129: Chapter 129 Comparison

Zhou An nodded. The first Divine Authority had been obtained by City Lord Zhao Tianyu, and the second by Scar. However, Scar had since died. When the regions merged, the final Divine Authority released during the last periodic summary was also in the hands of City Lord Zhao Tianyu.

Shen Xingyue, who was sitting nearby, continued.

"They formed the two largest guilds at the time, but neither was satisfied with that. In order to fight for sole dominance, they went to war in that final month. All three hundred thousand people were forcibly dragged into their guild conflict."

"One person's Divine Authority ability seemed to be 'Meteor Rain'. I still can't forget that scene to this day…"

"By the end, they had completely lost their minds in the slaughter. They activated their abilities, and the entire region, the entire sky, was covered by endless fire meteors. The sky looked as if it had been set ablaze; everywhere was filled with molten steel and corpses burned to charcoal."

"This was entirely a man-made natural disaster. Natural disasters stop after a while, but this didn't stop until the very last second before the regions merged."

"Because I was in the medical department, I was stationed in the rear, hiding at the 10,000-meter demarcation line. By the time the fire rain reached me, it was much smaller, which is how I barely escaped. And if it hadn't been for the fact that the region fusion time had arrived and the system forced a transition to the second-stage settlement, it's unknown whether those few thousand of us would have survived."

Shen Xingyue took a deep breath to calm her emotions: "After arriving at the second stage, I got separated from all my former colleagues in the medical department. Later, the avatars in my system friends list went dark one by one; they probably all died in the initial chaotic battles. It wasn't until I was captured by those aliens and thought I was going to die that Luo Ning happened to be nearby, saved me, and I joined the squad."

After listening to Shen Xingyue's account, Zhou An was silent for a moment. He handed her a can of chilled Spirit Fruit Juice, not bothering with any empty words of comfort. In this world, survival itself was a luxury.

"Divine Authority…"

Zhou An picked up the topic, his fingertips tapping lightly on the leather armrest of the sofa.

"That guy, City Lord Zhao Tianyu, should have at least two Divine Authorities in his hands. Xingyue, you've seen a Divine Authority user with your own eyes. How strong do you think… they actually are?"

Shen Xingyue took the juice, the cold sensation helping her relax a bit. She recalled the details carefully and analyzed objectively:

"The two people in our region—one was 'Meteor Rain', and the other's ability had to do with 'Hurricane' or weather control. I'm not sure what it was specifically called, but the destructive power was extremely exaggerated; they were practically walking 'natural disasters'."

Zhou An nodded, then asked: "Then do you think a fully loaded LV5 warship with Legendary-grade weapon and defense modules is stronger, or is a person gifted with Divine Authority stronger?"

"If it's a destructive Divine Authority, then Divine Authority is stronger."

Shen Xingyue did not hesitate at all: "A fully loaded LV5 warship couldn't possibly defeat either of those two. Their range of destruction was too vast, and the lethality was too high."

Shen Xingyue looked at Zhou An with a solemn gaze:

"Furthermore, the reason Divine Authority is called Divine Authority is that it involves some level of rules. Boss, if we ever truly face a Divine Authority owner, we must never treat them like an ordinary survivor."

Zhou An nodded, then felt a bit puzzled.

"Does my own 'Divine Traveler' count as a type of Divine Authority? After all, it involves the ability to jump through space, as well as spatial perception."

He then shook his head; he would have to wait until he could find a Divine Authority owner to verify it later.

In the fortress laboratory.

Luo Ning stood before the main console, looking at the various basic data that had just come out of the analyzer. Her quirky eyes sparkled with undisguised amazement.

"As expected of the legendary darlings of the sky, this physical fitness… is simply outrageous."

The data on the screen clearly showed that Ivy's life level had already reached Tier 5.

But what truly shocked Luo Ning was her exaggerated base stats. Whether it was the explosive power of muscle fibers, the psionic conductivity of bones, or the self-healing activity of cells, Ivy's various base stats were actually a full fifteen percent higher than the average Tier 5 human! This was enough to demonstrate the terrifying, heaven-gifted genetic potential of the Winged Race.

"Alright, the first stage of sampling is finished."

Luo Ning carefully placed several vacuum tubes into the refrigeration slot, then clapped her hands and said to Ivy, who was lying on the metal bed: "That's all for this morning. You cooperated well; you can go down and rest now."

Ivy breathed a sigh of relief, pulled down her sleeve to cover the needle mark, and walked out of the laboratory with Hira.

At this moment, in the central hall on the top floor.

