182: Codename: Rod of God

Inside the Bridge, silence reigned.

Only the low hum of the “World Tree” system core, like a steady heartbeat, echoed in the air.

The three-colored lightning lotus blooming slowly in Gu Zhixia's palm illuminated her fair and beautiful face, making it flicker between light and shadow. It was a beauty of the extreme, and also a danger of the extreme. She finally dispelled the lotus, and the sense of control, of being able to retract and release it at will, caused the curve of her lips to unconsciously lift a few degrees.

Lin Mo did not comment on her achievement, merely switching the main screen back to the star map marked “Leviathan Headquarters.”

“Very good.” He finally spoke, his voice calm, “Since the fangs are sharpened, it’s time to let the prey experience what despair feels like.”

He stretched out a finger and tapped lightly on the main console. A detailed combat plan, in the form of a three-dimensional holographic model, slowly unfolded before the three of them.

“Our hunt will proceed in three steps.”

Lin Mo’s voice was like the calmest surgeon dissecting a specimen about to be placed on the operating table.

“First step, warp. We will warp directly to the edge of the star system where Leviathan Headquarters is located, a gravitational blind spot precisely calculated by the ‘World Tree’ that is just outside the enemy’s long-range detection radius. We only have a three-minute window to complete the second step.”

His finger slid across the model, and twelve cold, gleaming, water droplet-shaped metal objects separated from the Natural Selection’s hull model and hovered in the air.

They were entirely composed of a material that could not be detected by any radar, like absolute darkness, with a surface so smooth that not a single ray of light could reflect off it. They had no thrusters, no energy signatures, as if they were merely twelve meticulously carved, unyielding stones from the abyss of the universe.

“These are ‘water droplet’.” Lin Mo’s tone carried a creator’s unique coldness, “A super-dense degenerate matter I found in the Cosmic Graveyard, reconfigured by Zhurong’s furnace and inscribed with the laws by the ‘World Tree’. Each one is only one meter long, but its mass is equivalent to a small white dwarf star.”

Gu Zhixia and Gu Nianqiu’s gazes were both drawn to these twelve seemingly unremarkable “water droplet.” They couldn’t comprehend the physics concepts contained within, but they instinctively felt that these things were terrifying.

“Second step, delivery.” Lin Mo continued to explain, “Once we enter the window, we will use electromagnetic rails to launch these twelve ‘water droplet’ at sub-light speed towards Leviathan Headquarters’ twelve main energy nodes and defensive hubs. They have no energy signatures and will not be intercepted by any shields. Their only attack method is to rely on their unparalleled mass and kinetic energy for the purest, most brutal physical impact.”

He paused, his tone devoid of emotion.

“I’ve given this step a code name.”

“Scepter of God (Code name for attack sequence).”

As his words fell, the air in the Bridge seemed to solidify.

“Scepter of God (Code name for attack sequence)”... the name itself carried an undeniable, crushing arrogance and judgment from a higher dimension.

“After the ‘Scepter of God (Code name for attack sequence)’ completes its cleanup, Leviathan’s defense system will be at least ninety percent paralyzed.” Lin Mo’s finger landed on the final step of the plan.

“Third step, harvest.”

“Natural Selection will directly assault the battlefield, clearing all remaining Life forces. Your ‘Thunder Dragon’, as our sharpest spear, will be responsible for dealing with any unforeseen circumstances that may arise.”

His gaze turned to Gu Zhixia, his expression more solemn than ever before.

“Especially the LeviathanPresident who has never shown his face.”

“Based on the fragments of information leaked during Jay’s interrogation, and the fragmented intelligence, encrypted over a thousand times, that the ‘World Tree’ dug out after infiltrating Leviathan’s internal network, thisPresident very likely also possesses some kind of... law-level power.”

“Perhaps it’s a divine authority left behind by a god, or some creation of a higher-dimensional civilization. We know nothing of what it specifically is. This is the only variable in the entire battle.”

After hearing Lin Mo’s plan, Gu Zhixia’s heart, which had just been somewhat inflated by mastering new powers, once again quieted down.

Lin Mo’s plans were always like this. Thorough, cautious, calculating every possibility, leaving the enemy no chance of turning the tables. He never believed in luck, only in absolute, overwhelming strength.

