Chapter 43: Chaos, Section 7

The vast universe had completely changed. Massive clouds swirled around, blocking everyone’s view entirely. Beyond those glowing clouds, nothing else could be seen. The fleet now resembled small boats adrift in endless turbulent waves, tossed up and slammed down by the powerful clouds. The ships shook violently, with constant crackling sounds that seemed to strike at everyone’s hearts. Everyone’s faces were grim—they knew those were the sounds of stone particles colliding.

This was already the third layer of the nebula. So far, the fleet had progressed fairly smoothly. Aside from one ship being damaged while breaking through the second layer, there had been little loss. Everyone’s nerves had finally relaxed somewhat. Now, having reached the third layer, according to the old miner, there was a small gap that could provide the fleet with a chance to rest. After resting, they would enter a truly life-or-death phase—filled with dark purple clouds.

Those dark purple clouds indicated such high concentrations of stone particles that they had almost taken on a solid form. Even darker than that was pure black, symbolizing death. By this point, the fleet had no way to retreat. All crew members knew that from now on, their lives would no longer belong to them.

“Thirty seconds left before the energy flow counteracts, causing gaps to form in the clouds ahead. We only have twenty minutes. Baron Beck, please order the fleet to prepare.”

In the command cabin, Old Miner Moore’s expression also turned serious, no longer as relaxed as at the beginning. The power of nature was beyond any living being’s reach. Even though he was familiar with this nebula as well as the back of his hand, he dared not be careless. Though he was now on a fleet far more sturdy than the mining ship before, it was still like an ant within the nebula’s domain.

“Understood. The orders have been given.” Beside him, the black-haired man also looked serious, but without the earlier hint of anxiety.

Communicating with the core had proven fruitful. Now, he no longer had to worry about the risk of exposure.

Speaking of which, it’s hard to tell whether it was luck or coincidence. The emergence of the Core came at just the right time, and the speed at which it solved the problem was astonishingly fast. After hearing Black Hair’s explanation, the guy simply said “Oh,” then asked Black Hair to attach it to the wall of the warship. Soon after, Black Hair felt a tingling sensation in his right palm; when he took it away again, the strange face of the Core had vanished without a trace.

At the same time, the Core’s lazy voice suddenly rang out in the room. “There’s no need to look. I’m no longer inside your body. I’ve taken full control of Li Feng’s external armor. Go ahead and do what you need to do. I doubt there’s any warship armor in this universe that’s stronger than my flesh. What about those Stone Essence particles? I guarantee Li Feng won’t show any weaknesses.”

“Great!” With such a response from the Core, Black Hair naturally felt greatly reassured, no longer worried at all. Initially, he had only wanted the Core to help find a solution, maybe just strengthening the armor’s outer shell. Who would have thought the Core would be so loyal, even taking control of the biological armor itself? In this way, Li Feng’s outer armor was equivalent to the Core’s own body. And in this universe, what material could be stronger than the Core, the ruler of the Wanderers?

Black Hair didn’t know. But he was sure that even the Stone Essence armor of the Moore Empire wouldn’t pose much of a challenge to the Core if it wanted to create a breach in it. The biological realm was, after all, the most miraculous part of the universe. Ants being able to lift objects hundreds or even thousands of times heavier than themselves was the clearest proof.

So at this moment, Black Hair was more confident than anyone else. Looking at the turbulent purple-red clouds outside, he even doubted that even if his entire fleet were torn to pieces by those Stone Essence particles in an instant, his Li Feng would remain completely unharmed!

Just then, the turbulent clouds suddenly stopped moving, their violent rotation slowing down abruptly. At the same time, all the detectors inside the ship emitted shrill alarm sounds. The energy detectors were even on the verge of exploding.

“It’s here.” Everyone tensed up, waiting for the impending breach.

Sure enough, just as they settled in, the clouds in front of them turned pitch black. A violent collision was visible to the naked eye—the flashes from the colliding Stone Essence particles even illuminated the entire fleet, blinding everyone! Then, the turbulent clouds trembled violently, and a narrow crack suddenly appeared before everyone.

“Now is the time!” Seeing this scene, how could the black-haired man fail to recognize the opportunity? Without hesitation, he gave the order to enter. In an instant, the 500 leech warships truly turned into bloodthirsty leeches, rushing toward the rift. The intense wake at the rear of the fleet even formed a rainbow, violently cutting through the chaotic clouds.

