Chapter 305 – The Proposal to Conquer Blue Star
“After you left, there was an instance when the Threshold gate opened, and some strange people walked out from it. They looked almost identical to us, but their clothes were a bit odd—not quite like the Federation’s style. The most important thing was that they didn’t have any self-defense weapons, and the facial recognition system didn’t pick them up,” Li Wenchuan said, crossing his legs.
“Did they get interrogated? Where did they come from?” Tu Ran’s face showed little emotion. From Yao Bei’s perspective, it seemed like they were just casually chatting.
“They went through the memory scanner,” Li Wenchuan replied, resting his hand on his leg. He tilted his head back, looking up at the sky. The midday sunlight was blinding, but he didn’t shield his eyes. “They’re from another world—Blue Star.”
Tu Ran opened her mouth but didn’t know what to say at first.
Although she had suspected from the beginning that these people were from Blue Star, hearing it confirmed by Li Wenchuan still made her feel a sense of desolation.
She quietly sighed inwardly, and like Li Wenchuan, she looked up at the blinding sky.
The thing she had feared most had happened.
The chaotic state of the universe had finally dragged Blue Star into the mess.
Not only was it connected to the world of alien beasts, but it was also now tied to the Federation.
Would the greedy Federation, now aware of Blue Star’s existence, just ignore it?
No.
In a world full of dangerous alien beasts, they were already thinking of conquering it, let alone Blue Star that couldn’t resist the Federation.
“What are the Federation’s plans?” Tu Ran lowered her head, her vision fading to black from staring too long at the bright sky.
“I don’t know the current situation, but before I left, the proposal to conquer Blue Star had already been approved. Through the memories of those people, the Federation has already mapped out the initial layout of Blue Star. While its resources aren’t as abundant as those in the Threshold world, it’s easier to conquer, and the benefits outweigh the risks.”
Li Wenchuan calculated the time. “The proposal might have already been set in motion by now.”
Yao Bei, who had been standing quietly like air in front of the two, suddenly spoke up. “So, is the Federation going to form a team similar to the Pioneer Team? Specifically to handle the invasion of Blue Star?”
Tu Ran raised an eyebrow. She thought the word “invasion” that Yao Bei used was quite fitting.
What conquest, what pioneer—those were all bullshit.
For the native inhabitants, wasn’t this clearly an invasion?
“It might not be necessary to form one,” Li Wenchuan replied to Yao Bei’s question. “The Pioneer Team was established because the regular security forces couldn’t handle the alien species in the Threshold. But Blue Star…” Li Wenchuan paused, then shook his head. “There’s no need to create a special squad. The security forces of the Executive Department will be enough to handle it.”
“The Federation, the Threshold, the Haenden star system… and now there’s Blue Star,” Yao Bei’s face didn’t show any signs of joy. “Next, there will probably be more worlds popping up. The worlds are all connected now, and the creatures inside can freely travel between them. Have you ever thought about why?”
Tu Ran shook her head. She hadn’t thought deeply about this before, but now she felt it was something worth considering.
“If all the worlds in this universe are connected, what do you think will happen?” Yao Bei placed one hand on her hip and started to imagine. “Chaos. It will be absolute chaos. The law of the jungle, survival of the fittest, the most intense, epic survival of the fittest across the entire universe.
The underdeveloped star systems will be eliminated, the powerful ones will devour the weak, and there will be colonies spreading everywhere.
In the end, the universe might become a single giant family, ruled by the creatures of one particular world.”
Tu Ran listened quietly, already imagining that scene in her mind.
Yao Bei sat down next to Tu Ran, and like Tu Ran and Li Wenchuan, she gazed into the distance with a sense of melancholy. “The Federation is neither the weakest nor the strongest. Right now, it can dominate, invade the Threshold, and invade Blue Star, but in the future, it will inevitably encounter stronger forces. When that happens, it will be the Federation that gets invaded.”
“The Haenden star system is stronger than the Federation,” Tu Ran reminded her.
“But they’re too busy with their own problems,” Yao Bei replied coldly, glancing at Tu Ran.
Tu Ran responded, “One day, they will defeat the alien beasts.”
Yao Bei countered, “By then, the Federation will have grown even stronger. Who knows, it might be a matter of who’s weaker.”
Tu Ran sneered, “By then? What ‘by then’? With the Federation’s current mindset, always thinking of destroying any world they encounter, they won’t last long. Other worlds will take care of them before long.”
Li Wenchuan, sitting at the far edge, sensed the rising tension and quietly shifted away, trying to distance himself from the brewing conflict.
Yao Bei narrowed her eyes and sized up Tu Ran. “You really want to see the Federation destroyed.”
“What else?” Tu Ran replied frankly. “Try being a wanted criminal, see how that feels.”
Yao Bei was silent. She had almost forgotten that Tu Ran was still a highly sought-after criminal with a hefty bounty on her head.
Not wanting to continue the conversation with them, Tu Ran stood up, dusted off her pants, and nonchalantly said, “Goodbye, I’m going to find someone else.”
After walking a few meters, she stopped and turned back to look at Li Wenchuan, still sitting on the steps. Unwilling to let it go, she called out, “Are you just going to sit there and watch?”
Yao Bei looked at Li Wenchuan, confused, not understanding what Tu Ran meant.
Was Tu Ran upset that Li Wenchuan wasn’t speaking up for her?
Since when had their relationship been this good?
