[Vertical liftoff phase of the rocket completed, entering the turning program phase.]
[Direction: Southeast.]
[Rocket currently at 30 kilometers, altitude continuously rising...]
[Four boosters have detached, expected to fall into the Piltover Sea...]
[Expected to reach 70 kilometers by 2 minutes 52 seconds, stages one and two separation...]
[...]
The researchers present held their breath, their eyes fixed on the large screen ahead.
Only when the rocket crossed into the boundary between sky and space did they finally breathe a sigh of relief.
The stars seen from Runeterra and those captured by the rocket's cameras were completely different.
There were no countless stars dotting the canvas, no colorful galaxies spanning the sky. There was only an endless expanse of pitch black, showcasing profound solitude.
"Is this... the celestial realm?"
"Why is it just pitch black? It's completely different from what we've seen."
"I heard constellations in the heavens are divine beings? Could it be that we cannot glimpse their true forms?"
"What are you saying? In Runeterra, with a telescope, you can see them. Why would they vanish when we leave the planet?"
"Could this be an issue with the camera's exposure? Logically, even in the celestial realm, we should still see the stars."
"Yes, based on my years studying the star realms, that's true."
"..."
Li Lin listened to the murmurs of the researchers, shaking his head with a wry smile.
There was a time when his understanding of the stars had gone through many stages.
As a child, he believed that even beyond Earth, the skies would be filled with countless twinkling stars.
As a teenager, influenced by scientific magazines and online images of starry skies without stars, coupled with some marketing gimmicks, he believed that even in space, he wouldn't see stars.
Later on, he truly understood that as long as one faced away from the sun, adapted to the dark expanse of space, they could still clearly see the diverse colors of the stars.
After pondering for a moment, Li Lin gave a command to the AI: "Adjust the exposure time."
Through the AI's intelligent calculations, the exposure was quickly adjusted, and the screen transmitted back by the rocket suddenly changed, with faint glows beginning to appear.
Instantly, the discussion in the command room grew more intense.
"It was indeed an exposure issue."
"Wow, stars filling the sky! This is the celestial realm I imagined!"
"So beautiful..."
"If I had the chance to leave Runeterra and wander through the heavens, my life would be fulfilled."
"..."
Even Heimerdinger, faced with this scene, showed an expression of utter amazement. "The celestial realm, where the giant star spirits and extraordinary beings are born..."
Yes, who would have thought that in this world, even the planets were created by that group of stellar entities?
Li Lin couldn't help but sigh inwardly.
"It seems that this rocket launch is almost..."
Before he could finish his sentence, the vast room suddenly flickered red. The AI's urgent alarm sounded like a death knell from hell, sending chills down everyone's spine.
[Alarm! Alarm!]
[Detecting unknown high-energy approaching rapidly!]
[Detecting abnormal spatial folds appearing!]
[Detecting abnormal magical energy converging!]
[Source of magical energy... from all directions!]
[Physical laws around the rocket are being rewritten! Rocket engines are about to shut down!]
Li Lin widened his eyes, stunned.
Only those star spirits could rewrite reality like this.
That self-proclaimed giant, those selfish beings who deem themselves gods.
Are they really going to block the future of humans on Runeterra, forbidding us from mastering this kind of technology?
Why?!
This planet wasn't created by them!
Li Lin gritted his teeth, a burning anger kindling within him.
Except for him, all the researchers began frantically typing on their keyboards, looking panicked and busy.
But the rocket had already entered space, rendering their efforts futile and utterly useless.
"Damn it! What's going on here?"
"Just a second ago, all the data was normal, and suddenly it's like this!"
"The laws of physics have been rewritten, only those gods could do such a thing!"
"Damn it! We were so close to succeeding..."
"Are we really going to live under the shadow of these gods forever?"
Listening to everyone's complaints and chaos, Heimerdinger felt deeply troubled, sighing heavily, muttering to himself, "As I expected..."
Just as despair gripped everyone present, Jayce suddenly noticed something unusual, shouting loudly and grabbing everyone's attention, "Wait! I think we can't give up yet!"
"Jayce..." Heimerdinger stared at his student with a complex expression, "Without the laws of physics, our technology is useless."
"No, professor."
Reacting quickly to Jayce's shout, Viktor pointed at the screen and explained, "Look, our rocket has lost propulsion, but at this altitude, it should have continued in inertia..."
"But it's suspended in space in a strange manner, as if time has paused!"
Li Lin collected his thoughts and suddenly understood.
If the celestial spirits truly wouldn't allow humans to launch satellites, they could simply throw a meteor to destroy the satellite.
