Chapter 117: The Machine Invasion

Yan Jingyi stuffed the sample into the sealed vial, turning to leave, when a sharp, grating noise pierced her ears.

Zzt—

The sound stabbed directly into her mind, a chaotic, tidal roar crashing against her, dragging her consciousness toward an abyss.

As her vision darkened, something pecked her face sharply!

"Chirp chirp chirp!"

Yan Jingyi's eyes snapped open. A silver-white bird, glowing faintly, had somehow entered her mech's cockpit. Its black, beady eyes gleamed, feathers fluffed into an absurdly round shape—a well-fed little creature.

"You…" Yan Jingyi froze, then quickly assessed her situation. Glancing at her cockpit screen, she saw that in her brief lapse, the surging black matter had enveloped her.

The black mass shimmered with iridescent green and blue-gray patches—she could feel the space around her mech warping. She was deep within the black matter!

Each time her gaze lingered on the writhing tentacles, dizziness hit. But her Little White Chirp would chirp "cheep," snapping her mind back to clarity.

Though the mysterious bird kept her combat-ready, Yan Jingyi loathed the sensation of her mind being swayed.

She raised her longsword, its blade faintly coated in frost-like silver light. Taking a deep breath, she spun, unleashing two sword arcs—flashing like lightning, they seemed to miss, then erupted into twin bursts of thunder, exploding in the dark!

Boom!

Light shattered the gloom, her world brightening. The black, viscous barrier shattered into scattered sludge.

Above, Bai Sha's engines roared as she extended her spear. Yan Jingyi reacted instantly, grabbing it, letting Bai Sha pull her from the black matter's grasp.

They landed on a high vantage point. Bai Sha sighed, "Scared me to death."

"That scared you?" Yan Jingyi teased. "Thought you'd seen it all in the Empire."

"Scenes like this are best kept rare, or I'll age early," Bai Sha said, taking the vial from Yan Jingyi. The black matter inside writhed. "I forgot—this stuff's highly elastic, like waves. Get too close, and it drags you in. Good thing you're okay. I shouldn't have let you take the sample—I should've gone."

Yan Jingyi clapped her shoulder. "You, me—what's the difference? Haven't seen you in ages, and you're getting naggy like Ya Ning."

Bai Sha, slotting the vial into her analyzer, said, "I call it caution."

Little White Chirp landed on her shoulder, chirping in agreement.

Yan Jingyi: "…Your spirit?"

"Yup," Bai Sha said, giving her an odd look. "Don't tell me you didn't guess."

"Guessed, just didn't believe," Yan Jingyi said, scratching her cheek. "They say Imperial spirits reflect their owner's second identity—the stronger the person, the fiercer the spirit. Yours… it's pretty round."

"Cheep cheep chirp!"

Little White Chirp fluffed up, offended.

"Don't call it round—call it cute," Bai Sha said solemnly. "It saved you just now."

"Cute's cute, but cute doesn't win fights," Yan Jingyi sighed. "Your spirit—doesn't it get you ostracized in the Empire?"

Bai Sha's hands paused, then resumed as if she hadn't heard.

Truthfully, Bai Sha faced no exclusion—her royal status was more potent than she'd expected. But Yan Jingyi's first instinct upon seeing her spirit was worry about exclusion…

Who was the one truly sidelined?

Bai Sha didn't ask.

She trusted Yan Jingyi's strength had already handled most of those issues.

Seconds later, the analyzer's screen flashed deep blue text: "Sample analysis complete, processing." Ten seconds later, it spat out dense text and data tables Yan Jingyi couldn't parse.

Bai Sha skimmed the report in a glance and shut off the screen.

Yan Jingyi: "Your face says it's bad."

Bai Sha, after a moment, said gravely, "Bad. Very bad."

The black matter ravaging the arena wasn't just the mutated slime mold she'd suspected—it was infused with something far worse: Star Devourers.

No wonder the slime mold grew so fast. Star Devourers, with their relentless replication and mutation, were supercharging the slime mold's proliferation.

"You're saying it's Star Devourers?" Yan Jingyi's face darkened. "I've never seen ones like this."

"Exactly," Bai Sha said, suppressing a surge of anger. "This shouldn't be in public view."

Mutated slime molds were a hazardous species discovered by Imperial exploration fleets on barren stars. Beyond a few research specimens, all slime mold-infested stars were eradicated.

Star Devourers—new variants stumbled upon during academy drills—were handled with equal caution by the Empire.

This scene reminded Bai Sha of a rumor from Professor Jiang Gui:

A lab, housing both slime mold and Star Devourer specimens, conducted a tightly controlled fusion experiment. It ended in the lab's total destruction.

Was that experiment's failure due to hidden factors, or did some samples escape? If so, how did they end up on this distant planet?

Or was this "fusion" and "appearance" pure coincidence?

Even a fool wouldn't buy that.

Coupled with the signal blackout and the teams' isolation from organizers, this was no accident—it was orchestrated.

Why?

To trap the ten competitors? Or to slaughter the tens of thousands in the stands?

"Someone planted this here, and they weren't subtle," Bai Sha said coldly. "If anyone dies, it's headline news."

"This was live-streamed," Yan Jingyi said, stone-faced. "A cutoff screams trouble. Aren't they worried their plan will collapse halfway?"

"Unless they've accounted for every reaction," Bai Sha said, glancing at the sky—still artificial, not darkened, meaning the arena's systems were intact. "Disrupting a high-profile exercise without preparation? Unlikely."

As she spoke—

A deafening boom shook the dome. Sparks and smoke billowed as the multilayered alloy barrier tore open.

Blue-eyed mechanical figures emerged from the smoke.

One, then two…

In moments, dozens crawled through the breach. Some slithered like serpents along the dome, others jetted flames from elbows and feet, plummeting like meteors.

They weren't targeting the competitors.

Their goal: the audience stands!

Yan Jingyi's brow twitched at the swarm.

Their intent was clear: massacre or hostage-taking. If the audience fell into their grip, the situation would spiral irreparably.

"We need to help at the stands," Bai Sha said quickly. "The arena's guards can't handle this scale."

Yan Jingyi frowned at the spreading black matter nearby. "What about the Star Devourers?"

If ignored, they could engulf the arena while they fought the machines.

"I've got… partial good news," Yan Jingyi said, hesitant. "Many Federal spectators are military plants…"

Just then, a reckless machine flew toward them.

Yan Jingyi raised her lightsword, clashing with it. Her strike wasn't tricky but aimed vital—yet it didn't sever the machine's neck. She spun, landing another blow.

The grounded machine struggled, its hollow metal eyes flickering blue. Its frame was battered, wires exposed, but its skeleton—some resilient alloy—held. Flung down, it crouched, lunging at Yan Jingyi on all fours like a beast, faster than before!

Yan Jingyi tsked, igniting thrusters, and struck hard, shattering it into scattered parts.

Though defeating it wasn't hard, Yan Jingyi hadn't underestimated it.

These machines were unlike anything they'd expected.

Bai Sha glanced at the wreckage.

"Not Imperial or Federal tech. Almost like…" A spark of curiosity flickered in her eyes as she leaned closer.

"Not the time for research," Zhou Ying's voice cut in.

Bai Sha stood, turning to see her teammates arriving.

"We need to seal that breach," Zhou Ying said, pointing at the dome's hole, taking a breath. "I can try—buy some time, at least."