As shapeshifting organisms whose primary bodies consisted of a gelatinous substance, the "blood" and "water" of the Dotta people were maintained by two independent functional systems.
The former was their life source—a purple, translucent, viscous liquid found only in the inner layers of the body surrounding the core. Excessive loss of this fluid inevitably led to death. The latter was composed of normal water molecules aggregated throughout their entire gelatinous form, serving as one of the guarantees for their physical elasticity.
What Lei Ting smelled now, naturally, could not be the colorless and odorless "water."
Something had happened to Ruo.
In an instant, a golden radiance descended upon the entire U-shaped starport.
A majestic power, carrying an irresistible will, swept across all surrounding matter. Amidst the terrified screams inside the hospital and the chaos on the streets outside—where vehicles overturned but remained mysteriously suspended within the golden light—Lei Ting’s mental strength locked onto his target.
Ensuring first that no secondary disasters occurred within the starport due to his actions, he strode into the medical bay before him.
The exterior of the recovery pod showed no damage, but the interior was a scene of total devastation. Most of the instruments protruding from the walls were smashed or severed, and many broken high-voltage wires hissed on the floor, releasing bright electrical sparks.
A lingering black mist drifted through the air, slowly dissipating. It had previously isolated the interior from the outside environment; perhaps that was why no one had realized what was happening here.
Within the space shrouded by the mist, the Collective’s universal maintenance tank in the center of the room lay shattered. Viscous, golden-pink jelly-like matter had spilled out, flowing across the floor like melting wax and slowly evaporating. Among the mess were several fragments emitting a faint glow, their true nature revealed as the jelly vanished—it was a shattered supernatural core.
Ruo’s supernatural core.
That cheerful mediator... was dead.
At least, his primary body was.
Lei Ting remained silent for a moment. Not far away, he found several aquatic scales stained with cold blood.
He did not disturb the scene recklessly. With a calm expression, he turned over one of the scales, looking at the small droplet of golden-pink jelly clinging to it. He silently collected it into an alloy cube floating beside him, his movements precise and composed.
Soon, the auras of over a dozen supers approached. Before long, a highly diverse squad of superpowered soldiers rushed in, clad in neat metallic armor. Lei Ting did not even need to look with his eyes to identify them as the Collective’s own security force.
As these supers dutifully reached the doorway, a terrifying sense of danger caused them to halt instinctively. For a moment, they were caught in a dilemma, frozen between the corridor and the walls of the recovery bay.
Lei Ting had no intention of wasting words. Without turning his head, he pointed at the carnage in the maintenance tank. "Is this the result of your security work?"
They were all supers; none were incapable of mental scanning.
The first group of responders fell into a collective silence. Lei Ting could feel them establishing mental links with others.
Before these Collective soldiers could speak, Lei Ting cut them off. "I came to visit my friend. He was an injured civilian, not a professional combatant. From the looks of it, you failed to protect him."
Based on Lei Ting’s understanding of the black mist from the Ethereal Plane, this tragedy had occurred at least ten minutes ago. Yet, in those ten minutes, nothing had been handled properly; instead, it was Lei Ting, an outsider, who had first discovered the scene.
While this also raised Lei Ting’s own level of suspicion to an extreme height, no one dared to voice any questions regarding that possibility at this moment.
A short while later, Lei Ting left with a cold expression. Before departing, he relinquished his control over the starport’s metallic structures. When he did so, the people present visibly breathed a sigh of relief.
Meanwhile, the Collective promised they would do their utmost to investigate the matter and provide a just conclusion. Lei Ting believed this much; after all, Ruo was their own mediator. If he died on their home turf, it wasn't Lei Ting who would lose face.
As for Lei Ting, he was currently contemplating other matters.
"Did the Abrizakians kill you?" Lei Ting asked the fish scale before him, sitting inside a small starship he had... forged himself.
The scale was a beautiful silver-white, shimmering with a wonderful blue-violet iridescence. He had embedded it within a simple, small life-support device.
Upon the scale, a tiny droplet of golden-pink jelly, no larger than a bead of water, wriggled and weakly tapped against the glass in front of it.
A request for mental communication was sent. When Lei Ting accepted it, Ruo’s voice rang out weakly: *[Yes... they looked like Abrizakians.]*
He said: *[But they... they looked strange. It seemed they had undergone biological mutations, growing many irregular and almost uncontrollable tentacles. I am only a B-rank super; I couldn't do much. Lina was taken by them. They came for her. 'Solar Star,' can you... can you help me save her?]*
"..."
Biological mutations like that...
It was likely Eldritch transformation.
