1.55 The Edge Galaxies of Rebirth

Two distinct trains of thought collided within Wu Chen's microcosm. Although the meteorite was ground into dust by the vortex, it did not vanish. Instead, it re-expanded into a powerful psychic force field, filling and overflowing the vortex.

"The master's microcosm bears a striking resemblance to the narrative universe we inhabit. Aside from widely separated galaxies, drifting meteors and meteorites, and nebulae, black holes, and white holes like celestial bodies, most of space-time exists in a near-vacuum state..." Brain-computer interface AI, witnessing the spectacle unfold, muttered to herself, "In a sense, the meteorite ring and meteor shower are the master's self-protection mechanisms for his spiritual world (microcosm)."

When confronted with heretical mental intrusion, the meteorite ring at the edge of Wu Chen's microcosm was bound to bear the brunt of the impact. Even if shattered to pieces, it would rise up to resist, just as it was doing now.

It was akin to a meat grinder encountering a hard bone. The two mental forces engaged in a frenzied tug-of-war. The meteorites were continuously pulverized, and the vortex gradually lost its vigor.

As the sole ruler of his spiritual world, Wu Chen could vividly sense that while the intensity of the invading heretical mental force remained undiminished, its threat was rapidly fading. It even began to generate a trace of fluctuations that were both familiar and unfamiliar, as if it had perceived the presence of the microcosm's master, Wu Chen.

Seeing the heretical vortex in the microcosm become congested and stagnant, Wu Chen in reality instinctively reached his left hand out of the front window.

His omega brainwaves were released to the limit, and the fires of the mind burned along with them. The temperatureless cold flames instantly incinerated the skin of his hand, revealing a metallic hand adorned with a dimensional ring. This was none other than the "Skull's Grasp," belonging to Wu Chen, a former semi-god-tier sanctuary powerhouse—referred to by players as the "Hand of Higher Dimensions." Upon arriving at the City of Shattered, Wu Chen activated his innate talent for the first time.

The purplish-red crystal forming the AE86 was instantly crushed by the invisible, higher-dimensional force.

The AE86, charged with maximum momentum, shot out like an electric arrow. The moment it leaped over the dragon-boat, Wu Chen sprang forward and dove down. Their mental link exempted him from the heretical repulsion, allowing him to easily pass through the turbulent debris and land on the dragon-boat.

"Master—" AI nearly scared her wits out, and her passengers, Lin Baiyu and Nina, also had their hearts leap into their throats.

"This is..." Fortunately, aided by the watch Wu Chen carried, the vehicle's onboard AI also saw the interior of the dragon-boat almost simultaneously.

Inside the dragon-boat, which was strewn with flowers, a female corpse in full ceremonial attire was laid high upon a pyre. She wore a floral crown and magnificent armor, her face veiled with gossamer, and she grasped a long sword. She appeared incomparably noble and solemn, looking as though she were merely in a deep sleep. Though her body had perished, her spirit remained undying. The purplish-red mist permeating the base was continuously venting from beneath her corpse. Thus, this was a funeral ship of the kind commonly used in medieval Scandinavia.

Wu Chen had no recollection of the female corpse's origin or background, yet he felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.

Once upon a time, their paths must have crossed.

***

Yet, this was not the moment for deep contemplation. Eliminating the continuously venting purplish-red mist was the key to terminating the expansion of the parasitic fragment narrative. Seemingly sensing his approach, the purplish-red mist instantly condensed into countless sharp crystal barbs. They bristled like thorns, tightly surrounding the pyre to prevent Wu Chen from drawing near.

Wu Chen extended his higher-dimensional hand from afar, and the crystal barbs parted ways before him. Holding his breath and concentrating his mind, he safely threaded his way step by step through the dense thorns and ascended the pyre.

Gently rolling the female corpse over and loosening her armor, he exposed a terrifying wound on her back to his eyes.

A sword thrust from behind had severed her ribs and pierced her heart. Yet, what spurted from the heart cavity was not blood, but purplish-red mist. Even the wound on her heart was encrusted with purplish-red crystals. Therefore, this was fundamentally another self-protection mechanism—or rather, the purplish-red crystallization was protecting both its master and itself, trapping her life at the exact moment of the assassination, rendering her immortal and deathless.

"AI, medical kit." Wu Chen thought of the "Regeneration Cocoon" that had saved Kikuko Oki.

