Chapter 79

Chapter 79

Autumn's gaze shifted from Xu Feng to Tang Butian, finally resting on the face of Figo, who was closest to him.

Seeing the genuine smiles of the Alphas, the shadows buried in Autumn's heart seemed to dissipate, clearing away the clouds to reveal the sun, brightening his once gloomy mood.

"The pain of losing Morfa has been much alleviated by the comfort of friends," Autumn said earnestly, looking at them. "During my days at the Dark Star Military Academy, I've always been under your care and accommodation. I am truly grateful for your favoritism over these months."

Figo nudged Autumn with his shoulder: "It's just a military academy competition, you'll be back soon. Why bring up all this suddenly? After the competition, we'll be the heroes of the entire Dark Star!"

Tang Butian moved his round bear ears, chiming in: "Exactly, you'll only be gone for two months at most, don't make the atmosphere so heavy. Representing the school in this interstellar military academy competition is a great honor."

Although he said this, the sudden goodbye still made Xu Feng's eyes redden. But seeing everyone so happy and joyful, he felt embarrassed to cry, so he forced back the urge to weep, looking at Autumn with red rabbit eyes: "Autumn, can I ask you a favor?"

Autumn nodded without hesitation: "Of course."

Xu Feng bit his lip and pulled him towards the balcony.

Tang Butian glanced at Figo, smirking mischievously: "This secretive bunny still has secrets he won't share with us."

Figo raised his hand in a mock threat to hit him: "Get lost, you're the one who talks too much."

On the balcony, Xu Feng kept glancing back, making sure Tang Butian wasn't sneakily following, before he dared to explain everything to Autumn.

He seemed hesitant, struggling with himself before finally speaking, "Do you remember the story about my brother I told you before?"

Autumn nodded; of course, he remembered.

"What about it? Did you find any clues about your brother?"

At the mention of Xu Hua, Xu Feng's eyes reddened again, and he shook his head, "No. It's as if he vanished from the face of the earth. I've searched all over Dark Star but couldn't find him."

"Then you..."

As expected, Xu Feng fought back the urge to cry, sniffed, and handed Autumn the carrot ring he was wearing.

"You know, my genetic level is too low. Despite all my efforts, I can barely stay in the combat division. I can't achieve great results, let alone represent the school at the capital star in the empire-wide military academy competition like you and Figo."

He lowered his head in self-doubt, his long rabbit ears drooping in disappointment.

"I'll never leave Dark Star in my lifetime. I know that, having searched every corner of Dark Star. If my brother were still alive, I should have found him by now."

Xu Feng held back his sorrow, but tears uncontrollably welled up. He turned away, not wanting Autumn to see his vulnerable, weak side.

"So... so, either my brother is dead, or he's not on Dark Star."

Autumn guessed what Xu Feng wanted to ask for help with. He took the intricately carved carrot ring and solemnly promised Xu Feng, "Your brother must be alive. I will help you find him."

Xu Feng's figure stiffened, and far from stopping, his tears flowed even more intensely.

He choked out, "Thank you, Autumn. You're the kindest person to me in this world, aside from my brother."

Xu Feng trembled with sobs. Autumn wanted to comfort him, stepping forward and gently patting his shoulder. But the scene inevitably reminded him of Morfa being taken away by the black Alpha, weighing heavily on his heart too.

Autumn and Xu Feng's situations were strikingly similar; both had lost someone immensely important to them, undoubtedly one of the most bitter and complex challenges fate had dealt them.

Even in comparison, being able to leave Dark Star to search for Morfa in the capital star, Autumn considered himself fortunate.

There were countless others like Xu Feng, destined to never leave Dark Star in their lifetimes.

Autumn turned around, standing in the greenhouse and gazing into the distance. The clouds rolled and shifted outside, while the scorching sun relentlessly baked the earth as always.

The world beyond the school seemed boundless, yet everyone living on Dark Star knew that this place was less a planet and more a vast prison.

Many were like prisoners, confined for life without freedom, enduring repeated separations and losses of their loved ones.

Autumn's gaze sharpened, gradually focusing as he clenched his fists slowly.

He had a vague premonition that his journey to the capital star would involve more than just finding Morfa.

Behind him, the cheerful flowers huddled together, blooming brightly and invitingly, with butterflies occasionally alighting on their delicate petals.

