Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 168 | The Weight of Responsibility | Novela.app

Ringworld. "Dozens of minor interstellar civilizations from the Perseus Arm are launching a joint invasion of the Orion Human Union..." The mushroom person—no, the Cormist sub-unit 'Kena'—muttered with her head down. "The 'Mycelium' is broken, the Progenitor is nowhere to be found, and now a war has started... *Sigh*..." "Lamenting several events separated by nineteen years all at once..." Yan Miao, another sub-unit with an elven appearance working as a dealer in a Ringworld casino, retorted. "That’s truly a topic short-lived species wouldn't understand." A faint look of confusion appeared in Kena's eyes. "Humans are a short-lived species too." Yan Miao was aghast. "Do you actually consider yourself human now?!" "..." Kena remained expressionless. Yan Miao instantly retracted her exaggerated expression. "Alright, jokes aside. I know you mean humans have enough associative power to link them together... So, those little things from the Perseus Arm—why are they only targeting the Human Union?" "Sisters from the direction of the Perseus Arm say those guys think humans are the greatest cancer in the galaxy," Kena shrugged. "I don't know why they've made such a uniformly incorrect judgment. There must be something behind this." "Who knows?" Yan Miao sighed. "I wonder if my thesis will pass..." Kena was shocked again. "You're still thinking about that at a time like this?!" "Of course!" Yan Miao exclaimed. "That’s my thesis! It’s full of academic significance..." "Give it up. Undergraduates shouldn't talk about 'academia.' Just producing less academic trash is considered a contribution," Kena rolled her eyes. "I say, stop messing with biological sciences. You weren't even allocated our relevant knowledge... Have you considered studying something else?" Yan Miao didn't bother to argue that she had actually graduated and was pursuing advanced studies. Instead, she asked, "Like what?" "History, scripts, and languages," Kena said, casually smoothing her long, pale hair. A faint, eerie red light flickered deep within her eyes. "I'll give you a title and a research direction... *An Inquiry into the Dual-Name Tradition and Related Cultural Origins of Orion Humans*. How does that sound?" "Fine," Yan Miao replied, her head lowered, sounding casual. A moment later, she suddenly asked, "Did you hear that?" "Hear what?" Kena blinked, the red light in her eyes vanishing quietly. Her somewhat dazed expression returned to normal as she scanned the surroundings seriously. "Hear what?" "Nothing. Maybe I misheard," Yan Miao looked up with a smile. "The 'Mycelium' network is quite useful, isn't it?" "Of course. It is the great creation of the Progenitor!" Kena nodded with a strange expression. "Why are you asking such a bizarre question?" Meanwhile, on a level difficult to define by material or spiritual concepts, Yan Miao finished the second half of her sentence: *[...Confirmed that individual C17 has abnormally disconnected from the 'Mycelial Mat' network. Suspected to have rejoined the 'Mycelium' network. Pseudo-personality shows symptoms of splitting; speech and behavior are leading, purpose unknown, but currently poses no threat.]* *[Understood. Suggest continued monitoring.]* *[Understood. Suggest continued monitoring.]* *[Understood. Suggest continued monitoring.]* *[Alright,]* Yan Miao said, smiling as she rose to pour water for herself and Kena. *[What do you all think of that 'Progenitor' who suddenly succeeded in Ascension? Is she worth contacting?]* *[Hard to say.]* *[Hard to say.]* *[Hard to say.]* *[Stop copy-pasting each other's consciousness. Express your own opinions,]* Yan Miao’s smile cracked slightly. *[...Fine.]* In the deep void, upon alien stars, beneath the darkness, at the bottom of seas of fire... thousands of similar yet distinct pale figures expressed their regret through the methods of their respective disguised species. Then, a certain Cormist sub-unit said: *[I have never seen that individual in the 'Mycelial Mat.' She is not one of our sisters. Stay vigilant. The 'Mycelium' network should have withered long ago; the current situation is highly irregular. Although our 'Mycelial Mat' network cannot link with the Progenitor or higher existences, perhaps... that isn't a bad thing.]* *** "Under normal circumstances, I certainly couldn't have killed a 'Double-S,' but at the time, the place she was in had just been raked by the weapons of the Galactic Empire." Emperor's Blade shrugged. "That's right. She was the previous 'Double-S,' the one with the ability to create black holes." Under the starlit sky, Lei Ting raised his eyebrows high. "The records concerning her were suppressed. You likely don't know much, but I still remember... everything from those days, I remember it all." Emperor's Blade looked at the distant stars and spoke softly. "Her name was Boykaliji. 