259: Uninvited "Guests" and "Sweet" Traps

The "light chaser" formation, laden with spoils, the wounded, and heavy news, like a flock of startled birds, performed continuous dimensional jumps at near-limit speeds, finally returning safely to the defensive depth of the "Homeland" system before exhausting the last drop of hyperspace fuel. The familiar light of the star poured in through the portholes, yet it could not dispel the gloom on everyone's faces on the bridge.

Upon entering the safe zone, Wang Jianguo's hoarse but firm command spread through the entire fleet and base network: "Activate the 'Iron Curtain' protocol, maximum alert! Charge all defense platforms immediately, monitoring network at full power! Expand scanning range to a five-hundred-light-year radius, focus on finding any energy signatures with characteristics of the 'Lord of the Grand Feast' or similar 'Messengers'. Even if there's one discordant note in the background radiation, find it for me!"

The moment the Order was given, the "Homeland" system seemed like a giant beast awakening from slumber. Hundreds of defense platforms orbiting the main star and colonial satellites hummed simultaneously, deep blue shield generators lighting up in sequence, forming a brilliant belt of light in the starry sky. Buoy antennas of the deep space monitoring network adjusted their angles one after another, invisible detection waves like a dense spider web spreading into the vast and dark deep space of the universe, not letting any abnormal ripple of space-time slip by.

The two captured "Law Stealers" diamond-shaped collection ships were pulled firmly by heavy towing cables, like two silent and eerie metal giant fish, slowly entering the top-secret dock emitting a dim red warning light, specially opened beneath Starport One. The gates closed heavily behind them, and multi-layered physical shielding and energy isolation fields were immediately activated, completely separating the interior of the dock from the outside world. Evelyn had already been waiting there with her most elite research team and a fully armed security squad, everyone wearing tight protective suits, their expressions grave. These two ships were the key to unmasking the "Lord of the Grand Feast" and the essence of the "Law Stealers," but no one knew if a more deadly trap was hidden beneath that cold diamond-shaped shell.

Excellence, Su Mu, "White Elder", and Wang Jianguo, among other high-ranking officials, went straight to the Deep-level Security Conference Room in the Central Command Area almost as soon as they set foot on solid ground. The heavy alloy door closed behind them, isolating all the noise from the outside world. The conference room was in dark tones, with only the central holographic star map emitting a deep blue glow, reflecting everyone's tense faces.

Wang Jianguo didn't sit down. He propped his hands on the edge of the cold metal conference table, his knuckles turning white, a fire suppressed in his straightforward tone: "The situation is ten times worse than our worst prediction. We just pushed down the claws of the 'World Devourer', the 'Guixu People's' Whisper hasn't even faded from our ears, and now some 'Lord of the Grand Feast' pops up! They even sent 'Law Stealers' specifically to catch Excellence—not kill, but catch! To be some 'coordinate' and 'ingredient'!" He suddenly slammed his fist on the table, making a dull sound, "How many of these damn things are still hiding in this cursed universe, staring at us? Is our 'Homeland' really like a piece of fat meat?!"

His anger infected everyone present, and an invisible pressure filled the air.

"White Elder" sat cross-legged, floating on his dedicated seat, his eyes deep as an ancient well beneath his snow-white long eyebrows. He spoke slowly, his old voice carrying a sense of vicissitudes and gravity that saw through the world: "Commander Wang, anger is useless. After 'The Great Fracture', the underlying rules of the universe were broken, and dimensional barriers loosened or even overlapped, like a once stable garden becoming overgrown with weeds and miasma. Such an environment is most likely to breed eerie existences that feed on Chaos, devouring, and distortion, and will also awaken many ancient consciousnesses forced into dormancy during the period of complete rules. 'Homeland' repairing 'The Weave' and restarting the light of Order in the boundless darkness is an act of going against the current. And little friend Excellence, as the most critical and special 'Node' in this repair process, his existence itself is like the brightest torch suddenly lit in the endless night."

He paused, his gaze sweeping over Excellence: "A torch will naturally attract light-seeking moths, as well as light-fearing mosquitoes, and will even draw the attention of certain existences accustomed to darkness who view all light as a provocation or a plaything. The 'Lord of the Grand Feast', according to the fragmented legends of ancient star sea wanderers, is a standout among the latter. Its troublesome and terrifying nature lies in the fact that it is not a predator seeking pure destruction and devouring like the 'World Devourer', nor a terminator trying to drag all things into eternal silence like the 'Guixu People'. It is a... distorted hedonist, an irrational existence that treats all things in the universe, all forms of life, and even emotions and destinies as 'entertainment programs' and 'delicious ingredients' at its Endless Feast. Its 'invitations' are often wrapped in irresistible sweet sugar coatings or temptations that strike at the heart's soft spots, making people unknowingly become decorations or even the main course on its banquet while indulging in illusory pleasure or satisfaction."

