Chapter 1 A Descent into the Abyss

At that moment, in a dimly lit world, Su Mo felt himself falling continuously towards an abyss. He struggled desperately, but to no avail. His body felt as if it didn't belong to him, and he felt a deep sense of powerlessness and despair.

He didn't know why, but he felt as if he was suffocating. Sounds of weeping, sorrow, wailing, and laughter echoed incessantly in his ears.

Then, Su Mo felt as if he had fallen into the deep sea.

Towering waves of seawater engulfed him, and he struggled painfully in the water.

But it was all in vain. In the end, he could only sink weakly, his consciousness gradually fading away.

After an unknown period of time, Su Mo suddenly opened his eyes, gasping for breath. The harsh light shone into his eyes, making it impossible for him to open them fully.

At this moment, Krook's face slowly appeared in Su Mo's field of vision, blocking the blinding light. At the same time, Krook said with great joy,

"Su Mo, you're awake!"

"Krook, I didn't expect to see you again on the road to reincarnation. That's great; at least I have company!" Su Mo said, looking at Krook with a dazed expression.

Krook's smile froze upon hearing Su Mo's words, and his face twitched violently. "Reincarnation? Are you confused?"

"What's wrong? Aren't you dead? Since I can see you, doesn't that mean we're both dead?" Su Mo asked subconsciously.

"Who said I'm dead? I'm alive and well. Look where you are," Krook retorted, annoyed.

Su Mo struggled to turn his head and look around. He suddenly realized that he was in a clean and tidy hospital room.

"I'm really not dead? Wait, that's not right. It's impossible. I clearly saw you die; how could you not be dead?" Su Mo asked in astonishment.

"Haha, I was lucky. Kavise's attack didn't hit the cockpit. It brushed past it. Because the Titan's power core is a bit large, the cockpit's position had to be lowered, which is slightly different from regular mecha. Moreover, the Titan is the strongest defensive mecha among the VI generation mecha developed by Heros Technology Group. The cockpit is specially made. When the Titan exploded, the cockpit withstood all the damage. I just fainted."

Krook explained to Su Mo.

"That's great. That's some luck."

Su Mo couldn't help but feel happy for Krook upon hearing this.

"That's right. I am indeed lucky, but Qing Gui wasn't so fortunate." Krook's expression became even more dejected as he said this.

"Qing Gui is dead?"

Su Mo was stunned. In fact, his impression of Qing Gui was both familiar and unfamiliar.

Although he often saw Qing Gui next to Icarus, he rarely interacted with Qing Gui, and they exchanged very few words, mostly just nodding greetings.

But Su Mo felt even more melancholy upon hearing that Qing Gui had died.

"Dead. The cockpit was pierced through. Not even the remains were preserved," Krook replied hoarsely. He was much closer to Qing Gui than Su Mo was.

Su Mo forced himself to sit up, leaning against the headboard, and asked Krook, who was wrapped in bandages, "A lot of people sacrificed themselves this time, right?"

"The remaining troops lost about three-quarters. If you hadn't killed Kavise in the end, we probably would have been completely wiped out."

Krook's expression became even more dejected as he spoke. "Killed Kavise?"

Su Mo couldn't help but touch his head, feeling a headache. He couldn't quite remember. "That's right. Don't you remember?"

Krook replied, puzzled.

Su Mo touched his head, trying to recall carefully, but the more he thought, the more his head hurt. Several fragmented images flashed through his mind.

At this moment, the low voice of the Creator · Devourer sounded in his mind.

"Don't bother thinking about it. You were probably on the verge of going berserk, and your memory has been fragmented. You're really crazy, absorbing so many Negative God fragments into your body with your bare hands. It's a miracle you didn't die."

Su Mo was startled upon hearing Xiao Shi's words and quickly looked at his body, only to find that it was covered in negative energy contamination patterns.

"Only now you remember to be afraid? It's too late. Alright, don't bother looking. Your body is severely injured, but strangely, it's not fatal. Your current physical condition is much better than when you activated Third Gear before, which surprises me greatly."

