A moment later, with a *ding!*—a chime reminiscent of a microwave finishing its cycle—the elevator doors slid open. Bright, clean light spilled out, only to be swallowed by the surrounding darkness.
Lei Ting, who had been descending steadily until now, gripped the edge of the door with one hand and stepped out with measured strides.
The heavy alloy doors hissed shut behind him. As the light vanished, he took a deep breath, easily dispelling the slight sensation of vertigo, and cast his gaze into the depths of the gloom.
Mere darkness could not obstruct the vision of an Orion human, let alone a warrior like Lei Ting, whose nutrition was optimal, whose superpowered progression was advancing steadily, and who had undergone extensive high-intensity training.
Thus, when he looked up, he easily discerned a vacant metal corridor.
In his perception, this corridor was a labyrinth of corners, junctions, and surveillance equipment, with various defense systems installed on all sides. Currently, they were in an inactive state, retracted into the smooth floors, ceilings, and walls like infants sleeping silently in their swaddling clothes.
Moreover, for some reason, he didn't recognize the model of a single one of these instruments.
Compared to those in the textbooks, they were simply too...
...Ancient.
"Good afternoon, Little Lei." The Principal’s familiar voice echoed through the dark corridor, tinged with a hint of a smile, as if she were truly pleased by his arrival.
"...Good afternoon, Principal," Lei Ting said softly. He stepped forward, kicking up a fine mist of dust. A raw scent of isolation filled his lungs. The last time he had smelled something like this was in his chaotic memories from before his transmigration, when he had pushed open the door to an old room that hadn't been entered in years.
Indeed. There wasn't even an automated cleaning system here.
In the long passage of time, it was highly likely that... no one had been here for quite a while.
Yet the Principal told him this was her office, and that she was waiting inside to meet him.
"Come straight ahead, child," the gentle female voice said. "There are things I wish to tell you."
Lei Ting did not answer. He looked at the empty, maze-like corridor filled only with air and dust, remotely sensing the path to the end of the labyrinth. At the center of that complex metal structure lay a vast space, housing various heavy instruments that connected the ceiling to the underground power system. They were as ancient as the rest of the area, yet they remained operational and responsive.
After a long silence, Lei Ting suddenly asked, "How many years have you been here?"
"I've lost count," the Principal replied lightheartedly. "I remember... it was some time after the Second Total War? This planet was once one of our greatest weapons, and the most suitable place for me to reside... I like the atmosphere of the school, and I like my students."
Lei Ting fell into a deep silence. According to the historical records of this world, humanity realized the existence of extraterrestrial civilizations in the mid-to-late 21st century. At that time, the First Galactic Total War was nearing its end, and humanity was forced into the terrifying conflict, fighting back with primitive gunpowder weapons. Fortunately, they only encountered small remnants of the enemy forces, and it ended quickly.
Following that, the presence of external enemies led to a rare period of human unity. This unity wouldn't have lasted long, but over the next few centuries, they continuously observed anomalous celestial phenomena brought by light from deep space. These included "crisscrossing and advancing straight-line navigation routes appearing in nebulae where no straight lines should exist," "observations of numerous non-natural celestial bodies moving at high speeds, stretching long red-shifts across the distant sky," "exploding stars," and "black holes unnaturally forming and vanishing..."
The Earthlings of that era: *Mom, look! The immortals are fighting in outer space!*
The Earthlings of that era: *So this is really a PVP mode? If it is, could you guys please stop using hacks? It’s not fun...*
The Earthlings of that era: *Help! What the hell is that thing?! Holy crap, what’s that other thing next to it?!*
Even though modern humans had become the interstellar titans that surface civilizations would marvel at as "immortals," the severe "firepower deficiency phobia" left behind from those days of watching gods fight through radio telescopes had, like their Xia bloodline, become thoroughly integrated into the genes of every Orion.
Humanity officially joined the Second Total War in the year 3230. In truth, it had begun much earlier; around the equivalent of 3111 AD, the Milky Way had faced a massive invasion from extra-galactic forces. By then, humanity had spent centuries exploding their technology tree and human resources under the constant (perceived) strategic threat. Consequently, in the early battles where they lacked interstellar combat experience, they were beaten black and blue... but it didn't matter. Everyone knew what happened next. The Earthlings endured.
Furthermore, the Earthlings of that time actually became a model small civilization used by the Empire, thanks to their flourishing cultural diversity and their physical resemblance to the citizens of the Galactic Empire. In the evaluation standards that persisted to this day, the race of a Galactic Empire citizen was classified as "Galactic Upright Sentient Centralized Civilized Carbon-based Organism, Type II Progenitor," while Earthlings were "Galactic Upright Sentient Centralized Civilized Carbon-based Organism, Type I - Orion Subspecies." In terms of appearance alone, they could even be considered close relatives.
Of course, if one delved into genetics, they were entirely different.
From then on, most interstellar races in the galaxy began to intentionally chart their own evolutionary paths. Many races deliberately maintained cultural diversity, while others simply underwent species-wide genetic modification. Even if they were stuck with unflattering titles like "Galactic Carbon-based Organism Type X - Subspecies" on the racial lists, they could at least scrounge some benefits trickling down from the Empire.