Lost in thought, the sound of a knock on the balcony door and Figo's voice brought him back: "Xu Feng, Autumn, are you done? That healing Omega is here again."

Hearing the noise, Xu Feng quickly composed himself, wiping away his tears, and replied to Figo, "Yeah, all good. Coming out now."

After speaking, he turned to Autumn, managing a forced smile: "Let's go, Autumn."

Autumn softly responded and had just appeared when Bai Tianxing hugged him tightly.

Caught off guard, Autumn was pushed back a few steps, finally steadying himself with Figo's help to avoid being toppled by the human cannonball.

Bai Tianxing, actually taller than Autumn, for some reason, always liked clinging to him like a koala. As soon as he saw Autumn, he burst into a radiant smile, his white flower hairpin cheerfully swaying.

The three Alphas exchanged glances, witnessing this scene, and discreetly left the living room, giving them space: When Omegas played together, what business was it of theirs, mere Alphas?

Bai Tianxing's eyes shone brightly as he lowered his head to look at Autumn, his gaze so focused it seemed to hold only him: "I've been looking for you all day, where have you been?"

Autumn allowed himself to be embraced, deliberately avoiding the question and instead asked, "You were looking for me? Is there something you need?"

"Can't I find you if there's nothing important?" Bai Tianxing chuckled a few times before pulling out a jade-like medal striped in white and green from his pocket.

"Besides, I came to find you because I do have something to discuss~"

"What is this?" Autumn inquired, looking at the medal engraved with patterns of the sky full of stars.

Bai Tianxing had been waiting for this question, lifting his head proudly, even the white flower on his head seemed to radiate confidence.

"This is the award for ranking first in the healing department's final exams! Every term, the Omega who gets this award receives a medal carved with their attribute." He handed the medal to Autumn like a prized treasure, his expression expectant like a puppy waiting for praise: "I ranked first this term again~ So, this medal is carved with the pattern of the sky full of stars."

"Am I not amazing?" Bai Tianxing asked, eyes wide with anticipation, gazing at Autumn.

"Very impressive."

Autumn accepted the medal, affectionately ruffling the Omega's hair, messing up the small white flower which kept resiliently straightening itself.

"I want to give this medal to you," Bai Tianxing said.

"Why give it to me? It's your honor," Autumn replied, not quite understanding the medal's relevance to him.

Bai Tianxing explained, "The healing department's final exam this term was set even before the term started. It was about who could cultivate the most robust plant. My green radish came first. Remember when you helped Ek find out why his daisies were wilting? That inspired me: What if I used nutrient solution to transform the soil into a more plant-friendly environment? Would the plants grow more luxuriantly?"

"Once I had that idea, I immediately started experimenting, and it turns out I was right! Soil transformed with nutrient solution is indeed very conducive to plant growth. The plants not only grew faster but also more robustly, no longer bearing just a few sparse leaves like before."

Realization dawned on Autumn; the other had taken inspiration from his casual remarks and attributed the success to him.

After pondering for a moment, he nodded, affirming Bai Tianxing's approach: "Indeed, the soil on Dark Star is extremely barren and full of galactic radiation, hardly suitable for ordinary plants. But the spiritual energy in the nutrient solution, albeit in trace amounts, can be enough to improve the poor soil quality. It might not match Earth's soil, but at least it can sustain plant life."

Autumn himself used his spiritual energy to transform the soil, a similar approach to Bai Tianxing's, only his spiritual energy was far more refined than the nutrient solution, hence more effective.

"Your method is correct; congratulations on discovering a new way to cultivate plants."

Faced with Autumn's praise, Bai Tianxing became bashful. He let go of the little Omega, stepping back a few steps, and said somewhat shyly, "School's out for the holidays. I'll be going home in a few days. Do you want to come with me?"

Knowing Autumn was a wandering Omega driven to Dark Star, Bai Tianxing, concerned he might have nowhere to live, extended an invitation.

"Thank you for your kindness, but..." Autumn, not adept at dealing with Omegas, replied awkwardly: "In a few days, I'll be leaving with the school's team to participate in the military academy competition at the capital star. I won't be returning for a while. Thank you, but I won't need it this time."

