The Accountant stared at her blankly for a moment, then gritted his teeth. "You know, you're asking for a beating right now!"
Lan Jue laughed. "How about we go to the Reaper's Arena first?
I'll grant you that request. "
The Accountant's expression changed, and he spoke with an air of righteousness. "We can't keep the old man waiting. Let's go in."
As they entered the library, the first thing they smelled was the aroma of books. In a world where most reading was done electronically, paper books had long since become a luxury.
It was said that a copy of the famous Tang family's' Douluo Continent ', written in the Former Era, had been sold for as much as a verti-car.
In the Skyfire Library, however, all books were in paper form. Their value was difficult to measure.
The Accountant led Lan Jue to the library's third floor, where they arrived in an ordinary looking room.
The room was lined with bookshelves, and at the end of the room was an ancient wooden table. Next to the table was a window.
The window was open, and a gentle breeze blew in from outside. The leaves of the large trees outside rustled in the wind.
"You're here. Sit down." The Keeper motioned to Lan Jue.
Lan Jue took a seat across from him.
The Keeper waved a hand at the Accountant, who shot Lan Jue a meaningful look before retreating from the room and closing the door behind him.
Lan Jue smiled. "What is it that even the Accountant can't hear?"
The Keeper coughed twice. "He's too jumpy. There are some things he doesn't want to know. I don't want him to do something drastic and embarrass me."
Lan Jue looked at him. "If a young eagle doesn't spread its wings, how can it become an eagle that soars to the highest heavens?
Don't underestimate him.
The Accountant is a bit young.
But he's very capable. "
The Keeper laughed. "Didn't he just ask you to teach him how to pick up girls?
If it's convenient, why don't you give him a lesson? "
"Huh?" Lan Jue blinked.
The Keeper's yellow eyes flashed. "I'm the Keeper, not a fuddy-duddy.
When a boy reaches a certain age, his hormones overflow.
They always needed relief.
Moreover, I only have this one grandson.
I'm still counting on him to carry on my family line.
In Skyfire Avenue, the other people either don't have the right personality and ability, or the age gap is too big.
You're the only one who's closer to him and more mature.
So, I'll leave this kid to you from now on.
Help me take care of him.
This is also the reason why I asked him to go to the National Eastern University.
What he needs now is more social experience. "
"Alright.
You can rest assured and leave it to me.
I will help him grow up quickly. "Lan Jue promised with a smile.
"The results are in," the Keeper said.
I'm afraid there will be trouble. "
Lan Jue's heart skipped a beat. She sat up straight. "Can you find out what kind of creature it is?"
The Keeper went on. "It's a special creature not recorded in any of the three Major League Leagues.
The crystal you brought back.
After testing it, we discovered that the energy contained within is comparable to an S-grade energy gem.
The amount of life force stored within is enormous.
However, this life force is highly toxic to the human body.
If a human were to absorb it, it would greatly enhance their vitality for a short period of time. However, the poison would quickly seep into the body and cause death. "
"But there's no doubt.
This kind of life energy could be directly used by those monsters.
They don't produce it themselves, but by devouring other creatures.
They absorb the life force of others and transform it.
We've made a few hypotheses, and after analyzing the data we've found that the most likely explanation is that when this creature first arrived on Taihua, it was the progenitor you saw.
The progenitor itself isn't particularly strong.
It consumes life force to strengthen itself, and then lays eggs.
These eggs will hatch slowly at first.
But once the life force accumulates to a certain point, it accelerates the hatching process. "
"That's the progenitor's ultimate goal.
It's to feed on the life force of all of Taihua through the creatures it spawns, to provide for its needs.
It's also to form an energy core.
If we don't have the strength to fight it, then it's likely that all life on a planet will be consumed. "
"I've spoken with the Wine Master, and he says the progenitor already possesses the ability to travel through space.
In other words, once they've consumed a planet's life force, they'll take it with them and use it to strengthen their own race.
Then they'll continue.
Because we don't have enough samples, we can't determine how fast or how long it takes to absorb life force.
But I don't think it'll take too long.
Especially after the progenitor has given birth to a sufficient number of offspring, this devouring speed is simply too terrifying. "
Lan Jue silently nodded her head. "Fortunately, the progenitor's strength is limited.
