209 I Have Someone Up There (Physically) [Two-in-one, please subscribe!]

In the ruins of Meiyu Star.

The head of Director Lao Shilunzi was retrieved from the debris by a white humanoid mecha. It was, unmistakably, another Loner-class mecha. She placed the director’s head into a glass case equipped with a built-in ecological formation. As the spirit runes flickered, the director slowly opened her eyes.

"I didn't expect you to let Lu Chen go on your own authority." The voice belonged to the director, not the Loner. Her tone was gentle, calm, yet highly mechanical.

"He possesses hacking abilities beyond my imagination. My main body has other missions, and with just a few Loner drones, I cannot capture him for the time being."

The director sighed softly. She, too, had recognized the brilliance and uniqueness of the *Leonine*, as well as the various considerations of the General's Mansion. "If you truly wanted to do it, no one could stop you."

Su Yan offered no further explanation. "The General sent me to save you."

"Can you save the company?"

"No."

"Can you save the remnants of the fleet?"

"Neither."

"This is the decision of the headquarters. Everyone related to the Starbeast Park will be erased; the General can only save you."

"And what about you?"

"I am the one responsible for erasing everything."

...

The *Leonine*'s course was set straight ahead along the Morning Glow Route, trailing the massive interstellar freighter *White Dew*. The journey was terrifyingly quiet. There were no accompanying adventure ships, nor any livestreaming vessels following them.

Lu Chen was drenched in sweat. He had not fully escaped the danger and dared not take a shower, so he lay on Gloria's gaming chair to rest for a moment. He had just consumed a Spirit Healing Pill, but the residual formation controlling the planetary array had drained him of too much energy; his strength would not return for a while.

Gloria emerged from a shower. Dressed in tight blue-and-black fitness gear, she held a chilled canned beer. Seeing Lu Chen lying like a corpse on her gaming chair, staring blankly at the ceiling, she said with feigned disgust, "You’re covered in such a stench of sweat that my gaming chair is ruined. I heard the latest Strong-Hard Company released a Star Ring gaming chair..."

Lu Chen couldn't be bothered to look at her. He kept his eyes fixed on the ceiling, muttering, "As long as we leave the Zuan Nebula safely, buy it—you can buy anything."

Upon hearing this, Gloria felt as if Lu Chen’s foul sweat had suddenly turned fragrant. She plopped down onto the armrest of the gaming chair. "Doesn't leaving the Zuan Nebula just require an engine? Why do you keep staring at the ceiling? Is there a beauty up there?"

He didn't know if it was an illusion, but Lu Chen always felt as if an eye were peering down at him from above the stars. This sense of being watched from above gave him goosebumps; it felt like being completely locked onto by a high-dimensional life form. Yet, upon careful confirmation, the Risk-Avoidance Guide still provided no warning.

Until the ship's radar reacted first. Even Aili sensed a danger unprecedented. "Captain, it seems a Starbeast ship is chasing us. It’s very fast. I suggest we switch to stealth flight immediately."

"A Starbeast ship?"

Lu Chen quickly calculated their speed. If a Starbeast ship could catch up after they had traveled for so long, the opponent's level would certainly be no lower than eighty. Could it be the Mecha Dinosaur, Irfan? However, his strength had not fully recovered, and even if it had, he could not fully conceal the Dragon Core for the time being. He could flee, but it would be too strenuous and unnecessary. Fortunately, he had received no risk warning. Perhaps the opponent was bringing a million spirit stones to discuss a partnership? Even Vincent hadn't turned hostile toward him.

Lu Chen lay on the gaming chair without much reaction. "Don't worry, this ship doesn't seem to have any malice. Leave it be; perhaps it's Irfan coming to discuss a deal."

But a moment later, the radar detected the opponent's IFF code.

"Captain, the identity of this Starbeast ship is confirmed. It is the third ship of the Guernica Beast-Taming Group, the *Sagittarius*. The captain is named Su Teng Tailisi, a White Horse-class humanoid. His personal cultivation and that of the *Sagittarius* are synchronized at level eighty-eight!"

Lu Chen was shocked. Guernica had only been at sea for three years and already had a level eighty-eight subordinate? Wouldn't Guernica himself be over level one hundred?

