Chapter 773: A Problematic Super Star, Big Trouble

Mage stared for a moment, then scratched his head. Something seemed off, but he couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

The Pope, however, was already frowning as he circled the Super Star several times.

Su Ze could tell something was amiss. While instructing the others to start the ship for the return to Zexing, he asked in a low voice, “What’s wrong?”

Mage hadn’t been sure at first, but seeing the Pope’s reaction, he knew he’d noticed something was wrong too.

“Doesn’t it feel strange?” Mage asked.

The Pope straightened up, glanced at Su Ze and Mage, and gestured for them to step aside to talk.

The three of them entered the lounge next to the cockpit. After they sat down, Su Ze pressed, “Alright, you two, stop keeping me in suspense. What’s going on!”

The Super Star was crucial for Zexing’s development for many years to come, so Su Ze took it very seriously. Moreover, he had risked nearly his entire fortune to acquire it.

Therefore, he couldn’t afford for anything to go wrong with it.

During the process of capturing the Super Star just now, he hadn’t noticed any issues with it.

Mage was the first to share his findings. Although they were both researchers, Mage’s focus had always been on botany. He only studied Super Stars because of their ability to promote plant growth, so he had picked up some knowledge along the way.

He said, “Based on my experience, this Super Star should be very young. Given the long lifespan of a Super Star, it ought to be in its infancy right now. But its current energy state—or rather, its appearance—makes it feel like it’s already in its youth.

“This is strange, but what’s even stranger is that the first time I saw this Super Star was only a few hundred years ago. Back then, it was only in its childhood, so to speak.

“For such a drastic change to occur in just a few hundred years, there must be a reason, but I haven’t been able to figure it out.”

Su Ze frowned. “Are you saying this Super Star is aging abnormally fast?”

“That’s right.”

Su Ze then turned to the Pope. It seemed the Pope knew more than Mage.

The Pope gave a wry smile. “Master, this Super Star… already has an owner!”

Su Ze’s eye twitched. ‘What does that mean?’

‘Had someone already discovered this Super Star before them?’

‘But so what? The Super Star is in our hands now, which means it’s ours.’

‘Truthfully, if the Super Star were just aging quickly, I could accept that. No matter how fast it’s aging, it should last for at least a thousand years. A millennium is more than enough time for the Human Race to rise!’

‘Or rather, a millennium is at least enough time for me to rise!’

‘But for the Pope to say that… there must be more to it.’

The Pope made another shocking statement, one that nearly made Su Ze jump out of his seat.

“And what’s more, its owner is on that Super Star. You brought it back along with it.”

It wasn’t just Su Ze; even Mage jumped in shock.

He and Su Ze both turned their gazes to the Giant Spatial Artifact, probing it with their Spiritual Power to look at the Super Star inside.

“Explain yourself clearly!” Su Ze commanded.

‘I need to understand the situation before I decide whether or not to just get rid of this Super Star.’

“There’s no need to be alarmed, Master. It poses no immediate threat. This is a complex matter, so please allow me to explain from the beginning.”

Hearing that there was no immediate danger, Su Ze regained his composure, and the three of them sat back down.

The Pope organized his thoughts before speaking. “You should be aware, Master, that my race, the Nian Race, has followed the Witch Race for countless years. As a result, we know a great deal about them.”

When the Pope suddenly mentioned the Witch Race, Su Ze understood. ‘This is probably related to the Witch Race.’

He didn’t interrupt with questions, but continued to listen.

“The Witch Race is innately powerful, but they have difficulty reproducing. It’s also extremely hard for their young to mature, as it takes a very long time. Consequently, their numbers are exceptionally small.

“Most sentient species are viviparous, but the Witch Race is oviparous. After a female Witch conceives, she must gestate for a million years before laying a single egg. This egg contains a million years of accumulated energy. Because of this, even while still in the shell, a Witch possesses an incredibly powerful life force. Nothing short of a god-level being could destroy it.

“However, hatching a Witch Egg is also extremely difficult. A common method among the Witch Race is to lay the egg deep inside a planet, using the thermal energy from the crust to incubate the Witch Egg.

“And by the time the young Witch hatches, the planet has essentially reached the end of its life, its energy completely drained, turning it into a dead planet.”

At this point in the Pope’s explanation, Su Ze was already beginning to understand, and his mind raced with connections.

“Are you saying there’s a Witch Egg inside that Super Star right now?”

he asked in disbelief.

‘You said the Witch Race uses ordinary planets for incubation, you never said anything about using a Super Star!’

‘Incubating an egg in a Super Star? Are you sure you’d be incubating it and not just roasting it?’

The Pope nodded. “The possibility is extremely high!

“Ordinary Witches use normal planets for incubation. The powerful ones among them—I’m referring to the Ancestral Gods of the Witch Race—are said to use stars. After all, the Witch Race is few in number. Any child born successfully is guaranteed to be god-level. Therefore, the only ones who can be called powerful among them are the Ancestral Gods.

“But as for using a Super Star for incubation… to be honest, I’ve never heard of such a thing…

“However, this Super Star’s condition perfectly matches that of a celestial body chosen for incubation: premature aging and an abnormally fast rate of energy loss. Furthermore, that entire Star Realm is exceptionally desolate and filled with many dead planets, all suspected of having been used by the Witch Race for incubation.

“That entire region might be the Witch Race’s ‘Hatching Box’.”

Su Ze was completely stunned.

“Are you telling me that I’ve likely just kidnapped the offspring of a Witch powerhouse who surpasses even the Ancestral Gods?”

The Pope nodded.

“After all that, you’re telling me there’s no immediate danger?”

Su Ze shot to his feet, wishing he could immediately toss out the Super Star along with the Giant Spatial Artifact.

If the parasitic bond between him and the Pope weren’t so stable, he would have suspected this guy was a traitor planning to get him killed.

‘I don’t even dare to provoke an Ancestral God right now, yet I’ve gone and provoked someone who might surpass them—and from the Dominator Race, the Witch Race, no less! Do I have a death wish or something?’