354: Chapter 354 Upgrade Completed

Murong Xue looked at him. His profile was sharp and rugged in the light of the holographic screen, the corners of his mouth curled slightly.

She remembered the words he said on the day she boarded The Ark.

"Stay on The Ark."

At the time, she thought he was saving her. Now she knew he had an agenda, but it didn't matter anymore; he had saved her, after all.

"Qin Lin."

"Hmm."

"Thank you."

Qin Lin turned his head to look at her, the corners of his mouth curling up slightly.

"You're welcome."

...

The Ark left the storm zone and landed in a valley on the edge of the Southern Plains.

The valley was not large, surrounded by mountains on all sides, with only one narrow entrance.

The scanning array confirmed that there were no Cultivators, no Yao Beasts, and no energy storms in the vicinity.

It was safe.

Qin Lin stood on the Bridge, his finger hovering over the "Confirm Upgrade" button.

He took a deep breath and pressed it.

The text on the holographic screen changed.

[ Lv9 → Lv10 Upgrade Initiated ]

[ The Ark is being modified... ]

[ Estimated time: 72 hours ]

The Ark vibrated gently.

It wasn't the brief, heartbeat-like pulsation from previous upgrades, but a continuous vibration, as if the earth itself were breathing.

Purple-gold light poured out from every corner of The Ark—from the walls, from beneath the floor, from the ceiling—surging like a tide over everyone's ankles.

The light grew brighter and brighter, shifting from purple-gold to pure gold, and from pure gold to incandescent white.

Everyone closed their eyes.

Qin Lin kept his eyes closed, feeling The Ark changing.

It was not growth, but evolution.

Like a butterfly breaking out of its cocoon, like a seed sprouting from frozen soil, like that first ray of light at the dawn of the Universe.

The Ark's hull lengthened, widened, and grew taller within the light.

This was not a change in physical dimensions, but an expansion of a higher dimension, transcending space itself.

The patterns on the surface of the hull went from complex to simple, and from simple to nothing.

They hadn't disappeared; they had turned inward. The Law was now carved into every atom of The Ark; there was no need to trace it on the outside anymore.

The Ark's protective shield changed from pale purple to transparent.

It wasn't invisible; it had merged into one with The Ark itself.

Energy flowed within the metal, and the metal breathed within the energy; there was no distinction between inside and outside, no difference between surface and core.

The Ark's thrusters went from existing to non-existing.

It wasn't that propulsion was no longer needed, but that The Ark itself had become a thruster.

It no longer generated thrust by expelling matter but acted directly upon space, navigating through time and space like a fish swimming in water.

The spherical dome of the Bridge changed from transparent to panoramic.

It no longer used screens to display the starry sky outside; one could see directly outside.

There was no glass, no screen, no medium of any kind. The starry sky was right before their eyes, within reach.

Qin Lin stood in the center of the Bridge, surrounded by the Universe.

He reached out, and what his fingertips touched was not cold glass, but a vacuum, starlight, and infinity.

He withdrew his hand and looked at his fingertips.

There was nothing there, but he knew The Ark was different now.

The living room had grown larger, turning from one floor into two.

Upstairs was a new bedroom; downstairs was the original living room.

The Ecological Plantations had increased from three to five, with two new climate simulation zones.

The Medical Room had grown from three floors to five, equipped with more advanced cross-species medical equipment.

The entertainment area now included a holographic cinema, a virtual reality training room, an indoor swimming pool, and an indoor children's playground.

The number of bedrooms had increased from fifteen to twenty-five, each with an independent bathroom and a skylight facing the starry sky.

Qin Lin's room had also moved from the Third Floor apartment to an independent cabin above the Bridge, with twice the area and infinitely better views than before.

The most critical change was in the System itself.

Qin Lin opened the System panel; the interface had completely changed.

It was no longer a list of data, but a star map—a real-time, updated star map covering the entire Universe.

