The Settlement The link with Planet Muli’s Eve sub-server was severed in an instant. Before the server room was destroyed, the AI only had enough time to send an emergency alert and upload all records to the cloud.
Back on the Capital Star, Empress Lin Shuangxu received the report of Song Yu’s rebellion along with the footage of the server breach. Her eyes, already bloodshot from exhaustion, throbbed with a renewed, sharp pain.
"Where is the Executive Officer of Muli?" she demanded, slamming her hand on the desk. "How did it get to this point?"
"Based on the data," Secretary-General Sayan reported, "Executive Officer Eugenia Letona was incapacitated long ago. Song Yu used a nightmare puppet of her to visit the server room periodically, tricking the AI into reporting stability. Her adopted daughter, Jima, was silenced by death threats. Currently, Eve cannot regain control of Muli, and the Executive Officer is missing."
At that moment, Lin Shuangxu’s private terminal pinged. It was Lin Changli. He had already secured Eugenia and taken her to Black Tower. He requested permission to resume command of the Alpha Fortress.
The Empress approved it immediately. Her reply was succinct: "Kill him. At any cost." …
On Muli, Madame Qina escorted a dizzy Melusine onto a warship. The mental fallout from the server room explosion was hitting every Guide on the planet. Melusine tried to contact Sang Ye, but there was no reply.
"Where would she go?" Melusine shouted over the roaring wind.
"Tracking Song Yu," came Sang Ye’s reply moments later via terminal. "He’s seized the airfield and several warships. He’s already broken atmosphere. Jima and I are on his tail."
High above the planet, inside the lead warship, Song Yu felt the explosive collar on his neck burning. Only when he was hundreds of kilometers away and the collar remained silent did he let out a jagged breath of relief. He tore the device off and crushed it under his heel. Where to now? He looked at the Sentinels around him—hollow shells controlled by his black mist. He didn't plan on keeping them. Once he reached a new galaxy, he’d dump them and sell the ships.
He pushed the space-jump engine to maximum. The progress bar climbed: 20%... 40%... 85%...
Suddenly, a violent shockwave rocked the ship. Song Yu was thrown against the console, his forehead splitting open. Someone destroyed the jump engine. The bridge was bathed in crimson light. Eve’s cold voice announced: "WARNING. SPACE FORTRESS DETECTED IN PROXIMITY."
Song Yu’s face turned gray. He looked at the panoramic display. A massive, cold-gray silhouette loomed in the void: The Alpha Fortress. The silent guardian of the Capital had arrived, its jump capabilities far exceeding any standard warship.
"How did you get on board?" Song Yu screamed.
A figure stepped out from the shadows near the bridge elevator. It was Lin Changli. His face bore the cold, downward curve of his mouth that was the only trace of his biological father, Yu Shen.
"You attacked an Executive Officer, subverted the military, and attempted to flee," Lin Changli said, his voice level. "This is treason. No one can save you now."
Lin Changli reached out, and fire spilled from his fingertips. The air warped under the heat, tearing open a portal of distorted space. Having reached SSS-rank, his mental power now allowed him to bypass physical distance.
"You... you broke through again," Song Yu sneered, his face twisting in the firelight. "My brother certainly knew how to sire sons."
"I am your uncle!" Song Yu cried out as Lin Changli approached. "Are you really going to kill your own blood?"
"My life, power, status, and education all come from my mother," Lin Changli replied. "Why would I spare a man who tried to destroy all of it for his own petty greed?"
A colossal Phoenix manifested behind him. Song Yu’s spirit, the Dream-Eating Tapir, bared its fangs, unleashing a tidal wave of black mist.
…
Aboard the Alpha Fortress, Sang Ye and Jima watched the flashes of fire from the nearby warship through the observation windows.
"It’s getting bad!" Sang Ye shouted as the black mist began to spill into the vacuum.
Eve issued a loud alert: "AGGRESSIVE MENTAL ATTACK DETECTED! EVACUATE IMMEDIATELY!"
The fortress began its jump sequence, but the mist was faster. Instinctively, Sang Ye unleashed her power. Green vines surged across the interior of the bridge, and a massive Parasol Tree manifested in the center of the fortress. Its branches wrapped around the entire hull like a protective cocoon, shielding the ship from the nightmare toxin.
Inside the burning warship, Lin Changli’s right arm was bleeding, the flesh torn by the mist and refusing to heal. But he felt no pain.
He looked at Song Yu, whose chest had opened into a literal black hole of shadows. The man was raving, alternating between claiming family ties and screaming that the world owed him.
"When my aunts fought for the throne, they accepted their losses with dignity," Lin Changli mocked. "They never used 'blood' as an excuse for failure."
The Phoenix used its golden feathers to bind the mind-controlled Sentinels, carrying them out of the ship toward the safety of the fortress. The Parasol Tree opened a small gap in its vines to let them through.
Lin Changli stepped toward Song Yu, his eyes cold. "It’s time to end this."
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