Chapter 88: Eighty-Eighth Day of Being a Salted Fish

While Lu Yuan and Goudan were talking, Nan Mu had already returned to the Capital Star.

The temperature was familiar, as was the weather.

Nan Hui loved the sunny days of early summer. Consequently, the Capital Star maintained a year-round temperature of twenty-six to twenty-seven degrees Celsius, with mild breezes, a high and vast blue sky, and sunlight that was warm without being scorching.

The air was thick with the fragrance of osmanthus, rich and sweet. A deep breath filled the lungs with that heavy scent. The warbling of Sylvia warblers drifted through the air-birds unique to the planet Sylvia. Their songs were melodious and delicate, as sweet as a young girl’s whisper, perfectly complementing the scent of the osmanthus.

The osmanthus trees had only been transplanted here yesterday.

The landscaping staff used the most advanced technology to cultivate these trees. They had grown for twenty years on a carefully selected planet whose rotation perfectly matched that of the Capital Star. Only in this year, when their blooms were at their fullest and most fragrant, did they receive approval to be moved to the Capital Star.

Beneath the roadside trees, vast patches of weigela had been planted. These flowers bloomed in brilliant clusters that were incredibly eye-catching, yet they lacked a strong scent, ensuring they didn’t steal the spotlight from the osmanthus. They, too, had been planted just yesterday.

The osmanthus and weigela would bloom on the Capital Star for one week. After that, another batch of plants would be shipped from distant planets to take their place. It was said the next rotation would feature vibrant red kapok trees, tall and straight oaks, and various colors of roses and monthly roses.

The roadside greenery on the Capital Star was not always uniform. Sometimes the staff would fill the area with a single species, as they had today; other times, they would mix two or more types, meticulously planning their placement to achieve the most beautiful and harmonious effect.

The Capital Star was the center of power for the Empire and the permanent residence of the Emperor, Nan Hui.

Because of this, the most elite personnel were responsible for regulating the climate, ensuring the weather-especially around the Imperial Palace-always suited Nan Hui’s whims. The vegetation, insects, and small animals were all managed by specialists and replaced constantly to ensure the flowers were always in bloom and changed weekly, and that the songs of birds and insects were clear and pleasant without ever becoming noisy or grating.

These two items alone cost over a hundred trillion credits annually, enough to provide for the needs of every person on a medium-sized planet for ten years.

And yet, this was merely the tip of the iceberg compared to the total cost of maintaining the Capital Star.

The rotation of the planet, the growth of all living things, and even the circulation of the air-on this planet, the trajectory of almost every physical particle was pre-arranged.

Countless people worked tirelessly to maintain this. Aside from the Imperial family and a few high-ranking nobles, everyone living on the Capital Star was a staff member responsible for its operation.

Their offices and dormitories were located underground to ensure their presence did not mar the scenery of the Capital Star. Their food, clothing, and daily needs were also handled by dedicated personnel to prevent them from frequently coming to the surface and affecting the planet’s traffic.

Traffic on the Capital Star was very free. After all, the people living here were the most powerful figures in the Empire. No one could restrict their freedom.

On the vast majority of planets, traffic was managed uniformly by the StarNet intelligence.

When traveling to distant locations, people could choose to use their private vehicles or take public transport. These were small, single-passenger Shuttle Cars stationed throughout the city. The StarNet intelligence would calculate their optimal positions to ensure that whenever someone needed a ride, a car could arrive in a very short time.

When a person needed a car, they only had to operate their Optical Computer to send a command to the StarNet intelligence. Soon, a car would appear before them to carry them to their destination.

The entire process required nothing from the passenger. The StarNet intelligence controlled everything. The route, the speed, merging with other vehicles, changing lanes… the StarNet intelligence handled it all perfectly.

It performed calculations every second to ensure every vehicle moved smoothly without collisions or congestion. Traffic lights were almost non-existent in the Empire. Traffic always flowed; once a car started, it only stopped at its destination, with no delays in between.

But the Capital Star was different.

The elites of the Capital Star were unwilling to follow the arrangements of the StarNet intelligence. They had their own drivers to take them wherever they wished.

