Barren Star – Chapter 64

Abandoned Ones

Before Ning Buyi’s confession, if Mountain and Sea Star were to become a battlefield for various forces, the simplest solution would have been to take Ning Buyi and the others away. However, now that Ning Buyi was actually the incarnation of the planet’s will, a symbiotic entity with Mountain and Sea Star, whether for public or private reasons, Hua Zhuoyu could no longer do this.

She met Ning Buyi’s tranquil gaze, raised her hand, and left a light kiss on the back of it. Her expression was solemn, her eyes concealing deep affection, as she earnestly promised: “I will.”

            

Although Mountain and Sea Star showed no signs of becoming a second battlefield yet, after hearing Hua Zhuoyu’s words, Ning Buyi felt she should make preparations. Once the aerial war fortifications were activated, they would burn through money, but Ning Buyi considered this absolutely necessary. Among requests from various parties, she first responded to Feng Yi. She didn’t want to use Elpis to threaten warriors fighting rebels outside, but besides this, she had no choice.

“We Beast Race have no intention of invading Mountain and Sea Star,” Feng Yi answered after a moment’s silence. Their Beast Star’s close relationship with Mountain and Sea Star had brought obvious benefits, and with the appearance of Baize, Nine-Tailed Fox, and Xiezhi, she believed more Beast Ancestors would revive on Mountain and Sea Star. Although the planet didn’t belong to the Beast Race, the Universal Beast Alliance already considered it a place worthy of protection. Without waiting for Ning Buyi to say more, she made a promise to block other forces from entering Mountain and Sea Star.

On Jian’an Star.

            

Xia Sang had descended onto the battlefield as a “mascot,” she had no experience commanding on the battlefield, and naturally wouldn’t want to seize command. To be a good ruler, one needn’t handle everything personally; she only needed to know how to use people well. Thus, in the fortress, compared to the busy commanders, she was actually quite idle. But idle didn’t mean relaxed; facing Jian’an Star’s terrible situation, she could hardly be in a good mood.

When she heard footsteps, Xia Sang was reviewing battle reports and documents submitted by the commanders. She didn’t raise her head, knowing without thinking who had entered her room. “How is it, is there a response?” Xia Sang asked.

“The medicine is limited, it can’t benefit the entire army, but at least it can address the urgent situation,” Ying Jingqiu considered for a moment before adding, “They have another condition.”

            

“Oh?” Xia Sang raised her eyes to gaze at Ying Jingqiu. Having cooperated with Mountain and Sea Star numerous times, Xia Sang knew there was no free lunch in this world, but at this moment, she was somewhat worried about Mountain and Sea Star’s demands. Because they had monopolized “Elpis.”

“She forbids the Alliance forces from setting foot on Mountain and Sea Star,” Ying Jingqiu’s answer was brief and to the point.

Xia Sang was stunned: “What kind of condition is this?” But she quickly understood—if the situation remained uncontrolled, people would naturally turn their attention to Mountain and Sea Star, this precious land. There were plants there that drove them crazy, possibly able to pull them back from the brink of madness. This statement actually had another subtext: to keep the rebel armies here, not allowing them to recklessly open new battlefields.

            

“The Chief Judge remains on Mountain and Sea Star,” Ying Jingqiu said casually, “If we refuse, the Star Court will forcefully intervene.”

“Seems there’s no other path to take. However, even if we have a rough idea, it’s still necessary to discuss this with the generals.” Xia Sang let out a long breath, giving Ying Jingqiu a slight smile, “The medicine from Mountain and Sea Star isn’t from the government, nor from the Supervisory Department, but something I secured for them.”

Ying Jingqiu nodded: “I understand.”

            

Da Xia’s stationed forces were troubled by the “Abyss,” and the Insect Race’s side wasn’t faring much better. When deploying the Abyss bacteria, the wind direction was uncontrollable, with a considerable portion blowing toward the Insect Race army. At first, Ke’er Limo remained extremely calm, as they possessed the “antidote.” But when the infected Insect Race members fell into a berserker state, his expression turned ugly. He had no spare time to argue with Lu Yisi, instead coldly disposing of the berserk Insect Race members.

