Chapter 147 Even if you're dogs, you're not worthy.

Lin Yuan currently felt like a balloon about to burst.

The stellar flare energy that had been forcibly stuffed into his body was currently rampaging along every golden meridian within him. If he didn't vent this energy, he suspected he could explode into a supernova right on the spot.

"Hiccup."

With another full-bellied burp, what he exhaled wasn't carbon dioxide, but a puff of pale golden plasma sparks, causing the vacuum in front of him to hiss and crackle.

"gaia, help me aim." Lin Yuan raised his right hand. Instead of making a fist, he held his fingers together like a blade, pointing remotely at the gray planet.

"Coordinates corrected. Target: Proxima Centauri b, planetary core energy node." gaia's voice echoed in his mind. "Commander, I suggest controlling your output. If you completely shatter the planetary core, the planet's gravitational structure will collapse, and the 'key' we need will be destroyed along with it."

"Don't worry, I know what I'm doing."

Lin Yuan narrowed his eyes, the purple vortex deep within his pupils spinning frantically.

Since he had eaten their 'meal', he had to leave them a souvenir.

【Executing energy conversion...】

【Antimatter Annihilation Engine: Full power output!】

【Void Laws: Loaded!】

There were no flashy, unnecessary wind-up movements.

Lin Yuan simply thrust his hand forward.

Boom—!

Even in the vacuum, everyone seemed to hear a sharp sound similar to fabric being torn.

A beam of black-red light erupted from Lin Yuan's small palm. It wasn't like the boundless solar storm from before; it was more condensed, more materialized. It was like a red-hot, heaven-piercing iron pillar, carrying a high temperature capable of scorching through space itself, ignoring the distance of tens of thousands of kilometers, and thrusting straight toward that layer of pale golden planetary shield.

That planetary-level shield, capable of withstanding nuclear bombardment, appeared more fragile than an eggshell in front of this beam of light.

The moment they made contact, the shield didn't even have a chance to flicker or struggle; a hole with a diameter of over a hundred kilometers was melted directly through it.

The black-red beam did not lose momentum, and with an unreasonable, overbearing posture, it plunged into the atmosphere of Proxima Centauri b.

Then, it hit the crust.

Looking down from space, the scene was spectacular to the extreme, and cruel to the extreme.

On the originally gray planetary surface, a dazzling red dot suddenly appeared. Immediately after, that red dot rapidly expanded, and countless huge cracks spread frantically in all directions from the impact point like a spider web.

The lithosphere, dozens of kilometers thick, was instantly vaporized. Billions of tons of soil and magma were thrown tens of thousands of meters into the air by the immense impact force, forming a mushroom cloud that covered half the hemisphere.

The beam of light did not stop.

It was like a scalpel, precisely and brutally slicing through the mantle, cutting through everything in its path, heading straight for the core.

"Warning! Planetary geological structure is undergoing irreversible collapse!"

"Global super-earthquake detected! Magnitude: 12!"

On the surface of Proxima Centauri b, those magnificent cities that had survived by relying on shields were now like building blocks placed on shaking jelly. Skyscrapers collapsed in swathes, and the earth split open like an abyssal maw, swallowing countless screaming "nobles" of the Three-Eyed Race. Crimson magma gushed out from the cracks, dyeing the planet's originally gray tones into a desperate blood-red.

With just one strike.

This colonial mother planet, which the Three-Eyed Race had managed for thousands of years, had turned into a purgatory.

In orbit, those few remaining warships of the Three-Eyed Race were now like iron coffins that had lost their souls, hovering motionless in place.

They had witnessed their home, that impregnable fortress, being pierced straight through by that glowing "monkey" with a casual flick.

This visual impact shattered all their pride and logic.

"Beep—"

A signal was once again forcibly cut into the dragon sparrow's communication channel.

This time, there were no luxurious palaces in the video, nor any arrogant faces.

The Commander Zaka, who had previously clamored about making the star serve as a funeral pyre, was now kneeling on the ground, his head pressed firmly against the metal floor, his whole body trembling like a winnowing machine. The senior officers behind him who hadn't died yet were also all prostrated on the ground, not daring to even lift their heads.

"God... Great God..."

Zaka's voice was filled with sobs, which sounded particularly ridiculous after being converted by the translator. "We were wrong! We didn't know a higher-dimensional deity had descended! Please forgive our ignorance!"

