Barren Star – Chapter 50
by Little PandaConfrontation.
Military Fortress on the Frontlines of Giant Sickle Star.
Xia Tu wore a crisp navy-blue military uniform while smiling as he looked at the images projected on the screen. Although the Insect Race was fierce and aggressive, they seemed to be experiencing internal problems. Facing the strikes from the Da Xia military, they kept retreating. Soon they would likely withdraw from Giant Sickle Star, and when that time came, he could return to the Imperial Star with military achievements, his reputation among the people would soar even higher.
Suddenly, hurried footsteps approached, and Xia Tu turned to see Xia Tai, who bore similar features to him. Since Xia Tai had followed him to Giant Sickle Star, he hadn’t shown any remarkable performance – the fellow was completely useless. Towards his useless brother, Xia Tu didn’t spare his “care.” He smiled slightly and said, “Second Brother, what brings you here?”
Xia Tai frowned, looking up at Xia Tu, he pressed his lips and said, “Big Brother, the civilian evacuation ships will soon arrive at Giant Sickle Star, but there aren’t enough volunteers to maintain order. When will we send people to help?”
Xia Tu replied dismissively, “Wait for Zhuoyu to come.”
As a Prince, Xia Tai had learned some information, and he found it inconceivable. He stared at Xia Tu with wide eyes and asked, “What if the Chief Judge doesn’t come?”
Xia Tu’s expression darkened at these words, and he narrowed his eyes at Xia Tai with warning in his gaze: “Impossible.” The planet’s Governor had already fled, and the government couldn’t find anyone new to take over, leaving everything in disorder and chaos. Without military maintaining order, the migration would be difficult to carry out, and Hua Zhuoyu wouldn’t want to see problems arise during the migration process.
“This is our responsibility, it has nothing to do with the Star Court,” Xia Tai argued forcefully, ignoring Xia Tu’s cold gaze and warning tone.
Xia Tu, who was most intolerant of others’ criticism, emanated a cold aura as he said icily, “Are you trying to teach me how to do my job? My duty is to deal with the Insect Race. If there’s blame to be placed, it can only be on the fleeing Governor and the troublemakers.” After he led Da Xia’s army to drive out the Insect Race, people would only praise him, not blame him for the Giant Sickle Star migration incident.
One look at Xia Tu’s expression told Xia Tai that his brother couldn’t be reasoned with.
He doubted that Hua Zhuoyu would come to the frontlines, after all, she was a Star Court Judge, not a military Mecha Warrior. Xia Tu’s plan seemed like moral coercion, but the Chief Judge didn’t seem like someone who could be coerced.
Xia Tai left with a gloomy face.
Under his command was an elite force of a thousand troops, his direct subordinates. He could order these people to leave the main force and help with evacuation in various cities, but this would easily allow Xia Tu to charge him with “disobeying military orders” and “delaying military operations.” Yet he couldn’t bear to watch civilians encounter problems during migration. After much consideration, he could only contact Xia Sang, who was far away on Imperial Star, to ask if the Civilization Alliance could send support to Giant Sickle Star in time. Xia Sang’s answer that the Civilization Alliance’s people had already arrived at Giant Sickle Star made him breathe a sigh of relief.
In Iron Tree City.
Ning Buyi was trying various ways to capture the “Planetary Consciousness”. Her situation of being directly bound to a “Planetary Consciousness” and coexisting with it was uncommon. According to the Atlas’s description, Planetary Consciousness could take any form – perhaps flowers and grass, or perhaps a roadside stone. They were ethereal and uncertain, only becoming Star Core at the moment of death, which could then be sensed by Judges. But could a dead Planetary Consciousness upgrade the Mountain and Sea Atlas?
“Devouring Planetary Consciousness doesn’t seem like something a proper system would do,” Ning Buyi communicated mentally with the Mountain and Sea Atlas, trying to extract more useful information from this mute system.
γDon’t talk nonsense. Its lifespan has ended, and now it returns to mother’s embrace, rather than becoming a cold Star Core.γ
“But I still feel like an executioner, unless you can give me a reasonable explanation.”
γThen that’s what you are.γ
Ning Buyi: “…” How did she end up with such a willful system?
“If the Barren Star could be revitalized, why not other planets?”
γNot possible for now.γ
“For now? Does that mean there’s a chance in the future?”
Ning Buyi’s spirits lifted again, but the Mountain and Sea Atlas returned to its mute state. She couldn’t decode the mystical properties of the Mountain and Sea Atlas; perhaps only on some future day would she truly be able to glimpse its mysteries.
