Wow! The item-dropping rate is really high!-Chapter 1023 - 705: A Single Hand Lifts the Falling Heavens (Part 2)

The feeling of spiritual energy sweeping by just now was much stronger than during our previous encounter!

He swung his giant axe forcefully and roared at his subordinates, "Boys! Train harder for me! Once I become more 'Waaagh!', I must go find him for another fight! Next time, I'll definitely beat him!"

The young beastmen didn't understand but hearing the boss talking about becoming more 'Waaagh!' and fighting, they quickly forgot their recent scare and excitedly howled.

...

The darkness forced into high-dimensional space didn't dissipate but instead writhed violently on some level, transmitting waves of chaotic and angry thoughts.

"Impossible… how could he appear there?! At this time, in this place… he couldn't possibly be here!"

"It's the elves… the elves' spell provided him an anchor point."

"No! More importantly, his essence… this is his foundation, the starting point of his path as the Human Emperor, he would never forget it, let alone abandon it."

"The plan failed."

"Come back…"

...

After the crisis was resolved, Bai E didn't linger in Ming Pearl Port for long.

He briefly reassured the populace, gave simple instructions to the Speaker and Ethan to "strengthen defenses, clean up remaining enemies, restore order, and await the federation's next orders," then departed with Kiro Lan, Morphie, and part of the core guards on an aircraft back to Blackwater City.

On the journey, Kiro Lan gave a detailed report of everything that happened on the planet after Bai E left:

The signs of awakening of the "Mother" deep within the earth's veins and its connection to sporadic bug race activities; the increasing high-dimensional whispers leading to frequent spiritual ability user breakdowns and rampant internal rumors; beastmen taking advantage of the chaos for harassment; and the centrifugal tendencies and ambitions displayed by various cities.

Her report was clear and well-organized, but it couldn't hide the fatigue and pressure of holding everything together alone during this period.

Bai E listened quietly and at the end, he just gave Kiro Lan a gentle pat on the shoulder, "You all worked hard. Well done."

There weren't too many accolades, but this simple acknowledgment allowed Kiro Lan's always tense nerves to completely relax, making her eyes moist again.

Morphie reported more on specific combat situations and the unusual movements of the beastmen's war boss, Bladefist.

"Bladefist…" Bai E murmured the name, his eyes flickering, "Still unconvinced?"

He didn't take the beastmen's challenge to heart, for his perspective now was entirely different.

When the aircraft landed in Blackwater City—

This city, where Bai E started and has now become the nominal center of the Human Federation, the core personnel had long been waiting after getting the news.

The city seemed more prosperous than when Bai E left, yet there was faint tension because of the power vacuum at the top and external pressures.

The news of Bai E's return swept across the city like a whirlwind, sparking a wave of cheers even more intense than at Ming Pearl Port.

To the residents of Blackwater City, Bai E was not only the hero who saved humanity but also the City Lord leading them to revival, an undisputed leader.

Upon returning to the city, Bai E didn't first deal with the mountain pile of political affairs, nor did he immediately summon personnel from various factions.

His first stop was the advanced Scientific Research Institute located in the core area of the city.

Inside a spacious laboratory filled with various complicated instruments and data screens, exuding a sense of futuristic technology, he saw Helen.

Compared to his memory, Helen seemed a bit slimmer, but her charming and wise eyes were still bright, though they hid a subtle weariness due to long-term high-pressure work and worries.

She was wearing a white research gown, intensely focused on a set of complex three-dimensional star maps and data streams.

Hearing footsteps, she looked up, and upon seeing Bai E walk in, an astonishing brilliance erupted in her eyes; it was a mixture of extreme joy, relief, and… a deeper curiosity for investigation.

"You…" Helen's voice was a bit hoarse. She put down the electronic pen in her hand, walked quickly over, and examined Bai E up and down as if to confirm whether he was intact, "Really came back? How did you come back? Are there really intelligent beings in the universe? What about our spaceship?"

For a researcher, these mysteries were even more important than life.

"My return was an accident…"

Bai E said concisely, "I won't be able to stay here long, this time I was 'summoned' because of a painting left by the Elf Race Prophet."

Since foreseeing disasters several times in dreams, he finally traversed high-dimensional space at the last moment from the anchor point provided by the painting.

But such summoning is temporary, he could already feel the call to return from the body left in the universe spaceship.

"This way… how much longer can you stay?"

Helen, being extremely smart, didn't ask for details but focused on the upcoming matters.

Bai E rubbed his brow, sensing, "At most a day."

Upon hearing this, Helen let out a long breath of relief, a genuine relaxed smile appearing on her face, "A day is enough. If you hadn't come back, I and the doctor might really have been unable to suppress those people's intentions. Kiro Lan, that child… she has reached her limit, it wasn't easy for her."

As she spoke, her eyes flowed with a thoughtful look, "Although a day is tight, a lot can be accomplished."

She quickly led Bai E to the center of the laboratory's holographic platform, her fingers operating quickly to bring up several sets of core data, "You returned just in time, there's some key information and decisions that must be confirmed by you personally."

"First, the underground 'Mother'. We confirmed it to be a highly specialized 'ecological engine' of the bug race coexisting symbiotically with the planet's veins. Its awakening is accelerating, with the energy reaction core located at the juncture of the planet's mantle and crust, specific coordinates are…"

She displayed a three-dimensional cross-sectional diagram, highlighting a pulsating red dot resembling a giant heart, its depth and complex energy entanglement network were daunting.

"Our model indicates that its 'hatch' will reach the first peak in about three months, potentially triggering global geological disasters and bug race outbreaks. Conventional attacks cannot reach it, and forceful attacks may accelerate its absorption of earth vein energy or cause more uncontrollable chain reactions."

"Second, high-dimensional erosion. After you left, its intensity and 'intelligence' have significantly increased, aiming specifically to dismantle our organization and spiritual ability user defenses. We suspect a higher existence is systematically guiding this erosion."

Helen switched the screen to show a series of spiritual energy waveforms and associated event reports, the data was shocking.

"Third, internal…" she was about to continue but Bai E raised his hand.

"I know about internal divisions and ambition. Kiro Lan and Morphie have already reported in detail on the way."

Bai E's gaze calmly swept over those complex graphs and coordinates, his voice steady, "Time is limited, we must address the core problems directly and establish a long-term resolution basis."

He looked at Helen, "Helen, in your opinion, what is the theoretically optimal plan to completely destroy this 'Mother'? Consider feasibility without resource and technological constraints."

Helen did not hesitate, clearly having thought about it countless times: "There are three plans, with increasing difficulty and risk. First, use ultra-large-yield core drilling thermonuclear warheads to attempt a direct detonation of its core. But the success rate is very low, as the depth and energy intertwining would greatly diminish the explosion's power, possibly triggering devastating geological disasters.

Second, utilize our still-forming 'spiritual energy resonance interference technology' to attempt a disruption of its connection to the planet's veins from the spiritual level, leaving it to starve or enter a longer dormancy. However, this requires extremely high spiritual power precision and a large total spiritual power, and we currently lack a sufficiently strong 'resonance source' and control center. Third…"

She paused, her eyes showing a hint of the light of madness belonging to a scientist, "Reverse utilization!"