Chapter 57: Resorting to Threats

A/N: Two chaps for today

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H'el's vision followed the trajectory of the molecular drones, leading him to a satellite. This satellite originally belonged to Krypton but had been ejected from its orbit and was flying into deep space.

In his sight, a tunnel with a diameter of two kilometers, piercing through the mantle and reaching the core of the satellite, came into view.

"It's a cosmic civilization that extracted MT745 wandering planet core."

H'el had previously visited the MT745 wandering planet and explored its core. He had discovered that the core was extracted, causing the planet to slowly die.

He hadn't expected that this civilization had come to the Krypton ruins several years before him to scavenge its resources.

H'el hadn't considered the possibility of encountering this cosmic civilization again. After all, the universe was vast, and the distances were measured in light-years, making it highly unlikely.

Following the tunnel into the core of the satellite, he found a vast 350-kilometer space, mirroring the MT745 wandering planet. However, unlike the previous planet, this satellite hadn't been abandoned but rather repurposed.

At the heart of the 350-kilometer-wide satellite core, there was a tiny military-industrial base city, covered by a glass dome. Countless molecular machines inside were working tirelessly, continuously transporting gathered resources and manufacturing various mechanical entities.

H'el navigated through the flow of molecular drones with his cloak adhering to his back. His eyes exhibited prominent blue veins, and his pupils dilated as his vision penetrated the microscopic civilization's base.

"What is this..."

The scene he witnessed left him shocked.

An unfinished stellar-level engine was displayed before him, burning and operating like a miniature sun.

The Earth's sun was a star, and a stellar-level engine was designed to replenish energy by harnessing the power of stars or even absorbing entire stars, enabling it to operate modules for various artificial star systems.

In other words, with a stellar-level engine and its modules, one could create an entire solar system.

H'el had learned about stellar-level engines from ancient Kryptonian records. During the era when Krypton was known throughout the universe, they had manufactured over twenty stellar-level engines. Using the gravitational pull of stars, these engines had pulled thousands of colony planets to form enormous galaxy motherships, conducting strategic operations throughout the universe.

This legendary engine was only partially documented in the remnants of ancient Kryptonian records that H'el had found. Unfortunately, the information was incomplete, and Krypton no longer had the means to produce such engines. It remained a subject of speculation.

H'el had never expected to witness such a grand creation at this moment.

Any dominant force reigning in the universe needed a stellar-level engine to sustain the resources required for their civilization and even create a controlled star system for habitation.

H'el's heart twitched with excitement.

Even someone like H'el, who believed that he possessed the ability to traverse wormholes, would inevitably harbor a hint of greed at the sight of this unfinished stellar-level engine. In his hands, it could mean a brilliant future, with control over entire star systems and domination of the universe.

This stellar-level engine held immense significance for him.

Its most immediate benefit was the ability to drastically reduce travel time to Earth.

How far was Krypton from Earth?

Krypton was located in the Andromeda Galaxy, the nearest major galaxy to the Milky Way. They were separated by one galaxy, making the distance between Earth and Krypton a staggering 2.54 million light-years.

Such a distance, even with the Warp Drive capabilities of his ship, would still require hundreds or even thousands of energy replenishments along the way. Moreover, it would likely result in permanent damage to the crystal core's Warp Drive due to the abrupt transitions, rendering it incapable of further jumps.

However, a stellar-level engine would eliminate these problems.

Stellar-level engines were designed for building star systems and traveling between them. Even occasional trips between galaxies were only moderately challenging, without significant difficulties.

Fortunately, it seemed like destiny was favoring him. The civilization behind this technological marvel must be vast and magnificent, likely owning more than just one stellar engine.

Otherwise, the creation of a stellar engine, something of such immense importance, would require a civilization to expend its entire resources to protect and hide its construction.

For now, they were merely dispatching robotic entities to carry out the manufacturing and protection.

This illustrated the sheer power of the civilization behind it.