'Boyka' is the race, 'Li' is the clan name, and 'Ji' is her given name. Additionally, she had a name bestowed upon her by the Emperor of the Galactic Empire: 'Atlin Lina'." "'Lina'?" Lei Ting instinctively caught the name that had been appearing frequently lately. Moreover... "The 'Emperor' of the Galactic Empire bestowed a name upon her?" If he bestowed a name, why use weapons to bombard her? Was it for some political reason? No... perhaps it was because this 'Boykaliji' was the one previously responsible for destroying those disguised Xeno-demons... As Lei Ting pondered, Emperor's Blade nodded. "Yes, a bestowed name. Legend has it that this was the name of the Emperor's eldest daughter who died young. To receive that name was a complete testament to her former glory." "..." Lei Ting sighed. Powerful, glorious—it sounded wonderful, didn't it? But one only had to remember that all of this belonged to a 'Double-S,' a 'Limit Breaker.' Even though he was the same kind of existence, he already knew how the story would unfold. "But... she was 'corrupted'," Emperor's Blade’s tone carried a soft mourning. He raised his hand, staring at his knuckles which appeared perfectly normal on the surface. "Because of her sensitivity, and... the responsibility I took over was hers. In those final days, she had lost herself and gone completely mad, to the point where the Galactic Empire, which was at war at the time, had to divert part of its forces to deal with her." "After all, no one could endure the terrifying future of a 'Double-S' wreaking large-scale havoc from the flanks or the rear. She only needed to output her energy at full power to create a black hole large enough to prematurely end the life of the galaxy. She almost succeeded." Even Lei Ting couldn't help but remark at this moment, "The galaxy truly is ill-fated..." "Agreed," Emperor's Blade said. He couldn't find any humor in it. "Alright, let's go. Everyone back to their own homes," Lei Ting said, a faint golden light shimmering around him. "The 'Sea Lord' has been dealt with, but we both likely have a lot of work to finish... such as your final arrangements. You know what I'm talking about." If Lei Ting was destined to have that final battle with Emperor's Blade, then Emperor's Blade had to consider three points: First, the handover of internal affairs within the Tane civilization. Second, how to minimize the interstellar society's reaction to the event, especially the negative perception the Tane civilization would have toward the 'person who killed Emperor's Blade.' Third, how to stay sane until that day arrived. Emperor's Blade watched Lei Ting's back as he disappeared into the golden light, remaining silent. Shortly after, he transformed into a streak of golden-brown light, briefly piercing the gloom of the starry sky. *** Due to insufficient manpower, the Human Union had been forced to relinquish control over a quarter of its territory, though the front lines were being held within a certain range as much as possible. While decaying, the military logistics system remained intact enough to prevent a total collapse in the short term. Currently, the Human Union was waiting for the moment the far-flung enemies would crumble from within. But even so, the various threats posed by the alien races made it difficult for the Human Union military to control losses. Large numbers of soldiers died every day. Even with the observation, scanning, and information-sharing functions of the 'Auxiliary Eyes,' the daily losses were immeasurable. The commercial sector began to push back against the ban on civilian transportation. Although the lives of the populace had not yet suffered a large-scale devastating blow, issues like the internal influx of refugees and skyrocketing prices had triggered multiple chain reactions. Furthermore, the previous long-range attack by the 'Sea Lord' had caused small-scale unrest. The Kang family, which had been nearly destroyed, suffered various secondary damages afterward, such as energy explosions. Regarding this, Essengar Kang stated it was nothing. He did not join the others who had also been attacked in blaming the Council. Instead, he displayed an extraordinary level of compliance, cooperating fully with secrecy regulations from start to finish. He even showed the visiting Aungier a small trinket the 'Sun Star' had gifted to his son. Consequently, Aungier did not pursue the matter of the unregistered secret biological research lab discovered directly beneath the Kang estate. After all, his own hands weren't clean either, were they? *** Lei Ting returned to Human Union territory. The moment he turned on his light-computer and reconnected to the Star Net, countless new message notifications popped up. Almost his entire contact list was sending him messages. With a glance, he saw Yondel, Aungier, the 'Principal,' Lucas... and so on. Among them were even some old classmates trying to fish for information, but Lei Ting did not reply to them, even though he had been on good terms with most of his classmates during his school days. A person like him, back in his relatively clean student days, got along with everyone. Lei Ting looked through the contents of the messages and then took a tour of the Federation's internal public Star Net—the kind where he made sure to turn off all download options first. Compared to the 21st century, the propaganda methods of the interstellar era were far more insane. With the various auto-response programs built into the Star Net, if one dared to relax control even slightly, a user could find eight thousand different software clients added to their light-computer in the time it took to click a 'close' button. Compared to Earth's meager internet speeds, this was a true high-speed 'litter-dropper' for apps. Finally, after reading the debates about himself on the Star Net and the cyber-duels between netizens, Lei Ting quietly arrived at the Federation's capital planet. From everything that had happened over these years, he could feel a powerful sense of crisis. It permeated the starry sky, lingering within and without his soul. He was going to do something. Something that, in an era like this, should have been done long ago. As the doors to the Council Chamber swung open, Lei Ting closed his eyes behind his blindfold. When he opened them again, his brilliant golden gaze was resolute. ***