The Creator · Devourer said with great bewilderment. "Really?"

Su Mo was also very pleasantly surprised.

"It's probably because you injected the VI type gene serum."

The Creator · Devourer couldn't think of any other reason. "Ahem, it must be because I've become stronger."

Su Mo interrupted Xiao Shi's speculation.

Xiao Shi was about to say a few words of mockery when the door was pushed open, and Qian Chengxue and Lan Xi walked in, their faces showing great joy when they saw that Su Mo was awake. "Su Mo!"

"Qian Chengxue, Lan Xi."

Su Mo also smiled brightly at the sight of the two.

Qian Chengxue quickly walked to the bedside and hugged Su Mo, asking with concern, "Su Mo, are you feeling uncomfortable anywhere?"

"I'm fine; don't worry so much."

Su Mo replied, feeling warm in his heart from Qian Chengxue's warm embrace.

Lan Xi, who was standing to the side, said with a smile, "Sister Xue, I told you before that Su Mo would be fine. See, he's doing well now." "It's good that you're alright. You really scared me to death. I thought you were going to die several times,"

Qian Chengxue said, her heart gradually calming down after hearing Su Mo's words.

"Don't worry; it's all over. As long as the follow-up work is completed, we can leave and never have to worry again," Su Mo said, gently stroking Qian Chengxue's face.

However, upon hearing Su Mo's words, Qian Chengxue and Lan Xi fell silent. Even Krook's expression became increasingly gloomy. The atmosphere in the room suddenly became very oppressive and somber. Su Mo immediately sensed that something was wrong and asked, puzzled,

"What's wrong? Did something happen?" "Nothing happened, it's just..."

Qian Chengxue didn't know how to tell Su Mo.

"Let me tell him."

Krook, who was standing to the side, spoke hoarsely.

Su Mo turned his head to look at Krook and nodded. Krook sighed deeply and said,

"The Eternal Slumber race was defeated by us, and Kavise was also killed. But the main drill carried by Star Ring City was destroyed, and a large number of areas have lost contact. Even Star Ring City has been severely damaged. Lord Icarus's plan has completely failed; we lost."

Su Mo's heart trembled upon hearing Krook's words, and he couldn't speak for a long time.

"Su Mo, don't think too much. Get well soon. Once you're healed, we'll think of other ways," Qian Chengxue quickly comforted Su Mo, telling him not to worry too much.

Su Mo was silent for a long time before asking,

"Did Lord Icarus release any new response strategies?" Qian Chengxue sighed at this time and said,

"No, there are no strategies. Apart from issuing a rescue and aftermath order after the battle, there's nothing else. Moreover, Lord Icarus is in very bad condition now. She's been sitting on the damaged drill almost every day."

"I understand."

Su Mo took a deep breath.

Lan Xi said at this time, "Sister Xue, let's go first; let Su Mo get some rest." "Okay, Su Mo, don't think too much. Get some rest, and I'll come see you tomorrow,"

Qian Chengxue gently instructed Su Mo. "Okay."

Su Mo nodded in response.

After Qian Chengxue and the others left, Su Mo lay in bed, his expression constantly changing as he pondered. The Creator · Devourer's low voice sounded in Su Mo's mind.

"What's the point of thinking so much? You're not a god; you can't solve everything."

"You're right, but if we all run away with the situation as it is, then there's no hope," Su Mo replied to the Creator · Devourer, then struggled to get out of bed.

Krook, who had returned to bed, quickly got up when he saw Su Mo getting out of bed and asked, "Su Mo, what are you doing?"

"Time is of the essence. I need to see Lord Icarus," Su Mo said calmly to Krook.

"Your body? Is it okay? I'll go with you, okay?" Krook asked, worried.

"No need! Get some rest. I'm fine. I know my body's condition very well," Su Mo said to Krook with a smile, then staggered towards the door.

