Chapter 98: Death Compensation
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
The space elevators on Endymion Star that connected to the homeworld were divided into military and civilian types, sharing a single base system just a kilometer apart.
The military elevator was painted black and imposing, stripped of decoration—rough and hard-edged like relics of the heavy industry era. In stark contrast, the civilian elevator’s surface constantly changed with three-dimensional holographic posters and colorful advertisements.
Though few people needed to shuttle between the two planets regularly, the civilian station was always bustling with crowds. The Chu family’s flyer had been waiting in the station for quite some time. Even with VIP access, the line moved no faster.
Since losing face at the museum, Duke Chu’s expression had remained sour. Chu Xiu couldn’t persuade him otherwise and, feeling restless, left the VIP waiting room to step out onto the terrace, lighting a cigarette as he repeatedly checked the Capital Star time on his terminal.
Opposite the terrace stood the military space elevator. The cold steel sometimes gave the impression of a terrifying beast’s upright skeleton reaching into the sky—something utterly disconnected from the tiny, fleshy primates who built it.
High-speed shuttles zipped through the visible range inside the elevator. As they passed the circular centrifuges spaced along the structure, the sonic booms shattered air and clouds, scaring off all birds within a hundred miles.
One flyer was launching slowly from the elevator base, docking itself inside a shuttle. The Deep Blue Military Academy’s Northern Cross emblem on the craft caught Chu Xiu’s eye for a moment. He squinted, trying to sharpen his vision to see the passengers inside. Why was it Zhou Pingbo and Lin Xu?
Chu Xiu crushed out his cigarette with a stiff expression. The opposing flyer fully entered the shuttle, then shot upward like a meteor into the clouds. Powerful searchlights from above made Chu Xiu’s eyes sting.
He couldn’t understand how his father, Duke Chu, could be confident enough to control Heinrich’s decisions. His father’s only real accomplishment in life was being born into a good family, inheriting the Chu title. He had endured hardship at the Military Academy in his youth and faced setbacks in politics, always overshadowed by Chu Suifeng, a branch family member.
Only with Chu Xiu did the Chu family finally regain a foothold in politics. Chu Xiu’s son had even joined the prestigious First Legion—still young, with a bright future. If not for Chu Suifeng’s and Heinrich Chu’s achievements, father and son might have taken much longer to reach this point.
Though Heinrich barely considered himself a Chu, Capital Star’s nobles, politicians, and commoners did not see it that way. To them, the Chu family and the Abyss Fleet Marshal were one and the same. A marriage arranged to please the Chu family would only deepen that impression.
Chu Xiu brushed ash off his suit and dropped the cigarette butt into a robotic sanitation unit. He returned to the waiting room. After another fifteen minutes, he and Duke Chu boarded the shuttle, stepping into the darkness of space as the elevator’s sonic booms roared around them.
Back on the dazzling Capital Star, Chu Xiu hurried to the Imperial Parliament building. But he still arrived over ten minutes late. Entering through a side door, he carefully found his seat.
“Where are they now?” he asked quietly.
A colleague nearby replied, “The Supreme Military Council’s representative just finished summarizing the ancient Earth survey plan. Vice-Marshal Kalt’s report ended moments ago. Next up is Marshal Chu. I heard the military also brought a funding proposal. No one knows how long the debate will last.”
Chu Xiu’s electronic colleague appeared as a semi-transparent figure beside him through holographic projection. Judging by the light, it was nighttime where they were.
“Maybe it won’t take long,” Chu Xiu said. “The Abyss Fleet has an outstanding record—everyone recognizes that. I heard this funding is mainly to cover battle losses, and since Heinrich himself will report, there probably won’t be many opposing votes.”
“Everyone—” the speaker at the podium interrupted the murmurs after Kalt stepped down.
The chamber’s seats formed a three-quarter circle, arranged in tiers descending toward the podium at the front corner. Deep blue and crimson velvet curtains lent a touch of ancient Earth culture to the metallic and polyester podium. The speaker’s platform was centered and made of dark gray metal. To speak, one had to climb three steps, standing exposed under the scrutiny of many parliament members.
The heavy door swung open. Before any human figure appeared, the sharp sounds of military boots echoed, silencing the crowd more effectively than the speaker’s call. Heinrich entered the chamber in his black Abyss Fleet ceremonial uniform. Two officers, one in pure white city defense uniform and the other a guard officer, followed according to tradition.
The officers stood at attention. Heinrich alone strode to the podium. His medals and stars gleamed in the dome’s light, reflecting off his cold, handsome face.
The brim of his cap cast his face in two halves: one sharp and bright, the other dark and mysterious. Before speaking, he surveyed the members with a nod.
When his golden eyes passed over Chu Xiu, Chu Xiu felt as if he’d fallen into an ice pit, fearing Heinrich had discovered the Chu family’s threat to Lin Xu. But the gaze shifted quickly, as if the blade-like sting was a mere accident.
Heinrich removed his cap, revealing meticulously groomed silver hair, and began, “In the past seven months, the Abyss Fleet and the Elam Fleet…”
His posture was impeccable, standing at the chamber’s lowest level yet commanding the room like a high platform. His cold, ruthless aura sent shivers through members who had only ever known peace. This was Imperial Marshal Heinrich Chu.
Chu Xiu’s electronic colleague wasn’t physically present but had been jolted awake from lethargy, listening intently without daring to breathe. When Heinrich finished, the military representative presented the funding proposal. Almost no one opposed it; the debate focused instead on the amount.
