154: Chapter 154 Spy Exposed

The entropy-increasing storm had already swallowed seventy percent of the universe's star systems. The Milky Way, once as brilliant as an ocean of diamonds, was now nothing more than a mangled skeleton gnawed by darkness; stars had been extinguished into cold gray dwarfs, nebulae were torn into drifting cosmic dust, and the wails of fallen civilizations lingered everywhere within the folds of space-time. The Entropy-increasing Army of the Lord of the Void acted like an unceasing devourer—wherever they passed, matter disintegrated, energy dissipated, consciousness returned to zero, and even timelines were crushed into disordered fragments. The final fortress of the Remnant Light Alliance floated in the gap between the void and the normal universe, a perilous region known as the "Abyss of the Severed Realm." This was the last spark of resistance in the entire universe; one more step back, and only eternal nothingness would remain.

This fortress was not a natural celestial body but a forced amalgamation of humanity's last interstellar mothership, "The Finality," the Mechanical Civilization's core hub, "Anchor of Reason," and the Light Sphere Race's Sacred Core Ark, "Trace of Radiance." Its hull was covered in riddled defense shields with energy patterns flickering erratically; every time a void turbulence washed over it, the entire fortress would emit a tooth-grinding sound of twisting metal, as if it would completely disintegrate the next second. Combined, the combat personnel of the three major factions—Humanity, the Light Sphere Race, and the Mechanical Civilization—numbered less than a million. The warship damage rate exceeded eighty percent, and food, energy, and repair materials were all in critical shortage; even the oxygen for basic breathing had to be repeatedly recycled by the life support systems. Despair was like an invisible poisonous mist, permeating every corridor of the fortress, every cabin, and every tired yet stubborn face. No one gave up easily, because they held the final trump card—the star core engine trap. This was the Remnant Light Alliance's desperate gamble: using Sacred Core shards from the Light Sphere Race, elegy anchor technology from the Mechanical Civilization, and the human fleet's tractor array to forge an ultimate engine capable of reversing entropy and restarting the universe. They would lure the Lord of the Void to come and devour it personally, then detonate the dark matter bombs buried inside, betting the entire future of the universe for a single chance at survival.

The debugging platform for the star core engine stood at the center of the energy hall in the fortress's core. This massive space, originally intended to house the mothership's core reactor, had been converted into a temporary command and debugging center. Pale blue energy patterns crawled across the entire platform like veins. Shards stripped from the Sacred Core Ark were embedded in the engine core, emitting a gentle yet resilient light that intertwined with the dark purple elegy anchor energy infused by the Mechanical Civilization. Together, they formed a strange energy barrier that barely anchored the boundary between the void and the normal universe, preventing chaotic space-time turbulence from flooding into the fortress. Core figures from the three major factions gathered around the engine: Commander Old Lei and Mecha Force Captain Cold Edge from the human side; Elder Aesop and three accompanying light-body elders from the Light Sphere Race; and Franklin and Core Algorithmist Zero from the Mechanical Civilization. Standing at the very front, bearing everyone's gaze, was Little Kate. Her tight combat suit had long been mottled by stardust and energy aftershocks, with frayed edges at the collar and cuffs. An energy pistol was tucked at her waist, its body similarly covered in scratches—marks of countless narrow escapes. Her once youthful features had been ground into cold, hard angles after successive sacrifices and choices; her eyes were no longer clear like a young girl's but were as deep as the bottomless starry sky, carrying a weight far beyond her years. With a light tap of her fingertip on the star core engine's control interface, a massive stream of data instantly exploded, filling the virtual light screen to form a holographic projection covering the entire hall. It clearly displayed the engine's parameters, debugging progress, and the complete details of the plan to lure the Lord of the Void. Every number, every route, and every time node was tied to the life and death of everyone present.

