Upon hearing Dream Jia's words, Haoyun and Dao Lao immediately stood on either side of her. They felt remorse for forgetting to ask for their reward, and they agreed with Dream Jia's opinion. In unison, they also raised their thumbs to her, indicating that Dream Jia truly belonged with them, part of their family. Dream Jia's inclusion in their group was a blessing bestowed upon them by the heavens.
Seeing the greedy looks of these three, Judge Yan couldn't help but sigh. He didn't expect Dream Jia, a person of upright character, to collude with those two ruffians. Simultaneously, Judge Yan couldn't help but feel indignant: a bunch of money-hungry people! It seems that the culture of Mold Energy Pursuit Officers is really bad. In the future, when dealing with them, I must be very cautious. Humph! When I get the chance, I'll definitely report them to the higher-ups!
Although displeased, Judge Yan smiled and said, "Uh, what the lady says is true. However, considering their poor performance in the last mission, there's already an agreement in place for this one. If the three of you can not only locate Elina during the exploration of the black hole but also apprehend her, I'll reward each of you with fifteen Divine Shield Coins. If you fail to capture Elina or even locate her during this expedition, considering the risks involved, I'll still pay each of you three Divine Shield Coins as a service fee."
"Deal! That's settled then!" Before Dao Lao could even negotiate further, Dream Jia readily accepted Judge Yan's proposal.
"Haha! Dream Jia, you're indeed straightforward! I'm willing to work with a Pursuit Officer like you!" Judge Yan shook hands with Dream Jia, completing the deal. At the same time, he glanced disdainfully at Dao Lao, seemingly saying, "Look at how honest she is, and then look at you, you greedy fellow. The difference in character is so stark!"
"Now that the price has been negotiated, let's make preparations for departure!" Master Gu, afraid that Dao Lao might regret the deal with an unhappy expression, pointed to the equipment box brought over by Rabbit Eight.
"Is this... battle armor?" Haoyun's eyes lit up as Rabbit Eight took out three sets of light armor from the equipment box.
Master Gu nodded and replied, "Yes, these are specially designed battle armors for the three of you in the Underworld Spirit Realm. These armors have been specially reinforced by the Black Hole Supervision Center of the Spirit God Realm, allowing their protective shields to withstand more chaotic energy impacts from within the black hole for a longer period. This ensures your safety during your stay in the black hole for better execution of this exploration task."
Then, Master Gu said to Haoyun, "Haoyun, because you are now the Envoy of the Underworld Spirit Realm, in addition to the above functions, this set of armor is more compatible with your identity and can enhance your physical functions to compensate for your lack of combat power."
"Wow! Is this armor really that amazing?" Haoyun joyfully took the armor from Rabbit Eight and, after thanking Judge Yan and Master Gu, immediately put on the black armor without hesitation.
This set of armor was so light that it was almost weightless, and as soon as it was put on, it automatically adjusted its tightness according to Haoyun's body shape, becoming an extremely close-fitting soft armor that did not hinder movement. Although the texture of this armor felt very thin, the faint green glow emanating from its surface seemed to tell Haoyun that it was extraordinary, which reassured him greatly.
After Rabbit Eight helped Haoyun and the others adjust their armor to ensure that the Underworld Spirit Realm battle armor was properly connected to their systems, Judge Yan personally waved his hand to summon a teleportation array. At the same time, he said, "If there are no further issues, please set off soon. Remember to stay safe, and be respectful of the chaotic energy fluctuations inside the black hole. If you encounter danger, evacuate from the black hole immediately, do not force it! I'll be here, eagerly awaiting your triumphant return."
Haoyun felt that this time the journey through the teleportation array seemed to take longer than the previous times. However, thanks to his greatly improved physical and mental strength, he did not experience the intense physical discomfort he had felt before during the journey.
As the light appeared before them once again, Haoyun and his group finally emerged from the teleportation array once more. However, as soon as Haoyun's gaze shifted away from the darkness within the teleportation array, it was immediately occupied by an even more breathtaking darkness. Because at this moment, right in front of Haoyun, the darkness he saw almost occupied his entire field of vision. And in the center of this vast darkness, Haoyun could vaguely see a huge vortex slowly rotating.
"So, this is the black hole VOID-5173!" Haoyun couldn't help but exclaim, but because the scene before him was so shocking, he himself forgot that he had just spoken.
"Yes, this is the black hole codenamed VOID-5173. The reason why we can see its full appearance now is that our current position is more than thirty thousand light-years away from it. Because this distance is the optimal observation distance for the black hole VOID-5173, we have set up a blockade here and designated this area as a restricted zone, under constant monitoring by the Spirit Army of the Underworld Spirit Realm," Master Gu said.
At this moment, Haoyun, who had returned from his astonishment, realized that they were all enveloped in a layer of transparent light film, floating in the universe. At the same time, he also saw a dense and irregularly arranged array of meteorites ahead, forming a tightly sealed blockade. Outside this blockade, there was a large formation of the Spirit Army of the Underworld Spirit Realm. According to Master Gu, because Elina was suspected to have entered the black hole VOID-5173 without the knowledge of the Spirit Army, Judge Yan immediately summoned more troops to seal off the area to ensure that any strange energy fluctuations around the black hole VOID-5173 would not escape the attention of the guard.
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Prior to departure, Haoyun and his companions had a detailed understanding of the situation around the black hole VOID-5173. Therefore, Master Gu briefly introduced the situation here while guiding Haoyun and the others to quickly fly to the side of a god army that was already waiting nearby. This god army was not large in scale, but the giant cannon they carried made the team exceptionally conspicuous even in the vastness of space.
