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墨書 Inktalez
Half an hour later, Liu Xuan had not brought General Jiang out of the room; he was alone, slowly descending the staircase corridor step by step. He was not frustrated because he failed to persuade General Jiang, but rather because General Jiang's questions had left both Liu Xuan and Nars deep in thought.
"Why didn't you answer his question?" Liu Xuan asked Nars, looking down at his toes resting on the last step.
"Because I can't answer it either," Nars admitted. "We, the Lunar Civilization, while slightly more advanced than Earth civilization, are still part of the same galaxy. To put it bluntly, we are like two brothers in hardship. We are merely beings on a planet, not omniscient entities of space."
What Nars did not say was that their Lunar Civilization was activated by higher-dimensional civilizations, and the high-level life forms within the Yulou layer could easily trample lower-dimensional beings at will, which is why they were revered as the Divine Realm.
But could there be even higher-dimensional life beyond the Divine Realm? It was entirely possible; it just exceeded the comprehension of their Lunar Civilization.
The gentle spring breeze lightly lifted the drooping plum blossoms, as if trying to pull them along to see different scenery. Walking along the stone path in the living area, Liu Xuan's calm face revealed no emotion because what occupied his mind could not be constructed from feelings. The petals blown by the wind seemed more and more like a wandering celestial body, swiftly roaming through what humans considered an exceedingly long cosmic time.
Liu Xuan gently gathered the petals blown into his eyes but suddenly felt guilty about his action and let them go. He seemed to understand that the universe was not a world of survival of the fittest; it was a relatively peaceful symbiotic entity. However, this only applied between planets; civilizations and planets were two different existences. The curiosity and innate possessiveness between life forms led to various outcomes in the universe. Thus, whether strong or weak, or whether facing hostile civilizations, our existence did not mean conquering everything through strength but humbling ourselves to fulfill the meaning defined by civilizational morality.
Liu Xuan looked up at the azure sky and sadly realized that humanity's existence in the universe was utterly meaningless. We are merely products of our planet; strength does not guarantee survival in the universe because in the face of absolute natural forces, our existence is granted by its overwhelming magnitude and unimaginable mercy.
This was also why Nars feared Ban Sa's wild ambitions.
"Liu Xuan, where are you?"
Suddenly, An Xiaotian's voice came through the communicator in his ear.
In a daze, Liu Xuan felt as if his ears had malfunctioned; it took several minutes for An Xiaotian's earlier question to resonate in his mind. Liu Xuan glanced at the time—four thirty-seven. According to everyone's plan, whoever went to help General Jiang prepare to leave would coincide with dinner time.
"Xiaotian, the general won't be leaving," Liu Xuan calmly told An Xiaotian. "He is a soldier; leaving here would mean surrendering."
"The general isn't coming with you?" This surprised An Xiaotian. "Why?"
"I hope you can understand this, Xiaotian. He must stay here," Liu Xuan explained calmly. "All along, he has protected us with his sense of duty; now we need to face things alone."
"No, we just want to protect him," An Xiaotian said, spreading his right hand while pressing his left hand against his ear communicator. "If it weren't for him, why would we leave? Am I no longer a soldier?"
"Because our battlefields are different, Xiaotian." Liu Xuan looked at the Hovercraft taking off from the base towards the clouds. "We are the first team facing the universe; for thousands of years, human armies have never aimed their weapons beyond Earth's atmosphere. But now we only have five thousand one hundred hours left. It's not that we cannot resist; it's that before war begins, we still have internal turmoil within our civilization to resolve—political struggles, public panic, collapsing ideological boundaries, emerging extremism and regional unrest, as well as ethical dilemmas faced by various countries trying to preserve their races. Time is fleeting; we cannot afford to go through all these processes nor do we have enough energy to withstand internal strife between civilizations."
"Xiaotian, you are no longer just a soldier who needs to consider national sentiments; we must think about the bigger picture. General Jiang is just an ordinary person physically; what he can do for us is to protect as much peace as possible before the storm arrives. I support his choice and respect him."
An Xiaotian fell silent. He suddenly felt exhausted—more so than after completing morning training. He leaned back against the passenger seat of a truck and watched as cars gradually disappeared from view on the slightly curved highway ahead.
After learning that General Jiang refused to move out, Jiao An and Qin Weishan were among those who found it hardest to accept this decision since they were super soldiers raised in the military base like An Xiaotian and understood General Jiang's importance in their lives best. In the evening, Jiao An and Qin Weishan went together to reason with General Jiang, but he seemed to have vanished from the base and deliberately avoided them.
Xu Yicheng, being the oldest member, understood General Jiang's beliefs at this moment best; meanwhile, Lu Sha feared Sister Jiao An might choose to stay at the base instead of leaving. Together with Liu Xuan, they put in considerable effort to persuade Jiao An and Qin Weishan.
Subsequently, the five returned to their resting places to await dawn.
