Chapter 105: Collapse

Chapter 105: Collapse

Xu Qingran is the second most talked-about figure among the Empire's people after Shen Tingyu.

Although he just casually dropped a single sentence in a gossip post.

The content was shocking enough, and this was his first appearance after being absent for several months.

The question netizens asked the most on that thread was—

"Is it really Young Master Xu himself??"

Xu Qingran didn’t show up again.

At that moment, he was in a meeting with the remaining administrators and key officers of the Tianlong system.

Since the plan was sudden and everyone was tied up with their own tasks, Xu Qingran didn’t require everyone from other places to come over. Therefore, there were only a few people present in the conference hall of the Eastern City Military Headquarters, while others participated via video call.

Everyone who saw Xu Qingran was thrilled and excited.

Before the meeting officially started, everyone congratulated him, relieved that he hadn’t died out there as the rumors claimed, and gave him a warm welcome back. At the same time, they had greater trust in him.

Their colonel had been escorted to the Tower of Evil, managed to escape from the legendary and most terrifying Tower 1, and then rushed to the front lines of the defense station, escaping solo from the terrifying devil horde—

No matter how Xu Qingran pulled it off, just thinking about it was awe-inspiring.

Deputy Mao sat next to him, jotting down the key points of their meeting.

As he wrote, his eyes kept drifting toward Xu Qingran, who was sitting sideways to the camera, talking to everyone.

In fact, Deputy Mao had reached out to Xu Qingran some time ago when bad news began pouring in from the main star system's Celestial God. To be precise, it was Xu Qingran who had proactively contacted him, mainly to deploy some military personnel to assist in other star systems of the Silver Dragon Battalion.

Deputy Mao even got into a bit of an argument with him over it: "Colonel, I don’t understand."

"The Tianlong region is vast, far from the Empire’s currently operational space stations, and it is the star system closest to the devil army's breakthrough point. Clearly, Tianlong needs more assistance. Now, everyone there is panicking, and hardly anyone has cared about our situation. Why should we still deploy troops there?"

Xu Qingran paused for a few seconds, unfazed by his tone, and said, "Don’t worry, every decision I make is with Tianlong in mind."

"Moreover, Tianlong won’t be in any danger."

Deputy Mao couldn’t help but ask, "How can you be so sure?"

Xu Qingran chuckled softly on the other end, "Because, I am here."

Until the communication ended, Deputy Mao had not yet regained his composure.

The accelerated beating of his heart gave him a slight feeling of hypoxia and dizziness, inexplicably feeling his cheeks and ears heating up—he didn’t know why he was so excited by Xu Qingran’s casual remark.

But Xu Qingran said he would return, always so confident in his tone.

He also said it would take a few more days, with some matters to handle in between, and not to make any noise or tell anyone before he returned to Eastern City.

Including Shen Tingyu and others who frequently called to inquire about the situation.

No matter what, he has indeed done it now.

Instead of responding to the request from the Silver Dragon Battalion headquarters, he chose to return to Tianlong, arranging affairs as orderly as before. He even had a thorough understanding of the current major affairs of the Tianlong system, as if he had never left during this period.

At the end of the meeting, someone asked the same question that Deputy Mao had raised.

"Why are we deploying troops from Tianlong?"

Xu Qingran glanced down at the light panel: "The cleanup progress in the three habitable continents of Taiyue, Weiyang, and Tianshui has already cleared most of the areas, hasn't it?"

Since Xu Qingran took over management and quietly enhanced resources and military equipment, the Tianlong system has been playing the role of an underdog. During the period of propaganda and live broadcasts, Xu Qingran had already led them to take down several dominant devils in major regions, working tirelessly across multiple locations without rest.

—Only a high-level D-type (a classification of enhanced individuals) like Xu Qingran could endure such an intense workload.

Subsequently, veterans like Wang Jian, with years of combat and command experience, joined the effort.

Unlike most star systems, Tianlong is an impoverished system with no other concerns or management tasks besides military affairs. The management could focus entirely on affected zones. With the reduction of dominant Class I devils, the spread rate of devils significantly decreased, and humans quickly regained control.

Xu Qingran looked at the data again: "Especially in Taiyue, only about 35% of the affected regions remain."

"With the current military personnel, maintaining this front is more than sufficient."

On the video call, Chen Jianguang from North City chimed in.

He still held a grudge against the Silver Dragon Battalion, his deep voice tinged with a hint of grievance: "But back then, they turned a blind eye to us and even left us to fend for ourselves. It feels a bit unfair to help them now..."