“Hmph.” Gu Zhixia crossed her arms, raising her chin slightly, her deep phoenix eyes gleaming with the light of confidence, “He’d better truly have some skill. Otherwise, this hunt will be too boring.”

Her current confidence no longer stemmed from the arrogance of a sudden power surge, but from the genuine self-assurance that came from absolute control over her own strength.

“A mere guildPresident dares to dabble in ‘laws’? Foolish.” She snorted coldly, her words filled with disdain. In her view, having personally slain a god, she had already reached the pinnacle of what mortals could achieve.

Lin Mo nodded; this was exactly the state he wanted Gu Zhixia to be in. Confident, but not arrogant.

“Then,” his gaze swept over the two sisters, “are you ready?”

“Anytime.” Gu Zhixia’s voice was crisp and decisive.

“Mm-hmm!” Gu Nianqiu nodded vigorously, then, as if by magic, pulled out two steaming hot baked sweet potatoes, carefully wrapped in tin foil, from the pocket of her Lolita dress.

She handed the larger one to Gu Zhixia, the smaller one to Lin Mo, and then, holding a mini one, she ate it in small bites.

“Brother Mo, Big Sister, these are my newly invented ‘Bullseye Baked Sweet Potatoes’! If you eat them, you’ll be super accurate when fighting bad guys!” Little Girl said, her cheeks puffed out, her words a little muffled, a serious expression on her face.

Watching this scene, so out of place with the tense and solemn atmosphere, Lin Mo and Gu Zhixia couldn't help but feel a little amused. But the warm, sweet scent, imperceptibly, dissipated the last trace of gravity in their hearts before the big battle.

Lin Mo took the baked sweet potato and took a bite.

It was very sweet, very warm.

He glanced at Gu Zhixia beside him; she was also eating in small bites, the lines on her usually icy face softening for a rare moment.

“Natural Selection, set warp coordinates.” Lin Mo swallowed the sweet potato in his mouth, his voice returning to its cold and calm state.

“Target: Leviathans Throat.”

“Activate space warp engine.”

[Command confirmed… Warp coordinates locked… Space warp engine activating… Countdown… Three… Two… One!]

Whir—

The familiar sensation of weightlessness came, and the starry sky outside the Bridge was instantly stretched into countless dazzling light trails, then abruptly contracted into a single point, finally dissolving into a profound darkness.

Within the warp tunnel, time lost its meaning.

It was unknown how long passed; it felt like only an instant, yet also like a century.

When the view outside the viewport stabilized again, a magnificent yet death-infused scene unfolded before the three of them.

It was an exceptionally chaotic starfield, enveloped by countless space debris and asteroid belts. And in the very center of the starfield, an indescribably grand steel fortress, like an ancient beast lurking in the darkness, floated silently.

Its size was even larger than a small planet. Countless ferocious turrets and energy towers, like scales bristling on the giant beast, were densely packed, shimmering with chilling psionic light.

Visible spatial barriers, formed from materialized energy, enveloped the fortress layer by layer like an onion. Countless patrol fleets, like vultures circling the giant beast, moved back and forth ceaselessly.

This was Leviathan’s lair.

A veritable steel Leviathan, entrenched in this lawless starfield, devouring countless riches and Life!

[Arrived at designated coordinates… Evading gravitational field… Success.]

[Time remaining until enemy detection range boundary: three minutes.]

Natural Selection’s electronic voice rang out coldly.

“Scepter of God (Code name for attack sequence), prepare.” Lin Mo’s voice was like the whisper of the Grim Reaper.

Below the hull, twelve launch ports silently slid open. The twelve “water droplet,” like embodiments of absolute darkness, were slowly lifted out by an electromagnetic field, aimed at the impossibly vast steel fortress in the distance.

“Fire.”

There was no earth-shattering roar, no dazzling light show.

Only twelve almost imperceptible, tiny black streaks of light, at a speed beyond all reason, instantly tore through the distant, cold vacuum between them.

They were like twelve of the coldest assassins, silently pouncing on the still-sleeping giant beast, completely unaware of what was coming.

The hunt had begun.

And the bell of judgment was about to toll in the very next second.