Shen Xingyue was lying on the sofa enjoying a massage from a robotic arm when the personal terminal on her wrist suddenly vibrated.

She raised her wrist to take a look, then turned off the massage program and stood up.

"Boss, the preliminary sampling on Luo Ning's side is finished. She wants me to go over and help her with the cross-comparison of the gene slices."

Shen Xingyue smoothed out her clothes and said to Zhou An, who was still watching a TV series.

"Go ahead, don't overwork yourself."

Zhou An waved his hand without turning his head.

Shen Xingyue nodded and turned to walk out of the hall. Just as she reached the corner of the corridor, she ran into Ivy and Hira, who looked somewhat uneasy.

She looked at the two Winged Race girls, whose faces were slightly pale. Although her tone was flat, she still offered a reminder.

"Walk to the end of this corridor and you'll find the central hall; the Boss is inside. You can go to the hall to rest, or have the robots bring you some fruit juice to replenish the nutrients you've lost."

"Thank you, Dr. Shen."

Ivy nodded gratefully.

After brushing past Shen Xingyue, the two of them, with anxious hearts, followed the spacious corridor to the central hall.

As the automatic door of the hall opened, the scene, which was full of the atmosphere of daily life, left them stunned again. On the huge holographic screen, a human TV series was playing, and the black-haired young man who had radiated terrifying killing intent last night was now curled up on the sofa, eating snacks without any defenses.

Hearing the door open, Zhou An turned his head and casually pressed the pause button.

"Finished with the testing? Come over and sit." Zhou An pointed to the curved sofa opposite him, his attitude as casual as if he were greeting two friends dropping by for a visit. "What would you like to drink? Fruit juice or nutrient solution?"

Ivy and Hira sat down cautiously on the edge of the sofa, not even daring to lean back fully.

"Fruit… fruit juice is fine, thank you."

Hira said in a low voice.

"No need to be so nervous; this isn't exactly a den of tigers or a lair of dragons."

Zhou An snapped his fingers, and the housekeeping robot on standby immediately glided over, carrying two cups of chilled Spirit Fruit Juice, placing them steadily on the coffee table in front of them.

A brief silence fell over the hall. Ivy held the cold glass with both hands, looking at the leisurely Zhou An opposite her, wanting to speak several times but hesitating. In the end, her sense of responsibility as a captain overcame her fear of this man.

"Um… sir."

Ivy took a deep breath, her tone carrying a hint of pleading. "How much longer will Miss Luo Ning's experiment take? I would like to… leave here as soon as possible."

"In such a rush to leave?"

Zhou An picked up a potato chip and tossed it into his mouth, looking at her with great interest.

"In a rush to go back and save your tribe?"

"Yes."

Ivy's eyes turned slightly red, and her voice lowered.

"The White Feather Guild is our home. Now, the entire guild's defense line is being targeted by the Blood Moon Guild's main fleet, and the situation is extremely dire. As the captain of the Third Squad, I cannot hide here and live a cowardly life. I must go back and fight alongside them."

Zhou An looked at her expression of readiness to die, but he was not infected by this tragic emotion; instead, he very realistically poured a bucket of cold water on her.

"Go back? How?"

Zhou An's tone was calm but hit the nail on the head: "Your warship has already exploded into fireworks, and the cores of your flight vehicles must have all been lost on the battlefield last night, right?"

Hearing this, Ivy's body trembled slightly. Although Hira still had an LV3 core, without a matching fighter frame and weapon system, that core was completely useless. She closed her eyes bitterly, sighed deeply, and nodded.

"Without even a transport vehicle, do you intend to fly back on your own two pairs of wings?"

Zhou An mercilessly shattered their illusions: "Even if you could fly off this island, if you encountered a patrol from the Blood Moon Guild, a single anti-aircraft net could turn you back into slaves. Going there is just throwing your lives away; it has no meaning other than adding two more trophies for those werewolves."

These words were extremely blunt, like a sharp knife piercing through Ivy's defenses.

Hira bit her lip tightly on the side, tears starting to well up in her eyes again. How could they not know this was suicide, but that was their only home.

Looking at the two Winged Race girls who had fallen into despair, Zhou An put away the casual look on his face and leaned forward slightly.

"In my territory, I don't care how intense the fighting is outside."

"When you can leave doesn't depend on how much longer your guild can hold out; it only depends on when Luo Ning gets all the data she wants. Only when she says you're useless and says to let you go can you leave."

Zhou An leaned back on the sofa and took a sip of the juice beside him:

"So, put away those thoughts of dying. For these few days, just stay here and behave yourselves. Don't cause trouble; you'll be well-fed and taken care of here, just think of it as a vacation."