Ruo’s power level was too low to be privy to information regarding the Ethereal Plane. Lei Ting pondered for a moment before making a decision. "She was likely taken to a specific place. I will head there soon to investigate. As for you? What can I do for you?"
*[...?]* Ruo was stunned. He had never expected Lei Ting to say such a thing.
"Don't be surprised. I am very grateful for the artistic media materials you gave me; they helped me quite a bit," Lei Ting said amiably. "You certainly have a knack for choosing gifts."
Ruo’s entire jelly-self was dazed. Five years ago, he never would have imagined that a gift given to curry favor would yield such a precious return—good heavens, the 'Solar Star' was asking him if he needed help!!
*[I will give you a set of intelligence network contact methods and coordinates. Please send me to the corresponding location and contact the Dotta Royal Intelligence Officers; they will take me in.]*
Ruo was a straightforward jelly. He didn't act coy and immediately gave Lei Ting a complete set of information, detailed down to the level of every individual contact.
*[I am a scion of the Dotta Queen, the younger brother of the Crown Prince. After this, you will have the friendship of all Dotta people and permanent access to this intelligence line. Her Majesty the Queen will also repay you. And...]*
He paused, then said: *[Please do not let me pass through the hands of anyone from the Collective officialdom. No... please let me avoid every Collective office along this route.]*
Lei Ting frowned slightly at this final request. Such words were never spoken without cause.
"Why?" he asked.
*[I suspect there is a spy within the Collective... and a high-ranking one at that,]* Ruo said hesitantly. *[Those mutated Abrizakians... their behavior was very similar to those infected by the 'Boiling' Virus. Their supernatural powers were abnormally active, and they possessed an extreme desire for aggression.]*
*[But despite being in such a state, they passed directly through the recovery bay’s supernatural barriers... Unless someone with high-level clearance opened the way for them, it would have been absolutely impossible!]*
...
...
It wasn't until he had sent Ruo away in a ship with a preset path and additional protection, and disconnected the communication after contacting the Dotta intelligence officers, that Lei Ting finally allowed his expression—which had been grim since hearing those final words—to relax.
The suspicion that "there is a problem within the Collective’s high command" did not actually come as a surprise to him.
Conversely, if it were true...
Lei Ting had reason to suspect that the target pointed to by this theory was likely connected to the hidden threat within the Human Union that harbored such malice toward him!
As for those Abrizakians...
Who would believe they weren't in league with the Perseus Union?
Afterward, Lei Ting returned to the Federation to continue his war, as a new wave of Perseus Union invasion forces had emerged from the border.
Even though he could now extend his power over more than half of the Federation's territory, that could at most serve to expel Eldritch horrors and abominations. Beyond that, he could not perform fine micro-manipulation on any segment of that power; he might even cause irreversible damage to certain planets during combat due to his now-instinctive "metal manipulation."
While there were few experts in the galaxy who could match him in a direct confrontation of raw combat power, he was not omnipotent.
Just as he was not omniscient.
When large-scale protests began within the Federation against the prohibitions issued by the government, information that those prohibitions originated from the "Solar Star" was simultaneously leaked.
But Lei Ting remained indifferent. Under his orders and the persistence of some wise individuals, and under the management of "Tianhe," the internal network environment of the Human Union was not overly affected.
Before long, user accounts on the Star Net began to spread knowledge related to the Ethereal Plane on a massive scale under the guise of creative literary works. They modified the details and packaged it as "secret history that the high-level rulers are afraid for the people to know, lest it shake their rule."
—A world that corresponds to reality, filled with monsters, madness, and death, yet also a place of opportunity where every sapient being might go after death?
Such miraculous and eye-catching knowledge quickly gained massive attention within the Star Net, which had an enormous user base. When people discovered that supers who learned of it actually began to vaguely perceive the existence of "another world," the chaos on the Star Net was predictable.
Although various racial civilizations and Collective officials quickly activated emergency mechanisms to begin cleaning and isolating the information...
Sapient beings only believe what they want to believe.
A carnival among the myriad races of the galaxy had begun.
Of course, Lei Ting was not responsible for directly managing such affairs.
By now, he had already been deep within the Ethereal Plane for a month and a half.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 亚布里萨克人 | Abrizakian | An aquatic race mentioned as the attackers. |
| 沸腾病毒 | "Boiling" Virus | A virus that makes supernatural powers hyperactive and increases aggression. |
| 天河 | Tianhe | Likely an AI or a high-level monitoring system (Sky River). |
| 异魔化 | Eldritch transformation | The process of turning into a monster/horror related to the Ethereal Plane. |
| 多塔 | Dotta | A race of gelatinous shapeshifters. |
| 综合体 | The Collective | The major interstellar governing body/alliance. |
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