Chapter 74: Collapse

This warehouse appeared to cover a land area of about tens of thousands of square meters. Army green boxes of varying sizes were neatly stacked all around him, and there were even two small shuttles and a small transport spaceship here.

“A medium particle accelerator!” Xia Fei walked over to one of the boxes and read what was written on it. “These are all weapons and arms! Phantom, we’re rich!”

Phantom swept a glance around with indifference. “What rich? All this stuff around us; it’s still nothing compared to that ring you’ve got in your hand.”

Speaking of the ring, Xia Fei suddenly remembered what the short-haired Monastic had said. He reached his hand into the ring to check, and his expression immediately turned into one of disgust.

“What? What’s inside the ring?” curiously asked Phantom.

Xia Fei sighed and emptied everything out from the ring. “See for yourself.”

Right before Phantom’s eyes, a pile of shiny items appeared, and he could not help but raise his eyebrows and sighed.

Everything in front of his eyes was nothing but human feet! Women’s feet!

Every foot had been neatly cut from their calf and was preserved using a crystal wrap to ensure none would rot or deteriorate.

Phantom was speechless. “So Old K turns out to be a pervert. Who knows how many women that man ruined to assemble his collection.”

Xia Fei only felt a wave of revulsion wash over him as he turned his body away, no longer looking at the feet of these pitiful women. What made Xia Fei even angrier was the fact that there was actually nothing valuable in the ring.

Another huge explosion could be heard from the surface above, and the lights in the warehouse first dimmed and started flickering. Dust and dirt were also shaken loose from the ceiling as a result, slowly falling onto this place.

Several seconds later, the lights steadied. Xia Fei looked up at the ceiling and saw that this warehouse was a fairly resilient concrete structure; even a big explosion might not damage its foundations.

“Phantom, what were those beads and the black sphere? Why would it cause such powerful explosions?” asked Xia Fei.

“That was the Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster and the Eighteen Stars of Blood Grievance.” Phantom exhaled a sigh full of lamentations. “In the planets beyond the Pan-Human Alliance, there are still plenty of strange lifeforms. These two weapons were invented by the species called Demon.”

Xia Fei sat down on a box, lit a cigarette, and listened raptly to Phantom.

“It’s said that the creation of the Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster requires a suitable family, one that has nine sons and nine daughters—no more, no less. After a complex process, on a particular night, these eighteen children will have to murder their parents with their hands, and each knife used must be stabbed in a particular position at a specific moment.

“I don’t know how this method works myself, but I do know that the first eight stabs won’t kill the parents, and it must be the final knife, right into the heart, that should end the lives of the parents. If they die before the ninth stab, it means that the creation process fails, and those people will be thrown into a volcano as sacrifices to the gods.

“By the time these children kill their parents, their eyes will have turned black, and that’s when they need to gouge their left eyes, hand them over to the priest. No one else can interfere, and these children must all be willing in order for this to work.

“The priest will also retrieve the left eye of the father and right eye of the mother, merging them to form one parent orb, while the eighteen eyes from the children will be protection orbs. The person holding the parent orb needs to use their mind to control the eighteen protection orbs; overall, it’s a sort of psionic weapon.

“The destructive power of such a weapon is extremely potent. The Alliance has long since banned its use, and even more scary is the fact that anyone using such a weapon will be shrouded in abysmal luck, either ending up dead or losing their minds, becoming no better than a walking corpse.”

Xia Fei could only feel his scalp go numb as a creeping tingle made its way up to his back. To think that there would actually be such an evil weapon... He truly had no idea why that Monastic would risk everything just to get hold of it.

Without even realizing, the burning ashes of his cigarette touched his finger, and Xia Fei hurriedly threw the butt to the ground and extinguished it with a stomp.

*Boom!*

That was when another huge detonation rumbled, and the lights in this ammunition warehouse went out for several seconds before lighting up again.

Xia Fei gritted his teeth. “This demon race is far too vicious. To have the children kill their parents just to obtain a weapon—it’s truly shocking to hear.”

“That’s actually nothing. Given how vast this universe is, there are plenty of things that are far more shocking.” Phantom shrugged nonchalantly. “Wait till you explore the universe; you’ll be accustomed to such things then. The madness and gloom of the universe far surpass what you can imagine.”

