Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Yi Ye stood in front of the mirror, horrified to find himself facing two pressing issues.

First, his body had shrunk.

His once tall and lanky 22-year-old body had suddenly transformed into that of a ten-year-old child, standing no taller than half the height of a coat rack.

Second...

He looked out at the street through the window.

Before him was an unfamiliar world he had never seen or heard of.

In this highly mechanized city, buildings made of steel and iron were everywhere. Vehicles, whether planes or cars, zipped through the clouds, spewing blue exhaust from their tails. The neon lights were blinding, making it impossible to tell whether it was night or day.

In the vast city, only a calm, mechanical female voice resonated, announcing the next day's weather forecast.

"New Star Calendar 369, May 12th. Forecast: clear skies. Sunrise temperature: -21°C, noon temperature: 34°C, sunset temperature: -19°C. A storm is expected in the coming days. Citizens are advised to prepare protective clothing and remember to travel safely. May the heart of the Empire protect..."

New Star Calendar... Empire?

Yi Ye had never heard of such a dating system. His youthful face showed deep bewilderment. Just then, a sound came from outside the house. He quickly climbed down from the windowsill, using both hands and feet, and sneaked to the door, pressing his ear against the doorframe. A faint sound came through the crack.

Two men were talking, but the content was too muffled to make out.

Yi Ye quietly opened a small gap, trying to eavesdrop, but just as he did, he met the gaze of one of the men. His alertness instantly spiked, and his small, pale body tensed up, assuming a defensive stance.

The man didn't seem to care: "Kid, you're awake? Good, come with me."

?

Where to?

Yi Ye narrowed his eyes. He could sense that the man harbored no ill intent. After a moment of thought, he stepped out of the room. The man who called him "kid" had short silver hair, so for now, Yi Ye dubbed him Silver-Haired Man. The man had deep-set eyebrows and a tall, muscular build. When he raised his arm, the contours of his muscles were strikingly defined. Beside him stood a middle-aged man wearing a monocle.

Neither man looked old, probably in their mid-thirties.

Yi Ye observed them discreetly. His youthful, adorable face displayed a maturity that clashed with his appearance, making him appear somewhat comical. The Silver-Haired Man glanced at him, suddenly pulled him closer, and vigorously scrubbed his face with both hands.

"What's with the act, kid?"

Yi Ye couldn't dodge in time, his cheeks squished, and he could only mumble in protest.

The Silver-Haired Man laughed heartily, flicking his forehead: "A kid should behave like a kid."

The man's strength wasn't excessive, but Yi Ye's body was too weak. Stars seemed to swirl before his eyes. He twisted his body, trying to break free, and caught a glimpse of the thick calluses covering the man's hands. A shiver ran through him.

These were calluses only someone who had been in combat for years would have. Who was this man?

"Let me introduce you. This is my son, Yiye Langley."

"He's quite cute." "I'm your son?!"

Two voices spoke at the same time. Yi Ye's eyes widened as he turned his head, only to be pushed back by the Silver-Haired Man's hand on his head: "What's with the 'huh'? Still refusing to acknowledge your old man?"

His father had been dead for twenty-two years. Who the hell are you?

Yi Ye sensed that something was terribly wrong. His mind raced, and he quickly calmed himself down.

An hour later, he finally pieced together the information from their conversation.

The name of this body was Yi Ye, which sounded very similar to his original name. The silver-haired man beside him was named Kewen Lanli, his father, and also the stationmaster of the Interstellar Recycling Station, usually responsible for recycling some mech wreckage and starship debris. As for the bespectacled man, he seemed to be the head of an orphanage, named Elwin.

Interstellar.

Not Earth, not the apocalypse.

But an interstellar era he had never personally experienced.

Due to the limitations of his previous living environment, Yi Ye had rarely been able to access reading materials, and the field of interstellar was not within his scope. But coincidentally... he happened to be somewhat familiar with it. Because just before his dimensional travel, his friend had given him a boys' love strategy game, the background of which was set in an interstellar world.

From Kewen Lanli's words, the settings of the two were quite similar.

Within the universe, there existed multiple forces such as the Empire, the Federation, interstellar pirates, and the Insectoid race, all balancing and opposing each other. The Empire and the Insectoids were the two most powerful factions in the interstellar universe, and the war between them had been ongoing for hundreds of years without cease. However, the difference was that the game was set in an Alpha/Beta/Omega universe, with the story mainly taking place in a military academy. The planet he was currently on was probably part of a remote star system of the Empire, with a harsh, smog-filled environment and relatively underdeveloped conditions, not a peaceful place.

