That day became Andrew’s nightmare.
When the golden-red crystal bones gripped his neck and smashed his head against the white marble tiles in front of the palace, no one, including the guards, could react in time.
Kaios remained seated, resting his face on one hand.
Crystal bones extended from his other wrist, lifting the newly enthroned emperor and rhythmically slamming him against the ground.
It was meaningless.
The little monster found it meaningless.
Whether it was Andrew’s screams, curses, and pleas, or the guards who drew their guns but hesitated to advance, or even the comical scene of servants scrambling to seek help, only to be frantically stopped midway by Andrew—
Oh, he hadn’t done anything special. He had merely pulled down the emperor’s pants, exposing his pale buttocks to everyone.
As for the great new emperor preferring death over letting others see his bottom, wasn’t that the emperor’s own problem?
Kaios curved his lips again, thinking Odin’s son was truly incompetent, not even worth toying with.
“Tell me the purpose of the Gray Owl laboratory’s research, and I’ll let you go.”
“Tranquilizer!” Andrew immediately howled, snot and tears flowing, “Father Emperor wanted to use you to develop a drug to suppress crystal particles. This, this is a great project that will benefit all of humanity. If it succeeds, you’ll go down in history as—Ah!!”
The golden-red crystal bones pressed Andrew’s fat face into the tiles before slowly releasing him.
Kaios stood up, dusted off his formal attire, and left indifferently without looking back.
The group behind him, not knowing what to do, could only rush to rescue the unconscious new emperor, causing instant chaos.
That night, the enraged Emperor Andrew smashed all the expensive porcelain vases and jade artifacts in his bedchamber and executed all the servants and guards who had witnessed his disgrace—this Odin II’s cruelty surpassed even that of his father.
Kaios returned to his own room. The young prince disliked strangers, so his chambers were empty and quiet.
The youth sat on the lavishly decorated large bed, pondering future matters.
Although he had beaten the bare-bottomed emperor unconscious during the day, the young prince was actually very clear-headed.
He knew the power and allure of imperial authority. The outbreak of conflict was inevitable from the moment Odin I passed away—Odin II would not tolerate such a threat continuing to act recklessly, and he could not submit.
From now on, he couldn’t eat anything carelessly, as it might be laced with sedatives; he couldn’t sleep at any time, as there might be lurking assassins; he couldn’t do anything or touch anything, as anything could become a trap.
One misstep, and he would be locked back in the laboratory. Given Andrew’s nature, he might be turned into a mindless human pig, forever an experimental subject for humans.
This was the power of imperial autocracy.
When starlight spread across the headboard, Kaios remembered an afternoon over two months ago when he sat with Odin in the rose garden behind the palace.
Under the winter sun and gentle breeze, the frail old emperor swirled a glass of blood-red wine, gazing at the distant sky, and asked seemingly casually, “Boy, do you want to be the emperor of this empire?”
He shook his head, and Odin chuckled, saying, “I knew it.”
The next day, the great emperor passed the throne to Crown Prince Andrew Odin.
Thinking about it now, Kaios felt, for no reason, that if he had nodded at that moment, the old emperor might have truly been willing to give him his empire.
Dream on, the young prince thought coldly. After keeping me locked up in a laboratory since childhood, now you want me to be emperor in place of your incompetent eldest son, laboring for a lifetime to maintain this empire?
He would plan the grandest revenge.
Not just against Odin, against Andrew, against the Gray Owl laboratory… but against all the foolish humans who thought they could control him.
He liked doing unexpected things, liked breaking the shackles that attempted to bind him, liked seeing the shocked faces of those self-important people as they groveled and begged before him.
He was a slightly naughty little monster.
Kaios put on his robe and got up. He did not carry any weapons or call for attendants, walking alone towards the private starship hangar of the palace.
The princes and princesses all had their own advanced folding mechas, as well as small starships exclusively for royal use.
He took out his own starship.
****
At the beginning of the 51st year of the Old Imperial Calendar, Jiang Jianming’s body had already weakened to the point where he could not go out in the cold winter weather.
