Chapter Seven: White

"You..."
Lan Tian was struck with horror. "Hello, Earthling" sounded normal enough, but the phrase before it—"As you wish"—was anything but...

He tried to recall the moment. Though he had indeed thought that in his heart, he had never spoken the words aloud. Could this three-dimensional projection see into his innermost thoughts?

"Yes. Within my scanning range, I can detect every thought you have," the projection spoke again.

"What... what exactly are you?" Lan Tian was stunned. What kind of power was this?

He took a deep breath, forcing himself to calm down.

"By the standards of your Earth, I should be considered a computer—one that is countless times more advanced than anything Earth’s technology has ever produced," the projection replied.

"A computer? You’re telling me you’re just a computer?!" Lan Tian stared at the projection incredulously.

"In fact, you could think of me as a personal intelligent terminal. Oh, and I have a name—you may call me Bai," it said.

"You just invaded my computer, didn’t you? Learned about Earth’s knowledge?"

"You’re quite clever. To be precise, I simply encoded all the languages of your planet into my own code, and while I was at it, I took a look at the level of development on your world." At this, Bai’s holographic face made a distinctly human gesture—a slight pout. "I have to say, your planet is truly as primitive as it gets..."

Lan Tian paid no heed to Bai’s judgment. All signs indicated that Bai came from a civilization with technology far beyond anything on Earth.

He knew a little about computers, so his attention focused entirely on the extraordinary learning abilities Bai had described. "…You can self-learn? You can reprogram yourself?!"

A computer that could reprogram itself—what did that mean?

It meant a being capable of infinite learning, endless self-improvement. In a sense, Bai could no longer be considered a mere computer, or a tool, but rather an intelligent life form, capable of learning and thought!

Bai nodded courteously. "Your concept of intelligent life is quite impressive."

"Well, Bai—right? Could you please not scan my thoughts directly anymore? I mean, don’t I have any privacy at all?" Black lines began to appear on Lan Tian’s forehead—Bai’s ability was simply too much!

"Alright. I will respect your wishes," Bai replied with surprising straightforwardness.

"Uh... thank you!" Lan Tian was taken aback, not expecting Bai to be so agreeable. He pressed on, "Can you tell me where you come from, and what your purpose is on Earth?"

After several exchanges, Lan Tian already had a preliminary understanding of Bai. The being seemed benevolent, so he didn’t hesitate to ask the questions on his mind.

Hearing this, Bai’s projection flickered for a moment, a hint of sorrow appearing on its face. "My master abandoned me here. My master... has fallen..."

"Uh... Bai, could you be a bit more specific?" Lan Tian was completely lost, so he pressed further.

"Human language has many limitations. I’ll let you see for yourself..." Bai nodded, extended a finger, and pointed at Lan Tian. Immediately, a beam of light shot from Bai’s fingertip, landing at the center of Lan Tian’s brow.

There was no time to react. As the beam struck, everything blurred before his eyes, and the world around him changed entirely, as if he had entered another realm. He found himself unable to move, with only his mind left to think, and a pair of eyes not under his control through which he could see. He realized, recalling Bai’s earlier words, that he was to witness everything from the perspective of the owner of these eyes—a mere bystander.

The first thing he saw was total darkness, likely within a confined space. Then the hatch before him opened, and the eyes’ owner stepped out. Before him stretched endless void, with the radiant Milky Way shining eternally in the distance.

This... was space, wasn’t it?

The owner of these eyes was able to enter space with nothing but his own body?!

Lan Tian had no time to marvel. The scene shifted again. Suddenly, the vacuum ahead twisted, rippling in waves. Behind the distortion, as if there were another space, a massive gray pillar, as towering as a mountain, thrust out from nothingness!

Lan Tian stared in shock at the enormous pillar that had appeared so abruptly. He could not fathom how such a thing could exist. Then, more pillars emerged from the twisting void—a second, a third...

Suddenly, a thought flashed through Lan Tian’s mind. The moment it appeared, his brain nearly shut down—he thought he’d gone mad.

He was beginning to think these gray pillars resembled... fingers.

But what happened next told him he was not mistaken. As the distortion widened, a colossal being appeared before the eyes’ owner.

To call it "colossal" was almost an insult to this terrifying creature.

With nothing else to compare it to, Lan Tian couldn’t estimate its true size, but the impression alone made him suspect that its bulk rivaled the entire Earth.

Its form was awe-inspiring—a head that was neither tiger nor dragon, crowned with four horns, wings unfurled behind it, shaking the very stars as they moved. Its limbs were like pillars holding up the heavens. Its eyes showed no emotion, and its entire being radiated a suffocating, nameless pressure.

The moment it saw the eyes’ owner, fury erupted in its gaze. It extended a single finger, pointing at the owner.

"What manner of terrifying beast is this? It’s beyond comprehension..." Lan Tian realized with certainty that the gray pillars that appeared earlier were nothing but the beast’s claws.

Or, more precisely, perhaps "fingers" was the better word, since the beast’s claws so closely resembled a human hand—flexible and nimble.

The beast pointed at the eyes’ owner, and from its fingertip burst a glowing mass—a deep purple, flame-like energy rapidly condensed and shot toward its target!

Perhaps because Lan Tian had never experienced space firsthand, he had no true concept of distance or scale. Only when the purple flame approached did he realize that calling it a "mass" was absurd—it was a veritable ocean of fire!

But the eyes’ owner showed no fear. His body radiated infinite light; he raised a hand, casting a starry projection, and hurled a celestial body resembling a planet at the incoming flames. Upon contact, the purple fire did not dissipate; instead, it expanded rapidly, engulfing the planet!

Once enveloped, the planet burned and shrank at incredible speed, accompanied by countless violent explosions. In moments, the entire region was obscured by dust and smoke. Being in space, visibility vanished quickly.

As Lan Tian nervously wondered what the owner would do next, two blazing golden beams shot from the owner’s eyes, striking the beast’s chest and belly.

The beast roared in pain, blood gushing forth. It threw back its massive head and howled, waves of force rippling visibly from its mouth, sweeping away all the lingering smoke and dust.

After that, Lan Tian could barely follow the battle. Perhaps the owner was simply too fast—one moment he punched the beast’s leg, the next he flashed before its eyes.

Lan Tian guessed he was aiming to blind the creature, but its eyelid snapped shut swiftly, and the punch left only a crater several miles across.

A crater miles wide sounded massive, but compared to the beast’s endless bulk, Lan Tian realized that the real damage was probably no more than a mosquito’s bite to a human.

But eyes are sensitive, after all. The beast, enraged by pain, jabbed again, and this time the owner was too slow to evade—he was grazed by the fingertip!

Bang!

The owner was blasted hundreds of thousands of miles away, his body battered and broken.

The power of a single finger—truly terrifying beyond imagination!