This was quite different.

Yi Ye continued to inquire about other aspects of the planet, but Kewen and the bespectacled man did not continue the conversation.

"Alright, Mr. Lanli, let's go see the child first, don't let him wait alone," the bespectacled man glanced at his wristwatch.

Yi Ye followed behind them.

Exiting the gate, a strangely shaped "car" hovered above the ground, with various steel bars and iron blocks crisscrossing around the body, looking fierce and grotesque, yet the silver-gray metallic luster under the neon lights seemed somewhat dreamy. Yi Ye was not even half the height of the car, clumsily pulling open the back door and climbing in. The interior of the car was normal, without any unusual steering wheel, and the seats, made of some unknown material, were exceptionally soft and comfortable.

The hovercar slowly started moving.

Along the way, Yi Ye observed the external environment.

Kewen Lanli said that this planet was relatively less developed, but it was only relative. The streets were still lined with mechanical buildings, not the ruins and ashes Yi Ye had expected. The neon lights and laser panels flashed with dazzlingly vibrant lights, but the sky was wrapped in a layer of hazy clouds, occasionally showing the white trails left by passing hovercars.

Thick, psychedelic, yet distorted.

Yi Ye's gaze stopped on a billboard of a diamond-shaped building in the distance.

It read: "May the heart of the Empire wield the eye of the gods."

He squinted, feeling like he had heard this phrase somewhere before.

Not long after, they arrived at their destination.

Yi Ye followed closely behind Kewen, awkwardly grabbing the hem of the tall man's clothes with both hands to act like a young child should. Kewen patted his head and spoke to the bespectacled man: "Elwin, go bring that child out."

"Let me say this first, Stationmaster Lanli, you need to remember the rules of the orphanage. We do not accept children who are abandoned again after being adopted, so if you are sure you want to adopt that child, please be prepared to support him for a lifetime."

"Understood."

"Alright, then I'll go bring him out."

As the bespectacled man walked away, Yi Ye looked up at Kewen's wild, unruly face: "Are you here to adopt a child?"

In a completely adult tone.

"We've come this far; do I still need to tell you?"

As if afraid he would be jealous, Kewen ruffled his furry head: "Don't worry, you'll always be Dad's favorite child."

Yi Ye: "..."

Trying to ignore the second half of the sentence, he raised his hand to move Kewen's large hand away and instinctively asked, "Is this adoption even legal? Don’t both parents need to be there to adopt a kid? Where’s your wife... or mom?"

As soon as the words left his mouth, he noticed Kewen staring at him with a "what are you talking about" expression, and his heart tightened. Oh no, did this body's mom already die?

"Are you running a fever today, kid?" Kewen touched his face with a strange expression, "I gave birth to you, there’s no other mom."

...

What the hell?!!!!

Yi Ye stared in horror at Kewen's stomach. The man was wearing a tight leather short-sleeve that clearly outlined his strong and powerful eight-pack abs. What the hell, I came out of there?! How can a man even give birth?!

Yi Ye's worldview crumbled, leaving him dazed and confused.

"Hey, you’re really looking down on your own dad? Even as a Beta, I had no trouble birthing a kid like you, okay?"

Kewen pinched his face unhappily. Yi Ye paled when Kewen said "Beta," his fragile worldview teetering on the edge.

Beta, Beta, Beta?!

So, he really entered the ABO world?

Yi Ye's mind was a jumbled mess, like tofu smashed with preserved egg and soy sauce—sticky, messy, and all over the place. Just then, the dean with glasses returned, and Yi Ye could only clamp his mouth shut, steadying his shaky little body as he turned around.

Kewen frowned when he saw no one behind the dean. "Where’s the kid?"

"You know he saw his mom get eaten by the Zerg, right? He’s still in shock," the dean sighed, "Even if you go in, he’s not likely to follow you."

"..."

Yi Ye suddenly got a knee to the butt. He rubbed his butt, turned, and saw Kewen pointing inside. "Go get him."

Still reeling, he raised his hand weakly. "Why me?"

"You kids have more in common."

"..."