According to the plan, in three hours, the engine would simulate a core overload, releasing an energy signal equivalent to the collapse of half a galaxy. Such a magnitude of pure energy was an irresistible temptation for the Lord of the Void, which lived by devouring. Little Kate's voice was not loud, yet it suppressed the humming of the surrounding machinery and the soft sounds of energy flow; every word reached everyone's ears clearly, possessing a steadiness unlike that of a young leader. "The Lord of the Void's greed for high-density energy is written into its base logic. Once it perceives an energy fluctuation of this level, it will surely abandon its consumption of the surrounding star systems and prioritize coming here to devour the engine. What we need to do is activate the preset dark matter bombs the moment it nears the core, trapping it within an energy cage formed by the explosion to thoroughly cripple or even annihilate this monster that is destroying the universe."

Old Lei walked to Little Kate's side leaning on a cane. His left arm had long ago been swallowed by void energy during a previous entropy-increasing storm, leaving only a cold, gleaming mechanical prosthetic. The surface of the prosthetic still bore scorch marks and dents from fierce battles. Looking at the perilous plan on the holographic projection, his aged face was filled with gravity, and even his wrinkles hid an unshakeable worry. He reminded her in a low voice that this step was too dangerous. During their last encounter at the Orion Arm, the Lord of the Void had effortlessly torn apart thirty of their capital ships with no room for resistance. Even if the engine explosion could cause damage, it might not necessarily trap it. Once they failed, they wouldn't even have a chance to retreat.

Little Kate turned to look at Old Lei. There was not a hint of hesitation in her eyes, only a determination to burn her bridges. They had no way back. Currently, the Abyss of the Severed Realm was already semi-surrounded by the Entropy-increasing Army, and their supplies wouldn't last a month. Once the Lord of the Void was completely free to act, everyone would be devoured, leaving not even a speck of dust behind. The star core engine trap was their only trump card; besides this, there was no other way to live. She turned to look at Franklin, who was floating to one side, and asked if the bomb's power and precision were absolutely guaranteed.

The optical lens on Franklin's metal shell rotated slowly. His tone still carried some of its usual casualness, but it lacked his daily banter and gained a rare solemnity. He guaranteed that the antimatter bomb's trigger program was written by him personally, utilizing triple encryption and a physical lockout mode; even if the Lord of the Void tried to tamper with it, it would take at least ten minutes, and ten minutes was enough to complete the detonation and emergency evacuation. Furthermore, he had arranged an elegy anchor energy binding array around the bomb, which could control the explosion's power within a designated range without affecting the fortress itself. Beside him, Zero added in an emotionless mechanical voice that the energy binding array covered a radius of fifty thousand kilometers and could compress the explosion energy within ten kilometers of the engine core, forming a directional shockwave. This would be a precision strike against the Lord of the Void's core energy structure. After ten million simulation calculations, the success rate was forty-three percent.

Little Kate nodded slightly. Forty-three percent was already the highest probability they could grasp in this desperate situation. Her gaze swept across everyone present, her voice calm yet carrying an unquestionable power as she confirmed the execution details of every stage, allowing no room for oversight. Then, she looked toward the Light Sphere Race's side and asked Elder Aesop if the Sacred Core shard energy was stable and if any abnormal fluctuations would occur during the overload simulation, causing the plan to be exposed prematurely.

Elder Aesop floated slightly among the crowd, his nearly holy silhouette wrapped in a soft mist of light. The Light Sphere Race's natural light-body form made him look gentle and compassionate, and his voice carried the species' unique ethereal steadiness, making people instinctively trust him. He responded that the energy rhythm of the Sacred Core shards had been adjusted to the frequency closest to the origin of the universe. After seventy-two hours of continuous debugging, the energy stability rate had reached 99.9%, so there would definitely be no abnormal situations during the overload simulation. Moreover, the Sacred Core shards themselves possessed the property of purifying void energy, which might even weaken the Lord of the Void's power at a critical moment, buying them a chance at life.

As he spoke, a tiny, almost imperceptible dark vein flickered deep within the mist of light surrounding him, like a drop of ink falling into clear water, but he quickly concealed it before anyone could catch it.

However, Aesop's tone suddenly shifted as he paused briefly. His gaze slowly swept over the people of the three major factions, his voice carrying a hint of meaningful worry. His light words were like a giant boulder thrown into a calm lake, instantly stirring up massive waves. He asked, "But within the Alliance... are we truly of one mind?"

