Afterward, the fish lair and the steel fish stopped moving, as if they were frozen in time.

In an instant, they seemed to have lost the purpose of their existence.

The scene in the small sun jumped forward a few more times.

These scenes likely took place over a very long period of time.

The fish lair and steel fish remained still, and many of these fish were unable to withstand the corrosion of the years, eventually collapsing and disappearing.

Without the maintenance of the steel fish, the individual fish lairs fell into a state of disuse.

Some of the energy collected by the fish in the fish lairs dissipated, while some others exploded directly because of accidents.

The entire empire fell into complete stillness.

This scene would spark a feeling of sadness in one’s heart.

The huge steel fish empire had not fallen due to the attack of a powerful enemy, nor was it destroyed by disasters. There was no foreign enemy or natural disaster. It was only because of having lost their purpose, their goal, that the entire empire found itself in complete stillness.

Song Shuhang concluded, “Without motivation, a person becomes no different from a salted fish. What a terrible thing.”

When the virtuous lamia and Fairy Creation heard these words, they turned their heads at the same time, staring at Song Shuhang with incredulous gazes—seeing such a sad plot, was this the conclusion he reached?

Song Shuhang said, “Don’t look at me like that. Although looking at these steel fish makes you feel sympathetic, isn’t the reason why they came to a stop because they lost their ‘goal’?”

Whether it was people or other creatures, they had to have a purpose.

Even if one day, you really were to become a salted fish, then at least try to be the saltiest of fish—this was also a goal.

The pictures in the small sun continued to shift.

Every time the screen flashed, the steel manifestation understood more and more, and grew stronger and stronger.

These insights and enhancements were fed back to Song Shuhang, and applied to his ‘mechanical core reactor’.

The Golden Core Composition on the core reactor seemed like it was going out of control.

The [Star of Creation and Destruction] composition was an irregular four-grid comic.

The four weirdly shaped frames divided the ‘core reactor’ into four.

The grids 1, 2, and 3 were based on the combination of the Fish Lair, Steel Fish, and Star-Destroying Magical Treasure Design, which resulted in the creation of the ‘Star-Destroying Fish’ and their fish lair, where they turned into a small sun that lit up the dark world.

If the scenes in grids 1 and 4 were combined, it would become the Star of Destruction—the ‘Star-Destroying Fish’ gathering, arranging themselves neatly, and pointing their muzzles in one direction before trillions of rays of light were launched together to attack a certain place.

Once the number of rays of light reached a certain point, they formed an attack that could destroy everything.

As for the finishing touch that this ‘Golden Core Composition’ was lacking, it was the enemy’s location.

The target was the last missing piece in the Golden Core Composition.

Now, with the information that the ‘steel manifestation’ continued to send back, the inspiration that Song Shuhang needed to add the finishing touch grew stronger and stronger.

The urge to go and complete the composition was difficult to suppress.

What was missing now was the last opportunity.

In the small sun, the plot continued to unfold.

Time was really the most terrifying killer.

After losing its goal and falling in a state of stillness, the huge empire of steel fish was unable to resist the encroachment of the years and completely collapsed.

In the end, only the original fish lair and a small batch of steel fish with the highest grade and built with the strongest materials remained.

This was already close to the school of steel fish that Song Shuhang’s steel manifestation had come across.

After this, why did this school of steel fish appear around the Black Dragon World? Moreover, they seem to have appeared not that long ago… Song Shuhang wondered.

While he was in thought, the figure of the black dragon appeared again in the void.

This time, it had become even larger.

Its figure passed through the ruins of the steel fish.

The two still seem to be in different dimensions, neither interfering with the other.

However, when the black dragon passed through the ‘steel fish school’, the originally lifeless steel fish seem to have suddenly been brought back to life.

They began moving once again.

The school of fish that had been still for an unknown number of years began to move stiffly, and they began to collect materials to repair their bodies and fill their ‘fish lair’ with energy.

Everything seemed to have taken a turn for the better.

After being salted fish for so many centuries, had the fish lair and the steel fish finally recovered the meaning of their existence?

Song Shuhang softly said, “Should I give them a thumbs-up at this time?”

However, looking at the small sun in the sky, Song Shuhang fell into silence again.

Then… Things went exactly as he had imagined.

After the fish lair and the steel fish finally recovered from the salted fish state, another accident happened.

The ‘world’ they were in was destroyed.

There was a dark picture within which the steel fish and fish lair could be seen. In this picture, explosions and spatial fissures could be found everywhere.

The disaster displayed in the picture was only the tip of the iceberg of the ‘doomsday scene’, but it was enough to shock people’s hearts.

In this way, the salted fish that finally found motivation again were felled by this disaster.

What a tragedy.

