With Doctor Kulun visibly suffering under inhumane torment, Kirkbo's fury clouded his judgment, causing him to lose his composure despite the aid of his symbiotic beast. He was in a disadvantageous position. He slashed a spatial blade, forcing Yan Junyu back, and then issued his command, "Damn worthless scum, self-destruct!"
Yan Junyu's qi and blood churned, his dantian throbbing with an almost explosive pain, but remembering the youth on the dune, he gritted his teeth and endured.
Only now did Kirkbo truly comprehend the extent of this man's strength. Within his domain, he could indeed kill with words, but the higher his opponent's level, the greater the amount of special abilities he had to infuse into his speech. If he encountered an opponent of equal prowess, killing them with a single word was virtually impossible. This was his first confrontation with Yan Junyu, so he hadn't been aware of his true capabilities. In the previous illusion, he had casually induced this person to self-destruct, naturally leading to a sense of contempt.
But reality taught Kirkbo that in this third-tier plane, not everyone was a mere ant beneath his feet. There were carnivorous beasts lurking, ready to prey on others. Qi Ze on the dune was one, and the Yan Junyu standing before him was another. In terms of strength, he was only marginally inferior.
"Self-destruct, self-destruct, self-destruct!" Kirkbo continuously drew upon his special abilities, infusing them into his voice. This power was akin to the spirit of speech, but could only be effective within his domain.
"Explode your mother's head!" The intense pain in his dantian caused even the usually calm Yan Junyu to become agitated. He took out the bloodsucking fiend blade that Qi Ze had given him, and slashed at Kirkbo, while the purple vines grew wildly, tightly coiling around the symbiotic beast.
Kirkbo had to counter Yan Junyu's attacks, monitor the doctor's situation, and sustain his domain, effectively dealing with three tasks at once. The doctor's cries of agony were becoming increasingly shrill, nearly causing his heart to shatter. He spat out a mouthful of blood, and along with it, his domain, which had already been struggling, shattered. In his momentary distraction, he was inevitably struck by Yan Junyu, resulting in the loss of an arm.
"How could this be?" He retreated rapidly, staring in horror at his empty sleeve. It was merely a small cut, yet why was his right hand rapidly withering, falling off, and turning into ashes? Something was wrong with that blade!
Realizing this, he immediately erected layer upon layer of spatial barriers, protecting himself thoroughly. Seeing Yan Junyu grow more and more formidable in combat, he pretended to be overwhelmed, slowly retreating in the direction of Qi Ze. To his surprise, Yan Junyu feinted a strike, then used the momentum to retreat, brutally plunging the blade into the symbiotic beast's body, which was ensnared by the vines.
The symbiotic beast let out a cry of pain, its formerly majestic body visibly withering at an alarming rate. Simultaneously, the long blade emitted a demonic red glow.
Kirkbo, whose soul was linked to the symbiotic beast, vomited blood again, but with gritted teeth, he ignored it, instead leaping onto the dune and firing off a spatial blade, intending to take Qi Ze's life. The spatial blade collided with an invisible energy barrier and rebounded, an outcome he hadn't anticipated. He hastily condensed a spatial barrier to defend himself, but Yan Junyu, who had killed the symbiotic beast, assaulted him from behind, plunging the red-light-emitting devil blade into his back.
His rapidly beating heart was instantly drained, followed by his organs, bone marrow, blood vessels, and skin. In mere seconds, Kirkbo had turned into a desiccated corpse, falling to the ground. After nightfall, the barren desert became extremely cold, and the fierce winds blew from all directions, lifting sand particles and scattering the dry corpse into ashes. On the ground lay a necklace and a spatial ring, the only two items that could prove Kirkbo's existence.
Qi Ze then ceased torturing Doctor Kulun and used the soul-absorbing pearl to capture Kirkbo's soul.
"I didn't expect him to be a romantic at heart." Picking up the necklace and opening the compartment, he discovered a photograph of Doctor Kulun inside. Qi Ze sighed.
"This is the first time I've made a sneak attack." Yan Junyu sheathed the fiend blade, with a faint smile on his face.
"You're so noble, then you should fight him head-on. Let's both die together." Qi Ze rolled his eyes.
Yan Junyu burst into laughter, embracing the youth, kissing him and begging for forgiveness. Below the dune, the vines that had been torn apart by the symbiotic beast had transformed into small blobs of flesh, merging and battling each other until they eventually returned to their original state, burrowing into their host's palm. The symbiotic beast was truly unlucky to have encountered the vines. It had unleashed all its ultimate moves, yet couldn't kill it. Instead, it was invaded by newly formed flesh balls through its eyes, ears, nose, and mouth, devouring many of its internal organs.
If Yan Junyu hadn't directly stabbed the symbiotic beast, it wouldn't have lasted much longer.
The two returned Kirkbo's battleship to the empire, handing it over to scientists to decipher. They also retrieved many significant research materials from Doctor Kulun's laboratory. To share these technologies and data, countries successively signed peace treaties with Huaxia, and then united to attack the space pirates.
After three months of research, the cure could be mass-produced, but a new problem arose: those infected with the T virus, once eradicated, could completely revert to their pre-infection state, retaining all their memories. In other words, they remembered how many compatriots they had killed and devoured. Those bloody memories, like devils, haunted them relentlessly. Many went insane the moment their sanity was restored, while others committed suicide on the spot. Those who neither went mad nor committed suicide developed psychological disorders, turning into complete anti-human beings.
