Hunting the Stars

Mysterious Crystal

The blue laser beam hit its target dead center, causing one-fifth of the black mother nest's body to be completely destroyed. "What the hell! This laser gun’s maximum power output is so strong?!" Elian Hawk couldn’t help but marvel at the weapon’s power.

“Beep! Beep! Beep!” A sharp, piercing sound suddenly came from the gun's handle.

“What’s going on?” Elian Hawk tilted his head, curious. Looking at the small rectangular screen on the gun's handle, he saw that the ten energy bars that had previously been displayed were now down to just half of one bar.

“Damn! That shot almost drained the entire energy!” Elian Hawk groaned.

“Forget it! Half a bar of energy is enough! I’ll just use it all up!” Without thinking much, Elian Hawk pulled the trigger and began firing furiously, not stopping until the energy in the laser gun was completely depleted. He tossed aside the now powerless gun and ran to the control room to activate the switch for the supply warehouse.

Rushing into the warehouse, he grabbed two more laser guns, then hurried back to the lookout tower.

“You’re going down now! I have to take you out while I can, or I’ll be the one in trouble later,” Elian Hawk muttered to himself as he handled the guns. He aimed at the half-destroyed black mother nest again.

“Szzz!!!!”

Several sharp, screeching sounds came from below the lookout tower. Elian Hawk looked down and saw the damaged black warrior insect leaping around, futilely attacking.

Elian Hawk sneered, then once again aimed at the black mother nest.

“Hummm! Hummm… hmmm~~”

The thick laser beam shot out again, hitting the black mother nest. The force of the blast completely obliterated its body. When the black mother nest’s core exploded, the black warrior insect, which had been leaping around, froze for a moment before collapsing lifelessly on the ground.

“Did the warrior insect die because the mother nest was destroyed?” Elian Hawk wondered, but quickly dismissed the thought. After all, he could deal with such questions later. For now, there was still one more mother nest to deal with.

Elian Hawk slowly turned the laser gun in his hand and aimed at the purple-red mother nest, which was on the verge of death after being struck by the black warrior insect. A malicious thought crossed his mind: “Now that I’ve destroyed the black mother nest, it's time to deal with you. Once you're gone, I should be safe for now.”

He couldn't help but feel a little smug.

“I wonder what caused this brutal fight between the two, even though they’re the same species?” Elian Hawk mused while aiming at the purple-red mother nest.

As though sensing its imminent fate, the purple-red mother nest started to contract, its massive body tensing. It began to squirm, but without the warrior insects to move it, the mother nest was unable to leave its current position.

"Click!"

Through the scope, Elian Hawk saw a crack appear in the purple-red mother nest’s body, from which a blood-red crystal fell to the ground.

“What the hell is that thing?” Elian Hawk thought, slightly stunned. He adjusted the scope to take a closer look. The red crystal rolled a few times before stopping beside the mother nest. Pulses of dazzling light began emanating from it.

“Could this red crystal be the reason these two mother nests fought each other?” Elian Hawk wondered, his curiosity piqued.

As it turned out, Elian Hawk’s guess was accurate. The two mother nests had been in conflict precisely because of the mysterious red crystal. If not for this, Elian Hawk would never have had the opportunity to destroy one of the mother nests.

It seemed as if the purple-red mother nest had abandoned the crystal, as if pleading for Elian Hawk to spare its life. After expelling the crystal, the nest began to retract the thick "ground" it had created for the insect colony, wrapping itself up again.

“I, Eldorilli, leader of the Colka clan, hope you will spare me. I am willing to give up this mysterious crystal. Let us coexist peacefully, carbon-based lifeform.”

Suddenly, a clear and sweet feminine voice echoed inside Elian Hawk’s mind.

“What the hell? Is there a ghost?!” Elian Hawk was taken aback. He hurriedly grabbed his laser gun, looking around, but saw nothing out of the ordinary, except for the large mass outside the door.

“Could it be that the mother nest is speaking to me?” Elian Hawk thought.

“Don’t be surprised, carbon-based lifeform. It was I, Eldorilli, leader of the Colka clan, who spoke to you just now,” the voice once again resonated in Elian Hawk’s mind.

Elian Hawk tried to remain calm, aiming his laser gun at the large mass outside, while for the first time, he used his mind to communicate with this strange lifeform.

