206 Lu Chen's Magical Moment [Two-in-One, Please Subscribe!]

For safety, Lu Chen temporarily cut off the voice call and the armor's cameras, flying all the way to the opposite side of the planet.

He specifically sought out a valley hidden within a thicket of thorns.

He squeezed through a crevice in the valley and descended deep underground.

Now, no one could find him.

However, the crust of Meiyu Planet was one thousand kilometers thick. Even though Lu Chen's armor was designed for excavation, its bulky, pot-bellied frame could barely move forward at a rate of less than one hundred meters per minute.

The main trunk of the planetary array was most likely located at a depth of five hundred kilometers. The branch lines might extend closer to the surface, but they would certainly be quite scattered.

He could not rely on blind luck to find them.

He needed radar.

Underground, it was difficult for both the armor's radar and Allie’s spiritual sense to penetrate the thick soil and rock.

It was time for Lu Chen's "Omni-Resonance" to take the stage.

He had once relied on Omni-Resonance on the True Spirit Continent to map out the spiritual markings of an entire mountain's array.

Now, Lu Chen piloted the armor manually.

He dispersed his own spiritual energy, allowing it to permeate the earth and stone, resonating with them like rapidly spreading ripples...

Soon, Lu Chen found the nearest branch line.

It was only twenty-some kilometers away from his current location, and less than a kilometer from the surface!

Lu Chen exited the underground, returned to the surface, flew at a low altitude for twenty-odd kilometers, and then descended deep underground again to locate the branch.

The branch of the planetary array was completely encased in a one-meter-thick metal pipe, somewhat resembling the transoceanic fiber-optic cables from Lu Chen's past life.

The level-80 planetary array and the outer metal shell showed not a single trace of rust; even Lu Chen's chainsaw and laser cannon could not leave a scratch on them.

"It seems I can't even steal a cable," Lu Chen muttered to himself.

Furthermore, because the scope of the planetary array was too vast, Lu Chen's object recognition could only identify things at close range. Just as he could not identify the details of an entire planet while standing on its surface, he needed the power of Omni-Resonance!

So, he manually piloted the armor, placing its right palm against the metal shell and dispersing his spiritual energy into the metal.

He couldn't even permeate it. He could only spread it along the surface, rapidly traveling along the branch line to the main line, and then out across the entire array.

But Lu Chen's resonant spiritual energy spread extremely quickly across the uniform metal surface. It reached nearly the maximum speed of mechanical vibration for that metal—ten kilometers per second!

In just two minutes, Lu Chen discovered sixty-seven damaged spots on the outer shell and thirteen areas where spiritual markings were leaking.

The shallowest point was exactly at the end of a branch line, only five hundred meters from the surface.

Lu Chen left the underground, flew two hundred kilometers through the air, and rapidly arrived at the target location.

Those five hundred meters were the final distance he needed to dig at full speed.

Four and a half minutes later, Lu Chen successfully arrived at his target.

There was an insect nest near the metal shell at the end of the branch, and the shell was severely corroded, revealing a crack about a foot long and a fist wide.

The spiritual markings within the array were highly introverted, so the spiritual energy was not leaking outward. However, a great deal of external spiritual energy was seeping in...

This would weaken the array's effects, but the constant influx of excess spiritual energy allowed the array to persist for a long time.

Lu Chen placed the armor's right palm against it again... though he could only fit his pinky finger into the gap.

*Hmm...*

The resonant spiritual energy quickly seeped into the array.

The feeling was indescribably wonderful.

The speed at which spiritual marking resonance travels is theoretically the speed of light, but it is generally far slower due to factors like the level of the markings, their logic, and the materials used. Even so, the resonance speed of spiritual markings was vastly faster than that of metal—it was not even in the same league.

In an instant, Lu Chen grasped the entire logic of the planetary array's spiritual markings.

He then calculated the number and relative positions of the shell ruptures and exposed markings, determining the optimal plan to short-circuit the main line controlling gravity.

This took another few minutes...

Soon, Lu Chen wrote a hacker program composed of resonant ripples.

