Sky-cracking Rider

A few people carrying loads on their shoulders and hands arrived outside the campsite, found a desirable scenic spot by the shore, and set up fish guards, sunshades, scoop net bags, folding stools, and other tools. They tilted the solar panels towards the sunlight, and the electric fans began to blow.

"To gain something, you must first give. Sprinkle some fine bait to gather the fish," and then they started putting bait on the hooks and casting their rods.

"We're definitely going to catch something big today. I saw it a couple of days ago, at least a meter-long big guy came in. You all have to help me when the time comes."

"We'll definitely help, even if it's three meters long, we'll drag it up."

"I'm not greedy, two feet is enough for me!"

"Don't worry, I've been baiting this spot for three days now. I dare not say much, but at least a tenth of the fish around are gathered here. I'm known in Jianghu as the 'Fish Feeder.'

A few fishing enthusiasts gathered together, including both ability users and ordinary people. Sharing a common hobby isn't unusual.

Although they didn't know each other before, once they brought out their fishing rods, this "secret signal" was understood by those in the know. All the fishing enthusiasts immediately found their group, teaming up with even more enthusiasm than eating, sleeping, or fighting monsters.

Crystal clear fishing lines were cast into the water, with many shadows darting back and forth beneath the surface. The anglers on the shore widened their eyes, eagerly anticipating their catches.

"Wow, so many 'meal strips' (white carps)!"

"No big deal. We've been baiting for three days, everything in the water will gather here. We'll definitely catch the big ones."

"It's here, it's here! Oh no, it's a 'meal strip'!"

"Your hook is too small! You need a bigger one!"

Reeling in and bringing up the spoils, they disdainfully threw the small catch back into the water, startling the swarm of 'meal strips' into scattering.

Mere half-foot-long 'meal strips' were hardly satisfying for these anglers who were specifically targeting big catches.

Another float moved.

The fish here were so hungry that even the bait wasn't enough to feed them, making every catch almost guaranteed.

"Meal strip" again and again, the fishing enthusiasts were at a loss. Even after switching to larger hooks, the 'meal strips' relentlessly bit the bait.

Continuously reeling in, the catches were not bad, with over a dozen 'meal strips'—but not enough for a decent stew.

Occasionally, a clueless local Tilapia bit the hook, but they weren't even palm-sized.

Sitting idly on the shore for over two hours, and yet the chaotic 'meal strips' in the water mostly turned into "hooked fish" (previously hooked), but their enthusiasm for biting the hook remained unchecked, making these anglers doubt life itself. Where were the promised big catches? All they got were some worthless 'meal strips' and undergrown local Tilapia?

Did the meter-long big fish fly away?

Hey, wake up, come out and bite the bait!

Not far from these anglers, a three-meter-diameter pit was filled with thick ash, over two feet deep. Even after being doused with water and extinguishing the embers, it still radiated scorching heat.

Not long ago, a large metal net was cast into the water, sweeping the entire newly formed lake thoroughly, catching all the fish that couldn't pass through the mesh, dragging them all to the shore.

Chen Xiao'er exerted all his strength to create a fully automated fish cleaning and seasoning machine, working one by one like an assembly line. A two-story iron tower covered the brush-filled pit, with hundreds of rotating skewers almost perfectly sealing in the fire's heat.

Every fish over 20 centimeters long was doomed.

After this, it would take another ten days to half a month to see big fish in the lake again.

These enthusiastic latecomer anglers were destined to return empty-handed, with nothing to satisfy their expectations.

The S-Class ability user overseeing Chen Fei's work was finally satisfied. Thousands of grilled fish were enough for her to eat for half a month.

Chen Fei gained an additional piece of information—the spatial storage artifact held by the big shot could hold a lot, even enough for a large quantity of grilled fish.

--

"0 days until the second wave of 'Wormhole Clouds.'" The countdown on the large sign at the observation campsite finally reached zero.

However, the countdown didn't stop; instead, it began a forward count.

Everyone in the camp was a bit nervous, with a hint of anticipation. The command center was also fully manned, preparing for the imminent 'Wormhole Clouds.'

"Everything is peaceful, nothing has happened!" Yan Ling took out a skewer of grilled meat, looking at Chen Fei.