"Understood." The AE86 re-hovered above the dragon-boat, and Lin Baiyu tossed down a second-tier new medical kit.

Bringing his index and middle fingers together, Wu Chen carefully passed over her back and vertically applied adhesive bandages to cover the crystal-sealed wound over her heart, then patched up the remaining wounds across her back one by one. Upon contact with human tissue, the super-regeneration cells within the bandages immediately split and proliferated.

Seeing the granulation tissue writhing and knitting together at the back wound, Wu Chen wrapped a bandage around her in successive layers, just in time before the bandage could expand on its own and wrap the female corpse into a cocoon. Repeating his previous trick, Wu Chen injected a medical serum into the female corpse's temple. To his surprise, the needle failed to pierce the skin; this was by no means a body belonging to an ordinary human. Seeing the regeneration cocoon on the verge of forming, Wu Chen had a flash of inspiration: he retrieved the long sword from the female corpse's hand, punctured her temple with it, and then administered the medical injection.

Fortunately, practice makes perfect, and the procedure was successfully completed without mishap. He could only hope that the technology from New Hong Kong was up to completing this ultimate salvation.

The purplish-red mist surged, and the "Regeneration Cocoon" swelled immensely for a moment, yet showed no signs of rupturing.

Unable to escape, the purplish-red mist tightly enveloped within the regeneration cocoon gradually crystallized. The immortal and undying thoughts of the female corpse host were shielded away along with the crystallized regeneration cocoon. Sensing imminent isolation, the purplish-red mist diffusing throughout the base then poured fiercely into Wu Chen's microcosm, solidifying with his original mental force—which already saturated the vortex—into a brand-new peripheral planet. This was the first completed mental core forged within Wu Chen's microcosm since his arrival at the City of Shattered.

As this new star at the edge of Wu Chen's spiritual world emerged, the 33 "incomplete" celestial bodies at neighboring nodes began to converge toward it, as if forming a peripheral galaxy. The previously pulverized "spiritual clots" also began to spread across the entire galaxy, nourishing all the incomplete celestial bodies.

From the silent phone booth, the sound of card-reading rang out once more.

Wu Chen seemed to have dreamed a protracted dream. Everything in the dream felt like yesterday replayed vividly before his eyes, crystal clear. It was as if he had recovered a lost memory, and Wu Chen was immersed in it, unable to extricate himself. However, the unfinished Purge Day urged him to regain consciousness immediately.

***

Across the battle-scarred base, the combat had officially ended. The dragon-boat, having lost its master, landed in the garage. On the pyre within, the female corpse wrapped in the regeneration cocoon was now entirely covered in purplish-red crystals, looking unlikely to wake anytime soon. The armor of the base's female warriors bore varying degrees of battle damage, and they were receiving repairs on the spot from drones. Meanwhile, other drone fleets had already begun repairing the damaged base.

"Master, go check the 15th card quickly," the AI prompted urgently.

Pulling open the battered glass door, Wu Chen stepped into the phone booth.

Wu Chen's exclusive 15th sanctuary card lay quietly inserted in the card reader: "5-Star Queen of Asgard, Frigga."

According to the narrative settings of *Thor* and its derivative worlds, Frigga, married to Odin, the King of Asgard and Protector of the Nine Realms, became the Queen of Asgard. She was the biological mother of Thor, the God of Thunder, and the adoptive mother of Loki, the God of Mischief.

Frigga possessed Vanir divinity. Her bodily density was three times that of an earthling, granting her superhuman strength; even in her twilight years, she could effortlessly lift twenty tons. She also possessed extraordinary speed and endurance, allowing her to fight for extended periods without fatigue. Like all Asgardians, she enjoyed an exceptionally long lifespan, immunity to all diseases, and resistance to conventional injuries. Furthermore, rumor had it that Frigga, raised by witches since childhood, possessed magical energy, enabling her to create illusions and foresee the future.

This was both the greatest crisis Wu Chen had ever experienced and his greatest harvest.

Meanwhile, ten starry sky cards remained. The newly consumed starry sky card had been utilized to "memorize" Frigga, Queen of Asgard.

When Wu Chen removed this precious 5-star sanctuary card and affixed it to the sole unbroken patch of glass wall behind the telephone—protected by the cards—just as expected, the phone booth, now filled with fifteen cards, underwent another transformation.