"Then it's even less of a problem. We are strategic partners with the *Fish-Capricorn*, and we've traded with the *Scorpion Tail*. This white-horse man couldn't possibly attack us."

"But Captain, the opponent has already opened fire..."

"Pfft!" Lu Chen jumped up. The *Leonine* had been hit.

Fortunately, what the opponent fired were arrows bound by mane hair. The arrowheads clung to the ship's hull and instantly unfurled, turning into strands of white hair thousands of feet long, completely binding the *Leonine*. In an instant, the *Leonine* was captured. The level gap was too great; Lu Chen had no power to resist.

*Damn, the Risk-Avoidance Guide didn't even warn about this? Is it short-circuited?*

Aili immediately hid the two dormancy pods; the Black Dragon's two friends could not be discovered, or things would escalate. Gloria, unable to bear this indignity, drew her sword, ready to rush out and hack at the mane hair, just as she had hacked at spider silk during her flight assessment. Lu Chen hurriedly held her back, sensing she probably couldn't even open the airlock.

"Don't be rash. Let's see what they have to say first."

With that, he shut down the ship's engines to save fuel and waited for the opponent to contact him. Sure enough, a moment later, the *Leonine* received a video call from Su Teng Tailisi. In the video, besides a white-haired man with a horse face, there was a black-skinned beauty with black flames dancing above her head. Her eyes were blood-tinged, and she stared at Lu Chen as if she wanted to kill him.

"I am Su Teng Tailisi of the Guernica Beast-Taming Group, and this is the Black Phoenix who has just joined our group. I originally intended to take the wolf-girl beast-tamer from your ship as well, but it seems you have some history with the Black Phoenix. I can only cut my losses and abandon that plan. Hand over the Dragon Core, and you may leave here safely."

Lu Chen argued his case. As long as he didn't receive a risk warning, he would remain the master of bravado, even if he were standing before a god. "I am a recipient of the Federation Freedom Medal. If you touch me, you are opposing Federation policy!"

"The Federation is the Federation, and Guernica is Guernica. I am even from the Empire's Third-Tier Alliance."

"I have done business with the *Scorpion Tail*, and now I have an agreement with the *Fish-Capricorn*. Is Guernica's policy inconsistent?"

"We have a high degree of freedom; otherwise, the *Scorpion Tail* wouldn't have abandoned its post to save people." Su Teng Tailisi's expression was calm. He spoke slowly, but his words were logical and convincing.

Lu Chen refused to yield. "Our entire ship has over a million followers; we are an idol adventure group. Even the *Scorpion Tail* has to ride our coattails to kill Aden Fermat... Do you believe Guernica will be blasted to the top of the trending topics if you dare to rob us?"

"I've looked at your latest data. All members are level thirty-plus practitioners. Including the ship and armor, nothing exceeds level forty. You've only been at sea for a month and a half and are already seventy-third on the annual New Star list. Guernica was in the top ten of the Pangu Route's annual New Star list on our first day at sea. In the Pangu Route, strength is king. You overestimate your influence."

*This guy is a real cold-blooded type...*

Lu Chen didn't back down, retorting sharply, "Guernica is a classic case of 'playing the pig to eat the tiger,' a conspirator carrying out political missions. I, on the other hand, truly only have this much strength. Yet, even so, we gained thirty thousand points in one month at sea. After the Giant Beast Park incident, our adventurer points will definitely exceed one hundred thousand... I haven't overestimated my influence; you've underestimated my background. I have people in high places!"

This actually stunned the opponent. Su Teng Tailisi fell into deep thought. After a moment, he spoke: "I've changed my mind... I'll take you to Guernica, and you can talk it over in person."

*You can't win an argument with me, so you're switching to someone else?* Lu Chen wasn't afraid. He let out a cold snort and said, "And if I refuse?"

Su Teng Tailisi closed his eyes and shook his head, saying calmly, "I did not give you the power to choose."

Gloria frowned, furious, but after careful consideration, she gritted her teeth and held back. This horse-faced man's level was slightly too high. If she were to force her demonic transformation and rush out, the people and things inside the *Leonine* couldn't withstand it, and even Lu Chen might lose his will, leading only to mutual destruction. *Fine, a trip to Guernica won't hurt.*

However, Lu Chen acted uncharacteristically tough. He looked even calmer than the horse-man opposite him, his eyes even carrying a hint of mockery. "You misunderstood. When I said I have people in high places, I didn't just mean my background; I meant physical location. I suggest you turn on all your radars and see if there is someone above your head."

