Chapter 77: Eternal Faith

Chapter 77: Eternal Faith

After the silence, Veidt Pollett looked at 333 and asked, “What is this?”

333: “A person.”

Veidt: “I know that. I mean, what kind of person have you picked up?”

333 remained silent.

Veidt: “Answer.”

333: “Wait. Contemplating.”

Veidt: “You should have contemplated this when you picked him up.”

334 suddenly said, “We have contemplated, contemplation failed, system malfunction.”

333: “Wait. Contemplating.”

The black armored warriors behind remained silent, seemingly accustomed to waiting for contemplation time.

Iliad blinked its cat eyes and suddenly spoke, “Um, don’t you guys ever get impatient when talking like this?”

The black armors stayed silent.

Veidt Pollett glanced at Iliad, “Mechanical energy ball, S-003 model.”

Iliad exclaimed with a whoosh, “Nice eye! You’re the first Ita to recognize my model!”

Veidt's eyes behind the black helmet flickered, “How can a thing from four hundred years ago be here?”

Iliad haughtily huffed, “There’s a bunch of stuff from four hundred years ago outside, waiting for your repair.”

“Me?” Veidt’s voice was a very indifferent texture, “I only destroy all useless antiques.”

Iliad and 0781, though often bickering, had a decent relationship in the garden. Hearing this, Iliad immediately flew up, “You—”

“Contemplation complete,” 333 suddenly interrupted.

The huge Black Warrior methodically repeated the initial identification result, “Non-Third Star System Ita lineage detected, Patrol Black Warrior 333 at 12:43 on Dayuga Planet, near the Black Pine Forest, identified as suspected unauthorized crash-landing.”

Iliad: “Hey! That’s not how you acted just now!”

333 turned its massive, intimidating head towards it, “Voice recognition failure, awaiting system reboot. Reboot complete, system updated, S-003 mechanical energy ball recorded, cancel attack action.”

So, were you planning to attack me just now??

333 extended its palm again, “Dayuga senior mechanic Veidt Pollett, please serve this distinguished individual, repair the damaged antique robots he brought.”

The black warriors again stood motionless, watching the young man in 333's palm. After a moment, an Ita behind them spoke in a low voice, “Lord Veidt, your light tail.”

Veidt turned, his mechanical armor's voice clicking into place, then he looked up, “Your light tails.”

The warriors then changed their stance to observe each other, only to find that the area was filled with golden tails swaying and exploding.

“Psychic control failure,” Veidt said coldly, “Go to the isolation chamber to calm down.”

Iliad clucked in surprise, so what were you all looking at just now? You didn’t even notice your own light tails appearing??

After speaking, Veidt turned towards 333/334/335, the three patrolling Black Warriors, “Program malfunction, go to the repair room and wait for me.”

333: “Acknowledged. Queuing. Eleven machines awaiting repair ahead, please prioritize his service.”

Veidt’s brows furrowed tightly, and he stared at 333 for a few seconds, “You are executing an order.”

333: “Yes.”

Veidt: “Whose order?”

333: “The illegal entrant’s.”

Veidt’s eyes landed on Yun Huai for a second before swiftly moving away, feeling an uncontrollable itch at the base of his spine.

“Cancel execution, go to the repair room now.”

Iliad looked left and right, and a minute later, the senior mechanic spoke again, “333, cancel his command.”

333: “Contemplation failed, command cannot be terminated, senior mechanic Veidt Pollett defying his order, 333 will now enter attack execution program.”

This time, 333 didn’t hesitate. Iliad watched in shock as it swiftly raised its mechanical arm equipped with high-velocity photon cannons, the dense array of black ballistic ports targeting their former comrade.

Veidt's light tail lashed out again behind him, creating a terrifying sonic boom in the air.

At the critical moment, Iliad suddenly flew up, positioning itself between the two groups, “No fighting allowed!”

The cat ball stood firm with its round belly, “Unity! No fighting!”

333: “Protective object entered attack range, attack halted.”

Iliad, still fuming, turned to Veidt, “You’re going to wake him up!”