Li Wenchuan, still lounging with his legs crossed, gave a half-smile, immediately understanding what Tu Ran was getting at. He grinned, showing his teeth, and replied, “The vice-captain position of the Pioneer Team really suits me.”
“Bah. Traitor.” Tu Ran spat, then turned and walked away.
She really wanted to twist his head off.
The more she thought about it, the angrier she got. Tu Ran stopped, turned around, raised her arm, and gave Li Wenchuan a huge middle finger before she finally left the training ground.
Li Wenchuan, who was left standing there, was fuming with black lines on his face.
Yao Bei tilted her head and asked, “What does she mean by ‘traitor’?”
Li Wenchuan didn’t know how to respond. “…” He was seriously frustrated.
He stood up, his face dark, and walked towards the mechas. He shouldn’t have rushed over as soon as he saw Tu Ran at the observation platform. He should have just let her bake under the sun.
Let her roast to death!
Meanwhile, the soldiers who had been watching the scene in confusion exchanged puzzled glances.
They hadn’t heard what the three of them had said and couldn’t guess the reason for the tension. They also didn’t understand what the middle finger gesture meant, but judging by Tu Ran’s fierce exit, as if she could chop them down with a knife at any moment, they figured the gesture must have been quite insulting.
With Tu Ran already gone, and having watched the battle between Li Wenchuan and Yao Bei, they saw that there wasn’t much time left before the departure for Star 1169, so they all scattered to find their mechas and warm up.
…
Leaving the observation platform, Tu Ran followed a soldier who led her to the Mecha Manufacturing Department, which wasn’t far from District 9.
The Mecha Manufacturing Department was divided into several sub-sections. Tu Ran, under the guidance of the department head, found the “colleague” who had been transferred there recently.
“Zhou! Ming!”
The moment Tu Ran laid eyes on Zhou Ming, she knew she had found the culprit.
Zhou Ming, who had been happily spraying paint on a mech, suddenly heard Tu Ran’s voice. He turned off the spray gun, removed the glove from his right hand, and rubbed his right ear.
Muttering to himself, “Am I hearing things? Is this paint toxic?”
Tu Ran, who had silently stood behind him, said nothing.
Tu Ran grabbed Zhou Ming by the throat, leaned close to his ear, and raised her voice, “Tell me, was it you who exposed my information?”
Zhou Ming, his throat constricted, couldn’t see Tu Ran, but he was certain from the chilling voice that Tu Ran had found him.
Shrinking his neck like a turtle, he hurriedly denied, “It wasn’t me, it wasn’t me! I only mentioned the abilities and the inner cores. The rest, that was all from others. It has nothing to do with me.”
Tu Ran rolled her eyes. As if abilities and inner cores were the real problem. This idiot. She tightened her grip.
He was the second person today that she wanted to break the neck of.
Feeling the threat to his life but unable to resist, Zhou Ming cried out in despair, “Qi Tongda! Qi Tongda!”
The department head, who had been leading Tu Ran, was stunned by the scene. What was happening here? Was this still the same Tu Ran from the livestream? This wasn’t what he had imagined. Wasn’t Tu Ran here to visit a friend? Why had she come and immediately started choking her friend?
He quickly stepped forward to intervene. “Tu Ran, calm down. Killing someone is illegal. Whatever the issue is, we can discuss it. Don’t do anything rash. You still have a bright future. Don’t ruin it over someone like him.”
Zhou ‘Ruining People’s Future’ Ming: ‘I know you’re trying to save me, but why does this sound so harsh?’
Hearing the shouting, Qi Tongda walked over impatiently. He was initially surprised to see Tu Ran, but upon seeing her choke Zhou Ming, he was even more… surprised.
Qi Tongda had been driven almost mad by Zhou Ming these past few days.
He wanted nothing to do with this “teamwork” nonsense anymore.
So, he just stood there, motionless.
Unexpectedly, Tu Ran released her grip.
As soon as Tu Ran let go, Zhou Ming collapsed weakly to the ground on one knee.
Tu Ran glanced around at the surroundings, then lowered her gaze to Zhou Ming. “The work environment here seems pretty good, you should stay here forever.”
Zhou Ming turned his head, “What do you mean?”
“Good intentions.”
Tu Ran left those two words and turned away.
As she passed Qi Tongda, Tu Ran glanced at him. He was wearing the work uniform of this place, with paint splattered all over him.
“Do you want to return to the Federation?” Tu Ran asked.
Qi Tongda’s eyes lit up. “Of course.” In the Federation, he was a guard for the Executive Department. He could walk wherever he wanted, holding a gun, looking mighty and imposing. Here, though, he had to carry a spray bottle, waking up early and working late, spraying countless mechas. His back and waist ached, and it was even more tiring than being a guard.
Qi Tongda had been feeling discomfort these past few days, thinking it was just because of the job. But it wasn’t just that—it was the suffocating nature of his current position.
All the people who came from the Federation to this world were guards and pioneers, people who had once been in the middle-upper class of the Federation. They had adapted to the Federation’s social system for over twenty years, and had long internalized its “evils.”
Suddenly arriving in the Haenden star system, a society that was equal, harmonious, and highly cohesive, and working in a place like this—where they couldn’t use their former status to intimidate or control others—made the “evil” build up inside them. They couldn’t express it, and for these people, every day felt like torture.
“Who are the ones who leaked my identity?”
