Coming for me

Planet Apocalypse, mountaintop villa.

The afternoon sun spilled through the one-way floor-to-ceiling windows, landing on the velvet lounge chair on the terrace.

Here on Planet Apocalypse, there seemed to be two stars—two suns, essentially. But it didn't matter; the temperature was quite pleasant.

The planet had a global climate control system, making everything incredibly comfortable.

Ye Chuan slouched in the chair, bare-chested. Behind him, two fox-kin girls were massaging his shoulders and neck with soft paws. The pressure was just right, perfectly kneading away the fatigue accumulated from days of battle.

A rabbit-kin girl crouched beside him, carefully massaging his calves. Her long ears twitched nervously from time to time, and she kept her breathing extremely light.

Because the man before them was a very terrifying guy.

"A little harder," Ye Chuan narrowed his eyes, lazily lifting his chin. "Haven't you eaten?"

"Yes, meow!" a fox-kin girl quickly replied, increasing the pressure of her hands. Her fluffy orange tail swayed unconsciously.

Ye Chuan nodded.

Beast-eared girls really gave the best massages. The soft warmth and touch were a hundred times better than those cold, mechanical massage devices from the Federation.

Previously, Suri had brought over a few tentacle girls, which annoyed Ye Chuan. He had to emphasize that they must fit human aesthetic standards.

Ultimately, Suri found some beast-kin. Their looks were quite in line with Ye Chuan's tastes.

Suri was finally reliable for once, actually picking a few with pretty faces and solid massage skills.

At this moment, Ye Chuan had no idea what was happening in the real world, nor did he know about the problems Bai Qianshuang and Luo Xi were facing. He just treated this as a vacation.

Lin Xi squatted nearby, munching on an energy bar while holding up her terminal to secretly record a video. She muttered under her breath:

"Mr. Ye, you really know how to enjoy life. If your fans knew you were getting massages here every day, they'd probably die of envy."

"If they're envious, tell them to work hard and get stronger," Ye Chuan yawned.

"When you reach the point where the Federation provides for you, you can lie down and get massaged every day too."

Lin Xi stuck out her tongue, not daring to reply.

Provided for by the Federation?

Dream on.

She probably wouldn't even touch the threshold of that in her entire life.

As they were chatting, the villa's front doors were hurriedly pushed open. Suri walked in briskly wearing a crisp white uniform, her expression somewhat grave.

Seeing the scene on the terrace, she paused for half a second before lowering her head respectfully. "Mr. Ye Chuan, I have an emergency to report to you."

"Speak," Ye Chuan said without opening his eyes, letting the fox-kin girl massage his temples.

"Several star systems on the Federation's borders have simultaneously experienced unknown pollution. The symptoms are completely identical to the Outer God pollution on the Zeus Space Station—spreading gray fog, flesh mutation, and mental whispers." Suri spoke extremely fast.

"Currently, three colonial planets have completely lost contact. The three fleets sent to investigate have all disappeared without a trace. The pollution appeared without warning, and its spreading speed is still accelerating."

Ye Chuan's eyelids twitched upward. "Outer God pollution? Wasn't that wave at the Zeus Space Station cleaned up?"

"We can't find the source for the time being," Suri shook her head, her expression serious.

"At this rate of spread, it will infiltrate the Federation's core star regions in less than ten years. The council is already in chaos, and they would like to ask you..."

"Alright, I get it," Ye Chuan waved his hand, interrupting her.

"Handle it yourselves first. Lockdown the polluted areas. If you really can't hold on anymore, then come find me."

I'm not a hired thug.

His tone was lazy; he clearly didn't take this matter to heart.

It was just an Outer God, it wasn't like he hadn't fought one before. The Federation was, after all, a civilization that controlled several galaxy clusters. They couldn't possibly need him to personally handle such a trivial matter.

Suri swallowed the request that had reached her lips and could only nod in response:

"Yes."

Just as she turned to leave, the villa's smart AI suddenly blared a piercing red alarm. Warning lights instantly flashed on, bathing the entire living room in a blood-red glow.

[Emergency Alert! Emergency Alert!]

[Unknown energy pollution detected on Colonial Planets Three, Seven, and Nine on the outskirts of Apocalypse Star! Massive loss of life signals!]

[The pollution is spreading toward the Apocalypse Star System at faster-than-light speeds!]

Suri's face instantly turned deathly pale, and she whipped her head around to look at Ye Chuan. "Mr. Ye Chuan!"

Ye Chuan also frowned.

It actually crept right under the nose of Apocalypse Star?

He was just taking a vacation.

Give me a break.

"What are you panicking for?" He casually grabbed a jacket and threw it over his shoulders. "Send your military over first. Lockdown the polluted area and don't let anything out."

"Yes!"

Suri immediately picked up her terminal to issue the orders.

After the orders were given, the living room fell so quiet that only the blaring alarm could be heard.

Suri stood in place, staring at the fleet signals on her terminal.

The Federation had also sent reinforcements at this moment—

After all, the Apocalypse Star System was one of the core star systems; absolutely nothing could be allowed to go wrong here.

At first, everything seemed normal. The frigates quickly arrived at the edge of the polluted zone, shields fully activated, and swept purifying rays into the gray fog.

But just three minutes later, the signals on the screen began to flash frantically, bursting into large patches of snowy static.

"What's going on?" Suri immediately connected to the bridge communications.

"Report the situation on the frontlines!"

The communication feed flickered, revealing a scene of absolute chaos on the bridge.

On the once-clear control panels, dense clusters of grayish-white eyeballs were sprouting at a visible rate. The eyes slowly swiveled, locking their gaze uniformly onto the camera.

The crew members stationed at the consoles were convulsing violently. Boils bulged beneath their skin, bursting open to reveal tiny eyeballs, while mindless, guttural sounds spilled from their mouths.

"It is no use... the shields cannot stop it!" the captain's voice broke through intermittently, laced with sheer terror.

"The corruption penetrates straight through the energy barriers! All weapon systems are offline! The energy core... the energy core has come alive!"

The feed jerked violently as the camera panned toward the engine room in the rear.

The once cold, unyielding metallic reactor had transformed into a pulsating heart of flesh and blood. Its surface was covered with bulging veins and slit-like pupils. A viscous gray liquid oozed through the conduits; wherever it flowed, the metal walls dissolved entirely into writhing meat.

"Ahhhh!!"

Following a bloodcurdling scream, the feed faded entirely to a sickly grayish-white.

The entire screen was packed tightly with rolling eyeballs. All communication signals were instantly severed. Only the piercing hiss of static remained ringing from the terminal, accompanied by the faint, overlapping whispers of countless voices.

Suri's hand trembled violently.

Gone.

The military forces of the Apocalypse Star had not even lasted three minutes, and they were just wiped out like that?

She looked up at Ye Chuan, her voice shaking:

"Mr. Ye Chuan... the fleet is completely annihilated. Ordinary technology simply cannot withstand this kind of corruption. If this continues, the Apocalypse Star... the Apocalypse Star is doomed as well!"

Ye Chuan walked up to the screen, casting a glance at the squirming eyeballs that filled the display. His brow furrowed deeper.

How disgusting.

However...

The corruption this time was different from what happened at the Zeus Space Station.

The aura was much more ferocious.

"Huh?" As the countless eyes locked onto him in unison, Ye Chuan suddenly had a strange feeling. Could it be that this Outer God's corruption was actually coming straight for him?