145: Guiyi Gold Sand, Unlocked

Teklite's face contorted in the holographic projection, his eyes bloodshot, and his mouth twitching uncontrollably.

"Nonsense!" he shrieked, slamming the control panel. "Launch the bombs immediately! Blow that swindler to pieces!"

The Militech command center was in chaos. The technical director shouted in terror, "Sir, our signal is locked! The spaceship control system is being hacked!"

"I don't care!" Teklite pushed the technician aside and personally pressed the emergency bomb release button. "Let the whole world see who the true master of Blue Star is!"

The bomb bays of three Purifier ships opened simultaneously, and three hundred tons of high-explosive aerial bombs rained down. In the live broadcast, dense black dots obscured the sky, and the shadow of death enveloped the entire ruin.

Aventurine looked up at the falling bombs, a dangerous smile playing on his lips. He slowly pulled out a palm-sized Dongling jade from his suit's inner pocket, wrapped in a patterned gray metal band. In the sunlight, the jade glowed with a strange luster.

This was the confidence Aventurine had just received.

In fact, Chen Hao had long ago used his path authority to bestow the foundation of Preservation upon them. However, for some reasons, the restrictions had not yet been lifted.

But now, the path of Preservation was enough to briefly carry the power of a high-level Pathstrider.

"One of Ten Stonehearts, Gambler Aventurine," he murmured to the live broadcast drone hovering in the air. "Unsealed today."

The moment the jade was crushed, a golden light burst from Aventurine's palm. A bizarre black-green mask materialized out of thin air, fitting perfectly onto his face. Through the finely hollowing outed eye-holes of the mask, his colorful eyes now gleamed with an inhuman light.

"I place my bets, I gamble, I win," Aventurine's voice suddenly became ethereal and distant, as if from a far-off time. His body slowly ascended, defying the laws of physics, and the coattails of his suit fluttered without wind.

As Aventurine continued his chant, the sky suddenly darkened. A black roulette wheel, hundreds of meters in diameter, appeared out of thin air, its surface covered with ancient runes and numbers.

However, purely in terms of appearance, it looked exactly like a Russian roulette wheel.

The wheel slowly rotated, emitting a chilling metallic grinding sound.

"I let fate spin the wheel, I stake everything, traversing death to find life."

With each syllable, golden chips poured out from the roulette wheel. These massive chips were the size of trucks, their surfaces engraved with a gem-shaped emblem.

"All for—the Amber King!"

The first batch of chips shot towards the Purifier ships like meteors. Upon impact, the war machines, each costing hundreds of millions, were sliced into fragments as if they were made of paper. There were no explosions, no flames, only the piercing sound of metal being neatly cut.

The second batch of chips accelerated towards the ground, suddenly hovering a hundred meters above the ruins. They reassembled and rearranged at an astonishing speed, forming a hemispherical golden force field in the blink of an eye. The moment the force field materialized, the first aerial bomb exploded with a roar.

The live broadcast screen shook violently but miraculously did not cut out. Billions of viewers witnessed an unforgettable scene: an explosion powerful enough to destroy an entire urban area was firmly contained within the golden force field, its shockwave creating ripple-like patterns on the transparent barrier but unable to break through in the slightest.

The third batch of chips rotated around the outer edge of the force field, absorbing all the overflowing shockwaves. Throughout the entire process, Aventurine remained suspended in mid-air, an elegant arc maintained at the corner of his masked mouth.

When the last aerial bomb's aftershock dissipated, Aventurine lightly snapped his fingers. The golden force field instantly disintegrated, and the chips flew back to the roulette wheel in the sky. The black disc slowly stopped rotating, finally settling on the number "0."

"Now, it's all over."

With this declaration, the mask dissolved into points of light. Aventurine landed gracefully back on the ground, his suit spotless, as if everything that had just happened was merely an illusion.

The live broadcast signal remained normal, but reactions worldwide were unusually consistent.

Not a single bullet comment appeared, and all social media platforms fell into an eerie silence. It wasn't a server crash, but rather billions of people simultaneously losing the ability to type.

In Donglian Capital, a general's teacup fell to the ground and shattered, but he remained oblivious. On the streets of North Roma Continent, protesters collectively looked up at the large screens, some beginning to tremble uncontrollably. Even employees of Interstellar Peace Corporation across Blue Star exchanged bewildered glances, unable to believe their eyes.

The first to break the silence was Karim. The boy broke free from Baize's protection and stumbled towards Aventurine: "Brother Aventurine! Are you... are you an immortal?"

"Like the ones in Donglian myths!"

