Chapter Sixteen: Nirvana! The Phoenix Maiden! (Part Three)

Hearing Vladimir’s words, Ye Ling finally snapped out of her daze and looked ahead, only to be slightly startled. At this moment, she was standing atop a sphere resembling a glass dome, and beneath her feet lay something akin to an altar, embedded entirely within the glass. Ye Ling glanced around, but the reflections on the glass surface made it impossible for her to see what was beneath. Raising her head, she was met with the sight of a pitch-black city, suffused with a heavy metallic aura, its dozen or so skyscrapers flickering with scattered lights.

“Is this city on the glass?” The city before her didn’t seem very large—there were dozens of tall buildings clustered together. It didn’t look like a complete city, more like a commercial center.

“This is Star City. The place we just emerged from is called the Summit of Star City.” Vladimir pointed to the tallest building at the center of the city, which soared over a hundred stories high. At its pinnacle, a mass of twisted space swirled like a black hole, distorting everything that drew near. “That’s the entrance, but it’s not the only gateway to the metropolis. Few people use it—it’s simply too troublesome.” Vladimir laughed awkwardly.

“So this is the Fantasia Metropolis? Why does it feel so ordinary? And it isn’t even that big. From what you said before, it should be enormous.” Ye Ling eyed Star City—dozens of skyscrapers stacked together—but it didn’t seem any bigger than Manhattan in New York or Lujiazui in Shanghai.

“Star City is merely a symbol of Fantasia Metropolis, not the entire city. It stands here as an emblem, though many events recorded in the city’s history occurred here.” Vladimir explained, but Ye Ling looked bewildered. “Stands here? What do you mean? Where’s the city? I don’t see it anywhere!” She searched around, seeing only a vast expanse of white. “Is this all glass? How can it be so huge?” Ye Ling looked forward, unable to see the end of the glass.

Lin Yang, who had been silent, finally spoke. “You’re looking the wrong way. Look down.”

Ye Ling obeyed, lowering her gaze—and her entire body froze.

“Take a good look. This is the greatest miracle in human history!” Xie Liu said coolly. Beneath their feet sprawled a colossal city, stretching from a distant, unseen horizon all the way below.

Ye Ling had no idea how high above the ground she was, only that the altitude made her dizzy. Xie Liu spoke, “Where we stand now is directly above the heart of Fantasia Metropolis, at a vertical height of 1,322 meters. Look over there.” Following Xie Liu’s gesture, Ye Ling’s gaze shifted. There stood a towering giant tower rising from the ground, surrounded by countless skyscrapers. Even the tallest of those buildings was less than half its height. The tower reached up, nearly touching the underside of Star City.

“That is the city’s tallest structure, the Telepathic Tower. As for its purpose, you’ll find out in due time.” Vladimir gestured to the base of the tower, where the cluster of skyscrapers, each over a hundred stories tall, huddled around it. “That is the core of Fantasia Metropolis. The city’s rise was founded on technology, and here, the central technologies are concentrated. This is the Science Park.” Vladimir pointed to the cluster of tall buildings on the left, “The floors here are constructed in an interlocking manner. While you see about a hundred towers, in truth it’s a single building, completely connected—a vast laboratory unto itself.” He then pointed to another cluster. “This is the Security Zone. The metropolis handles global security issues, and many joint task forces are stationed here. Best not to provoke them. On the other side is the War Research Institute. If you want to see giant robots or super interstellar warships, this is the place to go.” As he spoke, the War Research Institute’s buildings seemed to come alive, slowly shifting their positions. “Are these buildings mobile?”

“Yes, all core structures in Fantasia Metropolis are not fixed—they can be reconfigured and relocated.” Even as he spoke, one of the buildings in the Science Park slid two floors outward, and upper floors descended to perfectly fill the gap. The floors that moved out were held suspended by blue light beams emitted from the Telepathic Tower.

