Colonia Storm Tour

William Hansen packed up his binoculars and quickly ran towards his unit's base.

The expansion of the Void Mist's boundaries is a major event for all nations on Aquamarine, especially for the Lion Kingdom and Iron Aka, which are located close to the Void Mist. It means that these nations are one step closer to the abyss, and everything that can be taken away must be moved to a safe distance.

"Anything that enters the purple mist will never return. The Ring Messenger waits in the mist and seizes the opportunity to eliminate anything that enters it."

This is a terrifying conclusion drawn from countless facts.

In fact, compared to William Hansen, the border sentries of the Iron Akka had long since discovered that the Void Mist, which was still maintaining a safe distance, was gradually expanding. The movement of the Void Mist had always been a concern for high-ranking officials such as Head of State Alisa, because it involved the issue of their territorial integrity and survival.

They knew that the Ring Messenger existed in the Void Mist, but they didn't want to be the unlucky ones to experience it firsthand to find out what was inside.

The result is a complete retreat from the borders, maintaining a safe distance from the unpredictable, ever-expanding, and ever-present mists of the ethereal realm.

Meanwhile, the White Eagle Federation, which borders Wang Shi and Tie Aka in the "Benliu Ocean," a region even larger than the Pacific Ocean, also noticed the movements of the Void Realm Mist.

According to radio reports from Benson, Raffi, and Bailey, who were on routine patrols, the Void Mist was slowly expanding at a visible rate. By the time the report was sent, the Void Mist had expanded approximately 5 meters from its farthest point. This rate of expansion was astonishing to others, considering that the Void Mist was usually completely still.

Anyone with foresight and vision can glean a piece of information from the expansion of the illusory realm and mist.

"A storm is coming, and the expansion of the mist that leads people to the unknown world, where the Ring Messenger exists, is just an ominous sign."

What has left many feeling hopeless is that just a week after the Ring Messenger conquered the Sakura Empire Islands and nearly wiped out the entire Sakura Empire ship girls, they are now preparing to launch an attack that appears to be even larger in scale, just three days later. The whole world is once again in an uproar.

This is causing headaches for law enforcement agencies and judges, as the number of criminals to be arrested, tried, and imprisoned will surge, since the expansion of the fog's boundaries is something that is difficult to conceal.

The Void Mist has been under the watchful eyes of the entire world. Countless idle people or those who are concerned about the world are watching the Void Mist, so it is almost impossible to control its information.

Any slight disturbance, via the chaotic radio waves, will quickly become known to everyone in the illusory realm.

Viewed from a clearer "God's-eye view," the illusory mist, which looked like a huge "pimple," began to churn as if it had come to life. With each churn, a thin layer of illusory mist expanded in all directions. Now, the illusory mist was not only spreading towards the islands of Aquamarine Star, but also spreading along the spacetime structure. This meant that the long-dormant illusory mist was slowly devouring the planet.

Sadly, the inhabitants of this planet couldn't witness this from high orbit; they were still determined to fight to the death to protect themselves and their country on their home planet, but that's understandable.

They have only just broken free from some of the gravitational pull, allowing their propeller-driven fighters to fly into the sky using internal combustion engines. As for flying to higher altitudes or even into space, that is still impossible, and they cannot even break the sound barrier.

If they were a modern nation... the Ring Messenger fleet would have been able to retaliate from the very beginning of the invasion, and it wouldn't have been impossible for them to even stop the spread of the Void Mist. However, their overall technological level is still at the World War II era, and their only technological singularity is the ship girls and related products.

However, it is debatable whether the existence of "ship girls" was developed by them, because the technological level of Aquamarine is not high enough to support it. You are not playing a game called "Civilization V". The villagers of XX village shared some wisdom with you and then unlocked nuclear fusion technology, which is so amazing.

As for the "Sirens" who have not yet appeared and seem to have been eaten by the Void Mist, their technological creators do not seem to be from this planet. They seem to be from an alien civilization with advanced technology, such as the pioneers Cyberex.

Even if the intelligent among them realized that staying on this planet would inevitably lead to their demise, there was nothing they could do, because they simply did not have the means for interstellar travel that seemed like a pipe dream. To do so would be impossible, given the vast amount of research they would never have time to complete. Escaping the catastrophe through interstellar travel was merely a luxurious fantasy.

As for those who could possibly save them... Lin Haiyuan and his Colonia flank air base, at this moment, facing the Ring Messenger, an opponent that can almost endlessly spawn troops and overwhelm you with F2A attacks, they have to temporarily avoid the limelight. At the very least, without their main force, they simply cannot afford to fight this battle.

Getting back to the main point, the Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom and the Northern Alliance, both in neutral positions, have never been directly threatened by the Void Mist. This is because the Void Mist begins to spread and expand from the section of the Three Colored Continent towards the White Deva Continent and the surrounding seas. It can be said that only when the entire White Deva Continent and the western part of the Three Colored Continent are covered and swallowed by the Void Mist will the Northern Alliance and the Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom be directly threatened by the overflowing Void Mist. However, even so, the two countries are still very concerned about the expansion of the Void Mist. How could they not care about such a matter of life and death?

