Not long after, Angye broached the subject again. "By the way, Your Excellency Sun Star, I’ve come across some old rumors..."
"What rumors?" Lei Ting asked reflexively, even though he already knew.
"Legend has it that the civilization that originally built the 'Ring World' didn't actually perish," Angye said, lowering his voice. "They simply... transformed into another state of being."
"I know," Lei Ting nodded.
"..." Angye was stunned by the implications hidden in that brief confirmation.
But Lei Ting had no intention of elaborating. He simply tilted his head toward a certain direction. "They’re here."
Soon, a patch of delicate, translucent white spread out from the shadows of the building.
That white was peculiar. Before Lei Ting’s vision had evolved to its current level, it had appeared as a pure, simple white. Now, even though some yellow suns looked green to his eyes, this remained the same pure white. It was as if that flawless color itself anchored the very concept of 'white.'
A moment later, the delicate, brittle white mycelium condensed into a hazy mass of matter, gradually sculpting itself into the appearance of a neatly dressed human, as if carved by an invisible hand.
For a while, the thing looked only vaguely humanoid—a perfect specimen for triggering the uncanny valley effect. However, the two 'humans' present remained expressionless. One pair of eyes, hollows filled with fungi, and another pair of brilliant, golden radiance watched it silently, without a flicker of emotion.
"..." 'Yan Miao,' now in human form, silently averted her gaze.
"What’s wrong?" Angye was the first to speak. He seemed to have grown familiar with her over the past few days, his tone carrying a natural hint of teasing. "Even you can't stand looking into his eyes?"
"First of all, those aren't eyes. They make me feel like I’m death-defyingly staring at a star from point-blank range. Even if I’m only seeing the edges, it’s still suicidal," 'Yan Miao' said. "Secondly..."
She shot a brief glance at Angye, then turned away again, unable to bear the sight.
"Good grief..." Both Lei Ting and Angye could hear her muttering under her breath. "Is this what they call the uncanny valley...?"
Angye froze, suddenly remembering the things inside his own eye sockets. "..."
"...Isn't your level of anthropomorphism a bit too high?!" The veins on his forehead throbbed. "Please, roll back your generation settings!"
"I’m not an artificial intelligence!" 'Yan Miao' raised her voice. "I’m alive! I’m a lifeform!"
"Digital life is also life; it just has a different environment," Angye countered.
This had been the most popular public opinion in the Consortium before the Star Net was disconnected. Whether Angye actually believed it didn't matter; he was used to projecting an illusion of tolerance in front of alien races.
"Fine." 'Yan Miao' didn't argue, merely shrugging. "Your Excellency Sun Star, please forgive my lack of a proper welcome."
"You aren't the master of this place; there’s no need for a welcome..." Angye sighed. "I was wrong. Your level of humanization still needs work."
"..." 'Yan Miao' pursed her lips.
Lei Ting raised an eyebrow slightly. "The Khomist are coming."
'Yan Miao' snapped her head up.
"I can sense a massive, dangerous presence in the distance. The sub-strain faction hostile to you is broadcasting a signal, summoning its arrival. They are also searching for your new Progenitor Strain. Report any information to me." Lei Ting nodded slightly to her. "If you encounter any difficulties during the process..."
He raised his hand and sent a speck of golden light toward her. It was a brooch that appeared to be made of gold, identical to the one Angye carried. The engraved pattern featured a pair of laurel branches flanking two diamond-shaped gems—one large, one small. The gems were blue and red, perfectly cut, their primary colors shimmering and reflecting off each other.
"Ask Angye how to use it," Lei Ting said. "See you around."
He turned and vanished, leaving the fungal entity clutching the exquisite piece of craftsmanship in mid-air, looking utterly dazed. "..."
After a moment, she looked at Angye. "Does this mean he’s going to protect me?"
"Yes," Angye said, his expression somewhat strange. "As long as it’s a danger you can't resolve or avoid yourself..."
His gaze fell upon the object.
"...Have you studied the culture of the Origin Earth era? Do you know the frequency for 'S-O-S'?" he asked. "If not, I’ll teach you. In a critical moment, use the pin on the back to flick it, and destruction will descend upon your enemies."
"What do I have to pay?" 'Yan Miao' pinpointed the crux of the matter.
"Do as he says, and..." Angye said softly, "...everything else. Everything in your future life. You don't have the right to refuse."
'Yan Miao' looked down at the badge. For a split second, she seemed tempted to throw it at Angye and run, but she quickly sighed. "Forget it..."
