Beneath the dark red sky, a colossal monster resembling a living fortress was besieging a steel stronghold built into a steep mountain cliff.
The bastion’s energy shield flickered on the verge of collapse, and the light of its cannons burst uselessly against the monster’s thick carapace.
Dottore stood atop an abandoned high-rise, his gaze coolly sweeping the battlefield as he analyzed the monster’s structure, the location of its energy core, and the defensive weaknesses of the stronghold.
Since arriving in this world, he had clearly sensed a special force at work that was accelerating the restoration of his core essence through [Heart of Life].
Though the effect was not dramatic, it was noticeably better than before, enough at least to sustain the use of most of his powers.
“A hybrid of energy-based lifeform and machine.
The core drive resembles a reactor fueled by twisted life force and chaotic energy…
intriguing.” He observed the scene as if studying an interesting experimental specimen, temporarily setting aside the troubles of Teyvat, especially one particularly bothersome colleague.
Just then, a massive energy beam gathered within the maw of the largest “fortress-class” monster, aimed directly at the stronghold’s most vulnerable power center.
Inside the command center, cries of despair erupted.
At that critical moment, Dottore moved.
Though he remained standing atop the abandoned high-rise, he raised one hand and slowly pressed downward in the monster’s direction.
A hum!
An invisible, suffocating force field of both weight-rate and velocity-rate simultaneously enveloped a hundred-meter radius around the monster.
The energy beam that had been spewing forth hung frozen in midair.
The monster’s movements, the trajectories of cannon fire, and even the stirred dust slowed to a crawl.
Every step forward became a struggle, the ground sinking beneath it with each advance.
Only the defenders within the stronghold’s shield stared in stunned bewilderment at this incomprehensible sight.
Then Dottore flicked his fingertip.
A fist-sized, abyssal point of [Heart of the Black Hole] materialized instantly before the fortress-class monster’s energy core.
The solid core and the surrounding armor were gnawed away as if by an invisible, gaping maw, twisting, shattering, and vanishing in an instant, leaving only a smooth, spherical hole.
Deprived of its core, the colossal beast collapsed with a thunderous crash, throwing the monster horde into chaos.
Dottore’s face paled further.
His body swayed, but he forced himself to stand firm.
He looked toward the stronghold and projected a thought through elemental power, his voice echoing directly in the mind of the commander.
“A traveler from another world.
I sensed your call for help.
I believe we can negotiate a transaction.
For instance, I help you eliminate these ‘troubles,’ and you provide me with certain ‘compensation’ that I find interesting.” Inside the stronghold, dead silence reigned before erupting into the wild joy of survivors and incredulous murmurs.
Dottore descended slowly onto a large piece of wreckage, waiting patiently for this world’s “representative” to come and pay homage.
His pale fingers traced the cold casing of the spacetime pocket watch, his eyes deep and unreadable.
The fleece-harvesting trip had begun.
He only hoped that Pierro and that haunting Sandrone would take a little longer to notice his disappearance.
Inside the command center of “Doomsday Bastion” in K-127, dead silence was shattered by the wild joy of survivors and incredulous murmurs.
On the screen, the image of the largest “Devourer”—as they called those monsters—crashing down was like a miracle.
“Wh-what was that just now?” a young communications officer stammered, his voice trembling with excitement.
“A gravity field and velocity manipulation…
and…
spatial annihilation?” Chief Scientist Old Jean adjusted his thick glasses, staring at the data peaks just recorded on the energy detector—peaks that defied all comprehension.
His face was a mix of fanaticism and confusion.
“This is impossible!
Our laws of physics…” “Enough!” A commanding but weary voice rang out.
The stronghold’s highest commander, General Victor, a middle-aged soldier with a scarred face and resolute eyes, cut through the chaotic chatter.
He fixed his gaze on the main screen, at the strange figure slowly descending onto the ruins.
The stranger wore a sharp-beaked bird mask, a pale blue shirt beneath a white research coat, and his mid-length silver hair—still silver-white from the extreme depletion of his core essence, not yet recovered—swayed in the wind.
The cold, clear intent of those words still echoed in the general’s mind.
“A traveler from another world…” General Victor repeated the words, his eyes flickering.
In times of despair, any straw was worth grasping, even if it came from an unknown and potentially equally dangerous existence.
But the power this stranger had displayed had effortlessly accomplished what they had failed to do with all their might.
“Open Emergency Access Gate Number Three, minimum clearance.
First Guard Unit, accompany me out to meet him.” General Victor gave the decisive order, straightening his dust-stained uniform.
“Remember, maintain the highest alert, but…
do not display hostility.
This may be our only chance.” “General, it’s too dangerous!
What if that is…” the adjutant urged in protest.
“What if it’s a trick played by a higher-level Devourer?” Victor cut him off with a bitter smile.
“Then so be it.
At least it’s acting convincingly enough to give us a chance to negotiate.
Carry out the order!” At the base of the stronghold, a thick alloy gate slowly slid open, just wide enough for a few people to pass through.
General Victor, leading a squad of heavily armed and visibly tense soldiers, stepped beyond the relative safety of the shield and walked toward the ruins where Dottore stood.
The air was acrid with the stench of gunpowder, sulfur, and monster fluids.
The scorched earth beneath their feet was loose and searing hot.
As they drew closer, they could more acutely feel the chilling aura emanating from the white-haired man.
It was not a coldness of temperature, but something from the level of the soul, an indifference as ancient and unmelting as primordial ice.
Dottore watched the cautiously approaching “locals” with unhurried ease.
Their equipment seemed crude in his eyes, their energy utilization woefully inefficient, but the tenacious, unyielding will they carried within them did make him regard them with slightly higher regard.
“Greetings, traveler from another world!” General Victor stopped about ten meters from Dottore, a distance that showed respect without lowering vigilance.
He offered a military salute of his world.
“I am Victor, Supreme Commander of the ‘Doomsday Bastion’ defense line.
Thank you for your assistance just now.
You mentioned a…
transaction.
What do you mean by that?” Dottore inclined his head slightly, acknowledging the gesture.
His gaze swept over Victor and the soldiers behind him, and his voice, flat and unrippled, reached every ear with perfect clarity.
“I will save you from annihilation.
I will eliminate your so-called ‘Devourers’ and stabilize this world on the brink of collapse.
In return, I have four conditions.” He raised four pale fingers.
“First, all your world’s research data and applied technology concerning energy, especially that invasive, intangible energy.” He pointed toward the black, sludge-like substance still slowly crawling in the distance.
“Second, I require the right to freely study all remaining ‘legacies’ of your world that I deem of value, including but not limited to special minerals, biological samples, and ancient artifacts.” “Third, you will sign a long-term cooperation agreement.
My homeland will provide you with necessary military technical assistance—including but not limited to optimized Delusions and elemental weapon prototypes—to aid in your reconstruction and defense.
You, in turn, will pay with corresponding resources as compensation.
Naturally, resources I deem special will be delivered to me separately.
All other resources will be shipped through unified channels.” He paused, his gaze deepening, and spoke the fourth condition.
“Fourth, the establishment of a mutual strategic assistance clause.
Should either world face an unavoidable catastrophe of such magnitude that it may lead to the extinction of its civilization, the other party is obligated, within its capacity, to dispatch high-level combatants and technical personnel to provide support.”