Chapter 1002: Long-Awaited Reunion

Chapter 1002: A Long-Awaited Reunion

“I didn’t expect that trouble to be resolved so easily.”

In the reading room of Vault 404, Dawnbreak City.

Chu Guang, seated on the sofa, was scrolling through posts on the official forum, his face a mix of surprise and relief.

Just a few hours ago, he had seen news on the site that the Burning Legion had been wiped out by a neutron torpedo.

Yet, before even a few hours had passed, when he opened the forum again, the posts had turned into “Old Ten is a legend.”

To be fair, that kid really was impressive.

Not only had he saved humanity once, but he had also snatched the “Orion” missile cruiser back from the Celestials.

Though the starship had been taken five light-years away, and the remaining fuel seemed insufficient for a return, Chu Guang believed there would always be a way.

Wasn’t there still the Gemini?

If worst came to worst, they could just bring that ship back!

The final showdown between the Wasteland survivor factions and the Celestials, along with the Enlightened, was still in the preparatory stage.

Chu Guang wasn’t in a hurry—the ones who should be worried were the opposition.

A new order had been established, and the old order, with time, would inevitably be buried in the dust.

For the Alliance, the longer time dragged on, the more survivors they could integrate, and the greater their chances of victory.

That was what surprised Chu Guang.

As for the relief—

It was that Old Ten had finally woken up.

That wasn’t easy.

Seeing the blessings in the posts, Chu Guang couldn’t help but curl a faint smile.

As the father figure who was affectionately greeted by players every day, he naturally felt a sense of goodwill.

That girl was a good one.

Treasure her well.

Sitting in the pen holder, Xiao Qi rested her chin on both hands, swinging her legs, her face also wearing a look of relief and emotion.

“I never thought the one we worried about most would become mature. Is this what it feels like to be a parent? Congratulations, congratulations.”

Looking at the little one shaking her head in the pen holder, Chu Guang couldn’t help but chuckle and tease.

“You’ve only known him for a few years. Why join in the fun?”

Hearing this, Xiao Qi immediately protested with a fuss.

“What do you mean ‘join in the fun’? Xiao Qi has watched the players grow up too, you know!”

“Haha, fine, fine.”

Chu Guang laughed and patted the little one’s head, not arguing with her.

It wasn’t entirely wrong to say that—after all, Xiao Qi had always been the one helping him keep an eye on his little players, and thanks to her role as a customer service and GM, conflicts between players and wastelanders had been avoided.

“You’ve worked hard all this time.”

Hearing Chu Guang’s praise, Xiao Qi’s previously sulking lips immediately curled up proudly again.

After enjoying the head pat for a while, she suddenly seemed to remember something and spoke up.

“Oh, master, since the trouble with the Orion missile cruiser is resolved, should we still continue building the near-orbit defense platform?”

Chu Guang smiled.

“Of course we should. The two things don’t conflict.”

Xiao Qi tilted her head.

“But I heard that kind of defense platform doesn’t have offensive capabilities, right?”

Chu Guang continued.

“That’s true, but the worst thing in strategic decisions is changing orders constantly. Besides, we weren’t entirely deploying this just to counter the Orion threat.”

The greatest significance of the near-orbit defense platform was actually as a replacement for the space debris in outer orbit.

The survivors of the Wasteland couldn’t live forever under the protection of space junk, and that junk wasn’t really protection anyway—it was more of a nuisance in every way.

After activating the gravity well, the Alliance would systematically use the near-orbit defense platform to control low Earth orbit and geosynchronous orbit, dealing with threats from outer space while also serving as a “mobile weapon station” to monitor threats on the ground.

This was something that could only be done in the face of the “Celestial crisis.”

At any other time, even the Alliance’s staunchest allies wouldn’t support them in doing this.

On the other hand, the near-orbit defense platform could also revitalize the Alliance’s aerospace industry.

The development of an industry from birth to scale and maturity was a long-term process, not something that could pop up out of nowhere with a click of a mouse.

Since the current momentum was good, Chu Guang naturally preferred to let it continue growing.

Even if this defense system ultimately proved useless, it would still help the Alliance’s related industrial chain accumulate experience, while also reactivating the “vertical casting wells” that had been silent for over a century.

This wasn’t just for the current layout, but also to lay a foundation for the future.

After listening to Chu Guang’s explanation, Xiao Qi nodded with a hint of understanding.