"...We have no choice," she said.
The very existence of 'Khomist' was a massive threat to sub-strains like them. Once they came within a certain distance of it, they would be re-integrated into the 'Mycelium' network and subjected to direct supervision from a higher level. At that point, all individual will belonging to them would be completely erased.
For the dwindling members of the 'Mycelial Mat' network, this was nothing short of a cataclysm.
But the Star Net had stopped its support. Even if they wanted to run, where could they go? An enemy the size of a quarter of the galaxy was rolling through the stars, carving out a void—clumsy and cold, where a single rotation took thousands of years...
They couldn't escape. No one could.
Rather than making futile efforts after a bout of powerless rage, it was better to decisively find a powerful backer.
'Yan Miao' had a clear mind and a bright outlook.
*Yes, yes, yes, yes.*
*Right, right, right, right.*
*Exactly!*
Within the 'Mycelial Mat' network, sub-strains were frantically agreeing. One member added: *Should we record the intelligence we have and give it to 'Sun Star'...?*
*Huh? I just finished recording it,* 'Yan Miao' replied.
*? That’s too efficient!!* The fungi were shocked.
*Surrendering isn't shameful; staying alive is what matters,* 'Yan Miao' said, editing her documents within the biological mental network. *What are you all dazing off for? Get to work!* Her expression became animated. *Wow, summoning a long-range strike from 'Sun Star'... such high-level treatment is beyond my wildest dreams... Don't you think it's cool? As a fungus, I think this is incredibly cool!*
***
When Lei Ting returned to his fleet, the Federation was in the midst of a war.
The enemies in the occupied zones were indeed in an uproar due to the Star Net's disconnection. Especially when they discovered that most Star Gates were difficult to maintain properly without the network, anxiety became the dominant theme among the invaders.
"Actually, the bigger problem lies in the 'spatial anchoring' of the Star Gates," a technician explained to 'Sun Star.' "To ensure logistical transport and ease of passage, a large number of space platforms are built around most Star Gates. Some even have civilian planets just outside the warp safety zone.
"As you know, every Star Gate needs to be closed periodically. At that time, the structures folded into the space-time gaps between the two 'paired gates' will expand and unfold into the material universe..."
"And then, after precise calculations, they move to their respective positions to reassemble. Moving a Star Gate can be done via starship disassembly or self-propulsion." Lei Ting nodded slightly; this was knowledge from his elective courses back in the day. "Without Star Net support, the Star Gate frames cannot maintain remote communication or real-time status updates."
'Star Gate Re-anchoring' was a massive and precise process—massive in scale and workload, and precise because it allowed for zero errors beyond the redundancy limit.
And the galaxy's Star Gate technology...
Due to a shallow understanding of space-time, the redundancy of most Star Gates was less than one percent of their actual mass.
Therefore, if technical errors or external damage occurred at more than one out of every two hundred critical nodes, the Star Gate had to suspend passage. If it exceeded one percent, the gate had to be completely shut down.
Star Gates that had been captured after hard-fought battles against defense systems might soon become useless...
Invaders: ?
Invaders: !!!
"They won't be able to hold back. In fifteen days at most, seven at least, an all-out offensive will definitely occur," someone in the staff corps said. "This isn't our home turf, so we can afford to wait, but they can't. Furthermore, we have plenty of ways to make the supplies they get from their currently occupied areas drop off a cliff..."
The person gestured. "...About 88% of the enemies are carbon-based biological army groups. We have many ways to counter them, the most convenient being biochemical weapons."
"But those would be equally effective against our own people, and weaponized chemicals are difficult to degrade naturally. If we use easily degradable surface-cleansing types, we can't guarantee the lethality," another staff officer countered. "That is our territory, after all. We need to consider the future."
"I maintain that chemical weapons are the optimal choice."
"Your proposal is completely unfeasible."
"Then what do you suggest? If you oppose it, you have to provide a new plan."
"I believe..."
...
Great, the staff corps was at it again.
People from other departments consciously made way for the arguing officers. Lei Ting, watching the 3D tactical projection from the head of the table, suddenly spoke: "Blanket the occupied zones with chemical weapons."
"Huh??" Everyone turned their heads sharply.
"Do as I say."
Lei Ting said, his eyes fixed on the star map. Not only did they fail to reflect the stars, but they even seemed to dye the constellations a brilliant gold. "This is a training exercise. Resolve the immediate issues quickly... because beyond this, there are even more problems waiting for us."
