[Disconnected from the 'Sun' local area network. Connecting to Star Net...]
[Connected to Star Net. Welcome, User [Everest Infinite Communication].]
The UI of the new light-brain was no longer a full 3D immersion; instead, it had been rewritten by military-grade plugins into a clean, sharp 2D style.
Upon returning to the Star Net, Lei Ting, who had already boarded the short-range transport ship, immediately pulled up the news interface and set it to the side, browsing through various fantastical reports from the inner rings of the Galactic Star Net.
[Friendly Meeting Between the Crown Prince of the Abrissac Empire and Federation Vice Speaker Gerahhel Yondell on the Third Planet of the Capital System]
[Humanity Explores the Nightmare Nebula Again After 620 Years]
[Great Progress in Genetic Science! A New Path for Life Forms]
*Well, the three daily headlines you can receive anywhere are as futuristic as ever...*
*I'll look at them later,* Lei Ting thought as he tossed the news window into the sidebar and checked the communication system, which had been popping up messages incessantly since he connected to the Star Net.
As soon as he opened the interface, he saw a long row of "Happy Birthday" messages from various people. He estimated there were at least a hundred, most of whom he wasn't very familiar with—just normal classmates he had added.
They must have already reached the surfaces of the five planets in the Capital System. Only Lei Ting had been delayed because he had to visit the Logistics Department before leaving. Consequently, there were only two or three other passengers on this ship, enough for him to find a seat near the edge, far from everyone else, to enjoy a moment of quiet isolation.
He replied to the thank-you messages one by one and went to the school forum to respond to the thread wishing him a happy birthday. He found the experience quite novel—being blessed, being blessed by so many people, regardless of what those people were actually thinking when they sent the messages...
After replying to all the messages, Lei Ting received invitations to join this year's student public chat room, the Psionic Mecha Department's large chat room, and the small chat room established by Sandro. Additionally, he automatically obtained viewing and posting permissions for the 'First Military Academy Public Forum' from 'Pacific.'
After handling all the information, Lei Ting looked at the avatar [Cutest in the Universe] on his communication interface and sighed softly.
Now, he could clearly see that the avatar Raven had called 'Cutest in the Universe' was not a cat, but a person. A person he had seen in the orphanage.
It was a little girl with white hair. When he first saw her, they were both only eleven or twelve years old. But now, he was an adult, while the nameless girl likely remained eleven or twelve forever.
In this year away from the Star Net, his life trajectory had undergone a massive change.
"Why the sigh?" a voice asked.
Hearing this voice, Lei Ting’s pupils constricted sharply. He instinctively wanted to look up but restrained the impulse.
He waited until the other person sat down beside him.
"Happy birthday," a gentle, slightly deep, and pleasant voice sounded next to him. "How was the cake?"
"...Thank you," Lei Ting said softly. "It tasted very good. Did you provide the ingredients?"
"Of course."
Manager Valen smiled, resting his elbow on the table in front of him and propping his head on his hand. He turned his face to gaze into the black-haired youth's eyes, which looked like deep pools behind his goggles. "That was the result of me abusing my position for personal reasons... It was very fresh, wasn't it?"
"...Abusing your position?"
"I just had the company's transport ship pilot bring some for me. Of course, I paid them," Valen said lightheartedly. "Thinking about it... it wasn't really abusing my position, just a bit of private networking."
"...Thank you," Lei Ting said softly. "Are you leaving the 'Sun' as well?"
"Mm-hmm... My only customer who frequently patronized my business is leaving, so why would I stay?" Valen complained lazily. "But don't worry, someone will take over the shop. Someone my superiors trust more, I suppose. I don't know."
"..." Lei Ting quickly realized the meaning behind his words. "Someone swooped in to claim the fruits of your labor?"
"What a vintage way of phrasing it," Valen remarked. "Truly nostalgic."
—Since that day, every time Lei Ting went to the 'Far-Light Fine Materials' store, he would buy his things and leave as quickly as possible, speaking as little as he could. And Manager Valen, that commander without an army, had stopped treating him like a close acquaintance bordering on a friend. The two maintained a calm and friendly surface relationship, and neither tried to take a step further.
But then again, even if they did, what could they do?
Lei Ting instinctively ignored that question. He simply decided to keep his distance and think about it slowly. This was perhaps the first time in his life he had chosen to distance himself from someone of his own volition. As for whether it was truly to think about it slowly...
Whatever.
"...Are you going to the Third Planet too?" Lei Ting asked.
Perhaps because Ancient Earth was the third planet of the 'Origin System,' the Orionites tended to set the third planet as the integrated administrative center in any star system they developed, provided the conditions allowed.
Of course, star systems where only two planets were habitable were exceptions.
"Of course. The head office is there," Valen answered gently. "I'm going to report on my work and then continue laboring for them... There's still a lot to do. I just hope they don't keep dragging me out for drinks and dinners."
