became tense.
Li Ran said calmly, “If there’s a problem… just speak up.”
Sheyajita gave a bitter smile and said, “It’s serious, extremely serious. The entire galaxy—our Lianwen Galaxy—has been completely sealed off. I’ve been told to evacuate here as soon as possible… Let’s prepare the flying vehicles to carry away important items… mainly those from the secret warehouse.”

Guo Shier asked, “Is there a spaceship at the place you’re going to that can take us off Liwen Star?”
Sheyajita replied, “Yes. Since we are the Secret Race, the United Spirit Kingdom hopes we can evacuate…”
Guo Shier said, “The truly wealthy and nobles, along with people like you from the Secret Race, should be able to get away. As for the others… they must have been abandoned, right?”
Sheyajita honestly said, “Yes, that’s right. Ordinary people were indeed abandoned. They didn’t have time to care for them. As far as I know, there’s only one freighter… used to take away important people. Well, it’s to prevent… you from escaping during the chaos.”
Li Ran smiled faintly and said, “If we really want to leave, who can stop us?”
Sheyajita said, “Currently, no one can stop us. But… the United Spirit Kingdom is hiring experts everywhere. Our family has also received an invitation… but we’re not at that level yet.”
Kumu sneered and said, “Judging by your appearance, does your family have any powerful experts?” He didn’t believe for a moment that the Sheya family had any experts. Judging from the performance of these two at Zihui Villa, this family was nothing special.
Sheyajita’s face turned red. He didn’t dare to argue. The Secret Race was quite famous among various star nations, but there were differences among them—some were better than others. The Sheya family was quite ordinary, a small family with very few experts.
Moreover, even those experts were incomparable to top experts like Li Ran. They couldn’t even walk freely in space. Experts like Xingyunzi and Lanlandai, who could move through void space, were beyond their imagination.
Sheyabana also remained silent. His face was red, and he felt extremely ashamed.
Guo Shier said, “This isn’t a place to stay long. Should we take this opportunity to slip away?”
Sheyajita hurriedly said, “Everyone has detailed identification. Can’t… can’t we take anyone with us?”
Guo Shier couldn’t help but smile. “We don’t even need to board your spaceship. We just need to follow it into space. As for boarding the freighter, there’s no need for you to worry about that at all.”
Bu Ruobugong’s expression immediately changed. It was impossible for anyone to invite him to go with them. He had no hope of escaping on his own. He opened his mouth but ended up staying silent, thinking to himself: Maybe I should find a secluded place to hide for a few years and try to leave once things calm down.

Sheyajita actually wanted to leave too, but he thought about the group of terrifying guys surrounding him. If they were discovered, his spaceship would be completely ruined, and by then, there would be nowhere to escape. This was different from on Earth—after all, they were skilled fighters and could protect themselves to some extent. But in space, without star armor, it was basically a death sentence.

Sheyabana was also lost in his thoughts. Of course, he understood the risks. After a while, he said, “I won’t go for now. I… I can’t go back.”

Sheyajita suddenly realized that it was absolutely impossible to return to his family at this moment. Going back would mean facing the wrath of the family’s leaders. He could only wait for things to calm down before trying to find a way to negotiate, perhaps to avoid punishment from the family.

As for escaping, neither of them dared think too much about it for now. They only hoped to hide for a few years or a decade before looking for an opportunity to return to their family. In truth, both of them knew the chances of returning were slim—very likely they would end up drifting through the universe, finding an unremarkable planet to spend their old age on.

Sheyajita said, “Forget it. We won’t go back. But we can take you to the secret spaceship location. You can follow the ship… and enter the starship.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “That works too. Since you’re afraid to go back, it’s fine here. After we leave, hehe, things will calm down quickly here. Those defectors aren’t worth worrying about.”

Suddenly, Sheyajita said, “There’s an order from the army…”

Li Ran asked, “What does it say?”

Sheyajita replied, “It’s an amnesty order. It orders the defectors to gather at several locations nearby. The army will waive their responsibilities. Those who don’t obey this order will be killed without mercy. Well, it’s directly sent to the armed soldiers.”

Guo Shier said, “So slow. They’re only starting to clean up now. Hehe, the army is really slow to react.”

