Chapter 73: The Third Kind of Encounter-After I Became a Planet, I Was Discovered by Earthlings(No profit)

"Starshatter Spear?!"

Albert was startled by Weihong's command, and even the normally unflappable Saint, who stood by Weihong's side, turned pale. His voice quivered with agitation as he spun around to question:

"Weihong, do you really intend to use that weapon?"

"We cannot be certain that the energy core won't be depleted after deploying it. If we lose the zero-point energy, we'll be unable to enter hyperspace lanes. We'll be utterly trapped in this star system!"

"Never mind whether we can find another habitable planet—at our current technological level, without hyperspace travel..."

"We will never return to our Earth!"

Weihong listened quietly to Saint's words, then replied calmly,

"There's no longer a path to peaceful coexistence with Skydome. Now that all our infiltrators have been exposed, it's clear the High Priest has known everything from the start."

"The so-called High Priest, and the power of that divine art, have already far exceeded our estimations."

"Given all the intelligence we currently possess, I must deal with this in the most secure way possible."

"In my estimation, at this very moment, we may already be under the High Priest's surveillance."

"If the Starshatter Spear succeeds, we can replenish our resources from the fragments, just as we did with that ancient world."

"Afterward, we can continue searching for a new home."

Saint was rendered speechless, but the clenched fists and bulging veins on his arms betrayed the turmoil within him.

He had no choice but to agree with Weihong. They both knew that to recklessly wage war now might mean losing everything.

For the sake of civilization's survival, every step had to be taken with utmost caution.

"And if the Starshatter Spear fails?"

"We surrender."

"Surrender?! Have you considered what will become of us if we surrender?"

"And have you considered how many of our Earth kin will die if war breaks out?" Weihong turned and rebuked him.

Weihong and Saint had known each other a long, long time.

He knew his companion's heart ached to return home.

He felt regret at being unable to fulfill his old friend's wish,

But he was powerless.

The continuation of civilization outweighs all else.

That phrase had been the motto of Earth's people for centuries, deeply rooted in Weihong's heart—and in the hearts of all Earthlings.

Those words left Saint utterly drained, as if all strength had been drawn from his body.

It was not that he was weak; as the second-in-command of Earth's civilization, he was anything but frail. Rather, he was devastated that a single misstep on his part might have led Earth to the edge of the abyss.

He beckoned Weihong with a trembling hand, signaling him to lean down.

Weihong stepped forward and crouched, and Saint whispered shakily in his ear,

"They know we're here..."

At that instant, Weihong's eyes widened. He straightened, pointing a trembling finger at Saint, anger flickering in his eyes.

"You!"

But Weihong quickly mastered his fury. He knew that, given the present circumstances, there was no point in assigning blame.

The Starshatter Spear had already begun charging. It would take approximately three months to reach full power.

Once the Spear was ready, its thermal barrage could heat the planet's atmosphere continuously, eventually detonating its core and annihilating the entire world.

Faced with the extreme uncertainty of the High Priest and his supernatural arts, turning the planet into resources and making a desperate gamble was their final option.

Yet, just as the enormous Starshatter Spear began to align its energy conduits toward Skydome, a shrill alarm blared aboard the main ship of Earth's fleet.

"Warning! Warning! Lifeform detected!"

Weihong rushed to the observation window, gripping the railing as he gazed ahead. An unbelievable scene unfolded before his eyes.

There, standing in the void, directly opposite the flagship, was the High Priest—identical to every image they'd ever been shown.

As Weihong's eyes widened in disbelief, a calm and unfamiliar male voice echoed in his mind,

"You have crossed a line, Earthlings."

At the sound, cold sweat drenched Weihong. Glancing at the other pilots and soldiers, it was clear they too had heard the voice—many clutched their heads, staring in shock at the figure outside the viewport.

This was no apartment building’s balcony; outside was the vacuum of space, where no living creature could possibly survive for long!

Under the stunned gaze of the Earthlings, Shen Xing—who had stood with hands clasped behind him—now raised a single finger, pointing slowly above their vessel. Moments later, an immense black shadow began to engulf the window.

Everyone’s gaze followed upward, only to see a massive, ink-black celestial body silently floating overhead.

Jupiter, the largest planet in the Solar System, dwarfed Earth by a thousandfold and outweighed all other eight planets combined.

When Earth's people departed the Solar System, they had observed Jupiter up close; many veteran pilots had once marveled at its enormity.

That vast planet had left a deep impression on all who beheld it. For all their technological might, its oppressive presence still suffocated them.

But what was this that now hung above their ship?

Was it as though someone had draped a black cloth across the stars, plunging their vessel into endless darkness?

The seemingly boundless sphere threatened to swallow them whole. Just as they began to observe this world, the ship’s AI issued another urgent alert:

"Warning! Abnormal gravity detected!"

Amid the blaring alarms, the male voice returned, mingling with the chaos:

"Enjoy yourselves, Earthlings."

Weihong snapped back to his senses, issuing a rapid-fire barrage of orders:

"Engage thrusters! Change course—get as far from that planet as possible!"

"Link the zero-point core to the Starshatter Spear! Force overdrive charging! Reroute the energy conduits—target that newly appeared planet above us and shatter it at once!"

"All personnel in the upper ship modules, evacuate to the lower sections immediately! Initiate antimatter overload; sacrifice the upper modules to propel the main ship clear!"

"Raise shields! Ram the upper modules straight into the planet!"

A flurry of commands followed. The upper assembly of the Titan-class Colossus detached; its antimatter cannons, forced into overload, collided with Abyssal Star, unleashing colossal annihilation.

The zero-point core roared as it fed energy into the Starshatter Spear. A torrent of thermal rays burst from the conduits, assailing the surface of Abyssal Star, breaking it down as it struck.

To the shock of Earth's civilization, even an overdriven Starshatter Spear barely left a mark on Abyssal Star.

The Titan-class warship used its immense thrust to distance itself from the planet, unleashing every weapon in its arsenal in a frenzied barrage.

Though the strength of Abyssal Star far surpassed any known natural cosmic body, Earth's civilization, sacrificing all restraint and firing at maximum capacity, gradually forced fissures to appear across the vast sphere.

Every Earthling aboard with a view of Abyssal Star glared with bloodshot eyes, desperate to see this unnatural world—this aberration in their system—reduced to rubble.

As they saw the boundless surface of Abyssal Star begin to crack, a collective sigh of relief swept through them, their suffocating terror transforming into wild, jubilant cheers.

But just as their joy peaked, the ship’s visual environment shifted abruptly—the colors grew blindingly vivid, stunning everyone into silence.

For this was the highest alert, triggered only in the face of imminent destruction.

From the ship’s broadcast, the AI announced in an emotionless, mechanical tone:

"Warning! Extreme black hole gravity detected!"