31: The other side of deep space! The beginning of civilization's expedition!

The battlefield above the Arctic Ice Abyss fell into an eerie silence.

Twelve purified Pioneer fleets hovered around the Deep Blue, like loyal steel behemoths guarding their monarch. The faint blue patterns flowing across their hulls had lost their bloody hue, and pure light flickered like breath against the backdrop of the polar night. In front of the fleet formation, the streamlined aerospace carrier—the Observer flagship, "Void Shadow"—was locked onto by countless muzzles from the Pioneer fleet, its crimson, twisted golden patterns flashing wildly across its hull, like the spasms of a dying beast.

Inside the Deep Blue's bridge, Chen Hai stared intently at the main screen, the structural damage alarms from various parts of the ship sounding as if from a thousand miles away. Everyone's gaze was fixed on the blinking cursor in the center of the tactical map—that was Lin Feng and Lin Yue's signal, being desperately brought out from inside the "Arbiter" by Lei Lie's squad!

"The rescue craft has disengaged from the enemy ship! Repeat! The rescue craft has disengaged from the enemy ship!" The communications officer's voice trembled with the relief of a narrow escape.

"Open the hangar! Medical teams, stand by!" Chen Hai roared, his bloodshot eyes still fixed on the aerospace carrier. "Keep all weapons locked! If it moves an inch, blast it to smithereens!"

The "Void Shadow" seemed to sense its impending doom. It didn't fire, didn't evade; it just hovered silently, the crimson patterns on its hull like congealed scabs, exuding an unsettling stillness. What was it waiting for?

---

"Brother... Brother! Hold on!"

Inside the Deep Blue's medical bay, the atmosphere was as heavy as if frozen. Lin Yue lay on the emergency life support platform, his body like a shattered vessel. The faint blue and gold energy currents that once flowed beneath his skin had become dim and chaotic, like short-circuited fiber optics. Each weak energy pulse caused his body to convulse violently, and pale golden blood foam frothed from his mouth and nose. The high-level medical bay acquired from the Antarctic Ruins was operating at full capacity, regeneration rays weaving into a light net covering him, yet they could only barely sustain the flickering flame of his life that was on the verge of complete collapse.

Lin Feng stood beside the life support pod, his tattered Xing Chen (Stardust) armor still on, the scorch marks on his right arm still gruesome. But he felt no pain at all at this moment; an unprecedented, cold and vast sensation, like an invisible tide, was washing over his consciousness.

Genetic Key deep assimilation complete.

Pioneer Core Authority: B+ class.

Control of the 'Arbiter' and its affiliated Purge Fleet has been securely linked.

The system's alert tone seemed to come from the distant sky. Lin Feng's gaze penetrated the thick walls of the medical pod, through the Deep Blue's steel deck, and through the cold void. His "vision" was expanding infinitely:

He "saw" every minute damage on the Deep Blue's hull, the Xing Chen (Stardust) fusion energy rushing through the energy pipelines like a brilliant galaxy.

He "saw" the twelve Pioneer warships surrounding them, their cold metal structures, the pure Pioneer energy flowing within them, and the ready-to-fire status of their weapon arrays, all in minute detail.

He "saw" the locked-on "Void Shadow," its hull permeated by a chaotic, defiled, and devouring cold will—that was the residual contamination of the outer source! It had not completely dissipated, but like a lurking viper, it coiled deep within the carrier's core, frantically drawing on its last strength!

He "saw" even further—the shattered polar ice cap, the remaining satellite debris in orbit, and even... the deep, dark starry sky beyond Earth. Countless faint signal streams flickered like candles in the wind; those were the desperate cries from survivor bases scattered across the globe, being approached by Pioneer fleet detachments!

"It wants to run," Lin Feng's voice was calm and unruffled, yet it struck like thunder in the silent medical bay. "It's gathering its last strength, preparing to jump and scatter the seeds of contamination into the deeper universe."

Old Zhao suddenly looked up, his voice trembling: "Captain... you?"

