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墨書 Inktalez
Hearing Miao Chengmin's words, Xu Yicheng suddenly turned his head to look back, as if considering something.
"It's better to tell the captain this important news in person," Xu Yicheng said, slipping his hands into his pockets, his expression somewhat serious. "You can come in; it's fine. No one here will reject you just because you're a zombie."
Miao Chengmin hesitated, for behind them, the daughter of the Song Family was passing by with a teapot, glancing at them. In a panic, Miao Chengmin wished he could disappear into the ground, tugging at the edge of his hat and trying to hide his unsettling zombie face with the black fabric. But the more he tried to conceal himself, the more it piqued the girl's curiosity. She even stopped, peering through Xu Yicheng and Lu Sha's figures to look at Miao Chengmin, who was entirely clad in black.
Lu Sha sensed the gaze from behind and turned around, realizing why Miao Chengmin was so reluctant—he feared that his appearance would frighten those who were unaware of his condition.
"Little sister, go back inside; we're discussing something important. This is our friend; it's okay," Xu Yicheng said, bending down to pat the girl's head.
Miao Chengmin quietly stepped back, eventually hiding in the shadows beside the grand door, lowering his head and staring at the ground, too afraid to look up—much like a child being punished for misbehavior.
After sending the girl away, the two looked around to confirm that no one else was watching before stepping closer to Miao Chengmin and surrounding him, just in case someone else passed by and panicked at the sight of his zombie form.
"Thank you," Miao Chengmin said sincerely. "You know, no matter how strong I am, I still feel inferior about my appearance."
Lu Sha looked at Miao Chengmin and gradually realized that he was a very kind soul; it was just his looks that frightened others. Once people got close enough, his sense of justice always brought comfort. Remembering how he had poured all his disdain for zombies onto the friendly Spirit Corps after being bitten by a Soulless Zombie, Lu Sha felt a wave of guilt wash over him and softly said, "It's okay; in front of us, you can act freely as a human. As long as you're part of the human front, I believe the captain will never reject you."
"He... of course; you are all heroes," Miao Chengmin suddenly changed the subject. "As for Xiaotian... it's better to let him know; he might not want to come out."
"That's right," Miao Chengmin continued. "The Divine Domain Prosecutor contacted me early this morning. He conveyed many messages from the universe, including information about our enemies."
"Enemies?" Xu Yicheng and Lu Sha exchanged glances, both filled with the same confusion: Was it that Ban Sa? So far, they had only heard about this so-called enemy from aliens or the Titan Clan; they had no real concept of who or what it was beyond knowing how powerful it supposedly was.
"The Judgment Day has arrived in the Sun system; did you know? That's the first thing," Miao Chengmin said as he rummaged through the sleeve of his black fabric and pulled out a Spatial Audio device given to him by the prosecutor. The golden box began to disassemble and reshape itself at his command, extending into a golden platform that floated in Miao Chengmin's hand and spun while emitting strange symbols. These symbols twisted upward like steam rising from boiling water before disappearing into Xu Yicheng's and Lu Sha's curious gazes.
On the platform, a panoramic view of a galaxy was displayed with a white cursor glowing brightly as it moved along changing coordinates in real-time. Miao Chengmin zoomed in on a specific area of that view. Xu Yicheng followed Miao Chengmin's finger and asked, "Is this Andromeda Galaxy?"
"Yes," Miao Chengmin replied. "The position indicated by this white cursor is a newly incorporated colony planet within the internal Human Star Expeditionary Force's system; according to Divine Realm terminology, it's called Longxing."
"Dragon?" Lu Sha raised his face and tilted his head in thought. "Let me take a wild guess—don't tell me dinosaurs on Earth were brought here by them?"
"It's 隆 (Long), as in 'to rise'," Miao Chengmin corrected him helplessly.
"Oh? Oh—what an awkward name," Lu Sha pouted, avoiding Xu Yicheng's gaze and pretending to innocently look toward the grayish-white royal-style door of the Song Family.
"Colonization?" Xu Yicheng caught onto a sensitive term.
Miao Chengmin nodded and explained, "The Judgment Day battleship possesses extremely strong space-time traversal capabilities; however, this also means enormous energy consumption. This battleship itself relies on absorbing energy from planets along its route to maintain its journey."
"So when they encountered civilizations in Andromeda Galaxy, they plundered and pillaged?" Lu Sha nearly raised his hand to answer eagerly. "I hope I'm not mistaken?"
"The truth is indeed as you said," Miao Chengmin confirmed. "The Longxing civilization almost unanimously rejected their request to dock outside their atmosphere for energy infusion; all nations urgently mobilized their forces and hastily set up defensive lines. Unfortunately, they suffered a complete defeat."
"Are you saying that even with global efforts combined, we couldn't defeat a single interstellar battleship?" Xu Yicheng looked utterly shocked.
