309: develop

Wooden houses rose from the ground.

Although they didn't look as robust as the concrete and steel cities of the past, this was an extremely rare achievement.

After all, less than a year had passed since Lin Tianwei packed up and took Blue Star away.

If humanity were given enough time to develop, they would absolutely be able to cultivate a powerful and prosperous human civilization once again.

However, beneath the false facade of human prosperity and development, lay an extreme sense of insecurity.

They would never forget the two Cosmic Beasts that once ravaged Blue Star.

Each one brought a crisis capable of destroying everything to them, and even to the entire Blue Star.

This seemingly happy life might be shattered one day.

And what shatters it could very well be just a Cosmic Beast that stumbled in by chance.

Supported by this thought, while developing themselves, humans dared not forget to explore outer space.

Some high-tech spacecraft capable of exploring outer space were preserved by them.

And they were upgraded repeatedly using various special materials and special organisms produced in the new era.

Ultimately, they achieved the capability to explore space.

However, true despair had only just begun.

Ignorance is bliss.

It wasn't until they truly saw everything outside that they felt what true despair was.

A not-so-large artificial sun.

A closed artificial space.

This was all that humanity could discover.

They were not living in a free universe, but were confined by some existence within a false space.

Imprisonment?

Or perhaps protection.

Such a discovery directly shocked everyone.

They finally understood why Blue Star had undergone such bizarre changes.

Why the night sky no longer showed stars and the moon.

As if they had completely disappeared.

In fact, they had indeed disappeared, at least from the space where Blue Star currently existed.

Looking at the Tiger King Flag fluttering in the wind, for a moment, everyone's thoughts were in turmoil.

If there had to be an answer to all of this, the one who would know that answer was definitely Lord Tiger King.

The true deity who saved Blue Star twice.

Perhaps only Lord Tiger King could possess such immense power, capable of providing shelter to Blue Star and blocking all malice from the universe.

Those who were restless, thinking Lin Tianwei had disappeared, were once again speechless.

The inappropriate thoughts in their hearts instantly extinguished.

Lin Tianwei had been gone for such a long time, and coupled with the fact that humanity no longer faced threats from the universe and lived a happy life.

Many foolish people naturally had other thoughts, even shaking their faith.

However, at the moment the truth of Blue Star was revealed, they were struck as if by lightning, their minds in turmoil.

It turned out they had always been under Lin Tianwei's protection, but because they were too foolish, they simply didn't know.

The reason why the sun had undergone an anomaly was also extremely simple.

Because it was not the original sun at all.

Feeling the warm sunlight emitted by the artificial sun, they seemed to feel the divine power of Lord Tiger King.

It was by bathing in the divine power of Lord Tiger King that they were able to survive time and time again.

Given the chance to start over time and time again.

However, while being grateful for the protection of Lord Tiger King, humanity also felt shame.

Overwhelmed with shame.

Ashamed that they could only be pitiful creatures protected by Lord Tiger King, completely unable to survive in the universe by their own abilities.

And ashamed that they could only endlessly enjoy the protection of Lord Tiger King, completely unable to do anything for Lord Tiger King.

It was precisely under the motivation of this shame that humanity began to strive to become stronger.

They finally found a new goal in this seemingly happy and perfect life:

They wanted to become stronger, to become even stronger.

In hopes that one day in the future, they could help Lord Tiger King, which would also be a repayment for the protection Lord Tiger King had always provided them.

Inside Tiger King Farm.

The colossal Tiger King Temple still stood.

Even the even larger Tiger King Temple also existed.

Under the guardianship of Thorn, this place was not, like other places, subjected to the baptism of the frenzied Awakened Plants.

After all, Thorn itself was a frenzied Awakened Plant.

Moreover, it possessed terrifying aggressiveness.

In its territory, other Awakened Plants didn't even have a chance to set foot.

Not to mention that there were a large number of powerful Espers here.

Most of them had enjoyed Lin Tianwei's grace, endowed with powerful Talents by Talent: Directed Modification (Supernatural).

