Mo Xiaoyu now only wanted to dig up the ancestor who invented wormhole jump theory three hundred years ago and whip the corpse.
If she had known wormholes felt like this, she would rather have turned around and fought those ten warships from the Cosmic Security Fleet head-on.
At least she would have died with some dignity—instead of being twisted into some irregular pretzel like this.
"Holy—!!"
Her scream shattered the silence of the wormhole, a silence that might have lasted for countless ages.
Mo Xiaoyu felt as if her organs, the gaps between her bones, even every thread of her Starcore energy had been thrown into a high-speed washing machine—spun, slammed, and twisted again and again.
Her bones creaked in protest. The strange bands of light before her eyes warped into chaotic scribbles. Even her scream was torn apart by the violent currents.
"J-just… hold on… a little longer… forty seconds… we'll break out…"
Xiao Ai's voice crackled in her mind, broken by static from the overloaded chip. The usual arrogant tone she used to tease Mo Xiaoyu was gone.
Mo Xiaoyu clenched her teeth and swallowed the scream that almost escaped her throat. She was the chief of the Starcore Research Institute—being chased across the galaxy was one thing, but she refused to look this pathetic.
Just as she felt like the next second would tear her into particles, the warped bands of light ahead suddenly burst apart. A familiar pull—planetary gravity—grabbed hold of the ship.
A massive blue planet slammed into her view.
The spacecraft shot straight toward it, wrapped in a thin layer of atmosphere.
The joy of surviving had barely begun to rise when the ship's alarm system screamed sharply enough to break the mood.
"Warning! Main energy core offline! Backup energy depleted! Ship attitude out of control! Planetary gravity capture imminent!"
"Warning! Hull integrity 37%! Heat shield damage 42%! Standard landing buffer impossible!"
The cold electronic voice grew harsher with every sentence.
Mo Xiaoyu gripped the armrests so hard her knuckles turned white as the out-of-control ship tossed her around.
"Damn it! So I dodged the wanted list, survived the wormhole, and now I'm going to crash to death on this stupid planet?!"
She yelled at the top of her lungs.
"I haven't even held a cute girl's hand yet! I haven't dragged those human-skinned heretics out and ground them to dust!"
Outside the window, the blue planet rapidly expanded in her view.
Its immense gravity was like an invisible giant hand dragging the battered ship toward the ground.
The hull groaned under the pressure of high-speed descent. The titanium plating visibly warped.
"Stop yelling! Focus and stabilize the Starcore energy to protect your organs!"
Xiao Ai's voice suddenly became clear.
"I've dumped the last of the chip's backup energy into the attitude thrusters! I can adjust the crash angle so the nose faces down! The heat shield can still hold against atmospheric friction!"
"Are you crazy?! That's the backup energy you need to maintain your consciousness!"
Mo Xiaoyu's eyes reddened instantly.
"Quit talking nonsense! If you die, I get formatted too!"
Xiao Ai's voice trembled slightly but remained stubborn.
"And I calculated the landing point. It's an uninhabited forest. The trees will absorb most of the impact!"
"So hang on. If you dare pass out, I'll shock you until you can't walk for the rest of your life!"
The moment she finished speaking, the ship plunged into the planet's atmosphere.
Two thousand degrees of heat wrapped around the hull instantly.
Crimson-gold flames spread from the nose, crawling wildly along the streamlined exterior.
Heat tiles curled and peeled away. The temperature in the cockpit skyrocketed.
Sweat rolled down Mo Xiaoyu's temples and hit the dashboard, instantly evaporating into white mist. The orange glow of fire flickered across her face.
"Altitude: 20,000 meters! Heat shield remaining 17%!"
"Altitude: 10,000 meters! Hull integrity 12%!"
"Warning! Ground impact imminent! Prepare for collision!"
Mo Xiaoyu gritted her teeth and curled tightly into the crash seat, gathering what little energy she had left to protect her vital organs.
BOOM—!!
A thunderous crash shook the entire forest.
The ship slammed deep into the dense woods.
At the final moment, the ship exhausted all remaining energy to deploy a thin energy shield, barely absorbing ninety percent of the impact before shutting down completely and falling silent.
…
No one knew how long passed before a sharp pain dragged Mo Xiaoyu back to consciousness.
"Ugh… my head…"
Her head felt heavy as if filled with lead. Every bone in her body felt broken. The moment she tried to move, a stabbing pain in her leg woke her halfway.
"Wake up! If you don't get up now you're going to be chewed down to a skeleton!"
Xiao Ai shouted in her mind while sending small pulses of electricity through her nerves.
Mo Xiaoyu's eyes snapped open.
Her blurry vision slowly cleared.
A wild wolf nearly half her height was clamped onto her lower leg. Its sharp teeth had already pierced her combat suit, blood running down her pant leg.
Seven or eight more wolves surrounded her, their eyes glowing green as they stared hungrily, low growls rumbling in their throats.
A data panel popped up in her vision—Xiao Ai had scanned them.
Species: Starfield Wolf
Starcore Level: 0
Intelligence: Unawakened beast
A cold glint flashed in Mo Xiaoyu's eyes.
She was a ninth-rank Starsea chief researcher, and after barely surviving, she was about to be eaten by these nobodies that hadn't even touched the threshold of Starcore power?
She raised her hand, intending to gather energy and blast the wolves into pieces.
But the energy that formed in her palm vanished the next second like air leaking from a balloon.
"…What?"
"Your body suffered severe shock inside the wormhole. Your core is damaged. If you forcefully release energy now, you'll lose your life!"
Xiao Ai sounded anxious.
"Right now you can only rely on physical strength. But I believe in you. Go get them—Pikachu."
The wolves seemed angered by her raised-and-lowered hand.
The wolf in front crouched and lunged, jaws wide open as it aimed straight for her throat.
Just before the fangs reached her neck, Mo Xiaoyu snapped back to her senses.
Her hands grabbed the wolf's upper and lower jaws, and her right leg kicked brutally into its stomach.
A crisp crack sounded.
The wolf's whimper barely escaped before it went limp.
But the rest of the wolves surged forward instantly.
A few seconds later, the expected feeding frenzy never came.
Using the close-combat skills she had trained for a hundred years, Mo Xiaoyu fought the wolves back step by step even though her body was covered in wounds.
She hurled the wolf corpse in her hand into two charging wolves, rolled to her feet, and wiped the blood from her face.
A familiar smug grin curled at the corner of her mouth.
"Hah. Just a bunch of small fry."
"Even without Starcore power, I can handle you with my bare hands."
But the moment she finished speaking, the ground beneath her feet began to tremble.
The wolves surrounding her suddenly stopped attacking and backed away, leaving a path.
A massive wolf twice the size of the others stepped forward slowly.
Each step made the ground shake.
Its fur was jet black, its eyes glowing eerie green. A deep growl rumbled from its throat as wind energy swirled faintly around its claws, stirring the fallen leaves nearby.
Another panel appeared before Mo Xiaoyu's eyes.
Species: Star Phantom Wolf
Starcore Level: Nebula Rank 3
Skill: Wind Element
Intelligence: Basic intelligence; capable of tactical control of the pack
Mo Xiaoyu's heart sank.
Those few fights had already drained the last of her strength. Blood still seeped from her wounds, her energy remained completely sealed, and now a real threat had appeared.
The giant wolf stared at her and let out a roar that shook the trees.
Then it pushed off the ground with its hind legs like a bolt of lightning, jaws wide open and reeking of blood as it lunged straight for her shoulder.