She had a mini earpiece on her left ear, maintaining contact with the command center, just like Chen Fei.

Not just the observation camp, but Blue Star did not see any black vortex clouds, neither on the ground nor in space.

"Maybe there's a discrepancy, my psi skill isn't 'Prophecy.'" Chen Fei could only perform big data simulations through 'Adam,' playing with probabilities, which was completely different from prophecy.

"We can't stay on alert forever. After all, you can't guard against thieves for a thousand days." Yan Ling's skewer was no longer grilled fish but grilled beef tenderloin, tantalizing with its spicy fragrance.

A couple of days ago, a stray wild bull wandered into the camp. It was no big deal, and no one blamed it—not a big deal, it could try again in the next life.

Constantly staying on high alert would not only fatigue Blue Star civilization's fighting capacity but also deplete a massive amount of combat supplies.

A large group of people doing nothing but waiting around wasn't conducive to social and economic development at all.

"It's a pity that our understanding of the Parasitic Species is still too limited." Chen Fei's mindset was somewhat conflicted at the moment, hoping for the 'Wormhole Cloud' to either come sooner or never come at all.

The extraterrestrial race 'Sagali' had a history far older than the current Blue Star civilization, whose known history was only around two million years or three million at most, including the Third Era Civilization's Neanderthals.

The 'Sagali,' who primarily survived through parasitism, had existed for over a billion years, maybe even longer—so long that even they couldn't remember.

Time didn't have much significance for these parasitic species, to the extent that they could put a civilization-bearing planet on their 'dinner table,' not hesitating to spend thousands of years in the process.

The Blue Star civilization, targeted by 'Sagali,' couldn't even withstand a few hundred years, let alone a thousand. The mere thought of it was daunting.

Noticing Chen Fei's emotional shift, Yan Ling still relaxedly said, "If the sky falls, there are taller beings to hold it up. You're just a B-Class, don't think too much."

"Hmm!" Chen Fei couldn't help but glance at her—the S-Class ability user was indeed qualified to be called the 'taller being.'

24 hours quickly passed.

The first day.

The Blue Star civilization continued with its singing, dancing, stock trading, everything peaceful and normal.

Only a few remained cautious, not dropping their guard.

The second day.

Society seemed to sense the tension among sovereignty leaders. After all, one cannot hide the truth entirely. Some information leaked out.

Quickly, the situation got out of control. Various rumors spread like wildfire, with truths and falsehoods intertwining, making them hard to distinguish.

The sovereignties began capturing troublemakers, especially those who always stirred things up and caused chaos, locking them up for self-reflection.

The third day.

The sovereignties seemed to breathe a sigh of relief.

The 'Wormhole Clouds' still hadn't appeared. It seemed they wouldn't after all.

Planets continued their unending orbits around the constant star sun, yet the entire star system itself was always in motion, following the Milky Way Galaxy's spiral arms. The ultimate rules of the four unified force fields constantly affected space and time.

Even if the positions were fixed before, in the next second, Blue Star, the sun, the moon, Venus, Mercury, Jupiter...these celestial bodies had moved countless miles away.

The fourth day.

At Cape of Good Hope on the Africa continent, just after sunset, the sun's last rays dipped below the horizon.

On the turbulent sea at the southern tip, a sudden thunderstorm unleashed countless bolts of lightning, illuminating the sky as if it were day.

In the heart of the most intense lightning and thunder, a patch of darkness appeared out of nowhere and rapidly expanded at a visible pace, forming a massive black vortex.

Almost simultaneously.

Above Tiberia's snowfields, the falling snowflakes were scattered by the lightning, causing permafrost within a thousand meters to melt, and the snow transformed into trickling streams.

On the canal between the North and South Continents of America, the waterway dried up without warning, exposing the dark riverbed.

In the rainforests of Borneo Island, the dense forest was instantly reduced to ashes, along with a native village. A black cloud slowly spun low in the sky above the empty forest.

Pacific Honolulu…

The Central Great Desert on the Yangzhou Continent…

The Dead Sea on the Europa Continent…

The Desert Peninsula…

....

More 'Wormhole Clouds' appeared one after another, quickly exceeding single digits in number.