Krook watched Su Mo's departing back, and for some reason, a glimmer of hope rose in his heart. In the corridor, Su Mo staggered along, seeing hospital beds everywhere.

The beds were filled with groaning soldiers, and doctors were anxiously trying to rescue their comrades. However, despite their best efforts, gunshots kept ringing out.

Su Mo turned his head and saw fully armed soldiers, with red eyes, ending the lives of their comrades, giving them a decent send-off.

"Wailing!"......

Cries echoed continuously.

Su Mo watched this scene, and even his tough nerves couldn't help but be touched. He walked out step by step, staggering, in a desolate manner. After a long time,

Su Mo, under the protection of Xiao Shi's force field armor, appeared beside the ruins of the collapsed Star Ring City.

He saw that the huge Star Drill had been taken out and placed next to it, but the entire drill had been broken into several sections.

On top of the largest section of the Star Drill, Icarus, wearing golden colonization armor, sat alone on the broken opening, her disheveled hair fluttering in the breeze. She held a bottle of spirits in her hand, taking a sip from time to time as she gazed at the scarlet sky.

Her cold expression revealed indescribable loneliness and melancholy.

Su Mo's expression was filled with emotion as he watched this scene, and he walked over.

After a lot of effort, he finally managed to climb onto the drill and sat down beside Icarus, panting. Icarus didn't turn to look at Su Mo, but simply gazed at the scarlet sky.

"Won't you share a drink with me?"

Su Mo said with a forced smile.

Icarus casually handed the bottle of spirits to Su Mo. Su Mo raised the bottle and took a sip. The incredibly spicy sensation shot straight to his head, and he couldn't help but cough violently.

"Cough, cough!"

"You didn't have to come. Your body isn't well yet. You can't handle strong spirits. There was no need to force yourself," Icarus said softly.

"How would I know I can't handle it if I don't try? What if I can?" Su Mo replied in as light and cheerful a tone as possible.

"Alas~ I have roamed the starry seas, never having suffered a defeat. I never expected to be defeated by Negative God Star in the end. It really is fate playing tricks. I suppose this is my tribulation. So be it, so be it."

Icarus replied softly, her face filled with indescribable bitterness and helplessness.

"Have you ever thought about one thing? You're already amazing, planning all this with your own strength. It's simply a miracle," Su Mo said, gazing at the collapsed sinkhole in the distance.

"Failure is failure. No matter how well you did before, the result represents everything. You don't have to comfort me specifically. I'm very clear that today's failure was caused by my own hands."

Icarus shook her head and replied softly.

"You don't owe anyone, and you haven't let anyone down. Don't attribute all the responsibility to yourself. You've done enough, and there's no need to be so hard on yourself. Moreover, we're still alive. As long as we're alive, there's hope. What's the situation now? Can that damaged main drill be repaired?" Su Mo asked in a deep voice.

"The head of the main drill wasn't destroyed. It was the power section in the rear that was damaged. It can indeed be repaired. But what's the point of repairing it? We don't have the materials, and we don't have the time."

Icarus turned to look at Su Mo and said, hearing his words.

"As long as it can be repaired, that's all that matters. Send me the design drawings and the required parts, and I'll go back and produce them," Su Mo said, his eyes filled with determination.

"Do you think it'll be useful? The problem we're facing now isn't just the destruction of the main drill. The other operations aren't going smoothly either. Many of the operation teams have lost contact or failed, and many of the drills they were carrying have been lost or destroyed. Conservatively speaking, we're missing at least 15 percent of the conventional drills. Our situation is a dead end. Moreover, the abnormal reactions on Negative God Star are about to reach their peak. What can we use to reverse the failure? Forget it; let's not talk about this anymore. Take your people and leave. Get as far away as possible."

"What are you saying so pessimistically? We'll build as many drills as we're missing. If we don't have time, we'll race against the clock!" Su Mo replied, word by word.

"How can we build them without materials?"

Icarus gazed at Su Mo and said in a deep voice. "You don't have materials, but I do!"

Su Mo said without hesitation.

