On the small planet, countless miniature robots were busily scurrying about. Two days later, Feng Zhixi, finally fully recovered and brimming with energy, stood vibrantly before the holographic screen.
The foundational construction of the small planet’s infrastructure was nearing its end.
Watching the energy shell gradually knit together and close, Feng Zhixi nodded in satisfaction.
As the final segment of the shell slotted into its precise coordinates, the holographic display—which showed the docking in real-time—flickered. Across the surface of the dull, dusty planet and the matte black exterior of the energy shell, a flow of silver-blue light surged, covering the entire globe in an instant.
On the planet’s surface, the silver-blue light pulsed once, then vanished. In the next heartbeat, the entire energy shell turned transparent, silently concealing itself from view.
The construction of the energy shell was finally complete.
This stealth-type energy shell, which enveloped the entire planet, did more than just provide an integrated offensive and defensive weapon system; it also possessed powerful camouflage and interference properties. It would deceive any intruder who managed to bypass the first layer of the interference system, creating the illusion that there was nothing here but barren, worthless rock—just like any other common, useless asteroid in the cosmos, not worth a second glance.
As for the open-pit ores scattered across the surface, an intruder would only see them in the final moments before receiving a terminal blow after breaching the energy shell.
Feng Zhixi admired this scientific research planet that belonged solely to him. Though it was small—barely a tenth the size of an ordinary moon—and though fortifying it had nearly exhausted all the materials he had brought from the institute, it was worth it.
This was truly, completely, his own planetary base.
With the basic layout finished, Feng Zhixi began the final step.
Standing beside him, Ji Yeran let out a soft sound of surprise as he watched the Chief Engineer’s next move. Though he wasn't a specialist, he had seen this device before.
"This is...?"
"A Short-Range Directional Jump Device?" Ji Yeran identified the apparatus in one go.
Hearing this, Feng Zhixi glanced back at him and asked with a smile, "Is it that strange?"
The Short-Range Directional Jump Device—the exclusive patent of the future "Grandmaster Hill."
This achievement, which condensed and upgraded military-grade technology—originally reserved for massive starships and requiring enormous energy—into something capable of facilitating jumps for small craft or even mechs, had shocked the entire Federation upon its debut.
Simultaneously, it had propelled the Xiguang Group, the exclusive manufacturer and distributor of Grandmaster Hill’s works, into the ranks of the Federation’s top plutocrats.
The device was simple and handy; anyone who could afford it could use it. However, the core manufacturing technology was held firmly in Hill’s hands. This had also become one of the bargaining chips for Ji Wei’s eventual ascent to the rank of Federation Marshal.
Ji Wei’s partner was the youngest Grandmaster in the Federation. One was the youngest Admiral in the military, the other the youngest luminary in the scientific world—a powerhouse union, a mutual achievement. It was practically a legendary romance.
Looking at the Omega, whose lips wore a smile but whose eyes remained cold, Ji Yeran’s gaze gradually darkened. He asked, emphasizing every word: "Did he steal your research?"
Both men knew exactly who "he" referred to.
At the question, Feng Zhixi suddenly laughed—the kind of smile where the eyes crinkle at the corners, filled with a haughty, condescending pride. "Why don't you suggest that I’m the one who secretly replicated his results?"
After all, Hill was the first person to propose the concept of short-range directional jumps for small craft, whereas Feng Zhixi was someone who had returned from the future.
"You wouldn't, and you don't need to," Ji Yeran answered without a moment's hesitation.
This answer satisfied Feng Zhixi. Thus, he addressed the other man’s doubt: "I don't know either."
That was the truth. Feng Zhixi himself didn't know why Hill was always able to propose various research hypotheses one step ahead of him. He didn't know why, every single time, Hill managed to seize the initiative, as if he were climbing to the summit by stepping on Feng Zhixi’s shoulders at every turn.
Years ago, Feng Zhixi had harbored suspicions. Because he couldn't find any evidence, he had even halted all his research, but it was useless. Even ideas that existed only as conceptual frameworks in his mind would be proposed by Hill first, sending shockwaves through the Federation’s scientific community.
It was a bizarre feeling, as if Hill were his predestined nemesis.
Consequently, in the year that the Omega named Hill burst onto the scene, nearly all the rising stars of the Federation’s scientific world—including Feng Zhixi himself—were rendered dull and lusterless by comparison. That man took less than three years to stand at the pinnacle of the scientific community, while Feng Zhixi, following the death of the old Director, was stripped of his status as Chief Researcher.
Feng Zhixi had once specifically studied Hill’s research results. That strange feeling of wrongness had never left him. Their results shared a certain plausible similarity, yet Hill’s work seemed more concise, clearer, and easier to mass-produce—as if it were inherently designed for civilian popularization across the Federation.
This was one of the reasons why the future Hill possessed such immense prestige among the public. A young, world-conscious, kind, and sweet genius scientist—there was no better candidate for a pan-Federation idol. Half the reason Hill was called a "Grandmaster" was due to the "Grand" nature of his perceived selflessness and concern for the world.
Watching Feng Zhixi lower his head again to silently calibrate the installation of the jump device, Ji Yeran sat down beside him. The young Alpha said in a low voice, "We’ll find the truth together."
