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墨書 Inktalez
Spring is a magical season. The sunlight in April shines as brightly as in midsummer, yet the cool climate brings a hint of autumn's chill. In Mr. Song's view, the grand entrance that had once stood four heroes just an hour ago had returned to its former emptiness, a few withered yellow leaves swirling in the wind, rolling across the green grass until they gradually faded from sight. He wished he could share such peaceful days with everyone in the world.
But... would it be a full stop in four months?
The reflection on the glass window gradually became clearer. Mr. Song sat in his vine-covered rocking chair, his fingers rhythmically tapping out a tune of "The Original Scenery of My Hometown" on the armrest, lost in thought as he gazed at the beautiful view outside the villa.
Behind him, the sound of pages turning occasionally broke the silence. An Xiaotian glanced at Mr. Song's sunlit silhouette and carefully placed the old book back on the shelf.
Since Yang Meng's death, An Xiaotian had been trying hard to suppress his inner sorrow. After Miao Chengmin left, An Xiaotian had remained in the Song Family's Study Room, searching for information about Andromeda Longxing.
"Mr. Song, your bookshelf has..." An Xiaotian had been searching for a long time but was still unwilling to give up.
"Unfortunately, I'm not an expert on everything. There are too many civilizations in the universe; our family only passes down the secrets of the Moon," Mr. Song interrupted, meeting An Xiaotian's gaze reflected in the glass. "Don't push yourself too hard; go take a good rest."
Indeed, An Xiaotian's emotions were extremely fragile; he often punched walls for no reason and could be seen turning away with tear-streaked cheeks while still trying to appear unaffected. Mr. Song did not know how much Yang Meng's death had impacted An Xiaotian because he seemed to be desperately maintaining normalcy, but this only made everyone feel anxious and pained.
In Mr. Song's eyes, An Xiaotian's figure had vanished from the reflection.
With a creak, An Xiaotian sat down on a leather stool beside the bookshelf, recalling Miao Chengmin's message to everyone: after Longxing was conquered, he mentioned that Ban Sa had incorporated two new generals under his command. According to the data from Spatial Audio, Longxing’s most famous pair of guardian warriors—the Tansen from the First Star Domain Interstellar Alliance—had chosen to kneel before Ban Sa and join his expeditionary army in exchange for sparing their race.
This meant that there were now two more formidable foes to face in the future.
An Xiaotian rubbed his thumb against his jawline, deep pools of light shimmering in his eyes as his brows furrowed tightly together in distress. The grief of losing his partner would unpredictably resurface in his chaotic mind, making it impossible for him to concentrate on anything else.
He tried to numb himself with thoughts he should have been considering. Unable to hold on any longer, An Xiaotian stood up and pulled a pen from a holder on the desk, forcing himself to calm down and think about what lay ahead in four months.
Under his pen strokes appeared two names: Pulsar and Jiauli.
These were names from two data cards displayed in Miao Chengmin’s Spatial Audio records.
Longxing itself did not advocate violence; most of its military forces were hired from the Interstellar Alliance. Yet even so, there were warriors like Pulsar and Jiauli. This couple had safeguarded Longxing’s peace and stability for a century; it was their presence that allowed Longxing’s commercial civilization to thrive within a stable interstellar environment.
However, fate can be cruel. Although the internal Human Judgment Day battleship merely sought to replenish energy on Longxing, they were not willing to pay; unaware of Longxing’s strength, its civilization naturally refused to comply. For Ban Sa, taking over such a civilization devoid of military power and national cohesion was as easy as pie. Ultimately, Pulsar and Jiauli could not withstand Emperor Ban Sa and his subordinate Shatterer Gad; they had no choice but to agree to join Ban Sa’s expeditionary army to protect their home civilization...
His pen suddenly halted as An Xiaotian snapped back to reality. Looking at his scrawled notes that resembled mere scribbles, he realized he was simply recalling Miao Chengmin’s conveyed message—an escape from his sorrowful emotions.
Yet he could not think of any way to forget his partner’s death or alleviate the heartache caused by overwhelming grief. An Xiaotian could only force himself to focus on these matters to stabilize his emotions as much as possible.
“Haah…” An Xiaotian sighed deeply and slumped back against the chair, rubbing his temples absentmindedly. He didn’t even know how to talk to his teammates about it. A good girl had suddenly disappeared; who could accept such an unexpected loss?
“Xiaotian?”
A steady male voice came from behind him. An Xiaotian recognized who it was but merely opened his eyes without moving.
“This book was written by Mr. Song’s great-grandfather; it records nearly a century of history about the Moon People passed down through their family.” Xu Yicheng placed the book he held on the table and pushed it toward An Xiaotian. “I hope it helps you.”
An Xiaotian did not reach out. He glanced at the tattered old book in front of him, and the sadness in his eyes swallowed him once more.
"I told them," Xu Yicheng said, unsure if revealing this would anger An Xiaotian, but he chose to speak the truth. "About Yang Meng."
"Everyone knows?" An Xiaotian asked weakly, propping his head up with his hand.