Even if Lin Ge piled all the clothes, quilts and blankets onto him, he still could not stop shivering from the cold.
Various symptoms came upon him like demons – he began coughing up blood, vomiting, and having difficulty breathing.
The pain changed from intermittent to constant. Ordinary painkillers were completely ineffective, and better drugs… could not be obtained in the wild zone.
Ordinary chronic crystal disorder patients at this stage, or even earlier, would have already started to think about their last affairs.
Jiang Jianming refused to die. Even at this point, he was still trying to maintain his “normal” life with Lin Ge.
During the day, Lin Ge had to go out to make a living. When she returned at night, she would often see that dinner had already been prepared and was simmering on the stove.
If it was more horrifying, she might also see the person who had cooked lying on the ground, unconscious for who knows how long, surrounded by a pool of vomited blood.
When his condition was a little better, Jiang Jianming would still hide in the partition, using his trembling hands to grip a blade, scraping his flesh and picking at his flesh and bones.
That thin body was covered with new wounds and old scars, ugly sutures everywhere.
Lin Ge was driven almost to the point of mental breakdown by him.
Jiang Jianming reluctantly comforted her, reaching out to try and stroke her hair.
The young girl swiftly retreated far away, stomping her feet and shouting at Jiang Jianming. “Don’t touch this old lady, this old lady hates you to death!”
Jiang Jianming: “It’s okay, just touch it lightly, won’t hurt if I don’t use force.”
“Who cares if you’re in pain or not!”
Lin Ge jumped up and down more vigorously, roaring even more fiercely. “You – why can’t you just hurry up and die? Other chronic crystal disorder patients all die early and find release, why are you different? What makes you think you’re different!”
Jiang Jianming actually didn’t think he was different.
He knew most clearly how ordinary and powerless he was.
He just felt regret, and unwillingness.
Change was destined to not happen overnight, he thought.
Especially in a place like the wild zone. It was like trying to light a spark in the wind and snow of winter. Even if one persisted for ten years, twenty years, a lifetime… one might not necessarily see results.
Now he was about to die, and Lin Ge was still too immature. Whether it was the big silly sister or the youth by the bonfire, people only needed a year or half to forget, and all the efforts and hopes of his mother and himself would come to nothing.
In the depths of winter.
One day, Lin Ge burst in, covered in snow.
“Dawn… Dawn!”
Her face was bruised and swollen, her clothes dirty and torn, obviously having just returned from a fight.
But that face rarely showed a smile, although in the curve of her right eye, there was a complex shadow of emotions.
She brushed the snow off herself, and like presenting a treasure, carefully took something out of her bundle and held it out in front of Jiang Jianming.
“I found this.”
Lin Ge nervously asked, exhaling puffs of white mist, “Look, is this what you called ‘the fruit of the tree of knowledge of good and evil’?”
It was a round, bright red fruit.
It had not rotted or molded, had not been eaten by anyone, and even the skin had barely any damage.
In the eyes of the poor in the wild zone, this was probably what a legendary “work of art” looked like.
Jiang Jianming chuckled. “…It’s an apple.”
Lin Ge also smiled slightly. She lowered her eyelashes, suddenly stepped forward, and pressed her whole body against Jiang Jianming’s chest, head down.
She stuffed this “fruit of knowledge of good and evil” into Jiang Jianming’s hand, and said softly with a nasal tone. “This is the best thing from this month’s spaceship garbage. Many people were fighting for it originally, but when I said I wanted to bring it to you, several new humans quietly backed off without a word, so I was able to bring it back.”
A trace of surprise flashed in Jiang Jianming’s eyes, “Is that so?”
Lin Ge nodded vigorously. “You see, now your wish has come true. You’ve taught the bad people to be grateful and repay kindness, at least you’ve taught a few.”
“So…”
She said quietly, “Will you eat this fruit and then die, please?”
Jiang Jianming fell silent.