❄️❄️❄️

The movie on the small sun continued playing, but what was displayed for a long time was a black screen.

In the midst of the disaster that destroyed their world, the fish lair and the steel fish fell into an inoperative state, not having any means to monitor what was going on around them.

Song Shuhang guessed, “What happens next should be them suddenly emerging in the Black Dragon World, attracting the attention of the ‘Black Dragon World’s Dragon Network’.”

The Dragon Network of the Black Dragon World should have generated the mission regarding the ‘steel fish and their fish lair’ about a dozen or so days ago.

While he was speaking, the movie screen in the small sun lit up again.

The steel fish and their fish lair were suspended in a pure white space.

However, they could not find any energy that they could make use of.

Apart from them, there was nothing in this pure white space.

There were neither materials nor energy.

The fish lair and steel fish could only maintain a minimum consumption state, leaving only a few steel fish floating around in the pure white space while looking for clues.

After an unknown amount of time, a figure appeared beside the steel fish school and the fish lair.

The figure had smooth hair that reached her waist, a tall figure, and white skin. The most striking thing was her very long legs.

These legs were of the type that couldn’t be forgotten in a short time after seeing them.

“…” Song Shuhang.

He rubbed his eyes.

Wait, I’m not mistaken, am I?

In the picture, the black-haired long-legged girl turned around, revealing her face.

It was a young and beautiful face.

“Soft Feather!!!” Song Shuhang almost spewed out.

That was right, the girl who suddenly appeared by the steel fish and fish lair was Soft Feather.

In fact, when Song Shuhang saw those long legs, he already had a guess in mind… It was just that he couldn’t believe it in his heart that Soft Feather would be involved in this incident.

Why did Soft Feather appear in this pure white space, in front of the fish lair?

Song Shuhang opened his eyes wide and looked carefully.

Sure enough, it really was Soft Feather.

Could it be that… Soft Feather is the reincarnation of the princess of ‘Star Nation’? Song Shuhang had such a thought in his heart.

Or, was this not actually Soft Feather, but rather an old senior of hers?

No, these speculations were unfounded.

“I found it.” On the screen, Soft Feather whispered—her voice reached Song Shuhang’s mind through the steel manifestation.

It was Soft Feather’s voice. Song Shuhang was certain that it was her voice.

In the picture, Soft Feather’s face was calm, and her feet took her step by step toward the fish lair in the void.

The static school of steel fish suddenly moved, and they quickly rolled towards Soft Feather to prevent her from approaching the fish lair.

However, Soft Feather’s body seemed to be in an immaterial state. The steel fish merely shuttled past her body, but could not touch her.

Song Shuhang said, “This definitely isn’t the Soft Feather I know.”

In the picture, Soft Feather arrived at the fish lair.

She stretched out her hand and pressed it on the fish lair. “Haha, from today onwards, you are mine!”

From her body, a huge amount of spiritual energy rushed to the fish lair like a tide, which tried to forcibly refine the fish lair into her own magical treasure.

The fish lair silently accepted Soft Feather’s spiritual energy.

It did not have the power to resist at all.

However… as Soft Feather’s power continued to pour into it, the core of the fish lair suddenly gleamed fiercely.

It absorbed all the energy that Soft Feather transferred over and then burst.

“Long live Star Nation!” A soft voice came from the fish lair.

Song Shuhang could understand this line because before the steel manifestation had been trapped, the fish lair had let out a similar sound.

Subsequently, the fish lair exploded.

“Strange, where did it go wrong?” Soft Feather leaped back.

The fish lair gathered all the energy. Then, all the steel fish rushed towards Soft Feather, curled around her location, and exploded frantically.

The sound ‘Long live Star Nation’ reverberated across the white space.

Soft Feather’s voice sounded. “How troublesome.”

In the picture, she slapped her hands hard.

In the next moment… the white space split apart.

The fish lair and the steel fish that were exploding were all thrown out of the white space.

The movie screen in the small sun plunged into darkness again.

Then, the movie ended.

Song Shuhang rubbed his temples.

In other words, the fish lair and the steel fish that appeared on the edge of the Black Dragon World had been thrown out of that white space?

So, what was going on with the Soft Feather in the movie?

Was that white space torn apart using spatial energy?

Or was it that Soft Feather, similar to him, had a space similar to the ‘Inner World’?

“Right… I can connect to the Virtuous Network.” Song Shuhang took out his phone.

For this kind of thing, why not just ask Soft Feather herself?

Just as Song Shuhang was about to pass through his small golden core and enter the Virtuous Network, a spatial channel appeared beside the small sun in the sky.

Long legs stepped out of the spatial channel.

Those were Soft Feather’s legs, he couldn’t be mistaken.