"Hmm?" The ever-cautious Su Teng Tailisi actually did it. He not only maxed out the ship's radar but also personally linked his soul with the Pegasus Starbeast, pushing his divine sense to the limit, looking up at the stars. Yet, he found no anomalies.

"Any bluffing is futile. In the face of absolute power, only by accepting fate can one find peace."

"Is that so?" Lu Chen sneered. Suddenly, he realized his inner thoughts hadn't been spoken aloud. This "is that so" didn't come from his mouth, but from... above the stars!

In an instant, the radar and spirit pressure detection equipment inside the *Sagittarius* cabin shattered.

"Captain, I've detected... the spirit pressure meter has actually broken!"

"I heard a voice." Su Teng Tailisi suppressed the terror in his heart, slowly looked up, and stared at the ceiling. The space above the *Sagittarius* caved inward... until it became a black hole.

A seemingly ordinary human finger emerged from the black hole, pointing downward, gesturing at the *Sagittarius* from afar. The space instantly contracted, like ripples gathering toward the center, finally focusing on the back of the *Sagittarius* horse. It quickly gathered at the location of the beast core.

The Pegasus's eyes froze instantly. A long neigh echoed through the starry sky! The Pegasus's beast core was instantly pierced; the spirit pressure exploded with a roar, and the massive body disintegrated, shattering into thousands of pieces. Even the distant *Leonine* was affected by the spatial debris. The ship tumbled and vibrated violently, forcing Lu Chen to take the helm himself and use the power of spatial resonance to barely stabilize the ship.

A silver shuttle escaped the shredded *Sagittarius*, forcefully activated its warp engine, and jumped away.

Lu Chen came to his senses. He finally understood what this feeling of being watched was. A small black hole, roughly ten times the size of the *Leonine*, hung above the ship. Because it was too close, it brought a sense of oppression as if from a high-dimensional being. The three of them held their breath. There was a shock, like standing on the edge of a black hole, ready to fall into the abyss at any moment, and they dared not act rashly.

A giant eye cracked open on the surface of the black hole. Looking closely, it wasn't an eye, but a ripple of patterns gathering toward the center.

"I really am not good at stealth; I was actually discovered by such a young junior."

From the center of the ripples, a person emerged. A handsome, short, young man wearing a black wreath on his head. He wore a basic white martial arts uniform. Except for the black wreath and the ripples in his eyes, he didn't have an especially strong aura. Especially his overly young face, his height of less than 1.7 meters, and his entry-level martial arts uniform made him look nothing like the man who had destroyed the *Sagittarius* with a single finger from afar. At the very least, he looked more ordinary than the strongest person Lu Chen had met before, Nan Yuanzi of the Adventurers' Association.

However, his spirit pressure was undetectable. The *Leonine*'s radar and armor radar hadn't been shattered because the ship was far away from the *Sagittarius*, and they were still working normally. But the spirit pressure needle, after reaching the upper limit of two hundred, was still vibrating violently. This meant the man's spirit pressure exceeded two hundred!

Gloria and Aili were speechless. Only Lu Chen remained as calm as usual, even though he was panicking on the inside, wondering if his cheat could work in a range above two hundred. He waited for a long time, but still, no risk warning.

He understood: it was precisely because of this man that the *Leonine* hadn't received a warning when it was attacked by the *Sagittarius* earlier.

The man had only taken a few steps out of the black hole when, perhaps not wanting his true height to be seen, he sat cross-legged on the edge of the black hole. He waved his hand! The thousands of mane hairs wrapping around the *Leonine* all dissipated. Lu Chen didn't even perceive the flow of spiritual energy for the spell. That was just the spatial ripple caused by a wave of his hand!

"Is the senior..."

The man was also slightly surprised. "I can actually hear your voice from so far away."

Lu Chen quickly chimed in. "Doesn't that show the senior has keen ears? This junior is Lu Chen, captain of the Primordial Star-Dome Adventure Group. Many thanks for the rescue, senior. May I ask your honorable name?"