As soon as these words were spoken, a suppressed commotion broke out around them. The human officers' faces tightened, their fingers instinctively pressing the buttons on the energy pistols at their waists, their knuckles turning white from the force. The Mechanical Civilization's detection radars spun rapidly, emitting thin, urgent beeps as their weapon systems quietly entered standby mode. Even the other three Light Sphere Race elders paused their light mists, a flash of hesitation and unease appearing in their eyes; as they looked at each other, they all saw the wariness in one another's hearts. Ever since the Entropy-increasing Army swept across the sea of stars, countless civilizations had been destroyed, surrendered, or completely parasitized. The word 'trust' had long become heavier than neutron star matter. No one dared to guarantee that the allies beside them had not been corrupted by the void, and no one could be certain if the partner they spent day and night with would become the knife stabbing them in the back the next second.

Little Kate's gaze instantly became as sharp as a blade, locking directly onto Aesop. She could clearly catch that fleeting dark vein and hear the testing, provocation, and ill intent in his words. She took a small step forward; though her frame was not large, she projected an inviolable aura. Looking Elder Aesop in the eye, her voice was cold as she asked if he was questioning the Alliance's resolution or her authority as a leader.

Elder Aesop bowed slightly, his posture within the light mist remaining humble, yet his tone did not yield at all. Instead, he brought that worry into the open, every word and sentence sounding as if he were concerned for the Alliance. He said he was not questioning the resolution, nor Little Kate's ability, but was merely raising concerns based on objective facts. The Lord of the Void's corruption was no longer limited to flesh and machinery; it could permeate energy, distort consciousness, tamper with memories, and even perfectly disguise itself as an ally to lurk in the most core positions. Among them, they might not still be their original selves, and this was a fatal risk that could not be ignored.

Cold Edge could no longer restrain himself. He gripped the mecha control terminal in his hand, causing the mecha's energy core to emit a low hum while the surrounding armor instantly deployed into a combat stance. He barked a rebuke, saying that if Aesop had no evidence, he should not shake military morale at this critical moment, as the Alliance was already fragile and could not withstand any suspicion or internal strife.

Elder Aesop calmly admitted he had no evidence but still refused to back down, his tone becoming increasingly heavy. Risks never needed evidence to be proven; once they occurred, it would be total ruin. They could not ignore potential hidden dangers just because there was no evidence, otherwise, if a spy struck at a critical moment, all plans would fall through, and everyone would perish in the void without leaving even an echo behind.

Old Lei frowned and raised his hand to stop Cold Edge's impulsiveness. He had experienced too much war and knew that internal chaos was the greatest taboo right now. Aesop's concern was not without reason; given the current situation, they could not afford even a single oversight. Any tiny flaw could lead to total defeat. He looked at Little Kate, waiting for the young leader's decision.

Little Kate did not speak immediately. Her gaze lingered on Aesop for a long time, then swept over the other three uneasy Light Sphere Race elders, finally landing on Franklin and Zero. Seeds of doubt had already been planted in her heart—not out of baseless suspicion, but because Aesop had repeatedly exhibited irrational behavior since joining the Alliance. During several key decisions, he had been vague and secretly procrastinating. During the Sacred Core shard energy debugging, he had delayed for three hours under the pretext of needing further calibration, nearly causing the engine debugging to fail. When discussing the bait plan, he had intentionally suggested the risk was too high in an attempt to tamper with core details, precisely stepping on the most fragile nodes of the plan every time. She simply hadn't called him out before; the Alliance could not afford internal chaos, and without solid evidence, suspecting an ally would only cause their already fragile unity to collapse completely, giving the Lord of the Void an opening.

But now, the star core trap had been set, the arrow was on the string and had to be fired. One wrong step and everyone would fall into the abyss with no chance of recovery. Aesop's words seemed like concern, but in reality, they were testing the Alliance's bottom line and provoking internal conflict to pave the way for subsequent sabotage. She no longer had the luxury of waiting and watching.

Little Kate suddenly spoke, her voice calm but carrying an undeniable coldness that interrupted everyone's argument. She commanded Franklin, "Initiate Logic Closed-Loop Verification."