The spiritual pressure did not need to be strong; it only needed to blend into the array, making the system believe it was a legitimate spiritual marking, and enter the operational sequence. The array would soon short-circuit at a leakage point, causing the nearby gravity main line to collapse.

Lu Chen carefully checked the ripple program.

Confirming it was error-free, he transmitted the resonant spiritual energy through the armor's fingertips into the gap in the metal shell, seeping it into the array's markings.

At this moment, the Green-Winged Dragon on the other side suddenly raised its head, looked toward the opposite side of the firmament, and finally discovered Lu Chen's location.

Before this, the Green-Winged Dragon had been carpet-bombing the area searching for Lu Chen's armor while tangling with the *Centipede* and the *Maverick* mecha, leaving it in a very passive position.

Until this moment, the Green-Winged Dragon broke free, soared into the air, and instantly shot toward the sky, flying toward the *Leoning*.

Right now, Lu Chen was still underground on the opposite side.

He instantly received the corresponding danger alert!

In reality, the fact that he had been drilling holes across the planet and repeatedly injecting resonant spiritual energy into the array without being discovered until now had already far exceeded his expectations.

This suggested one thing: the caves of Meiyu Planet had existed since ancient times. The Green-Winged Dragon, or rather, the leader of the Star Beast swarm, was merely a latecomer and hadn't even modified the planetary array to match itself.

It was highly likely that the Star Beast swarm had only found Meiyu Planet to hide in after escaping the park, having entered the caves less than a month ago. As for how they found the Meiyu Planet caves, which even the Behemoth Paradise couldn't locate, it might have been luck, or perhaps it had something to do with the identity of the Star Beast leader.

Thinking this, Lu Chen simply stopped running and continued digging upward.

Once the array collapsed, the tunnels he had emptied out along the way would become the first to cave in, causing the ground in front of him to crack.

He would then be able to escape quickly.

But he still wanted the Dragon Core!

He estimated that in the advantageous environment of a planetary collapse, the *Centipede* and the *Maverick* might be evenly matched with the Green-Winged Dragon, or manage to kill it with great difficulty...

He intended to play the role of the fisherman who profits after the snipe and the clam fight.

He immediately turned on his microphone and contacted the tactical meeting.

"Everyone, I've finished. Sorry, it took a total of sixteen minutes. The crust will collapse within a minute. You can all start running now."

The Director's tightly strung nerves finally relaxed.

"That's great!"

The Centipede-man still felt it was too bizarre. "Is that for real?"

Lu Chen laughed lightly. "Otherwise, why would the Green-Winged Dragon have discovered my location? Fortunately, even if it did, it's too late. The crust is about to collapse. You can run now, or you can come save me."

The Centipede-man’s face darkened, his eyes filled with a tragic, heroic resolve to meet his death as he roared at Lu Chen:

"What kind of stupid talk is that! Of course we're coming to save you. Don't forget, we are comrades who have fought side by side and experienced life and death together... How could you, you brat, try to swallow the Dragon Core all by yourself!"

Lu Chen was almost moved, but fortunately, he didn't fall for it.

"I suggest deleting that last sentence."

The Green-Winged Dragon had no engine and flew with its physical body, so its speed was not actually superior. It was just that its physical strength was so great that the *Centipede* and the *Maverick* couldn't stop it at all, so they had to follow behind, pelting it with poison stings and laser cannons.

Just as it reached the halfway point, nearing the small sun, the crust overhead suddenly shuddered.

Immediately, cracks appeared on the surface...

Countless sand, soil, trees, and spirit beasts fell from the fissures.

The crust collapsed along with it, breaking into countless pieces and slowly falling downward.

The sound of the collapse hadn't even traveled down yet.

At the center of the planet, it was terrifyingly quiet.

The video conference room was also deathly silent, everyone holding their breath as they looked at the collapsing sky.

Even though Lu Chen had notified everyone, seeing this scene with their own eyes left them speechless.

Only after a moment did the Centipede-man blurt out:

"Damn, you really are a miracle!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than a deafening, earth-shattering roar entered the video conference, so thunderous it felt as if they were being crushed by a giant's foot.

