299: Hunter and prey? Sorry, the roles have reversed!

The center of the Milky Way Galaxy, the Origin Point coordinates.

The gravitational waves here were extremely violent, enough to tear an ordinary star to shreds. But at this moment, a majestic Black-Gold Space Fortress was silently suspended there.

This was the highest center of power for the Earth Federation—the “Lingxiao Hall.”

Inside the massive Strategic Command Hall, the atmosphere was so heavy it felt like water would drip from it.

The Holographic Star Map covered the entire dome. It was no longer the incomplete spiral arm map from before, but a complete territory encompassing hundreds of billions of stars and spanning 100,000 light-years. Now, every light point in this territory was marked with the Earth Federation's flag.

Lu Chen sat upon the high platform, which was condensed from Dark Matter and named the “Void Throne.”

He sat with his legs crossed, resting his chin on his left hand. The golden light in his left eye flowed slowly like molten lava, while the white light in his right eye was cold as Ten Thousand Years of Black Ice.

He was very quiet.

But this silence was more unsettling than the calm before a star exploded.

Below the platform stood two groups of people.

On the left were the core high-ranking officials of the Earth Federation: Long Weiguo, Ye Qingcang, Wang Peng, and Su Qingying, who was wearing a white lab coat and was as cool as snow. Their expressions varied; some were excited, others composed.

On the right were the leaders of the various civilizations of the Milky Way Galaxy who had recently submitted.

The formerly imposing Viren the Great, the Deep Sea Race Matriarch with thousands of tentacles, and the Titan Patriarch whose body was made of rock—all of them now hung their heads, trembling.

Because just moments ago, heavenly craft announced a piece of news.

“Father, based on the Time-Reversal Algorithm of the ‘genesis engine’ and Causality detection, the target has been locked.”

heavenly craft's figure was projected in the center of the hall. She was still wearing a beautiful Ancient-Style Flowing Cloud Dress, and her voice was clear but devoid of any emotion.

“The Vanguard Fleet of the Fourth-level civilization, ‘the cleaners,’ is approaching the Milky Way Galaxy at sub-light speed.”

“Coordinates: Edge of the Virgo Supercluster, approximately six million light-years away from us.”

“Estimated time of arrival: 399 years and 11 months.”

Hearing the phrase “Fourth-level civilization,” the alien leaders on the right felt their legs turn to jelly.

As old hands who had struggled in the cosmic jungle, they understood the terror of level suppression too well. A Third-level civilization facing a Fourth-level civilization was like a primitive person with a stone facing a modern army in a tank.

“It’s over... it’s completely over.”

Viren the Great's face was pale, and the tentacles on his head twitched. “Fourth-level civilizations possess Rule Weapons. They don't even need to enter the Milky Way Galaxy. Just projecting a few ‘Star Death Rays’ from outside will finish us all!”

“Should we flee?” The Titan Patriarch's voice rumbled like muffled thunder, laced with terror. “We could use those four hundred years to build Wandering Spacecraft and escape to the edge of the universe.”

“Flee?”

A light word drifted down from the throne.

Lu Chen changed his posture, his fingers lightly tapping the armrest.

“Tap, tap, tap.”

The sound wasn't loud, but it struck everyone's chest like a heavy hammer.

Lu Chen looked down at the alien leaders, a highly arrogant and utterly punchable curve forming at the corner of his mouth—his signature “Versailles” smile.

“I haven't even spoken yet. Who gave you permission to write the option of ‘fleeing’ into your dictionaries?”

Viren the Great braced himself and stepped forward, trembling, “Great Lord, that is a Fourth-level civilization! According to Cosmic Axioms, the survival rate for Low-Dimensional Civilizations facing High-Dimensional Cleansing is infinitely close to zero—”

“Cosmic Axioms?”

Lu Chen sneered, cutting him off.

He stood up, his black trench coat fluttering without wind.

“In the Milky Way Galaxy, I am the axiom.”

“If I say the survival rate is one hundred percent, even the King of Hell would have to change the Register of Life and Death for me.”

Lu Chen slowly walked down the steps, his gaze sweeping over Long Weiguo and Ye Qingcang.

“Four hundred years...”

Lu Chen shook his head, looking disgusted. “Wait four hundred years for this trash? The day will be long past. I promised Qingying we'd go to the ‘oasis’ next month for vacation. I don't have time to waste on them.”

Ye Qingcang's eyes instantly lit up.

It was the gleam of an old pervert seeing a peerless beauty, or a hungry wolf spotting fresh meat.

This typical late-stage patient of “Insufficient Firepower Phobia” fiercely rubbed his calloused hands, his voice booming and making the hall hum:

“Commander Lu! Are you suggesting—”

“Passively taking a beating has never been my style.”

