“What am I thinking?” Lei Ting countered. “You want to know?”
But before Eibon could speak, he delivered his ‘answer’: “Forget it.”
*I’m not telling you even if you want to know.*
Eibon: “……”
*Dammit!*
“I know what you’re doing—resisting, or perhaps trying to escape? You’re welcome to try,” Lei Ting said, his gaze sweeping over the towering statue of the goddess before the rift. The eyeballs embedded in its shattered face were twitching minutely. “You know that here, no help will come for anyone.”
“It seems I picked a fine grave for myself,” Eibon muttered with a strange grumble. Its clenched, slender claws tried to move, attempting to regrip in a spontaneous mutation, but even with all its might, it could not control the opening of its fingers.
Then, a black mechanical eyeball flew from its hand and landed before Lei Ting.
The man wearing the golden crown reached out to catch it. He felt an extremely sophisticated electronic instrument structure within, where a power was brewing—ancient and unstable, yet maintaining the link between this prosthetic eye and the ‘Sanctuary.’
Based on the knowledge of mechanics, electronics, and signal theory from the Human Federation’s highest military academy, this should be a key—an externally manufactured igniter.
“It seems you failed to gain true control over this system.” Lei Ting lowered his eyes, looking down at Eibon. “Your backer isn't reliable enough, is it?”
“……”
For a moment, the calm smile on Eibon’s face vanished. The appearance of the word ‘backer’ made it realize something. “…It seems you know quite a lot, ‘Sun Star.’”
“Perhaps.” Lei Ting’s answer was ambiguous.
Of course… he knew many things. Most of it was thanks to the Federation’s intelligence network, while a small portion came from information shared by the ‘Recorder’ or other sources.
But beyond that, there was the most important part—it came from Lei Ting’s own keen spiritual perception of the outside world, a range that encompassed both the physical universe and the Ethereal Plane, wherever he had passed.
Therefore, “I know what I must do. That is enough,” he said.
With a squeeze of his powerful hand, the mechanical eyeball was crushed like a hollow candy.
Simultaneously, ‘Sanctuary 9353’ began to vibrate. It started to spiral out of control—within three seconds.
And three seconds later, it surrendered to the golden radiance of the ‘Sun Star,’ loyally maintaining its stability and internal containment field.
The hundreds of faceless goddess statues within Sanctuary 9353 were uprooted, writhing flesh sacs and tentacles waving beneath them.
But Lei Ting could perceive its true structure—between those tentacles and sacs, ancient pipe clusters transmitted a red translucent liquid. Their properties were identical to the stellar civilization repair solution used by the ‘Recorder,’ but he didn't give them a second glance. This was because streaming along with those solutions was a type of fragmented black living worm.
A type of worm that devoured life and matter, they were about two millimeters long, cultivated within the superpower circulation system of the entire Sanctuary 9353, living off the ‘repair solution’ of unknown origin.
Their presence had already polluted the purity of the repair solution; these liquids could no longer be utilized in any normal biotechnological field.
What a waste.
Amidst the struggle of billions of Xenobeasts floating in the radiance, Lei Ting ignored them. Instead, like moving models in a logic game, he shifted the massive metal plates, pulling up an enormous central control console from below.
It was a magnificent creation with a minimum diameter exceeding four hundred meters. The overall structure had no external operating interface at all. Lei Ting didn't even need his intellect to judge that this thing was not intended for biological structures like humans or those goddess statues.
“A mental control console… How did you do it?!” Sisa was shocked. The mass of white fungus, having shed its normal biological form, writhed as it emitted a sound. “We tried for decades! It couldn't be moved to its proper position at all!”
“The answer is simple: because he changed the structure of this fortress.” Eibon let out a long sigh. “Sanctuary 9353, isolated in the starry sky for hundreds of thousands of years, one of the ten thousand rings of the ‘Goddess of the Ethereal,’ has drifted countless times into burning nebulae capable of instantly evaporating most normal matter, yet it was never damaged…
“To us, it was such a grand nest and weapon, but in the hands of the ‘Sun Star,’ it is merely a… toy.”
Its gaze fell into the golden sunlight, watching the backlit figure.
In its hypertrophied lenses, a massive sun of golden flame was reflected. For a moment, it thought it stood before that sun, facing a humanoid phantom that towered between heaven and earth.
The phantom’s gaze did not even fall upon it, but looked through it, toward something more distant, vast, and profound in the darkness.
Sanctuary 9353 quietly disintegrated under such a gaze. All the heavy industrial structures, tempered by cosmic storms, turned into fine particles and dissipated.
Like a three-dimensional painting composed of metal structures, it was erased from the dark canvas.
“…Ah.” Before vanishing along with Sanctuary 9353, Eibon murmured, “Such power…
“…You will no longer be viewed as human, ‘Sun Star.’ The majesty of your power has detached you from the mundane.”
Lei Ting looked at a spherical data module in his hand, turned, and left the massive, self-destructing space base, flying toward the snow planet that was being released.
Upon it, billions of ‘wraiths’ wandered in silence, and within the planet’s core, a faint humanoid phantom gradually emerged.
When the figure wearing the golden crown descended, they all bowed their heads and bent their waists. Beneath the shadow cast by that broad cape, they paid the highest homage to the Emperor of Metal.
