The Crimson Veil asteroid zone was a system of shattered environments consisting of volatile and dangerous fire-type hazards. Due to the extreme instability of the space, it had become uninhabitable for humans—but a beloved paradise for fire-type void beasts.
The D-class zone of the Crimson Veil occupied only a small outer perimeter section of the entire shattered zone. The highest class grading within the Crimson Veil was A-class—a place treacherous even for experienced hunters, nothing but a pipe dream for newly awakened ones.
Although fire-type beasts and monsters predominantly populated the zone, creatures of other elements could also be found scattered across the Crimson Veil.
As Lin Mei and her team charged toward the cluster of Void Fire Chickens gathered around a pond of flaming magma, Song Chi's F-4 Phantom zoomed overhead. The jet's passage tore through the air, sending a violent burst of red plume feathers scattering into the sky like burning confetti while the chickens scattered in panicked flight.
"Cuck-kooo!"
The cry of the Void Fire Chicken King rang out as it spotted Song Chi's classmates closing in on its coop in hot pursuit.
Releasing a deafening bird call that echoed like thunder across the asteroids, it raised its plumage—shiny crimson feathers igniting into living flame—and dashed into the distance. Behind it, the other fire chickens clucked and sprinted along in a chaotic stampede.
Unlike what one might think—"How can a chicken outrun a plane?"—after the metamorphosis brought about by the cataclysm years ago, most monsters had evolved drastically. Some developed extreme defensive abilities, while others specialized in escaping. The Void Fire Chicken fell firmly into the latter category.
A D-class Void Fire Chicken had a peak speed of about 1,500 mph and could accelerate up to Mach 2—quite fast compared to a Level 1 D-rank ship. Only Assault-class ships could keep up with that speed while remaining at Level 1 of D-rank.
After awakening a spirit core, a person had to upgrade the rank of their ship, which was limited by the core's grade. Ship ranks were divided into D to A, then Super, Cosmic, Universe, and so on. Each rank had 5 levels of progression, from Level 1 to Level 5. Only then could the ship be upgraded to the next rank. A person's ship could be at most 3 levels higher than their own cultivation, or it would cause meridians to bloat, energy feedback to be cut off, and in the worst case, cause the cultivator to explode.
While people cultivated by absorbing star essence from the cosmos, ship levels progressed by absorbing free void force dispersed after the death of a void monster or beast.
Void monsters, upon death, left behind not only a complete body that could be used in various ways, but also loot related to spirit cores—such as ship components, cores, modules, and other equippable items.
"Whoosh—"
The sound of airships splitting through the air echoed twice. Song Chi and Han Wei chased after the fleeing chickens, dodging and swerving around meteorites and space particles in their path. The asteroid belt, seemingly held together by a strange force, trembled slightly from the sheer kinetic vibration caused by their speed.
With Song Chi leading the chase, the others followed his trail. Their mission required them to bring back two Void Fire Chickens alive.
Boom!
Feeling the thrill of the chase, Song Chi became exhilarated by the hands-on experience of flying an airship. The sensation caused him to miss dodging a large fireball that exploded against his jet. The force from the explosion sent him tumbling through the air as shockwaves scattered all the floating debris around. The surroundings became chaotic, and visual sight was obstructed.
"What happened?" Lin Mei asked in shock, looking at the explosion as the team came to a sudden halt behind it.
"Where's Song Chi?"
"Cuckoooo—"
But before anyone could answer her, a loud cry—feeling like the roar of some ancient being barking out of slumber in anger—resounded from ahead. Whatever it was, it seemed to be in total rage.
"Is that…?" Han Wei's mouth opened wide, staring at the flames being sucked into a whirlpool. Behind it stood the Void Fire Chicken King. Its plumage had now turned entirely red, berserk flames dancing all over its body.
Looking at the chicken and its minions standing behind it in formation, everyone was gobsmacked as they gawked at it. Lin Mei and her friends never imagined that the weak prey they had chosen would possess such destructive power.
"Dodge!"
Lin Mei suddenly yelled as the chicken boss cocked its head and sent forth another ball of flame toward them. Thanks to Lin Mei's early warning and their aptitude, they were able to easily dodge it, bringing some comfort to their minds at how bad the chicken's aim seemed to be.
"Boom!"
But before they could relax, another loud explosion sounded behind them as the ball of fire collided with the unfortunate Song Chi, who had just recovered and was about to rejoin them. This time, the attack was more concentrated and sent him farther than before.
"Oopss…"
Zhao Qiang clicked his tongue in amusement at the sight of the F-4 skidding into the distance before coming to a stop only after colliding with a floating rock. Magma spewed onto its wings.
"Cocoooo!"
While they were busy lamenting Song Chi's misfortune, the once docile fire chickens had become aggressive. They began mimicking their leader, sending out balls of fire that rained down on the group of students.
"Run!" one of them yelled.
"Whoosh—"
Before the students could flee, the sound of something tearing through the air reverberated from behind. Two missiles collided with the oncoming rain of fire, resulting in a supernova-like explosion. The shockwave pushed away everything in its wake.
As Lin Mei and the others looked toward where the missiles came from, Song Chi's sorry figure stood with hands on hips, wearing an oxygen mask. His spirit core was nowhere to be seen.
