Chapter 232
"You know this is a mission, a lesson. Next time, it won't be so easy."
The attacker showed signs of displeasure, but it was clear that he was more wary of the 'Stellar Church Deacon' he had just mentioned. He wisely chose not to pursue the matter further and instead moved toward his designated task area.
Ye Bai let out a sigh of relief, but a wave of new questions surged in her mind.
However, this wasn't the time for contemplation. Ye Bai focused her mental energy on her jade terminal, where the auxiliary vision provided marked coordinates that materialized in her eyes.
The target was indeed the strange landscape before her. Ye Bai saw that her assigned area was located at the edge of a curved three-layered fold.
Other mentalists who had arrived earlier had already begun their tasks. Seeing this, Ye Bai vanished from her spot and used a point-to-point jump to reach her designated area.
As she approached the thin, veil-like region, her spatial awareness detected something unusual.
This was a space that had been twisted and folded.
Yet, it was completely different from the normal wormhole forms she had seen before. A typical wormhole in space appeared 'flat,' with a spacecraft entering from one end and exiting from the other, perfectly aligning with the model she had in her mind.
In contrast, the 'wormhole' before her resembled the invisible, three-dimensional 'side' structure of a wormhole concept.
Was it the space that was problematic, or the wormhole itself? And what was the Stellar Church?
Amidst a swirl of questions, Ye Bai wasted no time in attempting to extend her mental energy, following the 'operating manual' she had received earlier to manipulate the distorted space.
The sensation of influencing space was fascinating. During this process, Ye Bai felt as if she had grasped the reason why A-level mentalists could use spatial teleportation.
No wonder this mission attracted so many B-level mentalists; perhaps there were benefits to be gained from it.
The instinct of intelligent beings is to seek knowledge, and Ye Bai instinctively immersed herself in the sensation of manipulating the unknown space.
Her mental energy flowed like nimble hands threading a needle, disturbing gravitational waves to achieve her goal, as the distorted structure before her unfolded, revealing a flattened image.
What caused the space to curve and fold, besides gravitational waves, was time...
This realization struck Ye Bai's mind, and she instinctively used her time manipulation ability to accelerate her actions.
When Ye Bai came back to her senses, she found that the distorted space in her task area had completely unfolded and returned to normal.
That should count as completion, right?
She then turned her gaze to the nearby B-level mentalists, only to be taken aback. Although they had started before her, their task progress was evidently lagging, and it seemed they hadn't even reached halfway.
This...
Ye Bai realized that her speed, perhaps due to her time manipulation ability, far exceeded that of the other B-levels. However, now she was disguised as an A-level with the black hole identity, and there were no A-level mentalists nearby for comparison. It was reasonable that she would be faster than B-levels.
Recalling the task rewards, which ranged from B to A-level... why not aim for better rewards if given the chance?
After pondering for a moment, Ye Bai directed her mental energy into the jade terminal and chose to submit her task progress.
As soon as she submitted the task, she received a new message.
[Task progress submission complete.]
[User #0000343242452, new task area: (33.33.97-43.43.97)]
The task rewards were indeed based on the quantity completed within a certain time frame, and the newly acquired location was nearby. Ye Bai immediately dashed off to continue her work.
Three hours later, all participants received a notification:
[Total task progress complete. All participants please proceed to coordinates 23.94.872 to select rewards.]
At the same time, each person's task completion status was sent out, and Ye Bai naturally saw her own—
[User #0000343242452, reward level: A; task ranking: 1]
Uh-oh, it seems I might have overdone it...
---
Ye Bai completed her task even before the official notification. By the time she finished the sixth area, she found that she could no longer accept new tasks. The spatial folds on the side of the wormhole were slowly disappearing, indicating that the entire wormhole was nearing its closure.
Sure enough, it wasn't long before she received the completion notification.
However, upon seeing her first-place ranking, Ye Bai couldn't help but feel a bit dumbfounded, hoping her performance wouldn't draw too much unnecessary attention.
Following the guidance of the jade terminal, the mentalists gathered at the designated coordinates.
There was little conversation among them; they simply waited in silence. Ye Bai, noticing this, quietly chose a spot nearby.
As she moved closer, she felt several gazes directed her way.
One of the most intense stares came from the half-mechanized individual she had briefly clashed with earlier. The other gazes, she wondered, might belong to enemies of the black hole. She scanned the area with an expressionless face.
Just like the previous adversary who dared not delay the task, those who met Ye Bai's gaze quickly averted their eyes.
At that moment, a ripple of spatial disturbance occurred nearby, and a miniature wormhole suddenly appeared above them. Out stepped a woman of exquisite beauty, clad in a robe that resembled the starry sky.
The reason it was called a starry robe was that its base color was black, adorned with dynamic patterns that, upon closer inspection, simulated a galaxy revolving around a star. It looked like some sort of formal attire.
Was this the... Deacon of the Stellar Church?
Ye Bai's expression shifted slightly, for in her mental perception, she was astonished to discover that the deacon, whom even the A-level attacker feared, was merely a B-level mentalist.
With the appearance of this deacon, the various taskers present, each with different expressions, focused their attention on her. Even the A-levels appeared humble and low-key.
This further indicated that what the chaotic star sea's powerhouses feared was not the deacon's personal strength, but rather the 'Stellar Church' behind her.
From the moment Ye Bai first heard about it, she had many questions. In the interstellar era, how could a church-like force still exist? What deity did the Stellar Church worship?
From the information Ye Bai had, the first thing that came to mind was the star deity worshipped by the Tianluo tribe. However, if the star deity had such a wide following, the Tianluo tribe wouldn't be one of the rare nomadic races in the universe.
Moreover, Xilianna had once mistaken Ye Bai's mental energy for that of the star deity, and when she later spread the faith to her acquaintances, she never mentioned the Stellar Church.
As her gaze swept over the taskers standing below, the deacon remained expressionless and did not speak. Her mental energy rippled out: "Very well, ten of you have earned A-level rewards. You may choose your rewards in order of ranking."
As she spoke, the deacon extended her hand, and a shimmering diamond crystal floated before her: "First place, please come forward."
Upon hearing this, Ye Bai wasted no time and instantly appeared before the deacon.
All eyes in the room were on her, filled with curiosity, surprise, and wariness... and the expression of the earlier attacker changed dramatically at this sight.
Seeing Ye Bai, the first-place winner, the deacon's half-closed eyes lifted slightly, and she broke into a smile that seemed perfectly measured: "You are the first place, and you can receive 2000 points and choose one reward from the A-level technical rewards."
As she drew closer, Ye Bai realized that the deacon's features were exquisitely refined. In the age of interstellar genetics, each race had its unique beauty, but the woman before her was not just beautiful; her features were almost perfectly symmetrical, giving her an uncanny, doll-like appearance.
If it weren't for Ye Bai's current strong mental energy and the fact that the deacon wasn't absolutely 'perfect,' she might have felt a sense of the uncanny valley.
However, Ye Bai understood the gravity of the situation. She needed to treat the Stellar Church, which even the A-levels regarded with caution, with the utmost care.
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