Xyrin Empire

Pandora and Visca led their fierce Imperial soldiers on a journey spanning tens of thousands of light years away to resolve some issue, while I stayed at home as uneasy as a father sending his daughter on her first long journey, my mind filled with pointless worries.

To be honest, I can't really say what I'm worried about. Pandora and Visca are two prodigious lolis who could probably yell through mother ships that are dozens of kilometers long. Their height of 1.2 meters means much more than just getting a child's ticket on a bus—they are symbols of terror on the battlefield. Don't believe me? Just try comparing heights with them. Besides, they are leading hundreds of massive mother ships capable of turning the entire Solar System to dust in minutes and countless Imperial soldiers who've been wreaking havoc across the multi-universe for millions of years. We have every reason to believe that these soldiers were shooting down gray planes with guns back when T-Rex was learning to pick human skulls with their tiny arms. Such a skilled and experienced army stepping onto the battlefield leaves me nothing to worry about randomly.

But you have to understand, this is humanity, and humanity tends to overthink in times when there's really no need to worry—just like Old Mr. Sun from West Street, who spends his days worrying about 2012—this is the same logic. I mean, the old man is already 98 with severe diabetes; shouldn't he be worried about his own health rather than world peace?

The worry I have for the Pandora sisters is also this kind of pointless anxiety. No matter how high the combat power of these two little girls is, you can't prevent unexpected events, right? I remember when Pandora went out to buy soy sauce for the first time, I was anxious for about half an hour too. Of course, that time it was mainly because I was worried that if the supermarket didn't give her change, Pandora might just blast Earth out of irritation.

"Hey, Ah Jun, can you cut it out already?" Qianqian muttered as she lay on the sofa playing games, unable to resist casting a glance my way. Meanwhile, Sandora, sipping tea by the table, sighed at me in some resignation, "They're just going out on an expedition. Isn't this a common thing for them?"

I shrugged, "Yes, but it's uncommon for me."

That was the truth. Ever since the sisters became part of our family, this was basically the first time they set off on their own to face an unknown enemy. In the past, for various reasons, anytime the sisters went to war, I was always there too—in other words, a kind of personal royal expedition. I always went with them because I tended to feel subconsciously that these two rash 1.2-meter kids might suffer on the battlefield.

Of course, I also knew that to really let these two suffer would require more than just a heavy-duty fleet.

Sandora rolled her eyes at the ceiling, understanding my sentiment.

Of course, my worry wasn't entirely pointless. A significant part of it was the enemy's unpredictability: this time, the opposition wasn't some easily crushed soft target but old Apostles as strong as the Empire's regular army. Yet they were a group that had lost their souls, knowing only to open fire wantonly, like mindless zombies. We all know the bold fear the reckless, and the reckless fear the fearless, but there's one more saying: the fearless fear the lifeless. The Revenge Army loves suicide attacks, especially after they became empty shells, and Pandora and Visca love rushing into densely packed enemies with AOE...

"Anyway, I don't know why this time, but I just feel uneasy." I scratched my head, muttering.

Big Sister entered the room just then. She knew right away which of my nerves was acting up, but she didn't say anything else, merely nodding in agreement, "Indeed, it's a bit risky to have Pandora and Visca personally organize an ambush when we can only guess the enemy's movements."

I didn't have time to offer Big Sister my worship-like gratitude as she continued, "But no one here can stop those two little girls. Plus, Ah Jun, you know that Mist God Star requires you and Sandora to personally oversee it—you can't always keep them tied to yourself."

"How about seeing what the Tarot cards say?"

Qianqian raised her upper half from the sofa, suddenly suggesting.

I slapped my forehead: Right! I almost forgot that a certain Miss left behind an unlimited set of strategy tools for me.

So I reached into my pocket and instinctively pulled out a card. Two seconds later, Qianqian bounded over and snatched it, glanced at it, then tossed it back to me before hopping back to her game on the sofa.

I looked at the card, and it depicted a large, round-faced Passerby A...

Such a style is Lin Xue through and through: aside from doomsday, she's consistently been dismantling and mocking me.

But Qianqian's reminder made me instantly recall something: given how muddy the current situation is, why hadn't I thought of contacting Lin Xue yet?

While we're utterly clueless in this universe, fog might not even be a concept in Lin Xue's perspective. Although limited by the scope of her predictions, she might not know much more, but she could perhaps provide some hints?

Based on Lin Xue's endless reminders before we left, I surmised she'd sensed something about what we were about to encounter in this universe. Now that we've gathered more intelligence, is the future in Lin Xue's vision clearer? Isn't it like RPGs: when you're stuck, you just return to the village to ask the prophet. Who knows? The prophet might have you buy soy sauce from next door to trigger the dragon-slaying storyline—though the correlation between the Demon Dragon and soy sauce can be discussed later.

