247: Imminent Crisis and the Choice of "Cutting Off the Tail"

In the 'Starfire' base, intelligence arrived like snowflakes from external nodes and 'covert lines'. After Wang Wu and Mo Chen organized and analyzed it, a terrifying picture of Heisha's true intentions gradually became clear to Wen Youyi and all the core members.

'Void Locking Grand Array'... stable channel... 'Purification Light'...

Wen Youyi repeated these keywords pieced together from fragmented information, his expression unprecedentedly grave. 'Heisha doesn't want to explore; he wants to... completely wipe out the entire Starry Sky Debris, along with us, from the outside!'

The council chamber was deathly silent; everyone was shocked by this conclusion.

'Damn it! That old dog has a vicious heart!' Zhao Iron Pillar slammed his fist on the table, making the cups and saucers jump. 'He wants to take us all out in one fell swoop!'

Mu Wanqing's pretty face turned pale. 'If the 'Creation Heavenly Court' has really bestowed that kind of destructive power upon him, and he can project it through the stabilized channel... our base, I'm afraid...'

She didn't finish her sentence, but everyone understood what she meant. With the base's current defensive strength, it absolutely could not withstand a direct strike from a higher-dimensional world!

'We must stop him!' Wang Wu said decisively. 'We absolutely cannot let him complete that 'Void Locking Grand Array'!'

'How can we stop him?' Senior Brother Zhang pushed up his glasses, his brows tightly locked. 'Falling Star Lake is now guarded by the Discipline Hall like an iron bucket; our people cannot get close at all. A frontal assault? That would be equivalent to walking into the net!'

'And time is running out,' Mo Chen added, pointing to the intelligence summary. 'Judging by the construction speed of the Formation Base and the mobilization of resources, in ten days at most, the 'Void Locking Grand Array' will be initially activated. Once activated and the channel is stabilized, the enemy's 'Purification Light' could descend at any moment!'

Ten days! Only ten days!

A suffocating pressure enveloped the entire council chamber. The enemy possessed an absolute advantage in power and had already found their weak point, about to launch a thunderous strike! And they seemed to have only two paths left: passively take the beating, or... abandon the base and flee in a panic.

'We cannot abandon the base!' Wen Youyi suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, but his gaze was exceptionally firm. 'This is the home we built with such difficulty, it is the root of our 'Starfire'! If we abandon this place, where can we flee to? Like a stray dog, wandering in the endless Starry Sky Debris until we are caught and destroyed?'

His gaze swept over every face filled with confusion or unwillingness. 'We indeed cannot frontally stop Heisha from setting up the formation, but... we can make it so he cannot use that formation!'

'Boss means...' Zhao Iron Pillar seemed to have grasped something.

'Destroy the channel!' Wen Youyi said, enunciating every word, a flash of determination in his eyes. 'Since the channel is their attack path, then we will destroy this path in advance! Let his 'Void Locking Grand Array' and 'Purification Light' have nowhere to be projected!'

This proposal made everyone gasp!

Destroy the channel? That was their important lifeline for contacting the outside world, obtaining resources, and transmitting information! Once destroyed, it meant they would be completely trapped in the Starry Sky Debris, isolated from the outside world! This was no different from cutting off one's tail to survive!

'Is there no other way?' Mu Wanqing's voice trembled slightly; she deeply understood the importance of this channel to the base.

'This is the only way we can think of right now that can preserve ourselves to the greatest extent and thwart the enemy's conspiracy,' Wen Youyi said in a deep voice. 'If the channel is destroyed, we can still look for other ways out in the debris, or use the key to find the true 'Return to Ruins'. But if the base is destroyed, everything is over!'

He looked at Senior Brother Li. 'Senior Brother Li, assess immediately: how much energy is needed to completely destroy the Falling Star Lake channel? Can we do it? Will it trigger an uncontrollable spatial disaster that affects the base?'

Senior Brother Li immediately led the technical team to carry out emergency calculations. A moment later, he gave the answer: 'The channel itself is not stable; its structure has multiple fragile nodes. If we concentrate most of the energy from our base's main star core and the key to perform an overload strike on it, there is an eighty percent chance we can trigger a chain collapse of the channel, causing it to completely annihilate. As for a spatial disaster... the annihilation of the channel will produce certain spatial ripples, but the base has a sufficiently far buffer distance from the channel exit. As long as we make preparations in advance, it should not be devastatingly affected.'

Eighty percent chance! It won't affect the base!

This conclusion allowed everyone to see hope.

'Let's do it! Boss!' Zhao Iron Pillar was the first to express his stance. 'If the channel is gone, we'll think of another way! It's better than being taken out in one fell swoop by someone!'

'That's right! As long as the green hills remain, there's no need to worry about firewood!' Wang Wu also firmly supported it.

Mu Wanqing, Senior Brother Zhang, Mo Chen, and others looked at each other and finally nodded heavily. This was the only way to survive in this desperate situation!

'Good!' Wen Youyi took a deep breath and made the final decision. 'Initiate the 'Tail-Cutting' plan! Target: Before the enemy's 'Void Locking Grand Array' is activated, completely destroy the Falling Star Lake spatial channel!'

'Senior Brother Li, immediately begin preparing the energy focusing and impact devices! It requires the full cooperation of the base's main star core and the key!'

'Senior Brother Zhang, calculate the best impact nodes and timing!'

'Wang Wu, Mo Chen, notify all external personnel and nodes. After the plan is initiated, we will enter long-term silence. Let them hide individually and wait for further contact!'

'Zhao Iron Pillar, lead the combat team to guard the industrial zone and energy core, ensuring that everything goes perfectly during the execution of the plan!'

Orders were quickly issued one after another. The entire base was like a powder keg about to be ignited, entering the final countdown preparation stage.

Everyone knew that this would be a high-stakes gamble. If they won the bet, they could thwart the enemy's fatal strike and win a chance to breathe; if they lost, perhaps it would be eternal damnation.

But 'Starfire' had no way back.

For survival, for freedom, they had to personally cut off this lifeline that they relied on to survive, but which also brought about a catastrophic disaster.

(End of chapter)