71: Virtual projection world

Qinglan Star, where the headquarters of Gale is located.

"Time is almost up. Notify all personnel to bring their connection devices and prepare to enter the Virtual Projection World. Oh, right, Torde, don't forget to remind the other vice-leaders."

The leader of Gale, Morsa, pointed to the device beside him that looked like a stasis pod and said, "Have them log in using this. Lord Buyad gave it to us. Ordinary connection devices cannot simulate Double A-Class or higher Transcendent abilities with 100% accuracy."

"Understood, Boss."

Torde grinned and said, "It seems Lord's status in the Star Alliance has advanced even further; he was actually able to pull strings with the Statue of Liberty. I wonder when he'll be able to summon us back to the Star Alliance so I can snag a general position and bring glory to my ancestors."

"Shut up. Don't say things you shouldn't; Lord is not someone you or I can discuss."

Morsa snorted coldly, "Go. Tell everyone below to give it their all. Don't blame me for not saying this upfront: whoever drops the ball better be prepared to go underground and work as a mining slave for the rest of their life."

"Yes... yes, I spoke out of turn. Understood, Boss, I'll go prepare right away."

Torde felt a chill in his heart; he hurriedly apologized and then retreated.

Morsa's eyes, hidden within his black robe, watched his subordinate leave, a strange expression flashing across them.

"A general, huh..."

"I heard half of a Star Alliance fleet was lost in the Disaster Zone... even a Marshal was severely injured..."

"The founder of the Star Alliance was originally an Interstellar Pirate... perhaps..."

Meanwhile, all the major forces, including Zhang Huaiyuan, connected to their connection devices one after another.

An invisible ripple swept past, and when vision was restored, a world identical to reality appeared before them.

"Is this the Virtual Projection World?"

Zhang Huaiyuan looked around; the grass, trees, soil, and the faint natural aura in the air were completely indistinguishable from reality using only the naked eye and perception.

"Real-time ray tracing... atomic-level simulation... interactive system..."

Only when True Sight was activated could one see the magnificent scientific marvel that required the calculation of billions of light paths for every single frame.

"Perhaps only the Statue of Liberty, the Star Vault Supercomputer, and the overseer of the Orr Empire could achieve this."

Zhang Huaiyuan admired it silently for a moment before looking at the message sent by "Gale" in the internal communication system.

It contained a 3D star map and the mission objectives.

Looking at the star map, the battlefield created by the Virtual Projection World did not completely replicate the Peaceful Passage, but rather concentrated all participating forces into their respective star sectors according to their affiliation.

The entire space was arranged very densely, clearly to make it easier for major forces to clash and engage in fire.

As the Wind and Waves Pirate Group he represented was a relatively ordinary force under the command of "Gale", the location of their planet was at the forefront of the formation, clearly meant to serve as cannon fodder.

The same was true for other forces he secretly controlled, such as "Gray Shark" and "Night Blade".

"As expected."

Zhang Huaiyuan clicked on the mission assignment, which contained only a simple sentence: "Do everything possible to delay the enemy's advance."

"All scheduled participants have logged in. This virtual exercise is about to begin."

At this moment, an indifferent female voice suddenly rang in everyone's ears.

Zhang Huaiyuan immediately recognized it; it was exactly the same voice as when he encountered the Statue of Liberty on the deserted planet.

"All combat resources are synchronized with reality. When all personnel belonging to one side are killed, they are considered eliminated, and the final ranking will be determined by the order of elimination."

"Statistics will be taken every ten days. The force with the fewest enemy kills will receive a negative buff, including but not limited to 'increased energy consumption' and 'attenuated defensive capabilities'."

"The separation restriction is about to be lifted. Countdown: 3... 2... 1... Exercise start."

The moment the voice finished speaking, thousands of planets, large and small, simultaneously lit up with Ion Shields of varying lusters, making the entire starry sky dazzling.

The function of the orbital space defense system was demonstrated at this moment.

"Coordinates 814, 723, 916, precise location. 'Mist' and 'Night Blade', initiate long-range strikes immediately."

"Coordinates..."

The existence of the second rule made the major forces afraid to hold back their strength, and almost immediately, attack orders were transmitted through their respective communication channels.

Those planets without protective devices became the first targets.

Various distinct fleets set sail from the planets, and silent artillery fire drew brilliant trajectories across the starry sky, bringing extinction.

"Scan the nearby area."

Zhang Huaiyuan returned to the command ship, legend.

Dense light points continued to feed back onto the detector and were constantly decreasing at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Under the unsparing downpour of firepower, even ordinary A-Class Transcendents could not stir up any waves and were annihilated along with their home planets.

Soon, the Pirate Groups in the four major camps that were not equipped with space defense systems were wiped out.

This included several weak planets under Zhang Huaiyuan's command, such as "Gray Shark".

Only after these weak targets were eliminated did the real battle begin.

In order to avoid being the one with the fewest kills, the entire starry sky became a chaotic battlefield, and fleets began to attack each other.

Originally, "Gale" and "Blaze" intended to conserve some strength, but upon seeing "Deep Sea" directly dispatching its direct-controlled fleet, they were forced to deploy their main forces ahead of schedule.

The high-level leadership of "Gale" responsible for overall command, unable to manage too much in the face of such a chaotic environment, left behind a single order: "Attack at will," and then focused entirely on commanding their own main fleet.

No one expected that the war, originally planned to be long-lasting, would turn into a decisive battle right from the start.

Railguns, laser cannons, fusion strikes... brilliant flames rose in the starry sky, and vast amounts of energy stones were sent to the front lines, turning into a momentary intensity.

However, all of this seemed to have nothing to do with Zhang Huaiyuan.

In the midst of the chaotic battle everywhere, all the fleets seemed to completely ignore "Fenglang Star", just like a K9 in a world tournament, as if it were invisible.

"Asroth, did you do this?"

"I just made some small adjustments so that others' scanners show that this planet has disappeared."

The command screen lit up, and it responded.

"Well done. But could you let some enemies come over? It would be a good chance to test the fleet's performance."

Zhang Huaiyuan asked with a smile.

"Of course. But Master, before that, there is a piece of good news and a piece of bad news. Which one would you like to hear first?"

"Hmm...? Let's hear the bad news first."

"Our resource reserves were all used by you to build warships, mechs, and replace experimental equipment. The remaining resources are only enough for the legend fleet to fight at full power for ten minutes."

The voice in the light screen carried a hint of amusement.

"Uh..."

Zhang Huaiyuan was stunned for a moment. After a long while, he patted his head helplessly and said with some discouragement, "I forgot for a moment that resources are also synchronized with reality. So, what's the good news?"

"The good news is... although I can't create something out of nothing in reality, I tried hacking into the system of this Virtual Projection World. Now, everything here is under my control."

"You mean...?"

Just as Zhang Huaiyuan was about to ask further, a familiar voice rang in his ears.

"Temporary buff acquired: Energy consumption setting canceled."