Chapter 29: Setting Sail, Entering the Pangu Corridor! [Please follow the story!]

The departure of the Leonine was hurried and haphazard, devoid of any ceremony. No fanfare accompanied its launch; it was as if an ant had left its nest, unnoticed by all, though it would never return. The gleaming white Leonine glided through a stormy canyon cocoon route, a passage as deep as the abyss. Outside the portholes, traditional starlight was replaced by swirling cascades of color, as if paint had been flung across the cosmos—vivid, tumultuous, twisting like Van Gogh’s Starry Night.

Golia and Ellie were both asleep. Lu Chen sat alone at the leisure table by the window, sipping tea and savoring the dawn of adventure. The ship bobbed and pitched with the storm, unable to stay on a straight course, drifting with the current in a rhythm that was almost soothing. On the main screen, radar signals and danger alerts popped up endlessly.

“Superplanet explosion, gamma particle radiation too high.”

“Merger of two unknown black holes triggered a massive complex spiral storm.”

“Dark matter concentration causing powerful chaotic gravitational currents.”

And so on; these were merely what the ship’s radar detected. Lu Chen’s hazard warnings had sounded several times. Sometimes the radar alerted to danger, but the hazard guide remained silent; other times, no radar warning appeared, yet the guide insisted there was peril. Lu Chen followed the guide’s advice.

At the beginning of the Pangu Corridor, ships of all kinds were densely packed. The radar showed that within a light-year, there were sightseeing interstellar cruises, the Crownless Nation's star trains, mobile cosmic restaurants and casinos, Imperial Delta planet-destroyers, Federation’s giant manta ray star beasts, and pirate vessels built from monstrous skeletons.

For reasons unknown, gazing out at the shifting scenery, Lu Chen felt a surge of hot blood in his once-calm heart. It was reminiscent of childhood days watching “One Piece,” as if countless treasures beckoned from ahead.

He opened the light-screen on his wristband, logging into the Adventurers’ Association’s intranet to browse the latest news from the front of the Pangu Corridor.

“Silver Wave Princess’s dark side exposed—an empire idol collapses… but it won’t affect her concert tour aboard the White Dew interstellar cruiser in three months!”

Silver Wave Princess was familiar to Lu Chen; she was a top idol, an all-rounder in singing, dancing, and acting, produced by the decaying empire to win the support of the younger generation. She was known as “the fairest north of Pangu.” Beautiful, sweet-voiced, witty, down-to-earth, she traveled often to impoverished regions for performances, donating all earnings to support local welfare.

To Lu Chen, the exposure of her supposed dark side was merely the Association’s opinion—possibly promotional hype for her upcoming concert.

The second news item:

“Congratulations to the Guernica Interstellar Beast Taming Group, named one of the Hundred Thousand New Generation!”

“Three years ago, the Federation’s prodigy, Phoenix Beast Tamer Guernica, set out for the Pangu Corridor, leading the Guernica Beast Taming Group. They have now been listed in the latest Pangu Star Pirate Rankings, joining the honored ranks of the Hundred Thousand New Generation star pirate groups…”

Lu Chen read the details. Guernica was reportedly a man more beautiful than most women, said to charm both genders, with captivating charisma, descended from ancient human-phoenix hybrids—a humanoid race. Three years ago, he set sail alone and attracted many beast tamers from the Empire’s allied nations, helping the Federation poach talent from the Empire—said to be his true aim.

Lu Chen could see that, along the Dawn Route at the front of the Pangu Corridor, the Guernica Beast Taming Group was a star among stars. Though newly ranked, they had immense potential.

The third news item:

“On the giant planet Fog Sea, the floating white-bearded whales have reached their annual maturity season. Thousands of white whales soar from the fog, venturing beyond the atmosphere in search of cosmic plankton—it’s the perfect time for ship-borne whale fishing!”

The floating white-bearded whales lived in Fog Sea’s atmosphere. Not fish nor birds, they were flying mammals shrouded in white hair, named flying whales for their size, commonly called white whales. It was said their brains enhance humanoid intelligence and serve as ideal material for new bio-servers; their whale pearls could boost spirit and energy, and their livers had high medicinal value.

Lu Chen read for a while, only to realize it was an advertisement. Annoyed, he closed the news feed.

...

Under Lu Chen’s piloting, the Leonine navigated the canyon cocoon route with a perfect path of safety.

Remarkably, it was even faster than several high-tier ships that had launched at the same time!

Half a day later, the Leonine safely emerged from the canyon route and formally entered the front section of the Pangu Corridor: the Dawn Route.

It felt as if: after a stretch of narrowness, suddenly the waterway opened, and the journey ahead was clear and bright.

Compared to the middle and rear sectors of the Pangu Corridor, the Dawn Route was not as perilous as one might imagine. Commerce flourished, planetary colonization was widespread, and all factions were actively settling and developing the area.

Yet, compared to the outside world, it was another universe altogether.

Here, pirates ran rampant, war was constant, spirit energy was sparse, the climate unpredictable, disaster frequent—a veritable hell on earth.

New adventurers arriving at the Dawn Route were like crops, harvested wave after wave by interstellar pirates.

On the Adventurers’ forum, defeated new groups lamented bitterly, accusing the Association of allowing pirates to exist.

