*Click.*
Long, slender fingers pressed the switch on the radio. The person beside it jolted awake, yawning lazily as they stretched. "Ah... you're back, Starflow."
Evanheiler, clad in a long trench coat, set a large, fragrant box of fried meat on the table. From the starlight, he pulled out several cans of chilled drinks and placed them beside the meat.
He glanced at the half-dozen technicians in the small wooden cabin, all of whom were stirring from their dreams. He sighed with a touch of helplessness. "With rock music blaring that loud, I’m surprised you could even sleep."
"Not really." "Sounded good to me." "What rock music? That was clearly a lullaby..." "Whoa, this meat is amazing! Crispy on the outside, tender on the inside, spicy and delicious—*slurp*..."
A swarm of technicians crowded around like starving ghosts, pushing the S-class superpowered warrior aside. Evanheiler sighed again, shook his head, and walked down the adjacent passage into the basement.
In the basement, a man was wearing the latest model of an external neural-link computer, legs crossed as he watched something intently.
Evanheiler didn't walk over, but the computer suddenly dissolved into fine stardust with a sharp *pop!* The dust drifted through the room, passing through railings, the sofa, and the air, before settling into Evanheiler’s hand.
"Ah!!" The man realized what had happened a moment too late. He lunged up from his lounge chair, only to trip over it and fall apart—literally.
He was scattered in pieces. Every joint on his body was magnetic; the sudden fall sent one of his finger segments flying as far as Evanheiler’s feet.
Evanheiler: "..."
Evanheiler: "............"
The blonde man slowly closed his eyes and let out a third long sigh.
*You’re going to be the death of me.*
Relying on the patience he had forged in competitive gaming—tempered by the iron rule that 'a mature superpowered individual cannot simply track a teammate's IP to beat them up'—he shook his head helplessly. He reached down to pick up the head of the man before him, which had bounced down the steps.
"Can't you fix your joints?" he asked irritably. "You fall once and turn into a pile of spare parts... Do the experts under you know their director is a DIY kit?"
"They know!" The head’s mouth opened and closed, while the neck a short distance away produced the sound. "Yesterday they were even drawing flowers on my knee joint. Look..." The knee joint rolled over. "...Dammit, which bastard drew such a disgusting heart on it?!"
Evanheiler looked like he desperately wanted to retreat. To take an off-world mission or something. He feared that staying with these people too long would turn him into an idiot by osmosis.
"Ai Cao! Get down here! Did you draw an 'OO' on my joint?!" the neck roared.
"It wasn't me! I didn't do it! Don't talk nonsense!" a shout came from upstairs. "I clearly only drew a rabbit on your arm! You forced me to do it after you got drunk!!"
Evanheiler: "..."
Evanheiler: "..."
"Tan He, what were you just watching?" Evanheiler asked, desperately changing the subject.
"Oh, this?" Tan He, the scattered technical director, was quickly distracted by the new topic. "I was watching a replay of 'His' commendation ceremony."
"...Who is 'He'?" Evanheiler paused.
"You don't know? Oh, right, you wouldn't..." Tan He quickly convinced himself. "Your previous missions were all in those godforsaken places with terrible signal... Anyway, 'He' is 'Solaris'."
"...Raytin?" Evanheiler was stunned.
"Don't you dare call him that directly!" Tan He laughed loudly. "You should call him 'Vice Legion Commander Raytin' or 'His Eminence Solaris'!"
"..." Evanheiler looked at him calmly. "I know him."
"...Eh?" Tan He blinked, thought for a moment, and then it clicked. "Oh, right. You did go back there undercover for a while..."
"I didn't just go undercover. You were the one who helped me register my fake identity." Evanheiler slowly clenched his fist.
"I remember! I remember! I remember!" Tan He cried out in alarm. His body parts clicked back together at high speed, and he snatched his head from Evanheiler’s hand, snapping it onto his neck with a sharp *clack!*
Good, it wasn't on backward.
He twisted his neck with satisfaction and looked up at Evanheiler with a bright smile.
It was literally bright. The guy had actually installed LEDs in his teeth...
Averting his eyes from the unbearable sight, Evanheiler said solemnly, "Let's talk business."
"Business? Oh, right... 'Solaris.' I remember you were friends with him for a while, weren't you?" Tan He said. "After that battle five years ago—the one that forced the entire galaxy to change the direction of military material research—the Federation held a commendation ceremony for him..."
Yes, five years.
Evanheiler’s gaze drifted. Unknowingly, five years had passed... and it had been nine years since he first met Raytin.
Nine years later, the handsome youth who had stepped forward to save people had grown into a 'Vice Legion Commander'... Five years later, the young man who had once kissed the corner of his eye had indeed influenced the development of everything.
Does he still remember 'Enan Valen' now?
...Hopefully not.
Otherwise, it wouldn't be good for anyone.
Evanheiler shook his head at the thought. For some reason, his brow was furrowed tight.
"Right, you probably didn't know because you went straight into a fight when you got back, but that time, he apparently split a planetary weapon in half. On the way back to the Federation with the fragments, the magma and molten iron leaking from the power core drifted into a long, straight line. Even now, from five light-years away, you can still see the process of it forming. The visual effect is just a bit faint."
As Tan He spoke, a look of yearning appeared on his face. "Seriously, that was just... wow..."
"..." Evanheiler imagined the scene and pursed his lips.
*Something happened,* he thought.
