Chapter 116: A Battle in the Shadows

Words : 1629 Updated : Sep 19th, 2025

The alien beast continued speaking in its deep, resonant voice. “When I first left my home planet, I was very weak. I couldn’t even survive the impact of a single meteorite. The universe was far more dangerous than I had imagined. I struggled to survive in star systems, narrowly escaping death several times. But somehow, I managed to live on.” Xiao Yu’s thoughts drifted to his own experiences in the Solar System. The alien beast’s story resonated with him. “Yes, the universe is truly dangerous. Back then, I only had a simple, crude spaceship. Surviving at all was a stroke of incredible luck.” Xiao Yu recalled the Jupiter-Moon Collision, the mining expeditions on Earth, and his journeys around the Sun. Meanwhile, the alien beast’s voice continued to flood Xiao Yu’s mind through the spatial broadcast. “I lingered in my home star system for over 700,000 years, waiting until I evolved to be strong enough to begin my search for others of my kind. In my journey through the cosmos, I encountered countless civilizations and creatures, as well as numerous dangers. I was deceived, attacked, and more than once thought I was about to die, but I managed to escape each time. In the universe, I learned to be ruthless and deceptive, though none of it was by choice. I only wanted to survive and find my kind...” “Can you tell me how you ended up imprisoned on this white dwarf?” Xiao Yu, feeling a strange connection to the story, couldn’t help but ask. “Oh, that was after encountering a powerful civilization. This civilization wanted to capture me and use my body to build their spacecraft. You should know this—alien beasts like me have extraordinarily strong bodies, far more durable than the highest-grade materials made by civilizations of the same level. Because of this, alien beast civilizations are often hunted by technological civilizations, making our existence in the universe pitiful,” the alien beast explained bitterly. This revelation gave Xiao Yu a sudden sense of clarity. “So that’s the reason. I’d always wondered why two great factions would hold such deep hatred for each other over mere differences in evolutionary philosophy. It turns out it’s because of the materials for their spacecraft.” “In the ensuing battle, the fleet of that civilization severely injured me, so much so that my propulsion organs could no longer store antimatter fuel. I was forced to rely on lower-grade energy sources like nuclear fusion. I used the last bit of my strength to escape the pursuit of the Taihao Civilization, only to end up near this white dwarf, where I was captured and imprisoned. I’ve been trapped here for half a million years.” After hearing the alien beast’s story, Xiao Yu felt a mix of emotions that he couldn’t quite describe. “I hope you can forgive me. My earlier deception wasn’t malicious—I was simply desperate to leave this place. I was afraid you wouldn’t help me because I’m an alien beast. But I truly mean no harm to you,” the alien beast explained sincerely. Xiao Yu remained silent. “Is this alien beast benevolent?” “No.” “Should I trust what it says?” “No.” “Should I feel sympathy for it?” “...It has experienced things similar to mine. We are both fragile creatures struggling to survive in the universe. All it wants is to find its kind, but instead, it was caught in a disaster beyond its control. I... I can’t help but feel some sympathy for it,” Xiao Yu thought. The preset program immediately detected that his answer deviated from the preset response. Without hesitation, it triggered the specialized generator to send a surge of electricity, burning out a few sensitive components. Xiao Yu jolted awake, his mind clearing in an instant. “Damn it, damn it! I’ve been fooled by it again,” Xiao Yu cursed. “Thankfully, the preset program worked as intended and snapped me out of it in time.” As Xiao Yu regained his clarity, another message from the alien beast arrived. “Even though I’m an alien beast, I do know a bit about technological civilizations. If you’re willing to help me escape, I promise not to harm you and will share all my knowledge of technological civilizations with you. Believe me, I mean no harm. I just want to leave this place and continue my search for my kind.” The message carried a tone of pleading. Xiao Yu sneered and responded coldly, “Don’t you think your intentions are a little too obvious? Based on your usual behavior, you should have been enraged when I insulted you earlier, calling you foolish. Yet you didn’t get angry? What are you hiding? If you’re hiding something, it means you’re seeking something. And what you want is to deceive me into helping you escape. I’m telling you now—forget it!” The alien beast seemed at a loss for words and fell silent. Xiao Yu ignored it, fully focusing on constructing the planetary engines. While the engines were under construction, Xiao Yu