[Skull Staff decomposed, construction points +1]
"Phew…" Only when he saw the necromantic staff completely decompose and disappear, and the system prompt appear, did Duanmu Huai finally breathe a sigh of relief. Then he composed himself and quickly issued a command. "Unlock the [Void Dock]."
Following Duanmu Huai's command, the entire core cabin trembled slightly again before settling back to normal. Then, Duanmu Huai walked out of the core cabin, passed through the corridor, and arrived at the other side—where a new elevator door had appeared on the previously smooth wall. Duanmu Huai stepped inside, pressed the button, and the elevator began to descend.
Through the elevator's transparent glass window, Duanmu Huai could clearly see the scene outside the core cabin—he was no longer inside a crude, simple cylinder. Instead, it now resembled a grand cathedral suspended in the void of space. Gothic domes and exquisitely ornate spires shimmered under the starlight, making the whole structure look like a floating work of art.
The corridors connecting the various areas also took on the elegant and majestic form of Gothic church buildings, displaying a stunning, refined design. Just as Duanmu Huai was admiring the beautiful scene, a shadow suddenly passed by. The elevator entered a metal tunnel, then slowly came to a stop. With a soft sound, the elevator door slid open.
A vast, expansive space unfolded before Duanmu Huai—the Void Dock.
This was where all of an [Inquisitor]'s warships and fleets were constructed. In this place, [Inquisitors] could invest resources and blueprints to build various types of warships to be used in their holy crusades. Precisely because of this, the scale of the dock was colossal—stretching seemingly without end.
This was also the least "religious" area of the entire space station. Instead of stained glass windows or divine statues, smooth metal platforms and gangways filled the space. Standing here and staring into the immense dock, even someone like Duanmu Huai couldn't help but feel a sense of insignificance, like a speck of dust in a machine far beyond comprehension.
Right now, the [Void Dock] was nearly empty, with only a single black craft parked on Pad 1—the Night Raven Gunship.
This was an advanced vehicle exclusively for [Inquisitors]. It was capable of using its overwhelming firepower and incredible speed to smash through enemy defenses, transport the [Inquisitor] into the heart of enemy territory, eliminate all threats, and then withdraw safely.
"Phew…" Seeing this familiar vehicle, Duanmu Huai finally relaxed. "This is great. No more teleporting back and forth."
That's right—the reason Duanmu Huai had chosen to invest his precious second construction point into the [Void Dock] instead of upgrading the [Inquisition Library] to speed up analysis was for this gunship.
With this, he wouldn't have to rely on teleportation anymore. He could operate directly from the gunship.
And yes—it was a risk.
To ordinary people, teleportation might seem like a simple and convenient spell. But to any experienced [Inquisitor], it was something to avoid unless absolutely necessary.
Why?
Because teleportation required tapping into the power of the Warp.
And the Warp… guess who ruled that realm?
That's right—the [Chaos Gods].
The game had depicted similar incidents. Back during the End Times, there was an arc where eight heroes banded together to thwart the [Chaos Legion]'s grand ritual. At the time, they were surrounded on all sides. In order to implement the plan, a goddess sacrificed herself to cast an ultra-powerful teleportation spell, aiming to send the eight heroes directly into the Chaos portal's heart.
The intended destination? Just outside the portal—so they could destroy it.
But what happened?
Due to some "unknown" (though clearly malevolent) influence, the spell went awry. The eight heroes were scattered across the continent instead of being delivered to the intended location.
One unlucky fellow even opened his eyes to find himself directly teleported in front of the final BOSS. Without a word, he was immediately captured by the opponent. Precisely because of this, almost any spatial spell was extremely dangerous—especially for Duanmu Huai. Although he seemed to enjoy teleporting back and forth, every time, he worried that upon arrival, he might open his eyes only to find himself right in the middle of a BOSS fight, inside an enemy army formation, or worse… hurled into a volcano.
Now, finally, he didn't have to worry.
"Is this Master's home? It's really big." Just then, accompanied by a sweet, relaxed voice, a smiling girl stepped out from behind and looked around curiously. She was none other than Mia, the robot doll from the [Sky City] series cards Duanmu Huai had obtained earlier—the one that played the role of "a robot doll whose soul was replaced by an evil wizard."
According to Mia, she was a "life assistant-type" robot doll. Of course, if her master wished, she could play other roles as well. Duanmu Huai firmly declined. To be honest, her performance in that so-called "role" wasn't impressive to begin with.
"That's right, this is my home. When I leave, I'll temporarily entrust it to your care. Is that okay?"
"Of course, Master, please leave it to me." Hearing Duanmu Huai's command, Mia nodded without hesitation.
After clearing [Sky City], Duanmu Huai had many more cards at his disposal, so he began configuring the space station according to the layout he had designed in the game.
First, he summoned Mia to manage the entire space station in his absence. This way, if anything went wrong, she could report to him immediately.
In addition, he also summoned a large number of doll units as guards. Although these dolls only had 1 attack and 1 defense, and couldn't stop anything serious, at least if they were destroyed, Duanmu Huai would be alerted right away and could take action.
Besides, summoning Mia added some liveliness to the station. At least when Duanmu Huai came back, there'd be a cheerful girl welcoming him home—instead of returning to a cold, empty, metallic husk. Players were human too. Without a few perks, the grind would be unbearable.
Though honestly, Duanmu Huai really couldn't imagine what it must feel like for Space Marines to be greeted by squads of grinning, musclebound men every time they returned to their battle barges… Uh, never mind. Better not to think about it.
Not only that, this arrangement was also a clever player trick. [Soul Cards] had two modes: "summoned to the field" and "in hand." However, contrary to what most players assumed, "summoned to the field" didn't necessarily mean fighting on the front lines.
In fact, even if these units were placed in a rear-area like the space station, they still counted as "on the field." This was an important strategic loophole. Many special follower cards didn't have strong combat abilities, but their passive effects were incredibly powerful. If deployed on the front lines, they'd be taken out immediately.
But stationed thousands of miles away in a secure base? Entirely different story.
And with all of this in place… Duanmu Huai's space station finally began to take shape!
(End of this chapter)