Barren Star – Chapter 65
by Little PandaThe Pioneer
The morale of the Insect Race rebels plummeted to its lowest point.
Ke’er Limo’s face was as dark as iron, wishing he could berate Rhine who had sent the video, but he discovered Rhine had already blocked all communication with him. The “Abyss Bacteria” still permeated Jian’an Star, with armies from both sides staying within their fortifications to minimize casualties. If they could maintain this situation, it wouldn’t be too bad. Yet a few days later, Da Xia’s warriors emerged like caged beasts set free, seemingly unaffected by the dark pollution. After investigation, Ke’er Limo learned they had obtained some “Elpis Trial Medicine”βthis special medicine targeting dark pollution possessed miraculous power.
Ke’er Limo had no doubt this medicine would lead the entire interstellar realm into a new era.
Resource scarcity, low morale, Abyss pollution… various signs made Ke’er Limo feel it was time to leave this planet. The “Mingling Ship” had accumulated enough energy for one silent spatial jump. As for the destinationβafter much struggle, Ke’er Limo still chose Mountain and Sea Star, where Queen Kris resided.
If you can’t beat them, then surrenderβafter all, with the Queen there, gathering honey, life shouldn’t be too bitter, right?
On Mountain and Sea Star.
Ning Buyi was wary of outsiders. After witnessing the wonder of “spatial jumps” multiple times, she had to embrace Baize every day to wish for intruders to go off course, willing to expend vast amounts of mental energy. This led to Ning Buyi’s daily over-consumption of mental energy, her face pale as paper, her thin frame seeming as if it could be blown away by a gust of wind. Hua Zhuoyu was very worried seeing this, but Ning Buyi just smiled faintly and responded: “It’s nothing.”
This practice caused her mental energy to grow slowly.
Sure enough, the “Mingling Ship” rejected by Mountain and Sea Star went off course, not landing on Mountain and Sea Star, missing it by just a bit. At this moment, it was in the depths of space, surrounded by an entire elite fleet. The fleet didn’t fly Da Xia Empire’s flag, nor did it hang the star pirates’ flag, only bearing the “Civilization Alliance” emblem on their starships.
“I heard these are civilization seekers wandering in space, their combat power isn’t equal to Da Xia’s official army, but their resources must be abundant,” the vice officer said. Actually, even if the vice officer hadn’t spoken, Ke’er Limo could only make this choice, because at this moment, they… were surrounded by the fleet!
Ke’er Limo and his vice officer quickly realized their mistake when they saw the Civilization Alliance’s commander. It was clearly Lu Jiangli, who had retired early due to dark pollution! Besides him, there were several other familiar faces. These people were different from young officers; they were battle-hardened veterans whose hands were stained with the blood of countless Insect Race members.
“News came from the Civilization Alliance, saying they encountered the Mingling Ship at a narrow path and successfully intercepted the rebel forces.” On Mountain and Sea Star, Ning Buyi let out a sigh of relief upon receiving the news. She pressed her fingers against her temples, her tense state of mind from recent days finally relaxing, with obvious smiles appearing at the corners of her eyes and brows.
“With Old Lu there, those people have no way out.” Hua Zhuoyu smiled, pulling Ning Buyi to sit beside her and massaging her to relieve the pressure of recent days.
Ning Buyi made a sound of agreement. After the success of the Elpis Trial Medicine, she had first sent some to the Lu family. It was well known that there were many like the Old Marshal who had to retire early due to dark pollution. They would need to go through Imperial procedures to enter Jian’an Star, but joining the Civilization Alliance didn’t require such troublesome processes. The Alliance’s warriors had excellent mechas and weapons, and gaining the support of these experienced veteran officers was undoubtedly like adding wings to a tiger.
As for Mountain and Sea Star, while it wasn’t impossible to fight those rebels, as the Planet Master, Ning Buyi didn’t want any damage to occur to this planet. If the revived oak tree were to fall ill because of this, it would absolutely be a terrible thing.
On Da Xia Imperial Star.
After experiencing various bad news, His Majesty finally received victory reports from Jian’an Star.
In the palace, Xia Tu and Xia Tai stood with lowered eyes and submissive expressions, only occasionally glancing up at the ruddy-faced old emperor.
