Chapter 74: Seventy-fourth Day of Being a Salted Fish

“?” Siming looked at Geshu Qing in surprise.

Geshu Qing looked at the image before him, comparing it with the memories in his mind. After a moment, he nodded seriously. “Yes. While this kind of scene isn’t exactly unique, the consistency between this painting and what I saw in the Desolate Planet’s memories is indeed very high.”

“Tell me the specifics,” Siming said.

“The total number of people, and the number of people playing each… instrument, they’re all the same,” Geshu Qing explained. “There are instruments like the xun and drums, plus this little thing that looks a bit like a harmonica, and this three-stringed lute here, and this… large instrument over here.”

His finger slid across the screen, pointing out the five types of instruments to Siming in sequence.

“Setting aside the fact that the instruments match my memory, the number of players for each instrument is one, three, five, seven, and nine, respectively. I don’t believe that’s a coincidence.

“The formation of the people in this painting isn’t identical to my memory, but there are similarities. For example, the person playing the instrument that looks like a xun is clearly the core of the entire formation.

“…By the way, doesn’t this really look like a xun? When I first saw Tiezhu’s xun, I told you all that I’d seen such a thing in my memories. This scene is exactly what I was referring to.

“Furthermore, there’s another very clear piece of evidence: the shape of the bonfire. It’s not very obvious in the painting, but you can see it if you look closely.

“Even though it’s a very common circular shape, it’s hollow. There’s a spot in the middle without any fire. This must have been an intentional arrangement. The bonfire in my memory was exactly like that.”

Siming nodded in silence.

“If that’s the case, Nan Mu not only knows what the Desolate Planet looks like now, but he might also possess memories of it,” he mused.

“At the very least, he has definitely seen a scene like this. Otherwise, he couldn’t have painted it,” Geshu Qing said with certainty. “There’s no such thing as a coincidence like this.”

“Hmm…” Siming pondered for a while. Geshu Qing waited quietly by his side.

However, when Siming spoke again, he brought up a different matter. “I’m not sure if you remember, but a long time ago, we asked if you had ever heard drumbeats in the Desolate Planet’s memories. You said no, but you had seen images of a group of people drumming together. Did you mean this?”

Geshu Qing paused, then shook his head. “Not exactly. There are drums here, but I wouldn’t call this a group of people drumming together.

“Actually, I mentioned this in the report I compiled. You probably haven’t had a chance to read it yet. Drums appeared several times. A few times were in scenes like this, but more often, large groups of people drumming together usually happened in… places resembling battlefields.”

“…Battlefields,” Siming murmured.

“In any case,” Geshu Qing said, “Nan Mu is indeed a key figure. He definitely knows a lot.”

Siming nodded. “He’ll be back soon.”

“But even when he returns, I’m afraid we can’t just ask him directly,” Geshu Qing sighed.

Siming smiled. “It’s better than not being able to find him at all.”

“Alright,” he began scrolling through more images. “Let’s keep looking. We might find other information.”

Geshu Qing let out a yawn. “Fine.”

“Tired?” Siming asked.

Geshu Qing shook his head. “I’m alright. Just waiting for Zhu Rong to get back.”

Beside them, Zhu Rong, who had been logged into the holographic game, suddenly opened her eyes. “I’m back.”

She spoke abruptly. Siming didn’t show much surprise, but Geshu Qing was startled before turning to look at her. “Why did you just speak up like that? It’s terrifying.”

Zhu Rong remained expressionless. “Then perhaps I should have stood up silently, crept up behind you, and then…”

Geshu Qing: “Hey!”

Zhu Rong looked at Siming. “I’m back late.”

“What happened?” Siming glanced at the time. “You’re two hours late… Did something happen?”

“Is my biological mother’s name Chen Xingfan?” Zhu Rong asked.

“Yes.” Siming blinked in surprise, then nodded.

Zhu Rong said, “She might have played this game. Someone in the game asked me if I knew Chen Xingfan and if I was related to her.

“The person said she was an old friend of hers, but hadn’t seen her in a long time and was a bit concerned about her current situation.”

“What was the person’s name?” Siming asked.

“She called herself Xiao Lu,” Zhu Rong said. “She’s a woman. She looks very young, but I don’t think she’s actually that young.”

“Xiao Lu?” Siming and Geshu Qing exchanged a look, both thinking of the same thing at almost the exact same moment.

That name had already cropped up several times today. It was difficult for them not to be sensitive to it.

