Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 162 | The Weight of the Sun | Novela.app

Human Federation, Capital Planet. The Federation Assembly Hall. ... When the forty-second person asked, "Where is the Solar Star?" Yondell, who had not slept for nearly a month, finally gave a different answer: "Sector 6114, moving toward the 'Ring World'—he said he's going to coordinate with the Complex to handle that 'big problem.'" "Oh..." The questioner fell silent. A moment later, Yondell suddenly added, "Submit the comprehensive military briefing." "Our soldiers have been fighting for their lives on the front lines for so long, yet he, as the Vice Commander of the First Legion, has been missing. Now he suddenly returns and decides to look at the battle reports?" someone sneered. "Yondell, tell us the truth. What exactly has he been doing?" "Now is not the time for public condemnation." Yondell did not answer the question directly—after all, he didn't know what the 'Solar Star' had been up to either. In Yondell's view, the current 'Solar Star's' way of doing things was gradually becoming somewhat absurd; it didn't match the impression 'Lei Ting' had always given. But... Well, it had to be said that the 'Lei Ting' part of him seemed to be gradually diminishing from the 'Solar Star.' At the very least, the man from five years ago would never have stood by and watched a war unfold like this. Yondell shook his head, sent the briefing to Lei Ting, and immersed himself in his work once more. As for Lei Ting, he naturally sensed that the other's attitude was off—a 'Double-S,' or rather, a 'Limit-Breaker,' possessed a sensitivity to external changes that was multifaceted—but since Yondell would never betray the interests of the Federation or humanity, he didn't bother saying anything. The enemy was in the shadows while he was in the light. Currently, Lei Ting only knew that the enemy was monitoring Star Network communications with high intensity, and that alone was enough for him to raise his vigilance to the maximum. Consequently, his optical computer's external unit was kept in a state of physical disconnection and forced shutdown. He would only reconnect the critical circuits when he needed to use it. Thanks to the fact that signal-conducting lines were invariably made of metal, this was as simple as breathing for him. Beyond that, he had begun to consciously isolate himself from almost everyone he knew. After all, there were too many strange superpowers in this world; he couldn't risk any leak of his personal intentions. In contrast, this decision... he had actually discussed it privately with 'The Gazer.' The entity had spoken with him for a few minutes after waking from its slumber, expressing great support but saying little else. Moreover, it appeared somewhat lethargic, which prompted Lei Ting to instinctively show concern, only to receive a cryptic reply: "This is normal." How was this normal? For a super-powered entity to manifest fatigue like an organic being—was that truly normal? Upon sensing the entity's overall state, Lei Ting discovered that the source of its exhaustion was still that abyss-like dark crack on its visor—the gloom of the 'Spirit's Depths' had been eroding 'The Gazer' from within through that point. For some reason, it had never shown this level of fatigue in previous years, yet it was manifesting now. To this, 'The Gazer' gave no answer, only saying suddenly: "You see, the concept of a 'whole' is so important." "Hmm?" Lei Ting was stunned for a moment, his mind instinctively thinking of 'The Complex' and the 'Ring World,' as well as the Complex's style of maintaining the illusion of overall galactic peace even if it meant supporting many useless races. "Go and slay the sources of those disturbances... 'Solar Star.' Do it for the sake of this 'whole.'" 'The Gazer' seemed to be looking into the distance, but soon, it lowered its head to look at the steel Earth in its arms. "Even if this looks like some strange Messiah complex... there are some things only you can do." "What did you see?" Lei Ting asked. "Or rather, what have you seen?" 'The Gazer' only shook its head. "The future is ever-changing. I do not know what path the world after 4000 AD will take. "But I still vaguely remember, 'Solar Star'... the great enemy is among us, and you—at least you—can overcome them and bring us victory." "You seem to have high hopes for me. Am I some kind of 'only hope'?" Lei Ting quipped, a joke he didn't even believe himself. As expected, 'The Gazer' shook its head too. "No, of course not." It gently patted the steel Earth, as if soothing a child crying in pain. The gesture was compassionate and tender, and this soft power, so contrary to the metallic armor, felt perfectly natural on the entity. "Now that 'we' are dead, every one of you is hope," it said. "It's just... 'Solar Star,' what is that you wear upon your head?" It was clearly a statue, yet in this moment, it inexplicably gave Lei Ting a strange sense of gentleness. But he knew that beneath that gentleness lay the decisiveness and steadfastness necessary for humanity to have reached this point. "Rather than accepting a future where 'man must die' and moving toward the end in silence, people will always foolishly choose to struggle, even if it may be a thankless task," he heard 'The Gazer' say. "'Solar Star'... you chose to become the sun, so you must lead the people to victory, toward a direction worthy of those laurel leaves and your power. You must fight powerful enemies, sever the bloodlines and war banners of the wicked with your blade, and then love justly, losing things you never imagined you would lose... "This is the path you chose for yourself. You must walk it to the end. You know that no matter how tired you are, you must finish it, until you have fought this war, ended what you wish to end, and seen the future you desire descend upon the world. "Until the life you dream of becomes a Utopia that exists around you at all times. Until the moment you can truly begin to rest." "..." Perhaps 'The Gazer's' words were not just for Lei Ting, but also for the souls and powers that constituted it. It considered that it and those people had failed to become the sun, but they had fought powerful enemies, loved justly, severed the bones of their foes with sharp blades, and lost almost everything they once possessed. The word 'surrender' does not exist in the mind of an old fighter, and even less so when a group of old fighters are aggregated together. 