Lu Chen walked up to the massive star map and lightly swiped his finger across the void.

“Zzzt—”

A red trajectory instantly pierced through the Milky Way Galaxy, stabbing straight toward the distant deep space.

“Transmit my command.”

Lu Chen's voice instantly became cold and chilling, carrying an aura of looking down upon the world.

“Activate the reserve energy for the second phase of the ‘Shennong Project.’”

“Mobilize the ‘genesis engine’ core authority, and activate the ultra-long-distance Wormhole Array—code name ‘Heavenly Gate.’”

“Target: Six million light-years away, the cleaners fleet's navigation route.”

The entire hall fell into a deadly silence.

Even Long Weiguo gasped, “Little Lu, you mean to launch a preemptive strike? To fight them right outside their doorstep?”

“Not just fight.”

Lu Chen's eyes narrowed, and the gold and silver light in his pupils surged. “We're going to hit them so hard they doubt their existence.”

“I'm going to take the war to their territory. Smash their ships, steal all their technology, and while I'm at it, ask that so-called ‘Supervisor’—”

“Did you ask about the gun in my hand before treating me like a lab rat?”

Since the decision to fight was made, the Earth Federation's massive War Machine instantly began operating at full power.

Ten minutes later, the Spaceport.

Through the massive floor-to-ceiling windows, Wang Peng (Fatty) looked at the dense array of warships outside, wincing with heartache.

“Brother Chen, the fiscal deficit is going to explode after this battle. Do you know how many Energy Blocks it takes to open the ‘Heavenly Gate’ Wormhole just once? It's the equivalent of ten stars' annual output!”

As the “God of Wealth” who controlled the economic lifeline of the entire universe, although Wang Peng complained verbally, his hands were extremely honest, frantically signing authorizations and allocating funds on his tablet.

Lu Chen walked over, patted his shoulder, and smiled like a Profiteer:

“Fatty, your perspective is too narrow.”

“Think about it, that's a Fourth-level civilization's fleet. If we rob them—their engine technology, Material Science, even their Rule Weapons—how much would that be worth?”

Wang Peng paused, then a greedy green light erupted in his small eyes.

“Holy crap! Brother Chen, are you talking about a Zero-Cost Shopping Spree?”

“This isn't war, this is clearly a Sourcing Trip!” Wang Peng was so excited that his fat jiggled. “Fight! We must fight! Anyone who stops me will regret it! Every cannon shot is pure GDP!”

Su Qingying, standing nearby, shot the two of them an exasperated look.

“You two, be serious.”

She walked up to Lu Chen, extended a slender finger, and carefully tidied his slightly messy collar.

Even though she was now the Queen of the Milky Way Galaxy, she still maintained that cool, Scholarly Demeanor, yet the look in her eyes held an unyielding tenderness for Lu Chen.

“I have already upgraded the defensive algorithm for the ‘Heavenly Sword’ System.” Su Qingying said softly, her tone as calm as if discussing what to eat for dinner. “As long as the opponent doesn't use Causality erasure, I can block three waves of conventional Rule Attacks.”

This was true top-tier Versailles.

Talking about blocking a Fourth-level civilization's Rule Attacks as easily as blocking rain.

Lu Chen held her hand and smiled, “Don't worry, I know what I'm doing. The home is entrusted to you.”

“Mhm.” Su Qingying nodded. “Come back soon. heavenly craft recently learned how to make Braised Pork. Wait for you to come back and taste-test it.”

“Got it.”

Half an hour later.

Edge of the Milky Way Galaxy, Assembly Zone.

This was a magnificent sight worthy of being recorded in the Cosmic Annals.

With the “Nine Provinces” Fleet at the core, a full hundred thousand Interstellar Warships were arrayed in the void.

At the very front was the Flagship, the “spaceship name.”

This five-hundred-kilometer-long behemoth was entirely constructed from the Strong Interaction Force Material “Dragon Bone Alloy,” with a faint, deep blue halo flowing across its surface. It looked less like a ship and more like a sharp sword poised to pierce the heavens.

Behind it were fifty thousand “Xingtian-class” Assault Battleships, each equipped with a Miniature Black Hole Generator.

Further back were the densely packed “Houyi-class” Long-Range Gunships—Ye Qingcang's darlings. It was said that a single volley could turn a medium-sized galaxy into a sieve.

On the outermost perimeter of the fleet were the “Miscellaneous Troops” of the Affiliated Civilizations.

Viren the Great looked at the Earthling fleet, then at the ships his own civilization prided itself on, feeling so inferior he wanted to crawl into a black hole.

“It's too exaggerated,” Viren muttered to himself. “Is that the ‘dragon gall’ Star Destroyer Cannon? Just the energy fluctuation from the muzzle makes me feel like my soul is about to be vaporized.”

“All personnel prepare.”