“Alright, since you’ve decided, then Xiao Qi won’t say anything more… Oh, by the way, what about the starship stranded five light-years away? Your player seems to be trapped there.”

Chu Guang laughed heartily.

“We don’t need to worry about that. I believe he can handle it himself!”

Five light-years was too far, far beyond anything he could control.

If Old Ten could bring that starship back, he could try to have the Academy send a research vessel to pick them up.

If he couldn’t bring it back, there wasn’t much Chu Guang could do.

The warp drive wasn’t something that could be made just with technology.

Given the Alliance’s current production level, even replicating the most basic anti-gravity device would take all their effort…

…

Just as Chu Guang was planning for the Alliance’s future, Old Ten, having put his helmet back on, hurriedly returned online.

When he opened his eyes, he saw bright light all around.

He was still lying in that gym, but Jiang Xuezhou was nowhere to be seen.

Panicked, he opened the wide-area communication channel and shouted.

“Xuezhou! Where are you?!”

As he tried to get up from the ground, he heard a stuttering electronic voice behind him.

“You’re awake?”

Old Ten spun around with a start, and saw a round-bodied robot standing behind him.

"Who are you?"

"Me?"

The robot pointed at itself, its voice not particularly bright. "My name is Little Koala. My new master told me to wait for you here."

Hearing that name, Ye Shi was dumbfounded.

"Koala? You... you're still alive?!"

That name was all too familiar!

The engineer from Division Four, a chatterbox who never stopped talking, always acting like he hated trouble but was actually a worrier who loved to meddle!

The round robot swiveled its camera and spoke in a clanking, metallic voice.

"I'm honored that my memory storage and main circuit board are still intact. That bionic only damaged my power components, and my new master replaced them without much trouble... though my emotional sensor tells me you might have mistaken me for someone you remember."

Pressing a finger to his temple, Ye Shi took a deep breath and tried to sort out his thoughts.

"I think I get it... Your master's name is Koala, right? He designed you and told you to wait for us here."

Little Koala seemed to ponder.

"Koala? He didn't have time to tell me his name, nor who I was supposed to wait for. But after seeing you, I understood—you're the ones I was waiting for... So I don't think you're wrong."

It paused, then continued.

"Is he also called Koala? So what exactly is a Koala? I think that word must have another meaning."

It was indeed that guy.

Looking at the round-bellied robot, Ye Shi felt a mix of nostalgia and sorrow, comfort and grief, like a table of overturned spice bottles—an indescribable taste.

He wanted to cry, but couldn't.

Since childhood, his parents had told him that men don't easily shed tears, and he had always held everything in.

"You seem a bit sad," Little Koala said, reaching out to pat his head. "Is this better?"

"...Thanks, much better."

Seeing Ye Shi seemed somewhat improved, Little Koala politely nodded its camera and pointed to the side.

"You're welcome. I learned this from my new master."

Ye Shi followed its gaze to the doorway, where a round helmet had somehow appeared.

Though the pitch-black visor hid the face beneath, Ye Shi recognized her at once by her aura and said in surprise.

"Why did you change your suit?"

Her previous extravehicular exoskeleton had been swapped for a thick spacesuit.

A round helmet with a black anti-UV visor, a backpack on her back—it looked almost like 21st-century style.

"That one..."

Jiang Xuezhou bit her lip, fidgeting for a long time without speaking, finally whispering in embarrassment.

"...In short, don't look at me until I get better."

Everyone has their pride.

Especially in front of the one they love.

It wasn't about inferiority; she just wanted to leave the best version of herself in his eyes, not this battered state.

Seeing Xiao Jiang still thinking of him despite her injuries, Ye Shi's eyes were full of emotion.

"It's okay, I don't mind..."

He was about to say it, but remembering what had happened before, he swallowed the words.

But perhaps because she was in a good mood, Jiang Xuezhou didn't hold it against him this time, only murmuring.

"While you were 'offline' reporting to the others, I fixed Little Koala, then went back to our research ship. The situation isn't great, but the supplies are still there... For two people, it'll last about half a year."

"Also, this starship has plenty of food stores—especially water, compressed biscuits, freeze-dried food, and canned goods. Though long past their expiration date, they're still edible. What we can't eat can be turned into nutrient paste with the organic recycler."

Ye Shi sighed in relief and joked.

"At least we won't starve or die of thirst."