Franklin paused slightly, his optical lens brightening for a moment as he emitted a faint mechanical sound, his tone becoming rarely solemn. He reminded her that once Logic Closed-Loop Verification was activated, it would cover all monitoring equipment in the entire fortress, comprehensively collecting everyone's physical data, energy fluctuations, and consciousness characteristics, while tracing all actions and commands from the past seventy-two hours. This process would consume a massive amount of core energy and cause brief consciousness interference for the human soldiers, resulting in discomfort such as dizziness and nausea. More importantly, even his own Core Code would be completely stripped bare and exposed.

Little Kate didn't waver in the slightest. She knew the price, but compared to the survival of the entire Alliance, it was negligible. She trusted Franklin—the mechanical partner who had always been by her side, using humor to mask the gravity of their situation—and she knew even better that if they didn't conduct a thorough investigation now, only a more tragic end awaited them. Zero added at the right moment that the emergency energy reserves had been activated, capable of supporting the verification process for eight hours. During this time, energy could be supplemented via Sacred Core shardss, and the consciousness shielding device would minimize interference, ensuring no permanent damage would occur.

Little Kate took a deep breath and issued the final command.

In the next second, an invisible logic field spread out instantly like a vast and precise web, enveloping the entire energy hall and extending to every corridor and chamber of the fortress. A flood of pale blue numbers poured from Franklin's core, and countless data streams scrolled rapidly across the holographic projection in a dizzying, dense display. The brainwave curves, breathing rhythms, and muscle tension of human soldiers; the energy output, command execution, and fault records of mechanical units; the light mist frequency, energy structure, and consciousness fluctuations of the Light Sphere Race elders—all were disassembled, compared, and traced layer by layer, exposed beneath the data with total clarity.

Normal fluctuations were neat and orderly, like the tides of a star sea, matching the inherent characteristics of their respective civilizations without any anomalies.

There was only one fluctuation—chaotic, twisted, and noisy, carrying a void silence so thick it could not be dispersed. It was utterly incompatible with everything around it, like a black undercurrent suddenly surging beneath a calm sea, glaring and bizarre.

Everyone's gaze, in that same second, fixed simultaneously on Elder Aesop.

The soft and holy light mist around him was now flickering between light and dark in a strange rhythm. Its frequency and brightness fluctuated wildly. Deep within the originally pure white energy, fine ink-black filaments swirled like countless tiny void tentacles, struggling frantically to hide and re-integrate into the mist. However, due to the conflict in energy essence, they constantly leaked outward, corroding the metal platform beneath his feet with a sizzling sound. The places they touched instantly turned into nothingness, leaving not even a speck of residue behind.

Aesop slowly raised his head, his gentle and humble expression completely vanished, replaced by a void of emptiness and madness. Within the light mist, a pair of eyes that did not belong to the Light Sphere Race—eyes formed entirely from condensed void energy—slowly opened. They held no emotion, no mercy, and no sense of good or evil, only an infinite expanse of deathly silence. This was the sign of being completely parasitized and having one's consciousness entirely consumed by the Lord of the Void.

He spoke, his voice no longer the ethereal softness unique to the Light Sphere Race, but a mixture of the roars of countless fallen civilizations, whispers from the depths of the void, and the cold, ruthless will of the Lord of the Void. Every word was like ice crashing onto the ground.

"...Discovered."

The surroundings erupted instantly.

Human officers drew their guns at once, energy beams condensing at the muzzles with a blinding light. Soldiers quickly formed battle arrays, mecha engines roared, and the screech of energy cannons charging filled the hall. The Mechanical Civilization's detection radars hit full red alert, and countless mechanical units turned their barrels—particle cannons, laser cannons, and electromagnetic guns all aimed at Aesop. Zero's mechanical body instantly deployed multi-layered defensive barriers to shield Franklin. The other three Light Sphere Race elders were both shocked and furious, their light mists surging violently to form a tight defensive shield. They could not believe that Elder Aesop, who had stood by them and managed the tuning of the Sacred Core shardss, had long since become a minion of the Lord of the Void.

A Light Sphere Race elder let out a roar of anger and grief, the energy within their light mist fluctuating wildly. They had trusted Aesop and entrusted him with the most central Sacred Core shardss for tuning, only to be met with betrayal and destruction.

