Barren Star – Chapter 2
by Little PandaYes, master.
Ning Buyi eagerly absorbed the dark pollution, but when she took action, she found herself in a predicament.
The special uniform, suitable for interstellar travel, could effectively block dark pollution, but once the uniform’s perfect condition was broken, dark pollution would enter through the gaps, gradually eroding one’s will. The uniform on this person had already lost its effectiveness in blocking dark matter, yet its presence was affecting the Mountain Sea Atlas’s extraction of dark matter.
Ning Buyi hesitated for a moment, then reached for the buttons at the top of the uniform.
This was her first time doing such a thing, her fingers trembling slightly from nervousness. In this terrifyingly quiet environment (literally “quiet to the point of being scary”), she could clearly hear her own swallowing sound. In such circumstances, she naturally didn’t notice the woman’s trembling eyelashes on the ground.
When she reached the third button, Ning Buyi’s tense mood finally began to relax bit by bit.
Her right hand could reach deep into the lifted collar, pressing against the woman’s chest. Just as she was struggling with whether to remove the uniform jacket entirely, she suddenly felt a cold, unmistakable sensation on her wrist.
Her scalp went numb, and as she lifted her eyes, she met the woman’s gaze.
A sharp glint appeared, like the flash of a blade (literary expression describing a dangerous or threatening presence).
But the woman quickly closed her eyelids and fell unconscious.
“Alert! Alert!” The robot emitted a piercing mechanical sound.
Ning Buyi stiffly crouched in front of the woman, and noticing she made no further movement, finally breathed a sigh of relief. She wiped the sweat from her forehead and muttered, “That scared me to death”. After such a fright, she no longer cared about being pretentious, forcefully pushed aside the woman’s uniform, and pressed her right palm against her chest, activating the Mountain See Atlas to slowly absorb the dark pollution rooted in her body.
The absorption was the Atlas’s job, but it consumed Ning Buyi’s spirit and energy (traditional Chinese concept referring to the three vital energies: essence, qi, and spirit). After the dark pollution in the woman’s body gradually decreased to below fifty percent, Ning Buyi fell sitting on her bottom, and wiped the sweat from her forehead. She directed the robot to transport the woman to the single-story house on the east side of the hallβwhich had become her residence after simple tidying.
Thinking of the house, Ning Buyi felt her heart ache, internally cursing the stinginess of the Ning family. The base on the barren star was temporarily constructed using removable materials. After the Ning family evacuated this planet, much of the base’s contents were moved away. Only the government hall, storage, and small single-story houses remained.
This soon-to-be-abandoned barren star appeared only a limited number of times in the novel, first because of the Imperial Prince’s “arrival” (formal term traditionally used to announce royal arrival), and second when it was declared abandoned and became a battlefieldβneither being good things. Ning Buyi wanted to change the barren star’s fate, at least raising its level to a “construction star,” and assuming smooth development, according to the Star Court’s rules, it would take at least three years.
Never mind thinking about such distant matters, the current goal was to “survive.”
Ning Buyi drove away the dark emotions in her heart, stood up and walked toward the house on the east side. The dark pollution in the woman’s body dropping to a controllable level didn’t mean she was far from “danger”βsomeone wearing an Imperial uniform who desperately fled to a barren star in a spacecraft was unusual no matter how you looked at it.
The robot made way when it saw Ning Buyi, and its echoing mechanical voice rang out: “Master.”
Ning Buyi reached out to pat the robot’s head, her gaze falling on the woman. After the robot adjusted its program, converting her status from “trash” to “guest,” it fulfilled its duty as a caretaker robot, cleaning the filth and blood stains from the woman’s face.
The woman’s complexion was very fair, like white porcelain, with delicate and beautiful features.
At the corner of her eye was a fine red mark, appearing to be a trace left by a sharp weapon.
With her eyes closed, her breath was gentle and slow, completely lacking the fierce intensity (literally “wind blade frost sword,” a classical Chinese expression meaning sharp and severe) from when their eyes had met earlier.
Ning Buyi examined the woman carefully, her gaze moving down inch by inch, finally landing on the woman’s right hand. On the inner wristβwhere the identity chip should have beenβwas now covered by a horrifically grotesque wound, still oozing blood, quickly staining the bedding.
Was the chip dug out by someone? Or did she do it herself? Was she an illegal resident? (literally “black household,” referring to someone without legal registration) Ning Buyi’s thoughts turned a hundred ways, and in her mind, the woman’s danger level rose sharply. She didn’t treat the woman’s wound immediately, but instead found a sturdy rope, tied the woman up securely, before reaching for the medical kit.
The medical pods had all been taken away by the Ning family, and the medicines stored in the warehouse were pitifully few.
She couldn’t waste resources on a stranger; ensuring she wouldn’t die was enough.
If she died⦠well, there was nothing to be done except throwing her out to feed the beasts.
Hua Zhuoyu was awakened by the needle prick.
Her head was heavy and fuzzy, as if pressed down by a meteorite fragment. But even in such a state, she could judge her situationβunder someone’s control.
