9: A chase, a race against time?

"Warning! Warning!"

"Newbie protection period has ended!"

"Void Devouring Beast has locked onto this sector! Countdown: 10, 9, 8..."

The piercing alarm sounded like a sharp knife, stabbing ruthlessly into everyone's eardrums.

In the spaceship's main hall, the girls who were still reeling from the "hidden beauty in the Captain's Quarters" were instantly dragged back to a cruel reality.

"What?! The protection period is over?!"

"Devourer? What on earth is that?!"

Liu Ruyan screamed and lunged toward the porthole, looking outside.

In the next second, she froze, her pupils contracting violently as if she had seen the most terrifying image in the world.

"Ah——!!!"

A shrill scream echoed throughout the cabin.

In the deep void behind the spaceship, a massive shadow had appeared at some unknown point.

It wasn't a dark cloud, nor was it a nebula.

It was a mouth.

A mouth so indescribably large it seemed capable of swallowing the entire starry sky!

It was like a living black hole, slowly opening wide. Countless tiny spaceships before it were like specks of dust floating on the ocean, pitifully small.

"Roar——!!!"

Although sound cannot travel in a vacuum, that terrifying psychic wave slammed directly into everyone's minds.

It was pure hunger.

It was greed for life.

"Run! Run quickly!"

"It's coming! It's going to eat us!"

The hall instantly fell into chaos.

The girls were crying and shoving; someone even wet their pants in fear.

Even the usually calm Lin Qinghan was pale now, her hand holding her sword trembling uncontrollably.

Faced with a cosmic-level monster like this, individual martial prowess was nothing but a joke.

"Where's Gu Pingsheng?! Where is he?!"

Zhao Min rushed toward the door of the Captain's Quarters like a madwoman, pounding on it desperately.

"Captain Gu! Start the ship! We're going to die!"

"Please! Come out!"

...Captain's Quarters.

The cabin door, with its excellent soundproofing, blocked out most of the noise from outside.

Gu Pingsheng sat on a leather sofa, holding a cup of freshly ground Blue Mountain coffee.

Steam curled upward, carrying a rich aroma.

Alice stood behind him, using her soft, fair hands to gently massage his temples.

"Master, high-energy biological reaction detected to the rear."

Alice's voice remained cool and sweet, as if the star-devouring monster outside were just a passing kitten.

"Void Devouring Beast, mature stage. Estimated contact with this vessel in 30 seconds."

"Mhm."

Gu Pingsheng took a sip of coffee, his expression indifferent.

He of course knew it was a Devourer.

In his past life, countless newbies had died at this stage.

This thing was used by the system to filter out trash.

Those who ran slowly, died.

Those without fuel, died.

Those with low-level spaceships, died.

At this moment, the regional chat channel had turned into a living hell.

"Help! My spaceship's speed is only 50 km/h! It's getting closer!"

"Who has fuel?! I'm willing to trade all my supplies for a barrel of fuel! Please!"

"It's over... my engine overheated and stalled... I can see its teeth..."

"Aaaaah! Don't eat me! I don't want to die!"

Despair.

Endless despair.

Gu Pingsheng put down his coffee cup and stood up.

"Alice, take control of the spaceship."

"Yes, Master."

Red light flashed in Alice's eyes as she instantly connected to the spaceship's main control system.

Gu Pingsheng walked to the control console and opened a hidden compartment.

Inside was a bottle of purple liquid.

[High-Energy Concentrated Fuel (Purple·Epic)]

[Description: Top-tier fuel purified and sublimated by the Hand of God. The energy contained in a single drop is equivalent to one ton of ordinary fuel.]

[Effect: Increases spaceship speed by 500% for 24 hours.]

He had obtained this yesterday by triggering a critical hit on ordinary fuel.

There was only this one small bottle.

But it was enough.

Gu Pingsheng pulled out the stopper, used a dropper to take a single drop, and dripped it into the fuel tank.

"Hum——"

The moment that drop of purple liquid fell into the reactor.

The entire spaceship jolted violently!

The originally low engine roar instantly became high-pitched and resonant, like the roar of an awakening dragon!

...In the hall.

The girls were already in despair.

That giant mouth was getting closer; they could even see the rows of fangs inside, sharp as mountain peaks.