“You’re in luck—they’re about to test a warship’s capabilities.” Vladimir spoke calmly. As he spoke, several more beams shot from the Telepathic Tower, grabbing other floors and shifting them, rotating around the tower until they reached the War Research Institute.

Over a dozen light beams held the relocated floors, suspended in midair. “This method allows rapid access to needed equipment and laboratories. We have more combinations and greater efficiency. Now, pay attention—they’re about to start. Watch closely.” Vladimir pointed downward. Even Xie Liu and the others looked on; scenes like this were rare for them too.

The buildings of the War Research Institute moved aside, revealing a vast space in the center. To Ye Ling’s astonishment, a gigantic warship slowly rose into the air. “Heavens, how big is that warship?” The ship was grey, its diameter spanning the entire War Research Institute.

“That’s the Phenomenon-class Battleship, one of the city’s four main ships, with an axis diameter of sixteen kilometers. Today, they’ll test a Doomsday-class weapon. Watch carefully.” Vladimir gestured for Ye Ling to keep silent. At that moment, Ye Ling saw the floors held by the Telepathic Tower gradually move toward the warship. Once-massive floors now seemed minuscule beside the ship.

“They seem to have adjusted things well. This test shouldn’t have major issues. The Phenomenon-class was planned fifty-two years ago, commissioned sixteen years ago; it’s the youngest of the four mainships, primarily stationed inside the metropolis for new equipment testing. Its axis is sixteen thousand three hundred thirteen meters long, with a crew of two thousand four hundred twenty-two. It’s armed with three interstellar main guns, sixteen secondary guns, over seven hundred anti-aircraft turrets, and more than a hundred small warships. It can also carry Doomsday-class weaponry. Oh, look—it’s moving.” Vladimir suddenly called out, and Ye Ling’s attention shifted back to the warship below.

“What’s it doing?” At that moment, distorted beams of light began to appear around the warship. Ye Ling asked curiously, and Vladimir whispered, “It’s preparing for a spatial jump. Almost ready—” But Vladimir’s words were interrupted.

With a thunderous boom, the warship vanished from its original position, leaving only a twisted space that was slowly restoring itself. Then, Ye Ling and the others felt darkness sweep instantly overhead.

“Ahhhhhh!” Ye Ling screamed. The space itself seemed to tremble. Looking up, she saw the metallic monster suddenly appear above her, without warning. Though hundreds of meters remained between them, faced with such a colossal entity, that distance meant nothing. A deafening roar echoed through the sky; Ye Ling covered her ears and shrieked—the very air shook as the warship appeared!

“Shield up!” Vladimir shouted. Xie Liu slapped the control panel on their platform, and a white energy cocoon enveloped them. “What’s it doing?” Ye Ling, terrified, sat on the ground, but her eyes never left the warship.

“Watch closely. Don’t speak.” Vladimir’s expression was grave. Ye Ling fell silent. At that moment, she saw the entire warship emit a green glow. Then, within mere seconds and accompanied by a tremendous sound, a beam of green light shot from the ship, spanning the whole sky and flying hundreds of kilometers away, plunging into the azure void.

The whole world shook. Ye Ling screamed again, clutching her head, unable to bear looking—the diameter of the green ray was several kilometers wide, nearly covering the entire sky. Xie Liu and the others remained calm, their eyes fixed on the scene before them. The massive warship hovered beside Star City, its green beam piercing the sky, brushing past Star City as it burned through the air. This was what a starship-class warship truly was—this was the romance of men!

The green light persisted for thirty seconds before slowly fading, but the shock lingered. Vladimir frowned, “The power is decent, but the control needs work. Those people have more research to do.” The warship seemed in no hurry to leave, quietly suspending itself in the air beside Star City.

“All right, now that you’ve seen it, let’s move on. I’ll introduce the final area—the place we’re heading to today.” Vladimir pulled Ye Ling up from the ground, her head still buried in her arms, and pointed to the last cluster of buildings below. “That is the pride of Fantasia Metropolis, and our destination today. Yes, that is the Institute of Superpowers!”