Sheyajita added, “There’s another notice… it’s about the lords…”

Everyone’s gaze focused on him. Sheyajita began to sweat—being stared at by these top-level fighters put immense pressure on him. With a bitter smile, he said, “The defectors are required to report the locations of the lords… Um, quite a few have already reported. It’s in Lucheng…”

Li Ran decisively said, “Let’s go!”

Sheyajita said, “Wait a moment. I’ll go get a portable communicator. I’ll be back soon.” He ran outside and returned after a short while, saying, “Okay, I have it.”

Li Ran asked, “Are there any more of these communicators? Give us one!”
Sheyajita replied, “Yes, I have one spare. I’ll give it to you. Do you know how to use it, my lord?”
Li Ran fiddled with it for a while, asked a few questions, then nodded and said, “It’s quite good. Truly worthy of a Grade 7 star nation’s product—simple, practical, and powerful. Hehe.” He added, “I need your access rights.”
Sheyajita handed over the access rights to Li Ran with a bitter smile, then took out the spare communicator and gave it to Sheyabana, saying, “Bana, use your access rights to activate it…”
Just over ten minutes later, as they walked toward the door ready to leave, they were suddenly shocked, a sense of terror piercing their souls. Guo Shier said angrily, “These bastards! This is a big city—run!”
Sheyajita, Sheyabana, and Burobugong were stunned, not understanding why Guo Shier was cursing, and stood frozen in place. Soon after, they saw Li Ran and the others quickly form a five-star formation, with all seven of them floating in the air. It was Sheyajita who reacted fastest, asking, “What are you doing?”
In a flash of light, the seven of them disappeared, but Guo Shier’s voice remained: “If you want to live… run!” The word “run” echoed loudly in the courtyard.
Sheyajita suddenly realized what was happening. He grabbed Sheyabana and hurriedly flew outside. Even Burobugong, though slow to understand, also took off and flew toward the city outskirts. But their speed was far too slow—comparable to a cart vs. an airplane compared to Guo Shier’s group.
Suddenly, a blinding white light flashed in the sky. It was an attack launched simultaneously by a fleet of starships, all using long-range, high-powered weapons. Many of these weapons were strictly forbidden from being fired at planets, yet they were still used.
The target was the entire Lu City, along with an area of tens of thousands of miles around it. This attack clearly aimed to cripple or eliminate Li Ran’s team at any cost. As for Lu City, it was meant to be sacrificed, along with all its soldiers and residents. It was an extremely ruthless move, leaving no chance for Li Ran and his group. Such an attack would not only destroy Lu City but also cause severe damage to Liewen Star, taking hundreds of years to recover.
Once Li Ran’s team formed a five-star formation, their flight speed was truly unparalleled. Unfortunately, they were in the atmosphere, which greatly restricted their speed.

In an instant, everything before everyone’s eyes turned white. The combined remote attack from those starships was unimaginably powerful, especially the moment they pierced the atmosphere—it was as if Thor were rolling through the sky, causing earth-shattering destruction. The entire atmosphere seemed to ignite.

The first wave of attacks reached the ground, focusing almost entirely on Deer City. With a deafening boom, it was truly catastrophic. Only after Deer City vanished did the thunderous noise spread. Those on the starships watched Planet Liwen and felt it tremble as well.

Shayajita, Shayabana, and Borobogun didn’t even have time to leave the city. At the moment of the attack, they despondently closed their eyes, knowing they couldn’t escape, and then vanished into nothingness.

Deer City also had assembly points for its retreating soldiers, but those who went there also failed to escape and were reduced to dust—none survived. Ironically, it was they who had reported Li Ran’s team’s location in Deer City, which cost them their chance of survival.

The residents of Deer City also turned to ashes with the first wave of attacks. The entire city was completely erased from the face of the earth, with the ground sinking several kilometers as if struck by an invisible giant hammer.

Li Ran’s team instantly traveled thousands of kilometers away, but even at such speed, they were still affected by the attack. The seven of them were thrown aside by the powerful shockwave. To their surprise, they couldn’t resist this force—like a golf ball struck hard by a club, all seven of them were flung apart because they were connected as one unit.