This remark made Veidt's golden light tail explode with movement. He turned towards 333’s palm, where Yun Huai was sleeping and just turned over.

Ten minutes later.

AG-0781, along with its companions from ancient battlefields, entered the Dayuga underground city.

This was their return to a familiar homeland after four hundred years. 0781, well aware of the Third Star System’s ruthless military rules, knew that even the most heartless system would hesitate and reconsider in the face of that young man.

They had come this far, the war robots longing to be repaired, serving in the garden for that young man was 0781’s deepest obsession.

……

Yun Huai slept soundly, so deeply that he had no dreams and didn’t enter the psychic sea, as if his brain had completely shut off in deep sleep.

This wasn't the kind of sleep he should have while dealing with matters, so the moment he woke up, Yun Huai suddenly sat upright.

Looking around, he found himself in a space with three solid walls and one made of transparent energy.

Iliad was not beside him, nor were the robots, and the Black Warriors from before had also disappeared, as if the whole world was left with him alone.

In the center of the room rose a rectangular platform. Yun Huai got off the hard "platform bed" that was making his bones ache, thinking the arrangement here was on par with Lu Rinan's sparsely furnished bedroom.

Almost as soon as he made a significant movement, a camera peeked out from a corner of the enclosed space.

"Dayuga military stronghold, outsiders are not permitted to move freely."

Yun Huai stopped in his tracks, the effects of alcohol completely gone from his body. He stared directly at the camera from behind his mask and after a moment, spoke, “Inquiry, who are you?”

The camera, a black cylindrical object, bent slightly upon hearing Yun Huai’s voice, then responded, “Surveillance unit 5674.”

Yun Huai: “How long have I slept?”

Surveillance 5674: “32 hours, 48 minutes, 53 seconds.”

Yun Huai: “Where are the mechanical energy ball and the war robots I brought?”

Surveillance 5674: “Wait, linking to Dayuga underground city’s full monitoring system for a query.”

After three seconds, 5674: “Mechanical energy ball S-003 is playing hide-and-seek in the military corridor on sublevel three. The war robots are located in the mechanical repair room of mechanic Veidt Pollett on sublevel two.”

Yun Huai nodded, “Thank you.”

5674: “At your service, my honor.”

After a second of silence, 5674 spoke again, “Alert! Alert! Surveillance system malfunction!”

The reflex arc of the Third Star System’s mechanical beings could circle a planet, Yun Huai spoke, “Silence.”

The space immediately fell silent again. Surveillance 5674 flailed wildly in the corner for a moment, then slumped down.

Yun Huai: “Are you alright?”

5674 slowly raised its cylindrical body, “Alert, voice command activation successful, system update loaded completely, I will now execute any command you issue.”

Yun Huai walked a few steps forward, and 5674 didn’t repeat its warning against moving without permission.

The young man slightly raised his eyebrows behind his mask and tried again, “5674, open the door.”

5674: “Received, executing, the door to Dayuga underground level four military rest room is now open.”

The transparent wall in front of him vanished instantly, and as Yun Huai raised his hand, he indeed could now exit.

Without hesitation, he stepped out of the militarily styled, austere rest room, and 5674 bent its body, “I hope you had a pleasant rest.”

Yun Huai chuckled, and as he walked, the surveillance cameras in the military corridor overhead followed his movement in unison.

The red camera lenses meticulously recorded Yun Huai’s figure, but oddly, they did not trigger any alarm systems.

In the underground city of Dayuga military stronghold, a place of apocalyptic weapons, Yun Huai asked questions along the way, effortlessly activating numerous surveillance cameras with voice commands and easily reached the second sub-level.

The energy lift beeped open, and Yun Huai looked up to see a group of Ita warriors in black armor before him.

The young king nodded politely, “Hello.”

The warriors: “...?”

Yun Huai: “Please excuse me, I have urgent business.”

The warriors instinctively stepped aside, Yun Huai thanked them again, and then walked away.

The warriors scheduled to rotate to the rest room stood in collective silence for three minutes.

Then one of them spoke up, “It seemed like something just passed by.”

“Was there something?”

“A person.”

