Dimensional Codex System: I'm really not a cultist!

Chapter 839: Chapter 838: I left gently, just as I came gently

Opportunities always favor those who are prepared.

Fang Zheng didn’t wait long in the asteroid belt before he saw the Shield World’s gate open once again, following which a few Star Alliance warships emerged. They seemed to be patrolling as they circled around the Shield World—it made sense considering that the Missionary’s warship had been attacked by Elizabeth and wasn’t fully repaired yet. Naturally, the Missionary was concerned about Fang Zheng bringing a fleet to block the gate.

So the best strategy was to send scouts to watch the situation outside, just in case Fang Zheng really did come with reinforcements, allowing the Missionary to make a quick escape...

In fact, the Missionary’s guess was correct; Fang Zheng indeed came, just without any reinforcements.

However, since he was there, Fang Zheng had no intention of leaving empty-handed.

Upon seeing the Star Alliance warships, Fang Zheng quickly devised a plan using Future Sight to determine their patrol routes, then stealthily moved to the edge of the asteroid belt. Before long, three Star Alliance warships passed by the edge, and taking advantage of the opportunity, Fang Zheng and the Little Fire Dragon swiftly flew out from the meteoric fragments of the asteroid belt and found a corner to hide in.

As expected, these warships showed no reaction at all.

This is the flaw of cosmic warships...

Looking at the Star Alliance warship behind him, Fang Zheng shook his head. Despite the advanced technological level of these Star Alliance warships, their fully enclosed design often made them oblivious to external events; if something hid outside the warship, these aliens wouldn’t even notice.

Of course, it was only possible for Fang Zheng to fly in a vacuum; for other creatures, they’d likely succumb before even leaving the atmosphere...

Due to the technological disparity, the Star Alliance warships naturally didn’t detect the invisible Leander hiding nearby. After circling around to ensure there were no enemies, they returned to the Shield World’s interior.

This Shield World didn’t have a Gravity Well like ”Anshune Star,” and Fang Zheng understood why. Strictly speaking, Anshune Star wasn’t a true sanctuary; it was more like a prison, and the Gravity Well served as the ”shackles” preventing the Missionary from leaving Anshune Star.

Other Shield Worlds evidently didn’t require such setups.

Once Fang Zheng confirmed his entry into the Shield World, he immediately left the Star Alliance warship, found a covert spot to land, and since he was already inside the Shield World, he had numerous strategies at his disposal, unlike in a 007-style secret infiltration mission exploring and attacking... Speaking of which, do Star Alliance have women?

Even if they did, Fang Zheng wasn’t interested; he couldn’t stand the Forerunner’s centaur pin-ups, let alone the uglier Star Alliance creatures.

After leaving the Star Alliance warship, Fang Zheng and the Little Fire Dragon found a spot and transformed back into human form, then he hid within a forest, subsequently Summoning ”Ratziel” to search for the location of the ”Ship of Inheritance.”

And soon, Fang Zheng received the intelligence he needed.

”...The Ship of Inheritance is docked at the Forerunner repair factory within the Shield World, currently undergoing repairs by the Sanctuary Guardian. The Missionary controls the entire ’Venus,’ with all equipment under his command. At the moment, the Missionary is inspecting the Ship of Inheritance’s repair status and plans to awaken the dormant Forerunner AI after repairs, releasing the imprisoned Hongmo near the human settlement’s Aura...”

From the intelligence gathering perspective, nothing surpasses ”Ratziel.”

”Releasing the Hongmo? This Missionary really despises humanity.”

Seeing this, Fang Zheng was a bit surprised, knowing that the Forerunners perished because they were wiped out alongside the Hongmo—but wait, Fang Zheng had an unresolved question.

If the Forerunners had no way to deal with the Hongmo, ultimately resorting to mutual destruction, why capture and imprison some Hongmo?

What’s the point?

Though puzzled by this, it wasn’t the focus for Fang Zheng. He reached out to activate his personal terminal and quickly called Nymph.

”Hello, Nymph? It’s me. So, here’s the thing, this Missionary is a bit crazy, I need you...”

As he spoke, Fang Zheng explained his thoughts to Nymph, and soon, the Little Angel responded from the other side.

”Of course, no problem, Master.”

”Great, then I’ll leave it to you.”

Relieved by the Little Angel’s response, Fang Zheng closed the communication, and once again looked at the ”Ratziel” before him. When the Missionary left the repair factory, Fang Zheng then reached out his hand, raising it toward the void.

”Come, Unsealing Master!”

Accompanied by Fang Zheng’s call, the key-clad staff reappeared in Fang Zheng’s hand, and he turned the Unsealing Master to open the gateway connecting spaces, subsequently stepping inside.

Originally, Fang Zheng had intended to do this, but the Forerunner’s technology was daunting. In the Main World, the Goddess of Order somehow simulated a Sun to light and heat the Main World, but the Forerunner was even more impressive, directly embedding a Sun into an isolated space and drawing it into the Shield World as a light source!

