Chapter 276 – New Roommate
The appearance of the gate—was it a turning point for this world? Or was it destruction?
…
The two who swore in together with Tu Ran and entered the training base were brothers, one named Xiang Qian and the other Xiang Hou.
They had just moved from Hope Star to the main star three days prior. Hope Star was situated between two wasteland stars and was an easy target for the beast horde; the residents of Hope Star had gradually relocated.
The brothers had always wished to join the military.
Joining the military was the dream of everyone in this world.
However, not everyone could realize that dream.
The rear lines required enough strength to maintain energy supplies for the front lines and ensure a normal life for the elderly and young in the safe zones, so many people could only go to the rear.
Because they entered the ranks of reserves alongside Tu Ran, the two brothers pulled Tu Ran into a conversation about various topics, forcing her to listen to a situation analysis conference about the Haenden system.
This provided her with a deeper understanding of the world.
By the time the three entered the training base, it was already evening, the time when other reserves were having their meals.
After Tu Ran completed her registration, she was taken to the dining hall, where military reserves were dressed in matching dark green training uniforms.
Those who had been on the battlefield were called soldiers, while those who had not yet seen combat and were still in training were referred to as reserves.
The Haenden system recruited reserve personnel twice a year, including military reserves, mecha postgraduates, and various logistics department reserves.
There was one recruitment session in the first half of the year and another in the second half.
Now was the time for the second half recruitment, and newcomers were arriving one after another; the arrival of Tu Ran and the two brothers did not attract much attention.
Tu Ran collected her meal and casually found an empty seat at a table.
Each table could seat eight people, and Xiang Qian and Xiang Hou sat across from her.
The three of them were already quite familiar with each other.
Tu Ran looked at the food on her plate: steamed bun, egg drop soup, a vegetable dish, and a meat dish. Although it wasn’t extravagant, it was nutritionally balanced and made with real ingredients.
The ecological environment of this world had not been destroyed. During the rapid development of the economy and technology, the rulers of the Haenden system had always placed great emphasis on environmental protection, and the food people ate daily was all natural.
As Tu Ran enjoyed her meal, someone sat down next to her.
She turned to look and saw a girl with pigtails, who was cute in appearance, had a sweet smile, and dimples.
After putting down her plate, the little girl greeted her with familiarity, “I’m Ai Meigui, from Hope Star. What about you?”
She reached out a hand towards Tu Ran, who set down her chopsticks and politely shook her hand. “I’m Tu Ran, from…” Tu Ran paused for a moment, “Wasteland Star.”
Ai Meigui’s eyes lit up. “Which number Wasteland Star?”
“Number One,” Tu Ran replied.
The first destroyed Rose Star was called Wasteland Star One, followed by the second and third, which were named Wasteland Star Two and Wasteland Star Three, respectively.
Ai Meigui displayed the same expression that everyone else had shown upon hearing Tu Ran was from Wasteland Star.
This was also the reason why Tu Ran had hesitated before.
She had become quite anxious from the sympathetic, excited, and cautious looks directed at her by these people.
“Wasteland Star One is my hometown too.” Ai Meigui kindly took Tu Ran’s hand, as if holding a long-time friend. “My family had always lived on Rose Star, but when I was born, we moved to Hope Star for some reasons. Just after we left, the beast horde erupted on Rose Star, and we thus escaped a disaster. Do you know why I’m called Ai Meigui? It’s to commemorate Rose Star.”
Tu Ran listened absentmindedly; all she wanted was to eat. She hadn’t had anything to eat all day, and she was hungry.
Upon hearing Ai Meigui mention Hope Star, Tu Ran quickly shifted the topic to the two brothers across from them. “What a coincidence! You have a connection with them; they are also from Hope Star.”
Ai Meigui’s eyes lit up again as she eagerly approached the brothers, asking them various questions, which allowed Tu Ran to swiftly finish her meal.
Tu Ran and Ai Meigui had a deep connection.
That night, they were assigned to the same dormitory.
It was a three-person room, but only the two of them lived there.
That evening, Ai Meigui took her on a tour of the entire training base, and by the time they returned to the dorm, it was already ten o’clock.
Tu Ran’s dark green training uniform was neatly folded on her desk, along with a box of provided living supplies.
Ai Meigui leaned against the edge of the box and saw some feminine hygiene products and clothing inside. She sighed, “General Ye is really kind. She must have heard that you’re from Wasteland Star and have no parents, so she prepared these for you.”
Tu Ran was also a bit moved. After tidying up the items in the box, she lay back on her bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.
The sound of water running in the washroom stopped, and Ai Meigui walked out, drying her hair.
“It’s true! She’s living with me right now. I’ll prove it to you right away!”
Ai Meigui was on the phone.
Tu Ran sat up, listening to the contents of Ai Meigui’s conversation.
Ai Meigui walked straight towards her in a bathrobe, and in front of her hovered a green light screen displaying two people.
It was a video call.
What puzzled Tu Ran the most was how this light screen could float in front of Ai Meigui without any visible controls; Ai Meigui had both hands busy drying her hair, and she was wearing a bathrobe with no high-tech devices on her body.
While Tu Ran was still wondering about this, Ai Meigui had already settled next to her on the bed. She wrapped one arm around Tu Ran’s shoulder and gently waved her other hand, causing the light screen to move away and enlarge.
The two people inside appeared to be the same size as those sitting in front of them, except they looked a bit transparent, but otherwise it felt no different from a face-to-face conversation.
“Tu Ran, they are my parents. I told them my roommate escaped from Wasteland Star One, but they don’t believe me and insisted on asking you directly. Please help me out and talk to them, so they know I’m not exaggerating.”
With no other choice, Tu Ran reluctantly repeated the story she had told countless times that day to the people on the screen.
She had refined this story to perfection by now, with every detail carefully crafted.
These people hadn’t received any news from Wasteland Star in nearly twenty years, so it was nearly impossible for her to make a mistake in her account.
Ai Meigui’s parents were understandably moved to tears by Tu Ran’s story, with her mother leaning on her father’s shoulder as she cried.
After comforting them for a while, Ai Meigui hung up the call.
With a simple “bye,” the light screen disappeared without any visible gesture from her.
Tu Ran hadn’t encountered anything like this while accessing Liu Wan’s memories, and later, she hadn’t noticed it while reading the minister’s memories either.
Just now, when Ai Meigui held her hand, Tu Ran had also accessed Ai Meigui’s memories, but she still hadn’t found anything about it.
The most likely explanation was that this device was too trivial and commonplace for anyone to pay much attention to.
Tu Ran decided to ask directly.
“Ah? The video?” Ai Meigui looked surprised. “Are you talking about the Eye Crystal?”
“Eye?” Tu Ran echoed, intrigued.