Su Mu listened, feeling a chill crawl up her spine. She subconsciously raised her hand to her waist—where her sidearm usually hung, but it had been removed according to regulations before entering the conference room. She lowered her hand, her fingertips slightly cold, and asked: "Senior, in what form do its 'Messengers' usually appear? How should we identify and guard against them?"

"The forms of the Messengers are ever-changing, with no fixed rules," "White Elder" pondered. "It could be a tangible, extremely beautiful or grotesque physical creation, or an intangible concept, a melody, a sudden thought, or even a seemingly coincidental 'stroke of luck'. But its core remains unchanged: exploitation. Exploiting the target's desires, fears, greed, curiosity, loneliness... every heartstring that can be tugged. The method of defense is simple to say but extremely difficult to do: only by remaining vigilant at all times, sticking to one's original heart, and distinguishing truth from falsehood, without being deceived by external things. However, in the face of such existences, the defenses of the mind are often fragile. Therefore, the most fundamental reliance is still strength. If one is strong enough and the rules are stable enough, no matter how many changes or temptations there are, I will remain unmoved, and even... break it with one blow."

Everyone's eyes involuntarily focused on Excellence again. The young "order node" sat in his chair, his back straight, his lips pursed, his fingers unconsciously tapping lightly on the smooth tabletop, making a rhythmic light sound. Those eyes, which seemed exceptionally sharp at this moment, were staring at the halo representing the warning line on the periphery of the "Homeland" system in the holographic star map, as if trying to pierce through it to see the more distant threats.

Feeling everyone's gaze, Excellence stopped his tapping. He looked up, no fear in his eyes, but rather a flame ignited by challenge: "Whether it's a Messenger or the main body coming, my attitude is the same: when soldiers come, the general will block them; when water comes, the earth will cover it. But now, just blocking is not enough. We must actively do three things: First, dig out all useful intelligence from those two captured broken ships as quickly as possible, even a tiny clue about the 'Lord of the Grand Feast's' plan or the 'Law Stealers'' weaknesses; second, 'Homeland's' defense system must be upgraded again, especially the warning and interception for this type of unconventional, high-dimensional mental or conceptual intrusion; third..."

He paused, his voice decisive: "I need to become stronger, and faster. This time fighting the 'Law Stealers', my feeling and application of the 'Order' power have indeed deepened by another level, but it's far from enough. If the 'Lord of the Grand Feast's' main body is truly as terrifying as the legends say, my current power can at best be considered a small pre-meal appetizer, not even qualified for it to look at directly. I must have enough power to ensure that no matter what comes, I have the strength to fight, or at least, be able to protect 'Homeland'."

"Whatever resources you need, just list them. We will prioritize satisfying you with the strength of the entire star system," Wang Jianguo said deeply. These words were not just a promise to Excellence, but also a reassurance to everyone present.

"I'm afraid it's not just a matter of conventional resources," Evelyn's 3D image cut into the conference room at the right time. She seemed to still be at the preliminary scanning site, with the background of flashing instrument lights and busy research personnel. "From the preliminary high-dimensional scanning results of the 'Law Stealers' collection ships, their energy structure circuits and material processing technologies are very... peculiar and efficient. Although their fundamental purpose is looting and dismantling, to achieve this goal, they have developed a set of extremely precise 'refining', 'energy replication', and 'spatial shaping' technologies. Some principles are vastly different from the physical laws we know, yet they seem to operate stably under certain distorted rules."

She pushed her glasses, the eyes behind the lenses flashing with the light unique to researchers, a mix of fanaticism and caution: "If we can safely reverse-engineer and strip away the harmful looting attributes, extracting the core principles of 'efficient conversion' and 'stable shaping', perhaps... I mean perhaps, it can be applied to strengthening the stability of Excellence's 'Body of Order', or developing new equipment that can resonate with his 'Power of Order' and amplify its effects. But this takes time, a lot of repeated verification time, and there are extremely high risks in the process—after all, this is technology from the enemy and inherently dangerous."

"We have to try, no matter the risk." Excellence didn't hesitate. He looked at Evelyn's image, "Sister Evelyn, I'll leave this to you. Prioritize analyzing and trying to convert those technical modules that might help improve my combat power. Safety first, but we also need to rush the progress." He turned to "White Elder" again, "Senior, regarding higher-level and more refined ways of using the 'Order' power, especially how to more thoroughly integrate the will of 'protection' into attack and defense, do you have any..."

"Beep—woo—! Beep—woo—!"

Excellence's words were rudely interrupted by a sudden, extremely piercing alarm! This wasn't the highest-level red alert representing an enemy ship raid or a large-scale invasion, but a Golden Alert with a higher, sharper frequency, carrying strong abnormal energy characteristics and mental interference fluctuations! The moment the sound poured into their eardrums, everyone felt a slight palpitation and dizziness, as if they heard an extremely discordant noise forcibly inserted into the real world.

