pjbooks Chapter 451 The Spear of the Void!
Chapter 451 The Spear of the Void!
Qin Xiao's data was transmitted to Zhang Yan's system panel within thirty seconds.
After the collapse energy is released in the direction of Proxima Centauri, an extremely narrow high-energy signal is passing through the gaps in the gate network at faster-than-light speed, and is expected to reach Earth in 48 hours.
It is neither matter nor radiation.
It is a "spear" powerful enough to pierce through space itself.
The colony compresses the mass of a planet into a single point, then stretches that point into a linear weapon spanning interstellar space.
It doesn't need to break through the gate; its target is the time-delay field of the Sky Anchor.
The countdown in self-sustaining mode will be interrupted as long as the delay field is penetrated.
"Three days," Zhang Yan said.
Nie Qingcheng sat on the edge of the bed, now fully awake.
She didn't ask any further questions, but instead picked up her phone from the bedside table and made three calls.
The first one was given to Qin Xiao to confirm the outer perimeter lockdown.
The second request was to Guan Xing, asking her to retrieve the real-time load data of all nodes in the portal network.
The third person was a locksmith. He was asked if the lock protocol's power could be increased to its maximum within 48 hours.
The three phone calls took a total of six minutes.
As she hung up the last one, she turned to look at Zhang Yan.
"How do you plan to block it?"
Zhang Yan was already dressed.
"Go out and block it."
"Go out" means outside the atmosphere.
The Void Spear strikes from the outside. If defended on the surface, it will trigger a chain reaction the moment it touches the network of gates, affecting half the continent.
The only way is to intercept it in space.
Push it back before the spearhead touches the door network.
Nie Qingcheng's finger paused on the phone screen for a second.
"Can your mech withstand this?"
"I don't know," Zhang Yan said, "but the network can't handle it."
Nie Qingcheng stood up.
Her expression was calm, but Zhang Yan noticed that the knuckles of her fingers gripping the phone were white.
"how long."
Forty-eight hours.
"Is there any communication in between?"
"It's okay inside the atmosphere. We'll see how it goes once we're outside."
Nie Qingcheng walked up to him and raised her hand to straighten his collar.
The movements were very light and slow, as if they were sorting through something extremely precious.
"Zhang Yan".
"Um."
"I've already booked the trip, and it's non-refundable."
Zhang Yan looked at her.
"I've already paid the hotel deposit."
"understood."
Nie Qingcheng released her grip.
"Then go ahead."
Zhang Yan turned and walked out of the bedroom, downstairs into the underground laboratory.
The Chaos Mech's chip emitted a faint, dark golden light in the sealed cabinet. He took it out and held it in his hand.
Forty-four hours.
enough.
He needs to accomplish three things before the spear arrives: modify the Chaos Mech's shield system to a directional focusing mode, calculate the precise parameters of the spearhead's energy to match the counter-current frequency, and overload the output power of the Celestial Craftsman to a threshold that has never been tested before.
Zhang Yan spent sixteen hours in the laboratory.
Nie Qingcheng delivered coffee in the fourth hour, a bowl of noodles in the eighth hour, and nothing in the twelfth hour. She just stood at the door, looked at him for three seconds, and then left.
The modification was completed in the sixteenth hour.
The Chaos Mech's shield changed from omnidirectional defense to a cone-shaped focusing, concentrating all energy within a 30-degree fan-shaped area in front.
The defensive area has been reduced by 90%, but the frontal hardness has been increased sevenfold.
The overload protocol of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart has been unlocked to 150%.
The system's warning is in red: if the overload lasts for more than four minutes, the internal structure of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart will suffer irreversible damage.
Four minutes.
Zhang Yan needs four minutes to withstand a void spear forged from planetary mass.
Qin Xiao provided the coordinates of the interception point over the communication channel.
At a distance of about 20,000 kilometers above low Earth orbit, that location avoids atmospheric interference while remaining within the effective coverage area of the Tiangongxin (Heart of the Sky) satellite.
"Brother Yan, the speed data for the spear is out." Qin Xiao's voice was tense. "It's not moving at a constant speed. It will accelerate as it approaches Earth's gravitational field, and the final impact speed will be three times the initial value."
three times.
Zhang Yan ran through the data in his mind.
At 150% overload, the Chaos Mech's frontal defense peak is just enough to withstand the impact of the initial velocity.
Three times the speed means he must establish a counter-force before the spear accelerates, gradually consuming its mass as it accelerates with a continuous energy output.
To put it bluntly, we can't wait for it to come.
We should take the initiative to meet them.
"Have the launch coordinates been confirmed?" Zhang Yan asked.
"Confirmed. When are you leaving?"
Zhang Yan glanced at the countdown.
Twenty-six hours.
"Now."
The Chaos Mech was deployed on an open space outside Jinghai, its 30-meter-tall dark gold body standing silently under the dawn sky.
Nie Qingcheng stood outside the safety line.
The wind was strong, making the hem of her coat flutter.
She had her hands in her pockets and looked up at the massive metal figure.
Zhang Yan's voice came from the mecha's external speaker.
"Let's go back inside, it's cold outside."
Nie Qingcheng didn't move.
"I'll wait for you to take off here before I leave."
"Then wear more clothes."
Nie Qingcheng lowered her head and smiled.
It was very light, and quickly dispersed by the wind.
