NOVPUBTwo weary travelers rode on white sand camels from the desert into a small town in the oasis which seemed to have only two or three streets and was scarcely populated. The desert was rich in gold, and there were even rumors of ancient civilization’s ruins, drawing many treasure hunters to this flourishing desert oasis town.
This area was one of the few backward regions within the Iridium Star United Empire. Iridium Star citizens preferred to build advanced facilities on their Administrative Star for the residents here, and it was such development that caused many races with their own cultures to gradually become accustomed to the Iridium Star way of life and assimilate with its people.
However, the planet named Kun Xue was different; it had only recently joined the Iridium Star, being a planet from the Second Universe that had merged into the Orion Arm’s Great Star Zone without having developed interstellar civilization. The population was sparse here, even hosting multiple intelligent races in competition with one another.
The United Empire had established a capital city on Kun Xue but hadn’t completely assimilated the entire planet’s population, meaning that most people still lived as they had in the past. The Iridium Star people hadn’t yet had time to establish civic records and identities for the entire planetary population.
This also provided an opportunity for two fugitive Divine Generals, who were hiding on Kun Xue from the Iridium Star people. They tied their white sand camels to the hitching post outside a tavern; most people here used camels and other livestock for transportation, with few riding in motor vehicles.
In this modest oasis town, the coming and going travelers and gold prospectors had already received some items from the Iridium Star people, like smart devices.
A wild boar man with intimidating tusks proudly fiddled with a smart device in the tavern. This palm-sized gadget integrated all the functions one could need in everyday life.
"See this? I brought this little thing from the ’New Royal Capital.’ You all know the New Royal Capital, right? Our planet, whether it was the apes, wild boars, rats, tigers, or whatever before, now everyone worships the Iridium Star Chancellor as our overlord. In our world, which is so vast, even more enormous, he rules over dozens of galaxies," the boar man boasted.
As Su Shuang, who was sipping on a coarse mug of barley beer, listened, he let out a cold, mocking sneer. These people had no real understanding of their so-called Chancellor; in fact, in the Orion Arm alone, there were at least a thousand habitable planets.
The boar merchant continued, "The New Royal Capital is a great place. Those willing to live there only need to work twenty hours a week for government-assigned jobs to earn a generous income. Plus, the government distributes all sorts of great things, like this gadget in my hand. Although I haven’t fully learned how to use it, it’s basically useful for anything I need to do."
At the press of a button, a holographic screen popped up, causing a stir of amazement among the idle folks in the tavern.
The content displayed on the holographic screen was Iridium Star news.
"...According to the latest reports, Deng Yuan, a diplomat representing the Iridium Star Chancellor, has denied the proposal of the second Divine General and envoy from the distant peak Borke Civilization, San Lulu Zhi. This has formally stated the Iridium Star’s unyielding stance against the original ten giants and the Galactic Empire. After expressing regret, San Lulu Zhi left the Pedro Concepcion Planet where the meeting was held. There is no news confirming how the Borke Civilization will react to our country’s decision. The Privy Council and Empire Army spokesperson earlier stated in an interview with our station that the Iridium Star United Empire can withstand any challenge from any civilization in the Galaxy, whether alone or combined, and has the capability to thwart the enemy’s schemes and maintain Iridium Star’s peace and stability."
The tavern’s patrons marveled at the woman broadcasting the news, but since the boar man hadn’t turned on the translator, they didn’t know what the news was about. Su Shuang and Suo Kexiao, however, who understood Chinese, were not so uninformed; upon hearing the news, they felt as if a great wave had surged within their hearts.
The two began to exchange words in a low voice.
Suo Kexiao said in surprise, "Has Iridium Star really become so powerful?"
But Su Shuang approached the boar man, and with a slap, laid out a massive golden helmet and told the boar man, "Sell this to me."
The boar man had put on quite a show in the tavern precisely to attract a sucker. He already knew that in the New Royal Capital, this kind of junk smart device was practically worthless. He could report it lost and get the most basic replacement for free, or spend a bit of money in specialty stores for something more powerful. In any case, as a registered citizen of the Iridium Star with steady work, it was incredibly simple for him to afford such a trinket.
His eyes fixated on the gem-studded, masterfully crafted helmet, clearly a relic from the desert ruins. The boar man didn’t waste a moment, immediately shoving the device at Su Shuang, and clutching the golden helmet, he took off without looking back.
Sure enough, several fellows followed him out, while others watched Su Shuang with covetous eyes; it was clearly unwise in this small town to show off one’s wealth.
Yet Su Shuang was not the least bit worried as he entered the run-down room in the inn, and Suo Kexiao locked the door. Su Shuang worked the low-end smart device, opening a variety of news pages.
Suo Kexiao chuckled, "Iridium Star people have a tendency to lay out all sorts of state secrets for everyone to see, which sure makes it easy for us to gather intelligence."
Su Shuang didn’t respond but quickly browsed the news. Soon, stories about the Iridium Star forming a pan-Galactic United Empire, the disappearance of the Galactic Emperor, the collapse of the Galactic Empire, and the three great catastrophes sweeping across the entire Galaxy unfolded before him.
When Suo Kexiao saw that the Borke Civilization had been wiped out by the Swarm catastrophe, with the few remaining Borke fleeing aboard the Ark Fleet to become a nomadic civilization, the usually heartless Divine General laughed.
"So this is how it ends. Overthinking everything and thinking too highly of themselves, and in the end, they left nothing behind," he remarked while shedding a tear unexpectedly.
Su Shuang’s expression was cold, but a trace of empathy appeared in his eyes. He patted Suo Kexiao on the shoulder as a gesture of comfort.
Looking up at Su Shuang, Suo Kexiao said, "The two of us, we might really end up as lonely, wandering ghosts. This Galaxy seems poised to truly become the Iridium Star’s Galaxy."
"Worst comes to worst, we’ll just live on as Iridium Star people. That’s life; we can’t have everything our way."