He looked at Lin Ge standing in front of him, suddenly realizing how quickly time had passed.
The girl he had picked up was already sixteen years old. That dirty, smelly little piece of trash had grown into a graceful young woman.
…Jiang Jianming also knew that when chronic crystal disorder developed to the late stage, patients didn’t necessarily all die from turning into acute cases.
Some people became confused and died from falling, some became paralyzed and unable to care for themselves and starved to death, some had heart and lung failure and suffocated to death, and some simply died from pain.
He didn’t want to seek death now, but did he really have to endure to that point, making Lin Ge watch him wither into a bag of dry bones?
Just like he had watched his mother walk the path to death?
“Jiang, please…”
Lin Ge suddenly burst into tears, hot tears falling on his chest, “Will you die, please?”
Jiang Jianming took the apple.
He said in a low voice. “I’ll think about it.”
Later, when Lin Ge recalled this moment, for someone like Jiang Jianming who was extremely soft on the outside but tough on the inside, and so stubborn in his personal principles that he was almost ruthless, to actually say “I’ll think about it” for her sake…
It was simply the peak of her life.
…..
That night, the snow stopped.
Jiang Jianming felt that his body was also in a rare good state, so he said he wanted to go out alone to calm down and think things through clearly.
He took the apple, put on his cloak, and took out the slightly rusty gun. Inside was still that bullet he had saved for himself.
He carefully instructed Lin Ge, leaving her some of his mother’s chip computers, books, and handwritten notes.
He slowly trod through the snow, walking far away.
He walked for a very long time, about several hours.
Finally, Jiang Jianming climbed up the highest hill in the area.
The Milky Way was exceptionally bright tonight.
The black-haired youth lowered his brow, caressing the apple. After a while, he looked up again at the vast starry sky, his expression melancholic, letting out a soft sigh.
He was unwilling.
How could he be willing?
If only he had even a glimmer of hope…
If only there was a path, a direction, just a tiny bit of hope, he would be willing to continue struggling on in a life worse than death.
Pale hands gripped the gun at his waist, repeatedly loosening and tightening their hold.
Suddenly, a faint rumbling sound came from the distance.
Jiang Jianming instinctively raised his head, the starry sky reflected in his eyes, a streak of red crossing the horizon.
A comet?
No, that was…
****
At the military starship port of Yongle Garden Star City, the sky was not yet bright when a large fleet of imperial warships took off.
These soldiers were ordered to pursue His Highness Kaios, the youngest beloved son of the late emperor who had already passed away.
The small starship had already left the second star system, speeding towards the direction of the Old Blue Mother Star at full speed.
In the cockpit, the young prince leaned back in his seat, his eyes distant as he tilted his head, letting his platinum curls flow over his shoulders.
“Little bastard!”
Through the communication channel, Andrew laughed madly at him, “You’re scared now, aren’t you? It’s too late, too late!”
“I am Odin II, the entire empire is under my control. Run if you can, let’s see how far you can go!!”
Behind this new emperor, rows of experimenters from the Gray Owl Laboratory knelt.
They all realized that the situation was spiraling out of control, and one by one they kowtowed with loud thuds, begging the emperor not to provoke this little monster any further.
“Is that so?” The beautiful young prince narrowed his eyes, “Then come and catch me if you can, Odin II.”
Next, it would be time for the grandest revenge to unfold, he thought to himself.
Kaios also knew that even if he killed Andrew, Odin still had other princes and princesses. Even if he could slaughter all the royalty, there were still millions of imperial soldiers and countless mechas and starships waiting for him.
Perishing under imperial power, dying at the hands of imperial soldiers, or being locked back in the laboratory…none of these could be called a victory.
But there was still an easier and more convenient way.
The frequency of crystal disorder tides was accelerating. If humans couldn’t develop a drug to suppress crystal disorder, they would walk towards extinction step by step in despair.
So, he just needed to die.
In the next second, the small starship began to self-immolate!
Red lights flashed chaotically in the cockpit, and alarms emitted piercing buzzes.
