For three consecutive days, Lu Yin couldn't get in touch with Keke. His guess proved correct: the attacks had shifted from hospitals to hotels and large stores. The entire Pirate Harbor was filled with an atmosphere of terror. The space stations were overloaded, "only allowing departures, not arrivals." Countless people were trying to flee Pirate Harbor.
Food and water were being frantically snatched up, along with all kinds of supplies. Even the local branch of the Clover Company was bought out. The Umbral-Mist Territory's bank branch had long since withdrawn. All these signs indicated that something major was about to happen.
Finally, at noon on the third day, Lu Yin managed to contact Keke.
"Brother Lu, what's wrong?" Keke asked.
Lu Yin was anxious. "Keke, a friend of mine is heavily injured. Do you know anyone in the Umbral-Mist Territory?"
"Umbral-Mist Territory? Let me ask!" Keke hurriedly checked, asking Zahra for help at the same time.
Soon, Keke looked up. "Yes, Brother Lu! My senior brother is on a strange planet in the Umbral-Mist Territory."
"That's great! Tell me the location, quickly!" Lu Yin was overjoyed.
Keke looked troubled. "I don't know the location. I'll give you my senior brother's contact info, you can contact him yourself. I've already given him a heads-up." After saying this, she sent Lu Yin a string of numbers. Lu Yin quickly ended the call with Keke and dialed the number.
Very quickly, a voice came through: "Xuanfeng Hall, Zeng Die."
"I'm Lu Yin. Sorry to bother you, did Keke mention me?" Lu Yin said politely.
"She did. You can come find me. I'm at Pirate Harbor in the Umbral-Mist Territory. You know Pirate Harbor, right?"
Lu Yin was stunned for a moment, then overjoyed. "I'm at Pirate Harbor too!"
The person on the other end was also clearly stunned, then said, "Send me your location. We'll meet in the middle."
Lu Yin immediately sent his coordinates. Soon, he was carrying Zhuo Baiye and heading north.
He "commandeered" a flyer on the way, pushing its speed to the maximum.
Zhuo Baiye's injuries seemed to be worsening. Her face grew paler, and her consciousness faded into a haze again as she muttered restlessly.
Lu Yin didn't know why he was in such a hurry. Her desperate, helpless eyes and her frail, pale face kept flashing in his mind. The more he thought, the more anxious he became.
Pirate Harbor was huge, but the two weren't far from each other to begin with. They met in just over an hour.
Zeng Die was a man who looked rather refined, quite a bit older than Lu Yin, likely beyond the "youth" category. Beside him was a woman. It was said Xuanfeng Hall members always worked in pairs; this must be his partner.
Lu Yin wasted no time, setting Zhuo Baiye down steadily. Zeng Die examined her and was surprised. "A heavy palm force, and it was a continuous burst. It's a miracle she's survived this long." As he spoke, he removed Zhuo Baiye's cloak, revealing her long black-and-white hair. He froze. "White Night Clan?"
The woman with Zeng Die was also surprised. "A member of the White Night Clan?"
Both of them looked at Lu Yin.
Lu Yin nodded. "She is from the White Night Clan."
Zeng Die nodded and didn't ask further. For Xuanfeng Hall, it didn't matter what race they treated. They didn't distinguish between good or bad, nor did they discriminate by race. This was Xuanfeng Hall, which was why their reputation in the universe was so good.
"Can she be saved?" Lu Yin asked nervously.
Hearing this question, the normally calm Zeng Die looked up and suddenly laughed with pride. "There is no patient that Xuanfeng Hall cannot save."
Lu Yin was taken aback. A man who looked so simple was suddenly overflowing with arrogance. The contrast was striking.
The woman said flatly, "Don't disturb him. Your little girlfriend isn't the most severely injured patient he has ever saved."
Lu Yin quickly retorted, "She's not my girlfriend."
"Really?" The woman didn't believe him and nonchalantly turned her head away.
Lu Yin was startled. It seemed... he had been too anxious.
He stood up and walked a short distance away, looking out at the dim Pirate Harbor. This planet was a battlefield, a chessboard. Countless people would be sacrificed. It was too sad.
"Keke told me you're the Top Student of the Tenth Academy?" The woman walked up behind Lu Yin, asking curiously. "My name is Caname. I'm an expelled student from the Starry Sky Seventh Academy."
Lu Yin was surprised. He saw that Caname held no particular emotion about being "expelled" and simply said, "It was just luck."
Caname sized up Lu Yin and smiled. "There's no luck involved in defeating the monsters within the Starry Sky Academy. Keke told us about you twelve new students, especially you. Thank you. If it weren't for you back then, she might not have been able to enter the Academy."
Lu Yin smiled. "You're too kind. With Keke's talent and rapid progress, no one could have stopped her."
"That's because you don't know Keke. That girl is very timid. The moment she heard people from the Fire Realm were blocking the exam, she definitely wouldn't have dared to go. Regardless, Xuanfeng Hall owes you a favor," Caname said.
Lu Yin just smiled, not replying. A favor from Xuanfeng Hall... that was very valuable.
Caname glanced at Zhuo Baiye being treated, then spoke again. "She... is really not your girlfriend?"
Lu Yin shook his head. "We're just strangers who met by chance."
"That's for the best," Caname said.
Lu Yin found this strange. "Why?"
Caname looked at Lu Yin seriously. "Do not develop feelings for her. If you already have, erase them immediately. If not, this will become a burden you cannot bear for your entire life."