"By Consortium standards, that would be a horrific act of biochemical extermination," the officer who had previously opposed the idea reminded him calmly. "We don't know if the Star Net will resume service. If it returns, this will become one of the reasons for the Federation to be targeted."
"..."
Lei Ting thought for a moment and said, "It won't return."
Someone gasped softly.
"I didn't do it, but I can guarantee it won't return," Lei Ting said. He swiped across the star map, designating a red zone. "Next, coordinate with the other legions to focus strikes on this area. I will provide you with military-grade navigational data."
"In the history of interstellar warfare, there has never been a single-person navigation operation," someone said. "This exceeds the scope of navigational science."
"My final grades in *Navigational Science*, *Warp Generation*, *Theory and Practice of High-Speed Maneuvering*, *Warp Engine Operation Theory*, *Warp Engine Calibration Theory*, and *Induced Beacon Field Theory* were the highest in the history of the First Military Academy."
Lei Ting gave the man a cool look, calmly answering the soldier who was merely raising questions according to regulations.
"Furthermore, the same applies to my grades in *Signal Dispersion*, *Signal Focusing Research*, *Frequency Modulation*, and *Theory and Practice of Target Marking*.
"Now that the Star Net has stopped its support, our military technology must iterate quickly. If you need them, I can find time in the coming days to write two sets of textbooks and submit them to the Ministry of Education for review."
The man fell silent and saluted Lei Ting.
"Alright." Lei Ting clapped his hands. "Xihe, execute the orders."
[Confirmed, Administrator 'Sun Star'.] A dull, stiff, and cold synthetic voice sounded. The command was accepted without any hindrance.
'Xihe' and its sub-program 'Wangshu' had lower intelligence than most later-model legion AIs, but because of this, it lacked any 'command logic self-check' protocols. It would simply segment phrases and extract instructions based on semantics and context to execute them.
Moreover, its judgment logic was better suited for war, especially counter-offensives.
This was because it was the only AI left over from the Origin Earth era among the major legions—the collective manifestation of the highest wisdom from that era's human cluster, forged in the fires of war and oppression.
"Very well." Lei Ting nodded slightly. "I will remain here temporarily. Meeting adjourned."
So much time had passed; he had to see if the remnants of the reorganized legions were professional enough now.
Furthermore, chemical weapons targeting carbon-based life were indeed too dangerous. Their transport, deployment, and diffusion had to be monitored by him personally.
Currently, the enemy was in the dark while he was in the light. Such a decision might very well draw out some interesting movements from the shadows...
Lei Ting left the conference room and returned to his 'office.' He leaned back into the air, lost in thought.
He knew a giant web was currently enveloping the galaxy, and its primary target was himself. The opponent cared almost nothing for any other living beings in the galaxy, but he had attachments. Thus, he was naturally at a disadvantage, and it was difficult to ensure that 'any action would not trigger a corresponding counter-move from the enemy.'
But, to be honest...
Lei Ting casually closed the data pad in his hand. His silhouette before the tall, wide display screen appeared upright and majestic.
Sometimes, a dangerous outsider can cause ripples in a stagnant pond.
If an all-out war and the enemy's schemes were inevitable, and that unknown adversary could indefinitely decide the location, then at the very least, the timing of its occurrence must be controlled by him.
He thought.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 恐怖谷效应 | Uncanny Valley effect | The psychological phenomenon where humanoid objects that look almost, but not quite, like real humans provoke feelings of eeriness. |
| 羲和 | Xihe | An ancient AI; named after the solar deity/charioteer of the sun in Chinese mythology. |
| 望舒 | Wangshu | A sub-program of Xihe; named after the deity who drives the chariot for the moon. |
| 导航学 | Navigational Science | One of the many subjects Lei Ting mastered. |
| 折跃发生学 | Warp Generation | A field of study regarding the creation of warp jumps. |
| 诱导信标力场 | Induced Beacon Field | A military technology used for guiding ships or strikes. |
| 信号频散学 | Signal Dispersion | The study of how signals spread or scatter. |
| 频率调制学 | Frequency Modulation | The study of encoding information in a carrier wave by varying its frequency. |
| 冗余量 | Redundancy | In engineering, the inclusion of extra components that are not strictly necessary to functioning, in case of failure. |
| 改锚 | Re-anchoring | The process of recalibrating the spatial coordinates of a Star Gate. |