For pirates, too, joined the Association, and brought it even more profit.

The Empire and the New Federation could not control it, let alone the Association.

Upon entering the Dawn Route, Lu Chen saw shipwrecks scattered everywhere in space.

The Leonine avoided the main roads and the recommended routes from the forum.

Instead, it took a more remote path.

Here, there were fewer pirates, but the threat from star beasts, storms, and chaotic gravity currents was greater.

Still, the opportunities were more abundant.

Golia and Sirius, upon waking, found themselves facing a different sky.

The dazzling galactic river had become a twisted oil painting.

Golia, dressed in cool sleepwear, summoned the floating fridge and pulled out a chilled fruit beer.

She flopped onto the recliner opposite Lu Chen.

“You just set sail without a word—no ceremony, no slogans?”

Lu Chen replied offhandedly,

“I'm destined to become the King of Adventurers, aren't I?”

Golia paused, considered the logic.

“Haha, then I’ll be the King of Adventurers myself!”

Lu Chen was speechless.

“You reckless fool, who wants to be your man? And how many times have I said: no streaking on the ship, can’t you just wear underwear?”

Golia ignored him, sporting ultra-short shorts, crossing her snowy legs, sipping her fruit beer with flair.

“Nonsense, large underwear looks bad, small is too tight, not wearing any is most comfortable!”

Lu Chen could not refute, so he simply stole a few glances to make up for it.

A small balcony lay outside the porthole.

Sirius had bought a set of folding table and chairs, setting them up as a desk, and began studying.

On the balcony stood a fifty-centimeter cube of glass, completely sealed.

Inside were soil and a tiny pool, planted with various vegetables, spirit herbs, wildflowers, and mushrooms. Earthworms, several insects, and even a larger mammal—a small mouse—lived within.

Lu Chen realized it was a self-contained, closed ecosystem, isolated from the outside world.

“Such a simple, small sealed ecosystem—won't it collapse?”

Sirius kept reading, not lifting her head.

“This is to master precise spirit-taming techniques. As long as the energy output is accurate and balanced, the system can last forever—unless I die someday.”

“Don’t say such unlucky things.”

“Online sources claim that even after joining the Adventurers’ Association, the three-year death rate for Pangu Corridor explorers exceeds fifty percent. So in three years, most of us will likely be dead.”

Lu Chen felt it was time to give Ellie a dose of encouragement.

“Golia is so foolish, and I’m only at level ten, yet we’ve survived this long. You, a genius spirit tamer, afraid of death?”

Sirius shook her head and kept reading, saying only,

“I’m not a genius, nor afraid of death—only afraid of being locked up again.”

Lu Chen countered,

“The universe itself is a prison. Whether we’re trapped or not depends on our hearts.”

Sirius finally looked up at him, pausing for a moment, then said nothing, returning to her ecosystem study.

...

Lu Chen’s flight strategy was simple.

He chose remote star zones, frequented by star beasts, waiting for the treasure map to stir—his ship was a moving trap, waiting for opportunity.

But to catch up with the White Dew interstellar cruiser ahead, he couldn’t scour every sector.

Unfortunately, the Dawn Route was so well-developed that for days Lu Chen found no treasure.

Naturally, as the team grew stronger, the treasure map’s targets rose in value, and most valuable items had already been claimed.

“Who would have thought, entering the Pangu Corridor is even duller than outside? Where are the promised thrills and treasures?”

Golia was bored too, though she blamed Lu Chen’s cautious flying.

“Isn’t it because you stick to safe routes?”

“Fine, let’s focus on digesting these pills and converting them into cultivation.”

So Lu Chen began taking Bone-cleansing and Meridian-opening pills.

Further, he produced a thick syringe, drawing blood from Golia’s arm to restore his magic.

“Don’t you have a thinner needle?”

“There are thicker ones; this is the thinnest.”

“Fine, then bill me at hospital transfusion rates.”

“Don’t worry, Dad won’t short you.”

With that, Lu Chen embarked on laborious physical cultivation.

Three days later,

Lu Chen advanced from level ten to twelve.

“Two levels in three days—perhaps I’ve underestimated my talent all these years!”

In fact, back in the game, Lu Chen had created a character with balanced attributes across all five elements—a pentagonal warrior.

But upon crossing into the starry era of declining spirit energy, his balanced roots became a liability, absorbing energy at only a fifth the rate of single-rooted cultivators—a true weakling.

Now, thanks to his fearless training, pills, and Golia’s magical aid, he progressed rapidly.

Lu Chen was elated, until he saw that Ellie, who had taken the same pills, had advanced from twelve to fifteen.

He felt fate was unfair.

“Same amount of pills, plus Golia’s magic supplement, yet I’m still slower than Ellie... Maybe my supplement technique is wrong?”

Golia, playing games in VR goggles, shrugged:

“You’re using the syringe wrong. Try biting me directly.”

A true succubus!

Lu Chen was unnerved.

“We’ve run out of Bone-cleansing and Meridian-opening pills. Time to earn more money!”

Days passed without any gains, and Lu Chen grew restless.

“They say the Pangu Corridor is full of treasures, yet I haven’t found a single one.”

Not only Lu Chen—Golia was bored of gaming, too.

“Don’t be so proud. If you don’t want too much risk, why not check the Association’s bounty list?”