After the Lion King, Iron Aka, and White Eagle Federation noticed the expansion of the Void Realm Mist, the Northern Alliance and the Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom learned of it through their respective intelligence channels.

All the Northern Alliance and the Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom could do was shrug. In short, they were like clay bodhisattvas crossing a river, barely able to save themselves, and there was nothing they could do to help.

Among the pioneers of the stars, the Vortham are the smartest of the idealistic fools, because a century before their demise they believed the universe was a virtual reality game, and they were trapped in this game, trying to break the fourth wall...

The final fate of the Wortam is clear: too many died, they could no longer reproduce and eventually perished—a truly bizarre end…

I'm thinking that, judging from the Mind Cube and Mind Unit, the ship girls are actually cyborgs, but they are different from the cyborgs we usually see.

Chapter Sixteen: The Jealousy of Time (XVI)

The Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom is powerless to stop the expansion of the Void Realm Mist. Currently, humanity has no way to dispel the Void Realm Mist. The Iron Aka, King Lion, and White Eagle Federation on the front lines are all helpless, let alone the Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom, which has not been directly affected by the Void Realm Mist. Compared to the expansion of the Void Realm Mist, the entire Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom is more concerned about the Ring Envoy fleet, which may launch a surprise attack at any time.

After all, those eerie, one-way purple mists are too far from the Eastern Huang Ancient Kingdom, aren't they? The immediate threat is actually the Ring Envoy fleet.

The most effective way to deal with the Ring Messenger fleet is to assemble a large enough number of large-caliber cannons to form an astonishing density for anti-aircraft fire, ensuring that those aerial reapers can be shot down quickly. All the factories in the country capable of manufacturing small, medium and large caliber cannons are operating at full capacity to ensure that there are enough cannons available to save the day when the enemy arrives.

Whether it's really that useful... we'll only know when it comes to a decisive battle. But having that big tube around at least gives you some peace of mind; it's better to have something than nothing.

Anshan, a transmigrator ship girl who had met Lin Haiyuan, knew very well that this was just a helpless self-comfort, better than nothing. Especially after the news that the Void Realm Mist had begun to spread reached the Qingdao Naval Base, Anshan had already given up hope of staying on Aquamarine.

They just hoped that Lin Haiyuan could get the four sisters out of this deadly place and survive before they were completely wiped out.

These were things she could only say in her heart; Anshan never expressed them directly to her three younger sisters. Instead, it was her younger sister Taiyuan who opened up about them.

In the ship girl dormitory, Taiyuan, who shared a room with them, mentioned this matter to them while they were sleeping.

"Sister Anshan, Sister Fushun, Sister Changchun, what exactly are those all-consuming fogs?"

Feeling uneasy, Taiyuan brought up the issue with her sisters.

Changchun turned to look at her younger sister, Taiyuan: "Why did you suddenly ask this question, Taiyuan?"

"This question sounds difficult to answer. The Ring Messenger and the Purple Mist, according to the most popular theory right now, are invaders from another planet."

Fushun was also very curious about the ring envoy and had investigated it, based on descriptions from some officers and reports.

The claim that the Ring Messengers are "invaders from outer space" is universally acknowledged. As for the claims that they were sent by heaven to punish those who do not believe in God, these are simply ignored as nonsense. Anyone with eyes can see that the Ring Messengers have absolutely no connection with any of the gods that have appeared in their history and records.

"I can answer this question about Taiyuan. I learned the answer from Mr. Lin Haiyuan."

Anshan didn't immediately begin to explain, because the younger sisters' voices suddenly became noisy.

"Where did Mr. Lin Haiyuan find out? He seems to be quite a learned person. Speaking of which, recently, Sister Anshan, you always mention Mr. Lin Haiyuan's name when explaining things."

Fushun spoke as if he had noticed a fact, much like a blind person discovering a flower spot.

"Hehehe, that's true. Every time I explain those seemingly difficult questions, Sister Anshan always says that Mr. Lin Haiyuan told her."

Changchun blinked her pink eyes, and the mischievous smile on her face seemed to be hinting at something.

"That makes sense, Mr. Lin Haiyuan is mentioned quite often by my sister."

Taiyuan remembered this incident after hearing her two older sisters mention it.

"Don't overthink it. It's not the kind of relationship you and your friends are thinking of, Changchun."

Anshan vehemently denied any relationship between her and Lin Haiyuan. The reason Lin Haiyuan's name appeared so frequently was simply to serve as a shield to explain her knowledge that did not belong to this world.

After all, Lin Haiyuan was a transmigrator from another world, and also a supreme commander with powerful technological weaponry. It was not surprising that he knew those things, so it was only natural.

"Eh... really? What a pity."

