Galaxy Tide
The more prosperous a city is, the less one can see the starry sky.
The glow of neon lights will disperse the moonlight, and the heavy exhaust gas will obscure the stars... In this city where no one will look up to search for the stars, only those eyes are filled with the sea of stars.
Bang—!
A dull loud noise came from outside the private room.
Immediately after, there was a burst of chaotic exclamations... Numerous footsteps trampled outside the corridor, running straight in this direction!
Within the private room.
Lu Xun's expression didn't change in the slightest. As if he didn't hear this commotion, he still stood quietly in front of the window, looking up at the starry sky.
The starry sky swirled in his eyes. The endless celestial bodies in his pupils seemed as if they had all come alive, flickering continuously, as if responding to his gaze!
A burst of murmurs sounded:
"... Receive me."
In the starry sky, a galaxy rotated silently. Somewhere in the unseen world, it was as if some kind of power crossed through time and space, like an invisible hand, gently pulling the hem of Lu Xun's clothes.
Thus, Lu Xun began to melt;
His body transformed into specks of starlight, melting into the air. The starlight dust scattering from his body was like stars shrunk to the extreme, blending together with the galaxies in that universe.
Then, as if attracted by an invisible force, ignoring the obstruction of the walls and windows, he was dragged into the night sky.
This was a waltz between him and the starry sky.
As the last wisp of starlight drifted out the window, the doors of the private room were forcefully smashed open. That Caucasian Man carrying the mountaineering bag rushed into the room, about to make a move, but the room was empty.
He froze in place on the spot.
The Director brought the others and rushed in right after. Upon seeing this scene, he immediately flew into a thunderous rage!
"Where is he?!! Didn't you say he was right here?! Where is he now!!"
"No... Director, this... just now clearly..."
The young woman walked in from outside the door. Her gaze looked at the steaming teacup, and she reached out to touch the wall of the cup. "The tea is still hot, it shouldn't have been more than two minutes since he left..."
The Director raised an eyebrow. "Miss Li knows how to investigate?"
"I've watched eight hundred episodes of Conan."
"..."
"You won't be able to catch him like this."
The Caucasian Man sniffed the aura in the room, and spoke in a deep voice with broken Chinese, "He has already mastered some kind of ability. Although it's slightly different from the Divine Pathways, the aura has already reached the level of the Second-Tier...
His ability can allow him to invisibly cross a very long distance. If you don't have a way to accurately locate his path, or a method to seal his skill, searching like this any further is also futile."
Hearing this, the Director's fists clenched tighter and tighter.
He looked at the empty private room, brilliant light flashing in his eyes, and finally took a deep breath, as if making some kind of resolution.
"Go contact Grandmaster Meng... Ask him to help calculate Lu Xun's movement trajectory. No matter what, we must bring him back to the laboratory before dawn."
"Yes."
...
Open-air cafe.
As the elevator doors opened, a rooftop garden appeared before Chen Ling's eyes.
The cobblestone path extended forward. Dense green plants were carefully placed on both sides, with various colors complementing each other. Further back was a minimalist coffee counter, and a viewing area overlooking more than half of the block.
"The cafes in Shanghai are indeed petty bourgeois."
Chen Ling swept a glance at the surroundings. Not seeing Lu Xun's figure, he walked straight towards the nearest viewing coffee table.
After the two sat down in their seats, a waiter by the side handed over an exquisite menu. After Yang Xiao flipped through a few pages, he found he couldn't understand the minimalist illustrations and abstract names on it at all, so he simply asked directly:
"Do you guys have Americano with bubbles here?"
"Alright, one cup of [Wage Slave Sparkling Water]. And this gentleman here?"
"..." Chen Ling waved his hand. "Forget it, I won't drink."
"Alright, please wait a moment, you two."
The waiter turned and left.
Yang Xiao looked around and found that apart from them, there were no other customers here at all, and couldn't help but ask: "Is the place Old Lu mentioned really here?"
"It won't be wrong." Chen Ling spoke with certainty. "Next, it just depends on when he appears."
Yang Xiao still wanted to say something, but suddenly Chen Ling across from him frowned, his gaze locking onto a certain nothingness beside them.
Under the pitch-black night sky, the brilliance of the sky full of stars suddenly brightened for an instant. This light penetrated a corner of the clouds, shining onto this open-air cafe... The next moment, a figure condensed out from the sky full of starlight.
It was a young man of the same age as Yang Xiao. He wore a simple black shirt, with the cuffs of both arms rolled up to his forearms. With one step from the high altitude outside the building, he stepped onto the edge of the rooftop.
"Old Lu?!" Seeing this scene, Yang Xiao was incredibly surprised.
He absolutely didn't expect Lu Xun to appear in this form... In his impression, Lu Xun was still that Ordinary Person, and should be feeling as confused about everything happening to him as he himself was back then.
But thinking carefully, several days had already passed since the exploration of the Red Star Fragment. He and Su Zhiwei had both already mastered a portion of theoretical power. With Lu Xun being so smart, possessing abilities now was not strange either.
Chen Ling's heart was also very surprised. He sensed the aura on Lu Xun, and the starlight gradually dissipating from his body, murmuring in his heart:
"Is this the power of 'Astrophysics'..."
"Director Chen, Yang Xiao, sorry for the wait." Lu Xun walked to the coffee table and sat down, smiling slightly. "What do you want to drink, my treat... I am very familiar with the boss here, I can directly put it on my tab."
"I've already ordered my drink." Yang Xiao couldn't help but ask, "Old Lu, what was that just now?"
"That?"
Lu Xun pondered for a moment, as if considering how to explain to the two, "In terminology, it's called Galaxy Tide. In the universe, when two galaxies are relatively close, a powerful tidal force will be triggered. I can transform myself into a galaxy, and borrow the tidal force of other galaxies in the universe to move..."
"No... I mean, you've already learned to control your power?"
"I also only learned it last night..."
Lu Xun looked seriously at Yang Xiao's eyes, "Yang Xiao, you've also discovered your own uniqueness... right?"
Yang Xiao was silent for a long time, then nodded as well.
"Dr. Lu, the speed of your progress is even faster than I imagined." Feeling the aura fluctuations on Lu Xun, Chen Ling spoke slowly, "Among the nine... nine Exploration Team members I have encountered so far, your Rank right now is the highest."
"Besides me and Yang Xiao, who else have you met?" Lu Xun asked curiously.
Before Chen Ling could speak, Yang Xiao answered for him,
"There's also Dr. Su Zhiwei... If it weren't for Director Chen taking action, Dr. Su would probably have already been murdered by people."
"Murdered??"
Lu Xun froze in place.