Lu Chen's voice, transmitted via Quantum Entanglement Communication, sounded in the ears of every warship commander.

Clear, calm, and beyond doubt.

“Coordinates calibrated.” heavenly craft's voice followed immediately.

“Energy injection—god of fire Reactor Cluster, Overclock Mode initiated!”

Boom!!!

In the center of the Milky Way Galaxy, the newly repaired “genesis engine” suddenly erupted with a torrent of world-destroying Energy Torrent.

This energy did not disperse outwards but was constrained by a certain Rule Force, transforming into a thick Pillar of Light that shot directly into the void in front of the fleet.

Space shattered.

It wasn't a simple Wormhole opening, but a violent fragmentation.

The originally stable cosmic space cracked like a mirror, revealing a colorful High-Dimensional Passage behind it. This was the Dark Technology Lu Chen controlled—directly folding the distance of six million light-years using High-Dimensional Rules.

“Is this a Miracle?”

All the leaders of the alien civilizations were now prostrated on the ground. They finally understood why Lu Chen dared to say, “Within my range, their level doesn't matter.”

This method had already transcended the realm of technology, approaching that of a god!

Inside the command room of the Flagship “spaceship name.”

Ye Qingcang stood on the Command Platform, waved his large hand, and roared the words he had suppressed for half his life:

“All forces, attack!!”

“Charge! Go teach those alien brats a lesson!!”

“Buzz—”

The engines of a hundred thousand warships roared in unison, transforming into countless Streams of Light that rushed into the shattered passage.

At the same time.

Six million light-years away.

A Pitch-Black Fleet, resembling the Grim Reaper's Scythe, was silently gliding through the sea of stars.

This was the 7th Patrol Team of “the cleaners” civilization.

The commander was a Higher Life Form resembling Liquid Metal, and it was reporting to headquarters via a Consciousness Network:

“Target area: Milky Way Galaxy.”

“Civilization level prediction: Level 0.7 to Level 1.5.”

“Mission: Clear abnormal energy fluctuations and eliminate all potential threats.”

“Predicted difficulty: Extremely low. Like stepping on a bunch of bugs.”

The Liquid Commander even felt a bit bored.

It had executed this type of cleansing mission countless times. Those low-level civilizations could do nothing but scream and despair when they saw its fleet.

However.

Just as it was about to enter Hibernation Mode.

A piercing Alarm instantly tore through the entire fleet's communication channel!

[Alarm! Alarm!]

[Super High-Energy Spatial Reaction detected!]

[The Spatial Barrier is shattering! Energy level unmeasurable! Unmeasurable!]

“What?” The Liquid Commander pulsed violently. “This is the Barren Star Domain. How can space be shattering? Is it a natural disaster?”

The next second.

It saw the most incredible sight it had ever witnessed in its (albeit long) life.

The void in front of it was like a scroll painting being ripped open.

From the massive fissure, a beam of intensely dazzling golden light shot out first, followed immediately by a Colossal Black-Gold Warship, so huge it was suffocating, slowly poking its head through.

At the Bow of the Ship, a figure seemed to be standing.

(Of course, this was an exaggerated image captured by the Optical Detector.)

Before “the cleaners” forces could react.

An extremely arrogant Public Broadcast, delivered in the Pan-Cosmic Common Language, was rudely shoved into their communication channel.

“Hello? Hello?”

“Can the bunch of you driving scrap metal over there hear me?”

It was a young man's voice, lazy, casual, and tinged with the grouchiness of someone who had just woken up.

“This is a robbery.”

“Males—oh wait, biological males stand on the left, biological females stand on the right, and those who are neither stand in the middle.”

“Hand over your engine technology, Weapon Blueprints, and all the valuable Atomic Nuclei on your persons.”

The Liquid Commander was stunned.

The entire “the cleaners” fleet was stunned.

Tens of thousands of years had passed since they were promoted to a Fourth-level civilization, and they had always been the ones cleansing others.

Today, they were being robbed by a group of Bandits who popped out of a Wormhole?

“Who are you people?” the Commander subconsciously transmitted a message.

The other side was silent for one second.

Then the voice sounded again, this time less lazy and more filled with Chilling Killing Intent.

“Remember this.”

“My name is Lu Chen.”

“Earth Federation, Director of the Milky Way Galaxy Demolition Office.”

“You have three seconds to surrender.”

“Three.”

“Two.”

Before the word “one” could be uttered, Ye Qingcang's fervent roar echoed through the channel:

“Commander Lu, why waste words on these bastards! Open fire!!!”

Boom boom boom boom boom—!

At that moment, this stretch of starry sky six million light-years away was completely illuminated by ten thousand beams from the “dragon gall” Star Destroyer Cannons!

The identity of the hunter and the prey.

Was completely reversed in this instant!