louisehourcade Chapter 426 She's here!
Chapter 426 She's here!
Fifty-four hours after Zhuque broke through the atmosphere, Zhang Yan had already persisted in the spherical space for 48 hours.
The reserves of the Heavenly Craftsman's Heart dropped from 88.7% to 67.3%.
His physical condition gradually deteriorated under the system's monitoring, showing signs of dehydration, hypoglycemia, muscle fatigue, and excessive nervous tension.
However, the efficiency of the first gate remained stable at 71% and did not drop further.
There is ongoing pressure from outside the door.
Each impact was like an invisible fist, slamming against the door and against Zhang Yan's consciousness.
He used his divine ingenuity to block it and his willpower to hold it up.
It's like a person trying to push against a wall that keeps pressing down on them with both hands.
Nie Qingcheng's voice appeared once every hour.
"Zhuque is still 97 kilometers away from L2. 96 kilometers. 95 kilometers."
She was like a timer, using numbers to tell Zhang Yan how much longer he had to persevere.
At the 50th hour, the stargazer appeared in the spherical space.
She brought Nie Qingcheng with her.
Nie Qingcheng wasn't wearing her usual haute couture silk pajamas or cheongsam, but rather a black tactical uniform.
Her face showed no superfluous expression, only a cold, hard resolve.
She glanced at Zhang Yan, then looked at the churning black sphere.
"How much longer can we hold on?" she asked.
"Reserves are at 67.3%," Zhang Yan's voice was hoarse. "At the current rate of consumption, we can hold out for—"
"That's not what I'm asking," Nie Qingcheng interrupted him.
"My question is, how much longer can you hold on?"
Zhang Yan looked at her.
"It will take Suzaku another 22 hours to reach point L2," Nie Qingcheng said. "Do you have enough supplies?"
Zhang Yan did a calculation.
67.3% minus 22 hours multiplied by 0.8% equals 49.7%.
"That's enough," he said.
"Then leave it to me." Nie Qingcheng walked over and stood beside him.
"Stargazing will help me conceal my presence. No one outside the door will know I'm here."
Zhang Yan wanted to say something, but Nie Qingcheng had already taken out an ancient instrument—a frequency shielding device from the Guantian Pavilion.
She started it.
The energy fluctuations within the spherical space were instantly isolated.
From the outside, this place looks like an energy vacuum.
"Now," Nie Qingcheng said, "you can rest."
Zhang Yan wanted to refuse, but his body had already made its decision.
He lowered his hand.
The Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship ceased its energy output.
Nie Qingcheng stepped forward and placed her hand on Zhang Yan's shoulder.
She closed her eyes and made a certain gesture.
A new message appeared on the system panel: "Compatibility protocol enabled".
Nie Qingcheng's body began to glow.
It was a very faint light, but it was real.
A certain energy within her was activated—not the energy of the Heart of Heaven, but a more primal force belonging to the world itself.
When the stargazer saw this scene, something flashed in his eyes.
She took a step back.
"You know," Guan Xing said softly.
"You've always known."
Nie Qingcheng did not open her eyes.
"I am the head of Qingcheng International." Her voice was clear. "There is something in my blood. Zhang Yan's system has been giving me hints, but I haven't told him."
Her hand rested on the door.
The efficiency of the first gate has stabilized.
It will no longer fall, nor will it be impacted.
It's as if someone is also exerting force on the other side of the door, and the two forces have reached a certain balance.
Zhang Yan looked at Nie Qingcheng's profile.
Fine beads of sweat appeared on her forehead, but her expression remained unchanged.
"How much longer?" she asked.
"21 hours and 52 minutes." Zhang Yan glanced at the system.
"Then let's persevere," Nie Qingcheng said.
72 hours after Suzaku took off.
There are still 1000 kilometers to go before reaching the L2 point.
Zhang Yan's consciousness was ready—he was going to remotely access his consciousness, activate the sub-core through the Heart of Heavenly Craftsmanship, and have it establish a new maintenance anchor point at L2.
Nie Qingcheng is still persisting.
Her body was already trembling, but her hand did not leave the door.
"Now," Zhang Yan said.
He closed his eyes, and his consciousness surged into space along the quantum entanglement channel.
Inside the Vermilion Bird's cabin, the golden light of the sub-core began to flicker.
The activation process has started.
Runes began to light up in the void.
The space at point L2 begins to change.
The first new maintenance anchor point has been activated at the gravitational equilibrium point between the Earth and the Sun.
The system panel has been refreshed.
"New anchor point activated successfully. Gate network integrity: 60.2%. Defense limit: 96%."
Nie Qingcheng lowered her hand from the door.
She turned to look at Zhang Yan, her eyes filled with tears.
"You're back," she said.
Zhang Yan walked over and hugged her.
"Three hundred years," he said. "We have three hundred years."
"That's enough," Nie Qingcheng said.
"Let people three hundred years from now think about what will happen then. For now, let's focus on surviving."
Outside the spherical space, all movement outside the door has ceased.
They weren't defeated.
Rather, it realized some deeper truth.
This world is not as easily devoured as it imagines.