Colonial Suit

Jet-black flames erupted from Bloodshot's body, and in an instant, he transformed into a demon from hell. Simultaneously, his energy surged, forcefully expanding the repulsive force field more than twofold. The churning lava was blasted away, creating a fiery red tunnel beneath him.

The sphere formed by the repulsive force field plunged into the tunnel, and the lava surged back, engulfing the tunnel in an instant, leaving no trace...

Meanwhile,

Above the relic planet, in the boundless clouds, a shuttle was flying rapidly.

Hark sat in the captain's seat, one hand propping up his chin, the other unconsciously playing with a small knife. His gaze was unfocused, as if lost in thought. Behind him, Rainbow and a group of mercenaries were intently watching the light screens floating around them.

These light screens were numerous, some newly generated, others created long ago. The scenes they displayed were surprisingly consistent: images of the airborne mercenaries. From these screens, groups of mercenaries could be seen completing their drops and conducting a dragnet search of the planet's surface. They moved quickly, but some were unlucky, encountering different enemies and being killed.

Watching the swarms of attacking spores whizzing past and the魔装战士 (mózhuāng zhànshì - roughly translated to 'Demon Armor Warriors' or 'Magic Armor Warriors') of astonishing power, Rainbow's expression turned somewhat grim.

In just a few days, the mercenaries and space pirates had suffered staggering losses, with at least a hundred casualties. Although most of the dead were Meteor-level and Comet-level, it was still shocking. Cosmic warriors were not like cabbages; even the weakest Meteor-level warrior had undergone much training to evolve. Losing a hundred warriors at once was painful even for large forces like cosmic mercenaries and space pirates.

After all, the adventure had just begun. They hadn't even entered the ruins yet. Who knew what cruel price they would have to pay by the time the mission was completed?

Thinking of this, Rainbow's face darkened. After a while, she spoke.

"Hark..."

Hark didn't answer, but his gaze turned, and the small knife in his hand stopped spinning.

Rainbow knew he was listening, so she continued, "Why don't you guide us personally? You're the only one who's ever been inside the ruins. With your guidance, they wouldn't have to take such risks."

"My guidance?" Hark tilted his head back and glanced at the surrounding light screens. Then, he smiled gently. "This is my guidance..."

"What kind of guidance is this?" Rainbow glared at him. "You're letting so many warriors drop down separately, facing attacks from those terrifying monsters. What's the difference between that and wandering aimlessly? The old men are going to be angry if this keeps up. Don't say I didn't warn you. I won't speak up for you."

"Hehe," Hark chuckled, shaking his head repeatedly. "The old men..."

"Don't worry, even if they knew, they'd support me. Because this is the only way to enter the ruins. We have to find clues..."

"What do you mean?" Rainbow frowned slightly, sensing a hidden meaning in Hark's words.

Hark smiled slightly. The small knife flashed, and with a 'thwack,' it struck the wall in the distance, burying itself to the hilt.

"You think Crodir's ruins are so easy to enter? In fact, this planet is an unstable space bomb. All the binary energy rules have been deliberately disrupted. Those who are not permitted, even planetary-level beings like us, can't exert even a tenth of our power down there."

"Hiss." Rainbow immediately gasped. Disrupted binary energy rules? Was he kidding?

As a planetary-level being, she knew very well how terrifying such an environment was. It might not make much difference to ordinary people, but for cosmic warriors like them, it was like poison. It could knock them off their lofty pedestals.

But Rainbow wouldn't forget that Hark had once entered the ruins. If this place was so dangerous, how had he entered last time?

Seeing Rainbow's questioning gaze, Hark shook his head and sighed.

"You might not believe it if I told you, but the reason I was able to break in last time was pure luck."

"The surface of this planet is covered with a dangerous creature, um, those green olives you saw earlier. You've seen how powerful they are with your own eyes. Even you and I have to be careful when dealing with them."

Rainbow nodded, acknowledging Hark's statement. She had seen the scene of the attacking spores devouring mercenaries. Under normal circumstances, they would pose no threat, but fighting in an environment with disrupted binary energy rules was indeed troublesome.

But what did Hark mean by bringing these things up? Could it be that they...

"In fact, I discovered the entrance last time by relying on them."

Seeing Rainbow's bright eyes, Hark showed a wry smile.