Fortunately, the Capital Star was large enough, the roads wide enough, the population sparse enough, and the drivers’ skills high enough that traffic jams never occurred. Even without traffic lights, there were never any accidents.

Of course, the prerequisite for ensuring all of this was to lock all the ordinary staff underground, away from the light of day.

At this moment, Nan Mu sat in a car driven by a specialist, returning to the palace.

He had just finished a welcoming ceremony. Reporters from other planets had gathered here, granted a brief stay on the Capital Star to record the event. Now, they had all been sent away, and the Capital Star had returned to its usual silence.

To be honest, it had been many years since he had ridden in a car driven by a human.

He didn’t quite understand it.

Nan Mu put his arm around Xiao Lu’s shoulder and gave a bitter smile.

Just as he didn’t quite understand why Nan Hui had turned the Capital Star into this.

Mechanical, rigid, and utterly devoid of life.

The things here didn’t seem alive, and the people didn’t seem alive either. They existed here solely to satisfy Nan Hui’s preferences, their only desire being to please him. There was no freedom to speak of.

Nan Mu had seen many planets. Some were alive, some were dead; some were not yet born, and some had long since withered. But none of them felt as decayed from the inside out as this Capital Star. The moment he stepped onto this planet’s soil, he felt a chill seep into his bones.

What was Nan Hui after?

He was the Emperor who ruled the galaxy! He possessed vast territories, countless subjects, and so many beautiful, stunning, and intoxicating planets. If he wanted to see flowers, he could go to a planet of flowers; if he wanted to hear birdsong, he could go where the birds were many.

Yet he confined his footsteps to this tiny square of space, staring every day at this artificial, stiff, and fake prosperity.

Was this the manifestation of status? Was this the pinnacle of power?

Nan Mu could feel no affection or longing for it.

Every second he spent here, he wanted to leave. He wanted to take his family into the universe, to those free and vibrant planets, to be among the people.

Unfortunately, there was still work to be done.

Nan Mu’s gaze fell on the car ahead.

His child, the son he hadn’t seen in ten years, Nan Yingzhe, was sitting there.

With Nan Mu escorted back to the Capital Star, the First Legion had completed its mission. Chen Feiyun and the others were currently heading back to the city.

Within the no-warp zone of the Capital Star system, all starships and mecha had to navigate strictly according to designated routes. With nothing specific to control, Chen Feiyun took a rare moment to open his optical computer and begin browsing through information.

With nothing to do, the others were also huddled in the starship, chatting and resting. A member of the Mecha Maneuver Team walked in carrying a bag of fruit, cheerfully handing them out to everyone and stuffing one into Chen Feiyun’s hand.

“Thanks,” Chen Feiyun said with a nod.

“What are you looking at, Captain?” the man asked curiously, leaning in toward Chen Feiyun to look at his optical computer.

Chen Feiyun hadn’t turned on the holographic mode, so the man saw the content at a glance. He paused for a second before breaking into a grin. “Oh? What’s this? Looking for recruits?”

Chen Feiyun was looking at the ladder rankings for the game Virtual Mecha.

Virtual Mecha was incredibly popular in the Galactic Empire. Many ordinary people who couldn’t touch a real mecha in their daily lives would come here to get their fix. Occasionally, the recruitment departments of various legions would browse the game to see if they could discover any talented individuals.

Emphasis on occasionally.

The game was mainstream and simple. While a certain level of talent could be seen through the game, looking for talent in such a place was like searching for a needle in a haystack. Moreover, gaming talent didn’t entirely equate to combat talent; actual combat required mental power, physical fitness, perseverance, and decisiveness.

“I saw a highlight clip earlier. I think this person has good talent,” he said, scrolling up two pages and clicking on the profile of the player ranked 1,123rd.

Zhurong.

The character was a young girl with a default face, looking entirely unremarkable.

In truth, Chen Feiyun hadn’t yet seen anything particularly special about her either.

What had drawn his attention to her was actually what Nan Mu had whispered in his ear just before they parted.

“She is your sister’s daughter, and Lu Yuan’s student.” His expression had seemed to imply something deeper. “Be careful, and protect her well.”