Because the situation was urgent, Shu Bao’s claws didn’t leave any marks on Fu Qing’s shoes. The mouse stood up flexibly. Fu Qing bent down and spread out his hands to invite the fluff ball, “Would you like to go to the escape pod area together?”
Hearing this, Shu Bao was somewhat moved, especially since the man in front of him looked very sincere. Just when Shu Bao was about to agree, Fu Qing continued, “I’ll open the door of the escape pod for you.”
Shu Bao!!!
In the end, the mouse proudly turned his head and took small steps to leave, refusing to be carried by a hand.
Seeing this, Fu Qing could only go on his own. With long strides, he quickly surpassed the fluffy dumpling. Despite the dumpling’s efforts to move its little short legs quickly, it couldn’t catch up with Fu Qing. However, Shu Bao didn’t go to the escape pod area immediately; instead, he went to Lan Qing’s door and started knocking.
Although the dumpling was small, it was very strong. It knocked on the door loudly. Soon, the door opened. Lan Qing opened the door and was surprised to see Shu Bao outside. It had been more than two months, and this was the first time Shu Bao had taken the initiative to knock on his door. “What brings you here?”
After the initial surprise, Lan Qing quickly noticed the chaos outside and the blaring alarms throughout the starship. After a brief pause, he realized what was happening and didn’t bother to reply. Instead, he stepped out and joined Shu Bao on the way to the escape pod area.
Shu Bao didn’t ask why Lan Qing’s room and bracelet weren’t triggering alarms. He could guess that it was related to the family Lan Qing had severed ties with. However, now wasn’t the time to dwell on that; getting to the escape pods was the top priority.
Along the way, people were in a panic. To avoid congestion during emergencies, the escape pods were distributed throughout the ship. Following the arrow on their bracelets, the two arrived at the escape pod area. Many people were already lying inside the pods, which were being filled with nutrient and buffer fluids.
Quickly, they found two empty pods, climbed in, and exchanged a wordless glance before sealing the doors. Although unspoken, they understood the mutual well-wishes in each other’s eyes.
As the escape pods closed, nutrient and buffer fluids began to flow inside, ensuring that the occupants would sleep safely, shielded from impacts, high speeds, and abnormal gravity.
Regarding such things, Shu Bao was initially uncomfortable. However, when the entire mouse immersed itself in the liquid, it discovered that breathing wasn’t difficult. Even in a weightless state, it felt surprisingly comfortable. Drowsiness overcame Shu Bao, and he gradually closed his eyes.
The chaos on the starship continued for about thirty minutes. In the final minute before the ship disintegrated, escape pods from various sections were rapidly ejected. It was believed that their high speed would allow them to escape the spatial anomaly. Yet, those escape pods, like shooting stars, gradually decelerated and were once again captured by the anomaly, hurtling back even faster.
Under immense gravity, the starship’s sturdy hull began to crack, ultimately leading to its disintegration. The starship’s commander, in a poignant moment, removed his hat and caressed the vessel—much like one would touch a beloved. Clearly, between survival and the starship, he chose the latter.
As the starship turned into countless specks of dust, a beautiful vortex formed in the region. It resembled neon lights as myriad meteors spun around a central point at high speed.
The city-sized starship seemed to push the mass of this anomaly beyond a critical threshold. The dust spun faster and faster until it tore through spacetime, creating a peculiar wormhole.
The escape pods, captured and drawn back at high velocity, also plunged into the wormhole, entering an unknown realm. When the last escape pod fell into the wormhole, it gradually closed. The vast cosmos returned to silence as if the entire spectacle had been a fleeting fireworks display, leaving only remnants behind.
With the starship’s disappearance, the Interstellar Alliance was in turmoil. Everyone scrambled, some doubting that the city-class starship could be torn apart by a wormhole—after all, it had traversed them countless times. Others attempted to locate survivors based on escape pod signals.
This frenzy persisted for an entire year. Eventually, the Interstellar Alliance issued an official response: the city-class starship had disintegrated, and a total of thirty-two thousand three hundred and thirty-five passengers and crew were missing.
However, not long ago, they finally received a signal from surviving escape pods. The coordinates indicated that the survivors had crossed the cosmic boundary into a chaotic universe.
When this news broke, the entire universe buzzed with curiosity—regardless of race. The so-called Chaotic Universe is even more remote and mysterious than the desolate regions. It exists beyond the known cosmos as if a barrier isolates life forms from what lies beyond.