"Report! Emergency!" The communications officer's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying obvious tension and a hint of unbelievable confusion, "In Sector C-7 on the outskirts of the base, about 0.3 light-minutes from the main starport, a strong, indefinable spatial folding phenomenon has been detected! Energy readings... chaotic and contradictory! An entity is manifesting out of thin air! But... but..."

The communications officer's voice paused, seemingly confirming the data: "No malicious energy fluctuations or offensive weapon targeting in any conventional sense have been detected! Instead... the monitoring system is feeding back a strong, pure, highly concentrated... 'joyful' emotional field? And energy pulses similar to the rhythm of festival music? This... what on earth is going on?"

Joy? Festival music? Everyone in the conference room looked at each other, for a moment doubting if the monitoring system had malfunctioned or if they were under some high-level mental interference.

"Switch the feed over! Now!" Wang Jianguo growled.

The star map on the main screen instantly switched to real-time monitoring footage of Sector C-7. That part of the starry sky, which was originally empty, was now like a lake surface into which a giant stone had been thrown; space itself was rippling with visible, rainbow-like magnificent but extremely distorted waves. The center of the waves had the most intense and miscellaneous colors, as if an entire palette had been knocked over.

Then, without any sign of engine exhaust, spatial tearing, or energy overflow, an object—or rather, a "ship"?—slowly "emerged" from the center of the ripples, as if stepping from an abstract painting into reality.

When its full appearance was presented on the screen, the entire conference room fell into a dead silence for ten seconds, so quiet that a pin drop could be heard.

It couldn't be called a spaceship at all, or even any kind of conventional creation.

It looked exactly like a huge, multi-layered strawberry cream cake, covered in bright cream and jam, and topped with tempting strawberries and strange frosting flowers. Moreover, it was the kind with a strong cartoon style, as if it had just jumped out of a children's picture book! Its diameter was estimated to be over three hundred meters, and its height was nearly a hundred meters. In the dark starry sky, it emitted a sweet, warm-toned glow that was completely out of place with its surroundings.

On the surface of the cake's "hull", the cream seemed to be still flowing slowly, with a greasy luster; those strawberries were bright red and dripping, and one could almost smell the fresh fruity aroma; chocolate scraps and colored sugar beads dotted it, sparkling. The most ridiculous thing was the top of the cake, where a thick, "burning" candle was actually stuck! The candle flame was a stable, pink energy flame emitting a warm halo, and the top of the flame even simulated a slightly jumping posture.

On the side of the cake, in crooked frosting font that looked like a child's graffiti, were several huge, seven-colored glowing universal language characters (though the grammatical structure was outrageously strange):

【Congratulations! Lucky Draw! Grand Prize Winner—Homeland Base! Please sign for your 'Surprise Gift Pack'!】

This huge, "steaming" (actually some kind of mild energy radiation), "fragrant" (information simulated through spectral analysis) cartoon cake just floated quietly and harmlessly in the starry sky, forming an extremely absurd contrast with the cold and serious defense platforms and warships around it. It emitted an energy field that was purely emotions like "happiness", "celebration", and "come play", without the slightest aggressiveness, and even... a bit cute?

After the dead silence was a collective loss of speech and a total collapse of facial expression management.

Su Mu's mouth twitched several times before she managed to squeeze out the words: "This... is this the Messenger sent by the 'Lord of the Grand Feast'? A... flying... cake? And it's strawberry flavored?"

Evelyn’s hologram rapidly manipulated the virtual interface in front of her, her speaking speed fast, carrying the frantic tone of a researcher encountering an incomprehensible phenomenon: "Structural scan... failed! Conventional material analysis... ineffective! It appears to be composed of carbohydrates, lipids, and water, but the internal energy reaction level is absurdly high and stable to the point of violating all known laws of thermodynamics! Those decorative candies and fruits... the spectrum shows they are highly compressed energy crystals of startling purity! The flame of that candle... is a stable, low-power dimensional energy output point, connected to a... source I cannot parse! This... the very existence of this thing is a mockery of the existing scientific system!"

Even the well-traveled White Elder was now staring at the colorful giant on the screen, his snowy-white long eyebrows tightly knit, his aged face filled with a mixture of solemnity and confusion.

Excellence opened his mouth, then closed it, repeating this several times before finally squeezing out a sentence: "Is... is it written on there... that we won? Grand prize? And... we need to sign for it?" His tone was full of a sense of absurdity, as if he were confirming whether he was still dreaming.

"Absurd! Shameless! A low-grade trap!" A senior officer known for his composure suddenly slammed the table and stood up, his face flushed. "The enemy is insulting our intelligence! Sending a gift in the form of a cake? And trying to trick us into opening our defenses in such a childishly ridiculous way? Commander, I suggest we immediately initiate the Regional Purification Protocol and use the Medium Mass Cannons to completely annihilate it!"

"Stop!" White Elder and Evelyn spoke up almost simultaneously to stop him, their tones urgent.

