No one knew what Shane was thinking, and he had no intention of sharing it.
There were too few things in this world worth trusting or confiding in. In his previous life, he’d had an AI companion to talk to, but this time, he had destroyed it early on—utterly and completely.
As for Evenheiler...
Under the premise of being watched with suspicion, Shane wouldn't attempt to deepen their communication, but he still had things to say.
"A major event will occur at the end of the year. It’s an external crisis. I’ve already discussed it with the Leader."
As Shane spoke, he gazed at Evenheiler’s profile with the most sincere eyes.
*Beautiful,* he thought.
The marks of time and illness—whether the silver at his temples or the fine lines at the corners of his eyes—could not mar this man’s beauty. They only added a touch of soul-stirring charm.
"You will come to see that I am trustworthy, Starstream. I harbor no ill will toward you," he said, turning to leave with a smile. "The war is about to begin, and we are comrades-in-arms. One day, I will tell you the things I’ve hidden..."
But that day was not today. Evenheiler’s current physical condition did not allow him to ponder too many "insider secrets."
The moment Shane turned his back to Evenheiler, his expression flattened into a sudden, cold calm.
There were too many things he had to guard against. He believed Solaris was likely doing the same.
*Sigh. If I had a choice, why would I casually destroy a super AI host that was so beneficial to me?*
When he had discovered in his last life that the fellow was a pawn of the "Star" civilization... he had truly been heartbroken.
***
Evenheiler watched Shane depart.
Then, he returned to his room alone. His steps faltered the moment he crossed the threshold. He hurried to his desk and quickly fished four bottles of medicine out of a medical kit: one for pain, two to alleviate symptoms, and one to fight fire with fire.
He shook out two tablets from each of the first three bottles—all pills, no capsules. He hesitated before putting the fourth bottle back, placing it next to two small vials of synthetic pheromone solution.
About five minutes after taking the medicine, his pale complexion improved slightly. He sat up and picked up a vial of the synthetic pheromones, holding the transparent, colorless bottle up to the light.
Pheromones were hormones—hormones with structures that could be analyzed. Naturally, they could be synthesized.
However... this technology had never truly flourished for various reasons. Thus, there was still a distinct difference between synthesized pheromones and the original version used as a reference.
He remembered this scent. It smelled like iron, yet it differed from the original—it was a scent like rust, carrying a withered aura of stale blood. Though it was masked by a specially added minty fragrance, its presence could not be ignored by an S-rank.
The medical department had made this for him to temporarily relieve his dependency on a certain person’s pheromones. The theoretical dosage was one thumb-sized vial per month, but he truly disliked the unnatural sensation in that scent. Consequently, he hadn't used it for two months.
He had had enough of that unnatural aura of decay.
Evenheiler took a deep breath and tossed the two small vials back.
The glass-composite bottles landed in the cloth-lined box, letting out a crisp clink as they collided.
His recently assigned combat missions were light—light enough that he had plenty of time to rest or handle paperwork.
Although his cognitive abilities had declined along with his physical constitution, as a genuine S-rank, the volume of documents Evenheiler processed daily was still several, if not a dozen, times that of others.
Of course, if Morgan and the others hadn't practically gripped him by the throat to force him to rest, he probably would have worked himself into the ICU for some sort of "Corporate Slave Resurrection Match"...
No, wait. He wasn't working for a company anymore. Even if there were a resurrection match, he’d only be playing against his own comrades.
*I might as well just give up the struggle,* Evenheiler thought.
He was going to die anyway. Although the fear of death and the negative emotions it triggered had mostly vanished...
Forget it. He only hoped that before he died, he could be of the greatest possible use.
"Even!" someone called from outside. "It’s time to go 'home'!"
Evenheiler snapped upright from the bed like a leaping carp. He straightened his clothes with a serious expression and walked quickly out of the room.
"Are they ready to open the door over there?" he asked.
"No, but we have other ways."
The man who had called him, "Tan He," spoke as they walked toward the exit of the dormitory area.
"The 'Gate' is located within Federation space. You know the ones—that pair of Star Gates," he said. "But when they built those gates back then, they actually left a secret passage..."
"A secret passage?" Evenheiler frowned. "Has it been maintained after all these years?"
"Of course. The Federation maintained it for us," Tan He chuckled. "Don't worry. As long as we don't run into the Federation's top regular armies or Solaris himself on the way, our plan will go smoothly."
"To be honest, I have my doubts about your plan," Evenheiler said, shaking his head. "Reality isn't a game, and interstellar society isn't a place where you can become king just by obtaining a strong claim..."
"The 'Beloved' believes it’s possible, so we believe it too." Tan He spread his mechanical hands.
The essence of the "Beloved" was the collective reflection of all human emotional thought within the "Spiritual Depths." Though It could not speak or express clear, rational logic, every thought It transmitted to Morgan was, in fact, the guidance of the collective known as "Humanity."
"You are the 'Beloved,' I am the 'Beloved,' and Solaris and those fools in the Council are also the 'Beloved,'" Tan He said. "Please, how could we harm ourselves?"
Evenheiler shook his head.
"But we cannot guarantee that every decision we make is correct. No one can guarantee that," he said. Enduring the burning sensation of the medicine taking effect in his stomach, he walked into the briefing room with a calm face.
