To be fair and analytical, Lei Ting truly hadn't expected to hear the word "Earth" from Evenheiler’s mouth at such a time and place.
But the look in Evenheiler’s eyes made him realize the gravity of the upcoming conversation. Consequently, Lei Ting’s expression turned solemn as he extended his mental energy.
In this era, mental communication was entirely feasible. Lei Ting had used this technique in critical moments before, but firstly, mental intrusion in a non-emergency was extremely rude and unethical; secondly, his mental "density" was too high. Anyone at A-rank or below would feel discomfort upon the slightest contact.
His awe-inspiring eyes and his ability to read the emotional reactions of almost anyone were direct manifestations of this "high-density mental energy."
So far, there was only one Orion human whose emotions he could not fully read: Evenheiler.
Especially when the other man’s emotions were calm, Lei Ting could only vaguely perceive subtle inclinations. This sensation was no different from a sensitive ordinary person sensing another's mood during a conversation.
*Even, you mean...?*
Within the mental resonance, Lei Ting asked cautiously.
Upon receiving this message, Evenheiler frowned slightly.
If his own mind was an inland sea hiding dark undercurrents, then Lei Ting’s mind felt like a mountain concealing a thermal vent, or a meteorite larger than a planet, behind which sat a magnificent, dazzling sun.
A glorious golden sun.
To Orion humans, many yellow stars in the universe were actually green rather than golden-yellow, and many blue stars were purple rather than brilliant blue.
In reality, stars were likely full-spectrum entities; the types of colors encompassed by their light waves were countless, yet the visual organs of most races could only identify a certain segment of the spectrum. Even for the same identifiable colors, vision would have different emphases.
Orion humans were the same—in the era before genetic modification, back in the age of the Origin System, a green sun would be identified as yellow or white, and a purple sun as blue.
In fact, the light emitted by the sun of the Origin System was mostly blue-green. However, in the Orion visual recognition system, because it sat in the middle of the spectrum and included too many other colors too evenly, it was always identified as a whitish color. When the light passed through the atmosphere, other colors were filtered out.
This knowledge was something every child in interstellar society knew, and Evenheiler, of course, had known it for a long time.
But unlike many others, he had truly seen many stars with his own eyes, relying on the protection of transcendent power to gaze at them with the eyes of a high-order esper—eyes that evolved alongside his abilities.
In the eyes of such a high-order esper, no radiance was pure. Not the red stars in the zenith, not the eyes and faces of the lives around him, not even a piece of the purest white paper.
But Lei Ting was different.
His mental aggregate, that sun... was the purest "gold" Evenheiler had ever witnessed in his life.
That brilliant golden glow simply by existing was enough to dominate the perception of any esper near Lei Ting.
"...Don't do that," Evenheiler sighed with a frown, lowering his eyes and whispering. "To any of us, your mental projection is a form of heavy pressure."
Lei Ting froze for a moment and immediately withdrew his mental energy. "Sorry."
At the same time, he began to reflect on his own issues—when had he started becoming someone who rarely considered the feelings of others beforehand?
It probably began when he discovered that simple care, restraint, and consideration didn't necessarily keep people alive.
But regardless of when it started, he had to look out for those close to him... at least in daily life.
Afterward, the two returned together to the nearest of their rented apartments. It was a treehouse-themed viewing suite, emphasizing the beauty of stargazing in a natural environment. According to the Orion calendar, for over 280 days a year, one could see the massive galactic disk hanging in the sky, slowly rotating.
Of course, that was a simulation by the viewing system. The subject of the imitation was the home planet of a natural elven sub-species; it was just that back then, the beauty they saw was the planet rotating, whereas now, the beauty the residents saw was the light curtain of a projector rotating.
As soon as they entered the room, the two deployed their powers. The brown wood of the treehouse decorations was illuminated by golden "sunlight." Within the luminous mist, white stardust sparkled, and tiny machines forged of metal flew out from the light, landing in every corner of the room. They deployed an internal sound-isolation force field along the walls and architectural structures.
Evenheiler glanced at those little gadgets.
Absolute control over metal and years of diligent study had turned Lei Ting into a master of technology—even sci-fi machinery. No one knew what was hidden within his light, because multitasking had been hammered into his instincts. In his "world," "manufacturing and construction" were happening at all times.
With such high-efficiency manufacturing day after day, year after year, supported by sufficiently powerful mental and transcendent energy... Evenheiler wouldn't be surprised if Lei Ting one day pulled a planetary weapon equipped with a Star-Slaying Cannon out of a beam of light.
The two sat opposite each other at a table in a partitioned area of the treehouse's faux balcony. While placing the food and drinks they bought on the way onto the table, they continued the previous topic.
Before continuing, Evenheiler did not ask if Lei Ting could ensure the environment was completely isolated—he had his own sense for the environment and the space carrying it.
"Just now, as I watched those dying red dwarfs, I suddenly thought of their original planets," Evenheiler sighed. "There are almost no planets in the Silver Core... they were torn apart by gravity and incinerated by heat long ago."
Lei Ting, opening snack boxes one by one, fell silent for a moment. He flicked a small switch on a slender drink can, watching as a circular opening automatically split from the edge while the thin tab retracted to the side.
