章 4: Chapter 4: Trump Card
H'el took a moment to catch his breath, cleared his throat, and his face, which had turned red, improved slightly. He wiped the saliva from his lower lip and then grinned as he picked up the "bubble," saying, "In the ancient Kryptonian Era, the stomach of the Three-Headed Octopus had a unique property."
"Its stomach could isolate various metals, radioactivity, and chemical reactions." Jor-El's expression soured; he vividly remembered that this was H'el's biology graduation project.
The Three-Headed Octopus's stomach, capable of isolating metal radiation, had significant implications for Krypton's radiation shielding technology. It would further research into underground, deep-sea, volcanic, and space exploration by the Kryptonian Science Council.
This was a discovery with broad applications in radiation protection.
H'el, by virtue of this, had become a star at the Kryptonian Science Council, and Jor-El had incorporated H'el's research into his own family's battle armor.
But who could have imagined that H'el had forcibly ingested the stomach of a Three-Headed Octopus and hidden it inside his own stomach to bypass the body scans before boarding the ship?
In Jor-El's grim gaze, H'el tore open the white stomach of the Three-Headed Octopus, pinched it with his two fingers, and removed a key engraved with the "S" symbol from the top.
"Even if you format me, taking control of this ship is already too late."
Jor-El had a complex expression, realizing he had reached a dead end.
His uploaded consciousness, the orders of the lower levels, had been executed, and there were no more trump cards to stop H'el.
At the same time, he didn't understand why H'el was struggling at this moment.
In deep space, with no energy on the ship and no access to any yellow sun, it was destined for death.
This was space! Vast, silent, cold, and dark, offering no glimpse of hope.
The stars one saw were just remnants; the distances spanned millions of light-years, enough to drive someone to loneliness and madness.
This was a futile struggle.
H'el held the key between his fingers and approached the main console, inserting the key into the slot. He pressed his index finger against the "S" symbol at the top of the key, pushing it fully into the main console, a smile playing on his lips.
"Too late? Jor-El, you know nothing about me!"
"But I know that before I boarded this ship, you were already monitoring the Life Codex."
"The Life Codex is the fundamental essence of Krypton. I believe you will carry it and escape to a planet with a yellow sun."
"Our battle isn't over yet."
"I will obtain the Life Codex, and I will rebuild Krypton."
H'el knew his future plans clearly, his eyes sharp as he declared, "Zero it out. Format him!"
Immediately, Jor-El's projection began to flicker. At this final moment, he revealed a hint of bitterness, and his gaze held complex and unspoken resentment.
"H'el!"
"Even if I lose to you at this moment, it doesn't prove that you can defeat me."
"I don't want you to find me, and I don't want us to start another battle."
"I have sent you into the depths of space, completely helpless, ensuring you are in an inescapable situation."
"May this starry sky be your final resting place!"
Jor-El's gaze was filled with reluctance and ruthlessness as he looked deeply at H'el.
In this vast and lonely deep space, he had calculated that H'el had no way out. The ship's crystal core engine was insufficient for a hyperspace jump, and he didn't believe H'el had any escape route.
But H'el's struggle left him with a lingering sense of unease.
Could it be that, in this deep space, H'el still had a hidden ace up his sleeve?
"Arrogant as ever, Jor-El. Even you, with your high status on Krypton, were forced by me to board this ship. Your every word and action followed my plan. What can you do to face me again in this dire situation?"
"Today's dire straits are simply what I wanted you to achieve."
H'el's lips curled into a ruthless smile as he looked at Jor-El's projection without mercy.
Back on Krypton, under Jor-El's command, he had no way to counteract his intentions. The underground revolution, the plan to replace the upper echelons, had led to Jor-El willingly "allowing" H'el to board the ship and leave Krypton, even though there was no evidence but a clear understanding of H'el's ambitions.
"Jor-El, all your actions were what I wanted you to do."
Jor-El's projection maintained a composed expression, flickered a few times, and then ceased to respond, disappearing into the starry expanse of the main control room.
"Formatting complete, Master. Zeroing is officially initiated, taking control of the Kryptonian Science Council's Star Explorer."
H'el nodded with a smile, having eliminated Jor-El's last threat and finally gaining his freedom.
For Jor-El to control the ship and fly into the depths of space to await his death was not something he found difficult to accept. Compared to all the people on Krypton who had already perished in the explosion, he was fortunate to still be alive.