Undoubtedly, this was Doctor Kulun's sadistic pleasure. He delighted in tormenting others, letting them glimpse hope only to plunge them back into the depths of despair.
Should they save them or not? This question plagued the heads of state of various countries. The cure would definitely have to be distributed. For the higher-level infected, there were no healing ability users capable of expelling their viruses. But if they were saved, what about those who had been killed and consumed by them? Did they deserve justice?
"Save them, why wouldn't we?" Qi Ze, who had been caught by Old Yan, said matter-of-factly.
"I thought you'd be more in favor of the extermination plan." Old Yan was quite surprised.
"How would you implement an extermination plan? Higher-level infected have extraordinary strength, you can't handle them at all. Moreover, they can reproduce more powerful offspring. The longer it drags on, the more severe the situation becomes. If it were me, I'd let them return to normal, then deport them all to a specific planet to be monitored. There, they could go crazy, commit suicide, or even plot anti-human conspiracies, but they would only be harming themselves, not normal people." Qi Ze further explained, "In my hometown, there's a place like that, called the Demon Realm, specifically for imprisoning fiends and monsters."
"Oh, this is quite a good idea!" Old Yan slapped his forehead, bursting into laughter. "You're truly my good granddaughter-in-law, just better than others! I'll convey your idea to the heads of state of various countries right away!"
Watching the retreating back of Old Yan, Qi Ze shouted in annoyance, "Who's your granddaughter-in-law? Your grandson is my wife!"
"Right, I'm your wife." Yan Junyu appeared from somewhere, gently pecking the youth's delicate neck, his low, husky laughter sending chills down one's spine.
Sixty percent of the survivors demanded that the governments completely exterminate the infected, while the remaining forty percent believed they should be given a chance to live. The two factions argued online every day, each side convinced of their own righteousness, causing post-disaster reconstruction efforts to stall. The heads of state of various countries held multiple meetings, yet struggled to reach a consensus, until Old Yan proposed a new plan.
"This plan was suggested by Master Qi. His hometown also has a place like this." Old Yan's single sentence silenced everyone.
Now who didn't know that Master Qi, like Doctor Kulun, came from a higher plane. If it wasn't for his intervention, the Black Eye Galaxy would have surely met its demise. Since the higher plane had a similar precedent, it was certainly feasible.
"I agree." Several leaders, who had been wavering, cast their votes in favor first. Gradually, others raised their hands, even the king of the most militaristic Bayern Empire refrained from commenting.
"Then it's settled." Old Yan easily made the decision. With his grandson's wife supporting him, he relished his role as the chairman of the United Nations. He wielded significant influence over many major affairs.
The news was published online, with a special note that this plan had been first proposed by Master Qi, embodying humanitarian spirit. Whether survivors or infected, they were ultimately victims. Everyone had the right to live. Countries would select several planets for the resettlement of infected individuals. No country or organization could transport weapons or equipment to these planets, with immigration channels completely closed and never to be reopened.
Netizens were immediately in an uproar, but Master Qi's strong influence took effect, and opposition voices dwindled, eventually disappearing. Post-disaster reconstruction work could then proceed smoothly. Three years later, the Imperial Star had initially regained its former prosperity. The few super-powered mecha left behind by Mu Feixing had all been abandoned. Scientists, based on the data left by Doctor Kulun, created even more powerful weapons. If they continued to develop slowly, it was only a matter of time before they reached second-tier civilization status.
After Mu Feixing, no country dared to place all their bets on a single mecha manufacturer. Therefore, Qi Ze merely repaired Tianzhu and Kaiyang, and did not take on the task of manufacturing more super-powered mecha for the empire. From Doctor Kulun's personal diary, he learned that there were countless universes beyond the universe, which sparked his desire to explore. Nearly every day, he urged Yan Junyu to accompany him on a journey.
As the renowned devoted husband of the Black Eye Galaxy, Yan Junyu naturally granted his every wish. After clearing up his affairs, he prepared to set out. Before leaving, they went to a small island specially designated for housing death row inmates to visit the fifth prince.
The fifth prince was not yet forty, but his hair had all turned white. Both his hands and feet were shackled in energy rings, which he could never remove day or night. Facing Yan Junyu and Qi Ze, he bowed deeply, choking on his words, "Thank you for saving the empire. Every day, I've been tormented by guilt and regret. I'm a sinner, I don't deserve forgiveness."
His father had already died on the run, and the whereabouts of other royal family members remained unknown. He was the only royal member who had voluntarily come forward to the military department and was sentenced to life imprisonment.
Yan Junyu looked at him intently and said in a serious voice, "I'm not here to judge you, I just want to tell you one thing in personâMu Ran has been killed by me."
"What did you say?" The fifth prince suddenly lifted his head, his expression distorted.
Yan Junyu assumed he still harbored feelings for Mu Ran, and couldn't help but feel disappointed. He pulled Qi Ze away from the visiting room and said indifferently, "Goodbye."
Just as their footsteps were about to fade, the fifth prince began to laugh manically, "Good kill! Excellent kill! Mu Ran, you fucker, go to hell!"
[END OF MAIN TEXT]