1954 Zero and the Phantom

With Zero’s description, the chaotic, dark, treacherous, ever-changing, and profound figure emerged in Meng Chao’s mind again.

The Phantom…

It represented eternal chaos, eternal death, eternal destruction, and… from the most chaotic destruction, the most abundant new possibilities were born!

“The Phantom rose from the depths of the dormant earth and connected the biological magnetic fields of all the creatures on the planet in an instant, forming an enormous, unprecedented life form. Then, it began its rapid evolution.”

Zero’s voice, which had always been calm, finally set off a shock wave. “Fueled by the storm of spirit energy, the unprecedented evolution grew more violent and out of control. The nerves, muscles, blood, cells, and genes of every living creature were overloaded like crystal engines that were running at the maximum. They fell, withered, died, and decayed. After complete decay, brand-new seeds were born. During this process, energy erupted from the planet. It was comparable to a comet striking the moon or a rainbow piercing the sun.

“The creatures were originally disparate and unable to integrate or even kill each other. But almost in the blink of an eye, their organs, including their nerve ports, evolved to connect with each other. As a result, they became an organic component of an even larger monster. When dozens, hundreds, thousands, and tens of thousands of such creatures were connected in a deformed and twisted way, their bodies grew increasingly large and complex. They actually had the ability to launch attacks outside the atmosphere, like spacecraft. They had the ability to break free from gravity, fly out of the atmosphere, and survive in the vacuum of space!

“Due to the magnetic storm’s interference, I didn’t notice the anomaly on the planet immediately.

“By the time I discovered it, the first batch of ‘large carbon-based constructs’ was born. They were formed by tens of thousands of monsters, or in your words, Apocalyptic Beasts.

“It looked like the gates of hell were opening. The scene on the ground confused me, I could not think logically for a moment.

“When I could think logically again, the first thing I did was launch the most thorough space-based orbital attack on the chaotic planet and reset everything.

“Unfortunately, the high-magnitude storm had seriously affected the operation of the space-based orbital weapons.

“A large number of Apocalyptic Beasts rose into the sky before the ground was blasted into a sea of fire, and they attacked the atmosphere.

“They were the first batch of ‘suicide squads’ that the Phantom had gathered after laying low for ten thousand years and scheming. They were completely different from the Apocalyptic Beasts that you face today. Present monsters are mere fragments that the Phantom left after billions of years of erosion.

“Space-based orbital weapons were specifically made to purify the earth and destroy the ecosphere. They were not very effective against small fast-moving targets that had infiltrated the atmosphere and would constantly change their coordinates.

“Meanwhile, the Phantom hid its true body under the highest mountain on the chaotic planet. It possessed profound wisdom and powerful telekinesis for remote control. In addition, it relied on the thick rock layers to resist the bombardment of the space-based orbital weapons.

“In the end, I destroyed more than ninety-five percent of the living beings on the surface of the planet.

“However, my actions did not cause the complete destruction of its entire ecosystem.

“Life always finds a way.

“Even the most primitive and fragile fungi can divide infinitely, grow healthily, and reproduce if they are given a certain amount of time and energy. They can create a new world that’s more prosperous and powerful.

“A portion of the Apocalyptic Beasts that were lucky enough to escape the attack had approached my space-based orbital weapons.”

Right then, images appeared in Meng Chao’s mind.

Beyond the planet, there was a ring of man-made celestial bodies that were as magnificent as a star ring.

The artificial celestial bodies were also shooting out dazzling thorns of light. After these light beams reached the atmosphere, they split and expanded their attack range. Like upside-down lightning, they attempted to tear the Chaos planet apart.

At this moment, black spots appeared on the artificial rings that were as brilliant as crystals, as pure as gold and silver, and as splendid as marble.

The irregular black spots wriggled and split like black leeches whose stomachs were full of viruses. They tried to tear apart the rings and crawl into the celestial bodies.

At that moment, the ancient civilization finally showed why it was the oldest super civilization in the three-dimensional universe.

In the process of conquering the sea of stars, the Ancients had never encountered an enemy who was on par with them.

The ancient civilization had never fought a life-and-death interstellar war.

Zero had conducted thousands of deductions in a virtual space, and based on these deductions, she had designed, manufactured, and deployed a large number of space weapons.

However, talking about it on paper was not the same as practicing it thousands of times.

The number of Apocalyptic Beasts had greatly exceeded the critical point. When they lunged at the celestial bodies in an increasingly frenzied manner, the secondary weapons around the main weapons opened fire one after another. They were responsible for protecting the ring after all. However, the seemingly impenetrable barrage was torn apart due to the Apocalyptic Beasts’ fearlessness.

Under the Phantom’s command, the Apocalyptic Beast separated into smaller basic units again. Through the gaps, they corroded the shells of the celestial bodies with acid and successfully invaded the ring. Soon, the most dazzling and tragic light balls erupted from the weapons.

Deformed and ugly tentacles that were covered in shells, thorns, and suckers surged out of the fragmented weapons.

The tentacles were like pythons that had been starved for ten thousand years. They wrapped around the pieces of debris and turned them into living creatures.

At the tips of the tentacles, there were also a lot of nerve clusters that had been modified, so they could be exposed to the vacuum of space.

These nerve clusters invaded the control system deep within the ring of celestial bodies.

The beams of light that pierced the Chaos planet kept shrinking, dimming, and disappearing.

Zero’s final line of defense, the space-based orbital weapons, fell into the Phantom’s control.

Once the Phantom’s tendrils wrapped around the last information collector that Zero controlled, the screen went dark.

However, the darkness did not last long.

Soon, Zero and the Phantom met again.

Of course, it was not on the first Chaos planet.

It was not on any other Chaos planet either.

When Zero realized that the original Chaos planet had gone completely out of control, the first thing she did was mend the situation. She destroyed all the creatures on the surface of the other Chaos planets and did not leave even a bug or a cluster of fungi behind.

However, the Phantom found an unexpected breakthrough.

It discovered the ancient civilization’s ancient home planet.