"What?! You're participating in the military academy competition?!" Bai Tianxing was stunned by Autumn's words, like a bolt from the blue, unable to react and standing frozen.

After a long pause, Bai Tianxing anxiously followed up: "But you said, you said you wouldn't participate in the military academy competition. Why, why are you suddenly going?!"

Autumn, of course, couldn't reveal the real reason and struggled to find words, finally saying: "I have a necessary reason to go to the capital star, so... I'm sorry, I can't go home with you."

Bai Tianxing was dazed for a long time, his mind in turmoil, unable to make sense of it all.

He stared blankly at Autumn, trying to find the answer he sought in that expressionless, exquisitely indifferent face, and ultimately had to accept: Autumn wasn't joking.

Autumn was truly leaving Dark Star, leaving the school, and leaving him.

Bai Tianxing couldn't accept this reality, his emotions collapsing as he angrily questioned: "You're just an Omega, why must you participate in the military academy competition? What's so good about the capital star? People there look down on those from Dark Star. Even if you go, you won't gain any respect!"

Autumn frowned, surprised by Bai Tianxing's intense reaction to his mere trip to the capital star, unable to comprehend its magnitude.

Still, he tried to reassure: "I'm not going for honor or glory, but because I have something I must do. I won't be gone long, and if all goes well, I may return when school reopens. We'll only be apart for a few months."

"No! You don't understand! You just don't get it!" Bai Tianxing, inconsolable, refused to listen, shaking his head in denial.

"You don't realize how exceptional you are, so you don't know that an Omega like you, if you shine in the military academy competition, won't need to return to Dark Star!"

"Military academies on the capital star will vie for you, the entire empire will adore you, and then Dark Star will be nothing but a disgraceful, trashy past you're eager to shed!"

And what about himself?

Bai Tianxing was painfully aware that by then, he too would be just another part of the past that Autumn discards.

Overwhelmed with sorrow and despair, Bai Tianxing's emotions spiraled out of control. He looked at Autumn with red eyes, a look of utter hopelessness in his gaze.

"Why do you think there isn't a single A-grade Omega on Dark Star... where do you think... they all went..."

In the end, even Bai Tianxing found his own breakdown ridiculous. And the frown on Autumn's face, born from confusion over the turn of events, seemed like the last straw that broke through Bai Tianxing's final defenses.

Even though Autumn said nothing, Bai Tianxing knew that everything he said today couldn't sway his decision; in his heart, he was just a regular friend, not even comparable to those three Alphas—

In fact, not even a regular friend, at best just a classmate with whom he had interacted.

In that moment, Bai Tianxing seemed to lose his only support, stepping back dejectedly, laughing self-deprecatingly, "The real 'good stuff' is never left for Dark Star by the empire. Only trash like me, a B-grade Omega who wouldn’t matter on other planets, can enjoy top treatment on Dark Star…"

Bai Tianxing now realized how childish his gesture of giving Autumn the medal had been.

Before him stood the star of Dark Star, sought after by all, the chief spiritual leader of the entire school.

And his broken medal, in comparison to Autumn's glorious accolades, amounted to nothing.

Autumn could represent Dark Star's military academy in the empire-wide, interstellar competition, with a bright future visible at a glance, not destined to remain obscure in the exile of Dark Star, but to shine brilliantly in front of the whole empire.

And he, in front of such an outstanding, lighthouse-like figure, was as insignificant as a tiny ant.

In that moment, Bai Tianxing faced the harsh reality, realizing… he could never catch up with Autumn's strides.

His excellence was only relative to ordinary people; there was a chasm-like gap between him and the true elites.

It was a chasm Bai Tianxing could never cross, no matter how hard he tried.

Autumn didn’t know what Bai Tianxing thought in those few seconds. He reached out to grasp Bai Tianxing's hand, only to be brushed off.

In his astonishment, Autumn watched as the once arrogant and proud Omega wept profusely, leaving behind words he never thought he'd hear from such a person in his lifetime.

"You and I are like the stars in the sky and the pebbles on the ground; I will never touch your radiance in my lifetime!"

Having said this, he dashed out of the dormitory without looking back, leaving Autumn with only a desolate, heartbroken silhouette.

Hearing the commotion, Xu Feng cautiously peeked out, his rabbit ears moving timidly as he looked towards Autumn, still standing there: "What happened, Autumn? That healing Omega, he seemed..."

