In the spaceship, within the command cabin, members of the Torch group hung their heads in silence, nobody speaking.
Standing before them was a towering figure, the hem of a white cloak draped around his body adorned with the flames of a flickering red fire. He was looking up at the map in front of him, which showed nothing but a vast ocean.
"You mean to say... the plan has failed?" came the calm voice.
Someone responded in a low voice, "It... it seems that way, according to the message from the Torch seeds, the area has been completely sealed off, and we have also received the experiment data sent back by Caroline."
"According to the plan, this indicates they have already begun the sacrifice, but Superpower Istanbul did not emerge, and Caroline has also lost contact."
"Probably!?" The figure suddenly turned around, the edges of his body emitting a blurry blue light, as if he were a projection.
The crowd bowed their heads, not daring to speak.
"Who can tell me how this has happened?"
"The sacrifice of Thunder Hormuz failed, the sacrifice of Superpower Istanbul also failed!"
His voice rose steadily, his roar echoing throughout the room.
One person spoke up gingerly, "Leader, we don’t know the specifics either, but according to what Caroline said, it’s probably related to those Dark Magnetic Titanium samples, it seems like they were off-spec."
The leader spoke in a deep tone, "Thunder Hormuz, we have sacrificed many times, Dark Magnetic Titanium, there can only be more, not less..."
He stopped mid-sentence, "I will have someone investigate this matter."
"We cannot let this matter rest here."
The crowd remained silent, this being one of the Torch’s greatest operational losses in recent years, with the plan’s failure entirely without reason.
They had planned a series of follow-up operations, and the effects of destroying the star would have made the Torch more active than ever before.
Causing panic was one aspect, but more importantly, it was to undermine the reputation of Yitelan Civilization.
Yet, before the plan could even begin, it inexplicably came to an end, and Caroline’s death was most certainly not part of the plan.
According to the original plan, Caroline should have had ample time to leave, with others making the sacrifice.
But due to the failure of Thunder Hormuz’s sacrifice, Blue Star began a large-scale sweep, which would eventually uncover her traces.
With no other choice, Caroline had to sacrifice herself to achieve their objective, yet it still ended in failure.
"Wake up all the Torch seeds on Jingnan Star, I want to know what exactly happened!"
...
All starports being sealed caused a wave of panic.
But then, the Yitelan Civilization, Sela Civilization, and several other civilizations near Blue Star issued a joint statement.
It urged their citizens on Jingnan Star to remain rational, to fully understand Blue Star’s difficulties, and to overcome the crisis.
Many astute individuals realized that this joint statement was no small matter, that something significant must have occurred, and they inquired both openly and covertly about what exactly had happened.
However, those who knew even a bit of the insider information kept their mouths shut.
And the citizens of Jingnan Star found that the streets suddenly had many more patrolling city guards, and identity checks could happen at any time.
In the medical room, Luo Chuan’s limbs had grown back, but they were still very tender.
"It’s good that you’re alright, I, as your senior brother, still need your protection," Luo Chuan sighed.
"Normally, it’s senior brother who takes care of me, this time it was my turn to save senior brother," Li Ming said reassuringly, and at the same time asked, "Still no contact with the teacher?"
Luo Chuan shook his head helplessly, "No contact."
Where in the world had Old Wu gone?
Li Ming muttered to himself, wondering why his teacher had not appeared even though their home had been raided.
Another day passed, personnel going to and from the temporary command center in a rush.
In the medical room, Li Ming was healing his injuries, not going easy on himself in order to match his words.
At that moment, he was toying with a palm-sized green metallic sphere in his hand--
[ST-477 Biological Repair Device--Grade D: An emergency device for the quick treatment of minor injuries.
Control Conditions: 6,000 points of metal energy
Control Effect: Recovery Enhancement--60%
Control Ability--Biological Repair: Temporarily boosts one’s own recovery ability by 120%.]
This was obviously for healing wounds, and he had obtained similar items on Silver Grey Star, but at the time he hadn’t needed them too much, so he later focused solely on improving his strength.
He rarely engaged in direct confrontations, so he rarely needed such items.
This time, his injuries were not light, which made him consider the importance of medical items.
"Perhaps I should add recovery items to my control list..." Li Ming thought to himself.
Similar things were everywhere here,
[Nano First-Aid Kit], [Wound Suture Device], [Photon Emergency Blanket], [Life-Sustaining Device].
Mostly medical items, he even found a profession [Doctor].
[Doctor: Proficiently masters related knowledge and possesses the abilities of [Quick Recovery] and [Temporary Medical Assistance].]