Lu Yin's eyes flashed. He glanced at Zhuo Baiye, then back at Caname. "Why?"
Caname shook her head. "This involves the affairs of the White Night Clan. It's not my place to say more. Just listen to me: absolutely, absolutely do not fall for her. Otherwise, the price will be beyond your imagination." With that, she turned and walked back toward Zeng Die.
Lu Yin turned his head. The image of Zhuo Baiye's tear, and her whispers... "parents," "Cage Art"... inexplicably appeared in his mind.
...
A long half-day passed before Zeng Die finally stabilized Zhuo Baiye's condition.
He stood up, wiping sweat from his forehead, and said with some fatigue, "Alright. She just needs to rest for a few months, and she'll make a full recovery."
"Thank you, Brother Zeng," Lu Yin said gratefully.
Zeng Die smiled. "No need to be polite. I haven't even thanked you for Keke's sake."
"I already said, Xuanfeng Hall owes him a favor," Caname interjected.
Lu Yin held up his hand. "You've helped me save her. The favor is repaid."
Zeng Die's expression turned serious. "Brother Lu, that's not right. Saving people is the tenet of Xuanfeng Hall. Even without Keke, I would have helped you. Besides, the more people we save, the more prosperous our destiny, and the longer our lifespan."
Lu Yin blinked. Those words... were so familiar. It seemed Keke had said something similar. Seriously, their master really scammed them hard.
"We need to go," Caname reminded him.
Zeng Die looked at Lu Yin. "Brother Lu, this planet is very dangerous right now. You two should leave immediately as well."
Lu Yin nodded.
Soon, Zeng Die and Caname left. Lu Yin picked up Zhuo Baiye. "The girl is finally stable." With that thought, he commandeered another flyer and headed for the space station. It was time to leave.
More and more explosions swept across Pirate Harbor. Countless people fled in panic. Lu Yin sat in the flyer, looking down at the chaos, his heart heavy.
Suddenly, his pupils shrank. He saw a familiar figure in the crowd. Is that...?
He parked the flyer on a rooftop, leaving Zhuo Baiye inside, and charged toward the crowd.
Quickly, he grabbed a man from the crowd. The man was startled and threw a knee in reflex, which Lu Yin blocked. "Dai Chong! It's me!"
The man stared at Lu Yin, stunned. "Why are you here?"
Lu Yin pulled the man out of the crowd, happy. "Why are you here?"
The man, Dai Chong, was anxious. "Did the family send you? Impossible, why would the family let you come here?"
"What do you mean?" Lu Yin felt uneasy.
"Don't ask what I mean! Let's go! Leave immediately! Hurry!" Dai Chong grabbed Lu Yin, trying to pull him to the space station.
Lu Yin shook him off. He had too many questions. A surge of traffic rushed past, separating them. Suddenly, his scalp tingled. A blinding light descended. Everyone looked up, seeing the last image of their lives: a beam of light shot down from the void, striking the earth, obliterating everything. It was an attack from a warship!
"Little Qi! Run!" Dai Chong roared.
Desperate screams erupted from the crowd.
The buildings on both sides shattered.
Lu Yin couldn't hear any of it. In an instant, he was struck by the beam. He subconsciously activated the Heavenly Star Art, but against an attack powerful enough to kill an Explorer-realm expert, any defense was useless.
BOOM! An entire street was vaporized. Dai Chong was swept away by the shockwave. At the last second, Lu Yin had Flash-Stepped, narrowly avoiding a direct hit. Even so, he was caught by the aftershock. He spat out a mouthful of blood. His hair, his clothes, everything was incinerated. His body was charred black, his blood instantly cauterized, smelling burnt. His body, like a paste of meat, slammed into a distant wall, and he lost consciousness.
Immediately after, another beam descended, striking an adjacent street, followed by another, and another. This was an attack capable of destroying a planet. Anyone was insignificant before this level of power. Only a Star-wanderer could resist it, and that didn't include ordinary Explorers, because these beams... were meant for the Leiao family's Cruiser-realm expert.
The entire Pirate Harbor was plunged into an ocean of death. The beams rained down mercilessly, killing an unknown number of people.
On the abandoned street, Lu Yin's body was mangled, not a single piece of flesh intact. An injury like this should have been fatal. But on his back, the strange seal that had once blocked his breakthrough appeared again, emitting a faint glow, bringing him back from the brink. His body began to slowly heal.
...
An unknown amount of time passed. Lu Yin vaguely heard people talking.
"There's a live one here! Take him!"
"What's the point? Not a good piece of meat on him. He's a goner."
"What's it to you? Take him to Planet Toflo! Orders from above. If they're not dead, take them!"
"Yes..."
...
A jolt. Lu Yin opened his eyes in agony. The blinding light was unbearable, and he couldn't see clearly. What's happening?
"He's injured that badly. Can he even live?"
"Must have been hit head-on by the attack. He's tough to have survived."
"We have to save this kind of person?"
"Shh! Of course not. We're not saving them. We're... 'feeding' them."
"What 'feeding'?"
"The slaves on Planet Toflo... they can't be considered human. They'll eat anything."
"You mean...? Bleargh..."
...
When Lu Yin regained consciousness for the third time, he was in mid-air, falling. He had been dropped from a great height. His nose was filled with an acrid smell. The sky around him was dark red, and lightning occasionally flashed past. He had seen this kind of scene before, usually on a planet about to be destroyed. He looked down. His pupils shrank. He saw countless black dots waiting on the ground below. Vaguely... were those... people?