At this moment, Lu Yisi’s eyes were bloodshot, his emotions extremely agitated and frenzied. He didn’t care which side won; he only wanted to reap huge benefits from this war. But now the “Abyss bacteria” had disrupted his plans. He hurriedly went to find Dr. D, but when he reached the temporarily constructed laboratory in the fortress, he found it empty, immediately sensing something was wrong. The antidote Dr. D had promised didn’t exist, and Dr. D himself had vanished… all signs indicated that he had been betrayed by Dr. D! Now the battlefield was permeated with “Abyss bacteria,” and both Da Xia and the Insect Race had been drawn into the abyss!

Dr. D himself had already escaped from Jian’an Star by spacecraft.

            

Wearing a white lab coat, he twirled a sharp knife in his hand, a grim and cruel smile appearing on his pale cheeks. After being captured by the Demon Phantom Star Pirates, he had suffered greatly—how could he possibly work for them forever? As for Da Xia—contempt flashed in his eyes—if it weren’t for Da Xia’s worthless government, how could he have been captured by star pirates? He wished everyone would die together.

The spacecraft drifted aimlessly through space, and after a long while, Dr. D input coordinates with trembling fingers.

He had been secretly monitoring the Star Network’s status, and likewise knew Mountain and Sea Star’s value. Having heard that Mountain and Sea Star had opened talent recruitment channels, with his abilities, he could certainly enter. Star pirates roamed the entire star system with various identity information, and Dr. D was no different. This time he chose not a “human” identity, but switched to Beast Race, having heard the Planet Master was extremely partial to Beast Star.

            

On Mountain and Sea Star.

After receiving the news, Ning Buyi’s expression became somewhat strange.

“A personal application for planetary entry, identity showing as Hou Sansi from the Monkey Clan of Beast Star.”

            

The information record came from a personal chip, and the process appeared to have no errors. But these were troubled times, and Ning Buyi couldn’t help but overthink. Fortunately, there was a group of Monkey Clan members on Mountain and Sea Star, so Ning Buyi called over Hou Da for detailed questioning.

“Our clan indeed has such a monkey, according to generational order, he would be my grandson’s generation.” Hou Da grinned widely, then suddenly changed his tone, “But after this youngster left the clan to venture out, there was never any news of him again.”

For someone born in a Beast Race clan who had been missing for so long to not first return to their clan but instead apply to enter Mountain and Sea Star—it seemed strange no matter how you looked at it. Collecting herself, she asked again: “Does Hou Sansi have any special talents?”

            

Hou Da thought for a moment, then said seriously: “Does being especially good at deceiving people count?” In his impression, Hou Sansi was very thin and weak, but refused to learn properly. He would grab anything he couldn’t obtain, looking every bit the disgrace of their Monkey Clan, so after Hou Sansi’s disappearance, no one was willing to go look for him.

“I understand, thank you.” Ning Buyi nodded.

Hearing this, Hou Da’s face instantly reddened, and he grabbed a banana before bouncing away.

            

“Reject it?” Ning Buyi turned to Hua Zhuoyu, but before Hua Zhuoyu could respond, she smiled and said, “Why don’t we see what that person has planned.” Ning Buyi had already made her decision, approving Hou Sansi’s application according to procedure, deliberately designating a landing coordinate. That location was a temporarily constructed airport, not far from Aurora City.

On the other end, Dr. D became immediately energized upon receiving the news. After entering Mountain and Sea Star, he paid no attention to the warnings about dark pollution. He knew this was precious ground—it had once been on the brink of death, yet now radiated enormous vitality. He was extremely confident, thinking Ning Buyi had recognized his “talent,” but when he landed, what faced him wasn’t the host’s welcome for quality talent, but heavily armed advanced combat robots.

Even if he wanted to escape, there was no chance at all.

            

Ning Buyi never intended to slowly observe this “talent” from afar through “surveillance,” instead directly ordering the robots to arrest Dr. D and throw him into prison. After keeping him locked up and hungry for two days, Ning Buyi finally appeared with Xiezhi.

Dr. D never expected such a development—with his abilities, even star pirates had treated him as an honored guest! He first angrily hurled insults, but in the empty prison there were only cold patrol robots, and no one paid him any attention. Soon, he became panicked, as he wasn’t originally a person of strong will.

When Ning Buyi first saw the dejected Dr. D, she confirmed he wasn’t from the Beast Race, because the Xiezhi at her feet showed no reaction. “Hou Sansi from the Monkey Clan, is it?” Ning Buyi curved her lips, smiling slightly, “You’ve been reported by people from the Monkey Clan.”