He handed the drink to Evenheiler and casually summoned another can for himself. "And then you said... you thought of Earth?"
"Yes. Those are things... that very few people know now," Evenheiler said softly. "Before I speak, you must swear to me and the Federation that you will never tell any Orion human whose power is below S-rank. Furthermore, if you are to spread this information to a qualified individual, they must sincerely love Orion humans and... the 'Original Humans,' and all the civilizations that once existed."
As Lei Ting listened, he realized the importance of this information might exceed his previous estimates.
Thus, his expression turned solemn. He stood up and raised his hand to swear the oath as Evenheiler requested.
The moment he swore, he was astonished to find a powerful yet subtle force descending from the Ethereal Plane. It covered both of them, scanning for a moment before expanding into a spherical, invisible domain no more than three meters in diameter.
Lei Ting could feel that this domain seemed to have a time limit—a brief period of less than half an hour.
Under his gaze, which was as heavy and solemn as a mountain of steel, Evenheiler smiled.
"In the starry sky, there is a power that cursed Earth," he said, uttering words that were utterly shocking. "Therefore, from the name to the records, to the systematic culture, and even the original life form...
"Everything had to be discarded. Only then could 'humanity' survive."
Lei Ting did not hesitate for even a second over the question of *'Is that still considered human?'* To him, as long as a living being possessed human blood, identified as human, loved the collective, and held identification papers granted by the Council, then even if it grew eighteen eyes, it was 'human.'
This was the concept the Orion Human Union had always upheld—a concept where sometimes even the first condition could be appropriately ignored.
Although many within the Union found this difficult to understand, and very few aliens actually joined the Union, the Federal Council insisted on this path. Proposals to amend it were familiar faces at regular meetings, yet it had never been changed.
And the reason for doing so was...
"The Headmaster told me that the Federation has been deliberately blurring the concept of 'human' specifically to deceive that power in the stars."
Evenheiler spoke, looking down at the slender drink can in his hand, his gaze drifting slightly. "After multiple probes over the years, it was found that the power exerts a strong negative influence on any settlement of 'Galactic Upright Thinking Centralized Civilized Carbon-Based Organism Type I' bloodline beings that have inherited the Earth culture of the Origin System... eventually, it turns them into Abominations.
"This information should be reliable, because the method used to test this was a total of at least five waves of sixteen million people migrating out of the Federation throughout history. Very few of them survived, and from the moment they signed up for the plan, they could no longer leave any trace within the Federation."
"..."
Just thinking about it made Lei Ting feel a thick sense of suffocation.
"By the way, the Origin System was destroyed by the people of Earth themselves. They had to do it." Evenheiler gave a short laugh. "Back then, they said that only by destroying the old home could the new hope be sustained..."
"They did indeed sustain it," Lei Ting said softly. At the same time, a vision flashed through his mind.
—A blue planet with flowing white clouds, drifting in the starry sky.
It wasn't particularly large among planets, nor was its rotation fast. The terminator line gently brushed over distinct light and shadow. In the places illuminated by light, forests, deserts, oceans, and everything he had once looked forward to or grown weary of awakened. And in the darkness, nature exhaled, lighting up the sparkling lamps of the cities.
The moon, satellites, space stations... they floated beside it, orbiting in established trajectories, carried by the distant sun as they chased each other into deep space.
Lei Ting knew that wasn't any data he had seen in interstellar society, but space footage from aerospace agencies he had seen back on Earth. It was his hometown in another world, still in the twenty-first century.
A planet to a galaxy, a galaxy to a nebula, a nebula to a galaxy cluster... just like a human to an entire civilization, it was a mayfly to the heavens and earth, a grain of millet to the vast sea.
Earth had become an asteroid belt, just like the orange-red binary stars he had turned into a space rose earlier. To the stars of the universe, it was nothing, because to the universe, it was no different from a speck of dust.
But to the humans of the past, it was the foundation of everything.
If that beautiful blue home was destroyed by the hands of the humans of this world themselves, then at that time... what were they thinking?
The feelings of those people were likely not very pleasant...
Lei Ting sighed and shook his head.
Then, he focused on another matter: "As long as a large number of 'Carbon Type I' bloodlines gather and then pass on the culture... it will inevitably invite a strike?"
"Yes," Evenheiler looked up and said softly.
A pair of brilliant golden eyes and a pair of blue eyes filled with scattered starlight met. They knew that at this moment, they were thinking of the same thing.
—In that case, what the hell was the Federation's nine-year-long "Retro-revivalism" movement all about?!
***
**Glossary**
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
---|---|---
碳一型 | Carbon Type I | A biological classification for humans in this setting.
异魔化 | Abomination-ization | The process of turning into an "Abomination" (Yi Mo), a corrupted or monstrous state.
复古主义 | Retro-revivalism | A cultural movement mentioned as having lasted nine years in the Federation.
始源星系 | Origin System | The Solar System, where Earth was located.
原人 | Original Humans | Refers to the humans from Earth before the diaspora and genetic changes.
虚灵位面 | Ethereal Plane | A higher or parallel dimension from which certain powers or oaths originate.
观星者 | Stargazers | A group or community within the Galactic Star Network.
火焰-001 | Flame-001 | A red star near the Ring World, used as a beginner planet for stargazers.