Siming opened the StarNet and showed Zhu Rong a photo of Nan Mu’s wife, Xiao Lu. “Is this the person?”

Zhu Rong looked at it, thought for a moment, and shook her head. “They look different.”

“However…” She hesitated before continuing, “I can’t entirely rule out the possibility. I don’t think I was seeing that person’s true appearance.”

“Can you adjust your appearance in that game?”

“No.” Zhu Rong shook her head. “But she looked… discordant.”

“What did she say to you?” Geshu Qing asked.

“Well…” Zhu Rong recalled, “Since I wasn’t willing to tell her much about my own situation, she did most of the talking. It was mainly her reminiscing about the past and how she met my mother.

“She said she was a few years older than my mother, but they were very close. They were alumnae, and she almost ended up being my mother’s teacher at one point. They also both happened to love this game…”

–

In the space between galaxies, a fleet was slowly circling a star.

Long, long ago, these regions between galaxies were known as the Dark Sea. They were so vast, so dark and desolate, and utterly devoid of human life.

Light was a scarcity here.

Inside a galaxy, there are always many stars. Although they are far apart, light travels between them. When you sail within a galaxy, you are always accompanied by starlight of various hues.

Outside the galaxies, however, there are almost no stars at all.

Only a very small number of stars gain excessive energy during violent “Great Events” such as galactic collisions or the merging of massive black holes. These stars are flung from their original orbits, breaking free from the shackles of gravity to escape their home galaxies and enter the vast emptiness outside.

Since the Mother Planet Era, people have called these types of stars “Rogue Stars.”

Every galaxy is a lonely island in the Dark Sea, and the stars are its inhabitants. Only a few stars can wander far from home and venture into the Dark Sea. They are the loneliest wanderers in the universe, and its greatest adventurers.

Starships in the Dark Sea are equally rare.

Navigating such a place of darkness is dangerous; it is incredibly easy to lose one’s way or accidentally stumble into the domain of a Rogue Star, from which escape is difficult. Only the most exceptional pilots can command a Starship to traverse the Dark Sea.

Therefore, the sight of a fleet orbiting a star to take a brief rest here was an extraordinary spectacle, even though it was a common occurrence within a galaxy.

Nan Mu wore a protective suit as he walked upon one of this star’s planets.

The planet’s gravity was moderate, making it effortless to walk across the surface. In the distance, dried-up riverbeds lined the ground, seemingly testifying to the fact that life had once existed here.

Nan Mu leaned down to brush his hand against the ground.

In this current era, protective suits were no longer as heavy and cumbersome as they had been in the Mother Planet Era. They were now just a thin layer worn over one’s clothes, yet this still created a barrier that prevented him from truly feeling the earth.

Nan Mu let out a sigh.

“Life always fades away,” a woman’s voice came through the communication device built into his suit.

Nan Mu looked up and glanced behind him. “Did you manage to log on?”

“I’m on,” the woman said. As she spoke, another figure stepped out of the Starship and walked toward Nan Mu.

It was Xiao Lu.

“I met the girl Lu Yuan asked us to look after,” she said. “Did you know? She’s actually Xingfan’s daughter.”

Nan Mu paused. “There’s such a thing as a coincidence?”

“Apparently so,” Xiao Lu said. “Lu Yuan met Xingfan’s daughter and didn’t even bother to tell us sooner.”

“How could he have told us sooner?” Nan Mu chuckled. “He didn’t know Xingfan. He never even met her.”

“Xingfan’s younger brother was his adjutant for many years!”

Nan Mu replied helplessly, “But he didn’t know Xingfan was Feiyun’s sister. When Xingfan ran away, she changed her name.”

“He actually didn’t guess that she was Feiyun’s niece!”

“…” Nan Mu was about to speak, but then he shook his head. “Actually, it’s not certain that he didn’t guess it at all. It’s just that time was so tight that day, he might not have had the chance to say anything.”

“…Time really was tight that day.” Xiao Lu sighed, looking a bit worried. “Nothing was explained clearly. We don’t even know what his specific situation is right now.”

“The fact that he’s not dead is a good thing,” Nan Mu sighed.

“True,” Xiao Lu said. “Yingzhe has been very sad and full of self-reproach for over a year now. Knowing Lu Yuan is alive will make things a bit easier for him.”

“However, when we go back this time, we have to be careful not to let anything slip!” Nan Mu suddenly emphasized. “Lu Yuan doesn’t want to show his face for the time being. Although we don’t know why, we still have to respect his wishes.”