Changchun genuinely felt it was a pity, but the smile on her face made it seem like she was just taking Anshan's shyness for granted.

"I almost went off-topic. Now let me explain those purple mists. According to Mr. Lin Haiyuan, those purple mists are called the Void Realm Mist."

She first used the name "Illusory Realm Mist" to explain what followed.

Fushun lowered his eyebrows and thought for a moment: "Illusory Realm - Mist? It sounds like a unique landscape of some place."

"It's very much like those legendary deep forests where one can never return; descriptions of such places usually include mist."

There are quite a few stories about fog in the books I read in Taiyuan.

"The mists mentioned in those stories are much simpler than the mists of the Void Realm. The Void Realm mists have a much worse effect. They don't just cause people to lose their way; they directly devour them and take them to a place called the Void Realm."

Anshan directly states here that the virtual realm exists.

"The Void Realm? Is it like a place like hell?"

Changchun asked curiously, immediately thinking of hell, a concept found in both the East and the West.

"That's even harder to describe than Hell. Nothing there is real; everything can change at any time. There is only energy and no fixed form of matter. It's a place made purely of energy. The Ring Messenger comes from that nightmarish and unpredictable place."

Anshan replied that although she hadn't actually played Stellaris or seen the illustrations of the game, she could imagine a similar scene.

"Ugh...it sounds like a really, really scary place."

Taiyuan can sense the strangeness of the psionic dimension of the virtual realm through his own associations.

"The Ring Messengers come from the Void Realm. They serve a Void Realm entity called the End of Reincarnation. It is this Void Realm entity that bestows upon them their powerful strength. This is also why we can see from the reports that the warships and soldiers explode and turn into purple smoke after their deaths. They themselves are composed of that purple mist."

Anshan continued, "The End of Reincarnation is an absolute villain. His Ring Messenger is the one who brings about the end, which is the destruction and death we are seeing now."

"Someone whose name alone gives off a bad vibe."

Changchun nodded in agreement.

"So our enemy isn't just aliens after all?"

Fushun suddenly realized.

"Actually, it can be considered an alien, but this alien has borrowed the power of the End of Reincarnation, the avatar of the Void Realm. According to Mr. Lin Haiyuan's speculation, as long as we kill the alien who is the instigator, the Ring Messenger will immediately collapse."

Anshan understood that once that army lost its transmigrator leader, the disorganized Void Realm troops would definitely give them a chance to counterattack.

"Then, Sister Anshan, we don't know where the leader of the Ring Envoy is. Since Mr. Lin Haiyuan knows so much, does he know where the other party is?"

Taiyuan continued to ask.

"He doesn't know the exact location either, because there's no way to conduct on-site reconnaissance or spy on him. We can only be sure that the guy is hiding in the illusory mist of Aquamarine Star. So we can't find him to carry out a decapitation operation and directly end the Ring Envoy."

Anshan even made a gesture of slashing down with a hand chop.

The devouring nature of the Void Mist is well-known. No matter what bullets, shells, or anything else is thrown into the Void Mist, it will disappear without a trace, like a mud ox sinking into the sea. This means that the Void Mist cannot be dispersed by the impact of an explosion, and similarly, no weapon currently possessed by mankind can effectively damage the Void Mist.

All attacks were swallowed up by the purple mist. Unexploded shells were useless, and simply throwing them was pointless.

"The Void Mist is still far away from us, but it has already begun to spread from two directions. We have nowhere to escape on this planet. The only way for us to survive is to leave this planet. Staying on this planet is just a death trap."

Anshan made a very disheartening summary, but then her expression brightened.

"However, Mr. Lin Haiyuan will protect us and take us away from this planet before we are in mortal danger, so we don't need to worry too much about those issues."

"Sister Anshan, Sister Anshan, since Mr. Lin Haiyuan knows so much, doesn't he have a way to dispel the illusionary fog?"

Fushun asked, puzzled, believing that Lin Haiyuan, who knew that, would surely have a solution.

"Fushun, it's a pity that even Mr. Lin Haiyuan couldn't do it. When he was talking about Aquamarine Star, he said that once the Void Realm Mist appeared, the entire planet was doomed and the only way to survive was to leave Aquamarine Star."

Anshan's answer clearly disappointed the three ship girl sisters.

"If we leave Aquamarine, where can we live? Will we just keep living on that plane forever?"

Taiyuan asked with a somewhat uneasy expression.

“That Mr. Lin Haiyuan looks exactly like one of our Donghuang people, but his spirit and energy are very different. He probably isn’t from Hailan Star either.”

Changchun said something they already knew.

Before answering this question, would you like to hear a fascinating story from me, Fushun?

Anshan realized that this was the time to reveal the truth about the time traveler after making some modifications.

Lin Haiyuan mentioned that her identity as a time traveler had to be revealed eventually, and she had been considering this for a long time. Until today, she hesitated and decided to reveal her identity as a time traveler, but this statement was modified.

"Yeah!"