H'el flew toward the satellite, his eyes narrowing as he calculated how to seize the stellar-level engine. His gaze swept through the mechanized base, reaching the central command room, where he once again saw something unbelievable.

"Kandor!"

H'el's mind reeled, as if struck by the resonance of a massive bell.

Within the command room, encased within a glass dome, there was a miniature Kandor city. Inside, numerous Kryptonians floated with their eyes closed.

Kandor, with over 7 million inhabitants, was placed right in the center of the command room, displayed as if it were a mere ornament.

His gaze scanned the room, and he saw familiar faces. Tarri, who had once confessed her feelings for him, was there. She was a close friend of Kara's. Many civilians who had once regarded him as a deity were present. His subordinates and assistants from his experiments were here too. H'el even spotted the high-ranking Kryptonians he had cloned and hidden underground in Kandor City, perfectly preserved in their containment pods, completely unharmed.

After Jor-El sent him into space, he hadn't taken any action to deal with them!

Inside the command room, Brainiac had dispatched Brainiac 7 to capture H'el. It was busily controlling the molecular drones, arranging them to create the most powerful barrier for capturing him.

Detecting the surveillance, Brainiac 7 opened its green eyelids. Its pitch-black eyes met H'el's fiery red gaze across the void.

"I must say, you truly are a collector's item of great value!" Brainiac 7 complimented in its mechanical tone as it began deploying the molecular drones for the final and most potent barrier to capture H'el.

The moment H'el saw Kandor City, he finally understood why all these attacks were aimed at capturing him.

It was because he was Brainiac, a being with a twelfth-level intellect, arguably one of the smartest individuals in the DC Universe. He had traversed, conquered, and destroyed one planet after another, enjoyed collecting items, and then shrunk them down to observe their actions.

In most universes, he was the perpetrator behind the destruction of Krypton.

In this universe, H'el didn't know whether Brainiac was responsible for Krypton's explosion or not.

But it no longer mattered.

Krypton was gone, and what H'el needed to do now was obtain the stellar-level engine from this guy, rescue Kandor City, and head to Earth to establish a new Krypton.

From this moment onward, the only option for Brainiac and himself was to become bitter enemies.

As time passed, H'el's chances of escape grew slimmer. He had already marked Brainiac as an enemy that must be destroyed. His eyes gleamed with a cold crimson light.

The massive swarm of drones began constructing a strong force-field barrier, shaping it into an inverted triangular cage that aimed to trap H'el within.

However, H'el wasn't just a helpless target. The celestial magnifying lens he had constructed within his eyes wasn't limited to enhancing his penetration vision, microscopic vision, farsight, or minor adjustments. His heat vision, much like a starship's annihilator particle cannon, merged two massive beams, each with a diameter of ten meters, into an enormous ∞-shaped thermal beam. This beam struck the corner of the strong force-field inverted triangle cage, surpassing the calculated strength by a hundredfold in kinetic energy and heat, obliterating and melting nearly half a million molecular drones.

The corner of the force-field inverted triangle cage crumbled, unable to reform. H'el charged towards the satellite.

In the next instant, the satellite abruptly shattered. It split into eight enormous rock fragments, with countless crushed dust particles drifting away into space. This revealed a cold, metallic, and lifeless military base.

A powerful gravitational distortion began acting upon the drifting rock fragments and the exposed military base, twisting the recently liberated rock fragments into dust.

A hazy mist of dust and debris enveloped this icy, chilling military base. The stellar engine roared to life, creating a potent gravitational effect that distorted the surrounding area.

H'el arrived at the region but remained suspended in the weaker external gravity, not rushing into the military base as it seemed to be a gravitational quagmire inside.

His face remained composed, his eyes slightly narrowed, and his pupils flickered with a dangerous chill.

Brainiac 7 held the projection of Kandor City in its hand, projecting it into the space around them, with a satisfied and threatening smile on its lips.

"It's a highly satisfying collectible. I kindly request you not to make any reckless moves."

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