Yi Ye, a 22-year-old soul in a kid’s body, twitched his mouth.

Unfortunately, under the pressure, he had no choice.

Yi Ye followed the dean through two buildings and stopped in front of a small English-style villa.

"He's in the attic on the roof, you go up by yourself."

He tilted his head, spotted the sealed attic window, muttered "oh," then adjusted his overalls and climbed the stairs. The twelve-year-old body was weak, with no muscle, and after just five flights, he was already sweating and out of breath.

There was only one door on the top floor. Yi Ye wiped off his sweat and walked gently to the door.

The knocking sound was somewhat muffled, echoing in the dimness.

He knocked for a long time, but there was no movement inside, so he simply grabbed the handle and twisted it. The door happened to be unlocked.

The room was empty, the sheets and blankets unusually neat, showing no signs of having been slept in. The colors of the entire room were also very monotonous, with sunlight blocked outside, and the silence and heaviness seemed to materialize into a tightly sealed net, firmly wrapping every corner of the room.

The heavy, lifeless atmosphere was unsettling, and Yi Ye couldn’t help but feel a little off.

Until a very faint sound broke this lifeless silence.

He hesitated briefly, his gaze shifting to the bottom of the bed, where the white sheet hung down, blocking his view entirely. He strode over and, without a second thought, tore the sheet aside.

Swish!

A dark shadow suddenly darted out from under the bed, lunging at him like a wild animal. Yi Ye hardly had a chance to react before he was slammed to the ground, followed by a sharp, burning pain radiating from his right shoulder.

The shadow clung to him, savagely biting into his shoulder. Yi Ye could clearly feel the blood oozing out steadily from the wound.

Dammit!

Rage boiled inside him as he grabbed the other person's golden hair with both hands and yanked hard, jamming his knee into their stomach. Though the force wasn’t great, the accuracy of the hit made the pain unmistakable. Yet, the shadow appeared unaffected, holding on tightly without letting go.

Yi Ye raised his arm, poised to land a vicious elbow strike, but suddenly, he stopped.

His neck grew damp.

Tears seemed to fall drop by drop, the warm, damp feeling sliding down his skin, yet it left him oddly chilled. Yi Ye looked down at the golden-haired head and finally realized that the figure on top of him was just a child—skinnier, shorter, and shaking uncontrollably, like a broken toy wound too tightly, unable to control its trembling.

Yi Ye suddenly felt it was pointless to be angry with a kid. He sighed, spreading his hands to the sides.

"Alright, just say sorry when you're finished biting."

"..."

The kid froze.

The teeth clamped on his shoulder slowly loosened, and the child lifted his messy head, his dull, deep blue eyes fixed on Yi Ye. His expression was hollow, lacking any spark of life, but his face was so exquisitely beautiful that it left Yi Ye breathless.

It was the first time he had seen such a good-looking child, though the blood at the corner of his mouth gave him an unsettling, eerie look.

Yi Ye instinctively reached out to wipe it, but the child tilted his head to avoid it, then turned back to stare at him intently. Yi Ye chuckled, amused by this, resting his hands behind his head and crossing his legs, letting the child observe him at leisure.

"Kid, my name is Yi... Yi Ye Langley. What's yours?"

The child's eyes flickered almost imperceptibly before he spoke, "Bai Chuan."

Oh, Bai Chuan.

Why did that sound familiar too?

His thoughts stalled for a few seconds.

Yi Ye suddenly sat up, his forehead colliding with the child's nose.

"Wait, your name is Bai Chuan?!"

The child, clutching his sore nose, silently scooted back a few steps and nodded.

In an instant, Yi Ye's mind flashed to the billboard that read, "May the heart of the empire wield the eyes of the gods," then to Kewen, and finally to the child before him...

Holy shit.

Did I just get transported into a game?!

"Congratulations, host, you have triggered a keyword. The system has completed full binding."

A mechanical wave passed through his mind. Yi Ye's smile froze completely as he stared at the golden-haired child across from him. The mechanical male voice in his head continued:

"Welcome to the world of *The First Empire Commander*. The system will accompany you until you reach the end of the world's mission. Please remember the following information..."

Your identity: Yiye Langley, the older brother of the protagonist Bai Chuan

Current age: Twelve years old

Gender: Beta (undifferentiated)

Primary objective: ??? (not yet unlocked)

Time left to live: Seven years and fifteen days