“What do people from the Demon race look like?” asked Xia Fei.

“It’s said that they are tall and big with green skin. They enjoy puncturing as many holes as they can on their ears and nose, hanging all sorts of trinkets and adornments on them. A very backward culture.

“The Demon race is only a very small lifeform in this universe, already on the verge of extinction. There are plenty of small undiscovered species like it in the universe, so there’s nothing too weird about it.”

“For that species to do such messed up things, it will be a wonder if they aren’t on the path of extinction.” Xia Fei pursed his lips. “Anyway, why would there be such an explosion when the red beads touched the black sphere?”

“The red beads are called Eighteen Stars of Blood Grievance. I have no idea how they are made; all I know is that those things are evil. Both are hostile against each other and must not be placed together. To think that Monastic actually wanted to use the parent orb of the Eighteen Stars of Nocturnal Disaster to control the protection orbs from the Eighteen Stars of Blood Grievance... Talk about courting death.”

The explosions on the surface were still ongoing, and six explosions had occurred thus far, with each blast sounding frighteningly powerful.

Xia Fei was feeling slightly worried, uncertain if the continuous explosions would affect the ammunition underground.

Xia Fei got up and began to search for valuable ammunition. Since the twenty-cubic-meter spatial ring was now emptied, taking what he could find here was better than leaving without anything.

There was a special silver box in the middle of the warehouse that drew Xia Fei’s attention. All the other boxes were army green, and this was the only one that was shiny silver, prominently placed in the center to boot.

The square box was intricately made, and the silver melded metal shone ever so slightly. Every corner of it had been carefully polished, and there was even a coded lock attached to it.

Stepping closer to examine the box, all he saw was a huge black mamba snake spray-painted on the box itself, and there was a row of words: Dark Sky Serpent Corporation, model 130 warp engine!

Xia Fei was ecstatic. This was precisely the Black Mamba 130 engine that Old K had confiscated from Xiao Tian. He had never thought that that man would actually put it here!

This was a top-grade engine, which was highly sought after!

It possessed the most advanced technology among warp engines and was extremely precious!

The warship restoration had already been fifty percent complete, and the engine was the biggest headache Xia Fei presently had. With this engine in hand, all that would be left was its installation. Xia Fei could almost see that new spaceship, the naval-issued, Eagle-class frigate that had been fully assembled to the highest specifications, ready for flight.

The most sturdy defense and the strongest firepower, as well as the fastest speed!

It would definitely be a top-tier frigate in the entire universe!

The size of this box was almost twenty cubic meters, perfectly fitting his new spatial ring.

Xia Fei took it out and wore it on his hand. He then lightly tapped the box with his finger to take it into storage.

“Great! The Black Mamba engine is back in our hands!” excitedly said Xia Fei.

Since this warehouse functioned as a semi-hangar, it must mean that there was an entrance for these transport vessels to enter. The explosions on the surface were becoming stronger, and it was time to consider how he was going to get out of here.

This ammunition could remain here first, returning to transport everything away if the opportunity arose. Considering how many arms were being stored here, Xia Fei was certain that he could earn quite a bit by selling them off.

The wall to the left had a metal box, and Xia Fei strolled over to open it. Inside were buttons with a label each.

Xia Fei pushed the one labeled ‘open tunnel’.

The sounds of gears grinding were heard, and the wall in front of him opened, revealing a straight tunnel right before his eyes.

This tunnel was very wide, enough to accommodate two transport vessels flying side by side.

*Boom!*

Another loud blast was heard from the surface, and the lights in the warehouse went out again, but this time, they did not turn back on, most likely because the electrical circuit had been ruined by the explosion.

Xia Fei suddenly sensed that something was falling from above him, so he hastily turned while turning on the light function on his microcomputer.

*Crash!*

A piece of debris, about the size of a soccer ball, came falling on where Xia Fei was standing mere moments ago, creating a bowl-sized hole on the ground.

Xia Fei looked up and saw the warehouse’s concrete structure beginning to crack! Several distinct fissures appeared on the ceiling, and it was extending and widening by the second!