The man frowned, feeling as if this kid was showing off in front of him. "Your name, my name—it's all unimportant. I came here following the tracks of a certain woman. Someone told me... well, let's call it a 'person'... I was told that in the Zuan Nebula of the Morning Glow Route, I might find traces or proof of that woman's existence. The oldest ruin in the Zuan Nebula is Meiyu Star. I wandered around the caves of Meiyu Star for a long time; neither the dinosaur breeding grounds of the ancient era nor the ancestral green dragon that took over the nest twenty-some days ago came from her hand... until just before I left, I suddenly saw you."

*That woman?* Lu Chen was stunned. *So, you're also a friend of Lady Fariel? What in the world is this Gray Crow's background? How does the whole universe know her, yet no one knows her name?*

Since he was a friend of the Gray Crow, things would be easier. Lu Chen's tone relaxed quickly. "So, senior, are you looking for my teacher?"

The man frowned, suddenly regretting saving him. "So that woman is your teacher... I'm here to kill her."

Lu Chen wished he could slap himself across the face! He hurriedly corrected himself: "No, no, I just stole a trick from the notebook she left behind. I know nothing about her, purely a passerby."

The man asked curiously, "Is the notebook still there?"

Lu Chen shook his head helplessly. "I burned it casually, but I can still remember the key points. If senior wants to learn, I can teach you. It's very simple; as long as you have hands, you can do it."

The man frowned, his expression looking somewhat ugly. He even felt like killing someone. "Since ancient times, every heaven-chosen power has been unique; no second person has ever been able to master one."

*Lu Chen thought to himself, can I, a transmigrator, be an ordinary person?* But aloud, he said modestly, "Oh, then what I learned was a knock-off version."

The man shook his head and said, "If you didn't have real skill, would I have kept you until now? No need to belittle yourself; you didn't lie about your cultivation, and I saw your feat of controlling the gravity array."

Lu Chen vaguely guessed the reason the man had saved him. "Senior wants me to help find that woman together?"

The man frowned; he always felt that every word this kid said was showing off, yet he couldn't refute it. Even if he hadn't had a clue after fifty years of searching, it wouldn't come down to needing a teenager's help. "Perhaps you have the potential to find her, but your cultivation is still a hundred thousand miles away; you can't help me."

Lu Chen had a flash of inspiration. "That's easy. Since senior is so strong, why not help me cultivate quickly? Then I can help you sooner to repay the favor of saving me."

The man finally exhaled in relief. *He thought, this kid finally stopped showing off.* It wasn't necessary to help him cultivate, but he could teach him a powerful critical-strike method so he wouldn't die so quickly. It might be useful later.

"One cannot pull up a seedling to help it grow, but I can teach you a heaven-chosen power I created myself. Although it hasn't been recognized by the laws and can't yet be counted as a heaven-chosen power, this is the only way you might be able to learn it."

Lu Chen nodded quickly. "Ah, yes, yes, yes, teacher, you are right!"

The man was speechless. He flicked a jade slip toward the *Leonine*. "Don't just go around calling people 'teacher.' My power is even harder to cultivate than heaven-chosen powers. Only when you master it will you be qualified to call me teacher."

Lu Chen quickly operated the ship's mechanical arm to bring the jade slip into the cabin. He held it in his hand, feeling excited, but only said, "Don't expect too much; I'm just a traveler!"

"A traveler... exactly what she said." The man shook his head and suddenly burst into laughter. "Thinking that one day in the future, your two teachers will kill each other and one must die, I find it hard to suppress my excitement. I hope you get stronger quickly so I can see that day sooner."

With that, he walked toward the black hole, not forgetting to add, "If you still die after taking my jade slip, I will dig up your grave and whip your corpse."

*This cheap teacher is a ruthless man...*

Lu Chen suddenly remembered he still didn't know the man's name, so he hurriedly asked, "I still don't know your name, senior."

The man didn't look back, stepped up, and disappeared into the black hole. The ripples retracted to the center, and even the black hole dissipated completely. Only on the *Leonine*'s screen did four words appear, typed from afar:

"Algernon."

Lu Chen's eyes froze, and his heart trembled violently.