"Who told you I’m helping them?" Xu Qingran asked.

The meeting room went quiet.

Xu Qingran, sitting at the head of the table, slightly tilted his head and asked, "Do you want the people and military of Tianlong to be stuck forever in this star system?"

"Or do you want Tianlong to remain the one everyone forgets?"

"To rely solely on me occasionally going live or stirring things up to bring some attention to Tianlong?"

Facing the silence in the room, Xu Qingran let out a low laugh.

"Let's be realistic," he continued, "most of you are locals of the Tianlong system."

"The biggest issue over the years has been that talented and capable individuals have no opportunities, nowhere to showcase their abilities. Part of the reason Tianlong became a backwater is also due to the disconnection from other star systems, leading people to have a stereotypical impression and unwillingness to come here."

"I'm sending people out to let you personally put Tianlong on the map."

"I've already set the stage for you; the rest—of course, you have to put in the effort yourselves."

Xu Qingran raised an eyebrow: "I've said it before, I won’t stand for slackers under my command."

Since they were kept by him, they must have their own talents.

"Now, do you want to prove to me that the people of Tianlong are the so-called 'trash' others claim, or do you want to show them personally that the defensive capabilities of Tianlong are no less than those of other prosperous star systems?"

A calm question hit everyone hard.

Even Deputy Mao forgot his work, gaping at Xu Qingran like everyone else. It was as if a bell had been rung in his mind, and the doubts of the past few days seemed to have been answered.

At the same time, Xu Qingran added, "Of course, the road to fully revitalizing Tianlong is still long."

"To prove that Tianlong is safe, the current military reserves are absolutely sufficient to handle any situation. I've prepared a gift for you in advance."

Amidst many doubts, Xu Qingran smirked knowingly.

·

During the time Xu Qingran was in the meeting, another shocking event occurred domestically.

The shocking situation was as shocking as the strange videos released by the official account of the Tower of Evil.

This time, the department under Mu Ziyu's management

also seemed to have gone rogue, suddenly leaking a large number of confidential documents. Some of these were related to Tower 1 (a key government facility), indirectly confirming the authenticity of the videos released by the Tower of Evil's official account, making the palace's previous debunking appear utterly ridiculous.

In addition, there were many horrifying incidents.

This included evidence of Mu Ziyu collaborating with the underground party that the empire had always claimed to be cracking down on, developing illegal drugs, and even trading with other imperial alliances. The most shocking revelation was that he had a series of 'hit lists.'

The people killed included some important civil and military officials of the empire.

Whenever there was a situation that was too difficult to control, these individuals would be eliminated. This included officials who had recently worked with the police investigation team and were sent to the Tower of Evil, most of whom were eliminated due to disagreements with Mu Ziyu.

In contrast, those who were also involved in illegal activities but supported Mu Ziyu and fought for him were able to remain unscathed.

—This incident also revealed the names of many individuals involved.

Among the piles of evidence dug up and organized by some 'anonymous' source, the wrongdoings Mu Ziyu had orchestrated against Xie Nanyi were also exposed. It was only after the exposure that people realized this wasn't Mu Ziyu's first offense.

He has always been ruthless to those who defy him.

If he can't have something, he'll destroy it; if he's suffering, he'll make sure others suffer too. There was also the recent clash between the two factions, the Golden Wing and Silver Dragon, with the first batch of officials killed in both factions all orchestrated by Mu Ziyu and his inner circle.

The goal was to stir up conflict between the two factions, then, according to the plan, demonstrate his leadership skills and strategic foresight, and completely defeat Mu Ziyu in the final power struggle.

The evidence also included audio recordings.

Listeners could hear Mu Ziyu's voice and the details of his conversations firsthand.

One of them stood out as particularly bizarre.

"Mother, when you led a team to kill Shen Qianning, why didn't you kill Shen Tingyu as well?"

"The empire doesn't need a so-called fifth prince who died young—he doesn't deserve the title!"

The speaker was clearly Mu Ziyu.

His voice was clear, unmistakably that of a teenager.

Soon, another woman's voice replied: "I will not allow you to have any slack or mistakes during this long period of struggle for the throne."

"When you stabilize your position and sit on that throne, you can kill him at any time."

"He wants to die now? Not so easy!"

"I must first throw him into the Tower of Evil and torture him for a few years, make him my drug-testing puppet, and only when he surrenders to me will I let him go."

Then there was another rustling sound.