Evelyn quickly pulled up an energy simulation curve: "Analysis shows that the overall structure of this 'cake' is in an extremely bizarre 'metastable state.' It is as loose as an actual pastry, yet every 'molecule' is tightly coupled in a way we cannot understand, forming a contradictory unity. Any external energy impact, especially a crude attack, could destroy this fragile balance and trigger an unpredictable chain reaction. The result could be harmless—like exploding into a larger cloud of cream—but it could also be catastrophic—triggering a collapse of the local spatial structure or releasing unknown high-dimensional energy compressed within! The risk is completely uncontrollable!"

White Elder took over, his gaze never leaving the cake, especially the candle: "Director Evelyn is correct. Furthermore, a more important point is that this is likely part of the Lord of the Grand Feast's style. It views everything as a game. This 'reward' or 'surprise' might be harmless in itself, or even contain real benefits—like those high-purity energy crystals. But once we interact with it in the posture of 'accepting the reward,' even if only out of curiosity or cautious contact, it is equivalent to tacitly agreeing to participate in its 'game' and acknowledging the 'rules' it has set. This will create a deeper 'connection' between us and it, marking us more clearly. After that, more frequent and harder-to-refuse 'invitations' will follow, dragging us step by step into the 'Feast' web it has carefully woven, until we are finally unable to extricate ourselves and become part of its banquet."

"So we just have to stare blankly and watch this ridiculous cake flaunt itself at our doorstep?" Wang Jianguo’s face was as dark as a pot bottom, his fists clenching with a cracking sound. This feeling of having power but nowhere to use it, and anger but nowhere to vent it, was more frustrating than facing a direct, powerful enemy.

Just then, another anomaly occurred.

The pink flame of the candle atop the cake suddenly, without warning, let out a 'poof,' spewing a large cloud of even denser smoke composed of countless tiny, cheerful specks of light. The smoke twisted, swirled, and condensed in the air, transforming in the blink of an eye into a phantom about three meters tall, wearing an exaggeratedly magnificent seven-colored clown costume and an eternal grinning mask. The phantom’s limb proportions were extremely uncoordinated, with arms that were too long and legs that were short and comical.

After this phantom appeared, it first gave an extremely exaggerated bow toward the Homeland base, bending its waist almost in half, then suddenly sprang up and began dancing wildly. A sharp, comical, vibrating voice that could directly penetrate physical barriers and ring deep within everyone's soul accompanied its movements:

"Ding-dong! Ding-dong! Lucky guests! Hello there—! This is the 'Endless Feast' Interstellar Touring Lottery Express at your service! Congratulations! Congratulations to Homeland base! In the vast, boundless universe with its billions of stars, you have been personally selected by the great, generous, and uniquely tasteful Lord of the Grand Feast to be the sole Grand Prize winner of this sector, this era, and this event! Ta-da—!"

The clown phantom suddenly spread its arms wide to both sides, pointing at the massive cake behind it, its tone full of provocative joy: "Look! This is your prize! Crafted from 'Dreamy Flour' condensed from the core of the 'Sweet Dream Nebula,' 'Essence Frosting' extracted from the thousand-year tail flame of the 'Happy Comet,' 'Emotional Juice' specialized from the 'Carnival Star Sector,' and... a tiny bit, just a tiny bit, of 'Surprise' blessing personally infused by the Lord of the Grand Feast—the 'Miracle Strawberry Cake (Messenger Special Edition)'! A limited edition, the only one of its kind!"

It performed a strange dance step and leaned in closer, adopting a whispering posture, though its voice still resonated in their minds: "Now, please pay attention to the signing process! It’s very simple, not a bit of trouble! You only need to send one representative... hmm, we suggest that sparkling, cute 'Node' little friend who is full of the aura of Order. Please have him approach our cake prize, gently and tenderly blow out this candle symbolizing the 'Opening of the Surprise,' and then, facing the starry sky, loudly and joyfully say: 'I accept this surprise!' to complete the signing!"

The clown phantom spun around, dancing: "Then, the cake will be served immediately! Inside, besides delicacies (real energy delicacies, oh!), there are also several random surprise small gifts, and—one 'VIP Experience Voucher' to the 'Eternal Feast' main venue! With this voucher, you can bypass the audit and go straight to the main venue to enjoy supreme joy! The opportunity is once in a lifetime, don't miss out! Now then, guests, please begin!"

With that, the clown phantom went 'bang' and exploded like a balloon, turning back into a sky full of colored light specks that merged into the cake. The flow of cream on the cake's surface seemed to become even more cheerful and enticing, and the flashing characters 'Please Sign' began to blink continuously like neon lights, emitting a sense of urgency.

The meeting room fell into silence once again. This time, besides shock and alertness, there was a thick sense of absurdity and powerlessness that had nowhere to be vented.

"Blow out the candle... say I accept..." Su Mu held her forehead, feeling her temples throbbing. "What is this? A cosmic version of a birthday party invitation? Or a demonic contract ceremony wrapped in fairytale candy paper?!"

