Kneeling in the dimness, the red-haired emperor shuddered.
Jiang Jianming pondered thoughtfully. “Was the enemy very powerful? Had you engaged in direct combat with them, how many times, and what were the specific battle situations like?”
“…No, no.” Odin shook his head repeatedly, breathing rapidly, “Yes, we haven’t… haven’t fought yet…”
He suddenly crawled forward a step, his eyes bursting with infinite urgency and longing, “Child, but I can’t see or touch this enemy!”
Jiang Jianming: “Then how did the enemy invade you?”
Through black wave radiation… no, it’s by changing genes, implanting into human bodies. Crystal particles altered the entire physiological structure of humans, transforming humans into different species…
Jiang Jianming: “The enemy invaded your territory, aren’t they around you?”
Yes, yes. Crystal particles are inside human bodies, in the atmosphere, in the universe, everywhere!
Bloodshot crept into Odin’s eye sockets. If, instead of attempting to remove crystal particles, instead of trying to make humans escape from crystal particles, but…
Jiang Jianming: “Have you tried to study the enemy in depth, what are their strengths and weaknesses, what characteristics do they have, what strategies and tactics do they like to use, and what kind of relationship are they in with us?”
—Instead, turn to study how humans can defeat or even kill crystal particles!?
Indeed, crystal particles are like time bombs buried in human bodies, crystal disorder could end the host’s life at any time.
But when the racial consciousness of crystal particles is not active, the will of the new humans can control the crystal bones!
What does this mean? It means that the fusion of crystal particles and humans has reached a stage where they are difficult to separate.
In this state, what if there was a way for human consciousness to suppress, destroy, or even devour the consciousness of crystal particles!?
Odin opened his eyes wide, breathing heavily—
If so, wouldn’t the power of crystal particles be completely at the disposal of humans!?
“…But in any case, the premise of all this is still to have the determination to fight.”
“Strategic retreat is also a means, but if escape is treated as the ultimate goal, that’s not quite appropriate.”
The child’s voice was tender and crisp, making the emperor’s body tingle.
Memories of the past awakened from slumber.
He recalled those days and nights of killing. Before swallowing each new base, he closed his eyes thinking of those resources, those weapons, those people who would soon submit at his feet…
Blood would heat up, the corners of his mouth would turn up, he would grit his teeth and smile, clenching his iron fist, every cell in his body screaming and boiling.
Suddenly, Odin grinned, his eyes shooting out a fierce cold light. He first chuckled softly, then burst into wild laughter.
“…Heh, hehe ha, hahaha!! Hahahahaha!!!”
How could he forget. Until seventeen years ago, before becoming Emperor Odin…
He was still Orlando, known as the “Red Blood Invader”, the man who built an empire by treading on mountains of corpses and seas of blood in chaotic times.
This child was right. Without even trying a direct confrontation, why run away, why not try to kill the enemy!?
Odin raised his face, light flickering in his eyes. “Child, what’s your name, where do you live?”
“You…come with me, I promise you a position and honor in this world second only to myself. You come and help me defeat the enemy… uh… okay?”
Jiang Jianming’s expression was subtle.
This, this…
He had originally intended to encourage this uncle, but it seemed he had stimulated him instead.
The black-haired youth shrank back timidly, saying softly, “Cough, thank you. But I think, um… overcoming difficulties… mainly depends on oneself.”
Curing mental illness is the same.
“One must persevere.”
Don’t stop taking medicine.
“Perhaps the process is very long, you need to believe in yourself, and also believe in others.”
Listen to the doctor, don’t run out of the mental hospital again, “… believe that one day, everything will be fine.”
On the other end of time and space, Odin was completely immersed in his own emotions, “Good, good, I’ll listen to everything you say… Hahahaha!!”
Jiang Jianming: “Then good luck to you?”
The emperor was in high spirits, not minding the strange child’s rudeness, his whole demeanor much lighter. He even had the leisure to ask. “Child, what’s that book in your hand?”
Sitting in the starship’s warehouse, Jiang Jianming blinked. “A history book.”
As he spoke, he showed the cover to the other side.
The ceiling light fell on the hardcover paper book, illuminating the gold-embossed title.
Instantly, a bolt of white lightning exploded in Odin’s mind.
The smile on the tyrant’s lips froze.
His pupils contracted, staring at that line of words on the book cover.
[The Sixty-Three Years of Long Night – The Establishment and Fall of the Holy Human Empire]
Holy Human Empire.
Establishment and… fall.
