Chapter 168 All Becomes Gold

At the same time, Tita led the first squad, choosing not to fight head-on, but instead shook off the encirclement of the giant insects and insectoids. Tita fully activated her precognitive ability, decisively abandoning her mecha. All mobile warriors submerged into the Kepler jungle, knowing that survival was the only way to continue the mission. Death meant nothing. As for other matters, they could be dealt with later. Her biggest worry was Li Hao’s situation. The circumstances at the time were very unfavorable for Li Hao. Romero's strength far exceeded that of Fan Liweite and his group. But worry was useless; the situation was spiraling out of control.

The situation of the other four squads was even worse, with heavy casualties. Forget about attacking the base, even self-preservation was difficult. The only saving grace was that those who came were all top experts, piloting the best mecha currently available. Everyone could only choose to retreat temporarily. A head-on confrontation was obviously not an option. The key was that the core objective was not to eliminate the giant insects and insectoids; that was meaningless. The goal was to destroy the base and the source. Now, they needed to make alternative plans. The second and third squads were in particularly dire straits. To allow the main force to retreat, they had to leave behind a squad to cover the rear. Faced with an overwhelmingly superior enemy, although they killed a large number of enemies, they paid a heavy price.

The situation in space was even more tragic than on the ground. All the warships were caught in a meat grinder battle with the giant insect swarm. The massive number of space warriors and the even greater number of giant insects illuminated the entire space. In the command room, the space fortress had just completed a fierce defense battle. The giant insect landing force had actually charged over, and at the same time, it was almost hit again by the terrifying energy cannon from the depths of the sea. That was completely different from the giant insect's energy attack; it was somewhat similar to that of humans, but the technical level of the other side being able to carry out such precise strikes through the atmosphere exceeded that of humans.

Markham and the others all had solemn expressions. The situation was out of control. The landing plan had suffered a serious setback. All squads were besieged, and support troops could not provide rescue. The number of giant insects on the ground was still enormous, and the rate of damage in the space battle was too fast. Li Hao's side… seemed to be not going well either. The last intelligence was that he was hammered by the insect god general, Romero. Romero’s strength was clearly far beyond Fan Liweite and the others, and was already unstoppable. There was also the unfathomable Nangong Yuhang.

The space fleet suffered casualties every minute. Humans obviously couldn’t sustain such losses. “Prepare the Dzhanibekov Cannon!”

Markham said in a deep voice. As the commander-in-chief, he couldn’t bet the fate of humanity on luck. Wu Fa and Pang Pai exchanged glances, and neither objected. At this point, it was time to make a decision. The space fortress shook violently again. The giant insects obviously knew that the space fortress was the command center of the fleet and launched wave after wave of attacks. Human warriors desperately resisted. Accompanied by the attacks of various human missiles and laser cannons, the giant insects were also buried in flames piece by piece, but similarly, the giant insects had no idea what retreat was. At this time, no desire for victory could be seen in them as intelligent creatures.

No. 1 Base.

Nangong Yuhang, displaying his full power, was like a war god, chasing Li Hao and bombarding him wildly. His every move possessed divine might. No. 1 Base was almost destroyed by the two of them. Romero couldn’t care about so much; he just shielded Polina from the attacks. The other giant insects and insectoids were not so lucky; the power ripples of the two almost meant death when they struck.

Li Hao completely blocked Nangong Yuhang’s attacks, and using such power was also a last resort. He had been resisting this mutation all along. His soul wandered everywhere, but only in dreams. Li Hao treated all of this as a dream, and when he woke up, he would live a normal life. He distinguished it very well, so he was still a person.

He didn't know what would happen when the body also evolved.

At this time, Li Hao’s body was rapidly mutating. Once this process was started, it was irreversible. Li Hao’s body wasn’t glowing with golden light. Every cell in his body was gradually turning into a golden cell. Those energy-filled cells began to infect each other. Nangong Yuhang's attack was very powerful, but in fact, it was useless. At most, it accelerated this process. This was what Li Hao had been escaping and resisting all along. He never wanted to mutate; he just wanted to be a person, like Zuo Xiaotang, Zhou Nanyi, Er Ya, Boss Wang, and so on, a person who could experience joy, anger, sorrow, and happiness, and eat delicious food together, even if injured, even if in despair, he was still a person.

Some changes, once started, cannot be turned back.

But now, if he didn’t change, what he wanted to protect would no longer exist.

Li Hao opened his golden eyes, and the golden light pierced through the sky.

Boom…

A punch landed squarely on Nangong Yuhang, stopping Nangong Yuhang's violent attack. Ugh… a mouthful of blood spurted out. Nangong Yuhang's body suddenly contracted, as if it was about to explode. His brain also had a feeling of his soul flying away. His whole body was instantly ejected hundreds of meters, penetrating walls, followed by another deafening explosion.

