Chapter 92: Breeding Bubbles
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
“He… How could he… This is too dangerous,” Chen Jinshan frowned.
“Dangerous? For His Majesty, nothing is dangerous. I’m only worried that once He remembers everything again, He’ll be disappointed in humanity once more. After all, Imperial has never repented,” replied Godric.
Godric had almost thought that His Majesty had tired of the human world and was ready to abandon the identity of “Lin Xu” when he learned that Ika had seen His true form. Fortunately, His Majesty had only returned Ika’s consciousness to their own body, advising them not to wander.
Chen Jinshan countered, “Chapman, I don’t care about your faith. To me, Xiao Xu is just a child, and a good one at that. He deserves a peaceful and safe life, without being dragged into danger.”
Godric chuckled, “Isn’t Ms. Perser also just a good ordinary person? She shouldn’t have been dragged into danger either.”
“Mar… Mariana…”
“I know. You want to say that it’s not their fault,” Godric intervened. “Colonel Chen, have you ever read the poetry of the Powerless School?”
“I have.”
“Good. Although the poetry depicts humanity’s helplessness and decay in the face of grand technological power, isn’t it still a small group of humans wielding cutting-edge technology and military power? Yet this small group of humans can influence Imperial and the currents of time. These currents do not care whether the individual before the wave is good or loved by anyone. Individuals are insignificant numbers, easily crushed.”
Suddenly changing tack, he continued, “But this small group of people laid the foundation of Imperial with lies. This foundation is now crumbling, especially with the cumulative numbers reaching a billion. They fear the collapse of the great building and must use more lies and forced silence to cover up their previous lies.”
“Colonel Chen, Imperial is powerful but not invincible. I know you only seek vengeance for your wife and have no interest in the struggle between the Alliance and Imperial. But there is no better method than our plan right now.”
“You also said that the Spiritual Monarch is only my belief. Humans in the Alliance know the story of the Spiritual Monarch, but they do not consider Him a belief. I’m telling you about G398 on my own initiative, unrelated to the agreement you and the Alliance reached. The Alliance’s plans do not include His Majesty. No one can dictate His will.”
The communication screen went dark after being disconnected. Chen Jinshan stood amidst deep darkness, staring into the air. He took a deep breath several times before finally lifting his heavy feet to leave.
Pushing open the door of the compartment, he returned to the vast, cold metallic space. Countless figures in military uniforms moved back and forth, their voices, footsteps, and the clashing of weapons merging into a buzzing noise, making it impossible to distinguish the details of the voices.
Giant searchlights cast bright white light from above, illuminating the three stars on Chen Jinshan’s shoulders and the military emblem on his collar. Colleagues passing by greeted him, and Chen Jinshan responded with a gentle smile. He turned away from the bustling central avenue, walking towards a distant set of square windows.
Through the glass square windows, the boundless universe seemed to sparkle with diamond-like points of light arranged neatly in a half-circular arc, extending outward until the human eye could no longer discern them.
On closer inspection, these points of light were all artificial lights, powerful enough to pierce through the mist of the universe, illuminating a gigantic metal fortress hundreds of kilometers long, connected together.
Countless starships surrounded the fortress, with some ships departing and leaving behind a tail of flames, resembling Mars popping out of a fireplace into the cold winter of space. This was the front line of the Marion Empire facing the Exiled Alliance Fleet, the Michael Line.
Far away, stars reflected off the sharp tops of every fortress in the long chain, creating geometric shapes that projected onto Chen Jinshan’s path.
—
Slime
Slimes are restless creatures. Living in Area H, they roamed every corner daily, even fighting with two rabbit-cats.
Lin Xu initially worried that the rabbit-cats’ sharp teeth would pierce the slime’s skin, but later found his concerns unnecessary. The slimes, who could work as miners without protective gear in harsh cosmic environments, were thick-skinned and enjoyed playing vigorously with Blackie and Snowy. With an infinite supply of syrup for Lu’a and Lu’la on the Victoria, the two slimes quickly grew larger than the rabbit-cats.
Lu’a shyly told Lin Xu that the largest slime it had seen could grow as big as a human spacecraft, exceptionally powerful and majestic. Lu’la immediately jumped next to Lu’a, cuddled up, and then blew a sparkling bubble. Lu’a also rubbed against it and blew out another bubble. The two transparent bubbles merged together, reflecting a colorful halo in the air. After floating for a few seconds, it burst with a snap.