Icarus's cold expression showed a rare fluctuation upon hearing Su Mo's words. "You have materials?"

"That's right. I have materials, and I have a lot of them. I can take the Blacklight back, call back the migration troops, have them produce them with all their strength, and then return as quickly as possible. I've calculated it. With the speed of the Blacklight, it'll only take a little over a day to catch up with the main force. Then, I'll use the Blacklight to transport people back to start work. Theoretically speaking, the first factory can be restarted in two days! If there are enough raw materials, and all the factories are operating at full capacity, we should be able to build them in a month, under normal circumstances. Give me a month!"

Su Mo said very seriously.

Icarus gazed into Su Mo's eyes, her voice slightly wavering as she asked, "Are you kidding me?"

"Do you think I'm kidding you? Do you remember what I told you before? You can try to trust others, and that naturally includes me. The materials for these Star Drills were obtained from raiding the Eternal Slumber race's material depot. I originally wanted to give them to you, but because I didn't know what you were going to do with them at the time, I didn't hand them over."

Su Mo said to Icarus.

"Alright! I believe you. We'll bet on this one last time."

At this moment, Icarus regained her heroic spirit and said without hesitation. "Alright! We'll bet on this one last time."

Su Mo smiled brightly.

Icarus gazed at Su Mo at this moment, and her mind was somewhat dazed for a moment. For some reason, she felt inexplicably at ease. "Lord Icarus?"

Su Mo called out softly, seeing that Icarus hadn't spoken for a long time.

Icarus came back to her senses and said to Su Mo with a somewhat unnatural expression, "It's nothing."

Then, she raised her electronic bracelet and transmitted the design drawings to Su Mo. "Then I'll organize the personnel to return now."

Su Mo was very decisive and prepared to leave.

"Well, go ahead. Be careful on the road. I'll do my best to repair the Star Ring City and get it running, so that it can become a functioning carrier again," Icarus nodded heavily in response.

"Alright, wait for me!"

Su Mo then jumped off the drill. The Creator · Devourer protected Su Mo and landed him safely on the ground. Icarus gazed at Su Mo's departing back, her expression becoming increasingly complex.

However, Icarus's strange expression quickly faded away. She raised the electronic bracelet in her hand and issued orders to everyone.

"Latest orders, except for rescue personnel, all personnel are to immediately assemble to repair the Star Ring City. We will not give up until the last moment!" Countless confused soldiers and companions saw this information, and their eyes regained their brilliance.

The soldiers shouted excitedly.

"Lord Icarus has issued an order!" "There's still hope for us!" "Brothers, let's get moving."......

The remaining Star Ring City forces were all activated at this moment. One mecha after another took off and flew towards Star Ring City. Su Mo, who was walking towards the Blacklight, stopped and turned his head to look at the crowd, who had regained their fighting spirit.

His eyes became even more determined!

The Creator · Devourer said to Su Mo,

"Hehe, I never thought that the materials you took when you raided the Eternal Slumber race's warehouse would become the most important part today! If the Eternal Slumber race knew that the materials they had worked so hard to collect would instead help you, they would probably go berserk."

"Who could have imagined it?" Su Mo replied with a smile. "That's true."

The Creator · Devourer was also filled with emotion.

Soon after, Su Mo walked into the Blacklight's command room. "Lord Su Mo? What brings you here?"

Mans exclaimed in surprise.

Tilo turned to look at Su Mo and was also very surprised. "Lord Su Mo, why are you here in the command room instead of healing your wounds?" "Don't ask so many questions. Issue a notice to prepare for departure."

Su Mo staggered to the command chair and sat down, issuing orders. "Yes!"

Although Tilo and the others were very shocked and puzzled, they still answered.

Soon after, the order to return was quickly issued, and before long, Qian Chengxue and Sun Duoxiang and the others all ran to the command room. "Tilo, why did you suddenly issue the order to return?"

Sun Duoxiang shouted at the top of his lungs. "I issued it."