"I can sense it," Lin Feng's gaze finally focused, falling on his brother's painfully twisted face inside the life support pod. A trace of sorrow infused that cold vastness. "Brother... can you still speak?"

Lin Yue's eyelids trembled violently, and he painstakingly opened a slit. Those eyes, once covered by blood-red crystals, now held only murky grey, filled with extreme pain and a sliver of remaining clarity. His lips moved, emitting a faint, mosquito-like sound, yet it was as grating as a knife scraping metal:

"Core... core... coordinates... star map... in... my mind... destroy... it..."

Before he could finish, he suddenly coughed up a large mouthful of pale golden blood, his body arching, and the life support alarms instantly turned into a piercing shriek!

"Brother!" Lin Feng slammed his hand onto the life support pod's cover.

"No! Neural signals are completely chaotic! He's being forcibly erased of his memories!" The medical officer cried out in despair.

"Lock onto the 'Void Shadow'!" Lin Feng spun around, his voice like the polar wind sweeping through the bridge's comms. "It's trying to erase the memories of the outer source's core coordinates from my brother's mind! That's its last hiding place! Lei Lie!"

"Here!" Lei Lie's hoarse reply came through the comms; he was piloting the rescue craft back at high speed.

"You heard me! At all costs, before the memories are completely destroyed, dig out those coordinates for me!" Lin Feng's eyes blazed with cold golden light. "Deep Blue! All Xing Chen (Stardust) energy, into the main cannon! Pioneer fleet, listen up—"

He raised his left hand, and the golden spiral mark branded deep in his consciousness erupted with unprecedented light, as if connecting his soul to the twelve cold warships!

Command: Saturated blanket strike! Target: All thrusters and suspected jump engine areas of the 'Void Shadow'!

Execute!

Boom—!!!

The Deep Blue's massive bow main cannon, its accumulated Xing Chen (Stardust) energy compressed to the extreme, transformed into a pure white torrent that pierced the eternal night! Simultaneously, the crystal arrays on the bows of the twelve Pioneer warships surrounding it lit up in sync! Twelve beams of destructive light, even more condensed, more profound, and imbued with ancient Pioneer technology than the Deep Blue's main cannon, struck first!

At this moment, time seemed to stretch. The pure white light spear and the twelve faint blue death rays, like whips of divine punishment, crossed the void and lashed fiercely at the black carrier attempting to escape!

The crimson patterns on the "Void Shadow's" surface flashed wildly, and a distorted, defiled, bloody energy shield instantly deployed!

Boom! Boom! Boom! RUMBLE—!!!

An indescribably terrifying explosion erupted high above the Arctic! Blinding light instantly swallowed everything! The energy shockwave, like a tangible giant hammer, slammed fiercely onto the ice cap, causing hundreds of kilometers of ice to crack and collapse! Even with the Pioneer fleet's force field protection, the Deep Blue was violently shaken by the furious impact!

The light persisted for a full ten seconds before slowly dissipating.

When vision returned, everyone gasped.

The massive aerospace carrier had not been completely destroyed, but more than half of its rear structure had vanished! Twisted and broken metal keel was exposed, burning with eerie blood-red flames. Most critically, several large, complex thruster arrays and suspected jump engine components at its tail had been completely melted by the Pioneer fleet's precise strike, turning into a mass of boiling metal debris! Like a giant bird with its wings severed, the massive hull lost power, billowing thick smoke, and began to slowly fall towards the collapsing ice abyss below!

"Thrusters and jump engines destroyed! Target has lost maneuverability and jump capability!" The weapons officer's voice was filled with wild joy.

"Lei Lie! Coordinates!" Lin Feng's voice was like ice.

Lei Lie's heavy breathing and the ticking of high-speed instruments came through the comms: "Forcibly... reading! Interference is too strong! Dr. Lin Yue's neural signals are rapidly annihilating! Wait... fragments captured! It's... it's a pulse signal! Pointing... pointing outside the Solar System! Edge of the Oort Cloud! A... a rogue celestial body with the designation 'K-7 V' coordinates!"

