[Year 3024 of the Stellar Calendar · Edge of the Gemini Alpha Galaxy]
[Status: Relativistic Effects Discontinued · Sublight-Speed Cruise]
The Vermilion Bird burst out of that distorted spacetime corridor.
The Gemini stars behind it had become two faint yet dazzling points of light in the horizon, like a pair of dying fireflies flickering one last time on the dark curtain of the universe.
Inside the bridge, deathly silence reigned.
All the pirates, crew members, and even the captured mechanical soldiers were still immersed in the shock of their brush with death.
"We...survived?"
The first mate of the "Hound" collapsed to the ground, watching the stars gradually recede on the holographic screen, letting out a whimper of relief.
Only Shen Qingqiu remained seated upright in the red velvet command chair.
She neither cheered nor relaxed.
The light in her golden eyes didn't extinguish; instead, it burned even brighter, even beginning to emanate wisps of golden, tangible mist that swirled around her like a divine crown.
"Survived?" Shen Qingqiu chuckled softly, her voice ethereal, as if from another dimension.
"No." She slowly raised her hand, her slender fingertips lightly touching the air.
It was a blank coordinate on the holographic star map.
"The show... has only just begun."
Buzz— With her movement, a sharp pain erupted in Shen Qingqiu's mind.
That was the sign of the **[Macro Battlefield Simulation]** awakening.
The world changed in her eyes.
No longer simple matter and energy.
She saw **"lines"**.
These were lines of cause and effect, lines of time, the trajectories of all things.
She saw three thousand silver warships warping, saw their impending coordinates, saw the charging progress of their main cannons, and even saw... the flashes of their explosions.
This is the perspective of the "Laplace's Demon."
Omniscient, that is, omnipotent.
"Qingqiu, your body temperature is rising." Seventeen noticed something was wrong. He knelt beside her, holding her trembling hand, trying to cool her down with his own cooling system.
His purple eyes were filled with worry. "Your mental workload is too great; you must stop computing."
"I can't stop, Seventeen." Shen Qingqiu turned to look at him.
Her pupils had turned completely golden, but in that instant of looking at him, a hint of human tenderness appeared.
"Zera's fleet hasn't given up. They're conducting short-range warp-ins, trying to intercept us ahead."
"That's three thousand warships."
"A direct confrontation, and we're doomed." She grabbed Seventeen's fingers and pressed his palm against her burning forehead.
"Lend me some computing power."
"I want...to play a game of chess." Seventeen didn't hesitate.
A blue light emanated from the spinal connector behind him, transmitting his immense computing power as a top-tier AI to her without reservation through the hand holding hers.
[Connection established.]
[Computational power fusion.]
[Current mode: Dual-core drive · Battlefield commander.]
Shen Qingqiu closed her eyes and took a deep breath.
When she opened her eyes again, that breathtaking divine radiance erupted completely.
"All ships, listen up!"
Her voice, transmitted through the mental link, exploded directly in the minds of every captain.
"Halt."
"Shut down the engines."
"Stay put... shut down."
"What?!" The communication channel erupted.
"Commander! There are pursuers behind us! Shutting down the engines now is just making us sitting ducks!"
"We'll die!"
"Shut up." Shen Qingqiu silenced all the noise with just two words.
She stood up, her red skirt fluttering gently in the weightless breeze. She was like a pianist about to take the stage, facing the keys of the "universe," radiating absolute confidence and elegance.
"Wherever I am, that is the door to life."
...Three minutes later.
In the void ahead, space suddenly shattered like a mirror.
Countless silver-white warships leaped out of thin air, densely packed, blotting out the sky.
It was Zera's Imperial Third Fleet.
"Hahahaha! Run! Why aren't you running anymore?"
Zera's arrogant electronic voice rang out again.
"Out of energy, aren't you? Two pathetic insects!"
Three thousand warships spread out in a fan shape, all their cannons aimed at the lone red Vermilion Bird.
It was absolute firepower coverage.
One salvo would reduce the Vermilion Bird to nothing.
"Shen Qingqiu, this is your last chance."
Zera's flagship, the "Judge," slowly approached.
"Surrender. Or...destruction."
Shen Qingqiu stood at the porthole, looking at the oppressive fleet.
She didn't look at the cannons.
Her gaze swept across the fleet, landing behind them—on the wildly spinning red giant.
In her **[Macroscopic Deduction]** field of vision.
A section of the red giant's corona was accumulating terrifying energy. It was an imminent, massive solar flare.
And Zera's fleet, in its attempt to intercept them, had conveniently stopped in the path of this flare's eruption.
This was the "chess game" she had meticulously planned.
"Zera." Shen Qingqiu activated her full-band broadcast.
Her voice was calm, composed, even carrying a hint of sorrowful lament.
"Do you believe in... a cataclysmic event?"
"A cataclysmic event?" Zera sneered. "I'm a materialist. I don't believe in gods."