"Yes."
"Okay. That's fine. Sooner or later, everyone would have to know. I don't have to worry about how to explain it to them anymore."
An Xiaotian's reaction was calmer than Xu Yicheng had anticipated, but what he said next left Xu Yicheng feeling unfamiliar.
"I don't need to be the captain anymore. We have no hope. We're so busy and anxious every day; wouldn’t it be better to tell the world and make a scene before we get destroyed? Don’t you think so, Doctor?"
An Xiaotian slammed his fist weakly onto the table, making a dull sound, as if he were drunk. Xu Yicheng silently watched An Xiaotian slumped over the table, knowing that the blow he had received was too great for him to absorb anything right now.
"What are we even fighting for?" An Xiaotian scoffed, shaking his head on the table as he carelessly flipped through the old book Xu Yicheng had brought. "I can't even protect my girlfriend; I watched her die. Others just need to lift a finger to destroy our first line of defense in space. What a joke!"
"We took down their main general, remember?" Xu Yicheng couldn't bear to see An Xiaotian like this and patiently tried to reason with him. "We won the Zombie War; we killed so many monsters. Isn’t that a testament to our strength? And three years ago, you all defeated the first invasion of Internal Humans. These are all our achievements, from The Celestial Warriors Alliance."
Xu Yicheng pressed down on An Xiaotian's restless hand on the book, a glimmer of hope appearing in his eyes as warm flames danced in his steady and deep expression. "Maybe human civilization isn't as strong as our opponents, but no matter what happens, always believe that justice cannot be extinguished."
An Xiaotian showed no change in expression; he slowly withdrew his hand and covered his face with it.
"I know Yang Meng's departure has devastated you, but before the final battle begins, you must stand up again and lead us one day. If you don’t want her unexpected departure to become a grudge you can never resolve in your life, come back soon."
After saying this, Xu Yicheng looked at An Xiaotian's gloomy profile; he still kept his head down and said nothing.
"Maybe you've given up now, but as your team member and for our home that we protect, everyone has never given up on you."
Sunlight fell by the window, shining brightly on An Xiaotian's hair tips. He seemed tired of listening and got up to leave the study. Xu Yicheng sighed helplessly as he watched his retreating figure.
After An Xiaotian left, Xu Yicheng turned back and stared at the ancient book lying on the table for a long time before reaching out to open its cover page. As distorted words filled his vision, mysterious cosmic space unfolded in his mind. Vast star rivers moved at light speed, creating distortions that flowed through the creases of his skin like a gentle tide. The blackness represented not only the universe but also the confusion within the observer's heart. And in that distant blackness, besides representing the vastness of time and space, what else did it signify?
His chaotic thoughts drifted toward the sky, carrying Xu Yicheng's soul somewhere within the Sun system. His eyes seemed to see a calm sea surface just before the fateful collision between Earth and Moon...
In the Sun system near Saturn’s Phoebe ring at an angle of 37 degrees from Saturn’s main ring surface, 10.37 million kilometers away from Saturn.
Relying on five powerful anti-gravity engines, the battleship Judgment Day was steadily docked behind Saturn, gazing into the darkness at Earth, which had become a mere dot in the distance. Dozens of mining ships formed an orderly supply chain between Saturn's rings and the mothership, transporting minerals used for launching Water Drift-style traversals back and forth.
"045 is qualified; authorization granted for entry into T-8 cabin." The intelligent mechanical eye scanned and reported one entry permit after another. The fully loaded mining ship gently floated past beneath the second deck before disappearing into the final energy extraction chamber under Tansen Ocpie's watchful gaze.
"If you were to evaluate Judgment Day battleship, what would your assessment be?" Behind Tansen Ocpie, green tendrils appeared in his peripheral vision like tentacles before being drawn back as if caught by some magnetic field. Ban Sa stood behind him with hands clasped behind his back and asked, "I imagine that on your planet, it would take hundreds of thousands of years of development to create such a battleship?"
"Do you think so? Pulsar?"
Tansen Ocpie dared not speak much, merely closing his eyes and lowering his head in silence.
"You are a rare warrior in the entire First Star Domain, born on such a weak planet. It truly is a pity for your martial talent," Ban Sa said, his tall figure casting a shadow over Pulsar, his eyes behind the mask gazing down. "The war is about to begin, and we will measure it by Earth's Time—if my subordinate Stalker successfully establishes the transmission signal for the Energy Column, we will reach the first expansion point in less than three months. At that time, it will be your turn to contribute, and I look forward to your performance."
"Is it really the first expansion point?" Tansen Ocpie opened his eyes, looking at the white indicator lights flashing rhythmically ahead. "Then what does my Longxing count as?"
"They are free now," Ban Sa turned around slowly and said, "At least I have not declared your planet as mine."
"Indeed..." Tansen Ocpie was unsure whether to sigh or speak. He thought of his beloved homeworld. Ban Sa had not further invaded, but... the flames of war and death engulfed the world; the apocalypse and destruction echoed everywhere; people were wailing...
What difference was there from all that colonial expansion brought?
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