An Egg

The third day arrived in the blink of an eye. The Aska completed preparations for the space jump and initiated the jump. In an instant, the warship traversed untold light-years, relocating to the targeted sector of space. In the pitch-black void, right beside a colossal gas giant, space warped. The Aska materialized out of the distortion as the blue energy shield protecting the ship gradually dissipated, revealing its original hull. Inside the cockpit, Yu Xian and the others were curious about where this jump had brought them. "Muse, how far are we from the signal source?" Yu Xian asked first. Muse replied, "Captain, the Aska is still fifteen trillion light-years away from the signal source." "Cutting it down from thirty trillion to fifteen trillion isn't bad. Can we start preparing for the next space jump right away?" Yu Xian nodded and asked. Both Zhi'er and Hai Liwei piloted Star Rank warships, so it was only natural that they moved fast—after all, the Aska was very fast as well. Had Hai Liwei not destroyed the stable space along the route, the Aska could have traveled even faster. As it stood, the Aska was already considered slowed down. Still, there was no helping it; they were jumping via broken worlds rather than small pocket spaces, which inevitably cost them more time. "We can continue preparations for a space jump, but space in this area is relatively turbulent and has deviated significantly from the calculated jump coordinates. Recalibration will be necessary, so preparations will take five days to complete," Muse answered. Yu Xian nodded. "Then proceed with the jump preparations. Lock onto the space closest to the signal source." "Understood," Muse acknowledged. As Muse turned back to operate the control console, Yu Xian looked at Niman beside him and asked with curiosity, "Niman, how does this world look?" Once the energy shield protecting the warship faded, they were able to perceive external space. Right away, Niman had unleashed her ability, scattering countless mushrooms into the universe. Across the dark void, vibrant, multicolored mushrooms sprouted atop numerous drifting meteorites, continuously transmitting information back to her. "This universe doesn't look good," Niman said gravely. Through the mushrooms she had sent out, she discovered that the spatial energy across this universe was flowing, warping the entire world. This indicated that somewhere in space, an entity was exerting an influence over the entire cosmos—likely a colossal monstrosity, something they had no hope of contending with. The reason the Aska had drifted from its calculated coordinates was precisely because spatial energy was constantly in motion, shifting the coordinates at every moment. Niman shared her observations with everyone, and hearing this, all of them felt that this world was somewhat dangerous. "Could it be a black hole?" Nora could not help asking. When Niman mentioned a colossal entity, a black hole was the absolute outer limit of Nora's imagination. She truly could not fathom what else could cause such a phenomenon. "It can't be a black hole. Strictly speaking, even a black hole couldn't produce such an enormous impact," Niman countered. Yu Xian stood up. "Won't we know once we step outside and take a look?" "Muse, watch over the baby for now." Niman also felt the need to confirm the situation, so she rose and instructed Muse. Then, everyone fused together. Golden armor immediately covered Yu Xian's body, golden wings sprouted from his back, and he teleported outside the Aska. Sensing the movement of space at once, he turned toward the direction in which the spatial energy was flowing. Perhaps because the distance was simply too vast, there was only pitch-black void in that direction, showing nothing at all. "Let's fly forward and see," Niman said to Yu Xian. Yu Xian nodded, instantly conjuring a spatial bubble to shield himself before advancing forward. Flowing space like this was exceptionally perilous. If the current moved fast enough, spatial abilities would suffer severe disruption or even become completely unusable. Therefore, to be safe, Yu Xian used the bubble to isolate himself from the surrounding space, ensuring he could make a timely escape if things took a turn for the worse. Yu Xian continued onward, steadily gathering speed. Shrinking into miniature form, Niman emerged from Yu Xian's shoulder and cautioned, "Something's off. The spatial current is accelerating. Be careful." "Big Bro, don't use your own eyes—use mine! My eyes are spatial eyes; they can see a lot more," Little Nora also popped out and said to Yu Xian. Yu Xian nodded. His eyes instantly morphed into those of the Victorious True King Bird. In the next instant, his eyes widened in sheer shock, and he came to an abrupt halt. Untold light-years away, an unfathomably colossal egg floated in the dark universe. Space, stars, planets, light, and even black holes were all being devoured by it. Yu Xian had never suffered from megalophobia before, but right now, he knew beyond a doubt that he did. The others shared his vision in real time and fell completely silent. Even Niman had never seen such a gigantic egg. "Do you know what kind of creature's egg this is?" Yu Xian stared fixedly at the egg, finally asking the group after a long silence. Niman offered a wry smile. "I don't know. Creating life isn't that simple. Even when I was still at the Cosmos Rank, the largest life-form I could create was about the size of the Moon. Making something this colossal was utterly impossible—the sheer complexity involved is beyond your imagination." "I wonder what's inside the egg," Little Nora muttered to itself. This was the first time it had seen an egg without immediately thinking of eating it, because the egg was so massive that the thought of eating it could not even form. "Actually, this is a good thing. As long as the egg doesn't hatch, we should be fine for the next few days," Nora spoke up. Yu Xian nodded. "Looking at it that way makes sense too. Let's just hope this egg doesn't hatch while we're stuck here." Afterward, they all gazed at the colossal egg from afar. At first, everyone merely watched in quiet wonder, but Little Nora eventually brought up a topic, prompting everyone to guess what kind of creature might be resting inside. Without a doubt, whatever lay inside this egg had to be a mythic-grade existence, certainly nothing ordinary. Yet when even Niman, the most knowledgeable among them, had no idea what creature laid it, their speculations naturally led nowhere. Yu Xian and the others didn't actually need an answer anyway; it was merely awkward small talk to pass the time. Three hours passed in the blink of an eye. Yu Xian and the others felt they had seen enough. Yu Xian had even tried taking a photo, but unfortunately, the resulting image was pitch black, so he ultimately had to give up. "All right, let's head back," Yu Xian said, turning around. Little Nora said eagerly, "Big Bro, when we get back, let's have a contest to see who can finish eating ten thousand kinds of meat first! How about it?" "Sure, you're on," Yu Xian laughed. Just as Yu Xian was preparing to return, however, Niman sensed something and called out, "Wait, Yu Xian! About three hundred thousand meters to your left, there's something. Not necessarily living, but definitely not dead matter." Yu Xian looked toward his left and saw nothing, but trusting Niman's judgment, he immediately turned and flew swiftly in that direction. Not necessarily alive, yet definitely not dead—what could it possibly be?