Faint blue light danced in the office as the layer of mosaic on the screen gradually faded, revealing rows of bold black text.
No fancy formatting—just data and statements.
The first thing that caught the eye was a holographic botanical illustration.
Against a deep blue background, a plant floated silently. Six translucent petals spread outward, and the stamen emitted a faint phosphorescent glow. Even as a mere image, one could feel its vibrant vitality.
Beside it, in crimson font, the scientific name was labeled: Starshine Bloom.
"Starshine Bloom." Chiron adjusted his gold-rimmed glasses and leaned down, his gaze fixed on the chemical molecular formula analysis on the screen. "A species unique to Blue Star. According to the file, it can directly restore a female's mental sea."
In the interstellar beastman world, regardless of gender, the mental sea was a beastman's lifeline.
But a female's mental sea was especially unique. The more abundant the energy in her mental sea, the longer her lifespan and the more frenzied males she could soothe. Conversely, once that energy was depleted, she would suffer genetic collapse, become useless, and eventually die in agony.
Jiang Lijin swiped through the screen, browsing the clinical speculation data below.
"It says here that highly concentrated extracts of Starshine Bloom have a chance of prompting low-grade females to undergo genetic ascension." She read the bold small print and turned her head to look at the man beside her. "As the top scientist in the entire galaxy, do you think this stuff is reliable?"
Chiron didn't answer immediately. He pulled up several bioenzyme reaction chains next to the file, his eyes quickly scanning the complex formulas.
"Theoretically, it's plausible." He straightened up, his tone tinged with a doctor's rigor. "A female's grade barrier is essentially a genetic lock. If some special radioactive isotope in Starshine Bloom can forcibly break that lock... then it's not just a plant anymore."
It was a tool for creating gods.
Jiang Lijin let out a cold laugh and suddenly understood.
The innocent possess a treasure, but that treasure is their ruin.
Blue Star—a backward planet that couldn't even navigate interstellar travel—harbored the most coveted cake in the galaxy. The outcome was predictable.
She continued scrolling.
Sure enough, the second part of the file revealed the secret behind Starshine Bloom's existence.
The reason Blue Star could nurture this biologically anomalous plant was that deep within its core lay a high-purity source nucleus.
The nobles caught wind of it and came running.
They wanted the source nucleus, and even more, they wanted the Starshine Bloom it cultivated to curry favor with the aging emperor.
But oddly enough, the usually profit-driven Federal Military Council also meddled in this.
"What do those Federation lunatics want with the source nucleus?" Jiang Lijin was puzzled. "How many women are in their military? Are they going to use it as decoration?"
Chiron tapped a few times on the console and pulled up an attached financial transaction record.
"They don't want the source nucleus." Chiron pointed to a few familiar names on the bill. "Look at the backgrounds of these Federal councilors. Under their names, they monopolize over eighty percent of the interstellar rare plant trade."
Scarcity drives value. The interstellar environment was harsh—even keeping a single blade of grass alive cost a fortune.
But Blue Star was a green planet with a complete ecosystem and a vegetation coverage rate of seventy percent.
Once Blue Star's plants flooded the interstellar market, those councilors' sky-high priced potted plants would turn into worthless rotten leaves.
"So, the nobles want energy, and the Federation wants to nip the problem in the bud." Jiang Lijin connected the dots and sorted out the logic.
On the screen, a joint operation plan titled "Withering Action" stood out conspicuously.
The plan was simple and brutal, dripping with the arrogance and cruelty of the powerful.
Step one: Dispatch private armed forces disguised as a meteor shower to land on Blue Star, conduct geological surveys, and locate the source nucleus.
Step two: Deploy a genetically modified biochemical plant codenamed "Strangler Vine".
This plant would devour anything—especially other plants and carbon-based lifeforms—and reproduce at an alarming rate. In just half a month, it could consume the entire planet's native population down to the bone, leaving not even ashes.
Step three: Dig out the source nucleus, detonate the core, claim a bug invasion to cover the tracks, and erase Blue Star from the interstellar charts entirely.
Jiang Lijin stared at those lines, her stomach churning violently.
So, there hadn't been any natural disaster at all.
Just a group of greedy politicians, for their own benefit, casually pressing the delete button.
The last line of the plan was an operation summary report—just one cold sentence: [An unknown incident occurred midway, but not a big deal. The cleanup was perfectly executed.]
Jiang Lijin stared at those words "unknown incident" for a long time, her nails digging deep into her palms.
What exactly was that incident? Did it have anything to do with the original owner's parents? Had someone made a final stand during this massacre?
The office was very quiet, save for the hum of the host's cooling fan.
Beside her, Chiron's face was deathly pale. But he said nothing, just kept scrolling down with trembling hands.
Jiang Lijin didn't notice Chiron's unusual reaction. Her focus was entirely on the glowing screen.
The file reached its last page.
No extra words—just a single cosmic coordinate.
[X: -4892, Y: 7731, Z: 0094].
This was the last recorded position of Blue Star before its explosion.
Chiron took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the turmoil in his heart, and called up the highest-level interstellar navigation chart. He entered the coordinate.
The holographic star map began to spin and zoom rapidly, extending all the way into unknown dark space.
Ultimately, the red pinpoint stopped at a blank area wrapped in dense black nebula.
"This is a blind zone." Chiron zoomed in on the area, his voice carrying unprecedented gravity. "No navigation routes recorded. The magnetic field here is incredibly chaotic—even the most advanced probes will lose contact upon entry. On the star map, it belongs to the fringe territories."
Jiang Lijin stared at the red dot, rapidly sifting through the original owner's memories, trying to find any clue about this location.
Nothing.
Just then, Xiao Yi, who had been silent for half a day, suddenly woke up in her mind.
Its mechanical voice pitched up by an octave, jangling her brain.
[Host! Host!]
[We've been to those coordinates before!]
[It's Guixu! The Abyss!]