"But it explicitly mentioned Excellence and designated him as the 'signer.'" Evelyn’s hologram looked at Excellence, her eyes full of concern. "This is undoubtedly a precise trap aimed at you. 'Blowing out the candle' and 'saying I accept' are very likely a mandatory, ritualistic behavior with rule-binding force. Once completed, it is equivalent to reaching an agreement with the Lord of the Grand Feast on some level we cannot understand, or being more deeply marked by it."

Everyone's gaze focused on Excellence once again, waiting for his decision, with eyes full of worry, inquiry, and trust.

Excellence stared at the gaudy cake on the screen that emitted an ominous cheerful aura, his fingers lightly tapping on his knee. The expression on his face slowly changed from initial shock and solemnity to something a bit strange, and finally, the corners of his mouth curled up slightly into an arc.

It wasn't a nervous smile, nor was it an angry one, but a playful smile mixed with interest, a desire for challenge, and a hint of a mischievous mindset.

"Interesting," Excellence rubbed his chin, his eyes lighting up. "Sending a cake, lighting a candle, and even making a wish... oh no, 'accepting.' This Lord of the Grand Feast has quite a unique aesthetic taste, and the way it plays is rather retro. Class Monitor, Sister Evelyn, Uncle Wang, what do you think..." He looked up, his gaze sweeping across everyone. "If I go over there, but don't follow the script it gave, and instead... add some of our own 'program' to it, what would happen?"

"What do you want to do?" Su Mu immediately glared at him alertly. "Excellence, don't fool around! No matter how ridiculous that thing is, its essence is extremely dangerous! You can't risk your safety!"

"I know it's dangerous," Excellence's eyes grew brighter and brighter as the unyielding spirit of a young man surged up. "But they've sent the 'surprise' right to our doorstep with such fanfare, asking us to sign for it with drums and gongs. If we remain silent or just blow it up with a cannon, wouldn't that make us seem very impolite and afraid of it? Besides, always being on the defensive and waiting to be hit isn't my style, nor is it Homeland's style. It wants to play, so I'll accompany it to the end, in my way. Let's see if its 'surprise' routine is deeper, or if my 'Order'... is better at not playing by the rules."

White Elder looked at the flickering flame in Excellence's eyes, a trace of imperceptible approval and deeper concern flashing in his aged eyes: "Do you already have a plan? Do you intend to take a risk?"

"Doesn't it want me to blow out the candle?" Excellence stood up from his seat and stretched his body, the phantom of silver-white light feathers faintly flowing in the air behind him. "I'll go. However, how this candle is blown and what 'accepting' means will have to be according to my rules."

"Excellence!" Su Mu still wanted to dissuade him.

Wang Jianguo raised his hand to stop her. He looked deeply at Excellence, the young man he had watched grow up, who was now the sturdiest backbone of Homeland. He asked in a low voice: "How much certainty do you have? I want the truth."

Excellence retracted his smile and thought seriously for a moment: "If it's a direct confrontation, head-on, I have no concept of the Lord of the Grand Feast's true form, so I can't judge. But just dealing with this Messenger, under the premise of not touching the candle and not saying its required lines, while conducting a probing contact and 'returning a gift,' I have a seventy percent certainty of withdrawing safely. Moreover," he looked at the cake on the screen, "I need to observe it up close and feel its energy composition and operation. This kind of direct 'sample' is more precious than any indirect intelligence. It will help accumulate experience for the true form we might face in the future."

"What support do you need?" Wang Jianguo no longer hesitated and asked decisively.

"Sister Evelyn, please coordinate all monitoring equipment to focus on analyzing the cake, especially the energy structure of the candle flame, the spatial connection points, and all subtle fluctuations when I approach and make any move, to find any possible contract trigger mechanisms or trap Nodes. Class Monitor, you take charge of defense command. If I send an emergency signal or if the cake is monitored to have abnormal attack tendencies, don't hesitate—immediately deploy all available firepower in that area for a maximum-power saturation strike. Although the effect might be limited, it can at least create a distraction. Senior White Elder, please stay in the base. If any bizarre changes involving dimensional or rule levels beyond conventional physical or energy ranges occur, we may need you to step in and stabilize the situation."

"Good!" Wang Jianguo slammed his fist into his palm. "Contact mission approved! But Excellence, remember this: this is a probe, not a final battle! Safety first! If it's not feasible, even if there's only a hint of uncertainty, withdraw immediately! That's an Order!"

"Understood!"

With the Order given, the entire base began to operate at high speed like a precision instrument. Excellence didn't delay, changing into a form-fitting, lightweight combat suit embedded with the latest energy buffer layer and life-support system, and flew alone through a dedicated passage toward the airlock door on the outer layer of the base.

The hatch slid open silently, and Excellence stepped into the void. Behind him was the towering and powerful steel silhouette of the Homeland base; ahead, against the backdrop of the deep starry sky, was that massive, vivid strawberry cake emitting an uncoordinated cheerful aura.

