Marvel: The other side of the double-passing door is Devouring the Stars

Chapter 390 The Real Battle

"Lay down your weapons and raise your hands!" the company's army commander issued an ultimatum over the loudspeaker. "You are surrounded; any resistance is futile!"

Faced with such a vast disparity in strength, Karl and his companions finally recognized reality. Although they were experienced mercenaries, they had absolutely no chance of resistance against a force of the magnitude of Virtual Universe Corporation.

“We surrender,” Karl said reluctantly, laying down his weapon, “but I demand to know this man’s true identity!”

“Mr. Rowan is a senior researcher at Virtual Universe Corporation, and also one of its core members,” the commander replied coldly. “Attacking him is attacking the company, and that is absolutely intolerable.”

Upon hearing this identity, Karl and the others were dumbfounded. They never expected that the seemingly ordinary young man was actually a core member of the Virtual Universe Company. No wonder their actions had provoked such a strong backlash.

"Senior researcher? Core member?" Old Wu stammered. "How is that possible? He looks so young."

“Virtual Universe Corporation never judges people by age,” the commander explained. “Talent and strength are the most important criteria.”

The members of the Black Shark Mercenary Group were swiftly apprehended and will face severe legal consequences. Attacking members of the Virtual Universe Corporation is not only a criminal act but also a provocation against the entire cosmic order.

"Mr. Rowan, are you alright?" The commander personally came to Rowan to inquire about his condition.

“I’m alright, thank you for arriving in time,” Rowan said gratefully. “If we had been any later, the consequences could have been much more serious.”

"Protecting the safety of our company members is our duty," the commander said sternly. "These people's attack on you is a provocation against the company, and we will absolutely not tolerate it."

"So what's the next step?" Rowan asked.

“They will be handed over to the Cosmic Court for trial,” the commander replied. “Depending on their crimes, they could face decades or even life imprisonment. Especially the one named Carl, whose charges include robbery, murder, assault on a company member, and multiple other felonies.”

Hearing this, Rowan felt a mix of emotions. Although these mercenaries certainly deserved their fate, seeing their desperate expressions still evoked a touch of sympathy. However, this was the path they had chosen, and they had to bear the consequences.

“Mr. Rowan, you can now safely board the ship,” the captain of the frigate said as he approached. “We will proceed to company headquarters immediately.”

“Okay, let’s set off now,” Rowan nodded in agreement.

The headquarters of Virtual Universe Corporation is located on a massive artificial planet, entirely built by the company and representing the pinnacle of human technological achievement in the universe. As the escort ship passed through the planet's outer protective layer, Rowan saw the familiar buildings through the porthole, and a feeling of home welled up within him.

“Welcome back to headquarters, Mr. Rowan,” the frigate’s captain said as they approached landing. “I hope you had a pleasant vacation.”

“It was indeed very rewarding, thank you for the escort,” Rowan replied sincerely. Although the adventure did not go as planned, he had certainly gained a lot of valuable experience.

The spaceship landed smoothly on the dedicated landing pad, and Rowan collected his luggage and disembarked. The air at headquarters was specially treated to maintain the most suitable temperature and humidity, making it very comfortable.

"Rowan! You're finally back!"

A familiar voice came from not far away. Rowan turned his head and saw that it was Dr. Li, a colleague from the research department. Dr. Li was a middle-aged scholar who specialized in the study of the laws of the universe. He had worked in the company for decades and was one of Rowan's old friends.

“Dr. Li, it’s been a long time,” Rowan said, walking over to shake his hand. “How’s your research progressing lately?”

"Not bad, we've made some new breakthroughs in the laws of space recently," Dr. Li said excitedly. "By the way, did you know? Silver Moon is back too, just yesterday."

"Where is she now?" Rowan asked.

"She should be at the research center. I just saw her organizing a task report," Dr. Li said. "By the way, the department head asked me to tell you that there's an important task allocation meeting tomorrow morning, and both you and Yinyue need to attend."

"A mission tomorrow?" Rowan was somewhat surprised. "I thought I'd be able to rest for a few days."