"K-7 V..." Lin Feng repeated the cold designation, and the cold, overlooking sensation deep in his consciousness rose again, as if spanning endless star seas, locking onto a dark, silent star field. This was the outer source's main nest! The source of contamination and destruction!

"Coordinates recorded!" Old Zhao's voice trembled with excitement. "We... we found it!"

"Found it, and then what?" Chen Hai looked at the shattered carrier falling into the abyss on the screen, then at Lin Yue's critically ill signal in the medical bay's direction. "We haven't even left the Solar System!"

"Then we'll leave," Lin Feng's voice was resolute, with an undeniable determination. He looked at the twelve Pioneer warships, silently hovering and glowing with pure blue light, on the main screen, then at the scarred but still standing Deep Blue.

"System, conduct a full scan of the 'Void Shadow' wreckage, evaluate the possibility of recovering its database and usable technical cores."

Scanning... Core database area partially well-preserved, contains high-value information (including star maps, engine theory fragments). Usable Pioneer technology cores (moderately damaged) x3 recoverable.

"Old Zhao, integrate all technologies: Antarctic energy core, Xing Chen (Stardust) fusion, Pioneer fleet technology, 'Void Shadow' wreckage data... using the Deep Blue as a blueprint, design a starship for me that can perform interstellar travel! I need the plan now!"

"Captain! This..." Old Zhao was momentarily speechless, stunned by this grand, almost insane command.

"We don't have time!" Lin Feng pointed to the deep starry sky outside the viewport. "The outer source's tendrils have already reached Earth! It's licking its wounds at K-7 V, ready to make a comeback at any moment! Or cast its contamination upon other innocent civilizations! Passive defense? Can we defend once, ten times, a hundred times?"

His voice echoed through the bridge, every word striking everyone's hearts:

"This battle in the Arctic is not the end! It's the beginning! It's the starting point for our human civilization to step from the cradle into the sea of stars! The Deep Blue started as a destroyer, guarding this sea; now, it will, in the name of a starship, guard these stars!"

His gaze swept over Chen Hai, Lei Lie, Old Zhao, and every tired but burning face on the bridge:

"Repair the warships! Recover the technology! Integrate the fleet! We will build our shipyards in orbit! We will push fusion cores to higher dimensions! We will decipher the Pioneer's star maps and master the key to jump travel!"

"Target, K-7 V star system!"

"Target, destroy the outer source's nest!"

"Target—"

Lin Feng's voice suddenly rose, like a sharp sword piercing the sky, and the golden brand in his left palm seemed to respond to his will, burning hot again, emitting a glow that penetrated the hull:

"Deep Blue Era! Set sail!"

A brief silence fell over the bridge, then it was drowned out by a deafening roar of cheers!

"Deep Blue forever!!"

"For Earth!!"

"Star sea! Here we come!!"

Chen Hai slammed his fist onto the control panel, his eyes no longer confused, only burning with fighting spirit: "Did you hear the Captain's order?! Get moving! Engineering department! Dismantle that wreck for me, don't miss a single useful screw! Technology department! I want to see the starship blueprints on my desk within three days! Logistics! Inventory all resources! We!"

He took a deep breath, his roar echoing throughout the ship:

"Are going on an expedition!"

Lin Feng took one last look at his brother's faint heartbeat curve in the medical bay, then at the wreckage of the "Void Shadow" on the main screen, falling into the ice abyss like a giant tombstone. The cold star map coordinates were branded deep in his consciousness.

The cradle was broken, the journey begun.

The Deep Blue's flag would ultimately fly at the pinnacle of the star sea!

He turned, his shattered armor reflecting a cold, hard glint in the light, and walked towards the scarred command chair in the center of the bridge. Behind him was the scarred but unyielding Deep Blue; around him were twelve ancient steel behemoths; ahead was the deep, boundless, vast sea of stars, fraught with both danger and opportunity.

A new era, at this moment, began.