From what we saw the other day.
If we could find it and destroy it, we'd be able to solve the problem.
Expeditionary ships should be enough to deal with the progenitor. "
The Keeper snorted. "Don't be blindly optimistic.
How do you know the progenitor is the strongest of its kind?
What if the Beast Mother was just a carrier?
What if there's something even more powerful than that?
What if the Expeditionary ships can't deal with it? "
Lan Jue's eyes widened. "You never speak without thinking. Have you discovered something?"
The Keeper shook his head. "I don't need to discover anything. A simple theory is enough.
Given the enormous energy contained in that energy core, if that Mother Beast had been able to fully utilize it that day, it wouldn't have been that easy for you to kill it.
In other words, it wouldn't have been able to use it.
So, what was the use of such a powerful life energy core?
The easiest answer to guess is: to provide it to a stronger expert who can digest and use it. "
Lan Jue sucked in a breath. "If that's the case, then we're in big trouble.
We just don't know anything about it yet. "
The Keeper nodded. "I've already given my lab reports and conjectures to the Eastern Alliance. They'll handle it.
The Eastern Alliance will soon send word to the Western Alliance and Northern Alliance. They'll notify the Western Alliance and Northern Alliance as soon as possible.
The first is to check if the progenitor has appeared on the planets under our control.
The second is to keep an eye out and see if any similar creatures have appeared on the planets outside of our Major Leagues. "
Lan Jue hesitated for a moment. "There's something that might have something to do with the monsters we ran into.
I haven't mentioned it before because of DreamNet's requirements.
But I feel it's necessary to let you know.
After all, it's related to the safety of humanity. "
Lan Jue relayed the information she'd received from Piao Hong to the Keeper.
The Keeper didn't seem surprised to hear this. "I've known about this for a long time.
Whenever something like this happens, we old folks are always the first to hear about it.
The Northern Alliance has already sent a fleet to investigate the planets.
We'll have news within a year. "
Lan Jue went on. "The most important thing now is to deal with it. If your conjecture is correct, how do you think we should deal with this situation?"
The Keeper replied. "Counter soldiers with arms, and water with an earth weir.
Our ancestors have long ago told us that interstellar expansion isn't easy. We'll run into all sorts of trouble.
We're sure to run into some powerful foe.
In this world, only the fittest survive.
If we want to grow stronger, if we want to expand, if we want our people to gain a foothold in the cosmos, then we have to rely on our own strength.
The unknown enemy may be strong, but humanity's rapid growth over the last hundred years has laid a solid foundation.
We have Bastions, and motherships.
The possibility of a powerful creature surpassing these two existences appearing in the universe was still very small.
So there's no need to worry.
In this unknown situation, the only thing we can do now is to constantly strengthen ourselves.
We all know about DreamNet. The Wine Master, the Clairvoyant, and I are all in favor of your participation.
Of course, this is your business, and not Skyfire Avenue's jurisdiction. We can't help you much, but if you have any questions, you can ask us.
Understand? "
Lan Jue smiled. "Understood."
The Keeper sighed, and leaned back in his chair. He looked tired, as though he'd aged several times.
Lan Jue's eyes widened. He'd seen the Keeper many times since arriving in Skyfire Avenue, but this was the first time he'd ever seen the great Paragon with such a melancholy expression.
"What's troubling you?" Lan Jue asked.
The Keeper's smile was bitter. "It's not as simple as it sounds.
If it was, it wouldn't have bothered me for so many years. "
Lan Jue was surprised. "Then …" He could sense the Keeper was trying to tell him something.
The Keeper's voice was low. "Did you know?
I'm not the founder of the Skyfire Library. Someone else did.
You can say that most of the books here were in my possession before I took over. "
Lan Jue, of course, didn't know. "So you're saying you're not a first-generation Keeper?" he asked.
The Keeper shook his head. "No. He wasn't called the Keeper. He was called the Bookworm.
A man who loved books as much as his life.
He was also the most famous scholar on the continent.
When I first came to Skyfire Avenue, it was out of admiration. I wanted to ask the Clairvoyant a few questions.
Then I stumbled upon this place. "
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Monthly votes, recommendation votes.
(To be continued)