Why go through all the trouble of rewriting the laws of physics to stop the rocket in space?
Moreover, a remark from the AI made Li Lin particularly concerned: spatial folds!
Who among the celestial spirits could manipulate space and distort laws?
Thinking of this, Li Lin turned and ran outside the command room.
"Hey! Li Lin, where are you going?" Jayce followed closely behind him.
After hesitating for a second, Viktor, encouraged by Heimerdinger and Skye's eyes, also cast aside his concerns and followed suit.
The three of them maintained their speed, rushing through the spreading corridors.
Even Caitlyn, Kai'Sa, Cassandra, and other council members and heads of major families who were waiting in the lobby to inquire about the situation were ignored by Li Lin.
Jayce hadn't even taken the gene-enhancing potion, and running here at full speed had left him breathless.
Caitlyn originally wanted to catch up with Li Lin and ask what was going on, but noticing his urgent expression, it seemed there was something very important, so she decided against it.
When Jayce caught up, she hurriedly stopped him and asked, "What's going on? I saw on the waiting hall screen that the rocket stopped running?"
The other council members also crowded around, asking about the situation in the command room, causing a chaotic scene.
"Ac—pant...accurately speaking, it's... the Celestial... spirits..." Jayce gasped as he spoke, causing everyone's hearts to sink.
A few seconds later, when Viktor ran over with no breath, they surrounded him.
Just as Viktor's face was full of helplessness and anxiety, explaining to everyone what was going on, a faint blue light trailed out of the floor-to-ceiling explosion-proof window of the corridor, with a Li Lin wearing a style different from the original flying to the sky.
All attention was drawn to Li Lin, who disappeared almost in the night with a blink of an eye.
"What's that?" Jayce gasped.
Viktor was also shocked, "This speed is much faster than his previous third-generation armor."
"The source plan, Infinite Fifth-Generation Armor," Caitlyn looked anxious, "Li Lin mentioned it to me a few days ago, saying that this armor can fly him into space..."
Jayce and Viktor simultaneously showed a look of astonishment.
"What?!" x2
...
...
The Genesis, Infinite Fifth Generation, was developed by Li Lin specifically for emergencies, far exceeding the flight height limit of the third generation armor, and was designed for space flight.
Its appearance is similar to the original Infinite Armor, but it stands about 5 meters tall and uses synthetic high-compression materials to enhance resistance to heat, cold, and radiation, based on the original third-generation armor.
The power core used is no longer a Hextech core but an energy-dense, optimized miniature nuclear fusion reactor, using a strong pulse thruster as the power engine.
As a result, it flies at the speed of escaping the gravity of Runeterra, without worrying about the insufficient power supply of the Hextech core.
In just a few seconds, Li Lin accelerated to the "first cosmic speed" of this universe, quickly flew into space, and arrived at the periphery of the hovering area of the carrier rocket.
["Master, the physical laws ahead have been rewritten. If you rush in, it may cause unpredictable consequences."]
"I understand."
Li Lin looked at the enlarged holographic screen with a serious expression.
He thought for a moment, opened the armor on his back shoulder, released two folding spherical drones rapidly transforming, and let them continue forward on his behalf.
In just over ten seconds, the two drones came into contact with the area where the rules had been rewritten, instantly lost power, and entered the same state as the carrier rocket.
After a very brief calculation, the AI immediately concluded:
["The spatial influence range where the laws of physics are altered is at least 1.76 kilometers."]
"It's much closer than I expected."
Li Lin took a deep breath and was about to activate "Data Mind" to see what was going on.
At that moment, a voice of a young girl, lively and mischievous, sounding very familiar, suddenly sounded behind him:
"Wow! Look at that Armor! What's it called again?"
"—Whoa! Who's there?!"
Li Lin was startled by the sudden voice, but the AI didn't detect any presence around him.
It was as if that voice just now was his illusion.
This voice...
Is it really you?
Twilight Celestial Spirit—Zoe.
Li Lin clicked his tongue, thinking to himself.
He rotated the armor once, eyes fixed tightly on the screen of the holographic display, and kept the AI constantly alert to changes in energy indices.
Nothing.
But in the next second, the AI suddenly reminded Li Lin of spatial folds, and the energy index was skyrocketing, even several times higher than the energy brought by nuclear fusion reactions.
"Hehe~~ Are you looking for me?"
With a playful voice again from behind Li Lin, a golden circle suddenly appeared above him.
A girl, very familiar to Li Lin, hung half of her body upside down from inside, waving at him.
"Hi~~ Hello! I'm Zoe, what's your name?"
(End of this chapter)
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