Who had been thrown under the bus?
He didn’t know.
But as Evenheiler looked at the situation, he felt that no matter how he sliced it, there was only one person here eligible to be the victim...
*Principal! What on earth did you say?!*
A cold sweat broke out across Evenheiler’s skin. Judging by the reactions of these entities, he had every reason to believe he was the one being sold out. Lei Ting definitely knew something he hadn't wanted him to know. The best-case scenario was that Lei Ting knew he was constantly putting himself in danger; the worst was that he knew Evenheiler’s life was nearing its end. Regardless of which it was, he didn't want to face either.
And... no matter what Lei Ting actually knew, the biggest problem now was: why was he acting so... normal?
For someone with his personality, acting this normal at a time like this was the most abnormal thing of all!
Evenheiler instinctively sensed a profound danger. He nearly pulled away from Lei Ting, but his reason quickly checked the impulse.
Lei Ting wouldn't hurt him; he would only worry about him.
In contrast to his fears, Lei Ting didn't bring up any of those headache-inducing topics. Instead, he focused on the business at hand. "Even, what did you run into out there?"
Evenheiler pursed his lips. The horned crown atop his head made him look like a golden demon, yet he was answering a man with a halo of light floating behind his head. "...I went to investigate the source of the virus within the Federation's borders."
"Investigating the source of the virus..." Lei Ting’s expression grew more solemn. He didn't question why Evenheiler had interfered; instead, he said in a low voice, "It seems you found something substantial."
"Indeed." Evenheiler nodded, turning his focus to the matter at hand.
He then recounted the scenes he had witnessed to the three entities present. During his narration, the Recorder occasionally looked down to jot something in a notebook larger than a house, but the flowing white light emanating from the pages made it impossible for any outsider to decipher the sweeping strokes of His handwriting.
Before long, the information was summarized, leaving everyone in pensive silence.
"'A planet-sized mass of thousands of tentacles and eyes, appearing like a living creature with multiple super-powered signatures'..." the Recorder murmured to Himself. "Could it be the 'Devourer's' true body? No, that doesn't seem right... Although the Devourer's form is very similar to what you described, it possesses high intelligence. It wouldn't allow itself to be manipulated like that..."
"There were a massive number of skeletal remains from various sapient races around it. It seemed to be siphoning something from them—some kind of energy," Evenheiler recalled, his face twisting slightly in disgust. "Those abominable creatures were hidden inside its body. When they came out to chase me, they burst right through its skin. The black blood sprayed out like a waterfall, coalescing into a highly corrosive sea in the vacuum of space."
"Highly corrosive..." the Recorder asked in astonishment, "Ethereal pollution?"
Evenheiler nodded.
"Strange. It shouldn't have become like that..." The Recorder fell into deep thought. "This must be investigated. It’s too bizarre. The Devourer is, after all, a Double S-class lifeform..."
"Double S?" Lei Ting looked up instinctively.
"Yes, and one that ascended to Double S through artificial means," the Recorder said. "Back when humanity was still the 'Earth Union,' we communicated with her. At that time, she was the Director of the Galactic Empire’s Institute of Genetic Science. Although she had performed many genetic modifications on herself, she hadn't yet lost her Imperial form..."
"An Imperial Research Director?!"
Evenheiler was stunned. The thing he had seen possessed none of the intellect one would expect from a 'Research Director.' On the contrary, it lacked any normal autonomous consciousness; its orderly rows of eyes were filled with nothing but chaos, agony, and greed.
"Yes. Her name was Atrin Heather, the 211th royal scion of the Galactic Empire, a Loyalist princess," the Recorder said. "From the moment the Empire fell, she seemed to... fall into a state of frenzied paranoia, embarking on a path of no return. Her country had vanished, few of her Loyalist siblings remained, and her father had long since died from severe Ethereal erosion..."
"The 'Emperor' died of erosion?" Lei Ting frowned and asked, "If that's the case, he should have formed a corresponding Abomination..."
"Indeed. It was hidden within his heart. Once it was officially born, it could have completely replaced him and spread an unparalleled pollution outward from the center of the galaxy," the Recorder said nonchalantly. "That was the most dangerous time for the Milky Way... and even our neighbors beyond the galactic rim in recent years. But don't worry—he took his own life to ensure that monster would never be born."
The 'Emperor' committed suicide?
Suddenly receiving such information left Lei Ting somewhat dazed. Evenheiler beside him felt the same, but unlike Lei Ting, the gaze beneath Evenheiler’s translucent visor held no melancholy regarding the act of 'proactively embracing death for a formal cause.'
"Mentioning too much information about the Imperial era here might cause some issues... I'll just give you a 'record' of that period directly." As the Recorder spoke, He pulled two 'sticky notes' from His notebook, letting them shrink as they drifted through the air to land on the foreheads of the two men.