“I know,” Xiao Lu nodded.

Nan Mu breathed a sigh of relief. “Tell me about the girl.”

“She’s quite impressive, though she doesn’t really take after Xingfan. She probably looks more like her father. I haven’t seen much of that boy… was his name Zhu Jing?” Xiao Lu asked uncertainly.

“Yes, Zhu Jing.” Nan Mu was clearer on this point. “He was a very talented young man as well. I met him once. It’s just a pity… sigh.”

He let out a long sigh.

Xiao Lu nodded. “The girl took his surname; her name is Zhu Rong. She’s been raised well. Lu Yuan must have given her a lot of guidance, you can feel it. However, she doesn’t seem to have much musical talent. Xingfan didn’t care for it, and it seems her daughter didn’t inherit it either.”

“So she isn’t in the Desolation band?” Nan Mu asked.

“Likely not,” Xiao Lu said.

Nan Mu chuckled. “That’s quite interesting. A descendant of the Chen Family has no musical talent, yet she’s surrounded by a group of exceptionally gifted children.”

“It probably has something to do with the Desolate Planet.” Xiao Lu thought for a moment. “The xun is a classic example of an instrument tied to planetary consciousness. The consciousness of the Desolate Planet might be quite active. Zhu Rong also carries a planetary blessing, which I suspect comes from the Desolate Planet.”

“Xingfan was pregnant when she went missing. The girl must have been born on the Desolate Planet.”

“That makes sense. The Empire suppressed the Desolate Planet for centuries. Once the planet finds an opportunity, it will inevitably resist as much as possible,” Nan Mu said.

Xiao Lu asked, “…So Xingfan and Lu Yuan going to the Desolate Planet was also part of the planet’s resistance? Does a planetary consciousness really have that kind of power?”

“I don’t know. We’ll ask Lu Yuan when the time comes. He should have an idea,” Nan Mu replied.

“He always has more of an idea than the two of us,” Xiao Lu smiled. “He just never says anything.”

–

The Desolate Planet.

Hearing Goudan mention that Zhu Rong had met a friend of her mother’s who called herself Xiao Lu, there was a slight possibility it was Nan Mu’s wife, Xiao Lu. The age and build matched. Although the face was different from Xiao Lu’s, she had been wearing a disguise, so that couldn’t be used as a basis for judgment.

Lu Yuan sat up from the sofa in surprise.

Goudan was taken aback. “What’s wrong?”

“Nan Mu knows about the existence of 80% Mecha Combat?” Lu Yuan was astonished. “If he knows…”

He paused. “That would explain things. No wonder I couldn’t find any information on the game’s developers. Only the Imperial Family would have the power to hide it so well… If it’s Nan Mu, he might actually be able to pull it off.

“But…”

80% Mecha Combat was a game capable of real-time intergalactic communication.

After the Zerg invasion, Lu Yuan, who spent his years on the battlefield, hadn’t had much time for rest. Even when he did rest, he rarely had the chance to connect to the StarNet to play games, so he hadn’t logged on much.

While the game certainly didn’t help Lu Yuan defeat the Zerg, a game with intergalactic communication capabilities that definitely didn’t rely on communication ships held immense strategic significance.

The Milky Way was not truly disconnected from the outside world.

This meant that if Nan Mu knew about this game, he could contact the home country and understand the specific situation there.

However, the game remained largely unknown to this day.

This meant that even while disconnected from the home country, Nan Mu still hadn’t made the existence of this game public.

It was too strange.

If it were just a loss of contact and the domestic situation wasn’t critical, it might be understandable.

But the problem was that the situation had been truly dire during those years. If he had access to such information, as long as he still felt any affection or responsibility for his country and its people, Nan Mu shouldn’t have been so unconcerned.

If the news of the game were exposed, there could at least be more formal international exchange and requests for aid, letting the outside world know the situation here. It might have even eased the domestic crisis.

How could Nan Mu remain so composed?

Lu Yuan remained composed because he knew he could defeat the Zerg himself; rather than seeking outside help, he preferred to rely on his own strength.

What about Nan Mu?

What was he thinking?

Did he have too much faith in the domestic military, or did he have a relative understanding of the international situation and decide that doing so wouldn’t matter much, or…

Did he have other motives?

Or perhaps, he really didn’t know the game existed. They had guessed wrong, and that “Xiao Lu” wasn’t actually Xiao Lu…

“Tell me more.” Lu Yuan’s interest was piqued. “What else did this Xiao Lu say?”