An icy blue flash erupted without warning. The moment the light burst from his pupils, a narrow beam of frozen radiance sliced forward and pierced straight through the alloy deck of the ship ahead of him.
"Not good!"
Adjutant Lilith shouted the warning almost instantly.
The frigid beam that had erupted from his eyes looked like a blade forged from pure ice. It tore through several layers of reinforced decks in one continuous line, shredding internal facilities as it passed. What made the scene even more terrifying was the sheer smoothness of the cut. The armored deck offered no resistance at all, as if a knife had been pushed effortlessly through soft cake.
At the same time, the temperature around them plummeted.
A bone-deep chill spread through the cockpit. Frosty air rolled across the room, and the sudden drop in temperature made Lilith shiver despite the ship's insulated environment. The cold didn't feel natural. It felt like the breath of a frozen star.
"Damn it!"
Yun Chen cursed under his breath. When the surge of energy finally ran dry, he forced his eyes shut.
The icy beam vanished instantly.
Only the lingering cold in the air and the ruined deck ahead of him remained as evidence of what had just happened. Several layers of metal plating had been cleanly punctured, leaving a straight tunnel through the ship's interior.
A moment later, the Aquarius's onboard AI issued a sharp alert.
"Warning."
"The reconnaissance vessel's damage rate has reached fourteen percent. Immediate repairs are recommended."
The announcement echoed through the control deck.
"Enemy attack!"
The alarm drew personnel from nearby stations, and several crew members hurried toward the cockpit.
"Someone attacked us?" Soldier Todd asked as he rushed inside.
The moment everyone entered, they quickly realized something was wrong. Aside from the captain and the adjutant, there had been no one else here. If an enemy had attacked, where had they come from?
More importantly, the temperature inside the ship had dropped drastically.
"It's freezing in here."
One crew member rubbed his arms and shivered. Another exhaled sharply, watching faint frost gather on the metal railing.
"What the hell is going on with this temperature?" someone complained, clearly struggling to endure the cold.
Normally, the reconnaissance vessel's environmental systems completely isolated the interior from the harsh climate of the Cambrian star field. The vacuum outside could reach extreme cryogenic levels, yet the ship maintained a stable internal atmosphere.
Feeling such biting cold inside the ship was completely abnormal.
Then everyone saw the damage.
The alloy deck had been sliced open cleanly, layer after layer. Sections of aviation-grade armor had been punctured as though they were thin sheets of paper. The sight left several crew members swallowing nervously.
This wasn't ordinary metal. It was specialized aerospace armor designed to withstand meteor strikes and combat damage.
And yet it had been torn apart so easily.
Just imagining what would happen if a human body had been in the path of that beam made people's backs run cold. No one present could claim their body was stronger than aerospace alloy.
"Don't panic."
Adjutant Lilith quickly took control of the situation.
"The captain's ability appeared suddenly and briefly went out of control. Everyone return to your stations. Engineering team, stay behind and begin repairs immediately."
Her calm authority restored order.
Still, whispers spread among the crew as they dispersed.
A new ability?
What kind of power could slice through reinforced decks like that?
How terrifying must that ability be?
Many of them felt a mixture of awe and envy.
Most of the crew had already guessed the truth. Their new captain had clearly broken through the genetic lock. Otherwise, he could not possibly possess power beyond what ordinary soldiers were capable of.
At that moment, one of the Kryptonian scientists aboard the ship clapped his hands excitedly.
"I knew it!"
He stepped forward, practically glowing with enthusiasm.
"I've read the ancient records. Kryptonian super-beings ranked at the top of the genetic sequence possessed abilities far beyond ordinary super soldiers."
"During the awakening phase, countless powers could manifest all at once. They were known for being nearly omnipotent."
His voice rose as his excitement grew.
"What's even more incredible is that Kryptonian super-beings could survive almost any extreme environment. Their genetic sequence allowed them to adapt and evolve rapidly."
"That is the true terror of Kryptonian biology."