"What a pity." Shen Qingqiu raised her right hand, her slender fingers making a "finger snap" motion in the air.
"Because God... is angry."
The instant her finger snapped out,
time seemed to coincide with her movement, reaching that critical point precisely.
Boom—! !!
On the distant surface of the red giant, a blinding golden light suddenly erupted.
That wasn't ordinary light.
It was a coronal mass ejection (CME).
Hundreds of millions of tons of high-energy plasma, accompanied by a destructive magnetic storm, swept towards this star system at thousands of kilometers per second, transforming into a roaring fire dragon.
"What...is that?!" Zera's detector emitted a piercing scream.
[Warning! Stellar-class flare detected!]
[Energy Level: Cataclysmic!]
[Estimated Arrival Time: 10 seconds!]
"Quick! Activate shields! Full power!" Zera roared in terror.
But against such celestial-level power, the warship's shields were as fragile as soap bubbles.
10...9...
Shen Qingqiu watched the oncoming sea of fire.
She didn't dodge.
Because she had calculated it.
The location of the Suzaku was precisely within the shadow of a giant dead star (abandoned planet).
That was the only safe haven in this sea of fire.
"Seventeen." Shen Qingqiu turned around, her back to the overwhelming light of destruction.
She looked at Seventeen, a breathtaking smile playing on her lips.
"I want to invite you to watch a fireworks display."
3…2…1…
A silent, deafening roar engulfed the world.
A golden fire dragon devoured the silver fleet.
Those once-invincible imperial warships, under the impact of the stellar flare, had their shields shatter instantly, their armor melted, and they exploded.
One after another.
Like a string of lit firecrackers.
The firelight reflected on the windows of the Vermilion Bird, dyeing the entire bridge a chilling golden-red.
Shen Qingqiu stood amidst the interplay of light and shadow, her red dress ablaze, her hair flying.
She was like the conductor of this symphony of destruction.
With a wave of her hand, the masts and oars were reduced to ashes.
"No—!!!" Zera's desperate scream abruptly ended on the communication channel.
His flagship, though barely withstanding the first wave of impact, had lost power and tumbled through space like a red-hot iron block.
Of the three thousand warships, more than half were destroyed.
The rest were all paralyzed.
But in the only safe zone.
The Vermilion Bird was unharmed.
Not even a single piece of paint was missing.
"A miracle…this is a miracle!" The pirates on the Hound all knelt down.
Looking at the red warship ahead, their eyes no longer held awe, but fanatical worship.
The commander was not human.
She was a god who could foresee the secrets of heaven!
Inside the bridge.
Shen Qingqiu swayed.
Excessive calculations had exhausted her mental energy. Blood gushed from her nose again, dripping onto her red dress, spreading a dark stain.
"Qingqiu!" Seventeen hugged her tightly, pulling her into his arms.
He looked at her pale face, his heart aching unbearably.
"Was it worth it?" he asked softly.
"To expend so much energy for these ants." Shen Qingqiu leaned against him, smiling weakly.
She stretched out her blood-stained fingers, gently tracing the outline of Seventeen's right arm, the one adorned with stars.
"It was worth it."
"Because I want you to know..."
She raised her eyes, her eyes, now black and devoid of their golden luster, brimming with deep affection.
"In this world, besides you, no one else can protect me with their body."
"I can also use my wisdom...to crown you."
She was more than just a girl who needed his protection.
She was a queen who could fight alongside him, even clear his path.
Seventeen's purple pupils trembled violently.
He lowered his head and kissed away the blood from the corner of her lips.
It was a kiss filled with respect and love.
"Yes, my Queen."
"Now, please rest."
"The rest... I'll handle."
The flare's storm had passed.
The remaining Imperial fleet was a scene of utter devastation.
Zera's flagship, though crippled, still activated its final defensive shield, like a stubborn tortoise shell.
Seventeen gently placed Shen Qingqiu on the command chair and covered her with his black trench coat.
He turned around.
Facing the wrecked flagship outside the porthole.
He slowly raised his stellar right arm.
His five fingers spread, and the star core he had stolen from the neutron star black market was embedded in the energy slot of his arm.
Click.
Energy injected.
The entire arm instantly erupted with light brighter than a star.
"I said it." Seventeen's voice was deep, echoing in the deathly silence of the bridge.
"Anyone who dares to touch her."
"I'll make this entire galaxy... perish with her."
He took a step forward.
Not through the door.
Instead, he pierced directly through the porthole.
He entered the vacuum.
No spacesuit needed, no oxygen needed.
At this moment, he was the strongest single-soldier mech in the universe—[Red Hare - Planet Destroyer Mode].
He transformed into a streak of light, rushing towards the still-dying Zera.
On the command chair, Shen Qingqiu watched the departing figure.
She closed her eyes, a relieved smile playing on her lips.
She had won this round.
The Star Sea, the Heavenly Tribulation.
And the one who finished the battle for her was now bathed in starlight, going to reap the final fruits of victory for her.