The distorted space, the strange child who suddenly appeared, the absurd legal provisions, the disabled humans who did not revere the new humans…
If all this wasn’t a dream…
In the dimness, the tyrant’s reddish-brown messy hair covered his face. He heard himself speak hoarsely.
“Child… what year is it now?”
“The 55th year of the New Imperial Calendar.”
55 years… His Holy Human Empire was established only seventeen years ago, this year should be called the 17th year of the Imperial Calendar.
New Imperial Calendar, New…
Odin raised his head, widened his pale green eyes, and looked at the black-haired young boy opposite him from head to toe again.
What a clean, beautiful, lively and kind disabled human child.
One look and you could tell, he was a child born in a peaceful and prosperous era, who had never been tainted by mud and darkness.
The founding emperor of the Holy Human Empire asked the future in a trembling voice.
“Who… destroyed humanity’s first interstellar empire?”
The youth answered. “It was His Majesty the Great Emperor.”
“Then… who established it?”
The youth answered. “It was the tyrant Odin.”
The red-haired emperor suddenly stood up, his eyes radiating murderous intent, a roar like a wild beast erupting from his throat!
His empire – his life’s work!!
The dynasty he had sworn would last for thousands of generations!!
“What… what is the name of that Great Emperor you speak of!!”
“What about their gender and appearance, where they came from, what were their parents’ names… Child, tell me truthfully now, I can give you endless glory and riches, but if you dare to deceive me—”
On the other side in the starship’s warehouse, Jiang Jianming was startled.
His fingers trembled, and the heavy book was about to fall.
Paper books were precious, so the youth quickly lunged forward, hugging the thick book tightly with both hands, ending up sprawled on the floor like a little ball.
Odin suddenly froze!
…In the next second, he was about to reveal his crystal bones. The top-tier S-class crystal bones would instantly cross the dozen meters distance, penetrating the youth’s body.
The youth would be tragically pinned to the wall. He would use the crystal bones to torture the disabled human for information, to find out about the criminal who destroyed his empire in the future, to nip it in the bud.
But the child blinked, slowly sat up hugging the book.
He complained in a soft voice. “Why are you shouting?”
“——…”
The tyrant’s face twitched painfully twice, his eyes bloodshot. He seemed to be torn by some great force, struggling in contradiction.
His fingers, crystallized with crystal bones, opened and closed, closed and opened again.
What a clean, beautiful, lively and kind human child.
The 55th year of the New Imperial Calendar.
His empire had already fallen.
But… the human empire still continued.
There was a young boy living in the future, telling him not to run away.
Go fight.
Emperor Odin slowly bent his back, his vision blurred by tears again.
He choked, trembling as he said to the other side. “Child… don’t be afraid…”
“I won’t… won’t hurt you… it’s just.”
“You see, I’m going to defeat my enemy now. Your Great Emperor, since he destroyed an interstellar empire, must have defeated many enemies…”
“I just want to… know his name and appearance, to give me some strength to move forward.”
The young boy on the other side was half-believing, half-doubting.
After a few seconds, he opened the paper book again, turning it to the back, and held it up for Odin to see.
That page praised the revolutionaries who overthrew the dark rule.
In the center was an illustration, with the starship bridge as the background, depicting the heroic figure of the founding emperor of the new empire.
The young new king had a stern divine countenance, wearing a scarlet cape. He had dazzling platinum curly hair, eyes as beautiful and aloof as jade, with crimson crystal bones like a solar corona behind him.
Kaios… the Great Emperor…
The distorted space suddenly burst into a faint light, the time wormhole was about to disappear.
The disabled human youth from the 55th year of the New Imperial Calendar and the red-haired tyrant from the 17th year of the Old Imperial Calendar both lost consciousness in that light. When they woke up, they both doubted the reality of this memory.
They had conversed for a total of eight minutes, and fate had shifted in a place unknown to anyone. No one could say for certain if it was chance or destiny.
But regardless, in the 17th year of the Old Imperial Calendar:
The Grey Owl Laboratory halted the “Noah” project that attempted to remove crystal particles from living bodies. The “Chaos Correction” plan was officially launched, effectively becoming humanity’s first proactive strike against crystal particles.
The research direction underwent a massive change. Emperor Odin even provided some of his own cellular tissue and genetic data for the laboratory to clone and modify.
Initially, there were still constant failures, with millions of tiny embryos dying in the cultivation chambers.
Several years passed, and all the experimenters despaired, but the emperor’s attitude was more determined than ever. Others could only grit their teeth and continue.
