71: Starry Night

The engines of the "wind chaser" scout ship spewed out blinding blue flames, tracing a frantic trajectory in the silent universe. Inside the ship, the piercing alarm wailed like the sinister laugh of the Grim Reaper, echoing in every corner. Everyone stared fixedly at the main screen at that purple spatial rift located in the direction of Jupiter's orbit, which was constantly expanding.

The rift was so massive, as if the starry sky itself had been torn open into a bleeding wound. An unspeakable sense of oppression, even from tens of thousands of kilometers away, seeped into everyone's marrow like ice water.

"Spatial fluctuation level... immeasurable! Energy readings... exceeding the sensor's upper limit!" The Sensor Officer's voice was distorted by fear.

"That... what on Earth is that?!" a crew member asked in a trembling voice.

No one could answer. But everyone knew clearly that it was by no means comparable to any Scrin unit they had encountered before. It was something of a higher level, the manifestation of destruction.

"Silent running for the whole ship! Shut down all non-essential power outputs! Maximum combat speed, evacuate Jupiter's gravitational sphere!" Captain Renault ordered hoarsely, suppressing his palpitations. His only thought now was to escape! To escape this airspace about to be swallowed as quickly as possible!

The "wind chaser" was like a startled ant, fleeing toward Mars with all its might. The crew members performed their duties, suppressing their immense fear and squeezing the ship's performance to its limit.

Shadow lay on the medical bed, watching the expanding purple through the porthole. The glimmer keystone within his body sent out an unprecedented, almost wailing, violent throb! It wasn't resonance, but the purest fear and warning originating from life's instinct! He could feel that the entity descending, with its inherent characteristics of "chaos" and "destruction," was completely opposite to the "order" and "life" represented by the keystone—they were natural mortal enemies!

"It's too late..." Shadow murmured. He had a premonition that no matter how fast they fled, that entity... or rather, His gaze, had already locked onto this star system.

After several days of apprehensive sailing, the "wind chaser" finally crossed the Asteroid Belt without incident and returned to the Mars alert zone. When that familiar red planet appeared in view, everyone on board breathed a sigh of relief, as if they had crawled back from the edge of hell.

However, when they established communication with Hope Fortress, they found the atmosphere at the base was equally solemn, even panicked.

"Commander! You're finally back!" On the communication screen, Sun Zheng's face was pale, his eyes bloodshot. "We've detected the abnormal spatial phenomenon in the direction of Jupiter! The spatial background radiation of the entire Solar System has shown severe disturbances!"

"How bad is it?" Captain Renault asked in a deep voice.

"Far beyond imagination." Sun Zheng pulled up a map of the Solar System. The purple marker near Jupiter's orbit was like a spreading cancer spot, its range of influence slowly but steadily expanding. "Based on the data sent back by the 'wind chaser' and the base's observations, our preliminary analysis... that might be a... 'hyperspace beacon,' or more accurately, a 'doomsday echo beacon'."

"doomsday echo beacon?"

"This is a concept deciphered from Guardian ruin information. It's not an ordinary portal, but an ultimate beacon used to locate and guide... the Reaper main fleet, or even more terrifying entities. Once fully activated, it will tear through space and establish a stable 'doomsday passage' sufficient for destruction-class fleets to pass through!"

Sun Zheng's voice carried a hint of despair: "The Scrin base on Europa was never about occupation or resources! They were a lure, a sacrifice! Their true purpose was to use the energy of the entire base and Jupiter's powerful gravitational field as the price to forcibly ignite this beacon, opening the gates to the Solar System for their masters!"

Inside the Command Center, there was dead silence.

Everyone understood what this meant. All their previous battles and sacrifices might have only delayed the onset of doomsday, but failed to stop it. The real enemy was about to take the stage.

"How long... until the beacon is fully activated?" Shadow's voice came through the comms, weak but clear.

"Uncertain. Based on energy diffusion speed models... as short as a few months, as long as... a year or two." Sun Zheng took a deep breath. "This is our final window of time."

Hope Fortress faced its true ultimate test. They would no longer be facing the Scrin's vanguard, but the true Reaper civilization behind them, representing "ultimate chaos"!

Sun Zheng's gaze swept across the glaring purple beacon on the star map, then looked at the Mars Base and the blue planet in the distance.

Retreat? There was nowhere to retreat. Surrender? Only destruction awaited.

He straightened his back, his voice spreading throughout the entire base, and also toward the Moon and his compatriots far away on Earth:

"Everyone!"

"The doomsday clock has struck; the enemy is on the way."

"But we are still alive! Our civilization still stands!"

"This final period of time is not for praying and waiting, but for fighting and preparing!"

"From today onward, 'Hope Fortress' enters a state of final combat readiness! Activate the 'ark project'! Devote all resources to building the strongest fleet and the sturdiest line of defense!"

"We will let those destroyers from deep space know that the Solar System is not their hunting ground!"

"Humanity will never surrender!"

The order was given, and the Mars Base exploded with unprecedented energy like a lit powder keg. Fear was transformed into determination, and despair was burned into fighting spirit.