Chapter 63: Shadowed by Zhou Yunchen

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

“There’s no hope there,” Zhou Yunchen said. But the answer was too brief. It wasn’t enough to shake Li Mo, nor did it satisfy Lu Yao. Lu Yao looked at the sharp angles of Zhou Yunchen’s profile. “What exactly happened?”

Zhou Yunchen’s eyes darkened with a complex depth, as if recalling a distant memory. After a long pause, during which Lu Yao and Li Mo waited silently, he spoke: “In Stellar Year 5809, the Okle campaign broke out. I piloted Distant Star to lead a rear-guard mission. Our squad was tightly surrounded by extraterrestrial beasts. The situation was critical, so I ordered the mecha squad to retreat into a nearby cosmic reef belt.

“The reef belt was full of broken celestial bodies. The environment was complex; no human craft had ever entered it before. During the battle, we unexpectedly encountered… an ‘underflow.’”

Lu Yao furrowed his brow. The term “underflow” had no equivalent in astronomy or cosmic warfare studies.

“The underflow looked like a black hole, but its physical properties differed. It was small, its event horizon faintly luminous, undetectable by our mecha’s gravitation sensors. It didn’t actively consume nearby drifting debris—but when our mecha approached, a massive force pulled me in, while my companions were torn to pieces.

“Inside the underflow, there was only darkness and starlight flowing like waves. All instruments failed. I could not move; only my consciousness barely functioned. I cannot calculate how long I remained in it before being ejected.

“The first time I was ejected, I arrived in an unknown star system with very young stars. I attempted two galactic-level jumps, but the endpoints were still outside human civilization. At that point, I suspected the underflow might be a wormhole-like phenomenon—until I encountered a second temporal underflow, which returned me to Federation-controlled space.”

“You went back twenty-five years?” Lu Yao asked.

“Yes.”

“But—” Zhou Yunchen paused. “All my communications and network equipment could not access the Federation Star Net. I could not contact the military. Distant Star’s flight permits couldn’t be verified online, making it impossible for the mecha to land on any Federation-administered planet.”

Lu Yao thought for a moment and then speculated: “The Federation Star Net relies heavily on quantum communication. Quantum signals carry natural timestamps. If Distant Star traveled from the future to the past, its quantum timestamps wouldn’t match the Star Net’s. Connections would fail. You… Distant Star also wasn’t registered in the mecha registry twenty-five years ago. If planetary defense systems detected an unknown craft, they could fire on it. The underflow must have sent you to a remote sector.”

“It sent me to Cassiopeia,” Zhou Yunchen said. “Sparse human presence, no planetary administration capable of building a cosmic defense network. I couldn’t access the Star Net and had to confirm my location via star charts. Later… I noticed illegal ships around P999, spent time investigating, confirmed the CROSS lab was conducting illegal human experiments, and waited for the chance to attack and rescue.

“After rescuing you, I piloted Distant Star to pursue the fleeing lab personnel. On the way, I encountered another temporal underflow, which transported me to an unknown star system. Distant Star drifted there for a long time—I don’t know how many years—until I finally encountered another underflow that returned me to my normal timeline.”

“Fifteen years,” Lu Yao said suddenly. “Titanium decay tests on Distant Star show fifteen years of extra decay. You drifted outside for fifteen years.”

“Mm,” Zhou Yunchen responded softly, his tone emotionless. After a moment, he addressed Li Mo again. “You heard it. The underflow can send people back in time. But how far, and to what location, is uncertain. Before entering the underflow, you could already be torn apart by gravity. Everything is uncertain.”

Li Mo said, “If I sought certainty, I’d have to accept the fact that my mother is dead. But I refuse. I want to try. Uncertainty, to me, isn’t danger—it’s hope.”

“Are you determined to do this?”

“General Zhou,” Li Mo looked at him. “I’ve drifted through the distant stars for decades. You’ve drifted alone in unknown systems for fifteen years. It makes me think—you might understand as I do: life is tedious, nothing is guaranteed, and only the tiniest sparks of persistence act as fuel, preventing despair from swallowing us. Until this is accomplished, I cannot pursue anything else.”

The three fell silent. The private viewing room had no windows or central light source. Soft illumination came from all directions. The ventilation system ran quietly and steadily, stirring no air. Once the guests fell silent, time itself seemed to pause. Until a single stone fell into a lake outside, rippling the water.

Zhou Yunchen pulled out a sheet of paper, wrote three coordinates, and pushed it toward Li Mo. “These are three temporal underflow coordinates in Federation space. I checked before—they appear and disappear intermittently. Sometimes their positions shift. Whether you find them depends on your luck.”

“Thank you.”

Li Mo left before Lu Yao and Zhou Yunchen. Silence returned. Lu Yao drew a sheet of note paper from the drawer, pushed it toward Zhou Yunchen, and handed him a pen.