Hearing the woman ask: "Have all the people who witnessed tonight's events been dealt with?"

"Queen, it's all been taken care of."

Then, the woman coldly warned: "Ziyu, let me remind you, tonight was really a failed operation."

"If there is another time, don't expect me to clean up your mess. You will have to face whatever judgment is due."

"This is the medicine for father, I have been very careful..."

The voices gradually faded away until they disappeared.

Despite the brief exchange, the information conveyed was substantial, immediately sparking intense discussions across the nation.

At this moment, the public began to realize whether the royal family's power had become too extensive.

Over the years, they had concealed so many heinous acts behind the scenes, yet managed to maintain a good and upright image, deceiving everyone for so long.

Murder, arson, abuse of power, and embezzlement of funds that should have been used in impoverished areas like Tianlong or Tianying, all diverted to palace affairs, or to the private military production and personnel training of Mu Ziyue and the royal family.

Even the prolonged struggle with the demons was influenced by the palace's intervention.

This was the unbearable truth for the suffering citizens of the empire.

The invasion of demons had indeed brought countless troubles to the empire.

At the same time, the increased demand for emergency and defensive items had boosted the economic flow, benefiting the palace's profits. After all, most related supplies were connected to the palace's research institutes, official factories, and so on.

Thus, while controlling the demons, they did not want the empire, confident in its mastery of the security system and the demons' weaknesses, to expel them too quickly. Therefore, they collaborated with some official research institutes, deliberately or inadvertently providing the military with erroneous data, regularly supplying controlled disaster areas, accelerating the proliferation of demon groups to keep them engaged with the military.

Especially the wealthy Silver Dragon Battalion.

The Golden Wings could greatly profit from this method.

Including neighboring countries also harassed by demon groups, especially those wealthy but technologically lagging small nations, they sent spies to deploy drugs that enhanced the power and reproduction speed of demons, forcing them to continuously engage with the demon army and to purchase related military resources from Kayan.

Raking in immense profits.

This revelation was both shocking and infuriating.

The people have lost countless properties, lands, and homes to the devil army, their lives forced into various restrictions, living in constant fear that they might wake up to find their homes gone or even their lives lost.

Now, they have discovered that if the Empire had the will—

They could have cleared out the invading devil hordes two or three decades ago, completely avoiding the current disastrous situation. It's like adding insult to injury, and now that things have spiraled out of control, they have to spend even more money and manpower to repair the destroyed sites.

Ironically, when these events were exposed, the official TV station was still broadcasting news about the heavy attacks on the Celestial Gods and the royal city, with the host portraying themselves as victims. By now, the people, who once had some pity and sympathy for the Celestial Gods, now only want to clap and cheer, saying they had it coming!

Given the severity of this incident, servers on various platforms have been crashing frequently, plunging both online and offline spaces into chaos. Especially the Silver Dragon Battalion, which has been the most targeted in all these events, the people are angrily denouncing the Golden Wings and the royal family.

Upon discovering the incident, the royal palace's administrative office immediately contacted the Golden Wings management and exerted pressure on the platforms to demand deletions.

However, the administrative office in the Celestial Gods' system was already overwhelmed, and after the royal palace was completely taken over by Suya and heavily tilted towards the Golden Wings, its relationship with the Silver Dragon Battalion has reached its worst. The Golden Wings still somewhat heed the royal palace, but Mu Ziyu of the Silver Dragon Battalion has completely severed ties.

Especially after he discovered that Xu Qingran was not dead.

Even without contacting him, it was as if he suddenly found the confidence and courage to resist, persisting in the struggle against the Golden Wings and the royal palace's forces.

At this point, the Kayan Empire has descended into complete chaos.

The first to be investigated was Mu Ziyu's personal administrative office.

The investigators were not neutral military or police personnel, but all subordinates of the Golden Wings and Queen Suya, sent to confirm the situation in the General Affairs Department, why Mu Ziyu's private and previously undisclosed documents were exposed.

When the large force arrived at the administrative office, the outside was eerily quiet.

Quiet like an abandoned building, devoid of any human presence. Sensing that something was amiss, they tensed up, carefully surrounded the building, and sent in the most powerful team to kick open the door.

In the next moment, they were stunned by the bloody scene inside.

All the staff in Mu Ziyue's General Affairs Office had been killed.

When they entered, the murderer was in the act of committing the crime, yanking out the spiritual energy blade that had been plunged into the last surviving man with brutal force. Blood splattered, and even though the wielder of the blade dodged slightly, a few drops of red still landed on her snow-white face.