Jiang Xuezhou nodded and continued.

"Besides supplies, I checked the repair shop in the lower deck engineering and maintenance section. The cabin structure there is relatively intact, and it has a sealed partition from the main cabin... Later, I'll try to use the tools there to build a simple buffer chamber, so we can solve the air pressure and air problems."

Repairing a starship with just two people was unrealistic, but improvising a temporary space shelter with local materials was feasible.

This was a required course for academy researchers.

Though she had once thought the course was unnecessary, she now felt grateful she hadn't slacked off and had listened to every lesson.

"I'll help too." After hearing Jiang Xuezhou's plan, Ye Shi raised his hand enthusiastically.

It might not be the right time to say it, but he found it oddly fun.

Like playing *Oxygen Not Included*.

Jiang Xuezhou had no idea what strange thoughts were running through his mind; she just nodded lightly.

"Mm! I'll definitely trouble you then. I can't handle that kind of heavy work alone. I'll send you the design plan once I'm done. For now, let's go eat... I'm a bit hungry."

To be precise, her stomach had been growling for a while.

Before entering the wreckage of the Orion-class missile cruiser, she had only eaten some liquid food, and after the research ship's hard landing, a lot had happened.

Ye Shi jumped up from the ground and followed Jiang Xuezhou with Little Koala into the brightly lit corridor.

It was clear Jiang Xuezhou was really afraid of the dark; he felt the lights were even brighter than what he'd seen 215 years ago.

Worth noting, though they faced a severe energy shortage, compared to the energy consumed by a single hyperspace jump, this lighting was a drop in the bucket—whether they could return or not, it didn't matter.

So even Ye Shi didn't argue about turning off the reactor to save power.

The electricity saved might not even match the energy used to restart the reactor.

Setting down a silver tray with a few compressed biscuits and two packs of liquid food, Jiang Xuezhou said a bit sheepishly.

"I just threw together some food. Don't mind it."

"Of course not."

Grabbing a compressed biscuit and tearing open the wrapper, Ye Shi stuffed it into his mouth and chewed.

"As long as I'm full, I'm not picky."

Though he had already eaten offline, his stomach here was still empty.

Watching Ye Shi wolf down his food, Jiang Xuezhou couldn't help but curl her lips.

The way he ate was just like a little pig.

Thinking happily, she felt a sudden urge to learn cooking.

Imagining him devouring her homemade dishes, Jiang Xuezhou nibbled on her biscuit.

Even the bland emergency rations became delicious because of the way he ate.

He finished off a meal with brisk efficiency, and Night Ten tidied up the trash simply, bundling it together for disposal.

Taking advantage of the break, Jiang Xuezhou, based on a photo she had taken earlier of the repair bay, sketched out the design for a temporary buffer chamber.

Yet the two didn't start work immediately; instead, they first headed to the bridge on the upper deck.

There lay the star charts and coordinates of this new ship.

They first needed to figure out their exact location in Alpha Centauri, as well as the position of the missile cruiser *Gemini*, before they could ponder a way home.

As they walked toward the bridge, Night Ten suddenly thought of something and spoke up.

"By the way, what about that replica called Luo Yi? I didn't seem to see it when I woke up."

Jiang Xuezhou replied in a low voice.

"I dismantled its parts for recycling. As for the data on its motherboard... it deleted itself."

"...Deleted itself?" Night Ten was taken aback, hesitating as he said, "Could that be a trick?"

"Basically impossible. I've checked thoroughly—it erased every trace of its existence, vanishing from this world as if it had never been..."

Seeing the astonishment on Night Ten's face, Jiang Xuezhou continued with a complex expression.

"The Celestials created it from server backup data, gave it the identity of 'Luo Yi,' but granted it no memories of that person."

"It had always lived as 'Sergeant Luo Yi,' only to discover one day that it was a fake."

"Not just itself, but even its ideals and goals... it found that every proof of its existence, along with existence itself, ran counter to what it originally believed."

"A contradiction, huh," Night Ten tried to understand, shaking his head. "Actually, I don't get why the Celestials made something so complicated. Why not just build a robot?"

"A simple robot lacks autonomous agency. Unless in constant communication, it struggles with complex tasks requiring subjective decisions. And..."

Jiang Xuezhou paused briefly before continuing.

"Perhaps they don't fully trust programs, nor completely identify with their own identity. They might see being a 'Celestial' as a means to an end, a roundabout way to save their civilization."

