Chapter 47: Time Sealing – Section 1

Time passed swiftly, and before long, another five months had gone by. During this period, the Black-Haired Death Star experienced rapid development, expanding at an astonishing pace. After taking control of the 29th Star Region, it swiftly explored the uncharted areas of the 31st Star Region as well. Both star regions became Black-Haired’s property in no time. With its vast resources and powerful fleet, Black-Haired quickly rose to become the third-largest force in the human world.

The first was naturally Duke Poseidon. Having earned the title of hero, he reaped both fame and wealth. Although his reign was still short, he had already demonstrated the strong competitiveness stemming from his ancient noble background and meticulous approach. The wealth accumulated over countless years was immense—even Black-Haired couldn’t determine the exact extent of his assets. Under such circumstances, Marshal Wick of the Interstellar Fleet, though unwilling, could only rank second.

But none of this was the most important. What truly mattered was that Black-Haired had become the third-largest force. After all, how long had it been since he first emerged? Unlike Duke Poseidon’s long-standing noble heritage and Marshal Wick’s formidable Interstellar Fleet, Black-Haired had truly started from scratch. Reaching his current position in just a few years meant every step he took was achieved through hard work and bloodshed. However, due to his low profile, his reputation in the human world wasn’t high. Whenever his name or that of his Blood Wolf Fleet was mentioned, people’s first reaction wasn’t respect but fear.

Through repeated campaigns and ruthless revenge, the Blood Wolf Fleet had earned a notorious reputation among various forces. Although Black-Haired never provoked trouble on his own, all leaders of other factions knew one thing: it was better to provoke that old fox of the Interstellar Fleet than to even touch a strand of hair of the Blood Wolves.

Provoking the old fox might result in a bite and some pain, but dealing with the Blood Wolves could lead to serious injuries or even the destruction of one’s foundation. The warriors of the Blood Wolf Fleet were all ruthless killers. Under the leadership of their most ferocious alpha, no one knew what they weren’t willing to do.

Black-Haired was hesitating. It had been five months since he last destroyed the Moor invasion fleet. The time was neither long nor short. According to the plan, he should have completed the initial preparations by now, but it seemed far from enough.

In their original plan, five months would be enough time for the Black Prison Group to produce preliminary research results on the Light and Dark Stone. With these results, Kuroha could grasp some basic laws of the universe and gain the ability to confront the Emperor of Moore head-on.

Though it sounded simple, the actual situation was far from it. Over such a long period, the Black Prison Group suffered successive failures beyond Kuroha’s expectations. Not only could they not decipher the laws of the universe, but they even failed to crack the core code of the Light and Dark Stone.

Facing Madaro’s awkward expression, Kuroha felt somewhat helpless. But this was normal. The universe was vast, filled with mysteries and wonders. If its secrets could be easily uncovered, it would lose its meaning. In fact, human progress could be seen as a process of understanding and utilizing the laws of the universe. The more they understood, the greater the power they gained. These understood laws were manifested through machinery, magic, or even legendary spells, endowing humans with immense power.

The Light and Dark Stone was a sacred artifact of the Rock Clan and something the Emperor of Moore desperately wanted. Even before knowing its true nature, Kuroha had remained vigilant toward this mysterious stone. Now, he felt even more convinced that his initial caution was entirely necessary.

An entire universe existed within this stone. Was there anything more absurd in this world? If it hadn’t happened right before his eyes, Kuroha would never have believed it.

He had asked himself more than once: If the universe he was in was also contained within such a stone, what lay outside? Were there others trying to uncover the secrets within their own stones?

Every time he thought of this, Kuroha shuddered, his hair standing on end. The chilling sensation was as if he were on an operating table, naked and at the mercy of others.

Sighing deeply, Kuroha shook his head to dispel these unrealistic thoughts. He stepped through the valve ahead—this led to the Black Prison Group’s workshop, where they studied the Light and Dark Stone. Over these five months, Kuroha had checked on it weekly, each time hoping for progress but leaving disappointed. Leader Madaro’s familiar awkward expression had almost become his trademark, to the point where it made Kuroha want to vomit.

As soon as he entered, there was another long corridor. After passing through hundreds of familiar scanning beams, Black Hair finally arrived in a room. There was still that familiar stone, covered densely with pipes. A group of people were busy working around it. No one even looked up when Black Hair entered, as if he didn’t exist at all. Madaro’s figure was clearly among them, his fat face from the life support machinery covered in sweat.