“Yes, a person, wearing white clothes.”

“……”

“……”

“……”

The squad leader immediately looked up, “Surveillance unit 2456.”

The surveillance camera next to the elevator immediately tilted its head, “Ready, please make your inquiry.”

“Immediately search the Dayuga military base security monitoring system! An intruder has entered our base and needs to be arrested urgently!”

2456 remained silent.

The squad leader spoke again, “Please execute the command immediately.”

The voice of 2456 was a slightly cold mezzo-soprano, “I'm sorry, I cannot execute your command.”

“？”

2456: “Dayuga underground city’s security monitoring system's highest authority has been changed. Previous highest executor: Lailar Alessio. Current highest executor: Mixed-blood Ita intruder; vocal range: young male; age estimate: eighteen years old. All 182,365 surveillance units in the underground city will escort him.”

The rotating squad fell into a deathly silence.

Meanwhile, Yun Huai had already followed the guidance of the surveillance cameras to the vicinity of the mechanical repair room.

As soon as his figure appeared around the corner, three large patrolling machines squatting outside the repair room turned towards him.

Yun Huai noticed their eyes were still icy blue, flickering upon seeing him.

“Long time no see, where are my war robots?”

333: “Inside.”

Yun Huai walked over and saw the repair room also had three walls and one transparent energy door, reflecting the strict unified management of the military stronghold.

333: “Seven have been repaired already, I am waiting in line.”

Yun Huai glanced sideways, “What’s wrong with you?”

333: “Veidt Pollett said my whole body needs repairs, especially my brain.”

Yun Huai: “…”

The young king shook his head, “You are fine. You just changed the system’s program because of me.”

333’s eyes flickered, “At your service, my honor. Did you have a good rest?”

Yun Huai nodded. He looked around the repair room from outside, feeling like a family member waiting outside an operating room. Fortunately, this 'operating room' was transparent, and he could see that the three walls were not empty but hung with various mechanical tools.

The repair room looked similar to the rest room but was much larger, with a lot of robots operating on the tables. Yun Huai saw the Third Star System's mechanic removing a section of 0781’s thigh.

Then, energy fluid and machine oil flowed out from the aged pipes, like the blood of a robot.

Yun Huai frowned slightly and looked at the transparent door in front of him, “Inquiry.”

The transparent door rippled for a moment.

“Is there a voice control system?”

“Senior mechanic Veidt Pollett's repair room has a voice system. Lord Lailar can access it with sound waves at any time.”

Yun Huai: “I am not Lailar.”

Door: “Who are you?”

Yun Huai: “A mixed-blood Ita stowaway.”

“Mixed-blood Ita stowaway, young male voice, eighteen years old,” the door’s surveillance unit flicked lightly, “Command interfacing successful. Mixed-blood Ita stowaway identified as the current highest executor of Dayuga underground city. What service do you require?”

Yun Huai calmly said, “Open the door.”

“Okay, please come in.”

As the transparent wall vanished and Yun Huai stepped in, Veidt became aware of the movement and turned around. He stood motionless at the operation table, still holding a drill sparking with electricity.

Yun Huai asleep appeared gentle and harmless, but standing here masked and silent, he somehow commanded awe.

Veidt was uncertain of his identity, but like all the black warriors who had seen him, experienced a moment of complete mental blankness.

After the blankness, a strong sense of crisis overwhelmed him.

From the fourth to the second sublevel, numerous checkpoints would stop any abnormal person or action, triggering alarms immediately, but until Veidt saw Yun Huai, not a single alarm system was working.

It was as if he could go anywhere he wanted, with all mechanical beings clearing the path for him.

Veidt took a nearly imperceptible breath, his tailbone starting to ache and itch again.

Strange stowaway.

Yun Huai moved slightly, and the sparks from Veidt’s drill flashed explosively.

333’s massive body blocked the entrance to the repair room, silently raising its arm for an attack towards Veidt.

Yun Huai watched Veidt’s wary steps backward and sighed almost imperceptibly, uncertain if the Third Star System’s faith still persisted, but certain that its mechanical system still obeyed the royal family.