Their strength was many times greater than that of ordinary Espers.

It was precisely because of this that Legisamon was able to wander through Ismail's stronghold—Bruno Institute—as if taking a stroll.

From the very beginning, Lin Tianwei's strength was an entire era ahead of Blue Star.

Although Lin Tianwei was no longer in Tiger King Farm at this time, the Tiger King Temple was not empty.

The only surviving Number Five was served by them as if it were an avatar of Lin Tianwei.

In hopes that one day in the future, Lin Tianwei could use Talent: Teleportation (Supernatural) with Number Five as a springboard to return to the Tiger King Temple.

Of course, they also didn't want this to happen.

Because every time Lin Tianwei used the Teleportation Talent, it meant that Lin Tianwei had encountered a powerful enemy.

Powerful enough that Lin Tianwei needed to use the Teleportation Talent to adjust his own space.

They prayed.

Praying that Lin Tianwei, who had always provided them with protection, could survive safely in the universe.

They dared not underestimate the danger of the universe and could only offer their best wishes to Lin Tianwei.

And so, Blue Star developed in an orderly fashion.

Until this day, they were horrified to discover countless unfamiliar behemoths suddenly appearing in the sky.

The familiar metallic luster made them immediately realize the identity of these behemoths.

They were actually machines, colossal machines, incredibly complex machines.

Etna looked at everything observed in the sky with some shock.

It was then that he suddenly realized that they had long ceased to exist in their original space.

They had long been unknowingly transferred by Lord Tiger King, along with Blue Star, into a new space.

Otherwise, how could the originally not-so-large Star Devouring space accommodate so many behemoths?

Looking at those well-equipped spacecraft.

Especially the terrifying energy cannons equipped on those spacecraft, Etna felt a chill run down his spine.

Could it be that Lord Tiger King had been defeated?

Deprived of Lord Tiger King's protection, they would once again face the baptism of Cosmic Beasts.

Otherwise, how could so many spacecraft have arrived here so silently?

Just by looking at the massive caliber of those energy cannons, one knew that they were absolutely capable of completely destroying Blue Star.

Danger!

Alarm bells rang loudly!

A prolonged roar echoed throughout Blue Star, and everyone looked up at the sky with vigilance.

Even though many people actually didn't have the ability to see through the sky.

There were even some colossal Awakened Beasts also looking at the sky.

This was a crisis for the entire Blue Star, and no Blue Star creature could escape it.

Moreover, the relationship between humans and animals was no longer the antagonistic relationship it once was.

All surviving Blue Star creatures were Lord Tiger King's subjects.

Unless other creatures actively provoked war, humans would not actively create conflict.

After all, they were all subjects who enjoyed the protection of Lord Tiger King, and in the future, they might even be able to fight for Lord Tiger King.

Infighting would only consume Lord Tiger King's power.

Fortunately.

Under the nourishment of the artificial sun, most Awakened Beasts also evolved, gaining higher intelligence.

Instinct from their genes told them that these seemingly kind two-legged beasts were definitely not to be trifled with.

Those were painful lessons learned by their ancestors with blood and tears.

Humans actively advocated peace?

This was something Awakened Beasts had always dreamed of, so how could they be so ungrateful as to actively offend?

For a time, humans and animals actually lived together harmoniously.

As for food?

That was naturally the wildly growing plants.

Pure plants were not very good food, as they would lead to nutritional imbalances.

But this was merely a narrow view.

These plants, which had absorbed the energy of the artificial sun, were extraordinary.

Not only were they nutritious and delicious, but they also contained vast energy, capable of enhancing the physical strength of those who consumed them.

They were rare cultivation resources.

The most valuable thing was that these cultivation resources were everywhere.

Aside from some extremely dangerous areas, most plants were simply growing by instinct and had not awakened self-awareness.

They were food that both humans and animals could easily obtain.

Under these circumstances, Blue Star could be said to be extremely harmonious.

