Xyrin Empire

"Ah Jun, an impact! It's happening again!"

Sandora's call suddenly came through the spiritual connection, instantly bringing both Qianqian and me back to full attention as we drifted off from boredom.

I was immediately stressed and had to focus, while Qianqian's face lit up, clearly excited as if she anticipated something fun, like a cat suddenly finding a new toy.

I casually grabbed Flandre, who was sitting on the table chatting with a cactus, ready to take the little girl back to Shadow City. I asked Sandora about the situation: "Impact? On the moon?"

"Mars, a series of impacts. Seventeen have already occurred, and it's ongoing. Starship debris is hitting the side of Mars facing Earth. I've activated image filters to prevent human telescopes from spotting them. The reconnaissance drone has entered Mars' orbit but hasn't landed yet."

"Alright, I'm heading back now."

"Okay, bring me half a truckload of spicy chicken wings on your way back…"

I immediately realized the situation might not be as severe as imagined.

Having to cater to such a glutton is stressful, not financially, but it challenges my worldview: since when does a girl request snacks from her boyfriend and use truckloads as the basic unit of measurement?! What am I supposed to tell the entire city's food industry if Sandora starts asking for snacks by the train carload someday…

"Flandre, time to go home."

I called to the Second Miss, who had climbed back onto the table to chat with the cactus, ready to set off. I thought that Lilina would have to improve her amulet's design again no matter what, at least to eliminate the side effect that drains intelligence. Otherwise, when Flandre's sister returns, how could I endure holding an 'Ah Gump' like Second Miss?

"What's up? Are you guys leaving?"

Just as we were about to leave, the office door was suddenly pushed open from the outside, and Ding Ling appeared with a chubby short man, looking confused, at the doorway.

Considering Sandora's half truckload of spicy chicken wings, I thought it wasn't that urgent, so I stopped in my tracks. "Another client?"

"An old veteran, a freelancer, but he's helped the Superpower Team resolve many troubles," Ding Ling pushed the honest-looking uncle to the front, "You tell them yourself."

The chubby uncle, whom Ding Ling respectfully addressed as a senior, smiled amiably at us: "Just call me Old Wu. Since we are all in the same circle, I'll be upfront, I'm a turtle that gained mastery…"

I was taken aback, but Qianqian, reacting faster than I did, blurted out, "You have a teacher named Sprint, don't you?"

"… The Ninja Turtle isn't in the same system as me," Old Wu replied calmly, "Ideally, I wouldn't come to trouble you because my situation isn't quite like those young ones who have lost control. I won't go mad when I look at the moon… Turtles are just this way; even if their demonic power goes haywire, nothing happens…"

I curiously asked, "So can't you wait a bit?"

These days, after constantly getting involved with Earth's oddities, I'm immune to surprises from native Earthlings declaring themselves as something else gaining mastery. Old Wu is actually among the rare "alien types" we've encountered, possessing Atlantis genes. While they've inherited ancient abilities, they lack ancient memories. After a moon impact, their power would surge but they wouldn't develop a desire to fight, let alone think of counterattacking the moon. Such cases are very few and classified as non-dangerous awakenings, and people like Old Wu generally just need to be placated by the Superpower Team. There's no need for them to undergo the Boundless Love treatment.

"It's really unbearable waiting," Old Wu explained slowly, "Although I don't want to fight, I think I might be falling in love with my little blackie at home."

Ding Ling covered her head: "A pot for frying vegetables, round…"

"First door in the second corridor on the first floor, find Doctor Liu for an injection of Suppression Agent No.4, or you might have to bless your marital bliss with your frying pan."

"Oh…"

The turtle Old Wu slowly disappeared at the staircase entrance. I broke into a cold sweat, marveling at the wonders of the Great Thousand World; who knows how many heart-wrenching ethical catastrophes have occurred in the Dark World after the moon impacts. Visca's power is truly enormous…

"Oh, there's one more thing!"

Just as I was about to leave, Ding Ling called us back again, "My X.O seems a little abnormal too!"

At that moment, an image popped into my mind of that wondrous Chinese village dog—locally known as a mutt—that is affectionate with everyone, with paws sticking outwards, both front and hind legs. I hadn't expected Miss Ding to have sold it to a dog meat restaurant.

"These days, X.O howls at the moon every night, and last night he didn't come home," Ding Ling said, looking worried but somewhat hopeful, "Do you think seventy thousand years ago, it could have an ancestor called Cerberus?"

I thought for a moment, then suddenly jumped up and exclaimed, "You should just find him a mate!"

Ding Ling's groundless dream of her Chinese village dog transforming into a Hell Three-headed Wolf shattered abruptly. Qianqian kindly comforted her, "Don't be disheartened; if you really want to keep one, Atlantis Underground District sells Cerberus."

Ding Ling thought about it but realized that if she really used Cerberus as a guard, she'd likely have to spend the rest of her life with the creature in a bio-research facility. Thus, she let the matter go gloomily.