The volume in each cabin had to be turned down just to maintain some semblance of composure.

Even the Director couldn't help but sigh:

"I've seen planets collapse many times, but looking up from the center of the caves, it's like the sky itself is falling..."

The Green-Winged Dragon looked up.

It knew deep down that the planetary core was the most dangerous place; it didn't dare to delay for even a second and continued to charge toward the opposite side.

The *Centipede* and the *Maverick* followed close behind.

...

On the outskirts of Meiyu Planet.

The information officer repeatedly used the excuse of unstable control signals to change the docking position of the information ship, constantly moving closer to Meiyu Planet.

After the crust of Meiyu Planet began to collapse, he used the excuse of rescuing Lu Chen's armor to navigate the information ship toward the direction from which Lu Chen was preparing to escape.

At the same time, the surface of Meiyu Planet sank rapidly, and massive amounts of dust were thrown into the air.

The scene was chaotic, and even the giant freighter was no longer visible.

The information officer then controlled the giant freighter to sneak through the dust, rounding half of the collapsed surface to arrive at the side where Lu Chen was.

Meanwhile, the adjutant investigating the information ship had just lost contact.

The Director was furious, staring at the screen in the bottom right corner.

"Teng Wanjun, how dare you betray me!"

Unfortunately, the 360-degree panoramic view of the information ship on the bottom right screen had already vanished.

The information ship then charged into the dust on the surface of Meiyu Planet, merging with the giant freighter.

The Director shut down the video conference and immediately ordered:

"The Second and Third Fleets are to surround the information ship and the giant freighter from two directions. You may destroy the information ship, but do not touch the giant freighter for now... I suspect the Black Swan will appear at any moment. Once it does, fire the high-grade tranquilizer."

"Yes, Director!"

The two fleets quickly surrounded the giant freighter and the information ship.

However, before that, the information ship had already landed directly on top of the giant freighter.

The giant freighter was two kilometers long and five hundred meters wide, a custom-built cargo ship specifically designed for transporting Star Beasts. The information ship was less than fifty meters long.

The hatch on top of the giant freighter opened.

The information ship flew straight inside.

The Second and Third Fleets arrived at the scene. The two ships had combined, and since they couldn't attack the giant freighter, they had to broadcast a message to it:

"Teng Wanjun, surrender. We know you were hijacked by the enemy. If you surrender, the Director will not hold you accountable."

Teng Wanjun dared not reply, burying his head in repairing the giant freighter's flight control system.

He had to fix it to the point where even the Black Phoenix could pilot it easily.

The Director had no choice but to order:

"Destroy it... even if we can't capture the beast swarm, it's better than letting them escape."

After saying this, she added, "Have the Second Fleet launch the mechanical armor-piercing nuclear warhead!"

"Yes, Director!"

The Second Fleet immediately began the launch sequence for the nuclear warhead.

"Mechanical armor-piercing nuclear warhead number eight, preparing... countdown, three, two, one, launch!"

A slender, spiraling nuclear warhead, like a giant arrow, flew toward the giant freighter.

The giant freighter had no defensive arrays or anti-missile systems, and the interference signals from the information ship could not stop the mechanical nuclear warhead.

"It's over... I'm going to die." Teng Wanjun glanced at the Black Phoenix beside him, suddenly wanting to kiss a woman before he died, to lose his virginity.

The Black Phoenix sighed helplessly.

"That old hag is firing this kind of warhead on purpose, clearly trying to force the Black Swan out... I haven't heard a word from Irfan; we have no choice but to start the decisive battle early!"

Teng Wanjun was stunned, letting out a small sigh of relief. "Has the Black Swan arrived already?"

No sooner had the words left his lips!

The space in front of the nuclear warhead suddenly folded.

The warhead was sucked into the fold, flying through the other side of the folded space and out from under the wing of a massive black shadow.

Accompanied by a distant, muffled thud and ripples in space, the folded space slowly unfolded.

Like a massive flower bud, it bloomed in an instant.

The curled shadow suddenly spread its wings.

It blotted out the sky.

Shadows thickened.