“I want to walk around the city.” Realizing that lying around like a corpse in the “Bird’s Nest” all day would make it impossible to sense the Planetary Consciousness, Ning Buyi turned to Hua Zhuoyu with her “small request.”
Hua Zhuoyu didn’t answer directly, but after a moment of contemplation, she asked: “You just want to go out?”
Ning Buyi hadn’t actually decided where to go, and after thinking for a moment, she nodded: “Yes.”
“Then join the patrol fleet.” There was a hint of struggle in Hua Zhuoyu’s eyes, her feelings deeply conflicted at this moment. Ning Buyi was the “hope” she had been waiting for, and she wanted nothing more than to hide her in a safe place, but she knew Ning Buyi wasn’t a flower grown in a greenhouse. After experiencing high-intensity practical training, she still needed actual combat experience. Giant Sickle Star was dangerous with chaos everywhere, but opportunities existed amid the danger.
Of course, everything had to be under her watchful eye.
Although “going out” was quite different from what Ning Buyi had imagined, she still nodded gladly. As Hua Zhuoyu thought, she wouldn’t give up an opportunity for self-improvement that lay before her. After seeing Hua Zhuoyu’s anxiety, she had once thought Hua Zhuoyu wouldn’t allow her to leave this small room. Although dangers existed here too, it was still more peaceful than the outside.
Transporting and distributing supplies, patrolling to maintain city peace, organizing population registration… all these tasks that originally belonged to government institutions now fell upon the patrol teams. Of course, this didn’t mean all government employees were beyond help – only a small wave of people had fled, while the lower-level civil servants remained, and they too were members of the patrol teams.
“There are fruits and vegetables in the residents’ allocated supplies?” Ning Buyi was surprised when she saw this, as in her limited understanding, Giant Sickle Star in such circumstances could only sustain daily life with nutrient supplements.
“Used my authority to give Giant Sickle Star priority,” Hua Zhuoyu said casually.
Ning Buyi furrowed her brows, looking at Hua Zhuoyu: “You should have told me.” Her expression showed frustration, annoyed at herself for not thinking of this aspect.
Hua Zhuoyu smiled and said: “This isn’t your responsibility, you don’t need to take losses for this.” Mountain and Sea Star was still developing, and development needed money most of all – she understood Ning Buyi’s predicament.
“But aren’t I supposed to be a great philanthropist?” Ning Buyi could read Hua Zhuoyu’s thoughts from her expression, and her heart warmed. She mumbled softly, then added after a moment, “When they rebuild their homes after migration, we can open a special purchasing channel on the Starlight Platform.”
On Giant Sickle Star, this planet full of chaos, “peace” was no longer possible. Even the task of distributing supplies represented “danger.” Among those disorderly crowds in strange attire, you couldn’t tell who might be a member of the “Survivor Organization”. Even when they tried to set up detection equipment, it had to be put away due to massive protests from the crowd. The emotions of those about to leave their homeland were volatile – although their ancestors had experienced migration, they hadn’t, and this planet was their “home.”
Ning Buyi sat with Hua Zhuoyu aboard the patrol ship, not descending to the aerial plaza constructed of countless chains and metal plates, where android robots were transporting supplies.
“At first, we used human workers, as this could give them a sense of connection. But after experiencing no less than ten suicide bombing attacks, the patrol team unanimously decided that their interactions should remain cold and impersonal. Despite this, robots are still being damaged daily during supply distribution in various cities.
“The Survivor Organization is the most detestable, but don’t underestimate the city residents either.
“I understand their emotions, but that doesn’t mean they can act crazy in front of me.”
When saying this, Hua Zhuoyu’s tone turned cold, as if she had stripped away and discarded her own emotions. Only when Ning Buyi glanced at her did emotion return to her eyes, and she gently cautioned: “In any case, it’s not safe here. Don’t easily trust what others say.”
Ning Buyi nodded, suddenly remembering something He Chao had mentioned before.
“Will the frontline send people over?” Ning Buyi asked. Xia Tu had clearly treated Giant Sickle Star as a sacrificial piece – even if problems arose during migration, he could use the excuse of prioritizing military matters over civilian lives, and others couldn’t easily criticize him. After all, he came to Giant Sickle Star to drive out the invading enemy.
“That’s not important,” Hua Zhuoyu scoffed lightly. “There are plenty of people wanting to curry favor with the residents.” When she arrived at Giant Sickle Star, she had already noticed the Civilization Alliance’s people. Though they hadn’t joined the patrol team, they were still working to maintain order in the city. When migration day came, they would surely appear as “justice envoys” and drive out the Survivor Organization. In the Greedy Wolf Star System, the Civilization Alliance had a prominent reputation and was welcomed by many important figures.