All creatures were growing and developing at an extremely fast pace.

Some very powerful creatures even emerged, possessing extremely terrifying strength.

However, although these creatures were powerful, they dared not cause any trouble.

Rushing out into the universe?

They didn't even dare to think about it.

Having suffered two devastating crises brought by Cosmic Beasts, they had completely become startled birds.

At least until they were confident that they could defeat the two Cosmic Beasts they had encountered, they would absolutely not have the idea of leaving Blue Star.

Blue Star restrained their growth, but it also provided them with protection.

However, they never expected that in less than a year, another change would occur on Blue Star.

The originally quiet, pitch-black sky, unadorned by any stars, suddenly changed.

Countless stars suddenly appeared, occupying the sky, as if they were the stars that once hung in the sky.

Flickering on and off, as if transmitting some kind of message.

However, no one would be naive enough to believe that these "stars" were actually stars.

This universe, or rather, this space, had long been fully explored by humans and was a completely closed, narrow space.

It looked exactly like the sky humans once had, but in reality, it was vastly different, and the so-called stars could not possibly reappear.

Did Lord Tiger King release Blue Star after arriving in a safe environment?

Or did something else happen?

To know the answers to all of this, they had to break through Blue Star's atmosphere once again.

To explore space and find out what was going on.

This matter concerned the safety of Blue Star.

With almost no dissent, humanity immediately dispatched spacecraft to explore space.

To explore this sky that was gradually becoming somewhat unfamiliar.

Big.

Very big.

Zhuo Pengfei, the spacecraft pilot, was pleasantly surprised to discover that the originally narrow sky had expanded considerably.

At least without continuing to explore further out, he couldn't see the edge of this space at all.

Clearly, this was no longer the space where Blue Star originally was.

Or rather, the original space had undergone some bizarre change, causing it to expand and become the vast space before them.

However, before Zhuo Pengfei could be happy for two seconds, his expression immediately froze.

His excellent eyesight allowed him to see an unimaginable scene.

A spacecraft.

A colossal spacecraft, even larger than Blue Star, was actually suspended quietly next to Blue Star.

However, this was not the most terrifying thing for Zhuo Pengfei.

On this unfamiliar spacecraft, two terrifying energy cannons were now aimed at Blue Star's position.

Seemingly ready to bombard Blue Star at any moment, shattering this obstructing planet into dust.

Compared to it, the spacecraft Zhuo Pengfei was piloting would be an exaggeration to call a toy.

If the two collided, this spacecraft named "Sky Tiger" would perhaps be instantly shattered into dust.

Fear.

Immense fear filled Zhuo Pengfei's entire body, rendering him immobile, leaving him only able to stare blankly at the shocking scene before him.

Equally shocked were the humans who witnessed this scene synchronously with Zhuo Pengfei via signal transmission.

They never expected that peace had only just been maintained for a period, and danger had once again arrived silently.

And it arrived before their eyes in a way that left them utterly despairing.

No one would naively believe that those two colossal energy cannons were just decorations.

They could spew out deadly beams at any moment, instantly destroying Blue Star.

In the face of true power, in the boundless universe, the power of a planet was simply too weak.

Even a slightly more powerful existence could easily destroy a planet.

After fear, came an even deeper despair.

No one could have imagined that this colossal spacecraft was just the beginning of this crisis.

As the camera panned, they actually saw more spacecraft.

Although their shapes varied, they were all the same size as the first spacecraft.

They also possessed terrifying weapons, seemingly ready to destroy everything in front of them at any moment.

Conservatively estimated, at least a dozen giant spacecraft had already arrived near Blue Star.

They had no possibility of contending with these spacecraft!

However, amidst their despair, a question also arose in the hearts of humanity.

Where had Lord Tiger King gone?

Why would the invincible Lord Tiger King allow these colossal spacecraft to come before Blue Star?

Could it be that Lord Tiger King had fallen, unable to provide them with protection anymore, which allowed these terrifying spacecraft to come before Blue Star? (End of this chapter)