There were countless points of light on the star map, each representing a star, and each line representing a possible route.

Qin Lin looked at that sea of stars, feeling like someone standing on the shore, with infinite possibilities before him.

Everyone on The Ark stood in the living room, looking at this brand-new space.

Han Yurou held Qin Yue, her mouth hanging open, unable to close it for a long time.

Li Ying leaned back in a massage chair. It wasn't the original one anymore, but a newly equipped one after the upgrade, with many times more functions than before. However, she just sat there without activating any of them.

Su Yuran held Qin An, who had fallen asleep in her arms. The starry sky outside projected faint points of light onto the ceiling.

Qing Yue, Hong Yao, and Qing He stood together; all three of them had large baby bumps.

Murong Xue stood behind the crowd, looking at the brand-new, larger, and brighter Ark.

Han Qing walked out of the Medical Room, holding a notebook in her hand.

She glanced at the new Medical Room: five floors, automatic doors, an intelligent care System, and cross-species medical equipment.

She took a deep breath, scribbled a few notes in her notebook, then closed it and looked at Qin Lin.

"Qin Lin, I can use this Medical Room for a lifetime."

Qin Lin looked at her and smiled.

[ Lv10 The Ark Upgrade Complete ]

[ New Core Functions: ]

[ 1. Inter-universal Travel: Can cross universal barriers to enter other Universes. ]

[ 2. Universal Scanning Array: Detection range expanded to the entire Universe. ]

[ 3. Otherworldly Material Storage Expansion: Can store more cross-world resources. ]

[ 4. Spacetime Anchors expanded to 20. ]

[ 5. Energy Shield V10: Can withstand Universe-level disasters. ]

[ 6. Life Support System Upgrade: Can sustain passenger life in any environment. ]

[ 7. Intelligent Hub Upgrade: System response speed improved, functions comprehensively optimized. ]

Qin Lin read through these new functions, then scrolled to the very bottom.

[ Lv10 → Lv11: Cosmic Ark ]

[ Unlock Condition: Complete Otherworldly Exploration Missions (Current Progress: 2/10) ]

[ Note: Lv11 upgrade conditions will be gradually unlocked during Otherworldly Exploration. ]

Ten Otherworldly Exploration missions, two completed.

One was entering the Tianxuan Galaxy, the other was entering the Cultivation world.

Eight more to go.

Qin Lin didn't know what those missions were, but he wasn't in a rush.

The Ark was parked in the valley, the light of its protective shield shimmering with a faint gold hue under the sunlight.

Qin Lin stood on the Observation Tower, looking at the gray, hazy sky in the distance.

The storm had subsided, and the rift was still spreading, but at a slower pace.

Perhaps it was because The Ark had drained the psionic crystals and the tianxuan crystal core, reducing the energy source for the rift.

Footsteps sounded behind him.

Murong Xue walked up and stood beside him.

"The Ark is finished upgrading."

Qin Lin nodded.

"Where to next?"

Qin Lin pulled up the universal star map on the holographic screen.

The Tianxuan Galaxy was just a single point of light in the vast Universe.

There were countless such points of light on the star map, each representing a galaxy, each potentially harboring life, civilization, and apocalypse.

"The Central Domain."

Murong Xue looked at the star map and was silent for a long time.

There was a light in her eyes—not hope, but determination.

"Okay."

The Ark took off.

It rose from the valley, passed through the atmosphere, and entered space.

The gray, hazy planet outside the window slowly shrank, finally becoming a point of light that disappeared into the depths of the star map.

Qin Lin stood in the center of the Bridge, surrounded by the Universe.

Murong Xue stood beside him, and Qing Yue, Hong Yao, Qing He, Su Yuran, Han Qing, Li Ying, Han Yurou... everyone was there.

The Ark flew toward the Central Domain.

Ahead lay an unknown Star Domain, behind lay a home they could never return to.

But The Ark kept flying.