Yes, a human, not an Insect Race or Beast Race.
When she was heading to Planet N13, her spacecraft suddenly encountered an attack from the Insect Race. The Insect Queen Chris personally led the insect armor troops, and after several battles, her spacecraft’s engine was damaged, and her mecha entered sleep mode due to lack of energy. After repelling Chris, her condition was already poor, and she could only make an emergency landing on Barren Star No. 1, which, if she remembered correctly, was Ning family territory.
Then was the person before her from the Ning family?
She observed the woman treating her wound without showing any reaction.
Ning Buyi had actually noticed the woman was awake, but unlike before, she now held the upper hand and naturally wouldn’t be startled anymore. After wrapping the bandage around the woman’s wrist, Ning Buyi cheerfully tied a butterfly knot, then stood up, crossed her arms, and looked down at the woman from above: “Who are you? Why did you come to my planet?”
“Your planet?” Hua Zhuoyu spoke with perfect pronunciation, her smile somewhat strange.
Ning Buyi let out a “hmph” and said, “Your identity is unclear. According to Imperial law, as the planet’s owner, I have the right to execute you directly.”
“Ning Qing? Ning Li? No, you’re not them.”
Ning Buyi remained silent.
The two names the woman called out were legitimate Young Ladies of the Ning family, completely different from her status as an illegitimate daughter. Did this woman know Ning Qing and Ning Li as an old acquaintance of the Ning family? Or did she learn about them through other means? Ning Buyi examined the woman, saying disapprovingly: “You don’t need to know who I am, just tell me who you are.”
Hua Zhuoyu smiled, her peach blossom eyes rippling with charm: “Ah Zhuo.”
Ning Buyi raised an eyebrow.
This was clearly a code name, not a real name. She didn’t pursue the question further, but said: “You should understand your situation. There are no other people left in the base.”
Hua Zhuoyu tilted her head: “And then?”
Ning Buyi: “I saved you.” She deliberately emphasized the word “saved.” Although human nature might not withstand challenges, what if this woman showed gratitude?
Hua Zhuoyu instantly understood Ning Buyi’s meaning. She gestured with her lips toward her right wrist, the smile in her eyes unwavering. The implanted chip was the only certification for Da Xia citizens, binding their identity files and bank cards. Losing the chip meant losing one’s identity and property.
Ning Buyi: “⦔ The thought of getting compensation from the woman instantly went bankrupt.
“Miss Ning.”
When these three words were called out, Ning Buyi instinctively looked up at her.
Hua Zhuoyu smiled with curved eyes: “So you are indeed from the Ning family. What should I call you?”
Ning Buyi felt there was nothing to hide about her identity and replied: “Ning Buyi.”
Hua Zhuoyu had no memory of this name. While “Ning” was a common surname in Da Xia, when connected to Barren Star No. 1, it pointed to only one possibilityβthe noble Ning family of the Royal Stars, one of the three founding elder families that built Da Xia, inheriting their title through generations and holding a seat in the parallel Supervisory Department alongside the Imperial government.
Ning Buyi disliked Hua Zhuoyu’s smile.
When she smiled, those peach blossom eyes were like crescent moons, appearing completely harmless and sincere.
But how could someone who wouldn’t even reveal their real name be as they appeared?
Ning Buyi decided to ignore Hua Zhuoyu and contemplated dinner.
The old warehouse had a complete set of kitchen utensils, almost unused. People who lived on nutritional supplements year-round indeed wouldn’t use these tools; they were probably just decorations to display the nobles’ diverse lifestyle.
“Miss Ning Buyi.”
Hua Zhuoyu’s voice shattered the various illusory dishes floating in Ning Buyi’s mind.
She turned toward Hua Zhuoyu with unfriendly eyes.
In current Da Xia, besides nutritional supplements, there were only those synthetically strange “dishes” that were mere imitations in form, even the seasonings had odd tastes. Although Ning Buyi had imagined “cabbage” prepared a hundred different ways in her mind, in reality, she could only boil it or eat it raw. Having her fantasy burst, she felt irritated, and this displeasure was vented onto Hua Zhuoyu.
Her gaze was like a knife, bitingly cold.
Naturally, Hua Zhuoyu couldn’t be frightened by Ning Buyi’s gaze. She tilted her head to look at Ning Buyi, who had one foot across the threshold, and asked gently: “Are you planning to keep me tied up here forever?”
Ning Buyi counter-questioned: “What else?”
Hua Zhuoyu didn’t get angry, her tone remaining perfectly calm as she humbly asked: “Then how am I supposed to handle bodily needs?”
Against the other’s gentle demeanor (“ζΊ«ε©θ₯―ζ” – classical expression for feminine grace and gentility), Ning Buyi felt for a moment like she was the villain. But quickly, she drove away these excess emotions, and pointing at the robot, said: “It will take care of you.”
The intelligent robot rotated its body and bowed to Ning Buyi: “Yes, master.”
Hua Zhuoyu: “⦔ Was the Beidou-model (references the Chinese Big Dipper satellite navigation system) super AI meant to be used as a nanny?
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