Raytin was not naturally such a high-profile or crude person... He was intimidating a target, or perhaps many targets. And before that, he must have been severely provoked.
"And then, there's the ceremony..." Tan He reached for his ear. "...Give me back my computer!" he shouted, slamming the table.
Evanheiler glanced at him. The surrounding starlight suddenly gathered, manifesting an external neural-link device by Tan He's ear.
Tan He let out a breath and used the computer to project an image.
It was a grand ceremony. The entire Federal Parliament and representatives from all walks of life were present; clearly, not everyone was worthy of screen time in such a setting.
A tall young man of twenty-one, wearing a crisp uniform and gold-trimmed superpowered combat armor, ascended the long stairs covered in a magnificent gold-inlaid red carpet with a calm expression.
He shook hands, gave a speech, and perfunctorily accepted one of his rewards. Then, he stood in silence as the honor guard draped a wide cloak over him—a symbol of his terrifying strength and illustrious power...
Finally, Yondell presented him with a stylishly designed long blade, and Angye placed a golden laurel crown upon his head.
Evanheiler watched this scene in silence. He stared at that brilliant golden crown.
His gaze seemed to tremble.
A moment later, he looked away.
"What's wrong?" Tan He was startled. He looked at the screen again and realized. "Oh—isn't that your blade? Crap... they forged your broken blade into a new weapon for 'Solaris.' That's so malicious. I mean, malicious toward you."
"..."
In truth, Angye himself likely didn't want things to go this way, but... that blade looked like Raytin’s own handiwork. The boy must have proactively demanded his broken blade. The sword-gifting segment of the ceremony was merely a show for the entire galaxy—especially for the original owner of that broken edge.
Evanheiler’s eye twitched. He realized things had gone south.
Raytin likely hated him now.
Furthermore, Raytin had Angye by his side—the man most skilled in the world at twisting facts. Angye could make the good sound bad. And now, Evanheiler had indeed left Raytin of his own accord... and at the time, he truly hadn't intended to have any further intersection with that young man's life.
The blonde man, not a trace of whom could be seen in the public eye, sighed again and rubbed his brow wearily.
He had indeed left too hastily back then, not even having time to dispose of the apple he had bitten.
But... it was fine. If Raytin had seen that apple with a trace of saliva on it when he returned, he would have disposed of it. To maintain the atmosphere of 'Valen left on his own,' the Federation people wouldn't have touched a single hair of anything in that room.
Even if the Federation people had gotten to it first, they would have destroyed it directly, because they were more afraid than he was of Raytin 'knowing Valen's other identity.'
Otherwise, how could Angye use 'Valen's other identity' as a pretext to twist the past into a story to tell the 'Double S'?
"The Federal Parliament's thoughts... I understand them well," Evanheiler whispered. "I'm just wondering why Ray... why 'Solaris' would wear that crown."
Tan He blinked, his expression a bit blank. "Why think so much about it..."
"Because by accepting the power the Federation gave him, he must work for the Federation heart and soul. And we are anti-Federation."
Evanheiler looked at Tan He silently.
"If one day we leave these few fringe star systems and stand in the open, I’ll be the one facing him, and I’ll be the one getting beaten by him. I want to understand things a bit better before I cross blades with an opponent who 'is holding my own sword and can crush me with pure energy levels,' understand?"
"Understood. You want to die with less confusion," Tan He nodded readily. "But big brother, Double S-classes are all lunatics. Normal creatures shouldn't try to understand them. Hasn't that been settled for a long time?"
"..."
Evanheiler stared blankly for a while, then sighed and stood up from the sofa.
"...He isn't a lunatic," he said.
He then walked up the steps and out of the wooden cabin.
The technicians, eating meat and drinking, saw him off. Someone cheerfully turned the radio back on, continuing to play a song well-known in the Resistance-occupied territories.
The explosive rock music was intense, but as Evanheiler stood in the distance, looking up at the beautiful Milky Way in the sky, the thundering drums gradually faded.
A breeze blew through his golden hair and his black trench coat.
A singing voice, so soft it didn't match the style of the lyrics, drifted from the cabin—just this one segment made the cabin's atmosphere briefly match its farmhouse-like appearance.
Evanheiler closed his eyes, smelling the scent of fruit carried from afar by the wind.
He suddenly remembered that during those few short days five years ago, he had spoken to Raytin about the origin of those fruits.
At that time, he had mentioned in passing...
...That he had once thought about being a space-faring agricultural trader with an automated plantation.
Of course, he hadn't said then that it was an idea he’d had over a decade ago while serving as a pillar in those short-term wars. Nor did he say that he could tell the young man had really wanted to ask him, "Then, do you need an employee?"
Evanheiler opened his eyes and dissipated into starlight.
***
| Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation |
| :--- | :--- | :--- |
| 星流 | Starflow | Evanheiler's codename/alias within the resistance. |
| 谈何 | Tan He | A technical director for the resistance; his body is modular/magnetic. |
| 艾草 | Ai Cao | A technician (literally means "Mugwort"). |
| 阳星 | Solaris | Raytin's official title/epithet (literally "Sun Star"). |
| 冕下 | His Eminence | A respectful honorific for a high-ranking or powerful figure. |
| 副军团长 | Vice Legion Commander | Raytin's current military rank. |
| 双S | Double S | Refers to the highest tier of superpowered individuals. |
| 黄金桂冠 | Golden Laurel Crown | The crown given to Raytin during his ceremony. |