In the room, pairs of familiar eyes turned toward them.
The gazes that swept over Tan He varied, but when they saw Evenheiler, most carried goodwill or a trace of imperceptible pity.
Evenheiler nodded to everyone and took his seat.
"Everyone is here. We will now begin assigning tasks," Morgan said, standing up. "Yes, we are about to embark on a new voyage..."
His chair slid slightly on the floor. The artificial flowers on the table were vivid and bright. Outside the porthole, a shattered planet was reflected, surrounded by dense clusters of crystalline fragments filling the starry sky.
"...We must cross the stars, and that starless void that is far from silent..."
To the Resistance, those metal-rich crystals were both the remains of their enemies and rare, high-quality resources.
At this moment, tens of thousands of ships were weaving through them, harvesting the parts worth carrying.
"We shall take the path of our ancestors and go to the cradle of human life."
In the distance, Raytin set down a copper-plated handicraft and let out a long sigh.
"We will split into two groups..."
Morgan’s face was solemn, his posture upright, his hands pressing lightly on the table.
"One will go to the edge of the Large Magellanic Cloud, and the other... to the Solar System," he said. "You all have your own paths. The former has its own mission; you will be responsible for exploration and endless combat. As for the latter—"
"—As you know, we’re going to take a trip 'home' first."
"The Solar System?" Evenheiler’s brow furrowed. "The 'New Solar System' will become a mandatory path for us. That is Solaris’s hometown; the Federation won't ignore it... Who is the current high official there?"
"Someone transferred from the capital planet. His name is Lin Bin-Jacques," the intelligence officer replied.
"Lin Bin-Jacques?" Evenheiler repeated the somewhat strange name, his expression turning odd for a moment.
"What is it?" Morgan asked.
"In my early years of schooling, I was middle school classmates with his father," Evenheiler said. "Looking at him now, he seems to have inherited quite a bit of his father's style."
"Meaning?"
Evenheiler spread his hands.
"He knows how to pick the winning side."
***
Raytin clasped his hands, lowering his head in deep thought.
The Solar System...
Of course, secrets were hidden there. Humans were a race that learned to bury their favorite toys from childhood; how could they not hide some trump cards when forced to flee their homeland?
It was a secret even greater than that statue of the "Gazer," and it was the reason he had deployed the First Legion there.
—The Solar System hid a "Gate" leading straight to the "Spiritual Depths."
It was a sealed, stable passage located within the dense asteroid belt of the old Earth site. Shrouded by an extraordinary power and isolated in silence at the edge of the galaxy, it had been maintained by precise calculations and mechanical assistance, orbiting along with the Solar System, forgotten for centuries.
Raytin leaned his head on his hand and gave a bitter laugh. He truly could only laugh bitterly.
*What kind of lunatic opens a door to the enemy's lair in their own backyard?!!*
Thrilling! Extremely thrilling! When he had first discovered this secret, he had nearly felt the sensation of suffocation...
With that gate there, he wouldn't even flinch at how many monsters were found hidden inside planets.
No matter how big the problem was, could it be bigger than that gate?
That was absolutely some form of stable spatial transfer technology. Humanity had actually mastered such technology as far back as the Earth era and used it to dig a massive pit for their descendants...
Yet in the current Human Union, not a single word could be found regarding that gate or the corresponding technology.
Tsk.
Raytin pondered for a long while but couldn't figure out why the Resistance would go there for anything other than that gate, nor could he fathom what they intended to do with it.
"Going home"?
For a moment, the image of his own city surfaced in his mind.
He had considered it before; that city, which served as his mental projection, clearly existed in reality. But there were far too many structures within it that had nothing to do with "metal."
Even if he could control it completely... from the bricks to the vegetation, those were things that he—or rather, the current him—should not be able to create.
If one day his manipulation of matter reached the atomic level, the transformation of material properties would no longer be just a hypothesis, and his power would no longer be limited to metal.
But... at least for now, he couldn't do it.
And even if he could manipulate atoms, there were still many things he couldn't do.
No one could be omniscient and omnipotent, himself included.
Raytin kept his head low. He felt a sense of loss and pain for the future—this was inevitable. Perhaps he should share the information, or perhaps recruit a few people who could help him. But...
...But the matters he faced generally fell into two categories: one where sharing information would only harm others, and another where it wouldn't necessarily harm them, but he could solve it himself without sharing, even if his methods were a bit crude.
Oh, there might be an exception here...
Raytin dug a to-do item out of his brain, which was filled with cluttered information.
He suddenly sat up straight and said, "Tianhe."
"I am here, Administrator Solaris." Tianhe emitted its synthesized mechanical voice, which countless citizens of the Human Union had criticized as "sounding outdated."
"Have Evandale look for medical talent among those with B-rank or higher abilities. I want people with no issues in their mental state or personal background. Then, gather the Federation's medical strength and find the best of them for me," Raytin said. "I need a medical research team, the more members the better. As for the pretext... say I’m preparing for a new round of mass genetic improvement."
Raytin paused for a moment.
"...And," he said in a low voice, "tell him I need to contact the 'Speaker'."
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