So, sometimes talking to machines is more efficient than conversing with sentient beings.

The young king spoke softly, his tone noble and detached: “Inquiry.”

Veidt’s golden light tail exploded from behind his armor. In the corner of his eye, all the mechanical beings in the repair room, including the half-repaired war robot in his hand, sprang to action.

Unactivated machines automatically turned on, while those already on flickered their eyes, turning into the same dangerous icy blue as 333/334/335.

Everything here seemed to lose control completely due to the arrival of a mixed-blood stowaway.

Yun Huai looked at Veidt Pollett, “What is your name?”

Veidt clenched his jaw behind his mask, for a moment thinking he saw Lord Lailar.

But the person in front of him was clearly not Lailar, but a seemingly harmless mixed-blood youth.

The pure-blood Ita of the Third Star System were laconic and stubborn, but the beings here were even more solicitous hosts than their aloof creators.

“Voice system collectively activating, please wait, activation successful, Third Star System mechanical beings at your service. The senior mechanic you inquired about is named Veidt Pollett, male Ita, from Night Gold City, served on Dayuga Planet for thirteen years, title: Dayuga Senior Mechanic.”

“Thank you for the answer,” Yun Huai looked up at the black pure-blood Ita, “So, how are they doing with the repairs, Veidt?”

Veidt, holding the drill, stepped back two paces. Yun Huai spoke again, “Can you hear me?”

333: “He is contemplating.”

Yun Huai sighed again, making all the activated mechanical beings around tense up.

They sought the source of the sigh that had come from the current highest executor and finally focused on Pollett.

333: “Please respond, Pollett.”

All the robots around looked at the black armored figure, “Please respond, please respond, please respond.”

Veidt took a deep breath, “...It’s been too long, the repair work is difficult, matching chips need to be found, repair progress: 7.”

Yun Huai nodded, “No need to be tense, I just wanted to find a senior mechanic to repair the war robots. They protected me during my hardest times, I appreciate the Third Star System’s mechanical creations.”

The robots' eyes flickered, feeling heated and trembling at being acknowledged by the highest executor.

The voice commands of these creations weren’t designed by the current mechanics. Over four hundred years, the programs had undergone countless updates, but the initial program to receive the royal voice wave remained unchangeable, deeply engraved in every creation’s chip and mind to serve the royal family.

“Appreciate…?” Veidt held his breath, “You say you appreciate the Third Star System?”

Yun Huai's eyebrows twitched slightly, “Can’t the Third Star System be appreciated?”

The machines fell silent, unable to ponder such a complex question, but Veidt’s voice rose, a being capable of thought.

“...This place is not appreciated, it’s a land of wanderers.”

Yun Huai: “Then where are you wanderers heading to?”

Veidt: “Cannot disclose. I cannot deal with you. You are a strange mixed-blood stowaway. All stowaways should be absorbed by the Third Star System. You shouldn’t be here, but at the new recruits' training base for stowaways.”

“I indeed won’t stay here long. My ship is being repaired, and once the robots are repaired, I will leave.”

Veidt's mind tensed inexplicably, and hearing the young man say he would leave, his tail exploded again.

An Ita's light tail is always more honest than their words, a fact Yun Huai had experienced at the main star’s military academy.

Yun Huai: “So, you cannot tell me the endpoint of this wandering?”

Veidt remained silent.

Silence signified a refusal to answer.

This time, the machines also collectively fell silent, as if their programming did not include an answer to where the endpoint was.

It was still necessary to find Lailar.

Yun Huai took a few steps forward, causing Veidt to abruptly step back, as if the young man was some kind of terrifying entity.

However, Yun Huai did not speak to him again; he bent over to inspect 0781’s leg, then picked up an oil drum from a nearby mechanical table and placed it under the dismantled thigh.

This way, the blood-like energy fluid wouldn’t spill everywhere.

0781's sharp gaze fell, “This is, too, too too impolite, your gentleness makes me apprehensive.”

Yun Huai smiled and patted its arm, “Still waiting for you to serve me tea.”

0781 cried emotionally, “At your service, my honor.”