***
On the Capital Planet of the Human Federation, in the Supreme Council Chamber, a meeting presided over by Yondell was underway.
The attendance for this meeting was two-thirds of the total number of councilors, as the remaining third were either fighting on the front lines or at other posts, with no time to participate, even remotely.
In addition, Upton Ongye was presiding over various affairs of the Capital Planet, which was currently in a full state of combat readiness. The Chairman’s assistant, Mira, remained in ‘that room,’ maintaining a dialogue with the ‘Chairman.’
The collective intelligence from thousands of years ago properly handled the aftermath of all recent disasters. This was only natural—‘The Gaze’ could see the future development led by every message they transmitted. In events that didn't require direct combat power, they only needed to choose the best option, like a gamer who had been handed a walkthrough.
But this could not explain—
“…Where has the ‘Sun Star’ gone?” someone asked. “He disappeared just when the Federation needed him most!”
To this, Yondell’s answer was: “His Excellency ‘Sun Star’ has his own mission.”
“But, Vice Chairman…”
“I said,” Yondell emphasized his tone, even though he didn't know where Lei Ting had gone or what he was planning, “His—Excellency—‘Sun—Star’—has—his—mission. Marklis, as the current Minister of Information for the Federation, have you completed your mission?”
“Of course, Vice Chairman Yondell.” The Information Minister named Marklis stood and saluted with a solemn face. “The Federation’s star sectors are currently undergoing a comprehensive update of the Star-Net base stations, and the Capital System has already been replaced. The technicians of the Information Department will always offer the highest loyalty and the best work to the Federation.”
“Very well. Continue your work; the Federation military will provide protection for you.” Yondell crossed an item off the meeting agenda without looking up, then said, “Military Department, report on the current battle situation.”
“Yes, sir.” Several councilors from the military answered subconsciously. “In fact, our battles are proceeding smoothly…”
“…” Yondell looked up at them and casually projected several copies of messages. “Then would you like to explain why more than six hundred sectors have been observed by the intelligence department to have a blue shift caused by a comprehensive contraction of the defensive lines?”
“…That is a normal strategic relocation, Vice Chairman.”
“That is shameful evasion and an unauthorized retreat!” Yondell slammed the table, standing up and roaring, “The first seventeen legions, led by the First Legion, are continuing their fight. What about you? You aren't even as good as the Seventh Legion!
“Now, I am beginning to doubt the correctness of the second and third military expansions—if the result of the expansion is not that the Federation gains more loyal guardians, but that humanity needs to feed more parasites, then I think you people would be better off going home to be ordinary technicians!”
“But this is the correct choice!” The military representative was not intimidated by Yondell at all, even slamming the table and standing up. “Do you think we want to give up the Federation’s star sectors for nothing? But, Vice Chairman Yondell, the post-expansion legions simply don't have enough manpower to fight a long-term war!
“Four thousand people—do you know? The smallest legion has only four thousand people! How ridiculous, how can that be called a ‘legion’? Even if those four thousand were sent to guard a block the size of one ten-thousandth of a star sector, they would be like a handful of dust thrown into the ocean, dying without weight or dignity!”
“Hey, those words aren't right,” on the other side, a councilor with a holographic nameplate reading [Minister of Finance - Cantro] floating above his head said. “In the wars of this era, does anyone still not know how things work? We don't need to scatter large numbers of people to the front lines. The only ones who truly need to face the crisis are the superpower warriors and some starship operation crew members. Most other crises can be solved entirely through AI and technical means…”
“AI? The battlefield situation changes in an instant. You make it sound so easy; if you’re so capable, go up there yourself!”
“That’s not my job. The Federation allocates money to you not so that people like us have to go to the battlefield in non-essential situations!”
“Then shut the fuck up! You coward who only knows how to stay far from the battlefield!”
“How dare you speak to me like that?!” Other councilors also looked up, and the atmosphere in the meeting room became highly tense.
Seeing an internal conflict about to erupt, Yondell quickly deactivated everyone’s vocalizers and raised his hand to try and calm the atmosphere. “Stop—stop!”
The crowd looked at him, seemingly muttering a few more indignant curses before sitting down silently.
Yondell could clearly tell from their lip movements that several people were cursing him personally. But limited by the occasion and atmosphere, he could not react to it. This made him sigh deeply in his heart. He opened his mouth, prepared to discuss other topics—
“Vice Chairman Yondell!” The communication interface of Mira, the Chairman’s assistant, suddenly popped up before his eyes. “‘The Chairman’ has issued a warning: the ‘Sea Lord’ is turning its back to the Ringworld and moving toward the Federation!”
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 圣域9353 | Sanctuary 9353 | An ancient space fortress/base. |
| 虚灵女神 | Goddess of the Ethereal | An ancient deity or figure associated with the Ethereal Plane. |
| 精神中控台 | Mental Control Console | A control interface operated via psychic or mental power. |
| 马克利斯 | Marklis | The Federation's Minister of Information. |
| 坎特罗 | Cantro | The Federation's Minister of Finance. |
| 蓝移 | Blue shift | Used here metaphorically to describe the contraction of defensive lines toward the observer. |
| 海主 | Sea Lord | A powerful entity or threat moving toward the Federation. |
| 环世界 | Ringworld | A massive artificial ring structure in space. |
| 幽魂 | Wraith / Ghost | Silent entities found on the snow planet. |