The ferocious killing action and the powerful aura left the intruders frozen for a moment.

Standing amidst a pile of corpses was a woman with an excellent figure, tall and slim, with a short bob haircut.

After pulling out the blade and throwing the man aside, she turned her head towards the direction of the commotion.

Her eyes were icy, a hallmark of the E-type, devoid of any emotion, as if she felt nothing for the warmth of the blood.

"Drop your weapon and put your hands up!"

"Otherwise, we will shoot!"

Ling Yuege glanced at them coldly.

She tossed the knife aside with a fluid motion, compliantly raised her hands, and offered a faint, almost imperceptible smile to the people rushing towards her with caution. Her cold chuckle was lost in the clamor of rushing footsteps.

"Big brother, I beg you, spare my parents!"

"We were just passing by, we know nothing, and we’ll never breathe a word about what happened today!"

This was about twenty years ago.

At that time, Ling Yuege was still a child under ten years old, living with her family in one of Tianying’s poorer neighborhoods. Their family was not wealthy, making ends meet by selling tofu—just ordinary folks.

It just so happened to be her birthday that day.

Her parents, who rarely ventured out after dark, took her on a long walk to a restaurant that served cake for her birthday dinner. They also strolled around the lively streets nearby, splurged on a nutcracker toy for her, and then took her home.

Since they were running late, little Ling Yuege was already nodding off.

Her father suggested cutting through a shortcut to get home, but they had no idea that path would lead to their family’s doom.

They took a path that was rarely traveled.

But that day, they stumbled upon an incident at Mu Ziyue’s secret research facility nearby. A group of people, captured as test subjects, had managed to escape and were all killed in that desolate wilderness.

They could still make out that the crazed individuals killed by his men were once residents of nearby villages and towns.

They had disappeared long ago.

Their family of three was eventually spotted.

Back then, Mu Ziyue was just a sixteen or seventeen-year-old, but he was already ruthlessly efficient.

Ling Yuege still remembers his chilling, pitiless smile that night as he looked down on them.

"How pitiful," he said like a heartless villain, mocking, "What I love most is seeing you lowly commoners kowtow and beg for mercy, it never gets old."

"Of course, I prefer to see your expressions of despair."

After saying that, he coldly ordered his men: "Kill them, then dispose of the bodies along with the others."

No matter how desperately Ling Yuege and her parents pleaded for mercy, it was futile.

At such a young age, powerless and weak, she could only watch as her parents fell mercilessly before her. Finally, the blade stained with their blood was thrust towards her.

The corpses were eventually thrown off a high cliff.

Ling Yuege thought she was dead, but to her surprise, she miraculously opened her eyes after losing consciousness.

Maybe it was just luck.

The guard, seeing her as a fragile child who would easily die, only stabbed her twice, missing any vital organs. When she was thrown down, her body landed on a pile of corpses, allowing her to survive by chance.

When Ling Yuege was thrown down, one of her eyes accidentally pierced a broken branch below, blinding her in one eye.

She didn’t know where she found the strength at the time, perhaps it was the hatred of losing her parents and the desire to avenge them that kept her alive despite her severe injuries. She didn’t return to her original home but drifted to other villages.

During that time, she met kind people who helped her.

She also encountered those who wanted to bully her. And her strength seemed to transform after that night. Her mental abilities developed much earlier than other children, and her physical strength was exceptionally powerful, enabling her to survive those lonely and helpless days.

Although she later learned from others that she was a fearsome and vicious Type E.

During that period, she always believed that this power was a gift from her parents, watching over her from beyond, to be used for revenge. So she restrained herself, not indulging in the natural tendencies of a Type E to cause trouble, only hoping for a chance to seek revenge.

Many years later, she unexpectedly encountered Shen Tingyu.

To be precise, this man somehow found her and knew she had always wanted to take revenge on Mu Ziyu.

"If you want to openly interact with members of the royal family, you must first pass the trial of the Tower of Evil."

"No exceptions."

Shen Tingyu was also a Type E.

He taught her the survival skills a Type E needed in the outside world and arranged her entry into the Tower of Evil. He even acted like a seer, predicting that in the near future, an accident would occur on one of the prison floors of the Tower of Evil where Type E's were held.

As long as she performed well at that time, she would have a chance to leave.

Even secure a spot in the military academy.

Ling Yuege didn’t fully trust Shen Tingyu, also a Type E, even though he was already an important officer in the empire.

