Chapter 46: Falling Star... Return

In the vast, boundless depths of space, suspended over ten thousand kilometers above Gliese 798c, the synchronous orbit hummed with silent tension.

Outside the massive space station, mechanical arms released their grip, and the attached escape pod detached, its propulsion system igniting with a blue blaze. Surrounding the station, a multitude of distorted monsters drifted, their bodies propelled by inertia, gradually floating away at a constant speed. Some, having been flung with greater initial velocity, had already vanished into the darkness. These aberrant beings possessed resilient structures, allowing them brief survival in the vacuum of space. Only the spitters succumbed, unable to withstand the pressure differential, their swollen abdomens bursting, bodily fluids boiling away.

The escape pod sped toward the dense cluster of monsters, its rear hatch opening. A figure floated out, using the miniature thruster strapped to his back to approach the creatures. The aberrant monsters flailed their limbs helplessly, unable to move of their own volition, drifting away with inertia. To Li Nanke, they were little more than sitting targets.

As Li Nanke swiftly dispatched the monsters, he spoke into his headset, “Alba, go ahead and disable the balance hammer.”

“Huh? By myself?”

“What, you can’t manage without me? It’s just a matter of unlocking the cable fixture for the balance hammer. Nothing complicated. Follow Bridget’s instructions and you’ll be fine.”

Disabling the cable fixture above the space station was indeed simple, but it was a matter of life and death for the station. Careless removal would send it plummeting, so not only was a command signal from the control room required, but a manual operation at the station’s upper exterior served as a double safeguard against accidental activation.

Alba reluctantly replied, “Fine… I’ll come pick you up when I’m done.”

The escape pod’s hatch closed, its thruster firing anew as it sped toward the top of the station. There, a cable made of nano-carbon fibers stretched like a silver thread into infinity, similar to a space elevator’s tether. The distant end, tens of thousands of kilometers away, was anchored by a massive counterweight.

“Bridget, calculate precisely how long it will take for the station to fall to the surface.”

“Yes, Commander. Based on synchronous orbit altitude, gravitational acceleration, atmospheric friction, and wind resistance coefficients, the final result is one hour, forty-nine minutes, and twelve seconds.”

“Nearly two hours…” Li Nanke knew this was remarkably fast. Compared to humanity’s homeworld, Gliese 798c’s synchronous orbit was much lower. Normally, a station falling from orbit would not descend in a straight line, but spiral in an elliptical path, gradually dropping to lower altitudes—a process that would take several times longer than this.

But now, the immense mass of the space elevator’s tether, dragged by planetary gravity, forced the station down in brute fashion, accelerating its fall.

He glanced down at the vast planet below, shrouded in endless darkness. From this altitude, the snow-white planet’s equator was veiled in swirling clouds, revealing the frost-covered surface—and a visible, terrifying black spot.

That was the “Death Omen,” aggregating all aberrant creatures, organic and inorganic matter alike, morphing itself into a planetary-scale monstrosity.

“Let’s hope we make it in time…”

Soon, Alba’s excited voice crackled in his headset. “Michael, I did it!”

By now, Li Nanke had cleared the dense swath of monsters; the remaining ones were too distant and sparse to pursue, and repeated kills yielded diminishing returns of energy—no longer worth the effort.

He turned to the station, watching the silver tether detach under centrifugal force, drifting ever farther into space.

“Commander, the balance hammer’s cable has been released. Bridget is initiating the ‘Black Spot Plan.’”

The moment the cable was disengaged, the station began its uncontrollable descent toward the planet’s surface.

Alba quickly piloted the large escape pod back. Li Nanke boarded, ordered the engines to maximum, striving to reach escape velocity and distance themselves from Gliese 798c.

Inside, the electronic screen had switched to a satellite radar view, clearly displaying the immense “Death Omen” floating in the stratosphere. The location of the former pit prison had completely collapsed, and towering twin-spiral stone monuments—the “First Construct Carrier”—stood upright at the abyss.

Around the construct, immense energy surged, causing nearby crust and mountains to crumble, their fragments suspended in midair. Aberrant monsters converged from all directions, breaking free from gravity’s grip under the influence of this energy, each soaring upward.