He adjusted his posture and turned into a streamlined silver light, flying toward the target. The closer he got, the denser that sickly sweet 'aroma' (actually highly realistic energy pheromones) became, accompanied by a light, rhythm-like energy wave resembling festival background music, constantly trying to penetrate his Perception. If it were an ordinary person, or even a soldier with a weak will, they might have already relaxed their guard, felt joy, and wished they could pounce on it and take a bite of that enticing 'cream.'

But Excellence's heart was as firm as a rock. The Power of Order within his body flowed naturally, like the clearest ice spring, easily washing away and dispersing these external, inducing information interferences. His gaze was clear and sharp, like an unsheathed sword.

He stopped about a hundred meters from the cake, hovering in the void. This distance was enough for him to see all the details on the cake: a faint light pulsed under the cream 'coating,' every 'seed' on the strawberries was clearly visible, and the texture of the frosting flowers was as delicate as if they weren't man-made. The pink flame of the candle on top was eerily stable, emitting a warm but unsettling light.

"I'm here." Excellence didn't speak, but transmitted a calm and clear thought, like throwing a stone into a still pool of water. "The cake looks... quite unique. However, sorry, I haven't been much of a fan of sweets since I was a kid, especially... sweets of unknown origin."

The massive cake floated silently, showing no reaction to his thought. Only the luster of the cream on the surface seemed to brighten slightly, and the frequency of the flashing 'Please Sign' characters increased, making the silent sense of urgency even stronger.

Excellence didn't mind. He began to move slowly, flying around this massive, absurd creation while expanding and permeating his Perception of Order to its full extent. The information fed back by his Perception cross-referenced with Evelyn's scanning results, yet it revealed the internal contradictions and eeriness even more intuitively: the material structure, which appeared loose like fermented pastry, had every basic unit forcibly bound together by a powerful and twisted rule of 'Joy,' forming a stability far exceeding conventional materials. Those decorative energy crystals were of extremely high purity, yet they emitted hyperactive fluctuations that were incompatible with 'Order.' And that candle flame, just as Evelyn had said, was a stable 'hole' connecting to a distant, chaotic dimension filled with endless clamor and an atmosphere of pleasure, continuously outputting the core energy that maintained the cake's existence and characteristics.

"Blow out the candle, say you accept, and you can get a 'surprise' and an 'experience voucher'?" Excellence finally flew back to the front of the candle, facing that cluster of pink flame from a distance, and muttered to himself, "This process, why does it sound like making a wish? However, my way of making a wish might be a bit different from what you imagine."

He no longer waited, nor did he test further. His right hand rose slowly, palm up, fingers slightly spread, aimed at that steadily burning candle flame.

There was no surging tide of energy, no dazzling light and shadow effects. Excellence's gaze became incredibly focused, and in the depths of his pupils, silver-white law runes seemed to flash by. Within his palm, a speck of silver-white halo, pure and condensed to the extreme, quietly emerged. It was not an aggressive energy beam, but a highly concentrated light of the Order Origin, containing his own understanding and definition of the authority of 'Order.' Within it, the wills of 'Analysis,' 'Purification,' 'Definition,' and 'Negation' were fused.

"In my name, I define the Order of this place." Excellence's voice was not loud, but it carried an unquestionable majesty, echoing clearly in this void. "This fire is not a flame of celebration, but a lead of falsehood, a bait of temptation, a wedge of Chaos. In this domain of Order, there is no logic for its existence, no foundation for its burning—it shall be extinguished."

He did not use any physical force to blow, nor did he use energy to impact it. He directly mobilized his authority as an 'order node,' using his understanding and control of the laws of 'Order' as a pen to issue the most direct and fundamental 'definition' and 'negation' against the 'concept of existence' of the candle flame itself!

This was not a confrontation with the flame's energy, but a denial of the 'rule' that 'this candle's flame should exist here'!

Buzz—!

That cluster of pink flame, originally as stable as an eternal sculpture, suddenly flickered violently and frantically! It was as if it were being seized and kneaded by an invisible giant hand! The color of the flame faded from warm pink to pale at a speed visible to the naked eye, then became transparent and illusory. The precisely maintained energy structure within began to emit a strained, subtle sound of cracking! The entire massive cake ship shook violently along with it, the cream on the surface rose in irregular 'waves,' and those candy decorations and chocolate shavings rattled as if they were about to fall off at any moment.

A mechanical and dull, yet sharp and panicked thought due to its haste, frantically emanated from inside the cake: "Warning! Warning! High-priority Order Rule interference detected! Messenger Protocol core subjected to unauthorized tampering! Please stop illegal operations immediately! Otherwise, the Compulsory Joy Defense Mechanism will be triggered! The Surprise Gift Pack will transform into a scare package! Repeat, please stop immediately!"