"After I dropped down last time, I was immediately attacked by these things. Because I couldn't control the rules, the casualties were severe. Adam and the others didn't have it easy either. Afterwards, as the exploration continued, I gradually discovered a fact: these things are intelligent. Their attacks are actually a hunting behavior, and at the same time, they also possess other characteristics of intelligent beings, such as analyzing enemies, finding weaknesses, etc..."

"At that time, I was thinking, since they have the characteristics of intelligent life, do they also have other behaviors of intelligent life?"

"Like..." Rainbow's eyes lit up, realizing what Hark was about to say.

"Like going home," Hark nodded, continuing, "I guessed right. After continuing to explore for a few more days, I finally captured the behavioral habits of a group of green olives. I designed a trap and, after sacrificing twelve attendants, followed them. And then I found..."

"The entrance??"

"No, a clue."

Hark smiled bitterly. "In fact, these little creatures are more cunning than you think. Their route home isn't an ordinary tunnel, but a micro-wormhole. And it appears randomly. Besides them, no one knows where these wormholes appear or where they lead."

"Damn it! What are these things?" Rainbow groaned. These little creatures were like little devils wielding tridents, so cunning that they were a headache. How could anyone find their home like this?

"This is certainly a frustrating result." Saying this, Hark laughed. His gaze passed through the porthole, looking out at the endless clouds.

"But it's ineffective against me. What I'm best at is patience."

"For a month, I hid nearby, watching them constantly enter and exit. I gradually figured out the secrets of these wormholes and how to pass through them to enter the ruins. You know the rest of the story..."

"So, you're waiting for these little things to go home? And the warriors who dropped down earlier were bait to lure them to hunt?"

"Basically, yes." Hark readily admitted, a trace of pain flashing in his eyes. "I know this is cruel, but if we want to achieve our goal, we must make sacrifices. What's more, those bastards from Elte are already one step ahead of us, and I need someone to cause them some trouble."

"No wonder we've been hovering in the clouds all this time, receiving and compiling information." Rainbow nodded in understanding. Finally, she added, "But the losses are still a bit too great. Why not use ordinary crew members?"

"Because they've become picky eaters," Hark replied. "And the entrance I found last time wasn't the right path, so we paid such a high price. I'm even less certain this time. But I've prepared a second plan. Now is the time to get a return."

"You mean... Bloodshot? Didn't he disappear from the mothership's view? I bet he even destroyed his mercenary badge."

"That kid always gives me a headache," Hark smiled wryly, troubled by Bloodshot's departure. "He has some opinions about me. But no matter what, I have to keep going. As long as we humans can get that relic."

Saying this, Hark's eyes flickered, obviously thinking of what he had seen in the ruins back then.

"That's our hope for rising."

"What is it?" Rainbow became interested. In fact, she didn't know what was in the ruins. She only knew that this mission was very important. But judging from Hark's current meaning, it was even more important than she had imagined.

Could it be... related to the rise of humanity? That is, something that could change the cosmic pattern.

Thinking of this, even the consistently indifferent Rainbow became serious and even more curious.

"Sorry, I can't say," Hark lowered his head, trying to hide the excitement in his heart. After a while, he looked up and answered with a smile, "But don't worry, we'll definitely get it this time. My previous orders were just to be on the safe side. Maybe we have a better option. Now he should be back."

Before he finished speaking, Rainbow felt a surge in the air outside. Soon, a familiar figure walked into the bridge.

"Kid?"

The figure that appeared in their eyes was none other than Kid. He was covered in dust, obviously just returning from the surface below. But he had an excited smile on his face. As soon as he came in, he said to Hark.

"Hark, I found it. You guessed right."

"What guessed right? What did you go do?" Rainbow asked Kid.

"Of course, I was tracking Bloodshot," Kid grinned. "Hark knew that Bloodshot would definitely avoid us, so he told me to keep following him, first to see if he found anything, and second to protect him. But after following him for a while, I didn't find those two guys, Black and White, but I did find a place."

"What place?" Even Hark became serious and finally sat up straight.

Although they were both powerhouses who roamed the nebula, on this planet, they were far less qualified to discover secrets than Bloodshot. Kid's discovery might be their new route.

Sure enough, Kid said with a smile.

"I found a place that might be the entrance. I'll take you there now."