137: The mothership's advance changes the tide of war; blood splatters on its hull as the final battle begins.

Chapter One Hundred and Forty: The Mothership Approaches as the Winds Change; Lin Zhou's Body Burns with Blood for the Final Battle

Countdown: 27 days 0 hours (Actual Abyssal Fleet arrival countdown: 10 hours)

The territory-wide alarm of the Northern Territory Underground Palace tore through the sky at this moment. On the holographic sand table, the dark purple light points that were originally outside the Earth-Moon system suddenly completed their final jump. A total of seventeen Abyssal Warships formed a conical assault formation, shrouded in a dark matter mist that blotted out the sun, and hovered directly ten thousand meters above the Northern Territory's airspace. The hideous patterns engraved on the hulls writhed like living creatures. The giant mothership in the center, over three thousand meters long, was slowly opening the black-hole-like Devouring Furnace at its base, emitting a terrifying suction force capable of distorting space.

"It's not the estimated 27 days! They used false Star Core coordinates as jump springboards the entire way, jumping directly into the defense zone!" Dr. Mary's fingertips trembled rapidly on the console as every monitoring value was flashing red. "The Devouring Furnace has started; the Star Core Crystal energy loss rate is 3% per second. The Anti-Devouring Shield is automatically overloading and won't last half an hour!"

The Star Core Crystal in the center of the stone tower shook violently, its originally warm golden light flashing frantically. The ancient runes on the rock walls flickered intermittently, and the entire underground palace vibrated slightly under the suction of the mothership. Lin Xiaoyu lunged in front of the stone tower, pressing his hands into the crystal's surface. He unleashed his full golden and purple energy, using himself as a medium to forcibly lock down the energy outflow. However, after only three seconds, his body convulsed, and he spat a mouthful of blood onto the crystal. The symbiotic patterns on his skin twisted violently: "The devouring force is too strong... I can't lock it down!"

Professor Ivanov's emergency communication exploded from the Northwest, the background filled with the roar of alarms: "Commander! All ten ground Anti-Devouring Shields are overloaded, and the Spirit Vein Alloy is starting to melt! The Abyssal Mothership isn't 'absorbing'; it's 'extracting' Star Core Energy from a spatial level. Our shields can only block it, not cut it off!"

High above, the Abyssal Mothership's amplification device let out a cold, piercing roar. Sound waves wrapped in dark matter energy crashed across the entire Northern Territory: "Humble carbon-based organisms, hand over the Star Core Crystal and submit to the Abyss, and you may leave a whole corpse. Dare to resist, and this place shall be turned into a dark matter wasteland."

The command room fell into a dead silence. Everyone understood that the previous pocket formations, ambush plans, and layered defenses were all rendered useless under this dimensional reduction strike of a direct mothership descent and forced Star Core extraction. This was not a battle; it was a one-sided crushing.

Lin Zhou slowly stood straight. The dark purple patterns covering the left side of his face had already invaded the white of his eye, making half his face appear eerily purple-black. However, he no longer used Spirit Vein Energy to suppress it; instead, he raised his hand and tore apart the energy shield on his body. The dark matter residue accumulated over many years instantly collided with the remaining purification energy in his body. A circle of gold and purple airwaves exploded around him, and every inch of his bones emitted an overburdened cracking sound.

"Chen Hao." Lin Zhou's voice was hoarse but steady, every word squeezed out as if from blood. "Order the entire army: all Star Core Magnetic Storm Cannons focus fire on the mothership's engine room; all red alert aerospace units take off to engage the Escort Ships and create a window for the ground; everyone in the Southwest Grain District enter air-raid shelters; non-combat personnel stop all operations and defend the energy pipelines to the death."

"Commander! You can't—"

"Execute the order." Lin Zhou interrupted him, his gaze sweeping over everyone in the hall. "The dark matter in my body shares the same source as the Abyss. Their Devouring Furnace can extract the Star Core, and it can also suck the dark matter from my body. I will go to the mothership's engine area and use my own dark matter for a reverse explosion to blow apart their energy links. This is the only way to cut off the devouring."

Lin Xiaoyu looked up sharply, tears mixing with blood as they fell: "No! The explosion will tear you apart too!"

"My assimilation rate is already 97%; I won't last until after the war." Lin Zhou looked at the youth who coexisted with the Star Core, his gaze filled with an unprecedented gentleness. "Xiaoyu, after I'm gone, you take over command authority of the Star Core. Remember, the Star Core isn't a weapon; it's the heartbeat of our home. Don't let it, or this land, die in the darkness."

He looked at Ivan Lin, Chen Ye, and Chen Hao again, finally glancing at the ancient runes on the stone tower as if saying goodbye to this palace he had guarded for years. The dark purple patterns on his left arm surged, and his entire arm completely transformed into an Abyssal energy form. He grabbed the Purification Warblade that had accompanied him for many years from the wall. The golden light of the blade collided violently with the dark purple on his body, emitting a hum.

"Engineering Team, open the emergency launch port on the palace's top deck." Lin Zhou stepped toward the lift platform. "I am boarding the ship."

No one tried to dissuade him further. Everyone knew this was the only way to survive, and his only path home.