It seemed the half-repaired 0781 had already started to acquire the voice system of contemporary robots. After carefully checking its repair progress, Yun Huai turned and walked out.

Iliad, unbeknownst to when, had also found its way up, and due to Yun Huai, the mechanical energy ball was also given a green light by the monitoring system.

Veidt, watching Yun Huai's retreating figure, asked, “Where are you going?”

Yun Huai turned back, “Didn’t you say I shouldn’t be here? I’m going to look for the new recruits’ training base for stowaways.”

It would be a good opportunity to see if there were any soldiers from the transfer stars there.

Veidt recognized Iliad's model, but seemed completely unaware of the significance of the patterns on Iliad, which was highly unusual for a senior pure-blood Ita, unless he had never been taught what Roland Veit looked like from birth to now.

Royalty here seemed to be an absolute taboo, everything about the garden meticulously hidden.

Yun Huai somewhat understood why Xieye would have conflicts with Lailar; for the main star’s nobility executor who revered the royal family as supreme, Lailar's way of governance was tantamount to betraying the royal family and the empire.

If Lailar was as silent and laconic as the Ita warriors here, then ineffective communication would create a significant information gap.

Veidt watched Yun Huai leave, all the robots that should have been guarding the Dayuga underground city parted, making way for him.

Veidt put down the electric drill, and 0781 withdrew its gaze, “Hard work.”

Veidt: “Does he often treat you like this?”

0781 tilted its head, “How so?”

Veidt grabbed 0781's mechanical arm and patted his own black armor.

The collision between the machinery and the armor had no special sensation, only their mutual cold temperatures.

Veidt couldn’t comprehend the “gentleness” 0781 spoke of, having never been touched with a smile like that, nor could he understand how someone could move so freely here as if they were returning to their own home.

The senior mechanic couldn’t issue an order to arrest the strange stowaway because even uttering “arrest” seemed like a profanation to him.

A major loss of control had occurred on Dayuga Planet, and perhaps they should stop all ongoing work.

As Yun Huai left the repair room and took a few steps, numerous black armored warriors appeared both in front and behind him.

His walk in the underground city had already disturbed many of the Ita garrisoned here.

333, which Yun Huai said didn’t need repairs, led the rest of the patrolling Black Warriors to form a standoff formation with the surrounding warriors.

Yun Huai stopped, the gems on his scarf clinking softly.

Iliad meowed, “What are you doing? What do you want? Don’t you recognize the patterns on me??”

Yun Huai pressed down on the cat's head, and the silent warriors did not attack. The thoughts of living beings were more complex than machines; machines couldn’t contemplate an appropriate response to his presence but could still follow their initial system rooted deep in their chips, while the warriors’ minds might not have royalty but only attack all unfamiliar intruders.

The divided empire caused heartache.

Yun Huai lowered his eyes, his blood flow slowly accelerating, the upcoming transitional period making his state unstable, with an absolute sense of excitement following his drowsiness.

He didn’t stop but walked straight toward the black encirclement ahead.

An invisible force pushed the weapon-holding warriors away, his manner gentle yet irresistible, the silence around each person deafening.

The Ita here had never felt such a strange power, like a gust of wind from the snow mountains, about to bring something soft yet coldly comforting to the harsh Dayuga Planet.

Yun Huai's mood was not particularly good, the only consolation being the mechanics here willing to repair the pitiful robots for him.

He felt his excitement intensifying, giving Yun Huai an unprecedented sense of initiative.

Unifying the empire, a royal mission, wherever he looked, should be the territory of the empire.

Iliad heard the young man take a gentle breath, in the midst of exploding golden lights, like a pure deity descending.

Yun Huai's pulse quickened in his neck, a fleeting flash of gold and red.

On 1024 Mechanical Star, over 5000 light-years from Dayuga, a dragon lying by the window suddenly opened its golden eyes.

Author's note:

Brother Linzi: It's my wife! My wife has arrived! (Pulling Lailar excitedly) (Look, this is my wife!) (Excited!) (Showing off!)

Lailar: (Silent) (Silent) (Silent) (…) (Detonates Dayuga with a single move)