“The Civilization Alliance has contributed significantly; perhaps we can incorporate them,” Xia Tu suddenly suggested. He had recently been busy fighting with the Supervisory Department, eliminating political enemies one by one according to that list of names, even willing to sacrifice relatives for justice to regain some reputation. However, the Supervisory Department wouldn’t just watch him act, also launching harsh attacks against his faction. He had lost many subordinates and hoped to use this opportunity for replenishment.
Hearing this, Xia Tai cast a strange look at Xia Tu.
The Civilization Alliance would never accept an appointment letter from Xia Tu, and moreover, whether the Crown Prince could maintain his position was yet to be determined. Xia Tai collected himself and didn’t express any opinion on this matter.
“Handle it yourself,” His Majesty waved his hand dismissively.
The war ended near the year’s end, but neither the Civilization Alliance’s fleet nor the original army sent to Jian’an Star showed any signs of returning. Logically, to demonstrate Da Xia’s might after a great victory, they should hold a “Prisoner Presentation” [η»δΏ | xiΓ n fΓΊ | ceremonial display of captured enemies] ceremony to pacify the people, but in reality, not a single prisoner reached Da Xia Imperial Star.
While the Civilization Alliance’s refusal merely made Xia Tu unhappy, the silence from Jian’an Star caused him to feel somewhat panicked. In the deadly struggle with the Supervisory Department, he had almost forgotten about his own manipulationsβif this matter were exposed, he would be completely finished.
In the midst of an eerie silence, a “petition letter” was transmitted to the government.
The person handling this matter was Xia Tu himself. When he saw the four characters “Resign as Crown Prince”, his heart instantly became chaotic, and he reflexively rejected the petition. But this was merely self-deceptionβthe petition was submitted repeatedly, and simultaneously, discussions of the Crown Prince’s treason appeared on the Star Network. Everyone knew that “treason” was a grave crime, let alone when associated with the Crown Prince. The local government quickly found the speakers and arrested them, throwing them into prison. However, such discussions didn’t subside; instead, more and more people emerged to accuse His Highness the Crown Prince of his numerous crimes!
His Majesty’s first reaction was thunderous rage, ordering a thorough investigation to clear the Crown Prince’s name.
But having come to this point, what innocence could Xia Tu claim? Meanwhile, the Supervisory Department was overjoyed. Their struggle with the Crown Prince had reached the point of no return, and they had to use this opportunity to thoroughly suppress him, ensuring he would never rise again.
“Does this mean Xia Sang is maintaining troops away from the capital?” Ning Buyi asked with obvious schadenfreude.
“You could say that.” Hua Zhuoyu shrugged.
Ning Buyi actually had little interest in the Empire’s most noble family. After learning that Xia Tu wouldn’t have a good ending, her interest turned to the new batch of “prisoners.” Among them were Beast Race members, Insect Race members, and even a mixed group of vicious star pirates. Indeed, after the Civilization Alliance won that war, they sent all prisoners to Mountain and Sea Star.
Xiezhi’s judgment stripped away the Beast Race’s special abilities, while the Black Lock bound the Insect Race members and star pirates… With this treatment, these prisoners could be put into lifelong reform through labor.
In the barren sands, fierce winds lifted clouds of dust, striking faces like hail.
Ke’er Limo carried bricks among a group of prisoners wearing prison clothes and chains, his expression full of depression. After being defeated and escorted to Mountain and Sea Star, he hadn’t seen Queen Kris whom he had been constantly thinking about, but instead saw a group of old companions hereβthrough day and night labor, they had become numb and unfeeling. Ke’er Limo wanted to resist, but the Black Lock within his body was a mark of humiliation, constantly restraining him.
He saw the shimmering Aurora City and the endless rows of street trees… but unfortunately not as their master.
When his footsteps paused, the patrol robots noticed him and directly administered “electric shock therapy” to the slacker. Ke’er Limo’s abilities had long been locked away; he fell to his knees, his limbs convulsing, eyes rolling back, foam coming from his mouth. After a long while, he stood up again, silently rejoining the line to contribute his brick and tile to Mountain and Sea Star’s construction.
“One truly can’t be soft-hearted with these prisoners. Let’s buy more patrol robots to prevent slackers from holding back the planet’s development,” Ning Buyi took in everything from not far away, blinking with deep feeling.
“It should be so,” Hua Zhuoyu nodded, crossing her arms before continuing, “What are your plans for Aurora City?”
As more buildings were unlocked, Aurora City felt increasingly empty, with only Beast Race members having moved in so far. Ning Buyi pondered for a moment before responding: “Perhaps we can start the immigration plan. The first batch of immigrants will be pioneers and builders; we’ll need to set certain thresholds.”