The shadow of death loomed over everyone's heads.

"It's over... we're all going to die..."

Su Ruan sat slumped on the floor, clutching her rabbit plushie tightly, tears streaming down her face.

Liu Ruyan was so terrified her eyes rolled back, and her body twitched.

Just then.

"Boom!!!"

The floor beneath their feet suddenly vibrated violently.

A massive force of acceleration hit them; everyone was caught off guard and slammed hard onto the floor!

"Ouch!"

"What's happening?!"

Before they could even react.

The scenery outside the porthole instantly stretched into long streaks of light!

The Void Devouring Beast, which had been slowly approaching, was suddenly left behind as if someone had pressed the fast-rewind button!

The speed was too fast!

So fast that even their eyes couldn't keep up!

"This... what kind of speed is this?!"

Lin Qinghan struggled to get up from the floor, leaning against the wall to look out the window.

Two dazzling blue tail flames, hundreds of meters long, shot out from the rear of the spaceship, carving a brilliant trail through the dark void.

The speed needle on the dashboard went straight off the scale!

[Current Speed: 500 km/h (Supersonic Cruise)]

"500... kilometers?!"

Zhao Min's eyes widened, her glasses nearly falling off.

"Aren't ordinary spaceships only 30 kilometers?! How... how is this possible?!"

How was this an escape pod?

This was practically an interstellar battleship!

"Bang!"

A loud bang.

An asteroid belt appeared ahead of the spaceship.

Densely packed asteroids, each the size of a truck, blocked the path.

"Ah! We're going to crash!"

Someone screamed.

Crashing at this speed would definitely result in the ship's destruction and everyone's death!

However.

In the next second.

A layer of pale blue light film suddenly surfaced on the spaceship.

[Phase Shield (Blue·Fine)]

[Activated!]

"Rumble——"

The spaceship was like a rampaging beast, charging straight into the asteroid belt!

Those hard asteroids hitting the shield were like eggs hitting a rock, instantly shattering into countless specks of dust!

No slowing down.

No dodging.

Just pure ramming!

Sparks and lightning all the way!

That extreme aesthetic of violence left everyone breathless as they watched.

So strong.

So domineering.

Was this Gu Pingsheng's spaceship?

While others were scrambling to avoid a small asteroid, he could already ignore the terrain and rampage through it!

A few minutes later.

The spaceship burst out of the asteroid belt.

The Void Devouring Beast behind them was long gone, not even a shadow remaining.

Safe.

The hall was deathly silent.

The girls were still sprawled on the floor in various disheveled poses, their minds blank.

Those last few minutes had been like a roller-coaster nightmare.

From hell to heaven in just an instant.

"Click."

The door to the Captain's Quarters opened.

Gu Pingsheng walked out.

He was still wearing that comfortable bathrobe, holding the cup of coffee he hadn't finished.

His expression was lazy, as if everything that had just happened had nothing to do with him.

Alice followed behind him, holding a snow-white handkerchief and gently dabbing at a non-existent coffee stain at the corner of Gu Pingsheng's mouth.

"Ma... Master..."

Su Ruan looked at him, her eyes dazed, unconsciously uttering that title.

Gu Pingsheng ignored her.

He walked to the center of the hall, looking down at the group of women slumped on the floor.

His gaze swept over the mess on the floor—overturned chairs, scattered belongings, and suspicious wet patches left by certain people out of fright.

His brows furrowed slightly.

"So filthy."

He coldly spat out those words.

Everyone's heart trembled.

The joy of surviving the disaster dissipated instantly, replaced by a deep sense of awe.

This man held their lives in his hands.

If he wanted to, he could throw them out to feed that monster at any time.

"Since you have nothing to do."

Gu Pingsheng took a sip of coffee and turned to head back.

"Clean up the common area."

"I don't like mess and filth."

"And."

He stopped, turned his head, his gaze cold as a knife.

"The next time anyone dares to pound on my door."

"I'll chop off her hand."

"Bang."

The cabin door closed again.

Leaving the group of girls looking at each other, shivering in fear.

Lin Qinghan took a deep breath and forced herself to stand up.

She looked at the closed door, her expression extremely complex.

Fear? Awe? Or... She grit her teeth and turned to pick up a broom from the corner.

"Everyone, get up."

"Get to work."