Suddenly, the construct erupted with electromagnetic power, sending masses of debris and monster flesh hurtling skyward, merging into the massive aberrant form—the Death Omen.

The Death Omen extended countless elongated tendrils, actively absorbing everything it could incorporate into itself. It expanded at an astonishing rate, its completion demanding the consumption of all life on the planet, the destruction of any lesser civilization in its path.

Seconds ticked by. The escape pod accelerated, finally breaking free of Gliese 798c’s gravity.

[Nightmare, you have completed the final node! You may return immediately!]

[Final node reward: ‘Nanobot Repair Kit’ (pending collection)]

[You have triggered a hidden node and are deeply engaged with it, though it remains incomplete.]

[Thus, you are granted up to two hours’ extra stay. You may return anytime within this limit, but upon completion of the hidden node, return will be immediate!]

Li Nanke casually grabbed a glowing suitcase from beneath his seat, stowed it without inspection, and moved to the pod’s glass viewport, gazing out.

The space station’s thrusters fired, adjusting attitude and angle, drawing closer to the atmosphere, its descent accelerating. Upon entry, the surroundings grew searingly hot, air friction igniting the station’s surface. The station’s outline blurred; its main structure, formidable, remained intact, but auxiliary modules and added compartments couldn’t withstand the extreme temperature and pressure, collapsing into countless fragments, burning away in a rain of fire.

Unable to see with the naked eye, Li Nanke turned to the satellite feed on the electronic screen.

“Michael, do you think the plan will succeed?” Alba stared anxiously at the display. If the Black Spot Plan failed, and even the station’s fall couldn’t stop the monstrous aberration, their fate was clear.

Li Nanke ignored him—Alba had asked this question countless times, always seeking reassurance.

On screen, the space station transformed into a blazing meteor, streaking through the atmosphere with world-shattering force, plunging toward the Death Omen. The distance shrank rapidly. The station trailed a torrent of fire and smoke, the Death Omen stretching out countless tendrils in defense, bracing for the impact.

Suddenly, Bridget’s voice sounded in the headset. “Commander, farewell…”

As the final gap closed, the space station struck the Death Omen at staggering speed.

At the moment of impact, countless fragments and tendrils were torn apart, scattering in all directions. Blinding light erupted, and a massive energy wave radiated outward from the collision point, the shockwave sweeping through the atmosphere like a tsunami.

With the release of colossal energy, the aberrant behemoth began to collapse, scattering into fragments that formed a spectacular meteor shower. These burned as they fell, flooding the sky with radiant light, painting the heavens red.

The planet’s surface convulsed violently—crust fractured, volcanoes erupted, dust and debris hurled into the air.

On the electronic screen, the clear image dissolved into static, overwhelmed by powerful interference.

Alba swallowed hard, pressing himself to the viewport, his face breaking into ecstatic joy.

On the shrinking, icy planet below, blinding light erupted, as if the entire surface were illuminated. Nothing could survive such annihilation.

“Michael, we did it! We can return home alive!”

As Alba cheered, the synchronous prompt sounded.

[Nightmare, you have completed the hidden node: Preventing the formation of the planetary-scale aberrant Death Omen on Gliese 798c!]

[Hidden node reward: ‘Blood Moon’ core, partial unlock of special exchange rights, improved dream completion score!]

[Returning…]

Li Nanke let out a deep breath.

Suddenly, he sensed something and jerked his head toward the distant, deep space.

There, the fabric of space twisted and roiled, and dozens of “flesh jellyfish,” each vaster than a star, surged through the fold.

They were the true, completed forms of the Death Omen—the real planetary-scale aberrant entities.

The flesh jellyfish glided through the dark void, trailing long, bloody tendrils, spewing clouds of crimson mist as they advanced—just as Li Nanke had seen in his visions touching the construct. The only difference: now, along with the blood mist, countless metal fragments spewed forth.

Fragments of space battleships, emblazoned with the United Humanity government’s flag and the insignia of humanity’s mightiest space flagship.

The escape pod’s jubilation faded into silence.

Alba stared blankly at the colossal forms approaching the pod...

Meanwhile, tumultuous darkness surged like a tidal wave, its thunderous roar swallowing everything in sight, overwhelming all senses…