"It seems to be the case based on the results, but..." Miao Chengmin pondered for a moment before opening the star system where Longxing was located, magnifying its planets as he explained, "The Longxing civilization is a commercial civilization. Due to its inherent spatial advantages, Longxing has become a hub for trade among various civilizations in the galaxy. Since Longxing joined the First Star Domain's cosmic society, the mainstream development has been interstellar trade, which is incredibly lucrative—so much so that their military is mostly composed of hired forces from other civilizations. Their indigenous technology is rarely applied to military purposes because the moral philosophy of the Longxing civilization strongly rejects the use of force."
"Wait a minute, let me guess again," Lu Sha interjected during Miao Chengmin's pause. "If the army is all hired, then their weakness is too obvious—there's no cohesion. Moreover, they hardly even fight among themselves on their own planet, let alone face the internal Humans who revel in interstellar warfare."
"Very clever," Miao Chengmin praised Lu Sha. "So it's not surprising that the invaders on Judgment Day achieved victory; the watchers from the Divine Realm were not shocked at all. What I've just mentioned serves as background information for you both, but what truly relates to us is this."
Miao Chengmin retracted the three-dimensional display of Longxing and its star system and instead brought up two documents. Each document was accompanied by a portrait. However, the familiar aesthetic made it somewhat difficult for the two Earthlings to accept.
As they examined the documents, Miao Chengmin seemed to notice some movement nearby; he immediately lowered his head and deliberately pulled at his sleeve to cover his thin, yellowed hand.
"Uh, hello there," a polite, delicate voice came from behind Xu Yicheng and Lu Sha. The girl from the Song Family, who had seen Miao Chengmin at the door earlier, bowed with both hands and said, "I heard someone arrived; the captain asked me to bring him to meet you three."
As her words fell, she stepped aside to let An Xiaotian walk out from behind her. It was evident that he hadn't slept all night; his swollen dark circles and increasingly pale face were heart-wrenching to behold.
Lu Sha felt as if their captain had aged decades overnight: his back was no longer as straight as before, his once commanding presence had vanished without a trace, and under his white sports shirt, his bare arms hung limply. The strong physique that used to lead them against formidable foes now seemed diminished, reminding everyone present of his beloved Yang Meng. A wave of sorrow washed over both Lu Sha and Xu Yicheng's hearts—heavy and helpless—but they wished to offer their captain some warmth.
"Xiaotian bro..." Lu Sha rushed forward, bending down to carefully examine An Xiaotian, who was staring at the stone path. "Are you feeling better?"
After expressing gratitude to the girl, An Xiaotian managed a faint smile in her direction before she discreetly left their sight.
Then An Xiaotian followed Lu Sha to stand before Xu Yicheng and Miao Chengmin. He cleared his throat and softly asked in a dry voice, "Chengmin? How did you find your way here? I thought Liu Xuan and the others had returned."
"Uh..." Faced with An Xiaotian, Miao Chengmin struggled to find an appropriate way to respond since he had witnessed the explosion that took Yang Meng away. "Are you alright? No matter what happens... we have to keep going, right?"
"Heh." It seemed something within An Xiaotian was triggered; his nose tinged with bitterness as his shoulders trembled slightly.
He understood these truths all too well. Years ago, An Xiaotian had confidently believed that if Liu Xuan's experiences happened to him, he would certainly live happier than Liu Xuan did. But Yang Meng's sudden departure had made it painfully clear that losing a beloved family member could cause lifelong heartache that could lead one into depression.
Given An Xiaotian's character, he desperately wanted to retort at Miao Chengmin: Didn't Ming Juan go through something similar during those three years after your death? However, such disrespectful thoughts faded when he realized that when such pain struck one's life, it fostered a sense of shared suffering among them.
It was like a newly imprisoned inmate who had been tortured nearly to death being sent back into their cell—longing for those who had also endured cruel beatings in solidarity to comfort him.
An Xiaotian blinked hard; sleeplessness made his eyelids feel unbearably heavy and sore. Shaking his head slowly, he finally lifted his face and said, "I don't believe you came here just to comfort me."
Both Lu Sha and Xu Yicheng looked at An Xiaotian in surprise. Although he appeared much weaker than before, his tone remained lighthearted. It was hard to imagine what turmoil An Xiaotian had experienced in just over twenty hours since losing his beloved—how much pain he must have endured to maintain such an expressionless facade.
Miao Chengmin silently gazed into An Xiaotian's eyes. If it weren't for him being a zombie, he would have wanted to embrace this young man. He wished he could comfort An Xiaotian: Cry it out; holding back tears will only torment your soul.
Fate forces us to invest our emotions into another person who enters our world. Until the time comes when we must mourn for what we've lost with great lamentation—perhaps only then can we justify paying such an exorbitant price for having once possessed another Time.
But how important those people are to us now as we kneel and roll in despair!
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