I, the Rock King Emperor with 21 billion in power, have joined the chat group.

She had only taken two steps when she ran into Kyosuke Takasaka and Bell, who were coming out of the room.

Unlike yesterday, Kyosuke Kosaka was not wearing an exoskeleton armor today, and Bell was only wearing a white cotton jacket.

"Mr. Takasaka, Mr. Bell, are you awake?" Cordolie nodded slightly to the two of them.

"Mmm, I'm awake." Kyosuke Takasaka quickly waved his hand and turned his head away somewhat embarrassedly.

Bell, on the other hand, bowed slightly to Cortoine, looking very polite: "Hello, Miss Cortoine, I'm awake. The place you provided for me to sleep is very comfortable, and I rested very well."

"Hmm." Cordolie nodded calmly, then brushed past the two and walked towards the small lake behind the house.

Kyosuke Takasaka and Bell watched her leave before heading outside—the two of them planned to get up early for some exercise and wouldn't waste any time.

When the two of them arrived at the open and flat grassy area outside the house, they saw Zhongli standing there, wearing a gray robe and motionless.

"Mr. Zhongli."

"Master Zhongli."

"Yes, good morning, Gao Ban and Bell." Zhong Li shifted her gaze from the distance, turned around naturally, and nodded slightly to the two of them.

"What is Mr. Zhongli looking at?" Following Zhongli's gaze, Kōsaka Kyōsuke also looked into the distance.

“You can’t see it.” Zhongli shook his head slightly: “I’m using a simple telescope to observe the ground.”

"According to Cordolphine's account yesterday, the ground has been occupied by beasts, but seeing is believing, so I have to see for myself."

"So, what did you notice that was wrong?" Kyosuke Takasaka's mind instantly conjured up a scenario where all the inhabitants of the floating island had been deceived. In reality, the surface of this world hadn't been destroyed; only the non-humans on the floating islands were domesticated species. The entire floating island was an experiment conducted by humans on the ground.

“It is indeed not quite the same as what Cordolie said.”

Zhongli nodded heavily.

"Huh?" Kyosuke Takasaka was stunned.

"The beasts on the ground have not only occupied this world, but have practically destroyed the surface of this planet." Zhongli reached out and slid his hand into the air, and a spot of light shone in the air.

In the light, it was as if a giant movie screen appeared, presenting everything on the ground to everyone.

The first thing that appeared in everyone's eyes was endless sand and dust.

Beyond the sandstorm, there were bizarre and grotesque beasts that seemed to be roaring forever.

Those wild beasts had almost no fixed form and were extremely free to roam. Apart from constantly fighting each other, they were constantly gnawing on the sand.

Even the occasional patch of green is fiercely contested by them.

“The surface of this planet is absolutely no longer suitable for human habitation.” Zhongli pointed to the light spot in the sky, which vanished instantly. “These things called beasts could not have evolved naturally. Based on general rationality, I have partially guessed the reason for the destruction of this world.”

"Biochemical research." Kyosuke Takasaka had also played Resident Evil and even fantasized about piloting a Gundam to fight zombies, so he could understand what Zhong Li meant.

“No.” Zhongli shook his head: “Not necessarily. It could be something deeper. Don’t forget, there are heroes and star gods in this world. Can ordinary biochemical research threaten such beings? According to universal truth, it would be very difficult.”

"So what do you mean?" Bell interjected.

“I don’t know, so I want to go down to the ground and take a look.” Zhongli twitched his lips. “Although my initial purpose in coming to this world was just to see it for myself, encountering something like this has piqued my interest.”

"You don't need to come with me. After all, what I came into this world is just a drop of blood from an avatar. Without being able to contact my main body, my maximum contribution is even less than that of [Accelerator] in the group right now. If I encounter a Star God or a being called a god during our exploration of the ground, I really can't protect you 100% perfectly."

"Hmm... then I won't go." Kyosuke Kosaka wisely gave up following. As a high school student from an ordinary world, he had never had any experience fighting anyone, so this time, he consciously gave up the behavior of holding Zhongli back.

“I want to follow Master Zhongli. I feel that at least I won’t be a burden now.” Bell nodded firmly and said to Zhongli, “My purpose in coming to this world was to be tempered by you, Master Zhongli. How could I not follow you in this situation?”

“Hmm, that’s fine.” Zhongli naturally wouldn’t object.

After a brief chat, the group stretched their arms and legs a bit in the open space outside.

Zhongli stood still, watching Bell and Kyosuke Takasaka engage in a friendly battle.

Both of them restrained themselves slightly. Bell's reaction speed and basic agility and strength were superior to Kyosuke Takasaka's, but Kyosuke Takasaka, with the help of a high-tech exoskeleton, far surpassed Bell in terms of defense and attack.

If Bell wasn't careful, he could be hit by the gun in Kyosuke Takasaka's arm. Those special armor-piercing rounds, specially developed by Kyosuke Takasaka, were indeed extraordinary in their attack power and lethality. Bell had no intention of taking a direct hit.

Kyosuke Takasaka also didn't want Bell to get close at all. To him, Bell, who looked very thin, was able to dodge bullets with a muzzle velocity of two or three times the speed of sound, which was beyond his expectations.

It was obvious that if Bell got close, his weak body would probably not be able to withstand any blow.

The two faced off briefly, and in an instant, taking advantage of Kyosuke Takasaka's momentary lapse in concentration, Bell, his body glowing faintly, accelerated and surpassed the distance between them.

The acceleration from absolute stillness to extreme speed in that instant seemed to be faster than the speed at which a screwdriver leaves the barrel. In the blink of an eye, it crossed the distance between Kyosuke Takasaka and himself, arriving in front of Kyosuke Takasaka.