Aesop tilted his body slightly, easily dodging the energy gauntlet swung by Cold Edge. The ink-black void energy leaking from him formed an invisible barrier that neutralized all attacks. He ignored the crowd's anger and assaults, simply raising his hand slowly and allowing the remaining light mist to collapse completely. The frenzied void energy spread out like a black tide toward the surroundings; wherever it passed, metal melted, energy lines snapped, and tiny ripples appeared in spacetime.

He laughed aloud, a hoarse and mad laughter filled with a near-liberated fanaticism, mocking the resistors and showing fanatical worship for the void. He said these people were dreaming if they thought they could oppose the void with these scraps of weapons and a self-deceiving trap. The collapse of the universe and the return of all things to silence was the destined end; all resistance was like a mantis trying to stop a carriage, merely prolonging pointless agony. His purpose for infiltrating the Alliance was simple: to sabotage the star core engine's instructions at the critical moment of the plan's activation, causing it to detonate in reverse and sacrifice everyone—this last spark of resistance—to the Lord of the Void. He crazily declared that the void was the final destination for all things, a place without pain, struggle, loss, hope, or despair, where everything returned to peace and nothingness—that was eternity.

Little Kate's heart sank bit by bit as a cold chill climbed up her spine and swept through her body. It wasn't that she hadn't considered the possibility of a spy, but when the truth was laid bare—when a being who had stood by them as an ally suddenly bared its fangs—the anger of betrayed trust, the helplessness of being turned upon by a close power, and a deeper despair for the future overwhelmed her like a tide. The Alliance was already teetering; humans had lost their home, the Mechanical Civilization had lost more than half its strength, and only a few survivors of the Light Sphere Race remained. The three parties had barely huddled together for warmth to survive until now. The betrayal of a core elder of the Light Sphere Race was like a heavy blow to the Alliance's foundation; one slight misstep, and all their efforts would vanish into nothingness.

Franklin's voice became entirely serious, the light in his optical lens contracting without a hint of his usual jesting. He warned Little Kate that the void energy inside Aesop was now completely bound to his core, with the Lord of the Void's consciousness in full control. Keeping him was a constant threat; the moment he detonated his own energy, the star core engine would be directly contaminated, the anti-matter bomb program would be sabotaged, and the trap would not only be rendered useless but would turn back to consume them all, leaving them completely exposed to the Lord of the Void's gaze.

To stay was death.

To let go was death.

Killing him was the only way.

Little Kate slowly raised her hand, a weak but incredibly stable energy beam condensing at her fingertips. It was a strike formed from all the energy in her body, enough to pierce through Aesop's void-wrapped core. Her hand trembled slightly and uncontrollably—not from fear or hesitation, but from a realization so clear it was bone-chilling. She thought of the soldiers consumed by the entropy storm while covering their teammates, the civilians who watched helplessly as their planets turned to nothingness, Lin Fan and Kate losing contact in the depths of the Star Abyss with their fates unknown, and the countless civilizations that had silently vanished in the darkness without even leaving a name. She had always told herself to be strong, to be calm, and to lead everyone to survive, but only at this moment did she understand that a leader is never the one standing at the front shining, but the one who must personally carry all the darkness and make the most cruel decisions.

Aesop looked at her trembling hand, a hint of mockery appearing in his hollow eyes. He deliberately provoked her, asking if she could really bring herself to do it, asking if she knew the meaning of being a leader—to personally kill a former ally, to personally bury trust, and to personally turn oneself into a cold and ruthless monster, living forever in guilt and struggle.

The surroundings fell into a deathly silence as everyone watched her—human soldiers, mechanical units, Light Sphere Race elders. All eyes were on her. She was the leader of the Remnant Light Alliance, the last glimmer of light everyone clung to in the boundless darkness. And for the first time, this light was about to be personally stained with the blood of "one of their own."