A vast level-62 spiritual pressure spread instantly, and dense swarms of Star Beasts rushed out from under the shadow's wings, flying toward the two fleets on the left and right!

The Second and Third Fleets had been prepared for this.

"All ships, form up! Prepare to fire tranquilizers!"

Many level-40 Star Beasts were quickly hit by the tranquilizers and soon lost their combat effectiveness.

Level-50 Star Beasts struggled to hold on after being hit...

But for Star Beasts above level 55, the tranquilizers couldn't even break their armor.

The two sides fell into a chaotic melee.

Following this, a giant ape of modest size was summoned into the giant freighter's cockpit by the Black Phoenix.

"You are responsible for protecting the Information Officer's safety. I'm going out to clean up these second-rate fleets!"

Teng Wanjun was dumbfounded. "What did she call me?"

The giant ape stared at him, saying nothing. After all, it couldn't speak human language, but its eyes seemed to be looking at an idiot—an idiot even more intellectually disabled than a Star Ape.

Guli the Vermilion Bird leaped out of the giant freighter.

Spreading its wings for hundreds of meters in mid-air, it instantly transformed into the Black Phoenix, shot into the sky, and sprayed jet-black flames downward.

It burned its way through the two fleets...

Spaceships scrambled to evade.

Level-50 fighter ships collapsed at the slightest touch; some had their hulls burned through, some had fire spill into their cabins, and others exploded outright.

Several level-60 battleships aimed at the Black Phoenix, greeting it with various laser cannons.

The Black Phoenix instantly combusted, covered in black flames.

The lasers became ineffective upon contact.

Before the nuclear warheads could even get close, they were burned through and detonated by the black flames spat from the bird's beak, resulting in nothing more than a loud bang.

They didn't even make a sound, just turning into fireworks in space.

The two fleets couldn't break the Black Phoenix's black flame defense, and their own ships were suffering repeated losses.

The two captains hurriedly asked the Director:

"Director, we can't hold on much longer. Why don't we continue attacking the giant freighter? The Black Phoenix will surely struggle to defend it, and we'll have a chance to kill or capture her in one stroke!"

"No, it's not time yet. If the giant freighter accidentally gets hit and crashes, these Star Beasts will go berserk."

The Director shook her head, then stood up, lifting her magnificent robe to reveal her naked, all-mechanical skeleton.

Except for her head, there was no biological tissue left.

"I will meet our chocolate beauty myself. This old frame of mine has already dropped from level 80 to 75. If I don't get some exercise, it's going to fall apart on its own."

The Chief of Staff beside her hurriedly advised: "Director, you are the commander-in-chief, you cannot move lightly!"

The Director sighed, her face becoming even paler. "If I don't make a move, the enemy commander won't show their face. Are we going to let this battle continue until the fleets and the Star Beasts destroy each other?"

Just as she was about to leave the cabin, the radar issued a frantic alarm.

"Director, an level-80 radar signature has appeared behind the First Fleet! An level-80 radar signature!"

On the giant screen.

A massive mecha Tyrannosaurus, looking like a Star Beast dinosaur clad in battle armor, charged into the First Fleet where the flagship was located.

The Director stared at the giant screen, a flash of memory crossing her pale face.

"...Irfan has grown this big already!"

...

Meanwhile.

The empty ship *Leoning* flew out of Meiyu Planet with great difficulty, following the cracked tunnels.

Inside the collapsing Meiyu Planet.

The Green-Winged Dragon, the *Centipede*, and the *Maverick* were still locked in fierce battle amidst the falling fragments of the crust.

The Green-Winged Dragon's massive body was battered and bruised by the constantly falling debris of the crust.

This was a crust one thousand kilometers thick.

It hadn't even come close to Lu Chen's armor...

At the moment, the *Centipede* and the *Maverick* mecha battling it weren't doing much better.

They weren't being smashed by the debris, but they had to constantly shift positions and perform emergency tunneling to avoid hard boulders, all while still slaughtering each other.

This was a tremendous test of the strength of their insect shells and mecha hulls, as well as their stamina and remaining spiritual energy.

Everyone had underestimated the power of a planetary collapse.

Except for Lu Chen.