NOVEL NEXT Chapter 1046: This Time It's Really Going to Cost a Fortune!
"Hoo..."
When Fang Zheng opened his eyes, a night had already passed.
Well, Fang Zheng wasn't entirely sure if a night had passed or not, given that it was still dark outside. To his left, Eiriri was lying next to him, hugging his arm, and on the right...
"Elder Brother, you're awake?"
Tilia, who was lying on Fang Zheng's chest, lifted her head with a seductive smile and gazed at Fang Zheng.
"Mm, how about you?"
Saying this, Fang Zheng extended his hand, gently stroking Tilia's silky, gold-like long hair, then his hand gradually slid down, resting on her smooth back. Feeling Fang Zheng's touch, Tilia also closed her eyes in contentment.
Feeling the warmth of the two bodies leaning against him, Fang Zheng was also quite pleased. It was rare to see Eiriri and Tilia, two blonde attributes, being together last night. Initially, Eiriri intended to drag him to train, but was caught by Tilia in the middle, so Fang Zheng, following the principle of one sheep is herding, two sheep are releasing, brought these two little blonde lambs to bed.
Thus, he smoothly recovered a transition CG and a memory scene each.
"I'm fine... Elder Brother..."
Tilia whispered softly while snuggling closer to Fang Zheng, her eyes filled with untold affection gazing at him. Fang Zheng's hand began to caress Tilia's waist, then followed...
"Beep beep beep... Captain, emergency contact from Shupard."
Just as Fang Zheng was about to initiate another unknown round with Tilia, Iona's voice suddenly sounded in his ear. Hearing Iona speak, Fang Zheng sighed helplessly, hugged Tilia, kissed her, and then opened the contact.
"Hey, Sister Xue? What's up? Did you settle your matter? What's going on with the Geth?"
"Fang Zheng, there's a problem!"
But unexpectedly, before Fang Zheng could finish speaking, he was interrupted by Shupard's anxious voice.
"I've already learned from the Geth their arrival time at the Galaxy!"
"Isn't that good news? When will they arrive?"
"Three hours later!"
"...Huh?"
Upon hearing this, Fang Zheng froze, unable to speak for a while. This script felt wrong, wasn't the protagonist supposed to get an upgrade opportunity before the final boss's appearance?
What's the point of facing the final boss without leveling up or acquiring equipment?
"What's your plan now?"
Fang Zheng originally intended to hang up and warm up with Tilia a bit more, but now he was in no mood. Fortunately, it was a phone call; if Shupard saw Fang Zheng chatting about the life-and-death matters of the Galaxy with two soft girls in his arms, she'd die from anger.
"I've contacted the Citadel, warning them about the imminent arrival of the Reapers, but whether the Citadel Council will listen is uncertain... I need to return to the Star Alliance first..."
"Alright, I wish you a safe journey. I'll head back to the Heavenly Dao Palace to assess the situation."
Although Fang Zheng also wanted to follow Sister Xue to check out what's happening on Earth's side in this world, he thought for a while and decisively decided to return to the Heavenly Dao Palace first. If Fang Zheng's prediction was correct, then this Reaper race should be the most formidable enemy he'll face in this world, and the system having released Black Katie indicates that the Reapers are tough to deal with. To be safe, he should stay in the fort.
"Okay, I'm off then."
At this point, Shupard was not in the mood to chat with Fang Zheng; after all, she hadn't expected that in just the bat of an eyelid, the entire Galaxy was on the verge of collapse. This was akin to a hero hearing that the Demon King intends to destroy the world, then deciding to exorcise demons but before departing from the Beginner Village, the Demon King's army was already at the doorstep...
So Shupard had no time to say more, made a brief goodbye and then floored the accelerator, disappearing with the Normandy in a flash.
Since the main character had left, there was no point for Fang Zheng to stay here, so he promptly gave a command.
"Iona, return to the Heavenly Dao Palace as quickly as possible!"
Military speed is crucially important; as Fang Zheng and his team returned to the Nomadic Galaxy, he received Nymph's report—an unidentified alien ship was spotted approaching the Nomadic Galaxy.
Checking the time, exactly three hours had passed.
Not a minute off.
"Yikes... They're really professionals at world destruction, hitting the mark with precision, not wasting a minute."
Rushing back to his territory, Fang Zheng stared at the images from the outside, looking at the octopus-like hideous faces and couldn't help but twitch his mouth... Wait, octopus?
Thinking of this, Fang Zheng suddenly froze, and cold sweat started to drip instantly.
Oh my god, could it actually be Cthulhu!?
He remembered Shupard mentioning that these monsters called Reapers possess an ability known as "indoctrination," capable of brainwashing any creature exposed to them for too long, turning them into Reaper minions. That elite agent named Saren betrayed in this manner... My god, doesn't this sound a lot like Cthulhu mythology?
My goodness, if it's truly Cthulhu, we're screwed; everyone pack up and run!
No wonder the system released Black Katie; even a Grand Priestess, no matter how powerful, can't overpower an Evil God, right?
"Let the Swarm go first!"
Without hesitation, Fang Zheng issued the command, reckoning encountering something unknown and letting the Swarm charge first wasn't wrong. He wasn't worried the Swarm would be indoctrinated by the Reapers. What a joke, the Swarm's psychic network is no decoration!
With Fang Zheng's order, the Swarm hidden within the asteroid belt swarmed out, rushing towards the Reapers. Seeing the Swarm charging at them, the Reapers activated attack mode without hesitation. Those octopus-like large Reapers raised their bodies, extending tentacles, and soon, red beams of light shot out from their internal cores towards the Swarm.
Simultaneously, numerous spherical Reaper drones swiftly mobilized, confronting the impending Swarm.
The Swarm's dark red flesh collided with the Reapers' cold steel, marking the beginning of an epic battle.
For a moment, both sides held fast; the Reaper numbers were substantial, yet the Swarm similarly thrived on numbers. The Reapers had a fleet of about seven to eight hundred ships, while Fang Zheng's side, thanks to his unrestrained soldier production, had at least five hundred Leviathans, combined with billions of Explosive Mosquito Dragon Corruptors, forcefully keeping the Reapers at bay from the Nomadic Galaxy.
However, this wasn't enough.
"Nymph, lend me a hand, it's time for some intense soldier production!"
Although the current battlefield situation seemed to favor the Swarm, Fang Zheng dared not be complacent. He wasn't foolish; this was just a small squad of Reapers, yet his Swarm had already suffered notable losses. If the Reapers truly launched a full-scale attack, relying solely on the current Swarm defense was impossible.
The warships of the Azure Fleet were still too few...
Opening the system, checking the Dimensional Codex's Dimensional Points, Fang Zheng hesitated for a moment, then finally made up his mind.
"Exchange for Spear of Aton and Pride of Autaris! Exchange for thirty thousand Destroyer Cores, ten thousand Cruiser Cores, five thousand Battleship Cores, one thousand Carrier Cores, five hundred Core of the Fearless Ship, and one hundred and fifty Titan Cores!"
Watching the Dimensional Points instantly drop by four digits in the system, Fang Zheng's heart dripped with blood.
This time, it's really going to be a huge loss!