The hawks proposed using the opportunity to re-equip the entire Abyss Fleet. The doves argued to abandon restocking special weapons against the Zerg and instead invest more in combating Star Pirates to maintain trade stability across Imperial planets.
Heinrich sat in the military section, expressionless as members spat verbal barbs at each other. The electronic colleague started to doze off again. A local from Capital Star approached Chu Xiu, striking up a conversation.
“I heard a rumor that the Chu family wants to arrange a marriage for Marshal Chu?”
“That’s true,” Chu Xiu answered with a gentle smile. “But Heinrich spends most of his time away and hasn’t met many omega nobles here. We still hope he can find an omega he truly likes.”
“You can’t see him at the barracks, but Capital Star has no shortage of banquets.”
“He’s always unwilling to go,” Chu Xiu looked troubled.
“If you can’t convince him, someone else will,” the other said. “Isn’t the emperor hosting a banquet soon?”
– –
In the heart of Capital Star’s downtown, the twin towers of the Perseus Group rose majestically, their spires piercing the rolling clouds above the city.
When Zhou Pingbo escorted Lin Xu to the base of the Perseus Group building, the group’s CEO, Mandan, arrived with a host of executives to greet the designated heir of Marianna Perser. Lin Xu frowned at the sea of people and told Mandan that so many weren’t necessary.
Mandan then left only a few familiar management assistants and the head of legal to escort Lin Xu up the executive elevator to the top floor of the twin towers.
Under the sunlight, the shimmering clouds seemed to lie beneath their feet. Compared to the crowded buildings below, only a handful of high-rise spires punctuated the cloudscape. In the distant horizon, the silhouette of the space elevator could be seen.
Mandan led Lin Xu into an office. “This was once used by Ms. Perser. Mr. Chen asked us to preserve it. Mr. Lin, please have a seat.”
Lin Xu sat at the desk facing away from the floor-to-ceiling windows. His eyes caught a framed photo on the desk.
In this age, only Marianna was nostalgic enough to print paper photos. The picture showed three people: Lin Xu, head bowed next to a pot of oil; Chen Jinshan, chopping vegetables; and Marianna, taking a selfie with a camera.
Sunlight and the image stirred memories. Lin Xu recalled it was during his university days when Marianna had found a recipe in an ancient book. Lin Xu casually mentioned he could cook, so Marianna dragged him to her home to make a meal, and Chen Jinshan was summoned to assist with the chopping.
“Mr. Lin,” Mandan’s voice broke through Lin Xu’s brief distraction, “you said in your email that you wanted to review the mining plan for planet G398. The relevant documents are all here. Please, take a look.”
An assistant handed Lin Xu a digital tablet containing thousands of pages detailing the G398 mining plan. Lin Xu skipped the earlier budget and proposal sections and jumped straight to the project’s termination and aftermath.
Return of transport ships, equipment repairs, breach-of-contract compensation to the slime miners…
“After paying the compensation to the slimes, the group cut all ties with them?”
“Yes.”
“If the breach fees were settled after the project’s end, why wasn’t it noticed that Lu’a and Lu’la didn’t return?”
Mandan replied, “Mr. Lin, after the miners returned, compensation payments were all confirmed online within forty-eight hours. We never received a reply from Lu’a or Lu’la.”
“And then paid death compensation?”
Lin Xu’s finger tapped a figure on the screen. Mandan hadn’t expected his gaze to be so sharp—he really could spot a loophole in thousands of pages.
The Perseus Group management was used to working without interference from the board, but Lin Xu’s sudden appearance unsettled everyone. Wasn’t he just a student under Marianna? How could someone researching ancient Earth know so much about business management?
“Mr. Lin… you may not know, but this is standard procedure for far interstellar development,” Mandan explained. “Paying death compensation is far cheaper and more practical than sending a ship for rescue in deep interstellar space. And most of the time… no one survives the harsh environment out there. It was just that these two slime miners were unusually tenacious.”
Lin Xu raised a cold gaze and a hand. Though this was their first meeting, Mandan instinctively fell silent.
“CEO Mandan, I hope next time you’ll be more innovative rather than simply following convention, and properly address matters concerning employee safety,” Lin Xu said, lifting his misty gray eyes. “What is the current status of Lu’a and Lu’la?”
“They’re staying at a hotel under the Perseus Group and have accepted the legal department’s compensation mediation. Would you like to meet them?”
“Yes.” Lin Xu replied. The slime greenhouse he promised to Lu’a and Lu’la hadn’t been delivered yet. “I’ll go soon and prepare a greenhouse that can house six slimes.”
“Very well. Please, rest assured. Where would you like to go next?” Mandan hoped Lin Xu would leave soon.
“I remember Marianna had a safe deposit vault?”
“Yes. Ms. Marianna has hundreds of safety deposit boxes at Imperial Bank.”
“No, I mean not her jewels.” Lin Xu flipped the photo frame on the desk toward Mandan. “She also had a vault at Perseus Group for keepsakes and some ancient Earth artifacts. Can you take me to see it? My workplace, the Ancient Earth Natural Science Museum, is planning an exhibition soon. I want to see if anything here might make a suitable display.”
Lin Xu suspected Marianna had taken something from G398, inscribed with those two poems. The estate lawyer had once compiled a detailed inventory list of Marianna’s safety deposit boxes, but Lin Xu had found no clues there. But he recalled Marianna had another vault with a higher security level—one even the estate lawyer couldn’t open, requiring the heir’s presence.
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