Whoosh…

Nangong Yuhang’s body soared into the sky, like a cannonball drawing a huge parabola, killing towards Li Hao, “Li~~~~~Hao, die~~~~!”

His right fist condensed terrifying energy, and the surrounding giant insects were wailing. A giant lightning bolt in the sky struck Nangong Yuhang, and Nangong Yuhang directly absorbed all the power. His body was becoming infinite. The power of nature spread throughout his body along Nemir's Emperor runes. He could win, he was the strongest!

He was the only one!

– Fudo Myo-o Nine Heavens Thunderclap Fist!

At this moment, the last cell in Li Hao’s body also turned golden. In an instant, the light on Li Hao’s body disappeared, and even the gold in his eyes completely vanished, but at this moment, Romero had already knelt down.

Li Hao threw a punch, and instantly, Kepler seemed to stop rotating.

Whoosh~~~~

Boom…

The terrifying power tore through space and rushed into the sky, followed by an energy hurricane that indiscriminately blasted away. Hum~~~~ Boom…

The entire No. 1 Base directly collapsed and sank. The giant insects, insectoids, and countless experimental subjects in the underground laboratory were all annihilated in the ruins.

At the critical moment, Romero helped Polina block the attack. His indestructible Second Order armor directly collapsed in the aftermath of the power, and his body began to crack, blown away directly by the hurricane.

After a while, when Romero stood up again, No. 1 Base had disappeared. Feeling Polina’s heartbeat, a trace of tenderness appeared in Romero’s eyes. He gently put her down, and then saw a person standing in the open space.

Was it a person?

Romero didn't know, but he still walked over.

No joy or sorrow could be seen on Li Hao’s face. He had won. According to Blee's plan, he had finally become the body that Theseus needed. Only his state could infinitely carry souls. The infinite microscopic inner universe and the infinite macroscopic outer universe were the same, and theoretically could carry huge souls.

Nangong Yuhang lay on the ground, his body already dilapidated. It was impossible to tell whether the expression on his face was anger or relief.

"Are you still… going?" Nangong Yuhang’s voice sounded intermittently.

Li Hao was silent for a while, then nodded. "Perhaps we are all puppets, unable to change fate at all."

Nangong Yuhang smiled. Yes, who wasn’t a puppet? It was finally over. The former Nangong family child, Nangong Yuhang who carried various wills, he never knew what he was living for, who he was.

Crack.

The crystal on Nangong Yuhang's chest collapsed, and his body quickly crystallized like a silicon-based creature, decaying…

Romero looked at Nangong Yuhang, "I'll take you there."

Li Hao nodded and looked at the sky. The battle was still continuing. The giant insect legion was not affected in the slightest. This showed that Nangong Yuhang was just a tool. The real enemy was Theseus. Suddenly, Li Hao's body shook violently, tottering.

Romero frowned and quickly grabbed him. "Are you okay?"

Li Hao waved his hand and smiled bitterly, "I don't have much time left."

No one had this experience. Li Hao felt that his body was about to become a bottomless pit. The golden cells were actually starting to devour each other. He was about to lose control. "Romero, if I fail, and the Dzhanibekov Cannon doesn’t work either, don't resist. Leave a spark of hope for humanity."

Romero was silent for a while, then nodded.

Romero cleared a ruin, and the Nemir civilization's teleportation array inside was intact. An energy channel opened.

Li Hao and Romero entered. This was how Nangong Yuhang had brought Romero here. The two instantly went from No. 1 Base to the bottom of Kepler's sea. What came into view was a shocking scene, a prosperous technological underwater city, indicating that a very advanced civilization had once existed here.

A huge city floated in the vast ocean of Kepler, which was even more vast than Earth. The entire city was shrouded in an energy shield. Li Hao and Romero appeared in the city.

It was deathly silent here. Under the prosperous appearance, there was a sense of eeriness. There was no sign of life, but one could feel the fullness and horror of vitality. And in Li Hao's eyes, powerful soul energy was floating everywhere, with a hint of strangeness. A suffocating force shrouded the entire city and radiated towards the ocean.

"This city itself is a huge energy absorber. Nangong Yuhang judged that Theseus led his people to Kepler through the almost mastered technology of the Nemir civilization, a unique kind of space jump, but something unknown happened. Theseus absorbed the souls of everyone during this jump, becoming a huge and complex life form. During this process, his body should have collapsed, and he could only be entrusted to the entire city, sinking into the sea," Romero said, "The final step of the insectoid transformation is completed at this divine tower. That place should be where the core of the soul is stored. Now that Nangong is dead, the technology of the Nemir civilization has also disappeared with him."

Romero was a bit melancholy. The Nemir civilization was destroyed when it was about to reach its peak. What about human civilization?

(End of this chapter)