Lei Ting didn't ask something stupid like "Don't you like eating?" Instead, he looked at the wide, seemingly transparent display screen on the side of the ship, which showed the real-time view outside. He remained silent for a moment to stall for time.
After a while, he said, "There's no natural environment left on the surface of this planet, is there... The whole thing is just one big city."
"...Yeah," Valen sighed. "The last sea on it disappeared hundreds of years ago."
*Is that so?*
Lei Ting looked at the multicolored planet with its silver-white base, but for a brief moment, his mind recalled the azure eyes of the person beside him.
But just as he thought this, the other man suddenly asked, "What are you thinking about?"
"Nothing," Lei Ting said. His expression was as calm and cold as the most non-humanoid robot, expressing his "keep away" attitude to the fullest.
Valen smiled with interest and stopped asking questions. He straightened his back and leaned into his seat, crossing his arms and looking into the distance, also watching the planet as it rotated and orbited according to the laws of physics.
Different lights shone from various parts of the planet, each representing countless people going about their lives. In the space corresponding to the most beautiful play of light and shadow, a massive fleet was stationed. Lei Ting could tell at a glance that it was the Academy's fleet... but they were currently arranged in a formation with beautiful holographic projections, circling a smaller foreign fleet in accordance with Federation diplomatic etiquette.
Lei Ting looked at the two fleets and realized the latter must be the vessel and escort of the 'Crown Prince of the Abrissac Empire.'
Theoretically, a ship stationed at that position should have been captured by the planet's gravity. But they didn't approach the celestial body; instead, they restarted their propulsion systems from a stationary state and flew a bit further into the clear void.
When the ship Lei Ting and Valen were on reached a certain distance, a thought popped into Lei Ting's mind almost instinctively: *From here, one could launch space-based weapon strikes and orbital armed deployments against the planet's mainland.*
As soon as he thought this, his lip twitched. In this interstellar society, there were probably very few races that, having mastered space weapon technology, would still prioritize attacking a planet's mainland—let alone their own.
During the remainder of the short flight, the two didn't speak again. However, for some reason, Lei Ting felt as though Valen really enjoyed being by his side...
...
*What am I thinking!!*
He ruthlessly killed that unnecessary thought in his mind. When the ship arrived at the entry port, he was the first to stand up, grabbing the compression can secured to the wall.
Valen, also carrying a compression can, followed beside him. Taking advantage of the fact that his legs were still longer than Lei Ting's—who was currently over 1.8 meters tall—he managed to keep pace with the youth, who had deliberately sped up. They passed through security one after the other, officially entering the 'Third Planet of the Prism System.'
As soon as he entered the starport, Lei Ting received a message: [Recommendation: Activate Civilian Air Filter]. He wasn't surprised and simply tapped his light-brain terminal. The latter released an energy film that covered his entire body, filtering the air specifically for his race.
—In interstellar society, this kind of message prompt appeared in every place where a large number of different races existed.
It wasn't because of air quality issues, but because... the physiological structures and living environments of different races were vastly different. Air components that were essential for Race A might be highly toxic to Race B.
Therefore, whether out of etiquette or safety concerns, wearing a breathing mask or activating a personal air filtration system was a good choice. Consequently, all versions of light-brains were equipped with related components.
...It was just that these days, there weren't many... no, many *beings* who seriously wore masks or turned on filters every time they went out. Some weren't used to the filtered way of breathing, some were just lazy, and there were countless other reasons.
Lei Ting looked around in all directions and saw at a glance that at least one in twenty people didn't have their filtration systems on. He frowned but said nothing.
But... speaking of which, due to genetic mutations, optimizations, or simply hair dye and iris color filters, the hair and eye colors of the Orionites all around were quite diverse.
But thinking of himself... well, his terrifyingly black eyes weren't exactly ordinary either. They were at a level where it looked like someone had used photo editing software to paint a flat area of pure black; only under intense light could his pupillary slit be faintly seen.
Because of this, his eyes' light sensitivity was naturally lower than that of someone with light-colored eyes like Lucas. There was no helping it; it was a rule of physics.
Furthermore, the 'Orionites' walking on the street weren't necessarily actually Orionites; they could be aliens using appearance projection functions.
Of course, this function, developed to facilitate face-to-face communication between aliens and Orionites, was also restricted by many laws, such as "must carry original racial characteristics" and "appearance can only be selected from a fixed template list," which prevented aliens from using skins to commit fraud.
"Where are you going?" Lei Ting asked without turning his head. "Straight to your head office?"
"Of course," Valen answered with a polite smile. "And you? If it's on the way, shall I give you a lift?"
"...No need," Lei Ting refused in a low voice. "Then we'll part ways here—"
As he spoke, he was about to pull up the navigation to the location where he was supposed to report, when a strong sense of danger suddenly surged in his heart!
Not far away, in a crowd of people who had been noisy from the start, someone let out a scream.
A wave of energy suddenly expanded, and a dozen beams of light scattered and rotated, one of them heading straight for their direction!
*BOOM!!!*
"Watch out!"
Lei Ting