Meanwhile, Odin became more sensitive about political power. In the 18th year of the Old Imperial Calendar, the emperor revised the imperial code three times in just one year, historically known as the “Three Revisions of the Code”. The class differences between nobles and commoners, new humans and disabled humans, further widened. Hundreds of criminals were executed and their heads displayed daily at the execution ground in front of the palace, until every brick crevice was stained with indelible dark red.
The harsh laws made the lower-class people live in fear day and night. Large numbers of new humans who could not endure fled Blue Mother Star on interstellar ships.
Many died from attacks by alien life forms, while those who survived later became space bandits.
In the 21st year of the Old Imperial Calendar, the first armed organization to resist the empire’s tyranny – the White Dove Red Leaf Society – was secretly established.
They raised the banner of “Reviving Human Civilization”, pursuing the equality and freedom of the old Blue Mother Star era.
Naturally, the enraged Emperor Odin viewed them as a thorn in his side and issued a kill order.
In the 24th year of the Old Imperial Calendar, the Lava Space Bandit Group was formed.
In the 32nd year of the Old Imperial Calendar, the White Dove Red Leaf Society, which had struggled against the empire for eleven years, finally suffered a devastating blow in a major military encirclement and was forced to disband.
Members fled separately for their lives, while wanted posters had long covered every street and alley of Blue Mother Star.
What the emperor wanted was the leader of the White Dove Red Leaf Society before its dissolution – Wen Helga, alive or dead.
On this day, heavy rain poured in the G6 wild area.
A dilapidated small inn stood on a remote desolate road leading to the urban area. Raindrops pattered against the glass, blurring the dim yellow light inside the inn.
More than a dozen people covered in black robes came through the rain, panting. They showed something to the innkeeper. The innkeeper’s expression became serious, pressed a few buttons on the password lock of the liquor cabinet, revealing a secret door, and led those black-robed people inside.
This was one of the few remaining secret contact points of the White Dove Red Leaf Society.
The heavy rain had not stopped even by nightfall.
After a hasty dinner, in the dim yellow light, more than a dozen members of the White Dove Red Leaf Society stood surrounding a person sitting in a chair.
This posture suggested they were about to discuss something very solemn.
But these members looked troubled. They glanced at each other, but no one spoke first.
The black-robed person surrounded in the center sat on a wooden chair. A few strands of wet black hair slipped out from under the hood, only to be tucked back by a delicate white hand.
The hand then rested on her slightly swollen belly. A calm and gentle voice came from under the hood.
“Is something the matter?”
A gaunt woman elbowed the freckled man with brown hair, whispering, “Wendan.”
The latter summoned his courage and stepped forward, gritting his teeth. “Leader… please abort the child.”
“We’re temporarily safe here, you’ll have enough time to recover. For the journey ahead, we’ll protect you with our lives, it’s completely possible to…”
The black-robed woman chuckled, “No.”
The speaker’s face changed. “Leader, why!?”
The female leader removed her hood. She had long hair like black clouds, porcelain-white skin, and brown eyes hiding a blazing fire deep within.
This was Wen Helga, the former leader of the White Dove Red Leaf Society, with the highest bounty in the imperial wanted list.
“Dan, Lin, thank you for considering my wellbeing.”
“But first, I want to tell everyone that this accident is not anyone’s fault… Please don’t feel guilty anymore.”
Pain appeared on everyone’s faces. “Leader!”
It was about two months ago.
These members of the White Dove Red Leaf Society had experienced a life-and-death escape.
Helga was tricked by the imperial army and poisoned by gas. Although she managed to break through the encirclement, she lost consciousness after activating the mecha’s jump.
The mecha crashed in the wild area, and everyone knew that the poor wandering in the wild areas were almost like beasts driven by desire.
What would happen when those thugs found a young, beautiful woman, disheveled and unconscious, was predictable by anyone.
When the other members of the White Dove Red Leaf Society arrived, everyone’s hearts were torn, wishing they could die to atone for their sins—
Their pure and immaculate leader had been defiled by a passing vagrant.
Before joining the White Dove Red Leaf Society, Helga was a noble lady, beautiful and dignified, erudite, and possessing noble A-class crystal bones.
But the villain who defiled her was a dirty, barefoot pauper, a disabled human, and somewhat slow-witted.
The vagrant was naturally killed on the spot by the members. When Helga woke up, she was only silent for half a day, without any extreme reactions. They continued to flee, finally shaking off their pursuers, but who knew the tragedy wouldn’t end there.
Two months later, the female leader discovered she was pregnant.
…
The sound of rain outside continued. There was a faint musty smell inside the dilapidated inn.