“Not good... The force from the explosions is too severe. I’m afraid that this warehouse won’t be able to withstand the continuous explosions for much longer!” yelled Xia Fei.

Phantom lowered his head and thought about it for a few seconds. “These explosions might very well be caused by those Stars of Blood Grievance... The Stars of Nocturnal Disaster are of a higher grade than the Blood Grievance, so if that Nocturnal Disaster parent orb were to explode as well, it would be a disaster.”

Xia Fei disregarded the potentially valuable ammunition in this warehouse and began running toward the exit. Escaping with his life was far more important at such a critical juncture.

“Don’t move!” suddenly shouted Phantom. “If the Nocturnal Disaster parent orb explodes, your speed alone won’t be enough to outrun it!”

“Then, what should I do?!” Xia Fei became anxious.

“The shuttle!” Phantom pointed to the two small shuttles. “That transport vessel’s top speed is fifteen times yours, and it has the robust hull made from triple-titanium alloy. Take the shuttle to escape from this place!”

Xia Fei was glum. “What kind of joke are you trying to pull? I have no idea how to fly that thing!”

Phantom laughed. “I can teach you. You’ll get the hang of it in no time. It’s really easy.”

historical

As the warehouse was collapsing while they spoke, there was hardly any time for hesitation. Xia Fei dashed toward the blue shuttle’s cockpit.

Another explosion rang out at this time. The concrete structure was no longer able to withstand such powerful blows and began crumbling, and countless concrete pieces began falling around them like hail.

“Don’t panic. Push the start button first, then pull up the speed control handle to the max!” instructed Phantom.

Xia Fei pushed the button in a hurry, and the engine revved alive with a blue flame shooting out from this transport vessel’s tail-end.

Next, he pulled the speed control upward, causing the engine to roar into life and that blue flame to shoot out well over a dozen meters. The entire fuselage was shaking uncontrollably.

This was already the maximum horsepower the shuttle could achieve, but it remained stationary!

“What’s going on?!” urgently asked Xia Fei.

Phantom stroked his chin to think. “Strange. Why isn’t it moving?”

Xia Fei was not amused. This was evidently not the right time for jokes. Had he been running, he might have had a chance to make it out of the tunnel.

“Oh, that’s right!” Phantom slapped his forehead heavily. “Quickly push that gravity button. Shuttles have gravitational devices to keep them on the ground and disable accidental movement. How could I have forgotten about that?”

Xia Fei did not have the time to grumble at Phantom. He promptly pushed the gravitational control, and like a bullet, the shuttle whizzed away; he was finally shooting right out of that place!

The strong resistance pressed Xia Fei tightly to his seat, making it impossible for him to move!

The engine was already pushed to max speed by him, and now that there was no gravitational pull to tether it in place, the shuttle was like a wild galloping horse, instantly attaining peak speed!

Xia Fei’s hands grabbed onto the steering stick, sweat accumulating in them.

All of a sudden, two explosions erupted one after another. The tunnel was also starting to collapse!

The situation had gotten really complex. There were large chunks of concrete falling in front of the shuttle, needing him to steer to avoid them. Everything behind him kept collapsing, like a humongous snake that was rushing to catch up with the shuttle.

The shuttle would instantly be reduced into a scrap if it got caught in this!

The situation was immensely dire!

Xia Fei kept trying to steer the shuttle away from the obstacles. Fortunately, his reaction was several times faster than the average human, so he was often able to dodge the falling chunks of debris and large slabs.

The path ahead began to turn up. Xia Fei pulled his hand and the spaceship began rushing forward at a forty-five-degree angle!

*Whoosh!*

The shuttle went flying out from an opening in a hill while swaying and shaking wildly. The moment the spaceship left the tunnel, the entrance caved in and completely collapsed, even the entire hill shaking.

Xia Fei let out a long sigh as he felt his body slumping into the chair behind him.

That was when an explosion even louder than any before sounded!

The sound was heaven-shaking and rang out of the place!

The tremendous soundwave that was created almost shattered people’s eardrums!

Then, a raging conflagration ensued that shot to the sky!

This huge sea of flames swept outward like a tidal wave, engulfing the small shuttle completely!