"Oh? There's even a defense mechanism? 'Joy Defense'? Sounds even weirder." Excellence raised an eyebrow. Instead of stopping, he willed it, and the intensity of the outputted light of the Order Origin increased again! The silver-white light became more solid, like liquid mercury pouring over the ground, eroding backwards along the invisible connection between the collapsing flame structure and the cake's body!

At the same time, his left hand also rose, and the silver-white light of Order between his palms suddenly became blazing and proactive! This time, it was no longer the relatively gentle 'definition' and 'negation,' but carried his unique authority of 'Purification' and 'Reconstruction,' which was fused with the strong will to 'Protect the Homeland' and was more aggressive and reshaping!

"It seems you are not just a Messenger, but a decent 'sample' yourself." Excellence's voice turned cold. "A 'gift' carrying malice and distortion has no right to step into the domain of the 'Homeland.' In the name of Order, be purified, reveal your essence, and return to where you belong—transform into the most basic, pure stream of cosmic particles that can be accepted by Order!"

This time, he was playing for keeps, intending to use his higher-level authority of Order to forcibly dismantle and purify this eerie creation condensed from the rules of chaotic joy! You say your structure is contradictory yet stable? I will use a stronger, more fundamental Order to forcibly 'correct' and 'straighten' you, and then 'format' you from the level of rules!

"No—!!!!!!"

The Cake Messenger let out a piercing shriek, a mix of a sickly sweet aftertone and pure terror! The entire cake ship erupted with a blinding, chaotic rainbow of light, and the internal energy circuits ran frantically, as if to start some kind of mutually destructive self-destruct program or release a preset 'scare' attack. That candle flame struggled even more wildly, trying to draw more power from the distant dimension to stabilize itself and resist the Order erosion that was like its natural predator.

However, under Excellence's unreasonable authority of Order that acted directly on the rules of existence, the balance within the Cake Messenger—which seemed stable but was actually built on twisted contradictions—was rapidly and thoroughly shattered. The chaotic rainbow light was like snow meeting sunlight, melted and disintegrated inch by inch by the silver-white Power of Order; the connection between the candle flame and the dimensional source was forcibly cut and annihilated, and the flame itself shrank and dimmed rapidly, falling from physical reality into illusion.

The cream on the cake's surface began to truly 'melt,' but instead of turning into liquid, it decomposed directly into basic energy particles and dissipated into space; those bright red strawberries, shining sugar pearls, and rich chocolate also disintegrated one after another, reverting to pure energy streams. The entire massive, vivid, absurd cake was like a crude color painting being violently erased by an eraser, rapidly 'returning to its origin' before the power of higher-level laws.

"Stop! You foolish Node! You will regret this! Lord of the Grand Feast's gaze has already descended! He will not let... ah—!!!"

The Messenger's final thought, filled with spite and fear, came to an abrupt end amidst the total disintegration.

A few seconds later, the massive and ridiculous strawberry cake Messenger in the starry sky had completely vanished. In its place, only a cloud of basic energy particles remained, slowly dispersing, exceptionally pure in composition, almost devoid of any attribute bias, and radiating a faint silver-white residual warmth of Order. Within the energy cloud, dozens of energy crystals of various colors (probably the original 'candy' and 'fruit' cores) floated quietly, having lost their activity but with internal structures still as exquisite and complex as microscopic artworks, along with a 'candle' remnant about half a meter long, with a translucent crystal texture, covered in fine cracks, and completely extinguished.

Excellence slowly withdrew his hands, calmed the slightly agitated Power of Order within his body, and looked at the pile of 'spoils' before him, curling his lip: "And here I thought it was something impressive. It made a lot of noise, but it turns out it was just an empty shell, good to look at but useless." His tone carried a hint of lightness after victory, but his eyes remained vigilant.

With a wave of his hand, the Power of Order swirled gently, dispersing that cloud of pure energy into a wider space to avoid any unknown reactions that might occur from its accumulation. Then, he carefully released a finer stream of Order energy, like invisible hands, wrapping and confining those energy crystals and the candle remnant one by one, preparing to bring them back to the base for Evelyn to conduct in-depth research—these might be important materials for understanding the nature of the Lord of the Grand Feast's power.

However, at the very moment he turned around, preparing to return to the base—

An anomaly, just when everyone thought it was over, descended abruptly!

That translucent candle remnant, wrapped in the Power of Order and seemingly completely dormant, erupted from within without any warning into a cluster of extremely fine, star-dust-like specks of light shimmering with an eerie pink glow! The moment these light specks appeared, they broke through the Order confinement Excellence had set—not through an energy impact, but as if they possessed life and will, instantly spreading and filling the space for thousands of meters around!

The speed was too fast, and the distance too close. Although Excellence reacted with lightning speed, immediately retreating and expanding his Order shield, a few of those pink 'light dust' particles with a slightly warm touch still adhered to the surface of his Order field like the softest snowflakes, and a few even penetrated the field, landing on the shoulders and arms of his combat suit.