            

“Why would they report me?” Dr. D was extremely shocked. He had chosen Hou Sansi’s identity after careful consideration, after all, this fellow had no relatives or close friends, so he wasn’t afraid of being exposed.

“See for yourself.” Ning Buyi smiled with narrowed eyes, displaying Hou Sansi’s criminal records on the screen, which she had obtained from the Monkey Clan through Hou Da.

“I-I—” Dr. D suddenly panicked. Hadn’t that dead monkey said he was honest and dull, and that’s why he was driven from the clan? How had he believed such ridiculous nonsense? Dr. D didn’t want to stay in prison for no reason, so he hurriedly said, “I’m actually not Hou Sansi?”

            

“Then who are you?” Ning Buyi showed just the right amount of confusion, with no trace of anger visible on her face.

Dr. D had been observing Ning Buyi’s expression, and seeing this, he secretly rejoiced, putting on a sorrowful expression as he began to narrate his experiences. Being captured by star pirates and unable to use his real name was true, but being forced to do evil while firmly refusing was false—he had actually been quite willing to see people fall into pain and despair, as this made him feel superior to others.

Ning Buyi stood outside the cell, assuming a posture of listening attentively.

            

Dr. D wished to display all his acting talent, but somehow, halfway through speaking, he found he couldn’t control his thoughts, and his mouth began spilling out his true thoughts as soon as it moved.

“So you’re the Dr. D who created the Abyss pollution? The Demon Phantom Star Pirates are also in contact with the Crown Prince’s Manor?”

Ning Buyi bent down to pick up the Nine-Tailed Fox that was rubbing against her, stroking its soft fur as she gazed at Dr. D with interest. Unexpectedly, the one who had walked into their trap was a “big fish” who knew many inside details.

            

When Dr. D closed his mouth, his face was ashen, his eyes showing both anger and terror, panic. “Y-you, what kind of sorcery is this?”

Ning Buyi glanced at Dr. D and sneered: “You should believe in science.”

On the Jian’an Star battlefield.

            

The spreading Abyss pollution added more ferocity and darkness to this realm.

The “berserker state” troubled Da Xia while also affecting the Insect Race. For Da Xia, with support from Mountain and Sea Star and the entire empire, they didn’t need to worry about “resources” for now, but it was different for the Insect Race side. They were deserters from Insect Star, which could no longer be their backing—anything they wanted, they could only obtain through plunder.

Ke’er Limo somewhat regretted choosing this resource-poor planet, but attacking other planets might not have provided such a stronghold. Of course, for Ke’er Limo, there was another terrible matter—the Insect Mothers were also gradually going berserk, forcing him to kill them, which meant the consumed Insect Race warriors couldn’t be adequately replenished.

            

“Perhaps we should abandon the fortifications and head to other planets. This planet’s dark pollution grows more severe by the day, and resources can hardly support the consumption of such a large army,” the newly promoted Insect Race vice officer suggested.

Ke’er Limo’s face was grim; everything happening on the battlefield left him no time to consider the harm and pain brought by the Pure White Queen. However, clearly, his misfortune hadn’t ended. Just as he was about to forget this matter, the nightmare descended. The massive Insect Race army was instantly connected through the Queen’s mental network, and with just one command from the Queen, they would become her sharpest daggers.

The arrival of the Queen’s consciousness in their predicament undoubtedly gave the panicked, helpless Insect Race hope. They hoped the Queen would lead them to utterly destroy Da Xia, or at worst, lead them back to Insect Star. However, following closely behind hope came boundless despair that could almost drown them.

            

They “saw” the Pure White Queen sitting high upon her throne, unhurriedly announcing an edict to the Insect Race still on Insect Star: “After the rebels are expelled, you shall finally gain freedom.”

The Queen was unwilling to forgive this group of rebels, instead choosing to abandon them permanently!

After the Queen’s image disappeared from the mental network, Ke’er Limo felt no “liberation” relief. He walked out of the room with a grim face, seeing soldiers who were despairing, crying, and even somewhat numb. They were deeply mired in this quagmire, with no one able to pull them out.

            

On Insect Star.

Hall rubbed her forehead, her complexion somewhat pale. The mental network was interactive, and in the moment she intentionally connected, information like a flood overwhelmed her, consuming her vast mental power. She let out a soft sigh, collected herself, and after a moment, dialed a communication link with Hua Zhuoyu.

