World-saving Plan: The Only Savior

The Dark Star Alliance’s Cosmic Alliance was vast, and compared to it, a place like Phantom Spirit Star was a mere witch meeting a great witch, so what was there to fear about contact.

Under Zhang Xiaoman’s command, the Icehail quickly reached the location where the probe had vanished earlier.

It was a planet with a thin atmosphere, mostly covered with yellow dust viewed from space, with no satellites evident and no towns detected within its initial scans.

"Commander, we’ve found it. The lost probe is 200,000 kilometers ahead. Should we attempt recovery?"

An astronaut said.

Zhang Xiaoman nodded.

"Use the tractor beam, try to pull it back."

As his voice fell, a beam of light from the Icehail’s front shone onto the probe suspended in space, causing it to rapidly move closer to the ship.

"Successfully retrieved! Attempting signal recovery for the probe...Recovery failed! We need to inspect the situation on-site!"

Two astronauts ran toward the recovery bay.

Zhang Xiaoman furrowed his brow, sensing something amiss.

The probe appeared undamaged, its shell intact, as if its internal structure had been compromised, akin to being hit by an electromagnetic pulse.

But, could an electromagnetic pulse really disable a probe from the Icehail? That seemed impossible.

Even the Phantom Spirit Clan couldn’t achieve this.

Zhang Xiaoman wasn’t completely ignorant about Phantom Spirit Star; he had some information on the Phantom Spirit Star people from the Guleng Star people, who still largely relied on material technology and had only touched the surface of Dark Spirit Technology.

Therefore, in the present circumstance, the probe’s malfunction likely wasn’t caused by Phantom Spirit Star people, but more probably by other hidden Alien Species here.

Probing with divine sense, he scanned the retrieved probe, his face immediately changing before disappearing suddenly.

"What?"

Ziwei, noticing Zhang Xiaoman vanish, first froze slightly before disappearing to follow him.

Meanwhile, at the recovery bay door, the two astronauts collapsing in shock saw seven or eight large, black-shelled, fierce monsters enlarge in their pupils.

"Desert Worms! Desert Worms!"

The two scrambled backward, but their speed was clearly no match for the Insects, and they were on the brink of a grim fate.

At that moment, a shadowy figure appeared—it was Zhang Xiaoman arriving for support.

With a single punch, he shattered every Insect mid-air into a mist of blood.

Only one was left alive, pinned to the ground, immobile under the relentless pressure of the Dark Energy Shock.

"Indeed, Desert Worms!"

Zhang Xiaoman’s expression was solemn.

Earlier, when he sensed something was wrong, he had used divine sense to inspect the probe and discovered seven or eight hiding Insects.

He was now very familiar with these Insects—they were undeniably Desert Worms, given his numerous encounters with them.

Ziwei had also arrived, observing the pinned Insect; her face was unusually serious.

"Desert Worms indeed—looks like we’ve found the perpetrators behind the destruction of this Star System. If it’s them, it’s no wonder the Phantom Spirit Star people couldn’t resist..."

No one present knew the fearsome nature of Desert Worms better than Ziwei.

As a native Dark Star Alliance citizen, Ziwei had grown up listening to stories of Desert Worms.

Compared to Ziwei, the Desert Worms Zhang Xiaoman had encountered were merely the tip of the iceberg.

In the Second Universe, whole sectors were Desert Worm Clan territory. Their individual strength wasn’t particularly formidable, but their numbers were unmatched within the Four Star Domains.

Faced with such an aggressively expansive race, the Dark Star Alliance people, living close by, naturally sought every means to eradicate them swiftly.

Yet, despite countless efforts over thousands, even millions of years, no one had managed to wipe them out completely; instead, Desert Worm numbers continued to grow. Should this trend continue, who knows when the entire Star Domain could be devoured.

It could be said the Desert Worm Clan was the most notorious race in the Second Universe—many sought their extinction but none succeeded.

If even the Dark Star Alliance struggled, the Phantom Spirit Clan, newly exposed to Dark Spirit Technology, stood no chance.

"That these Insects are here suggests they’ve built a large Insect Nest nearby. Such swarms are the hardest to combat, and a careless move could let them develop into a new Insect Domain..."

Zhang Xiaoman had seldom seen Ziwei this anxious—her expression indicating the gravity of the situation.

"Phantom Spirit Star System is about 2.5 million light-years from the Milky Way, in the same Star Domain. If Desert Worms take over here, inevitably transforming it into an Insect Domain, the Milky Way won’t escape..."

Zhang Xiaoman sighed, realizing he must act this time.

He hadn’t expected to find Desert Worms here—his least favorite race to encounter.

Compared to other races, Desert Worms bred prolifically. Most Insects he exterminated were no longer from the Second Universe but new generations born in the First Universe.

These new-generation Insects offered no System Points, sharply reducing his monster-slaying rewards.

Within the Insect swarms, only the Advanced Insects were exceptions, not growing quickly, certainly originating from the Second Universe, so there were still points to be had.

However, now wasn’t the time to think about points—the Desert Worm Clan threat was vast; left unchecked, it could evolve as Ziwei predicted, turning this Star Domain into an Insect Domain, endangering Water Blue Star humanity endlessly.

"Ji Xing, can you interrogate this captive for any useful intelligence?"

Ziwei looked at Zhang Xiaoman—the black Scythe Insect on the ground struggled futilely, under the overwhelming suppression of the Dark Energy Shock.

Zhang Xiaoman attempted a Memory Reading on the Insect—a psychic attack to access brief memories, effective even on recently deceased bodies.

Yet, as the skill was employed: Memory Reading seemed to vanish without trace, providing no feedback.

"Do these creatures have no souls?"

Zhang Xiaoman puzzled aloud—his newly acquired ability was used on Insects for the first time.

Ziwei pondered, then stated:

"It’s likely not the case, as I vaguely recall—Desert Worm Clan’s psychic link is Advanced; any attempts to extract memories via such means are instantly severed. So locating nests or queens this way is impossible..."