Hua Zhuoyu raised an eyebrow: “Start with students?” People of that age were full of enthusiasm and possessed abundant knowledge, lacking only social experience, though the latter would grow through practice.
Ning Buyi nodded: “That works, but they must be friendly toward the Beast Race.”
“I’ll give you a list of suitable educational institutions later.” Hua Zhuoyu smiled, raising her eyebrows, then lowered her gaze to look intently at Ning Buyi, “Another Judgment Month is coming, will you see me off this time?”
Judgment Month represented parting and withering, and Ning Buyi didn’t like such days. She also didn’t want the sorrow and melancholy of parting. However, meeting Hua Zhuoyu’s expectant gaze, she smiled gently and said: “I’ll see you off, eighteen farewells [εε «ηΈι | shΓ bΔ xiΔng sΓ²ng | traditional elaborate farewell], is that alright?”
“Seeing off” merely meant slowly walking out of the base with Hua Zhuoyu, quietly watching her enter the spacecraft, and waving goodbye.
On the first night after Hua Zhuoyu’s departure, Ning Buyi glanced at the copper vase by the bedside, looking at the flower branches with some sorrow and melancholy. But when she thought of the oak tree growing outside the door, she became energized again. Once the Mythical Forbidden Zone was resolved, perhaps the Chief Judge would be able to lay down her burdens. And all of this was closely tied to Mountain and Sea Star’s development. For the sake of a long-term future, she had no leisure time for spring sorrows and autumn melancholy.
Judgment Month.
One by one, withering planets appeared on the Star Court’s official website, with several even appearing among the Development Star Clusters. To avoid endangering other Development Stars, after the Star Court’s verdict, Da Xia decided to physically destroy them. The sound of explosions seemed to strike everyone’s heartstrings, splashing up great sparks. However, in this withering frost season, there were still two matters more sensational and attention-grabbing than this!
Da Xia’s Crown Prince Xia Tu was deposed for “treason”!
The Supervisory Department, having the responsibility to oversee the Imperial government and royal family, directly announced Xia Tu’s numerous crimes.
βMy filter and maiden heart are shattered to pieces.
βHoly sh*t, colluding with the Insect Race and coveting the Sprout Experimental Base, attempting to sabotage “Elpis,” how dare he?!
βHas the former Crown Prince gone mad? Earlier we heard news that after winning, the stationed troops would rather starve than return to the Imperial Star, so this was why! Daring to lay hands on the Elpis Trial Medicine, it’s no wonder if he’d turn on these heroes the next moment.
βAll that earlier handling of corrupt officials turns out to be for suppressing political enemies.
βSpeaking of which, after Xia Tu’s deposition, who will take that position?
Not only were people on the Star Network concerned, but the entire government was also discussing it. According to the principles of royal succession, it should be Xia Tai’s turn to take this position, and the Supervisory Department thought the same. Although they hadn’t successfully won over this prince’s heart, they had used his banner several times to target Xia Tu, and he hadn’t reactedβthis was a very obvious hint.
But Xia Tai didn’t want to be the Empire’s heir apparent.
He was merely a shield in Xia Sang’s hands, meant to retire as a leisurely prince after “achieving merit and fame”. He entered the palace together with Xia Sang, and though no one knew how the royal family deliberated, when they emerged, the royal family issued a statement, deciding to let Xia Sang handle political affairsβas for the position of heir apparent, it hadn’t been truly decided yet.
Just this alone was enough to stir up a storm within the Empire’s borders. It should be known that the Xia family was famous for their “rigid ancestral precepts”, meaning the entire royal family had no precedent for female succession to the throne. Uninvolved commoners discussed it briefly, some even looking forward to a future queen, but the voices within the Imperial government, especially the Supervisory Department, were quite loud. However, their protests didn’t last long before they were directly arrested. They hadn’t committed treason like Xia Tu, but their misdeeds were numerousβat least they couldn’t escape charges of corruption and bribery.
βHandling so many at once, won’t the government become paralyzed?
βOffending too many people, the Princess is still too young.