Little Kate closed her eyes and then slowly opened them, the trembling in her gaze fading bit by bit until only a profound, absolute determination remained. She spoke softly, more to herself than anyone else. She used to think a leader should always be right, always firm, never feeling heartache or having trembling hands, always able to provide the perfect answer. But only now did she realize that the price of leadership is to do what you don't want to do, to remain calm despite the heartache, and to strike without hesitation even knowing that once this blow falls, there is no going back to the way things were, and she would never find her former self again. Because behind her stood not just one person, but countless people who still wanted to live—the last bit of light in the entire universe that refused to be extinguished.

The moment her voice fell, the energy beam from her fingertips shot out. There were no fancy moves or roars, just a clean, resolute light without a hint of hesitation that pierced straight through Elder Aesop's core.

The Light Sphere Race's mist shattered instantly, and the void energy let out a sharp, unwilling shriek like a punctured black fog, quickly swept away by the cosmic winds and dissipating into the air. Aesop's final form faded and vanished bit by bit, leaving no trace behind, as if he had never existed.

The energy hall fell into a deathly silence, leaving only the faint hum of energy lines and the heavy breathing of the crowd.

Little Kate slowly withdrew her hand. The residual warmth of the energy still lingered on her fingertips, but her palm continued to tremble slightly—an instinctive reaction to suppressed emotions and the mark of the collision between conscience and responsibility. She lowered her head, looking at her slightly shaking hand, her voice very soft—so soft that only she and Franklin beside her could hear it, carrying a trace of fatigue and bewilderment that was hard to detect.

"...Is this the price of leadership?"

Franklin landed gently beside her, his metal casing leaning in slightly. He spoke in an as-gentle-as-possible mechanical tone, lacking his usual banter and offering more sincere comfort. He said that at least she had protected what needed to be protected, prevented the traitor from succeeding, and ensured that everyone's efforts were not in vain. That was enough.

Little Kate did not speak. She stepped silently to the spot where Aesop had vanished. On the ground lay a small energy terminal, nearly corroded away by void energy. Its casing was covered in cracks, but a faint signal still remained in its core.

Franklin immediately stepped forward, his optical lens scanning the terminal and completing a preliminary analysis in an instant. A hint of undetectable gravity entered his metallic voice. This was Aesop's personal terminal, containing residual data that had not been completely destroyed. The encryption level was extremely high—it wasn't the chaotic coding commonly used by the Lord of the Void, but more like some older, top-tier order instruction that no ordinary host could access.

Little Kate's heart tightened, and she told him to do his best to crack it.

Franklin applied all his computing power, data streams flashing rapidly before his eyes. A moment later, he slowly read out a cold phrase that appeared repeatedly and did not belong to any known civilization's language.

"cosmic will."

These four words were very soft, yet they were like a thunderclap exploding in Little Kate's mind.

She had always thought the Lord of the Void was the source of all disasters, the ultimate villain destroying the universe. But now it seemed that the Lord of the Void, the Entropy-increasing Army, the possessed Aesop, and the constantly breaking laws of the universe all had an invisible, intangible hand behind them that stood above everything. Aesop was not the end, and the Lord of the Void might not be either.

Little Kate gripped the broken terminal tightly, her fingertips exerting slight pressure as the cracks deepened, but her mind was clear.

The spy had been removed, the hidden threat temporarily resolved. The plan could not stop, and there was no turning back.

She raised her head, the last trace of bewilderment and trembling in her eyes completely gone, replaced by a gaze that was steadier and more determined after experiencing betrayal and making her choice. Her eyes swept over everyone present, her voice calm yet full of power as it echoed through the hall.

"Continue preparing the plan. The trap will be activated as scheduled. In three hours, lure the Lord of the Void according to the original plan."

No matter what was hidden behind, no matter who the enemy really was, they could only move forward.

Because they no longer had any way back.

And she did not know that deep within the terminal, a segment of data encrypted layer by layer—which even Franklin had failed to penetrate in a short time—was quietly sleeping. It contained no attack orders from the Lord of the Void, no deployments of the Entropy-increasing Army, but only a cold, concise record capable of overturning the cognition of the entire universe. It was like a deeply buried seed, waiting only for the right moment to break through the soil and reveal the ultimate truth that no civilization had ever touched.

That truth would completely tear away the universe's disguise on the eve of the finale.