Nearly every race has launched spaceships, probes, and various light signals toward the Chaotic Universe. Yet, that realm remains like a colossal black hole, devouring everything without providing any feedback.
However, there have been rumors that the Mechanoids originate from the Chaotic Universe. These beings, composed of steel, possess extraordinary intelligence and formidable combat abilities. Their violent nature leads to significant casualties whenever they appear.
People have long sought a definitive solution to the Mechanoids, and exploring the Chaotic Universe has been a focal area of research.
But no one anticipated that they would open the gateway to observe the Chaotic Universe in this manner. This survival live-stream competition is destined to capture the universe’s attention because it likely conceals cosmic truths.
Soon, the Interstellar Alliance received an increasing number of signals, indicating that the escape pods had stabilized in a specific spacetime and were actively seeking habitable planets.
Finally, one day, the official live-stream system of the Interstellar Alliance revealed a long-dormant channel. It belonged to a participant from the initial survival competition—one who had boarded the city-class starship.
The entire universe erupted with excitement as people flooded into the livestream. Seeing that familiar, living face, many participants’ relatives were moved to tears because they knew their loved ones might still be alive.
“Fu Qing! It’s Fu Qing! He really is a big shot!”
“Has the big shot already landed? Looks like a promising planet!”
“Ah, where’s my Xing Meng? Why isn’t there any news!”
…
However, soon, the enthusiastic crowd shifted their attention. More and more survival competition live streams appeared. Participants, relying on their bracelets, activated them after landing on habitable planets. This action also triggered live broadcasts.
At this moment, Shu Bao was awakened. Floating in the nutrient and buffer fluids, he faced a miniature galaxy model. The escape pod’s gentle voice echoed in his ears.
“Spacetime stable. Nearby habitable terrestrial planets detected. Please select a landing site. Spacetime stable. Detecting…”
Compared to the previous jarring alarms, this voice was soothing, like a mother’s gentle whisper. Shu Bao collected his thoughts and examined the miniature universe model before him.
It resembled a small spiral galaxy, akin to the solar system. At its center lay a diminutive star, surrounded by numerous planets. Three of these planets emitted a faint green glow—a sign of habitability.
Apart from these three choices, Shu Bao noticed an option to select the next stellar system. However, that meant re-entering hibernation, and upon arrival, the escape pod’s energy would be depleted.
Shu Bao wouldn’t choose such a self-defeating path. He decided to land within this small star system. Once he landed, the escape pod wouldn’t have the capability to escape planetary gravity again, making the choice of the landing planet crucial.
He meticulously reviewed the escape pod’s data analysis for the three habitable planets. Based on the data, their natural environments were quite similar, and their masses closely matched. Thus, Shu Bao found himself in a dilemma.
Finally, Shu Bao extended his sharp claws and began to point at the planets with his eyes closed. “Whoever I point to will be the one.”
When he opened his eyes, he found that he had pointed to the planet closest to the sun. So, Shu Bao tapped his paw and said, “It’s this one!”
The escape pod received the landing signal and began to approach the target planet. It quickly entered the planet’s orbit and, after Shu Bao’s confirmation, started descending through the atmosphere.
Thanks to the presence of a cushioning liquid, Shu Bao felt no discomfort. He could even see the outside scenery through the transparent cabin door.
After a rapid descent, the escape pod’s retro-thrusters activated, slowing down the descent speed. Shu Bao looked down and saw a vast expanse of green and blue land, a comforting and serene color.
As the distance decreased, Shu Bao noticed more details. He saw enormous towering trees hundreds of meters high, dragon-like creatures flying in the sky—though these dragons resembled Western dragons, and various large animal herds migrating on the ground.
At that moment, on the surface, the Xia Wang tribe was conducting a ritual. The high priest waved his staff, chanting words, while other tribe members danced around the central altar. This was their way of communicating with the gods.
When the ritual concluded, the high priest looked at the altar and announced the result: “The deity is about to descend. The deity will lead us to a new world.”
The crowd cheered, but confusion followed. How would the deity descend, and when?
Despite their uncertainty, the tribe never doubted their god. They resumed singing and dancing. Suddenly, a massive shadow fell from above. Everyone looked up and saw an unidentified object slowly descending from the sky.