Having installed the directional jump device with extreme speed, Feng Zhixi tilted his head to look at Ji Yeran, his eyes flashing with arrogance. "Do you even need to say that?"
He had always been a man who settled every score. When he left the Institute, he had delivered a "grand parting gift." Now, he would see for himself whether the other party was a genius or merely a genius thief.
He respected the strong, but thieves were the exception.
After this brief exchange of thoughts, the two did not continue the conversation. Feng Zhixi silently tuned the device while Ji Yeran silently watched him.
The version of the directional jump device Feng Zhixi was installing now differed from Hill’s future version. He had reinforced the anti-interference systems and spatial stabilizers, making this directional jump channel so stable that even a black hole couldn't disrupt it. Furthermore, this specific jump setup was a one-time use with high exclusivity; if any ship tried to track the residual energy of the channel, they would simply end up falling into a spatial rift.
In truth, as the Federation’s most powerful master of weapon manufacturing, Feng Zhixi’s greatest talent was destruction.
With the installation of the jump device complete, Version 1.0 of the Small Planet Transformation Plan was nearly finished.
Looking at the completed mini-base, Feng Zhixi directly powered up the ship. He had one last step: setting a landing point for the short-range jump. That location had to be sufficiently hidden and centrally located.
As the small starship gradually ascended, leaving the planet's surface, Ji Yeran watched the planetary orbits in the vacuum of space on the holographic screen. They were becoming increasingly familiar, and a premonition of disaster suddenly rose in his heart...
Shortly after, Ji Yeran discovered his premonition had come true.
Behind the Dark Nebula, once the ascending starship passed through the dense, shattered asteroid belt and delved into its heart, an unremarkable meteorite star appeared before them.
This was the landing point Feng Zhixi had selected. No one would ever expect someone to jump into the middle of an asteroid belt. This meteorite star, sitting at the core of the belt like a stabilizing pillar, was an excellent fixed point for a jump.
Ji Yeran looked at his secret base: "..."
Who could have guessed that the Dark Nebula and the asteroid belt were mirrors of each other, existing in such a magical and eerie way within the same corner of space?
In the future, Feng Zhixi had lamented that the excellent research planet Meng Jia mentioned had been destroyed. The stirred-up mist had shrouded that sector of the star sea, and Meng Jia himself hadn't known how he escaped, let alone how to reconstruct the star map.
But based on the energy minerals that planet possessed, Feng Zhixi suspected that Meng Jia hadn't actually destroyed the entire planet. He remained very interested in that location. Therefore, after calculating the star map routes, Feng Zhixi had chosen an alternative path, infiltrating and searching from the other side of the Dark Nebula, within that asteroid belt.
He just hadn't expected that before he could find the small planet, a sudden anti-curvature super nuclear bomb would send him back to the past. However, in the final moment before being swallowed by the black hole, Feng Zhixi had noticed that perfectly positioned meteorite star.
If he installed a device on that meteorite star... he could...
Now, Ji Yeran could only watch helplessly as "his secret base" was fitted with the landing coordinates for Feng Zhixi’s directional jump. At this point, the secret base had completely departed from his possession.
With this done, Version 1.0 of Feng Zhixi’s plan was truly complete.
His next objective was the Xi Ore indicated in the Heart of the Rose star map. While Version 1.0 was sufficient for conventional situations, if another nebula-class anti-curvature super nuclear bomb or any other large-scale weapon were used, his planet would still be at risk of destruction.
That place would be his future foothold, a planetary base belonging entirely to him. Any possible danger had to be eliminated. Feng Zhixi never tripped over the same stone twice.
From the future to the past, the moment he woke from that nightmare, the question of how to prevent such an attack had been placed on his agenda. This was the second reason he had decisively left the Lanli Institute.
The nebula, the explosion, the black hole, and the cosmic dust had given him inspiration. But the prerequisite for realizing it all was a massive quantity of Xi Ore.
Perhaps Feng Zhixi wasn't the Federation’s most outstanding scholar, but he was absolutely the Federation’s top master of weapon manufacturing—even the future Hill couldn't hold a candle to him. That was why the future Federation Military’s Institute No. 13 had chosen him without hesitation over that rising star, Hill.
At this moment, silently watching his secret base change hands, Ji Yeran shot a subtle look at Feng Zhixi. A suspicion was forming in his mind.
How did Feng Zhixi know about this place? Unless he had been here... but when could he have possibly visited?
Thinking of a certain possibility, Ji Yeran’s teeth began to itch with a mix of annoyance and intrigue.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 能量壳 | Energy Shell | A planetary-scale defensive and cloaking shield. |
| 短距定向跃迁装置 | Short-Range Directional Jump Device | A technology for precise, short-distance spatial jumps. |
| 希光集团 | Xiguang Group | The corporation associated with Hill in the future. |
| 季崴 | Ji Wei | A character mentioned as a future Federation Marshal. |
| 溪矿石 | Xi Ore | A specific type of mineral required for Feng Zhixi's advanced projects. |
| 玫瑰之心 | Heart of the Rose | A star map or navigational guide. |
| 陨石星 | Meteorite Star | Refers to a large, stable celestial body within an asteroid belt. |
| 13号研究院 | Institute No. 13 | A prestigious military research facility in the future. |
