Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 117 | Return to the Cradle | Novela.app

The vivid dream dissipated, the scent of tea quietly fading as Mila’s sleeping face materialized in the air. Lei Ting looked at her, lost in thought. *Hometown...* His brow furrowed slightly as he rapidly scanned through various pieces of information in his mind, locking onto his target within a single breath. When Yundale and Angye re-entered the room, Lei Ting suddenly asked, "Are there any emergency reports from the direction of the New Solar System?" "None," Angye replied. "Beyond that area, it’s no longer a star-forming region, and there are no Stargates." Even if interstellar humans were like deities to planetary civilizations, fleet travel through the vast reaches of deep space was grueling without Stargates for low-energy mass transit or stars for recharging. Few would choose to plot a flight path through a non-star-forming region, even for a military surprise attack. A supply-less zone so vast that light itself took centuries or millennia to cross was the best defense mechanism in existence. No commander in their right mind would consider taking a route through such a void. After all, that wasn't "taking a route"; it was taking a one-way trip to the grave. "..." Lei Ting fell silent for a moment, then opened his personal terminal to scan the latest news on the Galactic Network. A short while later, he suddenly spoke: "I’m going back to the New Solar System." The front lines within the Federation’s borders were held by the various Legions; they didn't strictly require his personal intervention. But now, even if only to address the sliver of unease in his heart, he had to go back and see for himself. *** "Don't worry, Little Red. That man won't suddenly show up here." On the Third Planet of the New Solar System, a handsome young man standing over two meters tall walked under the sunlight. He looked up at a massive holographic advertisement projecting the portrait of the 'Sun Star' and strolled leisurely. "The combat coordinates between the Human Union and those fools from Perseus are a hundred thousand miles from here. Unless he suddenly gets homesick, there’s no way he’d come to this place. "And we’ve already confirmed that it’s impossible for him to be 'homesick'—that heart of his is harder than an Abyssal’s talons..." "I knew you were still brooding over misjudging that guy's stability," a small black dog being led by the youth remarked. It wagged its sharp, blade-like tail and complained in a brisk voice. This was, naturally, the slender, intelligent Abyssal and its dog, 'Red Giant.' At this moment, they had arrived on the Third Planet of the New Solar System, walking through the yellow sands that filled the wilderness. Although this was the cradle of the Human Union, years of incessant warfare had long since devastated the planet's natural environment. Nowadays, pleasant conditions only existed around major cities, where terraforming machines barely managed to prevent further deterioration. Of course, given that the 'Sun Star' hailed from here and the probability of other high-potential talents emerging from his cohort was high, the Federation had been pouring more resources into the planet's terraforming over recent years. But terraforming was not an overnight process. To date, only about one-fifth of the planetary surface had been successfully restored, centered around the city where the Sun Star was born. "Though I don't believe the Sun Star will truly stay on the Ringworld and be unable to return in time, he has no reason to think of this place," the slender devil in human skin sighed softly. "It occupies a position that is always so safe that people don't prioritize worrying about its security." "Just like back then, no one thought the true collapse of the Empire would begin with its Prince..." the eyeball ornament hanging from its waist muttered quietly. In the next second, it was smacked by the slender devil. "...Ow!!" "It wasn't easy to return to our old home for a look. I suggest you talk less and feel the passage of time," the slender devil sneered. "You inherited the Beholder's power but not its caution. You'll get yourself killed sooner or later." "Then how about," the eyeball ornament asked in a small voice, "you stuff me back into 'The Watcher'?" "..." With a *click*, the slender devil snapped the casing of the eyeball ornament shut. Back when it had excavated this thing from the conceptual collective energy entity known as 'The Watcher,' the entity's automated defense mechanism had reduced its entire legion to ash. If it were to return this now-thoroughly Abyssal-corrupted thing to The Watcher's side, regardless of whether it could escape itself, that titan-like monstrosity would likely go into a frenzy. It might slaughter tens of millions of Abyssals in the Ethereal Plane corresponding to the Human Union just to vent its rage. After that, the devil could forget about Ethereal traversing within Human Union territory; it would be too easy to be crushed into dust by a 'Steel Earth' flying out of nowhere... However, it had to be admitted that for a split second, the slender devil was truly tempted by the idea of 'burying a thing of the same origin as The Watcher inside it as a time bomb.' "You certainly inherited the Beholder's talent for provocation and instigation," it sneered. "Too bad you didn't remember anything useful." "You're slandering me! You're slandering me!!" The eyeball ornament bounced around inside its case. "Don't I remember that this planet is a key point?!" "Then do you remember *why* it's a key point?" the slender devil countered. "..." The eyeball ornament jammed. "Do you remember the