'The Gazer' was such an individual—a collective of 'a group of old fighters,' and the kind that had literally used their own bodies to fill the raging torrents of a great river. Naturally, it would not advise Lei Ting not to hurry. Because although everything seemed peaceful, it had already reached a level of urgency comparable to racing against tigers and wolves. Even the three days Lei Ting had spent on his experiments were actually the time he had to wait for the Federation to raise the Star Network base station update rate to 50%. Updating the new Star Network base stations was something that truly could not be rushed—hurrying was useless. Even with his own remote-controlled, uncrewed, non-intelligent fleets working on it, the Federation's territory, calculated in 'Sectors,' was simply too vast. Lei Ting let out a long sigh. In the starry void, he withdrew his gaze from a battle report filled with crimson loss data and closed his eyes beneath his visor. A moment later, he suddenly raised a hand to touch the golden laurel half-crown on his head, and the two red gems half-hidden beneath the golden leaves. They flowed with a blood-like radiance amidst the gold and black. It was a retro-style accessory crafted by the Federation using massive resources. It carried a beautiful sentiment, embodying the hopes of the entire Federation—or at least a part of it—for him. They hoped he would become the Federation's finest blade and spear; that was his responsibility as a soldier. They also hoped he would be a part of the Federation; that was his duty as a citizen. But over the years, Lei Ting had completely deviated from that path. He had strayed too far and interfered too much, all for the sake of a plot that those people deemed insignificant, for the people who had died because of him in that scheme... and for that seemingly tiny hope for the future and life that held no value to outsiders. Lei Ting lowered his hand, took one last look at those crimson entries, and closed the battle report. He looked toward the distant stars, where a massive shadow was writhing and swimming toward the Federation. Although the terrifying individual known as the 'Sea Lord' was now visible to the naked eye, the distance between Lei Ting and it was still vast. Therefore, he did not rush to give the other party a long-range greeting (high-energy physics limited), but instead contacted the Complex Council through his optical computer. Once the communication was established, he didn't waste words, simply asking: [Where are your people?] ['Imperial Blade' has entered tracking range,] the signal from the 'Ring World' replied. [Our deepest apologies, Excellency 'Solar Star.' Some of the originally assigned task force members had to change their itineraries due to urgent matters, and the rest have not yet arrived... we could only contact Excellency 'Imperial Blade,' who was originally not scheduled to come.] 'Imperial Blade,' huh... To be honest, that fellow, who wanted to grow a paradise planet for his home civilization more than he wanted to fight, was quite interesting. If he could give up the idea of having Lei Ting kill people for him, Lei Ting wouldn't mind being his friend. [Urgent matters?] Lei Ting asked back. [What urgent matters?] The signal from the 'Ring World' seemed to be privy to some inside information. To this question, it replied: "Currently, a large number of interstellar civilizations within the galaxy have members beginning to undergo mutations due to Star Network information infection. The Complex has distributed relief supplies, wishing them success in resisting the infection so that we may overcome these difficult times together." It seemed that because of the 'Star Network information infection,' some high-level espers were temporarily unable to leave the civilizations they served? Unsurprisingly, some civilizations had indeed suffered heavily due to poor information containment... He hoped the number of biological individuals transformed into Abyssal Demons wouldn't be too high; that would be an extremely heavy blow to the ordered civilizations of organic life. [What about the 'Ring World'?] Lei Ting asked. [Our monitoring is comprehensive; everything is normal,] the other party replied. Clearly, this answer breezily skipped over some necessary, blood-soaked procedures. [Then,] Lei Ting asked as he began flying toward the 'Sea Lord,' [who are you?] ['Copper,' the core AI of the 'Ring World,' at your service,] the other party's reply arrived instantly. So it was an AI with a high degree of personification... or rather, a high degree of sapient simulation. Lei Ting realized. [Does the name 'Copper' have any meaning?] he asked while traveling at high speed. [Investigations show that one of the early signs of civilization in sapient beings is the 'use of tools,' and copper, being relatively easy to mine and smelt, was one of the most common metals used for tools in early civilizations,] 'Copper' replied. [Civilizations used it for war, trade, and to record environmental changes and the passage of time... It is a good metal, is it not?] [Of course, copper is a good metal,] Lei Ting replied casually. Though casual, he truly believed it: copper was a good metal. At least in modern industrial processes, certain copper-related alloys remained at the forefront of choices