Aventurine squatted down and ruffled the boy's head: "No, I'm just a lucky gambler." He winked, "Looks like our gamble has to continue, right?"

Militech headquarters was in chaos. Teklite slumped in his chair, and in the holographic projection, the faces of Durand and Usmanov were equally pale.

"This is impossible..." Teklite murmured, "How can humans possess such power..."

In the Eastern Federation's highest military command center, the white-haired Marshal Zhao stared at the now-blackened monitor, his fingers unconsciously caressing the teacup fragments. His adjutant noticed that this old general, who had experienced dozens of wars, now had a slight tremor in his hands.

"Immediately contact..." Marshal Zhao's voice was hoarse beyond recognition, "Contact Interstellar Peace Corporation's Donglian office."

The adjutant was about to turn when the old general suddenly called him back: "No... I'll go myself."

Similar scenes played out across the globe. Even the most remote island nations sent requests for visits to the nearest Interstellar Peace Corporation branches.

Outside the glass curtain wall, the setting sun painted the entire Tianxuan Building in an amber hue. But at this moment, no one had the mind to appreciate the magnificent scenery.

With a "clatter," Zhou Ping's data pad fell to the ground. This old employee remained oblivious, simply staring intently at the golden chips dissolving in the holographic projection.

"Old Zhao... pinch me," he mechanically turned his head to Zhao Ming beside him, "Did I just hallucinate? Director Shajin... flying in the sky?"

Zhao Ming did not answer. He was replaying the live broadcast recording with trembling fingers, enlarging the image of Aventurine hovering in the air again and again.

"It's not just flying..." Zhao Ming's voice was incredibly hoarse, "Those chips that appeared out of thin air are the big problem, aren't they?! Those ships were clearly modified from Yanhuang Intelligence's flying buses, and you know what materials they use."

"What kind of chips can cut through carbon-titanium alloy so easily?"

The entire open-plan office area was already a mess. A newly appointed team leader from the Traditional Projects Department was vehemently arguing with a few young people in a corner:

"This is definitely magnetic levitation technology and optical camouflage! I've seen similar papers in Donglian journals!"

"Nonsense! What technology can conjure a hundred-meter-wide roulette wheel out of thin air? This is clearly a superpower!"

"You're all wrong!" another young man excitedly waved the pen in his hand. "This is clearly a new type of holographic projection! Militech must be cooperating in a staged act!"

Suddenly, there was a soft "ding" from the elevator. Everyone froze as if a pause button had been pressed, turning their heads in unison.

Emerging from the elevator was a middle-aged man in a dark blue uniform, with a "Traditional Projects Department - P19" name tag pinned to his chest. He was followed by several staff members in similar uniforms, each carrying thick stacks of documents.

"Everyone," the middle-aged man surveyed the room, his tone as calm as if discussing the weather, "You all seem quite relaxed. If I'm not mistaken, it's not lunchtime yet, is it?"

"Have the documents for Project A-1375 been organized?"

The office area was silent. Zhou Ping bravely raised his hand: "Director Francis... did you see the live broadcast just now?"

Francis raised an eyebrow: "You mean Director Shajin?" He turned to ask his assistant behind him, "Is that so strange?"

"It's just uncommon, Director," the assistant replied expressionlessly, "Director Shajin isn't the only 'Ten Stonehearts' in the company."

"I saw it, don't make such a fuss," Francis nodded, then looked at the dumbfounded Blue Star employees, "What? You haven't seen a Pathstrider before?"

Zhao Ming abruptly stood up, nearly knocking over his chair: "path... Pathstrider? What is that? A new type of weapon from the company?"

Francis and a few 'old' employees exchanged a helpless look.

"Listen, everyone," Francis sighed, "I know this is hard for you to accept. But in this universe, there indeed exist some, well, powers beyond conventional understanding."

The entire office area fell silent again.

"I knew it!" a new intern from the marketing department suddenly jumped up. "I've always said the company isn't simple! Do you remember the coffee machine that suddenly disappeared last month? That was definitely taken by someone with superpowers!"

An employee from the logistics department couldn't help but laugh: "No, that one just broke down and is being repaired."

"By the way, did you pay attention to the contract when you joined? I remember it was written there?"

At the end of the corridor, Team Leader Zhang from the technical team silently closed his office door. With trembling hands, he fumbled to pull out his electronic contract, on which was clearly written:

[The employee confirms understanding, acceptance, and confidentiality that Interstellar Peace Corporation and its affiliated entities may involve technologies and phenomena beyond current scientific understanding]

The signature at the bottom was his own, signed three months ago.

At the time, he had only thought it was a rather strict confidentiality clause, but he never expected this clause to be a literal depiction.