“I’ve already struck them mentally, but perhaps that’s not enough,” Hall spoke frankly.

            

“Is it time for the Wings of Betrayal?” Hua Zhuoyu asked.

Hall smiled gently: “After all, they rebelled under my foolish sister’s banner, didn’t they? Though she no longer has the ability to construct mental networks, let’s just let people see her.”

After a moment of silence, Hua Zhuoyu sent Hall a video.

            

Perhaps remembering her “Queen” responsibilities, even having lost her mind, Kris still knew how to exploit those little honeybees—as for herself, needing to nurture her vital essence and mental power, she found every possible way to secretly hoard honey. These days weren’t many, the only unfortunate thing was that sometimes she would develop thoughts of leaving the flower field.

Hua Zhuoyu naturally wouldn’t be polite with her, directly giving her a beating.

“If possible, I really wish I could switch places with her,” Hall was speechless, only managing to say these words with a smile after a long while.

            

“Perhaps there’ll be a chance in the future.” Hua Zhuoyu shrugged, her tone carrying obvious perfunctoriness. Having obtained the information she wanted, she had nothing more to exchange pleasantries about with Hall, and after a brief goodbye, cut the communication to go find Ning Buyi and observe that rapidly growing treasure tree.

Hall rested her chin on one hand, her fingers lightly tapping on the throne, and after a while, had someone summon her loyal guard captain Rhine.

Rhine kept his head lowered, his expression docile, his attitude humble. As the Queen’s close attendant, he understood perfectly well that those rebels weren’t just being abandoned by the Queen—they would even lose their lives out there. The “Lord of Endings” was never a benevolent person; she claimed to love peace, yet easily stirred up disputes with every move, while remaining a mere spectator herself.

            

“Send this video to Ke’er Limo.” Hall spoke casually, watching Rhine as she smiled faintly, “Don’t refuse me, I know you have ways to contact him.”

Rhine’s heart nearly jumped out of his throat. He tremblingly withdrew from the palace, and only after running back to his own quarters did he nervously open the video—since the Queen wanted him to pass it on, she wouldn’t mind him watching it. He thought it would be something threatening Ke’er Limo, but never expected the video to show the “Queen” whom those people constantly thought about. Only now the Queen was amid a brilliant sea of flowers, with busy honeybees behind her. Rhine swallowed, and in that instant, he too wished to move among the flower clusters like the bees.

Where else in the entire star system besides Mountain and Sea Star would have such flower fields?

            

So Queen Kris had long fallen into Da Xia’s hands, and the one on the throne knew all this, yet she hadn’t revealed any information—could she be planning to use Da Xia to eliminate the Queen? However, looking at Queen Kris’s life in Da Xia… he couldn’t even utter the word “mistreatment,” after all, joy and delight could be seen on the Queen’s face; she seemed to be enjoying a blessed life at the base.

Wait… where did the little honeybees in the flower field come from? Could they be captured Insect Race warriors? Or had the Queen awakened some blood reproduction-type special ability? Rhine’s heartbeat suddenly accelerated. He instinctively activated sensory sharing [通感 | tōng gǎn] to watch this video, discovering that except for the familiar Monasha and several others, none were Insect Race warriors, but rather ordinary—couldn’t-be-more-ordinary—honeybees.

Queen Kris had fallen!

            

Yet this fallen life was damnably beautiful.

Rhine forwarded the video to Ke’er Limo with complicated emotions.

There was news of the Queen, but it was bad news.

            

After noticing the army’s declining morale, Ke’er Limo needed good news to inspire everyone’s spirits. Thus, upon receiving the video from Rhine, he didn’t watch it carefully, only focusing on the opening line “news about Queen Kris.” He decided to make the video public at the general assembly, letting Queen Kris become their spiritual pillar—as for the Lord of Endings from Insect Star, let that evil and chaotic Queen roll as far away as possible! When Ke’er Limo decided to play the video, actually another group among the Insect Race warriors had also received the footage. Hall naturally hadn’t given the video to Rhine alone; not long after, she made it public to all of Insect Star. It should be known that these rebels had departed from Insect Star, and more or less would have some friends there.

After the Pure White Queen, Queen Kris had also abandoned them.

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