At that moment, Sandora's spiritual connection came through again. This time, her tone seemed a bit more hurried, indicating that the Mars impacts were not as she anticipated. The impact occurrences on the monitor had reached nearly one hundred times, and a large number of gigantic debris appeared. I realized this might not be fragments like the moon impacts, but potentially a significant-scale crash of starship debris.

However, by the end of the communication, Sandora still resolutely demanded half a truckload of spicy chicken wings…

"I'm leaving this to you now. If you don't understand anything, ask the Imperial Soldiers. Medea is in the adjacent office," I hastily told Ding Ling while picking up Flandre, who was biting the door, "Those three in the basement should be waking up around now. We have to hurry back; more starship debris has shown up!"

"It's not serious, right?" Ding Ling immediately tensed up.

"Fortunately, this time they hit Mars, so Earth isn't affected."

I forced a smile, pulling at the corners of my mouth, and led Qianqian out of the factory.

Under immense public pressure, we first procured a whole half-ton of spicy chicken wings. Several KFC outlets, which we swept clean, even thought we were sent by McDonald's to sabotage them. Then, reeking of chicken wings, we hurried back to Shadow City.

After handing over Flandre to Shi Liu Ye, who had already received the news and was waiting, we headed straight for the base. Sandora was already waiting for us in the Command Center. As soon as we arrived, she gestured for me to look at the big screen.

In the central Command Hall of the Command Center, a nearly three-meter-tall holographic projection was suspended. It displayed real-time images of Mars transmitted by the reconnaissance drone. On the highly oxidized iron-rich red land, a large group of shining spots flickered. Occasionally, new bright spots would flash. Each new spot indicates a new impact, and the enduring small points of light prove a super-intensified ghost energy burning near the impact sites.

I noticed that around those bright spots, some irregular water ripple-like things always appeared before their emergence, indicating these objects entered this world through the Super Space-Time Channel.

In attendance are Big Sister, Miss Lin, the Pandora Sisters, Lilina, the Divine Clan Tiaozi Five, Little Baobao, and Ji Shanshan, among other miscellaneous people. Lilina and Mercury Lamp, the two little girls, are standing on the crystal control panel in front of the projection device, gesturing to guess where the next impact point will be. The one who guesses wrong has to stick a small note on their face. Mercury Lamp is at a disadvantage due to her small face, but the notes are all the same size, and by now, the little doll's true appearance is no longer visible. Bingdisi leads her four troublemakers to the side, commenting and discussing whether those small spots connected together look like a pile of cow dung or several piles of cow dung. Kenser chuckles, whatever others say, he always responds with the agreeable "Very good, very good." Meanwhile, Yelsen insists that these impact points actually resemble the skin of a cantaloupe, his nerves evidently hardened by Bingdisi and Monina's trials. Lin, upon seeing me, shrinks back in a panic. I notice she holds a small iron lump indistinct in shape, unsure if it's from the fridge or the microwave at home.

As for Little Baobao, I'm not sure how that little girl ended up here, and nobody plans to understand her movement patterns anyway. She is sitting on the floor with Ji Shanshan, playing with a jigsaw puzzle—found in Ji Shanshan's treasure vault, it was an ancient scroll ripped into peanut-sized fragments. Ji Shanshan plays while crying, looking so pitiful that I can't bear to watch: so I turn back to the big screen.

I'm not angry, nor do I complain, really, if I haven't already gotten used to these guys who always mess around no matter the situation, I would've been in the hospital for resuscitation over two hundred times by now.

"The impacts continue? Why hasn't the reconnaissance aircraft gone down?"

I know the only reliable people present are Big Sister and Sandora, so I decisively abandon the houseful of people amusing themselves and step forward to ask.

"There have been over a hundred and twenty fragments, all starship debris," Sandora says without turning her head, looking at the screen with a serious but not heavy expression, as if the current situation is just a bit puzzling but nothing critical: just meteorites from space, not yet rising to an invasion level, "The nearby temporal-spatial conditions are chaotic, likely due to the cross-plane channel opening from the starship disintegrating on entry into this world, collapsing suddenly causing the situation. The reconnaissance aircraft is observing, fearing to affect the space-time trajectory analysis."

"Quickly ending," Lin Xue squints slightly, white glimmer seeping out from the slits of her eyes, giving off a somewhat mysterious vibe, "Five, four, three…"

With Lin Xue's countdown, the real-time image showing increasing bright spots indeed slows in appearance and density at a perceptible rate, much like a torrential storm suddenly reducing to a light drizzle.

"Two, one…"

There are still impacts happening.

"Zero, negative one, negative two, negative three, negative four… damn it, is it ever going to end! No respect at all!"

The final impact at last ceases.

Lin Xue stands unflustered under the meaningful gazes around her, her nerves hardened as though forged: "There's not much to see, the error is only six seconds! I haven't rested well these past two days, I'm not in great shape."

"The space-time rift is already closing, the reconnaissance aircraft has descended."