began studying the strange spherical mutations of the Luka people. Aboard the Yanjing, Xiao Yu had constructed a massive transparent prison to contain these terrifying creatures. Inside these transparent cells, the grotesque beings roared in fury, hurling themselves against the walls and gnashing their sharp fangs at the barriers. Yet, no matter how they struggled, they couldn’t break through the specially designed glass walls. Xiao Yu used a potent anesthetic to sedate one of the spheres before maneuvering a massive robot to pick it up and place it on a surgical table. As the table’s reinforced restraints locked into place, the creature slowly regained consciousness. Ignoring the need for further anesthesia, Xiao Yu directed the robot to begin a detailed dissection. The operating room was soon filled with its anguished, unearthly screams. Xiao Yu remained indifferent, focused solely on observing its internal structure through a series of precise instruments. “No organ structure? No cellular structure either?” Xiao Yu was stunned by the findings. After a thorough examination, Xiao Yu gained a general understanding of the creature’s biology. From unconscious Luka specimens, he collected samples containing numerous tiny black spheres, each only at the cellular scale. Xiao Yu began cultivating these black spheres in nutrient solutions. Once they grew large enough to start consuming surrounding cells, he conducted a series of eradication tests, hoping to find a way to destroy these alien entities without harming normal cells. The results were disappointing. Combining both Earth’s and Luka’s medical knowledge, Xiao Yu failed to devise an effective solution. “Let’s set this aside for now. Once I’ve dealt with this alien beast civilization creature, I’ll focus on curing the Luka people,” Xiao Yu sighed, shelving the experiments for the time being. Six months had passed. During this time, the alien beast attempted to manipulate Xiao Yu several times, but thanks to the preset program, Xiao Yu always snapped back to clarity the moment he was influenced. Separated by a distance of 1.4 light-years, Xiao Yu and the alien beast engaged in a war without visible battlefields, a subtle clash of minds and wills. Xiao Yu’s construction project had surpassed its halfway mark, with over 5,000 planetary engines completed. After testing and adjustments, Xiao Yu began using these engines to initiate preliminary orbital adjustments for the satellite. Propelling a planet out of its parent star’s gravitational field is far more challenging than directing it to crash into the star. Unlike the previous scenario, Xiao Yu couldn’t simply push the satellite directly out of Aquila A’s gravity. Instead, he gradually accelerated it during its orbital movement until it gained enough speed to escape Aquila A’s gravitational pull and enter an orbit around Aquila One. At that point, the satellite would no longer be a moon but would become a dwarf planet. Following Xiao Yu’s command, over 3,000 planetary engines simultaneously ignited, their bright exhaust flames stretching thousands of kilometers into space like vivid, flowing ribbons. It was a breathtaking sight. These engines exerted immense force on Moon One, gradually increasing its orbital speed. As the speed increased, the moon’s periapsis shrank, while its apoapsis extended further. This meant its orbit became increasingly elliptical until it reached a critical point where it would escape Aquila A’s gravitational influence entirely at its farthest orbital point. This process was expected to take over six months, giving Xiao Yu enough time to complete the remaining planetary engines. Once finished, the satellite would receive an even greater thrust to repeat the process, escaping the gravity of Aquila One entirely and becoming a free celestial body. “Do you really plan to go through with this? I truly mean no harm. We can coexist peacefully. I promise that if you help me escape this white dwarf, I will leave immediately and never harm you,” the alien beast pleaded as it watched Xiao Yu’s plan progress step by step. The frequency of the alien beast’s spatial broadcasts increased, as did its attempts to manipulate Xiao Yu. However, the preset program saved Xiao Yu each time, snapping him back to awareness just as he began to waver. The alien beast’s schemes continued to fail. “You’re wasting your efforts. Enjoy the last stretch of your life,” Xiao Yu responded firmly, rejecting its proposal. By now, under Xiao Yu’s control, Moon One had completed over fifty orbits around Aquila A. This was its final orbit. Once it reached the farthest point of its trajectory, it would never return near Aquila A again. In the vast emptiness of space, a massive celestial body, half the size of Earth’s moon, was rapidly distancing itself from the enormous gas giant, Aquila A.

Chapter 116: A Battle in the Shadows

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