Su Mo said, turning around in the command chair.

"Ah? Boss, it's you? I just received a notice from Icarus that they're going to repair Star Ring City with all their strength. If we leave at this time, wouldn't that be a little disloyal?"

Sun Duoxiang scratched his head and said.

"What are you thinking? Do you think I'd be a deserter? The drills are destroyed; don't we need to go back and produce them?" Su Mo rolled his eyes at Sun Duoxiang.

Sun Duoxiang smiled brightly upon hearing Su Mo's words. "I knew you wouldn't be that kind of person, Boss."

Qian Chengxue asked with puzzlement, "Su Mo? What exactly is going on?" "Time is of the essence; I'll explain it to you on the way. Let's prepare for departure first!" Su Mo said to everyone.

"Alright!"

Qian Chengxue and the others nodded in response, not asking any further questions. Tilo immediately issued orders to all her subordinates.

At this time, the mecha squads that were rescuing and operating nearby all abandoned their tasks and returned to the Blacklight. When the last mecha entered the entrance, the sealed hatch immediately closed.

Tilo then turned to salute Su Mo. "Everything is ready!" "Depart!"

Su Mo waved his hand without hesitation, issuing the order!

The Blacklight immediately powered up, and the ship floated up and flew towards the sky above.

At this time, Icarus, who was standing on the wreckage of the Star Drill, quietly watched the Blacklight leaving, her eyes slightly moving. ......

In the Linkas Star System, which leads to the Negative Universe.

Stars twinkled, and ethereal nebulae coiled in the center like fish and dragons. At a glance, the entire star system was vast and wide, with no end in sight. Suddenly, countless blue neural networks emerged, extending endlessly and covering the entire star system.

The whole scene was incredibly soul-stirring.

At the center of the blue neural network, a huge passage appeared.

Then, the Spirit Touched Ones, who blotted out the sky, poured out, filling the entire vast starry sea. Their numbers reached hundreds of millions.

Beneath this absolute number, every civilization trembled.

Then, more and more holes cracked open, and 48 VI-type strategic fortresses of different shapes emerged, each with a brilliant light shining on its surface.

Then came the endless coral-shaped small fortresses, dandelion fortresses, Wind Shuttle-class ships, and other weapons. Countless troops frantically assembled.

At this time, one VI-type Spirit Touched One after another gathered together. Looking closely, all of these VI-type Spirit Touched Ones had a scarlet pattern on their heads.

If anyone understood the Eternal Slumber race's civilization, they could see at a glance that the patterns on the heads of these Spirit Touched Ones were all signs of enslavement.

These VI-type Spirit Touched Ones were all puppet thugs imprisoned by the Eternal Slumber race, and they were all released at this time, with numbers reaching an astonishing twenty or more.

Of course, because the Eternal Slumber race was each race managed its own, the patriarchs had to be moved with their tribesmen and could not be separated, otherwise it would lead to the tribe losing control. Like the Haiduo tribe, they had rebellious emotions.

So generally, they would not be moved around randomly.

At this time, floating around these puppet thugs were special VI-type leader-level Spirit Touched Ones. The patterns and nerve structures of these Spirit Touched Ones were very similar, and their actions were unified, as if they were stamped out of a template. These were the Eternal Slumber race's patriarch's personal guards, the Burial Army.

In addition to these arms, one could also see, among the massive number of Spirit Touched Ones, grotesque twisted creatures emerging. These creatures had similar forms to the Haiduo tribe's Emperor VI-type fortress class, Amarelu, but were only of different sizes.

At this time, a pair of huge golden eyes opened in the starry sky. Countless Spirit Touched Ones emitted special resonance sounds.

"Lord Patriarch!"......

The Eternal Slumber race's patriarch, Ossaen's majestic voice, resounded throughout the universe. "My valiant warriors, all of you listen to my orders, follow me to conquer the Negative Universe, and flatten the Negative Universe!" "Yes! The patriarch is invincible!"

"Invincible!"....