"We surrender! The Three-Eyed Holy Race... No, the Three-Eyed lowly race is willing to submit! We are willing to offer all our minerals, all our slaves, and that 'key'! We are willing to be dogs for humanity! Please, stop!"

Lin Yuan hovered in space, the golden light on his body slowly receding, revealing his tattered black combat suit.

He looked at the weeping alien on the screen with no expression on his face.

"Commander, how should we handle this?" Li Na's voice came through the earpiece. "According to the draft of the 'Interstellar Wartime Convention', if the opponent surrenders unconditionally..."

"Convention?" Lin Yuan sneered, interrupting Li Na. "That's made for humans. Do they count as humans?"

He extended a finger and lightly flicked the communication interface.

"You were quite majestic when you called me a monkey just now. What, now that your home has been torched, you only know how to call for a god?"

Lin Yuan's voice was unhurried, yet it carried a chill that seeped into the marrow.

"If I hadn't shown that move just now, I would have already been digested into slag by those disgusting red blood cell ships of yours, right? At that time, who would have listened to me beg for mercy?"

Zaka jerked his head up, his three eyes filled with terror. "No! This is different! Between civilizations, there is only conquest and submission! We have submitted! We have value! We understand the star charts here, we..."

"Too late."

Lin Yuan yawned. That nonchalant attitude was the greatest humiliation to this pack of stray dogs.

"The things I have my eye on, I will take myself. As for which path to take, I will find it myself."

"These days, there are too many dogs, and most of them will bite their masters." A purple light flashed in Lin Yuan's eyes. "I have no interest in keeping pets, especially those things that have three eyes and look like they have sinister intentions."

After saying this, he didn't give Zaka a chance to speak again and directly cut off the communication.

"dragon sparrow, listen to my orders."

Lin Yuan's voice instantly spread throughout the entire fleet, carrying an irrefutable scent of blood.

"No prisoners. I only want resources, no survivors."

"Those ships, even if it's just an escape pod, blow them all up. I want this star region to have nothing breathing left except us."

"Understood!"

Following Lin Yuan's order, the human fleet opened fire again.

This time, it was no longer a probe, but a slaughter.

Those Three-Eyed Race warships that had lost their fighting spirit were blown up as brilliantly as fireworks under the concentrated fire of the dragon sparrow and the frigate fleet. Countless escape pods attempted to eject, only to be blown up mid-air by dense close-in defense guns.

This was an asymmetrical purge.

Lin Yuan just floated there amidst the mountain of corpses and sea of blood, watching the fire filling the sky, his eyes as calm as if he were watching an old movie.

It wasn't that he was cruel.

After witnessing the tragic state of the civilization that had been turned into "biological batteries" in the underwater ruins, he understood one truth: in this dark forest, a bleeding heart is a death warrant. If he let these guys go today, when the main force of the Mechanical Papacy arrived, these so-called "dogs" would be the first to turn around and bite humanity's throat.

Half an hour later.

The battle ended.

In space, apart from the wreckage, there were no complete enemy units left. The belly hatch of the dragon sparrow opened wide, and countless engineering robots swarmed out like locusts, tirelessly dismantling the warship wreckage and scavenging every gram of valuable metal.

Lin Yuan piloted his mech and landed directly on the enemy flagship, which had been riddled with holes.

He didn't pay attention to the miserable corpses of the Three-Eyed Race, but walked straight toward a secret room deep in the bridge.

According to the signal source gaia had just scanned, that so-called "key" was not in the core of Proxima Centauri b. That cunning Three-Eyed Race had hidden the real core on their flagship, preparing to run away at any time.

"This is the key that can open the star gate?"

Lin Yuan kicked open the door to the secret room.

Inside, there were no gold or treasures, only a black cubic box hovering in the center of a force field.

On the surface of the box, countless red light points were flashing rhythmically, emitting a "tick, tick" sound, like a heart counting down.

【Warning: Mechanical divinity derivative detected.】

【Item Name: Papacy Holy Relic · Heart of Lies (Encrypted State).】

【Note: Contains high-dimensional coordinate data, and is undergoing a self-destruct countdown.】

【Remaining time: 04:59】

"These bastards, they want to leave me a bomb even when they're dying."

Lin Yuan looked at the box that was beating at an accelerating rate, and instead, a crazy arc curled up at the corner of his mouth.

He reached out his hand, not attempting to crack the password.

Purple light swirled around his fingertips, 【Void Affinity】 activated.

"Playing a countdown in front of me?"

"Did you ask the Void in my hands?"