Lu’la and Lu’a stuck together, forming a ball. Sadly, they rolled around Lin Xu’s feet, then stuck to Lin Xu’s feet.
[“Suck suck beautiful Mr. Lin’s sweetness.”]
Lin Xu didn’t bring a translator and didn’t know what they were saying, just looking down at the two slimes spitting bubbles at each other.
“Dr. Lin.”
Suddenly, a voice called out to Lin Xu, and he turned to see Zhou Pingbo and Heinrich stepping into the corridor of Area H together.
“Professor Zhou,” Lin Xu nodded, then briefly met Heinrich’s gaze. Zhou Pingbo, noticing the two bubbling slimes, expressed surprise, “Their resilience is impressive; they’ve already entered the breeding phase.”
Zhou Pingbo’s words puzzled Lin Xu, “What?”
“Oh, right,” Zhou Pingbo explained, “slimes are mono-gender organisms, but they need at least two slimes to breed the next generation. They spit bubbles containing genetic material. If the bubbles can accumulate without bursting, and when there’s enough genetic material, new little slimes are born.”
“A while ago, Marshal mentioned they wanted a greenhouse, and I was thinking they were preparing to breed. They wanted a warm nest for their bubbles, but I didn’t expect them to start bubbling so soon.”
A slime greenhouse for breeding? Lin Xu’s expression shifted slightly, thinking of Lu’a and Lu’la wanting a greenhouse capable of housing six slimes. This was truly… ambitious.
[“It takes a long time for bubbles to accumulate!”] Lu’la, after spitting out a bubble, flopped down on the ground like a flowing liquid. None of them had a translator, so no one understood its chirping.
Lu’a flowed over to Lin Xu’s feet, curled up into a ball, [“I envy Mr. Lin’s beauty! Mr. Lin’s bubbles in his belly are so lively! I want a beautiful bubble too.”]
Lu’la: [“Four!”]
Lu’a: [“Good! Four! Mr. Lin is only one, but we’re amazing!”]
Heinrich glanced at the pale yellow slimes, patted Lin Xu’s elbow, and led him towards a room.
“What’s going on?”
“We’re about to make another jump, and we’ll be near the Crescent District,” Heinrich said. “The Abyss Fleet will be stationed at an airfield three astronomical units away from the Crescent District. Only four escort ships will remain to accompany the survey team. I’ll board the Nature’s Evolution with the survey team.”
“I’m also returning to the Nature’s Evolution,” Zhou Pingbo added. “There will be a landing ceremony for the royal family and the political elite aboard the Nature’s Evolution. All passengers will disembark in turn. Since you’re not on the passenger list, Marshal and I discussed it and thought it safer for you to travel alone on a ship back to Endymion Star, directly landing there.”
Heinrich added, “That way, you won’t have to go through those procedures.”
Heinrich could have added Lin Xu as an invited Ancient Earth Studies expert to the Abyss Fleet; the academic world would have no objections to Lin Xu’s abilities. However, Heinrich believed Lin Xu wouldn’t be interested in those boring and tedious celebration ceremonies. In Imperial, no fame or prestige could attract Lin Xu anymore. Even though he had pursued these things during the apocalypse, he now found them tiresome and meaningless.
“Okay,” Lin Xu nodded without objection, “How is Ryan arranged?”
Lin Xu remembered Ryan coming to study alone at the Crescent District, renting an apartment in the downtown area of Endymion. At the moment, Lin Xu was still unsure why those two poems had threatened the upper echelons of Imperial. But he could confirm that the assassination crisis had not been resolved, and he was worried about Ryan living alone without tight security.
Heinrich said, “The main ship of the Elam Fleet will dock near Capital Star. He can stay temporarily with his father.”
At least in opposing certain Imperial nobles, Kalt, who had once been a Rememberer and was on the same front as Lin Xu, would protect Ryan as his own son. Lin Xu would protect Ryan.
—
When Lin Xu left Endymion Star, the Cacamorra Plains had just entered autumn, with temperatures plummeting. Returning to this land, it was a deep summer.
The wild grass, which had grown crazy, almost reached waist height. In the cool breeze of summer, it undulated like waves. The Cacamorra Plains were rainy all year round, with even more water vapor in summer. Now, it was only three in the afternoon, and the clouds had already darkened the sky, leaving only a hint of deep blue daylight.
