Developing Superpowers in Another World

Chapter 326 – Asking the Entire Universe for Help

 

Xiao Jiu sat motionless in front of the computer desk, staring at the screen. When he heard footsteps, he looked up, and upon seeing Tu Ran, he jumped down from his chair. “Tu, Sister Tu Ran, you’re here.”

Tu Ran nodded and glanced around the simple little clinic. There had been no changes—it looked exactly the same as it had when she left.

Xiao Jiu walked over awkwardly. “Brother Xie is downstairs. Are you going down now?”

Tu Ran squinted her eyes.

Sister?

When had he become so polite? He had never called her “sister” before.

Xiao Jiu avoided Tu Ran’s gaze and ran to the partition to press a switch. The door slowly lifted, and he stood beside it. “The door… it’s open. You can go down now.”

Tu Ran hesitated for a moment, looking at the dark underground space, then glanced at Xiao Jiu. A sense of caution rose in her heart as she slowly descended the stairs.

Her night vision kicked in, and the underground space appeared just as it had before. In the center was the arena, with some equipment stacked along the edges. There were no hidden people.

Above the arena, a glass room was suspended in midair, a light glowing inside. Xie Xu sat upright within, facing the staircase, his head down as he flipped through a stack of papers. His brows were deeply furrowed, and his expression was not good—his irritation was palpable.

Tu Ran silently surveyed her surroundings, confirming there was no one else before walking toward the staircase leading to the glass room.

Xie Xu remained in his position, sitting still. Tu Ran stopped at the glass room’s door and glanced at the top of his head. She teased, “Researcher Xie, you haven’t collected many abilities after all this time? Your subordinates aren’t doing too well, are they?”

Only then did Xie Xu look up, casting a sideways glance at her before lowering his head again, his tone still sarcastic. “After all this time, you’re still willing to come back?”

Tu Ran leaned against the doorframe, her arms crossed, her right leg resting on her left. “I really can’t bear to leave. As soon as I come back, I get bombarded, and all my abilities get exposed. You’d think that, as partners, you’d at least stop that person from waiting for me outside the Threshold.”

Although she had taken the inner cores, the time between her exit from the “door” and taking the cores was enough for that person to observe all her abilities and send the information back to the Federation government.

It could be said that the Federation government now knew everything about her abilities.

Xie Xu set down his pen and turned his chair to face Tu Ran. “There were four people with [Ability Recognition] before him, and I took care of them for you. This one is new today, and only a few people know about him. I just got word of him when you came out of the ‘door.'”

The implication was clear: he wanted to help her, but there hadn’t been enough time.

Tu Ran nodded approvingly, it was worthy of being a person who had been hinted by her with the [Illusion Realm], he was reliable enough.

“What worlds have you been to during this time?” Xie Xu asked in return.

“Threshold, Haenden Star System, Blue Star,” Tu Ran answered honestly, then added eagerly, “By the way, I ran into your capable subordinate in the Haenden Star System.”

“He’s doing well over there. He even joined their military and fought beasts on the battlefield. If we count the time, he must have earned some merit by now. Hey, do you think he’ll come back? After all, being an official over there seems more prestigious than being under your command.”

Tu Ran stared at Xie Xu seriously, as if she really wanted an answer.

Xie Xu glanced up, avoiding her question. “Didn’t you also help them reclaim a star?”

Tu Ran clicked her tongue. “Oh, I forgot to ask—is Qi Tongda back?”

Xie Xu nodded.

No wonder Xie Xu knew everything so well. He must have read Qi Tongda’s memories.

“He’s quite lucky,” Tu Ran remarked, “So, you know most of what happened in the Haenden Star System.”

Xie Xu didn’t deny it. He already knew but still asked Tu Ran, seeking her attitude on the matter.

Tu Ran dropped the smile from her face.

They had both tested each other.

For now, the other was reliable.

The conversation turned to the main topic.

“What’s the situation with the various worlds now, and why are there so many connection points appearing?” Tu Ran straightened up.

Xie Xu silently picked up the document on the desk and handed it to her.

Tu Ran glanced at it. It was the same document she had seen the last time she was here, the one Xie Xu had been looking through. The first page had black markings, in the same places as she had seen last time.

[Help!!]
[Urgent Help!]
[S•Erso has sent a distress signal to all advanced intelligent beings in the universe!]
[S•Erso is under attack!]
[The most warlike race in the universe has launched an invasion of S•Erso and stolen our holy relic.]
[The universe’s order is about to collapse!]
[S•Erso is facing destruction!]
[S•Erso needs assistance.] …
[Our world needs help! Please… please… send help quickly.]

Tu Ran frowned as she finished reading the page. S•Erso seemed to be a world in the universe, and their world was being invaded by “the most warlike race in the universe,” who had stolen their holy relic. What could the holy relic be? From the context, it seemed like something capable of causing the collapse of the universe’s order.

The collapse of the universe’s order?

The appearance of connection points between different worlds, linking previously unrelated worlds, could it be considered the collapse of the universe’s order? If it is, then the fact that this powerful holy relic was being safeguarded by a world called S•Erso already indicated that this world was incredibly strong—at least not on the same level as the worlds she had traveled through.

Such strength, yet still being invaded by another race and having their holy relic stolen, raised the question: what level of power did the world of this other race possess? And why did they want to steal this holy relic?

Tu Ran glanced again at how S•Erso described this race: The most warlike race in the universe.

The Federation was already considered a warlike race.

They liked invading other worlds.

So, was this most warlike race in the universe trying to steal the holy relic, causing the collapse of the universe’s order and the fusion of worlds, in order to invade the entire universe?

Tu Ran’s thoughts raced in a brief moment. She looked up and asked Xie Xu, “Does S•Erso still exist?”

Xie Xu shook his head.

“Three years ago, I was on a Federation ship on an exploration mission to contact external civilizations. While passing through a certain area, the ship received a signal sent from deep within the universe. After decoding, the message was roughly as follows.”

Xie Xu stood up from his chair and slowly walked to the edge of the glass room, his back to Tu Ran, looking down at the darkness below.

“Based on the direction of the signal, the ship traveled for one month and three days through the pitch-black universe, but we couldn’t find the corresponding star system. Due to energy limitations, the ship had to return.
I reported this to the Federation, and they sent another ship with sufficient energy to follow the original course. Four months ago, that ship sent back a set of photos.”

Tu Ran flipped two more pages and indeed saw several images.

The photos showed a star system that appeared gray-black from a distance, with the central main star surrounded by a ring of small asteroid belts. Upon closer inspection, it became clear that the asteroid belt was composed entirely of shattered planet fragments.

 

---