Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 154 | The Weight of Silence | Novela.app

“...Her brother is not related to her by blood. Furthermore, he was actually an undercover agent. I wiped his memory and put him to work for me—he truly has talent, and it would have been a waste to kill him.” Angye confessed truthfully. “Over the years, Falin has always cared more for Lina herself than for her sub-personality, ‘Heart Echo.’ “But... for some unknown reason, Lina’s mental state has been deteriorating since her teenage years, and her ‘Heavenly Eye’ has been mysteriously weakening. In the last two years, she and the ‘Heart Echo’ attached to her have even begun to lose the ability to maintain conscious thought. I had no choice but to send them into the research institute.” “To be used as research subjects? To squeeze every last drop of utility out of them?” Reytin countered. “...” Angye fell silent. The man appeared to have regained his normal composure, but Reytin could clearly sense the irrepressible tension hidden in his heart. It was so intense that one might wonder if he was considering the feasibility of shooting himself on the spot. After all... he knew that in front of Reytin, lying was futile. “There is no need for pretense, Upton Angye,” the man wearing the golden crown said softly under the lights of the meeting room. “From the first moment I met you years ago, I knew you were no good.” “...” As the other two watched in silence, Angye’s brow twitched violently. “I hope you understand that from the moment you attempted to mind-control me, your life ceased to belong to you,” Reytin said, patting Angye’s shoulder with a deceptive air of amiability. “Now, release them. Those who should be arrested will follow legal procedures; those who shouldn't will be handled appropriately. “The situation is unstable lately. Work hard and stop messing around with these sordid affairs. If you don’t want to do that, hurry up and hand over your duties, and then we can settle our final accounts.” Angye: “...” *You mean I’ll be settled by you, don’t you?!* “Also, deal with the Seventh Legion. Don’t let them drag us down. As for that Legion Commander... for the sake of everything, conduct a deep investigation and then replace him,” Reytin said softly. “If I have to handle the problems arising under your own command, wouldn't that be a bit excessive?” “I understand,” Angye replied, bowing his head submissively. He knew that even if he complied, a day of reckoning would eventually come, and that day was not far off. To be honest, he wasn't surprised... because over the years, in the depths of his dreams, he would often see a pair of terrifying golden eyes in the darkness. Angye knew better than anyone how fearsome this young man, ‘Reytin,’ truly was. —He was not a being one could easily cross. *** Before heading to the Abrizak Star Sector to participate in the hunt hosted by the Consortium, Reytin returned to the First Legion. Currently, the First Legion had sustained heavy casualties. Of course, the number of dead remained a small minority, but there were so many wounded that the internal medical system’s load had reached a staggering 62%—normally, this value stayed between 8% and 23%. But it didn't matter. A legion with internal self-sufficiency could keep its medical system running even at a 230% load; it was just that once it exceeded 100%, they could no longer guarantee a full recovery for every soldier. For the past few days, Valianna had been campaigning abroad. It was said she had been ambushed during a previous rescue mission; not only did she fail to save many people, but she nearly lost nearly half a legion in the process. As a result, she was currently in a near-frenzied state, having pursued the enemy across four star sectors. Reytin met with her and was shocked by the intensity of her emotional reaction. “Do you know... the feeling of watching so many people die before your eyes while you are powerless to act, ‘Solar Star’?” In the warm golden light, Valianna watched her external wounds heal at a rapid pace and asked in a hoarse voice, “I heard the Consortium invited you to purge some ‘Infected’...” “I am only responsible for dealing with the largest target,” Reytin said. “Purging ordinary Infected is not my job.” “You don’t seem like such a soft-hearted person.” “Few people have said that in the last two years.” Reytin looked down and took a slow sip of the fruit juice in his hand—even after all these years, he still didn't like alcohol, nor did he care much for tea. His persistence with sweet fruit juice was perhaps the softest trait he possessed. “I’ve always wanted to ask,” Valianna said quietly, “do you really... not know what ‘they’ say about you?” “What do they say?” Reytin smiled amiably. “‘Apathetic’? ‘Unworthy of his position’? ‘A paper tiger’? ‘All bark and no bite’?” “...” Valianna, who was wiping down ‘Champion,’ froze. “I imagine you want to exclaim, ‘You actually know, so why don’t you react?’” Reytin said. “But, Commander Valianna, sometimes... I am simply thinking.” “Thinking about what?” Valianna’s question escaped her lips instinctively. “Thinking about many problems. Some have answers, some don’t yet.” As Reytin spoke, he opened a document he had just received titled *Regarding Star-Net Base Stations within Federation Borders* and said softly, “Valianna, could you do me a favor?” “Name it.” “When you go to fight in the various star sectors, help me look after something.” “What