As the countdown reached one, the launch preparations entered their final phase.

When the countdown hit zero, the vast torrent of tachyons that had gathered within the emitter of the negative matter cannon surged out. In almost an instant, they traversed over 100 million kilometers and arrived at the surface of the star.

Thanks to the development of Faster-Than-Light detection technology, Xiao Yu was able to pinpoint his firing coordinates in real time. Even before the launch, numerous detection instruments had already gathered at the impact site, ready to observe the aftermath of the negative matter cannon’s assault.

But this time, Xiao Yu had miscalculated.

At the exact moment the Specter Race was struck by the negative matter cannon, Xiao Yu received a message from it, one filled with surprise. “Hmm?”

Xiao Yu didn’t respond. At that moment, he was completely stunned.

He was witnessing a scene that could no longer be described with the word spectacular. Words like magnificent, majestic, and breathtaking all seemed pale and inadequate before the sight that unfolded before him.

Xiao Yu saw a fountain. But this was no ordinary fountain, what erupted from it wasn’t water, but a substance resembling the liquefied matter of a star.

To maximize firepower, the tachyon torrent fired this time was concentrated within a circular area only twenty meters in diameter. Accordingly, the black membrane forming the body of the Specter Race was punctured, leaving a twenty-meter-wide hole.

Yes, the Specter Race’s body had been pierced. The asteroid impact had no effect on it. The antimatter bomb was powerless against it. But under the bombardment of the negative matter cannon, a breach had finally been made.

The surface of the star was not calm, it was like a vast ocean on Earth, with waves constantly rolling. If one were to tightly wrap Earth’s oceans with a cover and press down with great force, how immense would the pressure on the seawater be?

Xiao Yu had never calculated that specifically, but he knew that the pressure would be enormous. In the current scenario, the surface of a star had been tightly sealed. And the internal activity of a star was far more intense than that of a planet, which meant it was under even greater pressure.

Under the black membrane, the star’s matter was constantly subjected to immense pressure. Then, the black membrane that had been compressing it at all times suddenly opened a hole. What would happen?

That’s right, a fountain.

This fountain of stellar matter instantly surged skyward. Under immense pressure, it was launched at an extremely high initial velocity, a speed far beyond the star’s escape velocity. As a result, it would leave its host star and never return.

On Earth, no matter how high a fountain shoots, whether ten meters, a hundred, or a thousand, it will eventually fall back to the ground once its momentum runs out. But this fountain would not.

To Xiao Yu, what lay before him looked exactly like that.

A colossal light pillar, twenty meters in diameter, suddenly erupted from the ground and shot toward the heavens, like a dazzling cosmic firework.

As it erupted, tremendous heat and energy radiated from it. Some of the stellar matter near the edges, hindered by the black membrane, failed to reach escape velocity. After soaring a few hundred kilometers, it fell back down, creating a dazzling rain of fire across the black plain.

Upon landing on the black plain, the matter still retained its heat. It transformed into lava-like flows that surged freely across the ground. Several detection devices that failed to evade in time were touched by this flood and were immediately incinerated.

Even the orbital satellites Xiao Yu had deployed in space captured this astonishing scene. In just a few seconds, the stellar matter had already been ejected to a distance of several hundred thousand kilometers. Due to the star’s rotation, the ejected stream did not travel in a straight line but instead curved slightly. From the satellite’s perspective, it looked like a massive glowing cable stretching from the depths of space back to the star.

A rough estimate showed that in such a short time, at least several hundred million tons of stellar matter had been expelled, and the eruption showed no signs of slowing down. Xiao Yu suspected that if the black membrane continued to press down on the surface, the fountain would never stop erupting.

This situation was like squeezing an orange tightly with one’s hands, and the juice spraying out from between the fingers.

“I’ve messed up this time,” Xiao Yu thought.

It was only now, as the scene before him, grand enough to rival the myth of the heavens splitting open and Mount Buzhou rising, began to subside, that Xiao Yu snapped back to his senses. He quickly responded, “I…I’m sorry, elder. I didn’t expect my negative matter cannon to actually pierce your body. Are you alright? Did anything happen?”