“I think we’re in an antagonistic relationship. If I spare you and you recover your strength, I will be the one to suffer. So, I don’t think we’ll have any further interactions,” Elian Hawk thought firmly, understanding the situation. Though he had been a passive "otaku" in his previous life, he wasn’t a fool.

After communicating through his mind, Elian Hawk withdrew his consciousness.

“Click!”

The laser gun powered up again, and Elian Hawk pulled the trigger.

“You will regret this, carbon-based lifeform!” The mother nest’s voice echoed one last time in Elian Hawk’s mind before fading away. With its voice, its life also disappeared. The purple-red mother nest exploded, its green liquid spraying into the air before splattering onto the sand.

Elian Hawk had read in his ancestor's teachings: “Those who are not of my kind must have a different heart.” Even though he had crossed into this world, he deeply believed in these words. Different life forms would inevitably lead to conflict. Although the mother nest had shown him kindness earlier, Elian Hawk knew that if it had been at its peak, with hundreds of warrior insects, it wouldn’t have shown any mercy.

"Did you really think I was an i***t?!" Elian Hawk scoffed, continuing to fire until the laser gun’s energy was completely depleted.

Afterward, he discarded the empty laser gun and went back to the supply warehouse to retrieve another one. Returning to the lookout tower, he confirmed that both the mother nests and the warrior insect were dead.

However, Elian Hawk, being cautious, fired another round at the dead insects and the remnants of the mother nests to ensure they were truly lifeless. Only after confirming the area was completely safe did he relax.

“Phew~~” Elian Hawk exhaled deeply, finally allowing his tense nerves to unwind. But he couldn’t rest just yet. There was still work to be done.

Outside, the mysterious red crystal, abandoned by the purple-red mother nest, was still glowing with a brilliant red light. Elian Hawk grabbed his laser gun, opened the base’s door, and ran outside. He picked up the fist-sized crystal, then hurried back inside, shutting the door behind him.

With no time to rest, Elian Hawk dragged the sand beast into the command room, closing the door behind him. As soon as he did, the sky outside darkened.

“Lucky me! The storm’s here!” Elian Hawk collapsed onto the floor, wiping his face. The storm’s howling could be heard outside, but inside the command room, he was safe.

Elian Hawk had experienced a lot today—first the sand beast, then the mother nest battle. This had given him a deeper understanding of the dangers in this world.

“This is just a small planet, and it's already this dangerous. Who knows what kind of dangers are out there in the vast universe?” Elian Hawk thought, recalling some of the records from Karon’s audio journal. There were countless space pirates in the universe, and if they set their sights on you, the outcome wouldn’t be good.

“Fate is fate. If these things are meant to happen, no one can stop them. Right now, the most important thing is to deal with this sand beast.” Elian Hawk put the laser gun aside, grabbed a metal cleaver from the corner, and returned to the sand beast.

Squatting next to the sleeping beast, he untied the rope from its tail. Once the tail was free, Elian Hawk straightened it out and chopped it off with the cleaver.

“Thunk!” The tail was severed cleanly. Elian Hawk let out a sigh of relief.

“Ha, now this sand beast is really defenseless. Without its tail, it can't cause any trouble anymore.” Elian Hawk recalled what Karon’s journal had said—cutting off the sand beast’s tail made it harmless.

After putting the cleaver away, Elian Hawk noticed that he had cut his finger on the blade. Fortunately, it wasn’t too deep.

“Ugh, how careless…” he muttered, sucking on his finger before putting the cleaver aside. He then sat next to the sand beast, taking out the mysterious red crystal and examining it.

“This is the thing that caused both mother nests to fight? I don’t see anything special about it…” Elian Hawk wondered as he held the crystal, turning it over in his hands.

What Elian Hawk didn’t notice was that the blood from his finger had slowly dripped onto the crystal.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Suddenly, a strange voice echoed in the command room:

“Confirming! Program activated! ID: h90883288, life form: Carbon-based…”

As the voice echoed, the red crystal began to shimmer and transform into countless star-like particles. These particles began to spin around and then slowly merged into Elian Hawk’s forehead.

“What… What’s going on?!” Elian Hawk stared wide-eyed, completely stunned.