The scientist clenched his fists dramatically as he continued speaking.
"Look at the stars! The Kryptonian Empire may have been destroyed, and we thought our civilization was doomed."
"But fate has clearly opened another door for us."
"If not, how could the captain have broken his genetic lock so completely? Captain, the hope of Krypton's revival rests entirely on your shoulders."
The man sounded less like a scientist and more like an overly passionate preacher delivering a sermon.
Yet despite the exaggeration, his words carried weight.
Several Kryptonians nearby nodded instinctively. Their respect for Yun Chen deepened noticeably.
After all, the coincidence seemed almost too perfect.
If this wasn't destiny, how else could they explain Yun Chen's sudden evolution toward the legendary Kryptonian super-beings?
The scientist stepped closer to the damaged deck and inspected the cut metal.
"If my guess is correct," he said confidently, "the ability that sliced through the deck must be heat vision."
He paused and frowned.
"Wait… that doesn't make sense."
"Why is the air so cold?"
The scientist bent down and touched the frozen edges of the metal.
"The temperature drop suggests a variation of heat vision."
He looked up suddenly.
"Could this be—"
"It's a freezing ray."
Yun Chen finished the sentence calmly.
Just moments earlier, he had been staring out toward the distant blue fixed star visible beyond the observation field. The frigid cosmic radiation from that star had stung his eyes slightly.
Perhaps that stimulus had triggered the awakening.
The result was this new ability.
Oracle.
Inside his internal template, a new line of data had appeared.
Frozen Ray – LV1.
It was clearly another ocular power.
Traditional heat vision was one of the most iconic Kryptonian abilities. Superman himself was famous for it. When activated, the beam functioned like a blade of pure energy capable of cutting through almost anything.
Heat vision, by definition, carried overwhelming thermal energy.
Yun Chen's ability, however, was the opposite.
Cold.
Instead of burning matter apart, his beam froze everything it touched.
"Frozen rays…" Yun Chen muttered quietly to himself. "That's actually pretty interesting."
The Kryptonian scientist quickly nodded in agreement.
"Captain, whether it's freezing rays or traditional heat vision, the ancient records left by the Supreme Council all describe the same terrifying potential."
His voice dropped slightly as if he were revealing a legendary secret.
"A fully developed Kryptonian super-being could destroy a planet with a single glance."
The room went silent.
Several people sucked in a sharp breath.
Destroy a planet… just by looking at it.
What kind of monstrous power was that?
Even the Empire's most infamous superweapon, the planet-destroying laser cannon known as the Death Star, could only claim similar destructive capability.
For a moment, everyone looked at Yun Chen with something close to reverence.
In their eyes, he no longer seemed like an ordinary commander.
He looked more like a god.
"Alright, that's enough."
Yun Chen waved his hand dismissively.
"Everyone return to your duties."
The crew quickly dispersed after receiving the order.
Once they were gone, Yun Chen intended to test the freezing ray more carefully on his own. He wanted to fully understand the limits and mechanics of the ability.
Of course, he didn't bother correcting the scientist's enthusiastic speculation.
There was no reason to explain the existence of Oracle.
Let them believe it was simply the result of Kryptonian genetics.
Sometimes a misunderstanding worked perfectly.
Even Lilith, who was known for her calm intelligence and encyclopedic knowledge of interstellar science, seemed quietly convinced.
No matter how thoroughly she searched through the galaxy's scientific databases, she would probably never uncover the real explanation.
Lilith stood quietly at the side of the cockpit, her expression thoughtful.
"Is the captain truly the key to Krypton's revival?" she murmured to herself.
"Otherwise, how do we explain everything that's happened these past few days?"
Her delicate face showed a trace of confusion.
Then her expression changed slightly as another thought crossed her mind.
"But his mind seems full of ideas about natural reproduction, violence, and other behaviors that clearly violate the Code."
Lilith sighed softly.
"It looks like the captain still needs to study Kryptonian law a little more."