---Success!

Bell's heart skipped a beat, and he was about to declare victory when he suddenly saw the dark muzzle of a gun in front of him.

Kyosuke Kosaka finally realized what was happening, looked down at Bell in astonishment, then at the gun barrel that had automatically protruded from his chest, and slowly exhaled a long breath: "If I hadn't bought a basic AI card and programmed a barely usable auxiliary AI myself, I probably wouldn't have been able to react just now."

"I lost!"

Bell raised his hands and sighed helplessly, "I didn't expect Brother Gao Ban to be so strong. I really need to train harder."

"No, no, no, I feel your physical body is already strong enough." Kyosuke Takasaka quickly shook his head: "To be able to accelerate to the speed of sound in an instant is something that humans in our world can't achieve. It's terrifying."

Hahaha~~!

Bell scratched the back of his head shyly: "I'm just a new adventurer at level 2, Brother Gaoban, you're exaggerating."

"Clap clap~~~ Clap clap~~~!"

Their mutual compliments were drowned out by the applause from the sidelines.

Four tiny sprites with hair of different colors stood in a row, watching the two of them fight with great interest.

Cordolphin and Nigolan stood behind the children, watching them intently.

"Ah~~~! Good morning. Miss Nigolan, Miss Cortoline, and children." Bell immediately bowed slightly in politeness.

"Good morning." Kyosuke Takasaka also bowed quickly.

"Yes, good morning." Zhong Li nodded slightly as a greeting.

"Good morning." Cordolie smiled calmly and said softly, "Nigolan has already made breakfast. Let's go and have some together. After morning exercise, some hot soup will definitely feel especially good."

"Yes, thank you, Miss Cortoine." Bell nodded politely again.

The group turned around and followed Cordolphine and Nigolan back to the restaurant. After taking their seats, they began their breakfast.

Nigolan's creations are relatively simple.

A simple vegetable cream soup and plain white bread, with a hard-boiled egg in front of each person—that's all.

Zhongli and Bell didn't care, but Kyosuke Kosaka clearly had never eaten food with so little seasoning before. He struggled to eat a few bites of bread while soaking in the thick soup, then swallowed the egg and blankly put his mouth down.

The others noticed his condition as well. After finishing her food, Nigolan looked at him with a smile and said, "It seems that Brother Gao Ban came from a very well-off family."

"Huh??" Kyosuke Kosaka was taken aback.

"Brother Gaoban, you haven't finished your food," Bell reminded him.

"Oh, sorry." Kyosuke Takasaka quickly apologized, "I'm just a little full, yes, a little full."

"There's no need for such an excuse," Zhongli shook his head slightly.

He looked directly at Nigolan and said calmly, "Perhaps you've been wondering where we came from, why we came here, and why we became friends with Cordolphine."

"Well, I can actually tell you the facts directly."

"Huh??!!" Bell, Kyosuke Takasaka, and Cortori were clearly surprised.

Zhongli ignored the noise and looked directly at Nigolan: "I can tell you very clearly that the three of us are not from this world."

“Hmm…” Nigolan did not show any surprise, but simply nodded slightly: “I also guessed it. Although it was unexpected, it was within the realm of possibility.”

"You must not be from this planet."

Nigolan said calmly and gently, "Whether it's your speech, behavior, or lifestyle, you all seem out of place on this planet."

"Oh, you might be wondering why I know about the concept of planets. Well, don't think of me as an ignorant person. After all, I am the administrator of the [Golden Fairy], a weapon of war that protects the world, so I must have some relevant knowledge."

"For example, the origin of humankind, the existence of star gods, and the fact that the earth beneath our feet is actually a sphere, and the sun is also a huge, luminous sphere."

“I know all of this. Don’t treat people like ignorant natives.”

“Hmm. Although there are some misunderstandings, it’s pretty much the same.” Zhongli didn’t explain further: “For some reason, we got in touch with Cordollie and decided to come to this world, um, this planet for a trip.”

"That's our only goal."

"Is it really that simple?" Nigolan was somewhat skeptical: "You are people from beyond the stars, and if I'm not mistaken, you should be gods from the stars."

"That is, the [Star God], right?"

"You couldn't have come to this planet for some kind of tourism, could you? Or did you come here to deal with the [beasts] on the surface of this planet?"

“The first statement is incorrect; I am not a Star God.” Zhongli shook his head slightly. “However, your second statement is correct. After arriving on this planet, I felt that the existence of beasts was an obstacle to this world, and they were not necessarily needed by this planet.”

"Therefore, I have decided to eliminate all threats from the [beasts] on this planet."

Nigolan clenched her fists: "You mean?"

"Well, let's start by meeting the controllers and creators of this floating archipelago."

As Zhongli finished speaking, his gaze seemed to be fixed on the distant horizon, and powerful auras and energy began to surge forth.

Dark clouds began to gather in the sky.

The sky has cracked open.

Chapter Twenty-Eight: The God of the Stars

Seventeen Beast Worlds.

Island Number One.

Ebon Candle, one of the three earth gods, was quietly sitting in his own special seat—a platform covered with a soft blanket.

The light within the pure black skull dimmed slightly, and only those familiar with it could tell that this former deity was now in a deep slumber of thought.

And right next to it was a friend who knew it well.

Formerly a member of the Hero Squad, now a zombie, the great sage Swan Kandel of the floating continent.

Now 516 years old, his own history is the history of floating continental clusters.

His face did not look friendly; he had naturally fierce eyes, a sturdy body, and wrinkled skin. He wore a pure white robe with the hem trailing on the ground.

He died in battle against the Marquis of Cui Ding five hundred years ago, but he was resurrected after cursing himself before his death.