The corner of the brown-haired man’s mouth twitched. “Leader, but why do you…”
Helga shook her head, raising her index finger. “Shh, please listen to me.”
“That day, my mecha crashed in the wild area. And until you came to rescue me, no pursuers appeared. I don’t believe the imperial army is that incompetent.”
“Odin is cruel by nature. He probably thought that what happened would be a more cruel blow to me than death; he thought this would be the greatest humiliation and destruction for a woman.”
“Is that what you think too?”
Helga smiled gently, her eyes curving. “No, I don’t think so.”
“I don’t believe that day’s accident was more serious than if I had been shot. Besides, you’ve already avenged me, haven’t you?”
“This will not break me. As long as I live another day, I will choose to continue fighting. So, I hope everyone will stop wasting unnecessary emotions on this.”
Before Helga finished speaking, several people’s eyes had already reddened.
When the leader stopped speaking, almost everyone was choking and sobbing.
The gaunt woman was in tears, repeatedly saying, “We… we were narrow-minded, Leader!”
“But… but you don’t have to keep this child that shouldn’t exist, making yourself suffer. We all know you’re merciful, Leader, but a life born under such misfortune shouldn’t come into this world, Leader…!”
Helga lowered her eyes. In the lamplight by the table, she turned her wrist, watching her crystal bones reflect a faint glow.
“Jelin, shh. I’ve been thinking all this time.”
“When faced with a sudden misfortune, to what extent can we respond?”
She lowered her crystal-boned hand, caressing her belly. There was no motherly love in her expression, but the determination of a warrior.
Then, this black-haired woman raised her head, her eyes like torches, speaking each word clearly. “When misfortune declares itself our misfortune, must we necessarily suffer its torment?”
In the distant sky, there was a faint rumble of thunder chasing the rain clouds.
The members of the White Dove Red Leaf Society were all stunned, shocked by their leader’s words.
Helga continued. “I want to give birth to this child. Since he’s in my womb, he’s my child, not some misfortune or bastard.”
“Of course I could kill him, but I won’t. I will give birth to him, love him, educate him—”
The woman smiled, “I want him to become Helga’s child, inherit my will, and fight alongside me.”
But those brown eyes darkened again, she shook her head, “No, Helga… the Helga family betrayed the revolution. From now on, I am no longer my father’s daughter.”
“I want to give my maternal surname to my future child. By the way, have I ever mentioned my mother’s surname to you?”
The members looked at each other. The freckled man with brown hair hesitated, “I only remember it was an ancient surname from the East.”
“Yes, ‘Jiang’, my mother’s surname was Jiang… Oh, that’s right.”
Helga’s eyes brightened, she clapped her hands and smiled, “That’s right… I’ve thought of a good name, suitable for either a boy or a girl.”
“When the child is born, you’ll know.”
****
Later history books, for a long time, maintained a secretive attitude about Helga’s child.
Evidently, neither the other members of the White Dove Red Leaf Society nor later scholars had the same open-mindedness as the female leader herself to face the child’s not-so-clean background.
But people could still piece together from the clues: Wen Helga became pregnant out of wedlock, gave birth to a baby at a secret base of the White Dove Red Leaf Society.
Unfortunately.
This baby did not respond to his mother’s beliefs as people had hoped.
“…Leader.”
When the gaunt woman Jelin picked up the crying baby, her face was deathly pale, looking even worse than Helga who had just gone through the pain of childbirth.
“…It’s a…”
Beside her, Wendan closed his eyes, struggling to speak, “It’s a disabled human.”
In the dim room of the small inn, the lamp flickered. Helga lay on the wooden bed, her sweat-soaked black hair messing up the pillow, “Boy or girl?”
“It’s a boy. Leader, but he’s a disabled human…”
Wendan’s lips trembled, “In this world… now that even the White Dove Red Leaf Society has fallen, living as a disabled human is only torture…”
“Let this child be free, Leader. Just one shot, it won’t be painful.”
Helga closed her eyes, her fingers gripping the bedding beneath her, murmuring, “Yes, in this world…”
Two streams of tears slowly fell down the female leader’s cheeks. She pressed her lips tightly together, silent for a long time.
Wendan silently took out his gun, took the crying baby from Jelin’s arms and walked out.
Just as he was about to cross the threshold, he heard Helga’s faint voice behind him.
“I will not submit to this world.”
Helga opened her tear-soaked eyes. She calmly looked at the dilapidated ceiling, gripping the thin bedding, and spoke softly in the dark, sunless, and cold underground room.
“This child, his name will be Jiang Jianming.”
“I hope…”
“He will see the dawn at the end of the long night.”