“Civilization Alliance?” Ning Buyi immediately thought of this force. Although she didn’t have a good impression of Zhao Lan and his group, since learning they were tools for the Princess’s bid for the throne, she had shed her contempt and tried to view them objectively. After receiving detailed information about Xia Tu from the Civilization Alliance, she found these people even more impressive. Could Xia Tu’s grasp of Xia Sang’s forces be this thorough? No, definitely not. This Crown Prince probably didn’t even take the “timid” Princess Xia Sang seriously. However, looking at Da Xia Civilization’s historical progression, “changing heirs” rarely occurred, and with legal constraints, the cost-benefit ratio of a “coup” was very low. In other words, as long as Xia Tu didn’t make any fatal mistakes, even with some issues in his “personal virtue,” he wouldn’t easily be deposed. While Xia Sang’s chances of successfully becoming queen weren’t high, Xia Tu’s ascension to the throne…
“What are you thinking about?” Hua Zhuoyu’s voice interrupted Ning Buyi’s wandering thoughts.
Being outside, Ning Buyi couldn’t directly mention thoughts about “rebellion,” so she shook her head and said: “Nothing.” After a pause, she asked, “How did this ‘Survivor Organization’ form? They must have a leader, right? Have you still not found their whereabouts?”
Hua Zhuoyu said gravely: “According to current information, the Nebula Pirates are stirring up trouble. But these fellows are extremely cunning, moving between various planets. As long as their leader lives, they won’t be eliminated.”
Ning Buyi: “…” She didn’t want to understand the motives of those crazy pirates, nor try to guess their thoughts. The world always had people with strange thought processes who specialized in doing things that harmed others without benefiting themselves.
What they saw during supply distribution was mere chaos, but when Ning Buyi followed the patrol team to destroy a Survivor Organization base, she learned what true “chaos” meant. Various shells streaked through thick smoke – it was hard to imagine this was a civilized and peaceful society. Hua Zhuoyu beside her wore an expression of familiarity with such scenes. When a planet is about to die, it becomes an “apocalypse”. And in the “apocalyptic catastrophe,” order becomes the most unnecessary thing. However, all this chaos would settle with the population’s migration – in the vast Greedy Wolf Star System, it was merely an insignificant ripple.
Time passed quickly, and five days went by in the blink of an eye.
Ten starships from other construction stars entered Giant Sickle Star through navigation orbits. Giant Sickle Star was originally a sparsely populated planet with less than 100 million total residents. After the war with the Insect Race began, waves of people gradually evacuated from the planet. Now, in the ten safe cities untouched by war, only less than 5 million people remained. Even so, migration was still a massive project.
Ning Buyi had thought she could witness the spectacular sight of human migration, but on that day, she followed Hua Zhuoyu onto a patrol ship, heading to the interstellar orbit to ambush potential enemies.
Hua Zhuoyu looked serious: “Not only might the Survivor Organization appear here, but other pirate groups as well. During migration, pirates find it easiest to raid for human captives.” Truthfully, those who were kidnapped had almost no chance of survival – even if the pirates were caught, they would likely destroy their “cargo” first.
“If only things could be more peaceful,” Ning Buyi sighed.
Hua Zhuoyu nodded, saying nothing more. This was the greatest hope in the hearts of everyone in the Greedy Wolf Star System.
The cold words “migration” represented an accumulation of countless hardships and lives.
If there came a day when the Star Court no longer needed to exist, she would surely applaud.
Their brief conversation quickly paused.
The patrol ship detected a signal from afar, and after analysis, sent out an alert to the entire fleet. The patrol ship’s “Stealth System” became ineffective as the other party gradually approached. At this moment, upon discovering the enemy, if they wanted to gain the upper hand and strike first, they knew such attacks could hardly break through the pirates’ ships’ hard shell – this engagement was merely a “probe.”
Different pirate groups had different combat styles. Some excelled at evasion and turtling, remaining motionless even under three days and nights of bombardment. Others focused on “brute force,” like the strange octopus-shaped ship now appearing in space, from which thirty Mecha Warriors emerged. Unlike human forms, their mechas were all “Xenomorphs”.
“Demon Phantom.” Hua Zhuoyu frowned, turning to Ning Buyi, “This pirate group’s Mecha Warriors are strange. Their leader developed a phantom attack wave called ‘Nameless Terror’ – it’s a mental pollution attack. Remember to take the mental protection medicine.”
Ning Buyi responded with a “mm,” looking at the fluffy Nine-Tailed Fox constantly rubbing against her feet.
“Enchantment” was also a type of mental attack, right? So the Mountain and Sea Atlas had refreshed this little one for this moment?
0 Comments