He had long anticipated his current situation.
"I look forward to defeating you again."
H'el had already begun to look forward to the day he found Earth and met his godlike younger brother in person. He also believed that his adoptive father, Jor-El, would once again attempt such consciousness uploads to protect his brother.
He would reclaim everything that belonged to Krypton.
"I will create a new Krypton, one ruled by me! Jor-El, our battle is far from over."
"Retrieve the star charts and calculate how far the nearest planet is."
"How long can the crystal core engine's energy sustain us?"
"How far are we from Earth?"
H'el issued commands; Zeroing was an intelligent system he secretly created for this moment, to take control of the ship after formatting Jor-El.
But H'el's trump cards were far from limited to these.
He had no fear of getting lost or being exiled into the starry void. Even in the desolate and frigid depths of space, he still possessed the ability to travel worlds.
Within his consciousness space, there was a vortex that could transport him across dimensions.
The reason H'el never traveled to other worlds was because Kryptonians possessed one of the most powerful physiques among many worlds.
Why could it be considered one of the most powerful? It's because they effortlessly possessed the power to destroy stars simply by basking in the starlight.
There were very few powers easier to obtain than the abilities bestowed upon Kryptonians by their physiology.
When facing unknown worlds with unknown dangers, mastering the powers of a Kryptonian physique was the right choice.
Furthermore, H'el refrained from journeying to other worlds using his consciousness while his physical body remained on Krypton because he feared that if his consciousness didn't return in time, Krypton would explode, resulting in his physical demise.
Therefore, from the moment he left Krypton on this ship, H'el had already won. He hadn't perished in Krypton's destruction, and an infinitely bright future lay ahead of him.
"Lower internal ship defenses, minimize life support systems, cease engineering operations, and navigate along a safe route to the next temporary destination, designated as the MT745 Wandering Planet. Estimated travel time: 61,320 hours, requiring 1.7526% of crystal core engine energy."
"Approximately 2,940,000 light-years from Earth."
H'el furrowed his brow.
Jor-El had used the crystal core engine quite harshly, choosing this remote, resource-scarce region of deep space for the ship's course.
2,940,000 light-years was an enormous distance.
Lacking energy and resources, it was no wonder Jor-El had chosen this area of deep space.
"First, let's head to MT745 Wandering Planet for recuperation and search for colonial planets once occupied by Krypton."
H'el issued the command.
In the cosmic realm of the past, Krypton had colonized vast sectors of space, and during that unknown period of cosmic history, the entire galaxy had celebrated the honor and reputation of the Kryptonians while trembling at their battleships and military might.
It was an era that could not be forgotten, an era where the mention of Kryptonians struck fear throughout the cosmos.
But later on... according to H'el's investigation of ancient records, it appeared that Krypton had been besieged by the entire universe, leading to a cosmic apocalypse that aimed to annihilate Krypton.
There had been a period during which Krypton had fought alone against the entire universe, and H'el could sense the hardship Krypton had endured during that time. This had made the once proud Kryptonians, who had ruled large portions of the universe, resentful. It was during this period that they had begun researching the Doomsday.
Whether the research had been successful or not was not well-documented, but it was a legendary and terrifying concept—a Doomsday that went out of control, directly harming Krypton and causing it to lose the war against the entire universe.
The ancient history of Krypton had been passed down as a mythical tale, its truth shrouded in uncertainty. However, combining it with the information he knew, H'el could only guess at the glorious era when Kryptonians had once ruled the cosmos.
It was an era of supreme honor and cosmic dread.
That era's name was—Krypton!
And now, time had passed so long that the universe had forgotten about the Kryptonian race, leaving only Krypton in isolation. H'el wasn't sure if he could find planets once colonized by Krypton, but it was still a direction for acquiring resources and energy.
This deep space was just too desolate.
H'el's chances of dying in this vast void were 99%. That's what Jor-El had hoped for.
"Close all life support systems except for basic maintenance in the meditation chamber."
H'el made up his mind to travel to other worlds. Otherwise, in this starry expanse, all he could do was wait for a slow death.
He turned and left the main control room, entering the meditation chamber, where he sat down on the meditation seat and entered his dark consciousness space, ready to dive into the vortex.
But H'el had never imagined that in his consciousness space, the vortex would pull in not only his consciousness but his physical body as well.
He suddenly realized, and immense joy welled up within him. He had unknowingly transported his physical body along with his consciousness!
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