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"I’ve thought about this question...too." Chen Xuan wasn’t as optimistic as her, "The agency indeed hasn’t figured out the ins and outs of Dragon Slayer, but that doesn’t mean their deduction is invalid. Maybe there was already someone who breached the barrier between the two worlds before Liu Shuyue slayed the dragon."

"Before you?" Lin Qing asked in surprise, "Who was it?"

"I don’t know." He answered truthfully, no one could really answer that question. Perhaps, unlike the huge commotion caused by Liu Shuyue, the previous rift might have been just a small unnoticed crack, not in the open sky.

His perspective wasn’t entirely speculative.

"Do you remember Su Xingwan?"

"The friend of the eldest daughter of the Gu Family, right?" Lin Qing squinted slightly when mentioning the Gu Family.

"A Shadow Demon appeared in her dreams." Chen Xuan said quietly, "I’ve always found it strange; this world shouldn’t have space for Demon Fiends."

"According to Su Xingwan’s account at that time, her nightmares started a year ago, which was before I met Liu Shuyue."

Lin Qing was taken aback, "You mean someone crossed over from Shuyue’s world a year ago?"

"To us, it seems like a year, but for Liu Shuyue’s world, it might not be... perhaps it was ten years ago, or even a hundred years ago. Because before I went to that world, the time flow rate between the two sides was immeasurable." Chen Xuan shook his head, "If this is true, then whether I become the store manager or not, the nano-living body will appear in the future—it’s something created jointly by the Dimensional Limit Mechanism and the Evangelical Association by chance."

Lin Qing’s face was clouded with uncertainty.

For the first time, she doubted her mission.

She had seen the outcome where the Dimensional Limit Mechanism had the upper hand, but now the mechanism was severely weakened, and the Evangelical Association had begun to dominate, yet humanity’s situation hadn’t improved much.

If the Ascension Limit truly existed, wouldn’t it mean that all her efforts were in vain?

"No, everything you do has meaning." Chen Xuan saw through her thoughts and comforted her proactively, "Without your efforts, we wouldn’t be seeing the current situation."

But what was the point, even if the two of them could see it?

Neither the mechanism nor the Evangelical Association would willingly step off the stage, which meant they had to fight both organizations and race against the Ascension Limit, a thought that was despairing.

"Forget it... let’s not dwell on this." Lin Qing took a deep breath and temporarily cast aside her distractions, "What exactly is this so-called essence?"

"It’s a jade plaque."

"What?" She looked surprised.

"From Lin’s perspective, it truly is a jade plaque." Chen Xuan said, "They found this thing on a deceased person. The coin isn’t the main point; in this airdropped agency force, there was even an identical coin carried. Right— they call that thing the Star God Coin."

As for why the passengers on the spaceship attacked each other, eventually leading to the spaceship’s crash, it was likely related to the jade plaque.

"Well... considering the connection between two worlds, a magical jade plaque isn’t surprising." Lin Qing’s mind was racing, "So is it technically a Dharma Artifact? Or do we call it an Immortal Artifact?"

"Who knows, anyway, the agency doesn’t plan to use it."

"Then why did they take it back?"

"To contaminate the source. The specific principle is unclear to Lin, just knowing that doing so may break through the incredibly exaggerated surface defense of large nano-living bodies." Chen Xuan explained while contemplating memory. Because too much information was pouring in, causing him to still not fully revisit it. "The agency’s plan is to break the Five Rings Machinery Factory’s seal, use the Star God Coin as a medium to summon the Star God from another domain, then use the jade plaque as a sacrifice to infiltrate the Star God’s power into the source... if the research results are correct, the Celestial Patrol will no longer be impregnable."

"What a mess..." Lin Qing said with a headache, "What the hell is this Star God?"

"No, you and I have both seen this thing." Chen Xuan said, "Though not with our own eyes, but it was what forced humanity underground, turning surface cities into abandoned ruins."

She thought about it and was taken aback, "That bug lying on the moon!?"

"Yes, the war between Angel and Demon also started because of it."

"And the essence? What is it?" Lin Qing asked further.

This question Chen Xuan couldn’t answer either, "In Lin’s memory, it’s merely a name. She neither saw the essence nor understood its entirety."

"Let me think..." Lin Qing pondered for a moment, "The agency felt they couldn’t deal with the nano-living body, so they want to introduce destructive power from another world to break the current stalemate? Seems like something they would do. As for the cost, they never prioritize calculating that."

"Since you’ve already made your move, let’s not hide anything. Let’s bring over Xuanling, Liuli, and Liu Shuyue, and let’s together upend the agency’s spaceship, how about it?" She clenched her fist, "Just like at Beitian Academy, let’s defeat them head-on once more!"

But Chen Xuan didn’t immediately respond to her proposal.

Lin Qing couldn’t help but feel a jolt, "What’s wrong?"

"There’s some bad news," he said solemnly, "the agency’s contamination plan has already been completed... while we were searching for Rodiya."

The Dimensional Limit Mechanism clearly showed no delay on this matter.

Upon confirming the jade plaque’s retrieval, the next day they hired a search team to go to the Five Rings Machinery Factory to investigate. Captain Makaro and vice-captain Lin seemingly interacted with the subway station, attending various meetings and airdropping supplies, while behind the scenes actively pushing the plan’s progress.

When Chen Xuan found Rodiya in New City, this agency squad had already completed the entire "contamination ritual" process.

Lin Qing was silent.

This couldn’t be blamed on bad luck.

Just like Chen Xuan said, if it weren’t for the experiences of the Future Warrior making her maintain strong suspicion toward the agency, Chen Xuan wouldn’t have delved into these people’s background further.

"We need to make long-term plans." Chen Xuan broke the silence, "Although the agency has completed the work, there’s no apparent anomaly on the surface, suggesting they’re still waiting for a timing... perhaps it’s the ghost subway."

"They want to use the ghost subway to verify?" Lin Qing immediately guessed his implication, "If the nano-living body loses its overall rigidity, then even conventional weapons could damage it... the problem is Lin is already dead, and at most, it’ll take a day for the agency to suspect something’s wrong."

"So we have to find a way to cover it up—" Chen Xuan was about to finish his sentence when they were interrupted by a rumbling sound from afar.

The two exchanged glances, their faces paling, and hurried toward the unobstructed street.

To the north of the subway station, a large amount of dust was rising, and above this cloud of dust, the flames from the spacecraft’s engines were like four small suns.

Even though the agency’s spaceship was equipped with electromagnetic cannons, gamma lasers, and various advanced weapons, they didn’t show any intent to engage in combat. After ascending to a hundred meters, it slightly adjusted its direction and accelerated northwards.

When Chen Xuan and Lin Qing reached the newly established agency camp, they found it deserted, with the large territory only left with empty tents and wire fences swaying in the aftermath of engine roars.