“Hmm… it felt like being pricked by a needle. It’s nothing. But I dislike this sensation. It disturbs my rest. Don’t do this again in the future,” the Specter Race replied faintly, then fell silent. The twenty-meter-wide hole gradually disappeared as the black membrane slowly wriggled and healed.

As the hole vanished, so too did the incomparably majestic fountain. Though it had only existed for a few seconds, it left an unforgettable impression on Xiao Yu.

The black membrane seemed to have an exceptional ability to absorb heat. The stellar matter that had fallen onto the ground quickly dimmed and was soon cooled into liquid and solid forms. Only then did Xiao Yu see that those substances were just ordinary and very common elements.

Inside the star, they existed in a plasma state. Once removed from the high-temperature, high-pressure environment of the star, they rapidly reverted to their standard forms.

“My negative matter cannon finally has a bit of combat capability… Not bad. Still, some improvements are needed before it can truly be used in battle,” Xiao Yu thought with joy as he calmed his mind from the awe. “The power of the negative matter cannon is indeed immense, it could even pierce the Specter elder’s body.”

After allocating some of his computational capacity to join the scientists in post-fire analysis, a new idea arose in Xiao Yu’s mind.

“I want to go to the edge of the Specter elder’s body and see the surface of the star for myself. This is a rare opportunity. Until I reach the level of a Level 6 Civilization, I’m sure I won’t get another chance like this.”

The surface of a star was undoubtedly extremely dangerous. But for Xiao Yu, the loss of a few detectors was an acceptable price. Without hesitation, he controlled the instruments and rapidly moved them toward the edge of the Specter body, toward the star’s equator.

The Specter’s body happened to cover exactly one hemisphere of the star, using the equator as a dividing line.

Even with his current level of knowledge, Xiao Yu couldn’t imagine what observing the surface of a star up close would actually look like. Though he had thoroughly analyzed countless stars using probes and 3D modeling, down to the core’s composition, pressure, and temperature, those had always been calculations. He had never seen it with his own eyes.

Now, he had a chance.

The detection equipment raced swiftly across the vast, black, endless plain.

Due to the immense size of this star, the black plain extended so far that the horizon was essentially invisible. The surroundings were flat, with no major elevation changes.

Guided by the orbital satellites, the instruments gradually approached their designated target.

“Distance to destination, the equator, is still 200,000 kilometers. The temperature here is still minus one hundred ninety degrees… Incredible.”

Amazed, Xiao Yu increased the speed once more.

Only when the distance shortened to 50,000 kilometers did Xiao Yu begin to notice a temperature rise. In fact, if the star’s surface had been calm, even if Xiao Yu reached the equator, he wouldn’t have sensed any heat or seen any light. There would be no diffuse reflection. In other words, even if he were just one step away from the star’s surface, he wouldn’t notice a thing.

But the surface of a star is never calm. Its ferocity would humble even the most violent tsunamis on Earth. The turmoil on rocky planets was nothing, less than ants in comparison.

At this distance, Xiao Yu could already see the light. Several tens of thousands of kilometers ahead, a massive protuberance rose like a divine mountain, constantly shifting its shape. It radiated blinding, unviewable brilliance and immense heat. If Xiao Yu’s probes hadn’t been equipped with the most advanced thermal shielding, they would have already been incinerated.

This divine mountain remained upright for several hours, and after that, it slowly sank back down and disappeared. But with its disappearance, even more mountainous peaks rose up, like wave crests surging forward.

The metaphor was no exaggeration. These peaks were the “waves” on the star’s surface. The outer layer of the star exhibited a degree of liquid-like properties, so it naturally had something resembling ocean waves.

On Earth, even the fiercest waves reached only a few dozen meters in height. But on the surface of a star, such waves were measured in kilometers. Waves tens of kilometers tall were common and unremarkable.

Xiao Yu continued to slowly approach the equator. When the distance shrank to 20,000 kilometers, he could go no further.

What lay before him… was a magnificent sea of flames.