At that moment, I felt like I was wasting potential. I had such a good prophet at home, yet I forgot about her, being all antsy here. But that's partially due to Lin Xue's usual sparsely worded predictions—if it weren't for the weather forecasts, I might never remember her functions...

To be honest, I kind of miss that girl now. While life becomes considerably quieter without that pesky aggregation constantly tearing things down beside me, I really do feel like something's missing without her incessant chatter.

My connection with Lin Xue was quickly established through the advanced Apostle's spiritual network. This network allows not only conversation but also selective transmission of parts of each other's surface thoughts. Thus, just as the spiritual connection established, and long before Lin Xue could speak, a jumble of images and sounds flooded my mind: a somber, smoke-infused sky, scorched and corpse-strewn earth stretching for miles, the wailing chill wind echoing with a distant and melancholy female solo voice—a piece from a domestic TV drama...

I was stunned by the scenes pouring into my mind, so much so that Lin Xue had been saying hello several times without me responding. It took me a long time to realize: that was what was echoing in Lin Xue's mind just now!

Immediately, my heart sank. Words from the prophet could lead the future, not to mention such fully 3D scenes. Just look at what was there: smoke, corpses, frigid wind, and domestic TV dramas—the saddest things all in one place. Could this future be any good? My heart felt so cold, oh so cold.

"Hey!!! Woodhead!! If you don't speak up, this Miss is hanging up!"

Lin Xue's loud shout finally brought me back to reality. I sheepishly acknowledged her with an 'oh,' and instinctively asked, "What are you up to?"

Lin Xue's baffled voice sounded in my head: "You're calling cross-dimensional long-distance just to ask about my private life? Well, at least you have some heart—I'm watching a movie, a World War II documentary."

I understood where all that smoke came from. But there was still one more question: "Then why was there a soundtrack from a domestic TV drama in there?"

"My little brother, he's watching 'My Fair Princess.'" (Huan Zhu Ge Ge)

Me: "..."

I felt those siblings must have gotten something misaligned!

While I was in a daze, Lin Xue started rambling again. Although she sounded quite impatient, I could sense from deep within her spirit her undisguised happiness. It was apparent that receiving my proactive contact after over half a month delighted the Miss quite a lot, at least more than seeing a dozen German soldiers get blown sky-high by shells. Feeling not a little guilty, I hadn't had the opportunity to converse with this girl before; at this moment, I felt slightly neglectful of her: Lin Xue is not the kind of girl who could lower herself to engage in long phone chats with me—in short, she's quite tsundere.

So, I broadly shared the progress of our situation in this universe with her. She merely responded with noncommittal sounds, like "Mm, uh-huh," and well aware that she might have kept a watchful eye on us every day, I shivered a bit and switched the topic, asking if she could make a prediction based on the current situation.

Of course, I didn't dare bother her with the business of Pandora and Visca. I know very well that I'm worrying over nothing; if I mentioned it to Lin Xue, she'd definitely laugh at how petty I am: I don't even know who's more narrow-minded, the grand and ambitious Imperial Leader or the sharp-tongued, haughty Miss. Not that I'm particularly grand and ambitious myself.

Lin Xue on the other end of the communication fell silent for a moment. I could imagine the scene of the Miss suddenly entering her fortune-teller mode, murmuring nonsensically. Then she suddenly spoke in a faint voice: "Wood, Sandora hasn't been in a good mood lately, has she?"

"Nonsense, how could you be in a good mood after hitting your brother?"

"...Hard to say, depends on the situation."

Me: "... Is Lin Feng really your biological brother?"

"Okay, no jokes, I can't tell you more specifics, but two things: The first reassures you, things won't get worse, the Revenge Army never betrayed anyone from start to finish, nor did they suffer any attacks. Second: Keep an eye on that girl named Milia. She's out of my line of sight now. I can only infer that she is still alive through the actions of those around her. Remember what I said before you set out? Milia is an incredibly mysterious existence; she is the key that can lead the future in two completely different directions."

As usual, Miss Lin used her cryptic manner to convey some metaphors, though the clear instructions were quite useful. We then chatted about our lives over the last few days. Although it's typical stuff for couples chatting on the phone, her habitual sharp tongue remains helplessly charming—that's one of her cute points, after all. Just when we were about to end the call, I suddenly remembered something and hesitantly asked, "Hey, girl, how come I haven't heard you yelling about coming over this time?"

In previous operations, Lin Xue could never hold back, insisting on staying home at first but often showing up suddenly anyway. Even if she didn't appear, she'd vent her frustrations through annoying phone calls every few days. This time, though, it seemed Miss Lin was finally being more restrained; it's been almost a month, and surprisingly, she was content to stay home watching TV—is this the same Miss Lin who commanded storms with her swift fists back in the day?

Lin Xue hesitated a moment before replying lazily, "Anyway, I can't come over this time; you all should almost be back." Then she hung up.