The curtain of rain was blown askew by the gusty wind, dripping rain pattered, and the clouds obscured the meteor-like light of the spacecraft returning from ancient Earth in the starry sky.
Cool and moist water vapor filled Lin Xu’s nasal and chest cavities. He stepped down from the automated flying machine, carrying two rabbit-cats in his arms to prevent their long fur from getting dirty in the mud.
Returning to the familiar environment, Blackie and Snowy whimpered softly and lazily, rolling on the soft carpet as soon as Lin Xu opened the door. Lin Xu didn’t rush into the house. After waiting for the automated flying machine to take off again, he stood on the steps at the door, took off the standard shoes of the Abyss Fleet, which were wrapped in mud, and placed them outside the door without bringing them into the house.
Lin Xu glanced at the greenery on the windowsill—the grass grew. After a spring and summer had passed, the grass seeds had floated to the window or eaves, persevering with a little soil and plenty of rainwater. Moss crawled up the edge of the wet air, rainwater dripped on Lin Xu’s shoulders, and then rolled off the white cloth of the space suit, quickly accumulating into a puddle of water.
Okay. Lin Xu walked into the house only after using supernatural powers to dry the clothes, and the warm soft fabric Lin Xu wore attracted Blackie, who crawled into his arms. What about Snowy? Lin Xu scanned the living room and didn’t find the other rabbit-cat. He raised his hand and turned on the light, but he still didn’t see any trace, until there was a sound from the corner.
Lin Xu looked puzzled at the sound source, where a lump of black things was inlaid with eyes like sapphires, and they still glowed. … Snowy rolled in the fireplace ash, covered in black and gray fur, as if he had just dug coal and returned, and stared at Lin Xu with bright eyes, without feeling guilty for increasing the workload for his master.
Lin Xu walked in silently, intending to scoop up Snowy and toss him into the bathroom, but Snowy refused to budge, repeatedly lowering and raising his head. Following Snowy’s unusual actions, Lin Xu looked closer and discovered one of Snowy’s paws pressing down on another small animal, also covered in fireplace ash. He reached out, and Snowy obediently released his grip, allowing Lin Xu to pick up the small creature.
This little one dragged its fluffy tail and stared at Lin Xu with shiny black eyes. Lin Xu recognized it as a blue squirrel… descendants of the squirrels brought from Earth by the Ark Fleet, which had undergone several generations of mutations, fully adapting to Endymion Star’s radiation and gravity, and now sporting light blue fur. However, now both Snowy and the blue squirrel were as black as Blackie.
Snowy continued to look at Lin Xu, then glanced up at the fireplace, giving Lin Xu a foreboding feeling.
Lin Xu conjured a spark of fire in his palm for illumination. He looked towards the chimney’s external smoke vent and saw several more little creatures frightened by the firelight, falling into the fireplace ash, raising dust, staring stiffly and fearfully at the sudden appearance of a giant creature before them. Lin Xu exhaled.
He had only been away for half a year, and a family of five blue squirrels had already nested in his fireplace.
He extinguished the flame, picked up all the trembling blue squirrels, and released them at the door. Snowy remained pressed against his chest as Lin Xu carried him into the bathroom to clean him up.
The rabbit-cats were accustomed to Endymion Star’s rainy weather and weren’t afraid of water, so Lin Xu didn’t need to exert extra effort to comfort or restrain Snowy. While cleaning Snowy’s fur, he absentmindedly opened the terminal’s live broadcast page. Imperial’s official media was live broadcasting the return landing scene of the Nature’s Evolution.
The military band played uplifting music, and a long red carpet stretched across the main thoroughfare of Capital Star, almost endless. Initially, armed guards stood on both sides of the road, followed by a procession of magnificent and fragrant flower baskets. Behind the procession, onlookers cheered along the way.
Salutes were fired into the air, and bright red flower petals fluttered in the Imperial airspace, as if celebrating a thrilling victory.
No one seemed curious about why the ancient Earth survey, originally scheduled for three months, had only lasted one month. Encounters with Zerg attacks and meteorite strikes during the journey had turned from terrifying crises into anthems stirring human courage.
Simple symbols were enough to pile up into convincing greatness. The people didn’t need details; reason allowed them to spend time and effort thinking about all the details.
