After dinner, Wang Yuanyuan returned to school, as she had evening classes to attend. In top universities, evening classes are a common occurrence. Fang Yuan, on the other hand, continued to focus his mind on the developments in the Steel Ball Realm, while also directing his thoughts towards the American spaceship orbiting Earth.
As the sky darkened, Washington, D.C. began to shine brightly at night. Red and green traffic lights flashed, vehicles and pedestrians were bustling through the streets, creating a vibrant scene.
"Hey, look! That star is so bright..."
Someone on the street suddenly pointed at a star in the night sky, astonished. Those around them also looked up and indeed saw a star unusually bright. They weren't sure if it was just their imagination, but the star seemed to be gradually getting brighter.
Not only people nearby noticed it, but many from a distance also saw it. In fact, the entire Western Hemisphere seemed to notice the star.
At the same time, at an American observatory, an astronomer was using a telescope to observe outer space and the stars.
"Oh my god, what is that?"
The astronomer suddenly exclaimed in surprise. Through a telescope with a mirror over three meters in diameter, a very bright star appeared. And that star was getting brighter and, vaguely, seemed to be enlarging slowly.
"Quick, quickly calculate the distance from Earth to that star..." The astronomer hurriedly called to his assistant.
The astronomer kept his eyes fixed on the star as it grew brighter and brighter, seemingly illuminating the surrounding night sky. Of course, this was an optical illusion due to the refraction of light—there is no scattering of light in a vacuum.
Soon, the assistant's supercomputer calculated the star's distance. The assistant gasped in shock. "Dr. Wei, the distance to that star is changing..."
"Changing? What do you mean? How far is it from Earth now?" Dr. Wei asked, confused.
"Five... no, three seconds ago it was about 1.309 billion kilometers from Earth. Three seconds later, the distance is exactly 1.3 billion kilometers!" The assistant said loudly.
"What? Say that again. How far is it?" Dr. Wei spun around and grabbed his assistant by the collar.
The assistant was startled but dared not delay, continuing, "Dr. Wei, look for yourself. The distance is changing rapidly. It's approaching Earth at the speed of light... Oh my god, it seems bigger now, like a smaller version of the sun..."
Dr. Wei quickly turned his gaze to the supercomputer next to him. Indeed, the star's distance was changing at a rapid pace. He then looked at the various calculation methods flashing on the computer, taking into account factors like light refraction in the atmosphere and other possible influences in a vacuum.
"My god... Are you saying that in an hour or so, this star will collide with Earth?" Dr. Wei's eyes widened in disbelief. "Is this your punishment for Earth, God?"
"Wait, quickly calculate the star's trajectory, and also, what is the star's diameter?" Dr. Wei urged, as he turned to look through the telescope again. By now, the star looked like the size of a glass bead—terrifying.
The calculations were quickly made by the supercomputer, and the assistant said in a trembling voice, "Dr. Wei, the star's diameter is at least 100,000 kilometers. This is unbelievable..."
"And its trajectory?" Dr. Wei asked, his own fear rising as he wiped sweat from his forehead. He quickly pressed the alarm button to inform the White House of the situation.
"We've calculated its trajectory... considering Earth's rotation, it... it..." The assistant shivered, his voice trembling with fear.
"What is it?!" Dr. Wei shouted angrily.
"It will probably pass by Earth at a distance of no more than 300,000 kilometers. But at that point, it will be in the same line of path as the Moon, which means it will inevitably collide with the Moon!" The assistant stammered. "And because its diameter is so large and its mass so great, it will generate planetary gravity, which will change Earth's orbit... Oh my god, Earth is finished. This is the end of the world!"
The assistant's eyes rolled back, and he immediately fainted from the shock.
...
At the White House, the entire high command was awakened by the piercing alarm.
"What happened?"
"Highest level alert? Is there going to be a nuclear war?"
"Dammit, can't anyone let us sleep?!"
Many of the high-ranking officials cursed, but still quickly began using their communication equipment to connect with the president via video conference, as the situation was urgent and there was no time to assemble in the meeting room.
"Everyone's here. No time for explanations. Immediately activate the highest-level defense readiness mode!" The president's first words were urgent.
Everyone in the meeting room was shocked and jumped to their feet. There was no time to explain; they immediately began to activate the highest-level defense readiness mode, fearing that an enemy nuclear strike had already reached American skies.
However, the truth was even more terrifying than nuclear war. This was a potential global catastrophe that could wipe out Earth.
Meanwhile, in the Eastern Hemisphere, countries like China also received news of the star potentially colliding with the Moon and dragging Earth out of orbit, a catastrophic event that could result in the destruction of Earth.
The news caused a global stir. All the world's leaders were shaken. Countries around the world dropped their grudges and united like never before, planning to launch an untested interstellar nuclear missile that had only been developed in recent years, hoping to destroy the star before it could strike Earth.
Even if they could destroy the star, however, the debris would still be pulled by inertia and would drag Earth into the disaster.
At this moment, all the leaders of humanity on Earth were gripped by deep despair. They had run simulations using supercomputers, and even if the untested interstellar nuclear missile could be launched successfully, the chances of destroying the star were less than one in ten thousand.
The probability was just too low.
...
At the Miracle Pet Shop, Fang Yuan, who had been meditating and monitoring the Steel Ball Realm, suddenly opened his eyes. His powerful mental energy surged, distorting the universe's stars and altering the Moon's orbit.
"What's going on?!"
Fang Yuan leaped to his feet, his realm power shaking the cosmos, and the Moon's orbit nearly changed. Thankfully, Fang Yuan stopped in time to avoid a catastrophe.
"It's that stellar life. Damn it, how could it be coming towards the Sun?!"
Fang Yuan was both shocked and enraged. The star's target seemed to be Earth, and Earth was his territory—how could he allow it to be destroyed?
"You want to die?!"
Fang Yuan was furious. This was the first time since the Bai family incident that he had felt this angry. Without hesitation, he charged into space, wielding unimaginable power and heading straight for the stellar life.
In his anger, Fang Yuan even forgot to conceal his presence and power. As he shot out of Earth's atmosphere, his speed surpassed that of light, creating an area of terrifying windstorms above level 18.
This scene was quickly detected by Earth's supercomputers. All the Earth's leaders stared wide-eyed in astonishment.
As the supercomputers slowed the footage, they vaguely saw a blurry figure emerging from Earth's atmosphere.