"Fight!" Song Chi cried out from where he was standing.
The team snapped into action.
Lin Mei immediately deployed her Frost Phoenix Mothership. The Uncommon-grade carrier unfolded its wings, releasing a swarm of shimmering repair drones and a shimmering barrier of icy light that enveloped the group, deflecting several incoming fireballs.
"Han Wei—scout and mark!" she ordered.
Han Wei nodded and unsummoned his Falcon Interceptor in a flash of light. Instead of staying in the cockpit, he leaped out and landed on Zhao Qiang's Iron Turtle Tank, which had just materialized beside him. Han Wei drew a sleek sniper rifle from his storage ring and climbed onto the tank's reinforced shell like a gunner on a moving fortress.
"Locked!" Han Wei shouted, firing a rapid series of energy-charged bullets that streaked through the chaos. Each shot found its mark on the Void Fire Chickens' wings and legs, slowing their advance and forcing them to scatter.
Zhao Qiang grinned as he piloted the heavy tank forward. "Let's give them something to chew on!"
The Iron Turtle charged ahead, its thick plating shrugging off fireballs while Han Wei continued raining precision fire from its back. The bullets weren't strong enough to kill outright, but they disrupted the chickens' formation and kept them from swarming.
Xia Yu's Drone Hive buzzed to life, releasing dozens of small combat drones that zipped through the battlefield like angry hornets. They dive-bombed the minions, exploding on impact and forcing the chickens to focus on defense rather than pursuit.
Lin Mei's Frost Phoenix Mothership hovered above, its repair drones zipping between teammates to patch minor burns and shield breaches while her barrier absorbed the worst of the flames.
Song Chi, still catching his breath from the double explosion, summoned his J-20 again. The fighter jet roared back into existence, engines screaming as he banked hard and dove straight toward the Void Fire Chicken King.
"You think two fireballs are enough to stop me? Let's dance, big bird."
Song Chi gritted his teeth as he yanked the F-4 into a sharp bank, dodging another fireball that scorched the asteroid behind him. The cockpit alarms blared—red warning lights flashing across the analog gauges.
That second hit hurt more than I thought. Let's see how bad it really is.
He kept one hand on the stick, eyes locked on the Void Fire Chicken King's flaming silhouette, while mentally summoning the interface with a quick thought.
The holographic panel snapped open in his vision—smaller and semi-transparent so it wouldn't block his view of the battlefield.
[Spirit Core – Vessel Interface]
Owner: Song Chi
Class: Assault (Fighter Jet Type)
Rank: D-Rank ★☆☆☆☆
Level: 1 / 5
[Core Parameters]
Output: 52 units/sec (currently 38 – 27% loss from damage)
Capacity: 1,800 units
Sync Rate: 76%
Energy Level: 1,420 / 1,800 units (draining fast)
Attack: 48 base (Auxiliary Weapons – reduced to 36 due to wing damage)
(+0 from innate skills & offensive modules)
(+1,200 burst from Main Weapon – not added to base)
Speed: 1,350 mph base (currently 980 mph – thrust impaired)
Shield Durability: 0 / 1,200 (depleted – offline)
Module/Hardpoint Slots: 0 / 3 (3 free)
Innate Abilities: 1 (Locked)
• Transformation (Tiger Beast Mode – Locked until Green grade)
Innate Skills: 0
[Ship Body – Overall Toughness Rating: 78 (Critical – Low)]
Outer Armor:
• Name: Basic Alloy Plating
• Grade: Scrap
• Stats: 18% Kinetic / 12% Energy deflection (currently 9%/6% – heavily scorched)
• Durability: 420 / 1,200 (severely damaged)
Inner Frame (Structural HP):
• Name: Standard Chassis Frame
• Grade: Scrap
• Stats: 1,080 / 2,400 (55% structural integrity remaining)
• HP Recovery Rate: 12 HP/min (out of combat – currently 0 due to active damage)
• G-Force Resistance: 8 G (reduced to 5 G – frame stress critical)
• Durability: 980 / 2,400 (critical – risk of hull breach)
[Flight System]
Name: Basic Jet Thrusters
Grade: Scrap
Max Speed: 1,350 mph (currently 980 mph – no warp capability)
Agility: Low (currently Very Low – wing damage affecting maneuverability)
Environment Adaptation: Atmospheric only
Durability: 720 / 2,000 (critical)
[Engine System]
Name: Single-Heart Combustion Core
Grade: Scrap
Stats:
• Thrust-to-Weight: 1.8 : 1 (currently 1.3 : 1 – overheating)
• Overdrive: 140% output for 6 seconds (high risk of hull strain – currently unsafe)
• Energy Cost: 900 units to initiate
• Cooldown: 90 seconds after use (currently on cooldown)
Durability: 1,450 / 2,400 (critical – flame damage spreading)
[Energy System]
Name: Basic Condensate Cell
Grade: Scrap
Stats:
• Max Capacity: 1,800 units
• Current Energy Level: 1,420 / 1,800 units
• Recharge Rate: 48 units/min (reduced to 32 – system strain)
• Efficiency: 68% (currently 52%)
• Overload Tolerance: Very Low (warning: critical risk)
Durability: 1,320 / 2,400 (critical)