Lin Xue's last words left me a bit dazed. The first half was peculiar; she didn't say she didn't want to come, but rather couldn't come, yet didn't want to spell it out. Perhaps she's tied up with personal affairs. The second half I understood—does it mean things here are getting resolved soon?

I mentioned this to Sandora briefly, and we both felt it wasn't very likely: under the current circumstances, the situation remains convoluted and mysterious. We haven't even fully engaged on the front lines, how could it be ending soon?

However, as someone who prefers idling, I have one trait: I don't think about things I can't understand. On this point, Qianqian and I have a commonality—of course, this also leads us to often remain in a rather ethereal state, daydreaming on the sidelines while everyone else strategizes and directs the action...

"Is Milia still with her uncle?"

I recalled Lin Xue's warning. According to her prediction, Milia seems to be an extremely important character, though I can't fathom what kind of influence a seemingly ordinary human girl could have on historical progress.

"Probably," Sandora replied while sipping tea and staring at the holographic projection before her in a daze, "Zaku came and talked to her for almost a whole day, but without surveillance, nobody knows what they discussed. Then he settled down here, staying in the same residential area as Milia."

I nodded, stood up, and walked toward the transporter, sending a message to Milia along the way, saying I'd be over soon and telling her to wait in the room with Uncle Zaku.

Since the Prophet has spoken, the secrets surrounding Milia must be questioned no matter what. Uncle Zaku seems relieved after rushing over to see Milia, which struck me as odd.

The main base on the Mist God Star has now expanded significantly, with General City still at its core, but several satellite areas now surround it, nearly three to four times its size. One of these areas is a new residential zone designated for non-combat personnel. Milia resides here temporarily, mingling with Ling Meng and those purely disruptive folks, laughing and playing around all day.

Thanks to transmission devices between all regions, though I said I'd be over soon, I reached Milia's dorm room in less than a minute. Cheng Miao was at the door, hugging her tail and diligently applying hair gel, much like a little cat guarding the door (though it's not a cat's job). Who knows where Lan is off sunbathing, so I had to use a pile of cookies to bribe this mischievous demon away. I noticed her hair gel was already less than half a bottle, yet barely a spot on her flicking tails was sticky. I can't imagine where that little rascal slathered it all—hopefully not stealthily drinking it.

"Milia, I'm here."

The door opened silently as I approached, so I walked right in. Upon entering, I was momentarily taken aback by the scene in the living room.

Milia and Uncle Zaku sat facing each other, looking exceedingly serious. Their stern expressions weren't the main reason for my surprise; it was the object on the coffee table between them that truly startled me.

A black metal box sat there, with no extra ornamentation on its surface, only several energy patterns continually flickering with a faint glow. There was an external lock mechanism on the box too, looking increasingly familiar.

"This thing... wasn't it in the research institute?!"

My sudden outburst pulled Milia and Uncle Zaku from their thoughts. They both turned to look at me and spoke in unison, "Have you (brother) seen this before?"

This left me utterly puzzled: "Of course I've seen it; we found this ancient relic on Brown Earth Star, and it's supposed to be getting dismantled at the research institute now. How did it end up in your hands?"

Milia and Zaku exchanged incredulous looks before speaking again in unison, "Impossible! This belongs to our family!"

Realizing the situation had suddenly become complex, I understood there was something delicate at play.

Zaku and Milia had no reason to fabricate such a thing, so I took the time to closely inspect the metal box on the coffee table. Sure enough, I discovered it was not quite the same as what we found on Brown Earth Star. Firstly, this box was much cleaner, and several corners gleamed brightly, suggesting it was frequently polished. The one from Brown Earth Star looked much rougher by comparison. This box also had a missing element on its lid, an active data interface, judging by the images I drew from the database taken during its discovery on Brown Earth Star.

"From a few days ago, just before Brown Earth Star was attacked, it suddenly powered up. You see the glowing energy patterns? They had dimmed three hundred years ago, but now they mysteriously regained energy, shining brightly again." Uncle Zaku murmured perplexedly. Intrigued, I stepped forward and opened the box's lid. The locking mechanism had clearly malfunctioned; pressing it gently caused the cover to split into several parts, slowly sliding apart.

The inside was empty, with the interior made from a crystal-like transparent material, faintly glowing blue due to the restored energy supply—I was reminded of the Nest Crystal.

Although its energy reaction indicated it's different from the Nest Crystal, its style clearly marks it as an Imperial creation.

An Imperial-manufactured interior core encased within an outer shell of an ancient Mobra civilization's machinery, common among ancient relics but possessing subtle significance in this instance.

"What exactly is this thing?"

Uncle Zaku's face took on a reminiscent expression as he said quietly, "The first time I saw Milia, she was inside this box, of course, at that time, she was just a baby..." (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets on Qidian.com; your support is my greatest motivation.)