The moment the light dust touched him, it didn't bring any feeling of pain, corrosion, or energy erosion. On the contrary, there was only an extremely slight, fleeting 'itchy' sensation, like a feather brushing past. But just as this feeling vanished—

"Heh..."

A grand, lazy thought, filled with endless temptation and mockery, as if layered from ten thousand kinds of laughter and joy, seemed to cross the barrier of infinite dimensions, ignoring the distance of space and time, and just like that, softly and clearly, laughed once directly in the deepest part of his consciousness.

Just a simple, single syllable.

Excellence's entire body froze instantly! His blood seemed to freeze at that moment. In that laughter, he 'heard' the clamor of a grand feast where ten thousand bells and cauldrons chimed together, saw fine wine and delicacies flowing in endless corridors, and felt that high-and-mighty, pure 'pleasure' and 'expectation' that regarded all things as playthings and the joys and sorrows of all living beings as drinks to accompany a meal. It was a playfulness that said 'the game has just begun,' a hair-raising 'appreciation' that said 'you have successfully caught my attention,' and a... kind of appetite, as if sizing up top-tier ingredients about to be sent into the oven.

Before the resonance of the laughter faded, a dark-gold invitation, thin as a cicada's wing, neither metal nor jade, made of an indescribable material with a magnificent and sinister halo naturally flowing around its edges, appeared out of thin air in the void before Excellence, floating quietly as if it had existed there since time immemorial.

The invitation required no hands; it slowly unfolded on its own.

Upon it, written in characters that seemed to be made of flowing dark-red gemstone solution with a sense of living rhythm, the following information was revealed:

[To: The interesting little Node]

[Your 'reciprocal gift' is unique and much to my liking. Crude, but full of vitality.]

[Specially reissued: Eternal Feast—Main Venue · VIP Direct Access Invitation.]

[Time: To be determined (when you are 'delicious' enough).]

[Location: Court of Revelry (you will know when the time comes).]

[Dress Code: None (ingredients do not need to be dressed).]

[Remarks: Please continue to work hard to grow and add flavor. I look forward to you becoming the most dazzling main course at my endless banquet. Do not keep me waiting.]

[—From the one who expects you, Lord of the Grand Feast]

The characters on the invitation flowed and flashed once as if they were alive, and then, the entire invitation along with the writing upon it transformed into countless fine streams of light shimmering with dark gold and crimson luster, dissipating silently into the vacuum like backward-burning ashes, leaving no physical trace behind.

But Excellence knew that that soft laugh, that passage of words, and especially that final phrase "most dazzling main course" and "do not keep me waiting," had already been seared into the depths of his consciousness like the hottest, deepest brand, impossible to erase. And the appearance and dissipation of that invitation was more like an inescapable, high-dimensional "mark," or rather... a precise "cooking timer" that had already begun to tick.

He floated alone in the silent starry sky, his expression shifting under his face shield. He had destroyed the Messenger and seemed to have won a brief victory, but it seemed... instead, he had more directly "offended" the unspeakable existence behind it and had been "booked" by the other party in an even more "formal" and unsettling way?

"What kind of mess is this..." After a long time, Excellence finally let out a long, slow breath of foul air that didn't exist in the vacuum, shaking his head with a bitter smile. A heavy pressure replaced the slight ease he felt when he destroyed the Messenger just now.

He no longer stayed, turning around and transforming into silver light, flying toward the open gate of the "Homeland" base. The sharp edge he had when he came was slightly restrained, replaced by a few parts of heavy contemplation.

Flying into the airlock, the starry sky behind him remained vast and silent, but in Excellence's Perception, beneath that silence, it seemed as if even more viscous, even more sickly sweet undercurrents were silently surging and approaching. The absurd farce of the cake Messenger was over, but the shadow cast by the "Lord of the Grand Feast" was like the sweetest yet most lethal poison, quietly permeating and spreading, looming over the future path of the "Homeland."

The airlock door slowly closed behind him, sealing off the starry sky. Excellence took off his helmet, revealing a young but resolute face. Su Mu, Wang Jianguo, Evelyn, and others were already waiting at the end of the corridor, their faces written with concern and inquiry.

"I'm fine," Excellence spoke first, handing the energy crystals and candle remnant to the approaching researchers, then looked at everyone, his gaze becoming sharp as a knife again, as if to cut through that invisible pressure. "The Messenger is dealt with, but the trouble... might be even bigger."

He paused, meeting everyone's solemn gazes, but the corner of his mouth pulled up again into a fierce arc:

"However, you want to use me as a main course? Fine, then let's wait and see. We'll see when the time comes whether your 'Joyful Feast' kitchen knife is sharper, or if this 'tough dish' of mine will break your teeth first!"

The road to becoming stronger had never been as urgent as it was at this moment. The shadow of the challenge was already clearly visible. And the story of the "Homeland" continued to surge forward in this sea of stars where crisis and hope were intertwined.