And it was due to this isolated space that Fang Zheng couldn’t use the Unsealing Master and Teleportation Spell, but now that he was inside this Shield World, he naturally no longer needed to worry about this issue.

The next moment, he appeared inside the Forerunner manufacturing plant.

”Wow, what remarkable technology...”

Looking at the colossal Forerunner warship before him, Fang Zheng couldn’t help but drool, and it was not just the Forerunner warship that piqued his interest; the Forerunner’s manufacturing plant also stirred his excitement. After researching Forerunner data for so long, though Fang Zheng hadn’t fully understood their tech tree, he at least knew the purpose of these devices.

For instance, he knew a branch in the Forerunner’s tech tree involved deploying a Core of Creation, which then automates an entire process from resource collection to metal smelting to warship production, even more conveniently than playing against AI in Interstellar Confrontation.

And this manufacturing plant clearly functioned similarly. Since the Missionary chose this plant to repair his flagship, it indicated that this facility indeed was a top-tier Forerunner warship manufacturing venue.

It’s really simple, can you use the same technology for building aircraft carriers and cruise ships?

Since the missionary has already rushed back to the central control room to attempt an attack on humans, why don’t we... hehe...

Thinking of this, Fang Zheng patted the Little Fire Dragon’s head, then his lips slightly curled up. He lowered his head and glanced at his hand before placing it on the nearby metal wall.

Very quickly, a line of system alert appeared before Fang Zheng’s eyes.

[Detected Forerunner Warship Production Factory (including the Ship of Inheritance), requires 87895680 Dimensional Points, would you like to exchange?]

Tut tut tut, this thing is really pricey, together it demands eighty million Dimensional Points...

Looking at the system alert in front of him, Fang Zheng smacked his lips. Although he hadn’t spared consuming Dimensional Points since arriving in this world, this many Dimensional Points... System, can we discuss installing a payment plan?

Probably not.

Fang Zheng hesitated for a moment, ultimately made a decision; despite losing a fortune in Dimensional Points, his account would practically return to zero. Still, he had a Spirit Crystal mine at home, once the Stone Village finished mining, exchanging his Dimensional Points would be back in the game, as for money, what value does it hold if you don’t spend it?!

At this moment, the missionary still didn’t know someone was scheming against his warship. Arrogantly, he arrived at the main control room of the Shield World, leveraging his authority, he quickly linked up with the nearby ”Auras.”

”Foolish humans...”

Recalling the previous defeat, the missionary clenched his fists with rage, he would never accept such failure! Humans are the eternal enemy of the Forerunners, they are absolutely not the rightful inheritors of the Pioneer... no, these inheritors shouldn’t exist from the start!

The Think Tank Leader’s ideas were mistaken, all humans must be completely eradicated!

This world ultimately belongs to us Forerunners, since we cannot regain mastery over it, then... we’ll let you be buried alongside us!

Thinking of this, the missionary’s expression became more cold, he glanced at the Ring Belt in front of him, then reached out his hand.

”Disable confinement system, release Hongmo!”

[Beep—————!!]

However, just at the moment the missionary input the command, suddenly, a series of warning sounds erupted. Then, a line of prompt information appeared before the missionary.

[Aura 05, 07, 09 self-destruct system activated]

[Aura self-destruction initiated]

”What’s happening?!”

Watching the scene before him, the missionary was utterly stunned.

He carefully recalled the steps, confirmed he indeed executed the release command, so why did it trigger the Aura’s self-destruct?!

The missionary didn’t know Fang Zheng and Nymph had a special gift for him.

In fact, just earlier, Fang Zheng learned through ”Ratziel” what the missionary planned to do, so he contacted Nymph, letting the Little Angel invade the systems of those three Auras, then altered the intelligence inside. The missionary didn’t make an operating mistake, it’s just... the Little Angel modified the port connection on the opposite side.

”No, damn it! Cancel self-destruct! Cancel self-destruct!!”

The missionary desperately wanted to cancel the self-destruction. Unfortunately, he was a combat specialist, not an information operation specialist; in this domain, the Little Angel far surpasses him. Thus, the missionary could only watch helplessly as the countdown on the screen reached zero, and then...

[Aura self-destruct completed]

”Damn it———!!”

The missionary smashed his fist onto the control panel, but before he could thoroughly vent his fury, the communication link reactivated, followed by the voice of a Star Alliance Commander.

”Report, sir, your flagship has disappeared!”

”What? Disappeared?”

Hearing this report, the missionary was baffled.

What do you mean by disappeared? Could his flagship have grown legs and run away?

Nonetheless, when the missionary returned to the production factory, the sight before him left him wondering what to say.

”This, this, this...”

In front of the missionary, the original production factory had vanished without a trace, leaving only a bottomless pit... along with a receipt placed not far away.

”Goods received and a five-star rating given.”