A Mingling Devil, with liquid metal blades on both arms glowing with a cold light, appeared like a ghost beside Chen Feng, gesturing for him to follow.
Chen Feng, carrying the heavy alloy box, followed the Mingling Devil and Uka, who resembled a moving fortress, walking through the core area of the Main Base.
This was no longer the cold, outer steel jungle, but a strange core area that fused the biological technology of the Zerg with cyberpunk aesthetics.
Giant holographic light screens floated in mid-air, displaying incomprehensible Zerg runes and dynamic star maps.
Energy conduits were no longer cold metal pipes, but glowing blood vessels like those of a giant creature, winding across the surface of the buildings, emitting a faint blue or Hot red light.
The buildings themselves incorporated sharp Zerg carapace structures and towering geometric metal frameworks, their surfaces covered with bio-coatings that could absorb energy.
In the air, several smaller Zhu Yan Demon Insects patrolled like lightning, their wings crackling with electric sparks.
The streets were not only filled with soldiers.
There were Parasite engineers wearing what looked like External Exoskeletons and carrying huge energy backpacks, adjusting energy nodes by the roadside;
There were Free People vendors pushing hovering food carts, laden with steaming energy blocks made of highly efficient synthetic starch and a small amount of insect meat;
One could even see several pale-skinned humanoid researchers arguing intensely about something by the roadside, with complex three-dimensional data models suspended beside them.
Various races mingled, yet there was perfect order, and the air was filled with ozone, synthetic lubricant, a certain spice, and a faint smell of biomass burning.
Wherever the Mingling Devil passed, whether it was patrolling Lizardmen warriors or passing Free People, they immediately stopped their movements, bowed slightly, their eyes filled with awe.
Chen Feng could clearly feel the powerful, yet contained, life aura of the Mingling Devil beside him—far exceeding any being he had seen on Blue Star.
Passing through several pure energy gateways, like water curtains, the view suddenly opened up.
This was a colossal space, difficult to define as a room, with a dome so high it disappeared into shadow.
The floor was a dark, mirror-smooth alloy, reflecting the soft, star-simulating light bands flowing from the dome. The air was fresh, carrying a faint scent of negative ions.
At the deepest part, on a massive throne cast from a single piece of unknown dark metal, with simple yet powerful lines, Zhou Qi sat cross-legged with his eyes closed.
He wore seemingly ordinary dark clothing, but Chen Feng knew it was merely a mimetic External Exoskeleton.
He merely sat there, and the light in the entire space seemed to slightly bend towards him; a vast, profound stillness, like that of the stars themselves, enveloped everything.
Uka's shrunken Dragon body now lay docilely beside the throne, like a Dragon guarding its Treasure Trove, all its monstrous might reined in, leaving only absolute submission.
Chen Feng did not hesitate in the slightest; twenty steps from the throne, he knelt on one knee, his head bowed deeply, his forehead almost touching the cold metal floor.
“Your subordinate Chen Feng, here to pay respects.”
His voice carried reverence and fanaticism from the deepest part of his Soul.
Zhou Qi slowly opened his eyes.
In those pupils, there was no intimidating light, but they seemed to contain the vastness and coldness of the entire Universe.
As his gaze swept over Chen Feng, Chen Feng felt a soft yet irresistible force instantly lift him up.
“Open it.”
Zhou Qi's voice was calm, yet it resonated directly in Chen Feng's consciousness like a Law.
Chen Feng immediately initiated the unlocking procedure for the alloy box.
Multiple physical locks and energy fields were disengaged in sequence.
The lid sprang open, revealing the creature curled inside the reinforced glass container.
The inner wall of the container had faint energy currents, suppressing it.
The moment the container opened, the Blackscale Merman suddenly raised its head.
But the next second, the eyes on its violent, bat-like head suddenly contracted to pinprick size.
All its scales instantly stood on end, emitting a faint “shush” sound, as if every scale was screaming.
It was as if struck hard by an invisible giant hammer, violently curling backward, its back pressed tightly against the cold container wall, its thick fish tail convulsing and slapping furiously, yet only producing dull “thump” sounds against the reinforced glass.
A highly suppressed, near-breakdown whimper, mixed with uncontrollable teeth chattering, squeezed from its throat.
It didn't even dare to look in the direction of the throne, its entire head buried tightly against its chest, its body trembling like a leaf in a strong wind.
The absolute crushing pressure from a higher life form caused it to physiologically lose control, and a strong, fishy odor mixed with the unique cold, briny scent of the deep sea permeated the air.
All its ferocity, in the presence of a true “Divine Thought,” was reduced to an uncontrollable fear originating from the deepest part of its genes.
Zhou Qi didn't even glance at the monster again.
His Divine Thought moved slightly.
Rip!
The incredibly sturdy, deep-sea pressure-resistant reinforced glass container, along with the restraint device inside, instantly split and shattered neatly as if sliced by an invisible spatial blade.
The Blackscale Merman shrieked as an invisible force seized it, suspending it a few meters in front of Zhou Qi in mid-air.
Powerful Mental Power, like the most precise probe, instantly penetrated every cell, every gene chain, every ripple of Soul within its body.
This process lasted less than two seconds.
“A primitive variant, induced by anomalous geocentric radiation and deep-sea pressure… simple genetic sequence, potential… low-grade.”
Zhou Qi withdrew his gaze, as if appraising a worthless item, his tone calm and unruffled, “Give it to Yuan Mei; his life-strength enhancement potion should have new test material.”
Just as Zhou Qi's words fell.
A clear, respectful, and uncontrollably excited Mental Power transmission directly echoed in his mind: “Great Dominator, your subordinate Yuan Mei. The Level 1 Universal Life Strength Enhancement Potion—Titan's Blood I—has completed its final verification! I humbly request your presence at the Antarctic Base to witness the first drop of Divine Blood offered by this humble creation!”
A very faint curve finally appeared at the corner of Zhou Qi's mouth: “The timing is perfect.”
He didn't even need to raise his hand; a majestic spatial power instantly, like the gentlest tide, precisely enveloped himself, Uka beside the throne, Chen Feng at the foot of the steps, and the Blackscale Merman hovering in the air, trembling almost to pieces.
Light and shadow twisted, space shifted.
Antarctic Base, circular platform.
The biting polar cold and the frigid metallic scent instantly replaced the warm energy currents of the Iron-Blood World.
In the center of the massive circular platform, Yuan Mei and his research team, comprised of different races from different worlds, stood respectfully awaiting him.