The Chaos Mech's engine ignites.
A dark golden light spread upwards from the soles of their feet, and the four wing-like structures unfolded to their maximum angle.
The ground shook.
The moment the mecha took off, Nie Qingcheng saw a figure raise a hand behind the observation window of the cockpit.
She also raised her hand.
Then the dark golden meteor tore through the clouds and disappeared into the night sky.
Nie Qingcheng stood there for another ten seconds, until the engine's exhaust flame shrank to a single point of light.
She turned and got into the car.
Before closing the car door, she said something to her phone.
"Qin Xiao, provide me with full synchronization of your vital data."
Qin Xiao responded from the other end.
Nie Qingcheng started the car and drove towards the villa.
The Chaos Mech passed through the atmosphere and entered near-Earth orbit.
The Earth slowly rotates beneath my feet, blue arcs unfolding against the black backdrop of the universe.
Zhang Yan adjusted his posture, aligning the mecha with the direction indicated by the system, the incoming vector of the Void Spear.
You can't see anything in that direction.
There was only endless darkness and sparse starlight.
However, the system's detection data is constantly being updated.
Distance: 1.2 light-hours.
Energy density: Exceeds range.
Estimated arrival time: 24 hours and 17 minutes.
Zhang Yan propelled the mecha to the interception point coordinates and hovered it.
Then he waited.
The atmospheric communication was still working, and Nie Qingcheng's channel was lit up, but she didn't speak.
Zhang Yan could see her vital signs: heart rate 72, blood pressure normal, and breathing stable.
She was probably sitting on the sofa in the villa, staring at his vital signs data on her phone screen.
Two people, separated by 20,000 kilometers, watched each other's heartbeats.
The twelfth hour.
The system captured the visual signal of the spear.
In the endless darkness, a very thin, silvery-white line was extending toward him.
That line has no width, no thickness, only length.
A pure energy spear, infinitely thin yet carrying the mass of a planet, piercing from the direction of Proxima Centauri.
It is accelerating.
"Qin Xiao," Zhang Yan said.
"exist."
"Twelve hours later, regardless of the outcome, the military forces on the perimeter are not allowed to fire. They can't stop them; they'll just be throwing their lives away."
"receive."
"The second thing is to keep the delay field of the Sky-Gazing Anchor running. The real target of the spear is the Sky-Gazing Anchor. Even if I can't block it, the time difference of the delay field can absorb some of the impact."
"clear."
"The third thing."
Zhang Yan paused for a moment.
"Please tell Guan Xing to add a line to the Gate network maintenance log: Wind Spirit Beast, born for the Gate."
Qin Xiao remained silent for three seconds.
"Why are you saying this to me? Come back and add it yourself."
Zhang Yan did not answer.
The twenty-third hour.
The spear could already be seen with the naked eye.
A silver-white strand of hair stretched across the starry sky, pointing straight towards the Earth.
Its speed is still increasing.
Zhang Yan activated the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship.
A dark cyan light burst forth from his chest, seeping through the cockpit walls and enveloping the entire dark gold mech.
"Chaos, full-power shield, cone-shaped focus mode."
A semi-transparent energy cone lit up the front of the mech.
All the defensive energy was compressed into a 30-degree fan-shaped area, and the density of the light caused the sensors to overexpose.
"Heart of the Gods, Overload Protocol, 150%".
The system displayed a final warning.
Zhang Yan turned off the warning.
Countdown.
Fifteen minutes.
The shape of the spearhead is already visible.
It wasn't a sharp cone, but a swirling vortex, like space itself twisted into a pretzel. Wherever it passed, starlight bent.
ten minutes.
Nie Qingcheng's channel suddenly lit up.
"Zhang Yan".
"Um."
"The trip is non-refundable."
Zhang Yan's lips twitched slightly.
"I know."
"That's good."
The channel was not turned off; Nie Qingcheng's breathing was light and steady, remaining in the communication.
five minutes.
The Chaos Mech's engine ignites at full power; it doesn't move backward, it lunges forward.
The 30-meter-tall, dark gold war god charged headlong into the silver-white spear tip.
At the moment the two forces collided at an altitude of 20,000 kilometers, a new sun shone in the night sky.
Zhang Yan's body was pressed deep into the seat by the enormous deceleration force, and the Heavenly Craftsmanship Heart in his chest trembled violently under 150% overload.
His teeth clenched, blood seeped from the corner of his mouth, and the beeping alarm from his protective suit pierced his eardrums.
The spear did not stop.
It is slowing down, but it is not stopping.
The Chaos Mech's frontal armor cracked within the first second of contact.
In the third second, the crack extended to the root of the left wing.
In the seventh second, visible dents began to appear in the energy cones of the shield.
The spinning vortex of the spear continuously ground against the surface of the shield, each rotation cutting away a layer of energy, like a grinding wheel cutting steel.
Zhang Yan's vision began to turn red.
The system popped up a vital signs warning – heart rate dropped to 42 beats per minute.
On the communication channel, Nie Qingcheng's breathing suddenly became rapid.
She saw the data.
"Zhang Yan".
He wanted to answer, his mouth opened, but the sound remained stuck in his throat.
The spear's speed was still increasing.
The three-day countdown of forty-eight hours has now condensed into the question of how long his dark blue heart in his chest can hold on.
System warning: Overload timeout remains at 2 minutes and 12 seconds.