On the platform, His Majesty the Emperor was delivering an inspiring speech, essentially praising the soldiers and explorers.
In his prime, the Emperor had shimmering golden hair, an air of majesty, and a dignified appearance. The audience below, tears in their eyes, clearly bought into his words, applauding wave after wave. Some even screamed and cheered on such a solemn occasion.
Guards intervened to stop the audience’s inappropriate behavior. The Emperor on the platform smiled in response, instructing the guards to stand down. But Marshal Chu still wore a stern expression.
Heinrich stood slightly behind the Emperor, dressed in the most elaborate full military attire. His pitch-black uniform was adorned with military medals, exuding a luxurious and proud aura. However, the arrangement of medals on his dress uniform was slightly different this time, leaving a space for the upcoming Emperor to personally confer honors.
One was for repelling the Zerg during the Battle of the Silver Fortress, and the other was for the recovery of ancient Earth, acknowledging these achievements.
As the awards ceremony proceeded, Lin Xu massaged foamy bubbles into Snowy’s back with his fingers, gazing down at Heinrich on the screen.
Under the sunlight, bright red flower petals fell from Heinrich’s silver hair, finally landing among the military medals on his chest. His cold, thin lips were tightly pursed, devoid of any smile or submission, like a lighthouse standing steadfast amidst fierce winds and waves.
This dress uniform also included a military hat, but at this moment, facing the most noble person in the Empire, Heinrich held the hat on his forearm, its top adorned with a layer of bright flower petals.
On the terminal, media had already posted images, with netizens in the comment section exclaiming, “Damn, absent for half a year, and Marshal looks eight hundred times more handsome.”
Ignoring the Empire’s hypocritical and affected formalities, Lin Xu truly admired Heinrich’s grand dress uniform. Its sharp cut perfectly enveloped his sculpted physique, highlighting his slender waist, broad shoulders, long legs, and numerous gold accents embellishing the jet-black fabric.
Lin Xu couldn’t forget when Heinrich wore this suit in certain unspeakable fantasies, acting like a beast afterwards. When could he ask Heinrich to wear it again for his eyes only? Unconsciously, Lin Xu’s grip tightened under his hand, causing the rabbit-cats to whimper until several muffled sounds came from the living room, and Snowy escaped from Lin Xu’s grasp.
Bang, bang—
Lin Xu was startled awake, stuffing Snowy into the bathtub, rushing out with soapy hands, only to meet several pairs of round eyes. The blue squirrel family had slipped back into the fireplace through the chimney, this time covered not only in ash but also mud. Lin Xu sighed. He couldn’t drive this family away.
The live ceremony was long and cumbersome. After the awards were presented, Zhou Pingbo and several other expedition leaders took turns giving speeches, briefly summarizing the expedition’s achievements.
Meanwhile, after finishing bathing Snowy, Lin Xu went on to bathe the blue squirrel family. After the commotion settled, he found a box for the blue squirrels, lined it with blankets, and settled them in temporarily. Using his telekinetic abilities, he controlled tools to dismantle the blue squirrel nest inside the chimney. The fireplace needed to remain functional and couldn’t be obstructed by the blue squirrel family.
Outside, the sky grew darker as thick clouds continued to gather. The clouds hung so low that it seemed one could touch them with a hand. The drizzle turned into a torrential downpour, splashing continuous muddy dots across the ground.
Thunder ripped through the sky, its roar echoing between the clouds and the distant black mountains.
Both Snowy and the blue squirrels were cleaned and dried by Lin Xu and placed back in their nests. But Lin Xu heard the sound of water again. He got up from the fireplace and went upstairs to find the source of the sound.
The wooden floor of the corridor had already swollen from the water, worsening as he moved further back. When Lin Xu reached the end of the corridor, he discovered that the attic roof had been opened somehow, exposing the wooden beams soaked black by rain. Several mushrooms stubbornly grew towards the sky. Water accumulated on the floor, seeping towards the downstairs storage.
Imperial’s unpredictable weather and the bloody events were indeed terrifying, but Lin Xu hadn’t expected that the daily trivialities would come faster than bullets and energy cannons. This house couldn’t be lived in anymore. Lin Xu felt helpless.
—
The raindrops, the Spiritual Monarch, and the poetic note at the end add such depth to the scene. It’s a beautifully crafted moment! And a happy New Year to you too!
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