In the 106th year of the Star Dome Calendar, the portholes of the Forgefire Embryo Starship were veiled in the pale golden light of interwoven water ripples and crystal nuclei. A gentle tremor, like the first cry of a newborn beast, emanated from the bee-patterned Cocoon Chamber core in Chen Feng’s palm. Outside, the "New Cocoon Universe," the first to be hatched from a crystal embryo, breathed with a strange, rhythmic cadence. Across a star sea a million light-years in diameter, twelve crystal Nurseries were suspended. Within each grew "Forging-Pattern Beasts" composed of water-ripple crystal nuclei. Their bodies, like flowing mercury, bore the projected forging patterns of civilizations across the universe. Yet, at the heart of each Nursery, dark silver "Entropy Annihilation Rust" was spreading along the veins of the patterns, transforming these newborn symbionts into rigid metallic husks.
"Chen Feng! The forging-pattern balance index of the new universe has plummeted by 63%," Su Yuhan reported. On her monitoring screen, the light points representing the Forging-Pattern Beasts were being consumed by the dark silver corrosion. "The remnant forces of the String Breakers have planted a 'Rust-Annihilation Core' in the heart of the Nursery. This nano-scale rust destroys symbiotic genes by traveling along the forging-pattern chains. Even the initial imprints of the Cold Pool Water Ripple... are being parsed into corrosion code!"
Liu Ruyan’s transmission was torn by the mournful…
Chapter 107