Having wandered for many years and finding no opportunity, she couldn’t wait any longer and had to accept Shen Tingyu’s help, betting on this chance. Fortunately, she didn’t trust the wrong person, and Shen Tingyu didn’t deceive her. He indeed had grievances with Mu Ziyu.

Especially Mu Ziyu, who was obsessively looking for opportunities to trip him up.

Ling Yuege, in order to take revenge on Mu Ziyu and Suya, who condoned his actions, also treated herself harshly.

When Mu Ziyu saw her back then, she was a fragile child with long hair reaching her waist and yellowish-green eyes. To eliminate any chance of him recognizing her, she changed her appearance, even going so far as to blind her other eye before deciding to enter the Tower of Evil.

Later, with Shen Tingyu’s covert help and introduction, she replaced her eyes with prosthetics—ones that no one could tell were fake unless she mentioned it. She completely changed the color of her irises, making her background ordinary and clean, so clean that Mu Ziyu couldn’t find any fault.

Originally, Shen Tingyu advised her to infiltrate the military and gradually climb the ranks.

But in the meantime, she unexpectedly got another opportunity. Knowing that Mu Ziyu was also recruiting, Mu Ziyu contacted her before she graduated, hoping she would join the Golden Wing Battalion.

Such a good olive branch, she couldn’t refuse.

Then, coincidentally, at the time of her graduation, his female assistant was executed by him, and he began her trial period.

Ling Yuege always remembered Shen Tingyu’s words.

"Mu Ziyu likes those who can work for him, complete tasks for him by any means necessary, like a heartless robot and an obedient 'dog'."

Laying low was tough.

If anything upset Mu Ziyue, she’d get beaten. Like when Xu Qingran beat him, and she, following 'empire rules,' didn’t help him right away, she ended up locked up and whipped repeatedly, enduring brutal abuse.

But she played the obedient role, admitting her mistakes and playing into his psychology to keep him satisfied and trusting. She even stooped to selling her body to meet his needs.

For E-types, emotions are their Achilles’ heel.

To her, chastity—so important to most girls—was just a tool to sell for her goals. It didn’t hurt or bother her, and it didn’t change how she felt.

With all this, Mu Ziyue started trusting her more and more.

Maybe he saw her as an easy-to-manipulate woman and was a bit too confident in his charm. After she nailed a few tasks he gave her, he started giving her more authority.

Now, Mu Ziyue’s been missing for days.

Knowing the bad blood between Shen Tingyu, Xu Qingran, and him, she figured he wasn’t coming back. While he was gone, Ling Yuege, who’d taken over most of the General Affairs Department, seized the chance to leak all the evidence and secrets she’d dug up about Mu Ziyue.

She killed all the staff who’d helped him, letting out her rage.

Even if she ended up in the Tower of Evil or got executed, it didn’t matter.

All she wanted was to hear Mu Ziyue was dead before she died.

"...Sounds like your E-types have a lot of crazies."

"Compared to you, I’m still small-time."

Xu Qingran was on a Silver Star-bound spacecraft, chatting with Shen Tingyu on the phone.

After the meeting, he saw the flood of news.

The whole Eastern Military District was buzzing about it, so he couldn’t miss the shocking news. He was a bit surprised to hear Ling Yuege had gone to the Golden Wing and worked for Mu Ziyue before her killing spree, but he didn’t mind.

After all, everyone makes their own choices.

Plus, Ling Yuege wasn’t much of a talker, and they’d drifted apart after graduation, so he didn’t know much about her life or work. Only after today’s events did he realize there was more to her actions.

When he saw the news, he remembered Shen Tingyu had a mole at Mu Ziyue’s place ages ago.

So he called Shen Tingyu, who was heading back to the Golden Wing, to talk about it. Shen Tingyu confirmed Ling Yuege’s identity and explained the course of events to him, which made him sigh.

He even regretted it: "I was too soft."

"I should have tortured Mu Ziyue more before handing him over to you."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the communicator.

The two quietly listened to each other's shallow breathing, and after a while, Xu Qingran asked him, "Well, with all these things happening now, what are you planning to do when you get back?"

"Are you going straight back to the Golden Wing headquarters?"

Shen Tingyu replied softly, "No."

"I will go directly to the palace."

Xu Qingran understood instantly after hearing this.

He smiled slightly, recalling the audio in the news: "That recording... what's the story behind it?"

"If this gets out, your identity might not stay hidden anymore?"

He remembered that Shen Tingyu wasn't too fond of that.