Night Ten was stunned.

"This... how is that a roundabout way?"

Jiang Xuezhou spoke in a casual tone.

"Become a Celestial, reboot civilization, then turn back into humans... That's my understanding. Ultimately, they aim to revert, not to become another kind of existence like the madmen of the Torch Church. So for them, you shelter residents are indispensable, but relatively speaking, we wastelanders are redundant."

"Of course, this is just my speculation based on limited clues. Maybe they didn't design the final step of that plan I mentioned. That is, they might not care about turning back into humans, only hoping future generations live according to their ideas... while they act as guardians of all humanity."

"But either way, a cognitive plug-in is necessary; otherwise, what they leave behind is just a dead thing, which might not be what they intended."

Night Ten couldn't help but retort.

"But isn't that still a dead thing? Dead machines replaced by dead thoughts? Two hundred years have passed—how can people keep living by old methods?"

Even the tyrants of Brahman weren't static; they evolved with the times.

For instance, changing 'mandate of heaven' to 'mandate of the family,' or 'heavenly king' to 'family head.'

Jiang Xuezhou made a helpless expression and shrugged lightly.

"You're right, but victory never falls from the sky. I believe they have their own reasons to convince themselves, just like the madmen of the Torch Church... Anyway, let's first figure out how to solve our immediate problem."

At least for the two of them now, getting this starship back home was the top priority.

A hundred thousand neutron torpedoes.

If they could fly this ship back, even if Lagrange point stations were filled with electronic ghosts, they could blast them—along with the stations themselves—into dust.

Boarding the elevator to the bridge, rows of dust-covered floor-to-ceiling windows came into view.

Through the grimy transparent walls, he saw a dazzling fireball hanging alone in the vast night.

That brilliant light seemed to come from the edge of the universe, casting colorful halos on the dusty windows.

The bridge was now facing the star.

"Why only one star?" Captivated entirely by the magnificent sight, Night Ten's gaze was glued to the window.

Beside him, Jiang Xuezhou was also drawn by the beautiful scene, but she wasn't as astonished as Night Ten. After a couple of glances, she walked to a nearby terminal, opened a holographic screen, and began operating it.

"...Because those two stars are too close together. From where we stand, they look like a single sun. If you use a more professional telescope, you can see them clearly."

"Speaking of which, isn't it a triple star system? Where's the third star?" Night Ten couldn't help asking further.

Jiang Xuezhou sighed and patiently explained.

"What you see now are Alpha Centauri A and B. As for Proxima Centauri, it's too far away—I can't point it out to you right now."

Not just far in astronomical terms.

It's a red dwarf, very dim, basically invisible under such strong light.

Night Ten nodded blankly, his eyes still fixed on the window.

To be honest.

Though it wasn't what he had imagined Alpha Centauri to be, this dazzling starry sky truly stunned him.

It was a sight unseen from Earth.

For a moment, a strange thought even crossed his mind—

Could the real Alpha Centauri be like this too?

If so, this game might really be made by aliens.

"Found it. Thankfully, our navigation equipment still works. Our current position is the third planet orbiting the AB main sequence star..."

As she spoke, Jiang Xuezhou's face suddenly turned pale.

Noticing the change in her tone, Night Ten, who had been immersed in the scenery, quickly tore his gaze from the window and walked over to her.

"What's wrong?"

Her face pale, Jiang Xuezhou's lips trembled as she parted them.

"It's Gaia..."

The moment he heard that word, Night Ten froze.

"Gaia? You mean... the colony planet from the Union era?"

Jiang Xuezhou nodded, her face ashen.

"Yeah..."

Night Ten held his breath, half surprised, half delighted. He felt only awe, not fear.

Damn.

This new map was incredible!

To be honest, he didn't know what she was afraid of.

Even if Gaia was formidable, it couldn't reach them in synchronous orbit, could it?

He placed a hand on her shoulder and said in a gentle, comforting tone.

"Don't worry. It's far away from us."

Those shoulders trembled faintly, as if his words of comfort had soothed them a little.

But only a little.

A long time passed before a voice, laden with despair, drifted through the comm channel.

"I know, but the wreckage of the Gemini isn't near us. I scanned the whole area with radar and couldn't find it..."

"There's only one possibility: either it fell on its own, or something dragged it down."

"We might have to go down there..."