"Haha, who told you two to be the most capable team in the department?" Dr. Li laughed. "Important tasks should naturally be entrusted to the most reliable people."

“Then I’ll go find Silvermoon first and find out the details,” Rowan said, “and also see how well she fared on this mission.”

“Go ahead, she must really want to see you,” Dr. Li waved goodbye. “I still have experiments to do, so I’ll be going now.”

Rowan walked towards the research center, encountering many familiar colleagues along the way, all of whom greeted him warmly. Although Virtual Universe Company was a large organization, the atmosphere inside was still very warm, especially in the research department, where everyone was like a big family.

The research center was a towering, tower-like building housing state-of-the-art experimental equipment and databases. Rowan arrived at Silvermoon's usual office area and, sure enough, saw that familiar figure.

Yinyue was sitting at her desk organizing documents. She had long, silver-white hair, fair skin like jade, and delicate, elegant features. Most striking were her eyes; deep blue irises revealed wisdom and determination, making it clear at a glance that she was no ordinary woman.

“Silver Moon, I’m back,” Rowan said softly, not wanting to disturb her work.

Silver Moon looked up and, upon seeing Rowan, a bright smile spread across her face: "Rowan! You're finally back! I thought you were going to be out playing around forever."

"Haha, I'd like to relax a bit longer too, but I can't stay unemployed forever," Rowan walked up to her. "I heard you just got back yesterday? How did the mission go?"

"It was a very fruitful trip," Silvermoon stood up and elegantly straightened her clothes. "We discovered the ruins of a previously unknown ancient civilization and obtained a lot of valuable information. What about you? Did you have any special experiences this holiday?"

"It's a long story," Rowan briefly recounted his adventure in the Forbidden Mist, omitting some sensitive details, "Although we didn't get the expected results, it was still an unforgettable experience."

"The Forbidden Zone of Mist? That place is indeed very dangerous," Silver Moon said thoughtfully, "but with your strength, you shouldn't have too much of a problem. By the way, I heard you encountered trouble at the transit station? Dr. Li mentioned some situations earlier."

"We did encounter some minor troubles, but the company's people arrived in time," Rowan said without going into details. "It was mainly some mercenaries' retaliatory actions, but that's been resolved now."

"That's good," Silver Moon nodded, then a hint of interest flashed in her eyes. "Since we've both just finished our missions, how about we spar? I'm curious if your strength has improved during this time."

“That’s exactly what I was thinking,” Rowan chuckled. “I also want to see what you’ve accomplished on this mission. Besides, we have a new mission tomorrow, so it’s necessary to get to know each other’s progress beforehand.”

“Let’s go to the training grounds,” Silvermoon suggested. “They have the best facilities there, and we won’t disturb anyone else.” The Virtual Universe Company’s training grounds are a massive, multi-functional facility with various training areas in different environments, ranging from simulated vacuum environments to high-gravity zones. The most advanced is the gravity training chamber, which can simulate the environmental conditions of different planets.

"Which training room should we choose?" Silvermoon asked.

“Let’s use the standard gravity battle zone,” Rowan said. “After all, it’s just a friendly spar; we don’t need an extreme environment.”

The two arrived at the designated training room, a circular space with a diameter of 100 meters. The floor and walls were made of special materials that could withstand the full force of an attack from a stellar-level martial artist without damage.

"How long has it been since we sparred?" Silvermoon asked while stretching. "It seems like it was about half a year ago."

"Pretty much, back when you had just broken through to the seventh tier of the Stellar level," Rowan recalled. "You should have made further progress by now, right?"

“Of course, this mission has been incredibly beneficial to me,” Silvermoon said, a confident glint in her eyes. “I’m now firmly established at the mid-stage of the eighth rank of the Stellar level. And you? Your aura seems even more profound than before.”

"I've also made some progress, you'll find out the specifics when we spar later," Rowan deliberately kept everyone in suspense.

The two stood at opposite ends of the training room, about fifty meters apart. This distance was negligible for a stellar-level martial artist, but it was enough to serve as the starting point for a sparring match.

"Then let's begin," Silver Moon said, assuming battle mode, a faint silver light emanating from her body. "As before, we'll stop short of a direct confrontation."