Shen Tingyu stayed quiet for a moment before sighing.

He first addressed his question: "That's also one of the secrets Qi Shengxue hid under the peach tree."

Back then, Qi Shengxue was an intern hopping between various research institutes, working on different projects.

At the time, she was at the Imperial Official Drug Research Institute, which was directly under the palace's management. That day, Mu Ziyue came for an inspection, and somehow, data from a specific lab got leaked.

This led the staff to uncover the drugs they were developing to harm Mu Mingrui.

When Su Ya and Mu Ziyue sent people to silence them, Qi Shengxue was in a hidden compartment between labs, counting items, and managed to escape. But she recorded what happened outside, though fear of implicating her family kept her from handing it over.

She had no choice but to bury it along with Shen Qianning's secret.

Shen Tingyu handed the audio to Ling Yuege, mainly for her to use as needed—it could be key evidence to take down Mu Ziyue and Su Ya. Though he didn't want the empire's people to uncover his other hidden identity, in the face of major events, a little sacrifice was worth it.

Shen Tingyu joked, "As long as I don't admit it, no one can touch me."

Xu Qingran gave a hum of agreement.

Then he heard him ask, "What about you? What’s your next move?"

After a pause, he added, "...Feeling okay?"

Xu Qingran, hearing his deep yet gentle tone, chuckled, "You asking like that makes me feel like I’m pregnant."

Shen Tingyu: "..."

Xu Qingran: "No discomfort, just some noise after the meeting. I handled it casually and had the system block it."

"Ah, that just makes it sound even more like it."

Shen Tingyu: "..."

General Shen ended the call.

Then he sent him a GIF of a little white bear, arms crossed, puffing up in anger.

Xu Qingran thought it was cute.

He typed back, "Off to Silver Star for a live stream."

With the outside world buzzing, Tianlong couldn’t afford to fall behind.

So, while everyone online was in an uproar over various scandals, Xu Qingran went live.

At times like these, with so many people online, the moment the live stream started, countless netizens who got notifications tuned in.

Xu Qingran wasn’t visible in the live stream.

The camera angle seemed to be from a high vantage point, making the buildings look small but covering a wider area.

What greeted the eye was a sprawling expanse of ruins.

Strictly speaking, it could be called a ruined city. Older people might find the scenery somewhat familiar, while the younger generation would have no concept of it.

People were all asking:

"Where is this?"

"It looks so run-down, is this for real?"

"I heard that little lunatic is back on Taiyue Star, could it be a scene from somewhere in the Southern Continent? A newly recovered disaster zone?"

"Possibly, after all, it's rare to see a place like this without any signs of the Devil Clan."

"Really! Even though it looks like daytime there now, there are no mottled traces like colored paint, it's way too clean!"

"I knew something seemed off right away, it's because of this!"

The streamer panned his camera around the entire city in a 360-degree view for the audience to see.

He looked like he was standing at the highest spot in the city center, leading them to take in the distant scenery and mountains. This place has been abandoned for years, with no industrial operations, so the air is super clean, and you could clearly see the snowy mountains a hundred kilometers away.

"...Hmm, that mountain looks familiar, as if I've seen it in a book?"

"Wait!! I remember now! Isn't this the 'Sacred Mountain' of Silver Star in the DR Dragon System from the geography books?! The ancient mountain people worshipped, with snow on its peak year-round!"

"No way... Silver Star's been under Devil Army control for ages, even if the Dragon System's doing better these days, it's basically impossible to reclaim Silver Star in such a short time, right? That place is huge."

People who knew a bit about geography and those who didn't were arguing in the chat.

Until the camera turned to the host, a good-looking, charismatic guy with brown hair.

The strong wind up high messed up his soft, wavy hair, but it didn't look messy at all, instead adding an indescribable wildness to his appearance in the lens.

Xu Qingran, ignoring the chat arguments, raised the corner of his mouth and waved at the camera, asking, "Guess where this is?"

In one second, he nodded and said, "Yep, you got it. This is Silver Dragon City on Silver Star in the DR Dragon System."

Bullet comments: ...

—Hey host, give us a chance to guess, will you? Make it interactive!

The next moment, they suddenly started to be shocked.

—What? Say again where this is?!

Xu Qingran stood on the dragon's head, overlooking the entire city.

Although they are still in a state of desolate and chaotic disarray, he seems to be able to see the future of this city returning to prosperity.

He curved his eyes and looked again at the asteroid floating at the same level as his line of sight.

He smiled and said, "Yes, I took it back."