All around them was the piercing, white glare of incandescent lights.

Jiang Zheyu was on Shan Xun’s back, her arms locked tightly around his neck and her legs hooked firmly around his lean waist.

Shan Xun sprinted forward with Jiang Zheyu on his back. All she could hear was the rushing wind, and it seemed Shan Xun had planned their escape route long ago.

In an instant, a blaring alarm echoed throughout the entire Starship.

’We’ve been discovered.’

The urgent, shrill alarm seemed to amplify the tension in the air, and Jiang Zheyu could feel her own heart pounding violently.

Suddenly, the path ahead was blocked by numerous Beastmen.

Shan Xun quickly raised his gun. The Beastmen had barely shown themselves and hadn’t even had time to react before they were shot in the head.

Then came another sprint, swift as the wind.

The entire Starship suddenly began to shake violently. The Beastmen from the -2 Zone Second Legion were in pursuit, and massive cannon fire slammed directly into the Starship’s defensive shields, causing the whole vessel to lurch and sway.

The sounds of Laser Cannons firing and Beastmen thudding to the ground filled her ears in a chaotic jumble.

After what felt like a barrage of heavy fire, Shan Xun resumed his sprint with her on his back. The wind rushed past Jiang Zheyu’s ears, making her feel as light as a feather.

Shan Xun took a sharp turn around a corner and came to an abrupt halt.

This was one of the Starship’s hatches.

Shan Xun had stopped because someone was standing in the hatchway.

That person was none other than Si Yu.

She had no idea how long he’d been standing there, but it seemed he had been waiting for them all along.

"Yu Yu, please stay, won’t you?" Si Yu said, gently lifting his dark green eyes to look at Jiang Zheyu. "Your spiritual power is the strongest here. As long as you want to stay, no one can stop you. Of course, if you want to leave, I can’t stop you either."

His actual self was standing right here.

Jiang Zheyu scanned him with her spiritual power and detected Si Yu’s presence, confirming that it was indeed him in the flesh.

Shan Xun had also come in his physical body. Both of their spiritual powers were lower than Jiang Zheyu’s, so she could make a decision in an instant, whether she wanted to or not. Her spiritual power was strong enough to control both of them.

Jiang Zheyu didn’t hesitate for a second. ’Alright then.’ Just as she was about to use her spiritual power to knock Si Yu unconscious...

BANG. A gunshot rang out.

Jiang Zheyu’s thoughts faltered, and she didn’t manage to use her spiritual power.

She saw that Si Yu had pulled out a gun and shot himself in the chest. Blood splattered instantly.

Jiang Zheyu was completely baffled. "What... what are you doing?"

"I just wanted to see if there would be any worry in your eyes if I got hurt," Si Yu said with a faint smile, blood trickling from the corner of his lips.

But to his disappointment, there was no worry in Jiang Zheyu’s eyes.

None. There was no trace of concern in her eyes. Only surprise, confusion, and shock.

"That was completely unnecessary," Jiang Zheyu said slowly after a moment of silence.

"Yu Yu, please stay, won’t you?" Si Yu’s dark green eyes were now rimmed with red as he looked at her. "Why can’t you just stay?"

"The bullet missed," Shan Xun’s cool, detached voice cut in. "It was off by 0.1 centimeters. It didn’t hit the heart."

The next second, he spoke again, his voice dripping with hostile sarcasm, "Why not just shoot through your own heart? You deliberately missed, so what’s the point of playing pitiful here?"

’Trying to win a female’s pity? How pathetic!’

Jiang Zheyu paused for a moment when she heard Shan Xun’s words.

Si Yu’s expression darkened even further. He let out a soft sneer. "Heh..."

’Such an eyesore.’ 𝒇𝓻𝓮𝓮𝙬𝙚𝒃𝒏𝓸𝙫𝒆𝙡.𝓬𝓸𝒎

Jiang Zheyu heard the sound of many footsteps behind them. She realized Si Yu’s men must be arriving.

She was just about to use her spiritual power when she was suddenly struck by another, alien spiritual force.

She sensed other spiritual power fluctuations—they belonged to the Zerg Race. And it wasn’t just one; there were many, so many!

They felt like a dense swarm closing in.

If the Zerg that attacked the Research Institute base were a dense circle surrounding the researchers, then these Zerg were a planet-spanning tide, blotting out the sky.

At that moment, the combined spiritual power of all those Zerg descended upon Jiang Zheyu’s own. Her defensive spiritual barrier, which she had maintained, wavered under the massive group assault, and her mind grew hazy.

The entire Starship was abruptly plunged into darkness. The Light Brain on everyone’s wrist went black.

The Starship began to fall, fast.

It wasn’t just this Starship; the military vessels were affected too.

Everything was being disrupted by the spiritual power. They lost control, went haywire, and began to plummet.

It wasn’t just here. Every planet was plunged into darkness. The entire Star Network was disrupted by the chaotic spiritual power and collapsed into paralysis.

In a single instant, all Jiang Zheyu could hear were chaotic noises and screams erupting around her.

If this Starship crashed, everyone on board would die.

"Damn it!" Si Yu, realizing what was happening, bolted toward the Starship’s control room.

Shan Xun rushed to the control room at the same time.

Jiang Zheyu strengthened her spiritual defenses, shaking herself out of her daze.

The Zerg seemed to be targeting her specifically, deliberately swarming her with their combined power.

When she came to her senses, she saw Si Yu in the cockpit, activating the emergency backup power. He was working the complex controls before slamming his hand down on a button.

A lifeless Beastman lay on the floor, apparently killed by the Zerg Race’s spiritual power.

Shan Xun stood there, still carrying Jiang Zheyu on his back.

"What’s happening?" Jiang Zheyu asked, completely bewildered.

"The Zerg Mother has awakened," Shan Xun said, his brow deeply furrowed. His spiritual power could sense the Zerg outside. A normal swarm attack wouldn’t be this massive. A scale like this, appearing here of all places, could only mean one thing. "The cosmic Zerg swarm is here."

The cosmic Zerg swarm was here. All systems across the universe were paralyzed. The Zerg were multiplying endlessly in space and on planets. Only by killing the Zerg Mother could this relentless tide that threatened to devour entire planets be stopped.

Jiang Zheyu was stunned. ’How did the Zerg Mother awaken early?’

’No, that’s not it. I can’t even remember when the cosmic Zerg swarm was supposed to happen in the novel.’

’Could it be happening right now?’

"System, aren’t I supposed to have the strongest spiritual power? How am I still being affected by these Zerg?" Jiang Zheyu hurriedly asked her system. "And why do I feel like they’re intentionally focusing their attacks on me?"

Because a single Zerg’s spiritual attack was harmless to Jiang Zheyu, they had resorted to a swarm assault.

A chill ran down Jiang Zheyu’s spine.