Seeking a way for one's race to survive wasn't shameful. In a sense, it was a form of environmental adaptation and evolution.
Because of this, the modern interstellar society was filled with humanoid beings... back in the early-to-mid days of the Empire, if you grabbed a handful of beings on a Ringworld, they would look like anything *but* humans.
An old joke still circulated: An Imperial citizen goes out to have fun and sits on an artistically designed chair in a bar. The next second, the chair screams, "Even if you're an Imperial citizen, you can't insult me like this!" The nearby flowerpot, the plant inside it, and the fungi beneath the roots all chime in, "Yeah, yeah! You can't bully people like that!"
While the veracity of the joke was questionable, in this era dominated by humanoid races, it drew laughter every time it was told—provided there were no members of the aforementioned races in the audience.
Then came the Third Total War in 3642, during which the Galactic Empire fell. This war lasted until 3860. The current territorial maps of the galaxy were confirmed during a century of "peaceful and friendly" (war-torn) discussions and consensus-building among the races capable of vying for dominance in the Galactic Core.
Ten years later, in 3870, the Galactic Core Community was established.
The fact that interstellar-level affairs could be settled within a decade proved that almost none of the participants were bickering. The reason for such high efficiency was...
...Because two of the largest political entities—the Orion Human Federation and the Abrisak Empire—were on the verge of going to war again.
The territories of these two nations were both located in the Orion Arm and its adjacent regions. One was at the far end, occupying two-thirds of the Orion Arm. The other was at the near end, occupying the remaining third and the distant space on both sides. This meant that if the former wanted to reach the Galactic Core Ringworld without taking a massive detour, they had to pass through the latter's star systems... this was the root of the friction.
The problem was that both races were notoriously fierce combatants. Their reputation for wild bellicosity was so great that the Orion Arm was once a victim of regional discrimination; the general sentiment was that if you couldn't snap the head off certain dangerous interstellar creatures with one hand, you might get killed for no reason while passing through the Orion Arm...
Now, the year was 3998. The Orion Federation had spent a century trying to shed this stereotype on the Star Net and had established some diplomatic relations with the neighboring Abrisak Empire...
...Only for one of the Federation's Vice-Speakers to beat up the Imperial Crown Prince—who had traveled thousands of light-years to propose marriage—along with his entire Royal Guard.
It was said those guys still hadn't been discharged from the hospital, which was an incredible feat given the current state of Federation medical science. Vice-Speaker Wyndell must have dealt a lethal blow; otherwise, the level of disability wouldn't be so severe.
Strangely, the Abrisak Empire hadn't filed any diplomatic protests regarding the matter. From start to finish, aside from the physical trauma suffered by those space-dwelling aquatic beings, the only issue was a minor stir in public opinion regarding the labels attached to the Federation.
Lei Ting walked toward the end of the corridor. He didn't take the long way around; instead, he passed directly through the walls. The metal rippled slightly behind him and returned to its original state. He wasn't performing molecular-level phasing; he was simply making the "metal" open a fleeting door for him.
He was well-practiced in opening such "doors." No metal could block him.
After quickly processing this information in his mind, Lei Ting discarded the irrelevant details and seized upon a key point. "You've been here... since before the Third Total War?"
As he spoke, he entered the vast space. He could vaguely see a soft, pale red glow permeating from behind the rows of instruments. It reminded him inexplicably of glowing blood or red fruit juice... but he knew that the only living being here besides himself was located where that red light originated.
"Yes... thinking back, it must have been at least four hundred and fifty years," the Principal sighed softly. "We never imagined life could be extended to such a length."
"We?" Lei Ting asked, stepping through the gaps between the instruments.
As his voice fell, he stepped into the light. The gentle red radiance bathed him, and a surge of vigorous vitality arose within him. He felt a warmth, and then suddenly realized that this red light was highly similar to the "Blood of Gomorrah" he had encountered before.
He looked up toward the light source.
It was a massive life-support tank. A figure floated within—their arms had mutated into long, monstrous claws; their glowing eyes were one red and one blue; their waist-length hair was half-black and half-white. They wore a combat uniform so ancient it could be traced back to the Origin System, and on their chest was a badge...
A hollowed-out badge in the shape of the "Solar System."
Furthermore, they wore no inhibitors that might be related to the "Hexad Gender" system. Probably.
"Yes, 'We'."
The lips did not move when they spoke. When a light smile played across the face, Lei Ting saw countless facial features that felt familiar to him.
At the same time, their appearance—transcending gender and all descriptors—revealed a startling beauty within the red solution. But the moment Lei Ting realized this, the impression quietly faded.
This left Lei Ting slightly dazed.
"Allow us to reintroduce ourselves," the Principal smiled. "It is a pleasure to meet you, the brand-new human 'Lei Ting.' We are your Principal, and also the Progenitor known as 'The Recorder.' Let us have a clear conversation, though the last time we spoke of these things was when Evanheiler was still a student here..."
"Ah, right."
'The Recorder' tilted their head slightly, looking somewhat embarrassed.
"First, a word... the primary premise?" they said. "We are dying."
***