Immediately, a packet of 'information' entered Lei Ting’s perception, and he chose to accept it.
At the same time, the Gazer suddenly spoke: "Someone is in distress. I must go."
"I'm leaving as well. I'll inform Apton Onye of this," the Recorder said with a smile. "His intelligence network in the physical world is laid out quite well...
"Speaking of which, there's only one person here who can't order Onye to do anything!"
Evenheiler: "..."
*Politeness: Are you Evenheiler Kang?*
He huffed, but found himself unable to say anything—it was the plain truth. Moreover, he wouldn't and couldn't use Lei Ting to influence Onye; Lei Ting was not the type to show favoritism in such matters.
Besides...
"I have never managed to do what I ought to have done," Evenheiler said softly, watching the two super-powered entities transform into streaks of light and fly into the distance. "Hatred and hostility—these are what I deserve."
Lei Ting’s brow furrowed sharply. "Even..."
"I once looked forward to a future alongside Apton Onye, until he lost everything he wanted to protect, and I watched everything I stood for crumble into the starry void." Evenheiler didn't look at Lei Ting. He only gazed at the massive super-powered sun nearby, which had previously made the two entities look like ants. He sighed. "For a coward like me who can protect nothing, the existence of hostility serves as a reminder that I still have unfinished business."
"The existence of a massive error is never the fault of a single person," Lei Ting said deeply.
He didn't say anything about 'exceeding one's abilities.'
"Yes, just like the Federation," Evenheiler whispered. "The Federation is a mistake."
"..." Lei Ting fell into a deep silence. After a long while, he asked, "Why do you say that?"
"I'm glad you didn't just flatly deny me." Evenheiler shrugged. Even though his armored state completely concealed his features, Lei Ting could see a clear sense of exhaustion radiating from him.
*He should be exhausted,* Lei Ting thought. *He is constantly sprinting toward death at a speed exceeding all others.*
"From the moment I was old enough to understand, I was told by everyone that the Federation was the best place in the world, filled with equality, freedom, and joy.
"I once believed that nonsense, because I grew up on the Capital Planet. That was the true paragon of virtue. Under the brilliant holographic projections, the people living in the cracks had no meaning to their existence."
Evenheiler’s voice was low.
"Those who naturally live in the cracks, living under the pressure of the vast shadows... they are the foundation upon which the Federation exists. I'm sure you've seen them. How many of them are there now?"
"Thirty-one million, six hundred and thirty-five thousand, five hundred and twenty-eight," Lei Ting answered suddenly. "That was the data from four months ago."
"............?" Evenheiler was stunned. He turned his head in astonishment to look at Lei Ting, meeting his gaze through two layers of visors with a look he had never used before.
"I've looked into your past, Even. You became who you are today because of the people in the borderlands," Lei Ting sighed. "Many people think I'm like those other 'big shots' who only care about the glitz and glamour... but Even, many people forget that I was once one of those 'borderland citizens' protected by you and the Legion.
"So, now that I have this power, I must do something for the Federation, for this race under its rule, and for everyone within this collective. Therefore, I will change all of this, Even."
...Right.
Evenheiler was somewhat dazed. It was hard to say what he was feeling at this moment.
*Right,* he thought. *Anyone else can forget, but I cannot: the origin of the 'Solar Star' and the journey 'Lei Ting' has taken—this is a story destined to be passed down through the stars.*
But for a fleeting moment, a sense of trepidation rose in his heart. The young man before him was like a sun grown from the soil; even though he came from humble beginnings, he was destined to hang high in the heavens. Even if he were to leave this world one day, the super-powered entity formed because of him would remain in this starless darkness, providing eternal light for everyone.
By then, the name of the 'Solar Star' would be passed down through the ages. He might be doubted, but he would have no stain. He would fulfill every most radiant fantasy, just like that golden laurel crown.
Just like that dazzling golden laurel crown.
The path his life should take was so beautiful and open, yet Evenheiler Kang had appeared upon it... and so stardust was scattered upon the golden crown. Perhaps to Lei Ting himself, it was a beautiful embellishment, but in its essence, it was an impurity, a blemish that did not belong to that light.
To the Federation, Evenheiler was a traitor, an enemy. But to Lei Ting, the Federation was the object of his protection—the young man still firmly believed that everything could be resolved from within, evolving through a more peaceful level.
In Evenheiler’s perception, that was absolutely not a viable path. But at this moment, the hesitant chill rising in his heart questioned him: *What if internal reform actually is viable? What if I failed to move the pieces on the board simply because I was too weak, unable to resolve the obstacles before me?*
To him, that was merely a fantasy story, a fleeting dream of a false hope he once held.
But to Lei Ting, to a power that immense...
Perhaps it was actually a visible future, a reality within reach if one just took a few more steps forward.
***
