The information transmitted by "Project Gaze" had directed Lei Ting to pay attention to his "hometown."
This "hometown" certainly didn't refer to the ancient Earth or the Origin System of this world, as Lei Ting had no connection to those places from the very beginning. Nor did it likely refer to his place of origin, as how he had arrived here and whether he could ever return remained unknown.
The vague phrasing used by the other party suggested that the message likely pointed to something existing within this universe, deliberately avoiding a more direct statement to prevent alerting certain people or entities.
That left only one option: the Third Planet of the New Solar System.
Upon arriving above the North Pole, Lei Ting did not hesitate. He expanded his perception and released his power, encompassing the entire planetary system within his range.
Then, amidst the drifting golden light, he suddenly raised an eyebrow.
In the next second, with a mere thought, the pitch-black "Star Alloy" quietly manifested.
On the planet's surface, the slender demon, just stepping out of a deserted town, suddenly looked up. "...?"
At that moment, the dusky blue sky of the entire Third Planet was illuminated by an endless, warm golden sunlight. Within that radiance, a sharp beam of light descended from the heavens at a speed that defied all reaction!
*BOOM!!!*
...
Amidst the swirling dust, the slender demon, forced to shred its disguise and reveal its true form, braced a mechanical red umbrella. It exerted every ounce of its strength to push back against the pressure exerted by a palm-sized metal shuttle blade, yet it trembled as it was easily suppressed. "How... could this..."
"Exactly, how could this be?!" The eyeball pendant was in a state of total panic, bouncing frantically at the slender demon's waist. "Didn't you damn well say this guy wouldn't come?!"
"Enough, shut up!" The dog named "Red Giant" broke free from the constraints of its illusory leash. Its body swelled with a roar into its true form—a three-spined, three-headed beast. With a snarl, it lunged... toward the slender demon.
Under the increasingly scorching golden glow, its flesh tore and bled, but it still swallowed its master and the umbrella in one gulp. Immediately after, the small piece of metal, no longer obstructed, pierced straight through the dog's head.
*Thump!*
The armored Cerberus was instantly reduced to one and a half heads. Simultaneously, it reared up on its hind legs, its body and wounds writhing as it fused with the slender demon, finally transforming into a hideous, heavily armored figure four meters tall.
Then... it turned to flee!
But it was impossible.
Within that radiance, the surrounding space had been forged into an iron wall. Even though it could still sense its connection to the Ethereal Space, the gate leading there would not open. Even the black mist that accompanied xenobeasts and the Ethereal Space could not maintain a stable existence under the dissolving power of that sunlight.
As the figure wearing the golden crown emerged from the sunlight before it, the slender demon fused with "Red Giant" let out an instinctive shriek. It ripped the boxed eyeball pendant from its waist and hurled it at Lei Ting.
The greatest difference between an intelligent xenobeast and a mindless one was that the latter lacked fear due to its destructive instincts... but the former did not.
The primary purpose of intelligence is to discern interests and choose a path forward. The smarter a creature is, the more it finds to worry about—and thus, the more it finds to fear.
A xenobeast's instinct is destruction; an intelligent being's instinct is survival.
But...
Lei Ting narrowed his eyes behind his visor. He raised a single finger against the screaming box.
Then, he flicked it.
...
In that instant, sound vanished.
The light and the distant explosions sucked the air dry. His flick produced an explosion akin to a thermobaric bomb, a perfect ring of shockwaves overturning everything in the vicinity.
The abandoned, uninhabited town was leveled. Billowing thick smoke rose, veiling the sky but unable to blot out the sun.
At the center of the explosion, a sharp black metal lance pinned a mangled body into the light in mid-air.
Golden radiance scorched its back, while the black blade transfixed its chest... It let out a strained, hacking laugh, realizing in despair that the light was still suppressing its regenerative abilities.
Damn it, truly...
Truly a light that leaves one with no power to resist.
As Lei Ting descended through the thick smoke, the xenobeast struggled to lift its head and look at the figure.
As a xenobeast from the Ethereal Space, it saw visions of two dimensions simultaneously—
Behind "Sun Star," another even more heroic and majestic phantom floated within the sun that had suddenly appeared in the Ethereal Space five years ago.
And that phantom—that superpower entity currently being perfected based on "Sun Star"—had a series of concentric circles formed by multiple spiked halos floating behind its head. Within those circles, something seemed to be gestating and taking shape...
To this day, Sun Star's power was still evolving. This proved that although his abilities had stabilized, he was still far from reaching his true peak.
But even so...
"Interesting. A purebred xenobeast that understands disguise, fear, and betrayal, with a body structure similar to a humanoid..." Lei Ting crossed his arms, his gaze beneath the eyepieces calm and indifferent. "I assume you can communicate, correct?"
"Cough..." The tall, man-dog hybrid xenobeast let out a strained, cold sneer, speaking in the Common Language of the Human Federation. "Of course... 'Sun Star'."
As it spoke, bright golden solar wheels were reflected in its eyes.
"Then, for the sake of convenient communication," Lei Ting asked with a hint of politeness, "what are you, and that dog, called?"
"...'Red Giant'. It is called 'Red Giant'." The other's voice was raspy, yet one could still discern a soft, refined undertone.
