Chapter 72: Seventy-Second Day of Living Like a Slacker

Goudan looked skeptical. “So it’s really just that big of a coincidence?”

“It must be,” Lu Yuan said, looking at him strangely. “What were you thinking? How could I have possibly gone to him for help? That would be openly telling him that I’m still alive and currently on the Desolate Planet.

“He’s the Emperor’s son. Even if they don’t seem to get along, I wouldn’t just hand over my information to him so easily.”

“…That’s true.” Goudan realized his mistake, suddenly feeling that Siming must have lost his mind.

How did he even come up with that angle?

“But,” Goudan thought for a moment and asked, “do you really think this is just a coincidence? Is it possible this Nan Mu knows something?”

“I’m not sure. I don’t know much about the man.” Lu Yuan shook his head. “I’ve had almost no interaction with him…”

Searching his memory, he added with certainty, “I’ve never even met him.

“It’s true he was still in the Empire when I was born,” he explained, “but by the time I came out of the Research Institute, he had already left.

“He returned a few times in the years before the war, but I never had the chance to see him then. Once the Zerg invasion began, he never came back at all.”

Goudan grew curious. “The Zerg invasion was such a massive event. Is it reasonable for him, a prince, to never return? Wouldn’t the people of the Empire think he’s irresponsible?”

“He couldn’t be reached, and he couldn’t get back,” Lu Yuan said, spreading his hands. “The distances between galaxies are far too vast. Without a Warp, it wouldn’t just take ten years; it would take hundreds or thousands of years to reach another galaxy or another nation. Otherwise, we wouldn’t have fought alone for ten years without reinforcements.”

“I know that,” Goudan said. “The kindergarten curriculum we’re studying includes general knowledge about the universe.”

“…” Although Lu Yuan had personally downloaded and handed those kindergarten lessons to Goudan, he couldn’t help but chuckle hearing him mention it.

Goudan asked, “So, was it impossible to Warp out of the Milky Way back then?”

“At the very beginning, it was actually possible.” Lu Yuan nodded. “When the Zerg first invaded from the east, the First Legion and Second Legion stationed there joined forces to meet the attack, while the other seven legions provided support from the rear. At that time, the Empire still had strength to spare. They even sent people to neighboring nations and the Interstellar Alliance to seek aid.

“However, the Empire didn’t actually want reinforcements back then.

“On one hand, because the distances between galaxies are so great, the Interstellar Alliance is a relatively loose organization. The relationships between nations aren’t exactly close. Deploying troops is a very serious matter; even if we asked for help, reinforcements wouldn’t show up anytime soon.

“At the same time, the Empire wasn’t in that much of a rush. Contacting the Interstellar Alliance was mainly a show of weakness to secure a ‘protection period.’ They weren’t looking for support so much as ensuring other nations wouldn’t attack us.”

“A protection period?” Goudan asked.

“When a neighbor is in trouble, taking advantage of their crisis instead of helping is a violation of humanitarian principles and would make other nations look down on you. So, as long as we showed weakness first, other nations generally wouldn’t come to attack us. Everyone still cares about their reputation.”

Lu Yuan explained briefly before continuing, “In short, the Empire mistakenly believed they could handle the Zerg themselves as long as there was no interference from other nations. Thus, they missed the initial window to call for help.

“Two months later, the Zerg appeared in the west, then the south and north. The Empire’s external communications were completely cut off from then on, lasting for twelve years.”

He paused and continued, “During those twelve years, there was no news from Nan Mu either. The last time the Empire contacted him was just before the blackout. Nan Hui gave him orders, hoping he would handle diplomatic affairs well.

“So Nan Mu didn’t return to the nation immediately. He stayed abroad. However, looking at the situation after communications were restored post-war, he hasn’t been idle all these years.

“After all, despite the distances, there is still some movement of people between nations. When the Empire suddenly went dark, as the highest-ranking member of the Galactic Empire outside its borders, he had to reassure the people abroad, maintain the Empire’s diplomatic ties, and continue seeking aid on the Empire’s behalf… though he never actually secured any reinforcements.

“But that’s normal. The unknown universe is terrifying. With no news coming out of the Empire at the time, it was impossible for other nations to send large-scale forces to help. As for small reconnaissance units… they stood no chance against the Zerg. Once they went in, they never came back.

“With reconnaissance units disappearing without a trace and no information coming through, other nations were even less likely to deploy troops. Their relationship with the Empire wasn’t good enough for them to sacrifice their own armies for us.”

Goudan nodded. “So he did a good job with the first two tasks?”

“Very good,” Lu Yuan said. “Communications were only re-established a year and a half ago, yet the Empire has already swiftly restored normal diplomatic relations with other nations. He certainly deserves credit for that.