Ten minutes later, all Star Core Magnetic Storm Cannons in the Northern Territory fired simultaneously. A hundred golden energy pillars tore through the clouds and crashed heavily into the Abyssal Mothership's left-wing engine. The waves of light from the explosion temporarily masked the suction of the Devouring Furnace, and the shaking of the Star Core Crystal weakened slightly. The red alert fighter groups were like a golden swarm, pouncing on the outer Escort Ships as purification missiles and dark matter beams wove into a sea of fire high in the sky.

"Now is the time!"

Lin Zhou stood at the top of the lift platform. The top deck hatch slowly opened, and the high-altitude cold wind and dark matter mist instantly poured in. He took one look at the earth beneath him, one look at the people in the palace looking up at him, and leaped.

Without fighter escorts or energy shields, he used himself as ammunition and charged straight toward the engine room of the Abyssal Mothership. His dark matter-form left arm shared the same source as the mothership's outer armor, allowing him to penetrate the dark matter barrier without triggering any close-in defense systems. Like a river returning to its source, he reached the core pipeline area.

Inside the mothership's command cabin, the Abyssal Mastermind instantly sensed the anomaly and let out a furious roar: "Ant! How dare you—"

Lin Zhou was already pressed against the main energy line. The remaining purification energy in his body, his uncorrupted life functions, and the last of the strength in his bones were all pressed into his left arm, compressing the dark matter to the extreme before using the purification energy for a backfire detonation.

"Earth..."

"Hold on."

Golden and purple light exploded inside the mothership's engine room—not an outward blast, but an internal collapse from the energy heart. The entire dark matter energy link instantly fused and snapped, and the terrifying suction of the Devouring Furnace came to a sudden halt. The mothership hovering in the air sank abruptly as its left-wing engine completely exploded into a sea of fire, and the massive hull began to lose control and fall.

The high-altitude flames illuminated the entire Northern Territory.

In the underground palace, everyone looked up at the exploding gold and purple fire, weeping uncontrollably. Lin Xiaoyu knelt before the Star Core Crystal, clutching the cold stone surface so tightly his knuckles turned white.

"Commander..."

The next moment, Chen Hao's voice rang out over the territory-wide communication, tearful yet resolute: "Entire army, hear my command! Commander Lin Zhou has broken the devouring with his life! He has bought us a window for the final battle! All artillery focus fire on the out-of-control mothership, annihilate all Escort Ships, and—avenge the Commander!"

The ground artillery fire doubled, and the fighter clusters pushed forward on all fronts. The battle situation, which had been a passive defense, instantly turned into a desperate counterattack. The artillery fire from the Northwest, East Sea, South of the Ranges, Southwest, and the rest of the Five Districts wove into a massive golden net high in the sky, descending upon the Abyssal Fleet that had lost its devouring ability.

Lin Xiaoyu stood up and wiped the tears from his face. He pressed his palm against the Star Core Crystal, using Lin Zhou's final will as a guide to completely activate the ancient runes. The patterns of the entire Northern Territory Underground Palace lit up, and golden energy surged along the surface pipelines toward every cannon, every shield, and the weapon of every soldier.

The heartbeat of the Star Core and the heartbeat of humanity became one.

The out-of-control Abyssal Mothership trailed thick smoke as it crashed toward the wasteland. The remaining Escort Ships tried to break through but were locked on, pierced, and blown apart one by one by the Spirit Vein artillery fire. The dark matter mist continuously dissolved in the golden light, and the sky gradually regained its clarity.

The battle continued from daylight until dusk.

When the last Abyssal Escort Ship exploded over the East Sea, the territory-wide alarm finally turned into the long, continuous sound of victory.

Before the stone tower in the underground palace, Lin Xiaoyu, Ivan Lin, Chen Ye, Chen Hao, Dr. Mary, and Professor Ivanov all stood silently, looking toward the direction where the mothership had fallen.

The Star Core Crystal glowed steadily, the ground defenses were intact, and the Five Districts were linked as before.

Only the Commander who always stood at the very front, who was iron-blooded during the rebellion, resolute in desperate situations, and who threw himself into the enemy ship at the end of the world, would never walk down from the lift platform again to tell them, "Next step, follow the plan."

Lin Xiaoyu raised his hand and carved a line of text—a blend of ancient and modern characters—onto a blank rock wall in front of the stone tower:

"Using my own body as fuel, I ignite the fire of civilization. Guard the Star Core, guard the home and country, guard all living beings."

The evening wind blew through the palace and over the rock wall, as if someone had softly answered.

Countdown: Zero.

The Abyssal main force was annihilated, the threat of devouring was resolved, and the dark matter remnants were gradually purified by the Spirit Vein Energy.

The shadow of the apocalypse dissipated, and dawn truly fell upon this scarred yet stubborn land.

Lin Xiaoyu turned around and looked at the light points of the Five Districts relighting on the holographic sand table. His voice was calm and firm as he took up that heavy burden:

"Order all Settlement Areas. Post-war reconstruction begins immediately."

"From today on, we will guard the Star Core and the world he gave his life to save."

"Generation after generation, we will keep guard."