Planetary evolution, how come you're Ultraman?

Just as everyone was preparing to return and waiting for the global radiation surge, Ye Zi's expression suddenly darkened. He stared intently at several clusters of dense dark red light spots on the edge of the star map, his tone grave.

"Something's not right. We've detected a signal from an unfamiliar team—the Black Crow Alliance."

"The Black Raven Alliance?"

Lin Chen's eyes turned slightly cold. He had heard of this name before on the public channel. It was a group of plunderers who worked together and preyed on the weak.

How far is it from here?

"Over 1,600 kilometers, a total of five people, each of them a seasoned veteran who has secured all the core positions."

Ye Zi quickly retrieved the detection data, speaking rapidly.

"Senior, if you were to make a move, you could easily wipe them out, since your light-attribute energy is effective against conventional ship defenses. But you absolutely cannot move now."

Seeing Chu Yao's puzzled expression, Ye Zi immediately explained.

"It's not that we can't beat them, it's just that it's unnecessary and we can't take the risk. First, your transformation into a cleanup agent consumes light energy, and with the global radiation surge approaching, we need to conserve that energy for emergencies and not waste it unnecessarily. Second, with five of us sticking together, even with shielding, the cleanup activity will inevitably leak out, easily attracting the attention of other raiders in the vicinity. Third, the radiation surge is still two hours and forty minutes away. They're just coming to find a safe place, not targeting us, so there's no need to create unnecessary trouble. Our current core task is to safely weather the radiation surge. We can clean up their activities later once we've developed our resources."

Lin Chen nodded slightly. Ye Zi's analysis was all reasonable. He possessed the power of Nexus, so dealing with these five people would indeed be a piece of cake. However, he needed to develop steadily in the early stages and not let momentary impulses ruin the overall situation.

"As you say, we'll return to our original planet immediately."

Ye Zi breathed a sigh of relief and immediately increased the speed of the Dawn to cruising speed. The return journey of more than 500 kilometers was completed in just half an hour.

The four stood on the surface of the miniature planet, looking up into the deep space. In the distance, a vast expanse of pale purple radiation clouds slowly approached, and wherever they passed, scattered planets without upgraded shields instantly collapsed, revealing the cruelty of the astral plane.

Su Qingyue gripped Lin Chen's sleeve, her face slightly pale, but her eyes were exceptionally firm.

"Senior, we can definitely get through this."

Chu Yao flexed her wrists, grinned, and exuded confidence.

"Of course, the shields are full, what's there to be afraid of!"

Ye Zi adjusted her glasses, her expression calm and resolute.

"A level 5 full shield is more than enough to withstand this global radiation surge without any risk."

Lin Chen looked at his three companions, felt the surging light energy within his body, and gazed at the approaching radiation cloud, his eyes filled with composure.

Whether it's the radiation surge or the Black Raven Alliance, it's merely the first test on the journey through the Astral Plane.

His path of light, his team's journey, has only just begun.

The pale purple radiation cloud finally enveloped the entire star field, and the immense pressure crashed against the pale golden light shield like a tidal wave, emitting a muffled hum.

Lin Chen stood at the core of the planet, his hands pressed down, and light energy surged continuously from his body, maintaining the huge shield that covered a radius of two kilometers.

Pale golden light patterns flowed across the surface of the shield, blocking all the corrosive radiation particles from entering, not even a single one.

This is the power of a level 5, fully-equipped light attribute shield.

But outside the shield lies a completely different hell.

The already noisy public channel exploded instantly, followed by screams and wails, turning the place into complete chaos.

"Ah! My shield! It can't hold! Radiation is getting in!"

"Help! Someone please save me! My core is melting!"

"Damn! That kid's planet exploded! Grab his core! Hurry! It'll be gone if you're too late!"

"Don't kill me! I'll be your dog! I'll give you the core! Just let me go!"

The chaotic noise pounded into his ears, but Lin Chen's eyes remained unmoved.

He had anticipated this scene. The law of the jungle in the astral plane would only be fully exposed in the face of an apocalyptic crisis like the radiation surge.

Those retail investors who didn't have time to upgrade their shields are now sitting ducks, either wiped out by radiation or having their cores stolen by opportunistic raiders.

Many people even frantically cried for help on public channels.

"Ultraman, I'm nearby! Can I hide inside for a bit? I'll be your lackey!"

"Boss! I'll give you all my resources! Save me! I don't want to die!"

"Lin Chen! We're from the same school! You can't just stand by and watch someone die!"

Lin Chen glanced at the messages on the screen but ignored them.

He's not a saint; the astral plane is so vast, with seven billion transmigrators, he can't save them all.

And what were these people doing all this time?

You have time to watch the excitement on public channels, but no time to upgrade your shield?

Now that a crisis has arisen, you want to take advantage of his protection and seize his resources?

There's no such thing as a free lunch.

All he can do is protect his teammates, and that's enough.

"Lin Chen, how's your light energy consumption?"

Su Qingyue's voice came from behind her. She walked over with a bottle of freshly prepared energy potion, her voice gentle and soft.

"Let me help you relieve your fatigue. Maintaining the shield just now took up a lot of your energy."

Lin Chen turned around and smiled.

"It's alright, we can still hold on, we have plenty of energy reserves."

As soon as she finished speaking, Su Qingyue gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Soft green energy flowed from her fingertips into his body, instantly dissipating most of the soreness he had felt from continuously outputting light energy. Indeed, her healing ability could not only heal injuries but also alleviate the fatigue caused by this energy consumption; it was truly incredibly useful.

"How's Chu Yao doing?"

Lin Chen asked.

"I'm doing great here!"

Chu Yao's voice immediately came through the public channel, carrying a hint of cheerful laughter.

"Just now, three clueless brats tried to rush in and take advantage of our shields, and even tried to steal Su Qingyue's medical ship. I shot them all down with one shot each! There was also a raider who tried to sneak over in the chaos, but I gave him a warning shot and he's already disappeared!"

As she spoke, the image of the Breaking Edge appeared on the screen. Chu Yao's ship was positioned at the edge of the shield, with the energy cannon at the bow ready to fire at any moment. Whenever a Star Lord approached, she would issue a verbal warning, and if they ignored it, she would fire the cannon directly as a deterrent.

In just over ten minutes, she had already repelled seven or eight waves of desperate men trying to steal her shield.

There's no way around it. Everyone knows that the safe zone is the place with high-level shields. Those star lords who haven't upgraded to a high enough shield are desperately trying to find a strong person to rely on, even resorting to violence. If Chu Yao weren't guarding them, who knows how many people would have rushed over and disrupted their rhythm.

"Ye Zi, how are the radiation data you're monitoring?" Lin Chen asked again.

"The radiation intensity has reached its peak, at 1200 roentgens per square centimeter, which is a little higher than we predicted."

Ye Zi's voice was very calm, and her screen was full of fluctuating data streams.