origin of 'The Watcher'?" "..." The eyeball ornament fell silent. "Do you remember why your individual memories are so inexplicably missing?" "I have a certain guess about that..." the eyeball ornament replied hesitantly. "Logically speaking, those memories might have been deleted by me before I died... no, perhaps 'destroyed' is the better word. Hiss—it hurts just thinking about it. What was I thinking?" "When you remember, be sure to tell me the answer to that question." The slender devil flicked the casing of the eyeball ornament. "The Messenger." "Don't call me that. I've forgotten where that title even came from," the eyeball ornament said gloomily. "I am now the Beholder King, Saiyi." "But there's only one Beholder in the starry sky—you. A commander without an army." "First, your quantifier for me should be 'one' or 'sir.' Second, where did you learn the phrase 'commander without an army'?" "From the Human Union diplomatic mission back then, of course," Red Giant suddenly interjected. "I still remember what they looked like. Each one appeared docile and reverent toward the Empire's majesty. The two leaders—one wore a gold ring, and the other held a mechanical cane inlaid with jade, gold, and feathers. That jade disc with the hole in it seemed to have some text manually inscribed on it... "Even looking back now, I feel like those people didn't look like they could be more brutal than Abyssals." "But they were," the slender devil said flatly. "At least the intelligent ones among the Abyssals know fear. Not a single one of them can lead subordinates into a battle with a hundred percent casualty rate. Therefore, I never underestimate the people of Orion—those armies were not manipulated by controllers or drugs. Their existence proves the spiritual ceiling of this race." And as everyone knew, the firmness of a person's spirit and will was directly linked to their mental strength and superpowered rank. There were few superpowered individuals among the Orion humans of that era for one reason and one reason only—they hadn't been a superpowered race for long enough. "Alright, shut up, both of you," the slender devil said. "We still need to spend some time finding the reason why this planet is 'key'..." "Why don't you just blow it up?" Beholder Saiyi's voice sounded muffled inside the box. "And then one day in the future, I'd be torn to shreds from thousands of light-years away by the 'Sun Star' once he found out. That sun of his contains a powerful 'Energy Transfer' property. Once he locks onto a target, it's a simple matter for him to descend his power for a long-range strike." The slender devil continued. "Stop instigating. I understand there is only one reason why he hasn't let his light flood the entire Federation sector yet: if his light isn't manipulated with extreme precision, it's too easy to crush ordinary people... "If we want him to play along within the rules, we cannot specifically harm the citizens of the Human Union. Don't tell me you don't understand that logic." "Fine," Beholder Saiyi said sullenly. It seemed disgruntled at missing out on the fun of seeing this devil and dog commit a massacre in the Sun Star's hometown, but there was nothing it could do. Thus, the slender youth led his dog into the vast yellow sands. They moved quickly, and before long, they vanished into the other side of the wilderness. *** Several days later, a small fleet with registration markings directly belonging to the First Legion passed through 'Rome' and 'Chang'an.' It then utilized several small military Stargates that were only opened under martial law during wartime, rapidly approaching the New Solar System. This was the tip of the Orion Arm, the site of the last star here. The distant Primordial System had long since become a field of ruins that was constantly spinning and expanding, including all its planets and its lone star. To prevent the dangers lurking in the past from catching up, humanity had become quite practiced at blowing up stars. They had even fabricated a lie that 'the Solar System has been eroded by a certain space virus and hides a great danger'—at that time, they didn't yet know of the existence of 'Sublimation' and 'Boiling.' However, later on, a celestial behemoth truly hatched from that sun, causing the planetary belt—which had once been a sea of fire and would likely take tens or hundreds of thousands of years to coalesce into planets again—to shatter even more thoroughly. Upon entering the New Solar System's airspace, the local administrators, who had already received classified information, followed their orders and made no response. They simply opened all necessary permissions to this small fleet and its owner. The fleet itself did not venture too deep into interplanetary space. Instead, a figure quietly drifted out from the flagship, vanishing into space with a flash of golden light. A short while later, above the North Pole of the Third Planet of the New Solar System... A cloak fluttered, and a golden crown shone. The silhouette of the 'Sun Star' emerged from the sunlight-like energy. *** | Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation | | :--- | :--- | :--- | | 罗马 | Rome | Name of a star system/sector. | | 长安 | Chang'an | Name of a star system/sector. | | 始源星系 | Primordial System | Referring to the original Solar System (Earth's original location). | | 眼魔君主赛伊 | Beholder King Saiyi | A high-level Abyssal entity, formerly part of 'The Watcher'. | | 传递者 | The Messenger | A title associated with Saiyi's past identity. | | 能量传递 | Energy Transfer | A specific property of Lei Ting's (Sun Star's) power. | | 钢铁地球 | Steel Earth | A descriptive term for the 'Watcher' entity's physical/conceptual form. |