Zhou Yunchen looked down. Lu Yao’s ice-blue eyes shone with a pure, clear light, crystalline even in their coldness. Zhou Yunchen: ?

Lu Yao looked up at him, Zhou Yunchen’s shadow falling across his face. Lu Yao blinked. “I want the underflow coordinates too.”

He looked as if he were saying: I want the candy you just gave that little boy. The thought startled Zhou Yunchen so much that his hand trembled slightly as he wrote the coordinates for Lu Yao.

“Why?” Zhou Yunchen asked.

“For research,” Lu Yao answered honestly. “If you don’t want anyone to know, I can anonymize it for academic purposes.”

Zhou Yunchen: ? Thanks? “I heard the base’s funding has been cut. If we add underflow research, will there be enough?”

“About enough,” Lu Yao calculated. “We know nothing about underflows. Right now, we only need to search and detect. No new instruments are required. It won’t cost much.”

Lu Yao put the note away, preparing to leave. Zhou Yunchen, however, suddenly received a message and had to wait.

“An emergency military meeting? Now?”

“Understood. I’ll head there immediately.”

Lu Yao said, “You’re going to the military?”

“Yes.”

“Mm, then I’ll head back first.”

“Are you going back to the base? I can have Zhao Minghe take you there.”

“No need. I’m going home.”

Home? Zhou Yunchen’s heart skipped a beat. He immediately grabbed Lu Yao’s arm, stopping him from walking away.

Lu Yao looked back. “What’s wrong?”

Zhou Yunchen paused for a moment. “I suddenly remembered something I need to discuss with you. Can you wait a bit? We can talk after the meeting.”

Lu Yao frowned slightly. Zhou Yunchen had to rush to a meeting, and if he went home now, he wouldn’t be able to find the snow leopard.

“Important?”

“Yes. You need to be there in person.”

Lu Yao studied Zhou Yunchen’s serious expression. Without further suspicion, he nodded. Zhou Yunchen exhaled in relief.

The military headquarters wasn’t far from the Exploration Museum. After Zhou Yunchen rushed off to the emergency meeting, Lu Yao left the museum and found a café half a block from the headquarters. He settled into a window seat.

Outside, people passed by, and colorful, floating advertisement screens displayed the latest Federation news. Lu Yao opened the database, cross-referencing historical records for the underflow coordinates. Suddenly, a few tiger roars outside caught his attention.

Looking up, he saw a giant screen showing a biotic animal product advertisement. A magnificent tiger ran through a jungle. Behind it, vibrant macaws, sleek cheetahs, a striking gray wolf, and graceful spotted deer followed closely. The jungle king roared; the other animals responded in homage.

The tiger then walked into a small forest cabin, where humans were busy in the kitchen. Following its natural instincts, the tiger seemed ready to attack, but instead, it plopped at the humans’ feet, showing off its plush belly.

“Aw~” it whimpered, playfully.

“—Anderson Biotic Animals: Your perfect life companion.”

Lu Yao admitted he was intrigued. He considered whether the snow leopard would be lonely being the only big cat at home. Though Torque was there, he was just a small house cat and couldn’t match the snow leopard in play. Perhaps another large cat could keep the snow leopard entertained.

However, feline territorial instincts ran strong. Keeping two big cats together might not work. And if both played too enthusiastically and forgot their owner, Lu Yao feared he’d be forced to lock snow leopard in a small room for a timeout.

He sighed. Raising big cats wasn’t easy. The tiger ad was quickly replaced by another, completely different in style.

“The Hephaestus Mecha Design Competition is about to begin!”

“Federation Mecha Research Institute Chief Engineer, renowned mecha group lead designers, brilliant rising talents… all gathered in one arena…”

Majestic mecha appeared on the screen, towering and awe-inspiring. The competition was open for registration, and organizers publicized famous participants to draw public attention. Lu Yao watched for a moment, then turned his attention back to his work.

When Zhou Yunchen entered the café, the other patrons were startled. Most were military personnel used to seeing the General’s strictly regulated life. Zhou Yunchen’s presence in such a casual café was unexpected. He approached a private single-seat booth, lowered the light screen, and revealed Lu Yao’s face. Patrons’ eyes widened.

Engineer Lu? Was the General on a date with him after work? Zhou Yunchen and Lu Yao didn’t linger. They left the café immediately, cutting off the curious gazes of the other customers. Lu Yao climbed onto Zhou Yunchen’s flightcraft and took the nutritional supplement handed to him. “Where are we going?”

“Bai Xing Road, Second Floor, Number 33.”

Lu Yao checked the navigation map. The location was… a custom clothing store? He glanced at Zhou Yunchen. “This is the thing you said I had to come in person for?”

Zhou Yunchen replied, “The tailor needs your measurements. You have to be present.”

Author’s Note:

Engineer Lu: cats, hehe, cats…

I really want a Siberian golden tabby too!

 

 

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