“One could say that over the past decade or so, the Empire’s internal stability was maintained by Nan Hui, Nan Xiao, and the high-ranking military and political officials. However, external stability relied almost entirely on Nan Mu. During the period of isolation, he was the only high-ranking Imperial official stationed abroad.

“That is why the people of the Empire hold no resentment toward him, even though he wasn’t in the nation during the most difficult times.”

“Sounds like he’s quite capable,” Goudan muttered under his breath, then added curiously, “But didn’t Nan Yingzhe come back? Nan Yingzhe is his son, right? I remember you saying Nan Yingzhe claimed his parents arranged for his return.”

“That is what he said, but I never asked for the specifics.” Lu Yuan shook his head. “I actually don’t know much about Nan Yingzhe’s situation. I don’t want to get too involved in the internal affairs of the Imperial family.

“That is why I was so surprised the other day when you said Nan Yingzhe wanted the Emperor dead to avenge me. He was in my personal guard, but that was the extent of it. We didn’t have much of a personal relationship.”

“I certainly couldn’t tell you were ‘surprised,'” Goudan grumbled, though his mind was racing.

The other day, while in his bugged state, Lu Yuan had mentioned that Nan Yingzhe might guess that Siming and the others were connected to him.

That wasn’t the kind of thing someone who wasn’t close would be able to guess. Yet Lu Yuan hadn’t been worried about the Emperor or Nan Xiao discovering the connection.

Furthermore, among the others mentioned, Geshu Ming was Lu Yuan’s close friend, Ying Xun was the first person to follow him, and Zhou Fei was a fellow Marshal whose friendship with Lu Yuan must have been deep.

There was definitely something more to this.

It wasn’t necessarily that the current Lu Yuan was hiding things on purpose. It was possible he didn’t know the full story himself.

“Speaking of which,” Lu Yuan suddenly sat up. “If you’re going to suspect Nan Mu has a connection to me, you might as well suspect he has a connection to the Desolate Planet.”

“Huh?” Goudan was stunned.

“On one hand, as a member of the Imperial family, he could theoretically have some knowledge of the Desolate Planet and the opportunity to visit it.

“On the other hand…” Lu Yuan opened his tablet and began searching for Nan Mu’s works. “I just remembered, I might have actually met Nan Mu once. When I was young, he held an art exhibition on the planet where I lived. The school organized a trip for us to visit.

“I saw a painting at that exhibition, and a person. I didn’t know it was him at the time, and I still don’t know for sure. But it might have been him.”

“So, what did you see?” Goudan asked.

“There was a painting that looked a bit like the Desolate Planet,” Lu Yuan said. “The plants, and the way the people lived. I saw similar scenes when I followed your Garbage Ship to dump trash. I’m not sure if you noticed.”

He found the image and handed the tablet to Goudan.

It depicted a jagged cliffside. Under a leaden, dark sky, the grey rocks looked barren and lonely. Vegetation was sparse, with only occasional patches of misty green clinging to the stones.

Yet even in such a place, trees still grew. At the very peak of the cliff, a single, gnarled tree stood in isolation.

Various small objects were tied to its branches, and ropes were wound around its trunk. The ropes snaked down the cliffside, where a person was climbing upward, gripping the line with one hand.

The person was emaciated. Through the dark, weathered skin, one could almost see the structure of their bones. Nan Mu had meticulously rendered the texture of the muscles and skin, but he had been even more detailed with the eyes.

They were eyes full of pain and numbness, yet possessed of an ultimate, stubborn will to survive.

Goudan stared at it, dazed.

This image was strikingly similar to the scenes that had left the deepest impression on him during that brief journey.

He had traveled across the entire Desolate Planet, seeing many natural wonders – extreme heat and cold, deserts and oceans – but what had stayed with him most was the life struggling to survive on that planet.

“I was young then,” Lu Yuan said. “I struck up a conversation with a man at the exhibition. I said this scene couldn’t possibly exist in reality and that it must be some kind of metaphor.

“The man replied, ‘Perhaps it is simply a record of a real place.'”

Lu Yuan paused and sighed. “It turns out I had already seen the Desolate Planet way back then.”

Goudan was silent for a moment before speaking. “So, it’s possible Nan Mu has been to the Desolate Planet… and he sensed its atmosphere in the music from Er Ya and Tiezhu?”

“Is that possible?” Lu Yuan asked. “For anyone who knows about the Desolate Planet, the name ‘Desolation’ is a pretty strong indicator.”

“Does he want to help the Desolate Planet?” Goudan asked.

“Who knows.” Lu Yuan couldn’t be certain either. “But…”

He fell silent for a moment before continuing, “Looking at this painting, I think he feels a sense of compassion for the people of the Desolate Planet.”