Facing numerous discussions, Xia Sang just smiled dismissively. After eliminating these βbookwormsβ [θ Ήθ² | dΓΉ chΓ³ng | metaphor for corrupt officials], she could insert her available personnel into these positions. As for the Supervisory Departmentβshe didn’t harbor the same antipathy toward supervisory organizations as previous monarchs; she only wanted to abolish certain families’ control. Historically, the Supervisory Department’s positions were controlled by the families or their in-laws, but after Xia Tu had previously created a gap in the Supervisory Department, she wouldn’t allow the families to fill it with their own people again.
After becoming acting regent, Xia Sang’s first decree was to establish Supervision Committees subordinate to the Supervisory Department across major stars and continents, with committee members selected through elections and examinations. Above the Supervisory Department, she also established the “Six Supervisory Judges”, with some chosen from innocent family members, while the others could only be her own people. In the short term, the families would retain real power in the Supervisory Department, but as time passed, their authority would be completely hollowed out.
The great families of the Supervisory Department naturally wouldn’t accept this, bringing out the founding monarch’s decree to “argue based on reason”. In their eyes, Xia Sang was just a delicate princess of the royal family. But Xia Sang remained composedβthe Supervisory Department still existed, still had its responsibility to oversee the Imperial government, she was merely delegating power to the people, who could say she was wrong?
Initially, the Supervisory Department tried to threaten Xia Sang, but when they saw the “Civilization Alliance” behind her, they felt chilled to the core. When they saw the military gradually turning toward Xia Sang, they dared say even less. Before absolute military power, their strength wasn’t worth mentioning.
The reorganization of the royal family and government caused some turbulence, but didn’t affect too many people. As the huge vortex gradually transformed into rippling circles, Mystery No. 1’s Starlight Platform issued a notice about immigration to Mountain and Sea Star.
βIncludes housing and job placement?!
βThere are educational and even graduation institution requirements. I’m from next door, I’ve turned into a lemon spirit [ζͺΈζͺ¬η²Ύ | nΓng mΓ©ng jΔ«ng | internet slang for being jealous].
βHaven’t reached Development Star standards yet? Since when does immigration have so many requirements?
βThe person above is right, this isn’t actually formal immigration, but recruiting pioneers.
βWhatever, for those vast flower fields, I’m going for it!
Ning Buyi received introductions to twenty educational institutions from Hua Zhuoyu’s handsβnot considered the most elite in the entire Greedy Wolf Star System, but not bad either. Though Ning Buyi was eager to promote Mountain and Sea Star’s development, this being the first time recruiting “pioneers” externally, she wasn’t in a hurry, only opening five hundred positions. Even though Mountain and Sea Star had various beautiful reputations, it was still a barren star after all. Even with dark pollution levels dropping to Development Star standards, they still had to follow Star Court procedures, meaning to obtain the title of “Development Star,” they’d have to wait until at least next year.
Five hundred positions, yet there were many more applicants. Ning Buyi patiently conducted the screening.
Originally thinking this was just a small matter, but unexpectedly, by the evening of the notice’s release, a controversy erupted.
A topic #Is Tir Military Academy Unworthy?# shot up the search rankings and persisted.
Tir Military Academy was the undisputed jewel among Da Xia Empire’s military academies, having cultivated numerous top talents. In terms of individual combat systems, it ranked first among all military academies, and in comprehensive strength, it also ranked at the topβit couldn’t possibly be inferior to Star Military Academy. However, in this list, Star Military Academy appeared while Tir Military Academy was excluded. The academy had many influential and passionate young people who collectively protested Mountain and Sea Star’s arrangement. Not just the young students, even the academy’s instructors were somewhat dissatisfied, feeling they had been looked down upon by Mountain and Sea Star.
The list was provided by Hua Zhuoyu, and Ning Buyi trusted her choices.
Ning Buyi originally didn’t want to get involved, but seeing various slanderous messages spreading, her brows furrowed tightly.
Many industry-leading talents claimed to be Tir Military Academy graduates, wanting a chance to join the ranks of pioneers.
Ning Buyi found it bewilderingβdid they think such an aggressive attitude was appropriate? Were they too accustomed to looking down from above? Ning Buyi had Beidou pull up Tir Military Academy’s records, and after a glance, she couldn’t help but laugh coldly.
After posting Tir Military Academy’s numerous misdeeds, she only replied with one sentence.
“Mountain and Sea Star needs pioneering heroes, not the unreasonable and timid.”
βAre Tir’s people really considered timid?
βEven if looking for an excuse, don’t be so perfunctory.
βMy planet, my rules, Lord Planet Master is mighty!
She really is mighty!