Kaios leaned back in the pilot’s seat, bursting into a laugh of wild joy.
He found it truly amusing to see the head of the Gray Owl Laboratory on the other side of the communication suddenly turn pale and lunge forward like a madman, as well as Andrew who was still too stunned to react to the situation.
The little monster had no real concept of life and death, didn’t feel that living was particularly joyful, nor did he find death especially frightening.
Dying for this interesting and rebellious revenge didn’t require much resolve from him.
He had grown tired of the world of the living. He was willing to wade through the galaxy called death, returning to the embrace of eternal nothingness.
With a touch of malice, he said softly. “Goodbye.”
The small starship, engulfed in raging flames, accelerated its descent, crashing towards the most desolate area of the Old Blue Mother Star.
Just a second before Kaios closed his eyes, the surveillance image on the screen flickered.
A red dot indicating a living person appeared on the terrain map.
****
No matter how future novelists would use flowery words to describe this fateful encounter, or how they would use tender phrases to depict the eternal moment between the founding emperor and his general.
When Kaios was startled by the thought “How could there be someone here?” —
The small starship had already penetrated the atmosphere of Old Blue Mother Star and was continuing to accelerate in its fall.
So, when the wheel of fate approached the turning point, there was actually very little time for careful consideration.
Many years later, when the embers of war had settled, becoming fertile soil nurturing new sprouts on the ruins, the White Jade Palace of the new empire would welcome a fresh night rain.
Golden roses swayed in the cool breeze, rain threads entangling the trembling flowers.
“Are you lost in thought?”
Deep in the palace, the emperor lowered his voice with slight annoyance, using his fingertips to pinch that slender spine, teasing him mercilessly.
Immediately, a quivering moan came forth, pale fingers tightly gripping the sheets, trembling uncontrollably.
Another palm covered them, rubbing soothingly a couple of times.
“Tell me, what were you just thinking about.”
Jiang Jianming’s usually calm eyes gazed upwards unfocused, already wet and disheveled, like ink repeatedly ground open, “… Stop… teasing, I was thinking… mm, thinking of you… ah!”
“I don’t believe you.”
Gasps accompanied the light rain, submerged in the night.
After it ended, the night rain also stopped, everything quieted down. The bedside lamp was still the usual warm yellow tone. The emperor leaned against the headboard, holding his lover wrapped in blankets in his arms, still dwelling on that small interlude.
“… Rather than saying lost in thought.”
Jiang Jianming frowned with his eyes closed, half-dead, and said hoarsely, “It’s more like a life flashing before my eyes, Your Majesty. I felt like I was about to die midway, you should reflect on yourself.”
Ryann leaned down to kiss him, then let out a light snort, his eyes half-narrowed. “So, what exactly were you thinking about?”
Jiang Jianming: “I was thinking about why Your Majesty turned towards me when you first saw me that night.”
…
At that moment, inside the burning and falling starship.
What did the little monster see?
Starry sky, mountain peak, withered grass covered in frost, falling flames.
A black-haired young man wearing a tattered cloak.
Fierce firelight, tearing out a tall shadow.
Eyes concealing surging waves, pale and thin hands.
A crimson forbidden fruit in his palm.
Like a scene from mythology.
“I saw you…”
“Saw you standing alone under the starry sky, head tilted up.”
Ryann took Jiang Jianming’s hand and pressed it to his own chest, his voice low and smiling, “For some reason, something stirred here.”
With only seconds left to choose between life and death, there wasn’t even time for love at first sight in such a short moment.
But perhaps, there was barely enough time for the heart to be moved.
In this world that had made him tired of living, there could still be such a sight.
If the starship had fallen on its original trajectory, this somewhat strange black-haired young man would surely have been swallowed by the explosion as well.
Perhaps bewitched, the little monster released the acceleration lever he had been gripping tightly, and instead twisted the course. The next second, a heat wave engulfed him.
A thunderous roar.
The starship crashed halfway up the mountainside, thick smoke and raging fire soaring to the sky.