do you want?” “It’s not a matter of ‘wanting,’ but rather ‘don’t touch it.’” Reytin snapped his fingers casually. Golden sunlight manifested, and a tall base station flickered into existence in the flagship’s hangar, topped with a glowing, eye-like emblem. This thing was the ‘handicraft’ he had fashioned earlier to maintain the Star-Net connection for the ‘Qinghe 16’ region. “This is a new type of Star-Net base station. It’s more stable than previous versions and requires no manual maintenance; it only needs to be connected to a power system and the Star-Net,” he said. “The Council has approved its deployment. Soon, it will be outfitted across the entire Federation. And you... “Please replace the base stations within the Legion with these first, and then keep an eye out for me. Once they are deployed, see who tries to destroy them.” “Fine.” Valianna nodded. This was not a difficult task. “Then there’s nothing else,” Reytin said, rising and floating toward the door. “I’m going to see Susanna.” “Wait...” Valianna called out to him. “...This ‘new Star-Net base station,’ when did it pass the approval process?” “In ten minutes,” Reytin said, waving his hand without looking back. ... In the office, Susanna was sitting at her station, processing some complex information. When Reytin arrived before her, she didn't even realize he was there until he asked, “Susan, what are you looking at?” Susanna started, instinctively closing the information stream on her visor, and stood up to face Reytin. “...Intelligence,” she said. “Intelligence regarding the Federation’s internal information departments.” The information departments... She was still obsessed with gathering clues. Reytin sighed softly. “Xihe says you haven't entered a sleep state for a month.” “Ah, probably...” Susanna took a quick look at the data on her physiological monitor; the last record of sleep was 37 days ago. “...But it doesn't affect my work, sir.” “I don’t agree,” Reytin said. “At the very least, you should rest.” “...” Susanna fell into a deep silence. A moment later, she asked in a low voice, “And what about you, ‘Solar Star’?” “What?” Reytin countered. “I said, what about you?! What have you done?!!” Susanna suddenly lunged toward Reytin, even though his power was terrifying to her. “In these two years, what have you done? Since discovering the culprit couldn't be found for the time being... what have you done? You’ve done nothing! You said my use of superpowers to suppress emotions would affect me, but what about you?!” “The effect of my superpower is just a side effect of your passive ability!!” Susanna’s mechanical, synthesized voice roared. “Look at me, Reytin. I went from a normal person to this—a mechanical war monster—and then you tell me to rest? Have you forgotten what he expected of you?! “Back then, you couldn't save him, and now I want to find the culprits behind all of this, but you? You said you wanted revenge, but you’ve done nothing! No... of course you did something, and then you gave up. You gave up!!!” “There is a priority to things, Susan.” Reytin’s emotional response was so calm it seemed as if he hadn't been affected by her in the slightest. “Of course, I know that for you, the ‘priority’ is always things related to him...” “But it’s different for you, isn't it?! Is that what you want to say?!!” A hint of red light emerged in Susanna’s visor. “Naturally.” Reytin’s voice was as still as ancient water. He casually forced Susanna back into her seat. Amidst her futile struggling, he said, “I have more important things to do, Susanna.” Hearing this, Susanna’s struggling ceased. She watched Reytin’s retreating back, remaining silent for a long time... ...And as he was about to exit the door, she shouted in rage, “I regret choosing to believe in you, ‘Solar Star.’ A person like you will eventually lose everything, abandoned by all!” Reytin remained silent and did not answer, simply vanishing alone into a wash of light. *** There was still nearly a month until the Consortium’s scheduled purge, which was quite a long time for Reytin, who didn't need to fly with a fleet. According to plan, he continued to maintain a state of total invisibility within the Federation. However, the enemy’s attacks on the habitable planets in the core regions had ceased. Reytin showed no signs of anything unusual regarding this. He simply remained missing; no one could find his location... But one day, in a certain darkness within the Ethereal Plane, a palm-sized high-speed drone that had flown there at some unknown time exploded violently. Its wreckage drifted apart. Before the fire of the explosion faded, it illuminated an asteroid belt composed of densely packed biological heads. The next moment, a flash of golden light like sunshine passed through. The drone’s chip fell into a large, slender-fingered hand encased in armor and a glove. *** Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation ---|---|--- 丽娜·瓦伦汀 | Lina Valentine | An A-class psychic, codenamed Heart Echo. 法林·瓦伦汀 | Falin Valentine | Lina's brother, an undercover agent. 心音 | Heart Echo | Lina Valentine's codename/sub-personality. 天眼 | Heavenly Eye | Likely the name of Lina's specific psychic ability or trait. 阿普顿·昂耶 | Upton Angye | Full name of the corrupt official Angye. 冠军 | Champion | The name of Valianna's weapon. 羲和 | Xihe | An AI or monitoring system (named after the Chinese sun goddess). 亚布里萨克 | Abrizak | A star sector. 青河16 | Qinghe 16 | A specific region or star system.