Autumn was still reeling from Bai Tianxing's sudden outburst and shook his head blankly, not even understanding himself why things had suddenly taken such a turn.

He stared in the direction Bai Tianxing had left for a long time, feeling inexplicably uneasy.

Maybe it was just an illusion, born from his recent emotional instability?

Shaking his head, Autumn looked away and murmured softly, "I'll be leaving Dark Star for a while; he might be... just reluctant to let me go."

"It's probably nothing..." While Autumn said so, he couldn't shake off a nagging sense of apprehension.

Trying to ignore this unease, he adjusted his demeanor and told Xu Feng, "I might be outside the school these few days before departure, preparing some things. You, Figo, and Tang Butian don’t worry about me; I’ll be back before we leave."

Xu Feng didn’t ask what Autumn was going to do outside; he just obediently nodded: "Okay, I’ll pass your message to them. Be careful and stay safe when you’re out there on your own."

Autumn responded softly and turned to go back to his dorm to pack the items he needed to take to the capital star.

Just before entering his room, he couldn’t help but look back one more time, worried about Bai Tianxing.

*

Ten days later—

"Queqiu had converted most of his empire coins into nutrient solutions, absorbed them all in a secure location. Though each bottle's spirit energy was minimal, their cumulative effect was significant. He had not only regained his original state upon arrival in this world but even surpassed it after a recent breakthrough."

"He returned to Dark Star Military School the night before the team's departure and rested well. The next morning, he and Figo arrived at the starship boarding point, bid farewell by Xu Feng and Tang Butian."

"Before parting, Xu Feng, with tears welling in his eyes, looked at Queqiu, 'Goodbye, Queqiu. Have a safe journey.'"

"'Goodbye, Figo. Bon voyage.'"

"Tang Butian, while mocking Xu Feng for being a crybaby Alpha, wore sunglasses to hide his own red eyes, his voice choked up as he addressed Queqiu and Figo, 'You both are doing great, making us first-year combat students proud, and the pride of the entire Dark Star. Show them what we're made of in the Capital Star, don't let those outsiders look down on students from Dark Star Military School!'"

"Feeling he might have put too much pressure, he coughed and changed his tone to Queqiu, 'You don’t need to push yourself too hard, Queqiu. I heard those military schools have Alphas of S-rank; it might be dangerous for you to compete with them. Let Figo handle it.'"

"Figo, initially sentimental about the farewell, couldn’t help but roll his eyes at Tang Butian’s comment."

"He clenched his fists, 'I think you've been spared from a beating for too long, getting itchy again.'"

"Tang Butian stuck out his tongue, 'You can’t catch me now, and won’t be able to for the next two months, so there!'"

"Their banter considerably lightened the somber mood. Queqiu checked the time, 'We need to get going. We'll have a proper get-together when we return.'"

"Seeing this, Figo abandoned his plans to give Tang Butian a farewell beating, picked up his and Queqiu’s luggage, and promptly left without further delay."

"Figo joked, 'Bye, dad's off to the Capital Star to broaden his horizons. When I come back, I'll enlighten you two country bumpkins.'"

"Queqiu also waved to them, 'Goodbye, Xu Feng, Tang Butian. Take good care of our 'Canary.''"

"Xu Feng covered his eyes with his rabbit ears, not daring to watch their receding figures, sobbing softly, 'Goodbye, see you again.'"

"Tang Butian took a few steps after them, cupped his hands around his mouth, and shouted, 'Don't worry about achievements or honors, just make sure you both come back safely!!'"

Figo paused, not turning around, but raised his hand for a wave: "Go back, I'll take good care of our princess."

Autumn turned back, earnestly memorizing the faces of Xu Feng and Tang Butian, etching them in his heart.

He smiled, his voice soft as a breeze-tossed branch: "Little bear, little bunny, goodbye."

After boarding the 'Siku' spacecraft bound for the capital star, Autumn watched through the glass cabin as the scenery below gradually shrank – first losing sight of Dark Star Military Academy, then the main urban area, and slowly even the vast expanse of the Gobi disappeared.

Finally, only thick clouds remained.

Autumn silently thought to himself:

Dark Star, goodbye.

Author's note:

And now we're about to witness Autumn's continual moments of glory—