“What’s going on…” Black Hair frowned and summoned one of the workers nearby, pointing at Madaro.

Perhaps due to exhaustion or lack of sleep, Black Hair felt that Madaro seemed different today—extremely nervous. He remembered that in previous visits, no matter how busy things were, this leader of the Black Prison Gang would never be this nervous to the point of sweating.

“He’s very busy. There’s progress.” The worker called over by Black Hair was also sweating profusely and could only manage to reply before being called away by someone else. Watching his retreating figure, Black Hair noticed that he was even running as he walked.

But none of this mattered much—the Black Prison Gang was notorious for ignoring everyone when they were busy. What truly surprised Black Hair was that brief, hurried remark he had heard earlier.

“There’s progress!”

Really? Had something actually been discovered?

For a moment, Black Hair’s mind was filled entirely with those words, leaving him standing there frozen, watching the people around him work frantically while he couldn’t react at all.

It wasn’t until Madaro finally managed to free himself from his work and came over to Black Hair that he snapped out of it. He grabbed Madaro’s rigid mechanical arm.

“Is it true? What have you discovered?”

“It’s not certain yet, Lord Black Hair. Please don’t worry,” Madaro said, sweating heavily and waving his hands. “My staff are analyzing it. Trust them—they’re the best.”

“Of course. I’ve never doubted them. They’re indeed the best in the universe,” Black Hair nodded repeatedly, calming himself down. “Tell me. What exactly happened?”

“Well, actually, it’s nothing much. It was just a coincidence,” Madaro said, a hint of shyness appearing on his sweat-covered fat face. “Last night, during a routine test, one of my subordinates didn’t follow the procedures. He got the energy decomposition formula wrong. That caused a major problem. This morning, someone noticed that everything in the virtual universe had stopped functioning.”

“Wait!!” Black Hair froze, abruptly interrupting Madaro’s words. “You mean, everything? All operations?”
“Yes, Lord, you heard me right. I mean everything—whether it’s planetary motion or molecular sequences, even…” Madaro glanced around and lowered his voice. “Even time…”
Time!?
Hearing this word, Black Hair was stunned. He quickly turned his head and stared intently into Madaro’s eyes. “Are you sure?”
“I’m sure,” Madaro nodded firmly, a hint of ferocity appearing in his small eyes.
“To test this, in addition to conducting various scans, we even had the nucleus help us create specialized biological cells. We placed them in the virtual universe of the Light and Dark Stones. After some time, when we took them out, there was no sign of division at all. It seems that time only has an effect on them while they exist here. This proves that time indeed stops in the virtual universe.”
After hearing Madaro’s explanation, Black Hair opened his mouth, suddenly feeling a bit dry.
He knew those madmen from the Black Prison all too well. Those so-called nucleated cells were likely modeled after human anatomy, or even possibly a complete human body. But the more so, the more realistic the results became. It had to be said that Madaro was a genius in this regard. His experimental methods might be cruel, but they were absolutely trustworthy.
By now, Black Hair no longer doubted Madaro’s judgment. In other words, if they could find the cause of this accident, they would have mastered the rules governing the flow of universal time!!
Heavens! This was terrifying.
“Are there any clues?” thinking of this, Black Hair hurriedly asked.
“A little. It’s still that energy decomposition formula. But we can’t be certain yet. My subordinates are working hard on it. But Lord Black Hair, there’s one thing I need to tell you first. This discovery might be a good start, but it could also be the source of disaster. So I advise you not to hold too many hopes. Time is not something we can interfere with right now,” Madaro said carefully, looking at Black Hair’s somewhat fanatical gaze.
It was as if someone had poured a bucket of cold water over him. Black Hair shuddered instantly, his gaze turning icy cold.

He knew Madaro was right. He had been too hasty. Mastering time was indeed a dangerous task; in the past, it was even considered a domain of the gods. There was no reason for him to be so agitated in this regard. The Black Prison gang was strong, but they were far from having the ability to control time.
“I get it.” The dark-haired man took a deep breath and calmed down. “But anyway, go ahead and do it. I only care about the results, not the process. If you need anything, just ask— I’ll support you wholeheartedly.”
“I understand. Thank you so much…” As Madaro finished speaking, a voice of ecstasy suddenly rang out nearby.
“Damn it, it’s running again!!!!”