Sandora glances at the holographic projection, eyelids slightly lowered, "The largest piece of debris discovered has a length approaching ten kilometers… a preliminary reconstruction shows this debris is from a disintegrated Eternal-class Mother Ship, with Visca's insignia found on the largest fragment."

News shocking enough to warrant some surprise, yet the development is expected. I rub the head of the cat-eyed little loli, who says nothing but snuggles tightly to my leg.

"Is it the spaceship intending to make an emergency landing on the moon a few days back, resulting in only three components actually landing?"

I stroke my chin and ask.

"That depends on the intelligence sent back by the field personnel, but under such circumstances, whether these fragments come from one ship or two doesn't make much difference, the heart of the problem is whether Visca's Destruction Army is returning."

But just at this time, a crisp yet very firm voice interrupts Sandora's speculation.

"They won't return."

I look down in surprise, meeting Visca's blood-red cat eyes.

The young girl's red eyes form a narrow black slit amidst the pupils, a change evident during her emotional highs or when preparing for attack, clearly the former now.

"They're all dead." Visca clutches my arm but averts her face, "When I joined 'those guys,' fleets that didn't want to join were executed. Just remembered."

I parted my lips, wanting to say something but unable to muster any words; ultimately I ruffle the little girl's hair, turning the long hair I personally styled in the morning into a tangled mess, and Visca's emotion calms down, nonchalantly shaking her head: "It's okay, they're just defective products, I can't create standard Mother Units and production lines, otherwise, Atlantis couldn't have lasted so long supported by a group of researchers… hmm, just advanced puppets, dead or alive it doesn't matter. Brother, this starship is strange, I don't know where it's from, but it's definitely not driven by my previous soldiers."

"Let's make a trip to Mars."

Sandora suddenly breathes a sigh of relief, resolutely stating, "See firsthand what's inside that thing, I'm a bit curious indeed."

Sandora's a decisive person, saying she wants to see Mars, she's already notified the Mars orbit reconnaissance squad to prepare for support, then she looks at me: "Ah Jun, coming?"

"Doing nothing anyway," I carry Visca, nudging the little girl's face against my own with two deliberate rubs, causing Pandora's belly to protest with a series of beeps, "Visca, are you coming too?"

The answer is of course affirmative; the Visca sisters are the most clingy little tails in history, the two little girls definitely need to follow along. Tagging along would also be Qianqian, someone who dives into lively events without hesitation. If no one restrains her, she could sit on someone's window sill watching someone else's kids getting scolded for twenty minutes—consider her personality. Now hearing about going to Mars, she gleefully prepares outdoor cooking, fishing gear, skiing equipment, and swimsuits—I can't imagine what this girl plans with these things. Does she want to remodel Mars's crust on a whim? When humanity's blood and sweat finally succeed in colonizing Mars, a spaceship lands only to find a theme park spanning thousands of square kilometers, inscribed at the entrance in Chinese "Xu Qianqian was here"…

Then Hollywood makes a grand sci-fi epic encompassing conspiracy theories, aliens, American troops, nuclear crises, and a pair of lovebirds based on this event, eventually it's Americans who save the world.

Such a plot, with Qianqian acting as an accomplice, is not impossible.

"Back before dinner."

Big Sister smiles softly as if we are off to a train station instead of Mars, for now leaving home for less than two light years is not considered going out. Not even Mercury Lamp generously waves her hand: "Go, go, bring me something to play with when you come back, Zhenhong brought over a music box the other day, I want a bigger one!"

Startled, I exclaim: "Auntie, we're going to Mars! Where would I get a music box for you there!"

"Don't care, I want a gift regardless," Mercury Lamp says arrogantly, "Zhenhong always brings strange things every time she comes over, I want better and more than hers!"

I chuckle with exasperation, never imagining Chairman Shui could be pampered into such a little girl's character; she and Zhenhong don't fight anymore but start competing over who has more toys, and every time they compare toys they have to pose as especially mature, particularly aristocratic little adults (looks like little adults to me anyway, no matter how mature their aura, two stacked together don't reach my chest, these doll-like girls always appear as little adults). That scene I've seen: two doll sisters sip BlackTea, listen to classical music, proudly showing off old music boxes allegedly used by Louis XIII, compared to a cannon taken from a carrier involved in the Big Nebula battle…

Seems indeed necessary to prepare some normal toys for Little Light.

Going to Mars is simple, doesn't even require a shuttle; the reconnaissance team has landed on Mars's surface, we use their makeshift outpost as coordinates, and transport directly there.

In one moment, we're chatting with the big crowd at the hall, the next, gazing at the barren, silent red land and the murky thin sky.

Not my first time setting foot on alien planet soil, the bizarre scenes ahead don't stir much awe in me, only Qianqian hefts a giant laser gun, declaring she'll carve an "I was here" on Ox Ring Mountain, which I promptly stop her from doing.

"This is the blank area among several of the largest debris," Sandora glances at the floating images before us, "Let's prepare to move out, there's just over an hour left before the storm hits." (To be continued. If you like this work, please visit Qidian (qidian.com) to cast your recommendation vote or monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation.)