"Maybe we actually don't need to leave?" Qin Weishan began questioning An Xiaotian and Liu Xuan's decision again since he still did not understand why General Jiang chose not to leave.
The question he threw out was directed at the neighbor, Xu Yicheng. Since the laboratory's equipment had all been cleared, Xu Yicheng decided to stop working and sat with the gloomy Qin Weishan in a late-night café, watching the streetlights outside the glass wall. Under the light, countless small insects were desperately bumping against the lampshade and then falling down, their back-and-forth trajectories almost weaving a ball.
"I think the same as you, Weishan. 'Higher officials can crush you,' but they can't crush us," Xu Yicheng stirred the white patterns on the surface of his latte with a small spoon. "However, from another perspective, regarding enemies and the universe, you know far too little."
"What do you mean, Doctor?" Qin Weishan turned his head to ask.
"Hehe... The Song Family is a very mysterious and magical family. Besides being wealthy, they also possess an unknown history of the universe," Xu Yicheng pushed up his glasses and looked at Qin Weishan. "What we need to know cannot be covered by just Nars alone. Once you enter their territory, you'll understand."
"Territory?" Qin Weishan was taken aback by this term; his eyebrows raised as he couldn't help but fantasize about what kind of wealthy family this was. He glanced again at the insects under the streetlight that were crashing towards the lampshade, and as Xu Yicheng's shadow rose and overlapped with the streetlight outside, Qin Weishan suddenly realized that he and those insects were actually quite similar.
March 3rd, 2:48 AM
"Tower calling zero zero seven, this is tower calling. Please confirm that all equipment signals are normal and operating properly. Over."
"Received. This is zero zero seven responding. All equipment signals are good and operating stably. Requesting to take off in twelve minutes," came the reply.
"Request received. Weather is normal; you may take off once ready. Safe travels."
The tower personnel at the base only knew they had to work overtime tonight because a cargo Hovercraft needed to take off. And this Hovercraft was carrying private goods.
On the top floor of the administrative center, the Hovercraft had already lit up its indicator lights, and its box-like Thrusters were rumbling softly, making Liu Xuan feel uncomfortable in the stifling heat beside it.
"There's still one Lu Sha," Jiao An stepped forward with hands on hips, looking at the elevator entrance. "This girl will drag it out for every minute she can."
As soon as he finished speaking, the elevator doors opened, revealing a large square package that filled their view completely; it looked as heavy as a boulder from a forest park. Following this package were a pair of legs clad in over-the-knee white socks that took a few steps forward before suddenly lifting it up to reveal a red-haired girl's playful smile: "I'm here!"
"You... Aren't you cold in the middle of the night?" Liu Xuan assessed Lu Sha's outfit: denim shorts paired with over-the-knee white stockings and a black-and-white crop top topped with a red short jacket. She looked like an eighteen-year-old beauty, but what she was holding above her head was quite unflattering.
"Lu Sha, hurry up and put your... Oh my!" Qin Weishan had just finished moving other people's things when he was startled by what Lu Sha was holding above her head.
"You! Qin Weishan! Move aside! I need an angle!" Lu Sha turned her head away, signaling Qin Weishan not to block the transport cabin. As soon as Qin Weishan stepped aside, Lu Sha took a few steps forward, aimed carefully, and threw the package into the transport cabin. The impact made the entire Hovercraft tremble violently, causing Qin Weishan to quickly grab onto a nearby handle.
"Done! Am I fast?" Lu Sha clapped her hands and tilted her head with a mischievous look at Liu Xuan and Jiao An, hoping for their praise.
"You... sigh." Liu Xuan suddenly felt worried about whether Lu Sha would cause any outrageous incidents at the Song Family's place. "Just don't break anything in their house."
A few minutes later, the hatch closed, and the Hovercraft's jet nozzles turned toward the ground. All members of The Celestial Warriors Alliance officially set off for their new home.
At the same time, in M City, L County...
On Xiudan Avenue, only a few taxis were aimlessly moving around when four heavy trucks appeared, bringing back some daytime hustle to the quiet neighborhood at night. Half-awake, An Xiaotian was jolted awake by the truck's brakes; he opened his eyes wide and took a deep breath while staring blankly at M City’s red lights.
"We're almost there," said the driver.
"Thanks for your hard work after such a long drive," An Xiaotian yawned and stretched.
As they moved forward, the heavy trucks on the path to the Ninth District could not proceed any further. Four heavy trucks were parked by the roadside, waiting to unload.
An Xiaotian had just stepped down when a driver from the other side suddenly pointed at a light ahead and shouted, "Hey! It looks like a car is coming."
An Xiaotian squinted to take a closer look, but at that moment, his phone rang. He picked it up and saw an unfamiliar number.
"What is this?" An Xiaotian thought for a moment but decided to answer, "Hello?"
"Don't be formal, Captain Fierce Eagle. We are here specifically to welcome you," said the voice on the other end of the line, much like the car approaching from the opposite direction. "Welcome to our family's estate. I am Master Song's butler; you can call me Uncle Bian."
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