“Of course,” Rowan adjusted his stance, his inner power surging, “you go first.”

"Then I won't stand on ceremony," Yin Yue smiled slightly, and then her figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.

This is her signature skill—Silver Moon Step, an extremely advanced movement technique that allows her to change position in an instant, making her difficult for opponents to catch. Even martial artists of the same level would find it hard to keep up with her speed.

However, Rowan remained calm. His recent adventures had enriched his combat experience and significantly enhanced his perception. Although he couldn't see Silver Moon, he could sense subtle energy fluctuations in the air.

"On the left!" Rowan suddenly turned around and punched the air to his left rear.

"Bang!" The sound of fists colliding rang out, and Silver Moon's figure reappeared. She blocked Rowan's fist with her palm.

"Good reaction, much faster than before," Silvermoon praised. "It seems your vacation was definitely worthwhile."

"You too, the refinement of your Silver Moon Step has improved again," Rowan said sincerely. "If I hadn't gained more combat experience recently, I probably wouldn't have been able to keep up with your pace."

The two separated and distanced themselves again; this was just a tentative exchange, the real competition was only just beginning.

“Now I’m going to get serious,” Silver Moon said, her silver light intensifying. “Silver Moon Slash!”

A crescent-shaped silver energy blade flew from her hand, carrying a sharp killing intent as it hurtled towards Rowan. The power of this move was enough to easily cut through ordinary metal; even a stellar-level martial artist wouldn't dare to take it head-on.

But Rowan didn't dodge; instead, he stood still, slowly raising his right hand. As he moved, the surrounding space seemed to subtly change, and a profound power began to gather.

“A spatial barrier,” Rowan said softly.

The silver energy blade struck the void in front of Rowan as if hitting an invisible wall, producing a crisp impact sound before dissipating into the air.

"The laws of space?" Silver Moon looked at Rowan in surprise. "When did you start studying the laws of space?"

"One of the gains from this adventure," Rowan said casually, "is that although it's still very basic, I can already use it in simple ways."

"Incredible!" Silver Moon exclaimed, her eyes filled with amazement. "The laws of space are among the most difficult to master, and you've managed to grasp the basics in such a short time?"

"Perhaps it's talent, or maybe it's just a stroke of luck," Rowan said, not wanting to elaborate on his experience in the ancient ruins. "Now it's my turn to attack."

Rowan began to move, but unlike Silver Moon's Silver Moon Step, his movements carried a special rhythm, as if he were one with the surrounding space.

"Spatial Step" is a movement technique he created after comprehending the laws of space. Although it is not yet perfect, it has already shown amazing effects.

Silvermoon felt the pressure; Rowan's movements were completely unpredictable, as if he could appear from any direction at any moment. She could only be on high alert, and a protective shield of silver energy formed around her.

"Here!" Rowan's voice suddenly came from directly above the silver moon, and a punch carrying the power of the laws of space struck straight down.

Silver Moon quickly raised her hand to block, but the power of this punch surprised her greatly. Not only was the power much stronger than before, but the law power contained within it also made her feel a real threat.

"Your strength has improved far too quickly," Silver Moon couldn't help but exclaim as she parried. "This level of progress can no longer be explained by common sense."

“Likewise,” Rowan said, withdrawing his attack and stepping back. “Your understanding of the laws has also improved; I sensed the fluctuations of the Law of the Moon.”

“Indeed, this mission has given me a deeper understanding of the laws of the moon,” Silver Moon admitted, “but it still falls short compared to your laws of space.”

The two continued sparring for over an hour, testing each other's abilities in every aspect, from basic martial arts to advanced techniques. As the sparring progressed, both gained a clearer understanding of their partner's strength.

"Alright, let's call it a day," Silvermoon finally suggested. "If we continue, it won't be a friendly sparring match anymore; it will be a real battle."

“Indeed, our strength has improved significantly,” Rowan agreed to stop. “Tomorrow’s mission should go smoothly.”

The two sat down in the rest area of ​​the training room, recovering their strength while exchanging their feelings about the sparring match.

(End of this chapter)