Chapter 125: The Angel Race Above the Satellite

Spider Mother Lilith looked at the carnage before her with a grim expression.

A group of strangers in iron shells had suddenly breached the Forbidden Zone. They had cut through the defenses like a hot knife through butter, reaching the ninth-tier territory ring, catching Lilith completely off guard. Since submitting to Areta, ART-2 had been responsible for defending the eighth and ninth-tier rings and cultivating the "flowers." After several months of peace, these "tin cans" had suddenly invaded, slaughtering every mutant they encountered along the way. Lilith was furious.

Through Areta’s guidance, Lilith knew that the entire Forbidden Zone was essentially a hatchery for ART-3. Though she didn't know what Areta was thinking—choosing not to use ART-3 as the blueprint for the species' appearance, but instead sparing no effort to cultivate and domesticate various mutants to bolster her ranks—she found it puzzling. Areta had offered no explanation, merely ordering her to follow instructions. Though confused, Lilith obeyed.

Everything had been progressing smoothly. After months of adaptation, Lilith had become adept at resisting the erratic mutations caused by the intense radiation on her internal ART virus. She had been preparing to descend into the core of the Forbidden Zone to begin a new stage of evolution. She had never expected the Sirius mech knights to arrive so suddenly.

These tin cans were exceptionally powerful. They could go toe-to-toe with standard eighth-tier mutants in one-on-one combat. Their coordination was seamless; two mechs working in tandem could easily slay an eighth-tier mutant with fluid, agile movements. The small human-faced spiders, created through human fusion, could not leave a single scratch on the mechs, no matter what methods they employed. Even the large human-faced spiders struggled; beyond their heavy armor, these mechs were incredibly nimble, making them nearly impossible to hit with standard attacks.

Fortunately, the ART-2 population was vast. Tens of thousands of human-faced spiders used their psionic powers in a frenzied assault, finally halting the advance of the mech knights.

"Damn it... who are these people?" Lilith hissed. "How can there be humans this powerful?"

She watched a mech darting about before her. Her explosive spiders were useless against aerial targets, and her psionic webs had little effect on the armor. Lilith was forced to constantly manipulate gravity and repulsion through her psionic power just to fight the machine to a standstill.

Compared to Lilith, Connor, the knight commander inside the mech, felt even more shaken. These mutants not only possessed intelligence but had evolved energy-based attack methods. To Connor, this was inconceivable. How could biological organisms generate such massive energy fluctuations? It completely defied the biological theories of the Leviathan star system.

And this giant spider before him—what kind of miraculous creature was it? To control gravity and repulsion? Was this a power that an organic being could wield?

In that moment, Connor felt that this "Zombie Star," almost forgotten by the Leviathan system, had developed a biological civilization in just twenty years that transcended the common understanding of the entire star system. If allowed to develop further, and if these mutants eventually gained the ability to traverse the cosmos, they could spell disaster for the entire galaxy.

Based on this, Connor fought while recording the battle, transmitting the footage to the flagship in orbit. After encryption by the flagship, the footage would be sent to distant Sirius. Connor was certain that the Broly family, upon seeing these miraculous mutants, would take a keen interest in the Zombie Star. While the Genetic Warrior Enhancement Project was not led by the Broly family, Connor knew they would never pass up an opportunity to achieve a major breakthrough in that field.

The first mate on the flagship was equally shocked upon seeing the combat footage. These mechs, the latest development of the Broly family, were designed for interstellar warfare and could easily hold their own against starships. They were not supposed to be resisted by flesh and blood. The first mate knew that just two of these mechs were worth a ten-thousand-meter-class flagship on the black market—their value was astronomical. The total value of these two hundred mechs exceeded that of an entire army group, yet they were being held back by a swarm of mutants.

The first mate tore his gaze from the screen and asked the signal officer, "Is the video encryption complete?"

"Reporting, First Mate, encryption is complete!" the officer replied. "Shall we transmit to Sirius immediately?"

The first mate nodded. "Send it now. We’ve stumbled upon a massive merit for nothing."

Following the order, the communications officer transmitted the data. After several relays, the footage would reach Dr. Broly’s central computer in about three days. By then, the greatest secret of the Zombie Star would be fully exposed to the Four Great Stars.

At the very moment the data was transmitted, a terrifying bird, over a hundred meters in length, suddenly surged from the surface of one of the Zombie Star’s six satellites—the one closest to the Sirius fleet. The bird was covered in sturdy scales, and strange organs along its wings, back, and abdomen pulsed rhythmically, seemingly consuming dark matter from space.

This monster had perfectly adapted its flesh to the vacuum of space. It soared through the void in a bizarre fashion, appearing to shift between phantom and reality. Its burst speed was so great that it actually caught up to the electromagnetic waves carrying the flagship's data.

Electromagnetic waves travel at the speed of light. Theoretically, no biological entity could reach such speeds; the immense acceleration would tear a living body into dust. Yet, here in the pitch-black space, this creature had done the impossible. It flapped its wings, causing the surrounding space to warp and form rows of dark matter voids. The electromagnetic waves plunged into these voids and vanished entirely.

Having completed this, the creature adjusted its trajectory, looking toward another distant satellite. Its beak clicked, and it sent a microwave signal using dark matter as a medium.

"Reporting to the Sky Lord," it signaled. "A human flagship is observing the ART-2 and ART-3 populations on the surface. We have intercepted their outgoing signal. Awaiting your instructions."

Soon, a distorted ripple reached the creature. "Clear all human artifacts from the spherical orbit. Intercept all outgoing information sources. We have slumbered for ten years for this evolution, and our numbers have dwindled to double digits. It is not yet time for us to appear in human sight. Our primary mission now is to propagate."