"It's called 'Red Giant'... and you?" Within the spherical dome instantly assembled from the quietly manifesting Star Alloy, Lei Ting tilted his head. "'Red Dwarf'?"
The name caused the other to exhale a heavy breath that clashed with its refined vocal quality.
"...No," it said. "I have no name."
No name? Impossible. As long as the concept of "self" exists, a creature will inevitably seek a designation. Furthermore, this individual had clearly been transformed from a carbon-based humanoid.
"Incorrect answer. I suggest you think again."
Lei Ting spoke softly. He opened his hand, and a piece of brilliant golden Sun Alloy manifested upon it.
...
A short while later, Lei Ting sat back in a metal chair suspended in mid-air, its rear modules occasionally shifting. He was deep in thought. "Athrin Iborn... the surname of the Galactic Empire's imperial family is 'Athrin.' What is your relationship with them?"
Upon hearing this, the xenobeast "Iborn," still pinned in mid-air, remained silent.
By now, it had been separated from "Red Giant." The latter was also pinned in the air, while the former barely maintained a biological shape. The inner surface of the massive iron sphere was splattered with foul-smelling blood, which gathered into a small crimson lake directly below.
It was all their blood—red blood, similar to that of humans.
Any normal creature would have died long ago from such blood loss. However, under the xenobeast's self-healing factor—which Lei Ting deliberately allowed—and the forced maintenance and repair provided by Sun Star's manipulation of metallic elements, they were not only unable to die but could not even fall unconscious or commit suicide.
"Don't want to talk? Understandable," Lei Ting said amiably. He then opened his optical computer's communication interface and messaged the "Principal" far away in the Capital System: "Athrin Iborn—have you heard of this name?"
Soon, the Principal sent a direct reply: "The 337th Prince of the Galactic Empire. Skilled in disguise, calculating, but worshipped his father—Athrin Kotares, the Emperor who ruled the Galactic Empire for thirteen thousand years. He apparently committed some offense and was struck from the records in the Emperor's final decree, along with over a hundred of his brothers and sisters."
"...Struck from the records in the final decree?" Lei Ting repeated the words to himself. "Could this be treason..."
"NO!!!!!!" The xenobeast Iborn, who had seemed impervious to persuasion just a moment ago, suddenly shrieked, his voice cracking. "I never betrayed my father!!!!!"
"..." Although not startled in the least, Lei Ting's eyelid twitched.
Good grief. His endurance during torture was so high, yet he completely lost his composure the moment the "Emperor" was mentioned...
"Would an Emperor strike his own offspring from the records for no reason, and in his final decree at that?" Lei Ting sneered. "Was he bored and looking to have some fun with the imperial bloodline?"
"Insulting the 'Emperor' is a capital offense!!" Iborn's limbs writhed violently. He even started shouting in the official language of the Galactic Empire from centuries ago, completely missing the point of the conversation.
...Fine, Lei Ting thought. He knew how to talk to this guy now.
"Then," he adopted a tone of serious concern, "why did the 'Emperor' hate you so much?"
When asked this, the xenobeast Iborn suddenly froze. "..."
After a long pause, it answered with difficulty, "...That damned Eye Demon Monarch deceived me."
"Eye Demon"...
Though he knew this rare type of xenobeast was different from the creatures in Earth's games, the appearance of such a term in this context still gave Lei Ting a subtle sense of surrealism.
But it didn't matter. After all, the fact that terms like "Empire" still existed in the interstellar era was surreal enough for someone like him, who had seriously fantasized about the future in the 21st century. Every time "Empire" or "Federation" was mentioned, he felt a deep urge to thank the old-school storytellers for the tropes.
Oh, wait. This universe was essentially the backdrop of a 21st-century novel. Never mind then.
"Deceived..." Lei Ting pondered this phrasing, which completely absolved Iborn of responsibility. He asked casually, "And your hundred-plus brothers and sisters?"
The xenobeast Iborn tried to hammer against the Star Alloy wall behind him. "They did not love and remain loyal to Father as I did!!"
Lei Ting: "..."
"Calm down, Prince," Lei Ting said slowly. "But you have indeed become a xenobeast now. This proves that your collusion with that 'Eye Demon Monarch' must have been extremely deep back then."
If he were that "Emperor," he would probably have torn this scoundrel to pieces for consorting with xenobeasts, even if it meant he couldn't rest in peace.
It seemed that the supposedly powerful Emperor had been weakened to a certain extent before his death. Perhaps there wasn't even a corresponding superpower entity for him within the Ethereal Plane.
"Truly regrettable," Lei Ting said mercilessly. "A powerful ruler—whether wise or not—and his rebellious son willingly turns into this monstrous form. While betraying your genes, your race, your nation, and the source of your bloodline, you still insist you haven't betrayed your 'father.'
"Tell me, my excellent rebellious son, why did you come here? If the answer is satisfactory, I might just let you leave."
As he spoke, his mental strength swept over the entire planet once more. His gaze turned strange for a moment because of what he "saw."
To be honest, he hadn't known before, but looking at it now...
Had he really spent the last seventeen years living on *this* thing?
