“Welcome to our grand battleship, the Chaos!” Dong Qianyi wasn’t speaking loudly, but there was undeniable pride in his voice. 

Xiang Ning surveyed the inner environment of the battleship, in absolute awe. He didn’t know that parked in a tunnel in a mountain near his house was a gigantic space battleship. 

“What do you think? Awesome, right?” Dong Qianyi chuckled. “Battleships are divided into five sizes: micro, small, medium, large, and extra-large; and nine levels, one through nine. Right now, we’re standing within a level eight extra-large battleship. Scientific inventions created by humans of the Earth Federation over the centuries are concentrated here. 

“The battleship’s name is Chaos, one of the few level eight battleships the Earth Federation has. The ship is three thousand five hundred and sixty-one meters long, and one thousand three hundred and fifty-seven meters wide, at least a million tons in mass,” Dong Qianyi explained as he led Xiang Ning into a transparent glass elevator. 

Xiang Ning admired the internal workings of this gigantic beast, at a loss for words. He could feel the terrifying might of this beast of a battleship. Even without Dong Qianyi’s introduction, he knew this ship must contain the most advanced war-grade weapons. Why were they named war-grade weapons? They were powerful enough to threaten a nation. He was in disbelief that there were such terrifying weapons. 

However, he had questions. “Master, why don’t we use these weapons to annihilate all the fearsome beasts if we have them?” With such advanced weapons, they should be enough to drive the beasts to extinction! But when he saw Dong Qianyi’s expression, he realized the answer was not as simple. 

“I shouldn’t be telling you this, but all you have to know is that the world is in a balance. Fearsome beasts aren’t as simple as you think, nor is the world as small as you think it is. Within this vast universe, humans are but a speck of dust.” 

Xiang Ning didn’t understand Dong Qianyi’s words at all. 

“Haha, don’t overthink it. Although us humans have weapons of mass destruction, the beasts also have terrifying powers that can withstand our best. You just need to know that humans will never use these weapons, not until it is a matter of our species’ extinction.” Dong Qianyi smiled mysteriously.

Xiang Ning was shocked to hear that there were beasts equal to the weapons of mass destruction. How powerful were they? His mind was in a tangled mess as his thoughts raced. Since he couldn’t make sense of them, he decided not to think anymore because he knew he would encounter the same things later. 

They walked for five minutes and arrived before a huge door. A ray of light shot out and scanned them for a second, then the door slowly opened. 

“Welcome to the research facility. In the future, you’ll be training with me here,” Dong Qianyi said with a smile. 

Xiang Ning nodded. After the grandiosity he saw in the battleship, the various advanced equipment within the laboratory wasn’t as awe-inspiring. That was when he recognized a person walking toward him. He knew this person; he had saved her life. 

“It’s great to see you here, Xiang Ning! What, it’s just been a few days, have you forgotten me already?” Alia giggled. 

Xiang Ning hurriedly shook his head, smiling. “I’m just surprised to see you here, Miss Alia.” He felt momentarily disoriented when he saw Alia clad in white robes. Looking at her perfect figure and long legs that many girls dreamed of, he couldn’t help but compare her appearance to how she had looked when they first met. He could guess how she ended up here. As a refugee, Alia had very progressive values and out-of-the-box thinking; therefore, it was normal that Dong Qianyi would recruit her. 

“Call me Alia, I’m only twenty.” She reached out and shook Xiang Ning’s hand. 

“Alright, Alia, I’ll pass Xiang Ning to you. I’ll call everyone for a meeting.” Dong Qianyi turned to leave. 

Xiang Ning followed Alia for two minutes when she stopped in her tracks. 

“Why’re there so many beasts here? And humans?” Xiang Ning started surveying his surroundings. 

“Take a closer look.” Alia’s cheery smile had turned grim. 

Confused, he started observing them and realized all their eyes were red and bloodshot. The moment he approached, the beasts rammed into the walls in a manic rage. His brows furrowed. He had experienced the beasts in the wilderness, and although it was only natural that beasts attacked humans, they were different from the beasts in this room. This was a complete dysfunctional state, and they radiated a very different aura that made him uncomfortable. 

“You noticed something?” 

“I can sense something that doesn’t belong to them on their bodies,” said Xiang Ning in a low voice. 

Alia smirked. “Can’t believe you sensed that. You’re right—it’s the faint black substance you see on them. This substance not only makes beasts violent, it can also make humans lose their minds. It’s the main cause of Tranquil City’s attack, which stemmed from one beast. If this spreads any further, it could form a horde on a massive scale.” 

Alia sighed, then continued, “Alright, let’s check out the other project. You’ll be interested in that.” 

They passed through at least ten security checks, which made Xiang Ning wonder how secretive it was. Perhaps it was better if he didn’t go; what if he accidentally leaked the secret? Would they kill him? Very soon, after they passed the last safety check, they arrived in a bright room with white metal walls. In front of them was a giant screen displaying huge amounts of continuously changing data. Below the screen was a circular container with a piece of metal the size of a fist that more than ten white-robed researchers hovered around. 

“Do you see the metal in the container? That’s our research on space compression, though it needs at least ten more years of research,” explained Alia, beaming with pride. Although they needed ten more years, it was still something of a new era! When she saw Xiang Ning’s dazed expression, she grew puzzled.  What was the matter? 

What she didn’t know was that the moment Xiang Ning saw the data on the screen and metal in the container, information about space poured into his mind. He suddenly realized that he had also calculated accurate solutions to the numbers on the screen… which meant he could instantly complete the project. 

top secret battleship time! thanks for reading! - doge