198: Leap into the abyss

The moment the order was given, the entire Natural Selection came alive.

It was no longer a cold steel warship, but a precise Life form about to begin full operation.

The Bridge lights changed from their usual white to a deep blue, representing the highest combat and navigation status. Countless invisible data streams, like surging rivers, pulsed wildly through every circuit of the ship.

"Yggdrasil, link the heart of space to the ship's warp engine and calculate the optimal energy output."

Lin Mo stood before the throne, his consciousness deeply connected to Yggdrasil. The state of the entire warship was as clear in his mind as the lines on his own palm.

The heart of the world, which controlled the authority of Space and was gifted by Lan Yue, slowly floated from his palm and flew towards the bottomless energy channel beneath the Bridge, which connected to the antimatter core.

It was like a drop of ink falling into a calm lake, instantly merging with the surging, emerald-green Life energy and the dark-golden antimatter energy.

"Link starting..."

"Warning! High-dimensional law conflict detected! The distortion attribute of the heart of space is causing an immune response with the ship's basic 'G-001' type stable force field!"

"Immune response intensity: 73.4%! Microscopic instability is occurring in the ship's structure!"

A piercing alarm, accompanied by Yggdrasil's emotionless prompt, echoed throughout the Bridge.

"What's going on?" Gu Zhixia immediately became alert.

"It's nothing," Lin Mo replied simply and quickly, "Just a breaking-in period between different laws."

As he spoke, he had already begun to operate. His fingers did not touch any physical buttons; instead, he directly used his will to mobilize Yggdrasil's vast computing power.

"Use the antimatter core's energy as a buffer, inject Life energy into the heart of space, and neutralize its violent distortion attribute. At the same time, use part of the spiritual law from the heart of dreams as a 'binder' to establish a virtual logical bridge between the two."

This was an extremely complex and outlandish operation.

It was equivalent to forcibly writing a compatibility patch between two incompatible programs.

"Command confirmed. Scheme simulating... Success rate: 41.2%... There is a 4.7% chance of permanent damage to the warp engine... There is a 0.8% chance of the heart of space disintegrating..."

"Execute," Lin Mo did not hesitate.

They had no time to seek a one hundred percent perfect solution.

"Command executed!"

The next second, the entire warship emitted a faint hum, like the breathing of a giant beast.

The space within the Bridge distorted for a moment, as if an invisible giant hand stretched and squeezed everything, then suddenly released it.

Gu Nianqiu, startled by the sudden sensation of weightlessness and distortion, cried out and plopped onto the floor. Gu Zhixia, with quick reflexes, scooped her up and held her tightly, her gaze fixed on Lin Mo's back.

The humming lasted for more than ten seconds.

Then, everything returned to calm.

"Law conflict neutralized. New composite warp engine is online."

"Jump efficiency increased by 780%. Jump stability decreased by 45%."

"Estimated arrival time at Andromeda Galaxy: 7 standard days."

"It succeeded..." Gu Zhixia murmured, a complex emotion flashing in her eyes as she looked at the expressionless man standing before the main console.

This man could always create such nearly miraculous, unreasonable results in the most desperate times.

"Hold on tight," Lin Mo's voice came, reminding them that this was just the beginning.

"Yggdrasil, initiate jump sequence!"

"Jump countdown... 10, 9, 8..."

At the bow of the Natural Selection, giant energy halos, interwoven with blue, green, and gold, began to emerge in layers, stirring the cosmic space ahead into a deep, rotating vortex.

"... 3, 2, 1!"

"Jump!"

Boom—!

The universe outside the window disappeared.

In its place was a kaleidoscopic time tunnel, inexplicable by any known physics.

Countless distorted, fragmented stars and nebulae, like abstract paintings, streaked past the portholes at speeds exceeding light. The entire warship violently pitched and vibrated, like the most fragile skiff in a cosmic storm.

This feeling was completely different from previous stable jumps.

This was more like a brutal, reckless "space tear."

"Sister... I, I feel a little nauseous..." Gu Nianqiu's face was pale, her small hands tightly gripping Gu Zhixia's uniform.

"Endure it." Though Gu Zhixia's voice was stern, her arm protecting her sister tightened a bit more.

They were navigating through the abyss.

A violent abyss connecting two galaxies, forcibly opened by the power of the heart of the world.

The jump process was tedious and full of mental pressure.

To alleviate this pressure, and to cope with the unknown challenges that lay ahead, the three of them entered a "battle-ready" state in their own ways.

Lin Mo immersed most of his mind in the link with Yggdrasil, constantly monitoring the stability of the course, and at the same time, frantically absorbing and analyzing the law knowledge contained within the heart of space and the heart of dreams. His brain, at this moment, was a supercomputer operating at full power.

Gu Zhixia, meanwhile, took her sister to the Gena Ku.

But she wasn't there to debug mechs; instead, she led her sister into the most advanced virtual training room, capable of simulating any combat environment.

"Nianqiu, watch."

Gu Zhixia activated the training program.

The enemies that appeared before her were no longer ordinary mechs or interstellar beasts. Instead, they were various forms of "phantom" type enemies, exuding mental pollution, just like Casper's flagship.

"To deal with these disgusting things, brute force alone is not enough."

Gu Zhixia said as she personally demonstrated.

Her "Thunder Dragon" mech moved deftly in the training ground, and the long spear in her hand was no longer a simple physical attack. Each swing brought forth a purple glow composed of spiritual power, specifically used for purification and dispelling.

This was a new ability she had comprehended from that nightmare.

"However, Sister's strength alone is limited. If there are too many enemies, or if they separate us like last time, Sister won't be able to protect you." Gu Zhixia disengaged from her mech, walked to her sister, squatted down, and looked earnestly into her eyes.

"So, Nianqiu, you must learn to fight in your own way."

"I... I don't know how to fight..." Gu Nianqiu mumbled softly.

"Who said you had to fight?" Gu Zhixia chuckled, pinching her chubby cheek. "Your weapon is this."

She pointed to the cute little backpack, adorned with lace and bows, that her sister always carried.

That backpack was filled with all sorts of magical cooking utensils and ingredients.

"Fight with your cooking," Gu Zhixia's voice was full of guidance. "Imagine, when your sister is exhausted from fighting bad guys on the front lines, can the dishes you make instantly restore her strength? Can they make your sister's weapon sharper?"

"Now imagine, those disgusting bad guys, they also have thoughts, and they also get hungry. Can your cooking make them have diarrhea after eating it? Or, after eating it, make them treat Sister as their most admired idol and willingly kneel to surrender?"

Gu Zhixia's words opened a new world for Gu Nianqiu.

The Little Girl's eyes widened, and grew brighter the more she listened.

That's right!

Cooking isn't just about being delicious! Cooking can also defeat bad guys!

"I understand! Sister!" Gu Nianqiu nodded vigorously, and for the first time, the raging flame called "battle" ignited in her big eyes!

Seeing her sister's enthusiastic demeanor, a genuine, relieved smile finally appeared on Gu Zhixia's lips.

What she wanted to teach her sister was not killing.

But the ability to protect herself. And the will to resist, never to give up, no matter the desperate situation.