Chapter Thirty-Eight: Cores

Valen and the others who came down from the three Void Ships were escorted to a massive building. If he wanted to be even more sincere, Valen would judge this building to be beyond massive.

The purple-hued sky cast a violet glow enhanced by the dim radiance of the two moons overhead, causing the streets of humanity’s headquarters in the Astral Veil to resemble a land birthed from a fairytale.

Standing inside the building felt even more unreal. The tiles would occasionally turn transparent, granting Valen a view of the floors below.

Below him was another floor with thousands of people roaming within, and the same was true above him.

At the centre of the floors was a massive pillar that extended from the ground level of the building to the very top, crossing multiple floors and stretching high into the sky.

The pillar could also be used as an elevator to travel between levels. But that wasn’t what Valen was interested in.

He surveyed the outside through the glass windows, watching dozens of Void Ships arrive at the transit station a few blocks away.

As the building was very tall, it granted an unobstructed view of the scenes below. Those Void Ships came either from the other cities of the Advanced Kleints Country or from the cities of other nations.

There were currently six nations standing after the century-long war with the Day Walkers. Many of them had once been unions of countless countries.

But as the war progressed, holding onto vast stretches of land that you couldn’t defend would be foolish. And national leaders weren’t foolish. They decisively abandoned large portions of territory over the course of decades of battle.

Right now, the Advanced Kleints Country only had seven cities, whereas it had possessed far more in the past.

Sadly, the apocalypse — and mostly the Day Walkers — were unfeeling. The more cities humanity lost, the better it would be for them.

During the time he spent watching the outside, Valen noted the arrival of five nations — excluding Advanced Kleints. These nations were: Starlight Federation, Intermediate Delta Country, Basic Riverlane Country, Intermediate Frostlier Country, and Basic Sendinavian Country.

Weren’t we invited here to get a briefing on why exactly our journey was pushed forward? Since every country is present, what are we still waiting for? Valen wrinkled his brows in displeasure.

Just then, the atmosphere seemed to change as an eerie silence descended.

It wasn’t only inside the building. Even the streets outside fell silent, and the low hum of machinery was nowhere to be heard.

Suddenly, a faint katcha rippled through the night sky as a Void Ship appeared on the horizon. It bore no flag or insignia of any famous country, only having a crimson scar painting on its surface. It also looked a bit... dilapidated.

Valen’s eyes narrowed as he stared at the Void Ship dock at the transit station. A boarding platform in the shape of stairs extended from the ship as the doors slid open.

The people within finally came into everyone’s sight, and Valen wore a surprised expression when he saw them.

This was because the people climbing out of the Void Ship mostly wore old clothes. They were cleanly washed and even ironed, but the age of the garments was unmistakable.

In their hands were old-fashioned guns. None of them carried laser guns, plasma weapons, or was even clad in Power Suits. These were among the most basic necessities every army should possess.

Yet these people had none of them.

However, once they all left the vessel, they stood at attention in a straight line as they stared into the ship, seemingly waiting for someone.

Valen’s interest grew, and he unconsciously moved closer to the glass windows for a better look. It wasn’t only him; many others did the same.

From the darkness of the Void Ship’s interior, someone stepped out.

It was a young man with shoulder-length white hair.

His crimson eyes surveyed the surroundings before stopping at the massive building where everyone was gathered.

Then, he led his entourage forward.

Valen’s heart pounded against his chest, but he forced himself to calm down when he remembered there must be Sound Path Evolvers above Level 20 present.

His Silver Watch was only Level 2 and possessed the power output of a Level 20 Evolver. So the counter-frequencies it sent out to interfere with incoming sound waves could only stop a Level 20 Evolver at most, and even that was uncertain, as Valen didn’t know how fearsome they truly were.

Questions clouded his mind at the sight of those people and the way they were dressed.

"The people from the Outlands are really gutsy to dare come to this important event." A voice of disdain sounded from beside him.

Another voice quickly added with ridicule:

"They even call themselves a nation now. Just look at how they are dressed and how dilapidated that Void Ship looks, then you’ll realise they are nothing."

Valen frowned as he retreated from the area, flashing the two speakers a look of disgust.

He was never one to speak badly behind the backs of others, and he always distanced himself from those who did.

Still, their words had provided him with a bit of information.

The Outlands!

’Isn’t that the "secure" place criminals or exiles are sent to? How had they dared to declare themselves a nation, and how had they entered the Astral Veil — or even acquired a Void Ship?’

Instead of answers, Valen only gained more questions.

However, he decided not to dwell on it. The authorities would deal with that issue.

What he had to worry about was Aaliyah.

She had said she would wait for him at the transit station, but she hadn’t shown up.

Could something have happened?

Valen’s breathing became rushed as he tapped his Silver Watch, wanting to give Aaliyah a call.

But an unread message popped up on the projection instead.

It must have arrived while he was aboard the Void Ship and not paying attention.

Not wanting others to see the contents of the message, Valen immediately switched the connection to his System Lenses and had them display it privately.

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"Brother, sorry I hadn’t waited for you at the transit station as I had promised. It’s all the President’s fault. He summoned every Evolver Level 30 and above and had us board a ship.

He also gave us supplies, and I’m having a bad feeling about this.

It’s like we’re going to war with the natives of the Astral Veil over a mine.

I don’t know what it contains, but it seems to be something they call Cores containing Elemental Energy."

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