After briefly introducing this special team that had been waiting for them, Master Gu pointed to the giant cannon and said, "Later, we will send the three of you into the black hole through this orbital launch device. Before that, please double-check the items you are carrying to avoid any accidental loss during the launch."
Upon hearing this, Haoyun and his companions immediately looked at Master Gu with expressions that seemed to say, "Are you kidding me?" Master Gu hurriedly avoided their gazes and pretended to calmly confirm the launch precautions with the current commander.
After repeated confirmations by Haoyun and his companions, they learned that Master Gu was indeed not joking, and that this seemingly ancient-looking cannon was actually the latest manned black hole shuttle device developed by the Spirit God Realm. According to Master Gu's explanation, this device could send the priests into the black hole while creating a divine energy track with powerful spirit realm energy to assist the priests in better traversing the black hole.
Of course, Master Gu repeatedly assured them that since the priests were accompanied by the protection of the spirit power of the Spirit God Realm, they would not be harmed by the divine energy emitted by the cannon during the creation of the divine energy tunnel. On the contrary, with the additional protection provided by this divine energy, Haoyun and his companions no longer needed to worry about being harmed by the energy fluctuations in the black hole.
"Don't worry! This is the most advanced GL-1000 model black hole shuttle developed by the higher-ups, extremely safe. You see, due to the extremely difficult manufacturing process and high cost of this type of black hole shuttle, Judge Yan, apart from displaying it to other regions after being lucky enough to draw the qualification to equip the first batch of GL-1000 black hole shuttles in our sector, has never approved any priests to use it. So, you should feel honored to be the first passengers of this equipment," Master Gu said with a hint of envy.
"So, you've never used this thing before us? Then do you even know how to operate this device? You're not treating us as guinea pigs, are you?" Haoyun suddenly asked with some concern upon hearing Master Gu's explanation. Dao Lao and Dream Jia also cast "kind" glances at Master Gu, expressing their doubts about the giant cannon before them.
"Haha! Please rest assured, this device is extremely safe. Although this launch team has only simulated how to use this black hole shuttle tool, its usage is very simple, and our launch team is very professional. Therefore, there is absolutely no danger throughout the entire launch process," Master Gu quickly replied upon seeing this.
"So, we are the real-life test subjects for your first use of this device, aren't we?" Haoyun summarized Master Gu's far-fetched explanation in the most straightforward manner.
Ignoring Haoyun's words, Master Gu immediately ordered, "Quick! Come on, people! Help the adults get onto the platform quickly, oh no, onto the launch device. Time waits for no one! Let's quickly execute this operation! Remember, record the entire launch process. Judge Yan will once again display the relevant information of this equipment at the banquet later, I mean share it with the chief justices of other regions for everyone to learn together!"
Then, a group of tall and sturdy guards immediately rushed forward, without saying a word, to support Haoyun and his companions' arms and escorted them into the black hole shuttle. Then, under Master Gu's command of "Go!", the black hole shuttle "boom" shot out a strong light toward the center of the black hole VOID-5173. Haoyun and his companions were like bullets fired from a gun, instantly accelerated to the speed of light and flew into the black hole in the blink of an eye.
Although the entire launch process was extremely unreliable and particularly frightening, Haoyun had to admit that this cannon, which combined occultism and divine technology, was indeed very effective. Because the powerful thrust was carrying him forward at superluminal speed. However, this force did not cause any harm to him at all. Moreover, although Haoyun was enveloped in this force, his body could still move freely, as if weightless, easily changing into various flight postures.
Therefore, Haoyun relaxed his tense mood and adjusted his body to lie on his back in the divine energy tunnel. Then, while admiring the fantastic scenery around him, he said, "I didn't expect lying here to be quite comfortable. The things developed by the Spirit God Realm are indeed extraordinary!"
Dream Jia also adjusted her posture like Haoyun and exclaimed, "Yeah! If I had this thing, I wouldn't have to work so hard when rushing to execute tasks! Ah! I wonder how much money this thing costs. If I could get a loan to buy one, that would be great!"
As Haoyun and his companions ventured deeper into the black hole VOID-5173, the surrounding light grew dimmer and dimmer. Large and small meteorites collided chaotically in the absence of any regular energy flow, while celestial fires, explosions, and hurricanes, mixed with wailing sounds from fractured spacetime, ravaged freely within the black hole. In this extremely chaotic environment, even the sturdy tunnel constructed by divine energy couldn't withstand the frequent tremors.
Although Haoyun firmly believed that this divine energy tunnel, along with the Shadow Spirit Realm battle armor he was wearing, could ensure his safety, facing the increasingly violent tremors caused by the chaotic energy fluctuations, he couldn't help but pray, "May the power of the Spirit God Realm above bless us to complete the mission safely and unharmed!"
Soon, seemingly in response to Haoyun's prayer, numerous black mists suddenly appeared in the black hole, quickly obscuring all the scenes and objects except for the orbital beam. Following that, accompanied by crisp cracking sounds, the surface of the divine energy tunnel began to crack under the pressure of the dense black mist, forming cracks of various sizes.
"Not good! Those black mists are attacking the divine energy tunnel! Everyone, prepare to evacuate the tunnel!" Dao Lao was the first to react to the sudden situation, loudly alerting Haoyun and Dream Jia while gesturing for them to keep their distance from him. No matter what happened next, they must not leave the group without permission.