Then, the Eternal Slumber race's troops, blotting out the sky and with no end in sight, moved like a tide towards the Negative Universe. ......

Inside the Blacklight's command room, Su Mo sat in the command chair.

Tilo reported to Su Mo: "According to our estimates, we have already arrived near the Gray Scorpion Star Sea, and we expect to reach the Sea of ​​Rings in another 16 hours."

"When we get to the Sea of ​​Rings, stop and rendezvous with Katuer first."

Su Mo instructed Tilo, as he planned to have Katuer and his people prepare for the work to begin first, and to count how many factories were left behind by various countries and how many were still available.

"No problem."

Tilo nodded and said.

Qian Chengxue then said softly to Su Mo:

"Su Mo, there is still a long way to go before we reach the Sea of ​​Rings, why don't you go and rest for a while? The ship is currently in faster-than-light flight, so there shouldn't be any problems."

"No, I want to keep a close eye on it myself. Now is a critical period, and we absolutely cannot afford any problems." Su Mo shook his head.

"But can your body take it?" Qian Chengxue asked, a little worried.

"Don't worry, I'm fine, and even if you really let me go and rest, I won't be able to rest well, so I might as well just sit here in the command room and feel at ease, don't worry, I'm fine."

Su Mo smiled and tried to reassure her. "Alright!"

Seeing that Su Mo was so insistent, Qian Chengxue couldn't say anything more. Just like that, time passed little by little.

Longke kept reporting to Su Mo.

"We are about to enter the vicinity of the Katiwalo Star System." "Mm, I know."

Su Mo nodded slightly, looking at the star map displayed in front of him. Even though the speed was already very fast, his heart was still inexplicably anxious. Of course, it wasn't really Su Mo's fault, even though he had agreed with Icarus on a month's time.

But no one could grasp the state of Negative God Star, what if there wasn't enough time? Therefore, Su Mo had to shorten the time as much as possible.

In other words, they were now racing against time. Just then, the entire Blacklight suddenly vibrated. "What's the situation?"

Su Mo asked in confusion.

"Not sure, we are investigating!"

Tilo was also very surprised, and she calmly began to investigate the data.

Artificial intelligence Zero reported at this time: "Abnormal fluctuations in subspace, the ship has been impacted to a certain extent, and the output power of the dimensional barrier is automatically adjusted and increased.

"Everyone, don't panic, it's just a subspace fluctuation, the Blacklight's performance is fine." Qian Chengxue reminded everyone very calmly.

"Sister Xue is right, the Blacklight's performance is so strong, it'll be fine."

Sun Duoxiang chimed in with a grin.

However, at this time, Longke, who was responsible for monitoring the video, had a look of horror on his face. "Sister, Boss!!!"

Su Mo and Tilo looked over abruptly and shouted at the same time. "What happened?"

"Look ahead!"

Longke projected what the holographic optical device had captured in front of everyone with extreme horror. Su Mo and the others looked over, and were all shocked by the scene in front of them.

In the subspace in front of the Blacklight, a nebula resembling a giant had appeared out of thin air. The entire giant stood upright, with its hands clasped together. The body constructed of vast nebulae emitted a special halo, and there was a huge blue eye on its head.

The essence of the entire blue eye was a huge blue vortex, and compared to it, the Blacklight was like a speck of dust. At this time, the Blacklight was flying straight towards the blue eye at high speed.

"Zero! Immediately stop the faster-than-light flight and shut down the propulsion system!"

Su Mo reacted immediately and issued an order to Zero. "Executing!"

Artificial intelligence Zero responded immediately. However, at this time. Boom-

The entire Blacklight was like hitting a transparent wall.

The entire ship shook violently, and a sharp ringing sound echoed in everyone's ears in the command room. For a moment, everyone was shaken and swayed, and the world was spinning.

Artificial intelligence Zero automatically popped up prompt boxes one by one.

"Warning, subject to unknown force field pulling, emergency protection system automatically activated." "Warning, subject to severe impact, life protection system automatically activated."