The rift was enormous, appearing in everyone’s eyes like a giant mouth of blood. And they were nothing but food destined for that mouth. For a moment, the atmosphere in the cabin seemed to freeze. No one spoke; the loud pounding of hearts could be clearly heard. As the rift gradually expanded, a violent shock followed.

“Boom!!”

Everyone heard a thunderous noise. At the same time, an extremely powerful shockwave swept through the entire cabin, knocking everyone to the ground. The command cabin was filled with groans. All the bright lights went out, leaving everything in pitch darkness.

This situation lasted for five full minutes. Until everyone thought they were about to die, a hoarse voice slowly spoke up.

“Head, are you okay?”

“I’m fine,” the black-haired man replied calmly, with a slight smile. Suddenly, a severe pain shot through his right side, almost distorting his voice. “What just happened?”

“I don’t know, but it seems we were attacked. Oh, damn, my head—it feels like it was hit hard by a sledgehammer. It must be deformed now.” The monkey’s voice remained indifferent, showing no sense of urgency even in such a serious situation. Hearing his casual tone, the crew around him laughed.

“It doesn’t matter if it’s deformed, as long as it’s not flattened,” the black-haired man interrupted the monkey irritably before turning his head. “Is the old man here?”

“He’s here… By Mother Tiya, I haven’t experienced such turbulence in years. It’s a wonderful feeling—like a massage from a beautiful woman. Oh, Baron Beck, I’m sorry I forgot to answer earlier.” The voice of the old miner, Moore, came from a corner of the command cabin, letting the black-haired man breathe a sigh of relief.

Thankfully, the old miner was fine. Without him, the black-haired man wouldn’t know if his course was correct.

“What just happened? And where are we now?”

“Just now? That was energy convection, Baron Beck. Didn’t I say? When passing through the rift, we’re also affected by energy counterforces. It’s just without the stone essence particles. Once we get through it, it’ll be fine. As for now, we’ve reached the core of the nebula belt. Rest assured, from now on, all the ship’s instruments will return to normal.” The old miner hurriedly replied upon hearing Blackhair’s question.

“But they’re not normal yet,” Blackhair frowned. “All the instruments are malfunctioning. How can that be explained?”

“That’s a black barrier. It’s okay, Baron Beck. In just five minutes, everything will be fine.”

“I see.” Blackhair breathed a sigh of relief, feeling much more at ease.

An utter darkness, like a lump of ink. Blackhair had no idea what the old miner meant by a black barrier. But he could only wait in silence. Fortunately, it didn’t take long before the command cabin suddenly lit up, and all the instruments started working again.

It was only then that people realized just how severe the impact they had experienced was. All the seats were askew, and the instruments around were scattered everywhere. Many small items that were originally just decorations were lying scattered on the floor, leaving the entire command cabin in disarray. Thankfully, there weren’t many losses. After counting, aside from Monkey, only one crew member was pushed against the wall by the intense shockwave, sustaining a cut. No one else was hurt at all. And the 500 Leech warships following Blackhair were mostly unscathed as well.

The holographic image worked again, and the large screen in the command cabin lit up. A stunning sight slowly appeared before everyone’s eyes.

They were now in a strange space. Ahead was an endless expanse of darkness, surrounded by black clouds in all directions. The clouds spun rapidly, emitting rumbling sounds from time to time. Intense lightning flashed one after another, sending chills down everyone’s spine who saw them.

This place seemed like a huge pipe entirely made of nebulae. And they were like fish swimming inside that pipe!

The core of the nebula belt!!

Blackhair swallowed hard. Monkey finally managed to take his gaze off the screen, only to see that everyone around him was still in a daze, staring blankly with their mouths wide open, like a bunch of idiots.

“This… head, can we really teleport here?” The monkey asked cautiously, looking nervously at the turbulent dark clouds around them. He could tell these were the most terrifying nebulae—concentrations of stone essence particles that were almost solid! They were completely different from the red clouds they had encountered before. If they got touched by them even accidentally, there would only be one outcome.
Seeing his expression, the black-haired person smiled faintly and nodded firmly.
“Let’s go. We’re safe now.”
“Wow! Hurray!!” Cheers erupted in the cabin immediately…