Chapter 205

Chapter 205

Meanwhile, after Xue Ji left the Marshal’s residence, he returned to the spacecraft. Gene, still rattled by the near-firefight, asked again where he was headed.

“Looking for someone.”

Xue Ji activated the locator.

He hoped Asuer had actually worn the inhibition ring he’d given him this time.

Traveling all night to the vicinity of the K7N9P jump point, they finally met up with Devalen’s starship. Apparently tipped off beforehand, Devalen showed little surprise at seeing him, though he looked wrecked, clearly hadn’t slept in days.

“We checked all eight jump points that showed fluctuations at the same time and sent teams to search each one,” Devalen reported hoarsely. “Two are ruled out so far.”

A single jump point could correspond to over a dozen star systems, making it like finding a needle in a haystack, but it was the only option available.

Xue Ji glanced at his optical brain—the locator was dead. “Find anyone?”

“We found Serrick and some of the knights,” Devalen said, the only good news so far. “They’re alive, but all in deep comas. The medics found Serrick had injected some unknown strong inhibitor before entering the jump point.” He could no longer hide his worry. “Normally, we inject inhibitors before long trips; rarely mid-journey.”

“Any reports?”

Devalen pulled up the report for him. Xue Ji knew right away it was the inhibitor he’d prescribed for Asuer. The report confirmed the worst-case scenario Xue Ji had dreaded: Asuer had gone missing under the worst possible physical condition.

He let out a deep breath. “Where are the other six jump points?”

“Chief,” Gene interjected, unable to hold back. “What you need right now is rest. We’ll handle the rest.”

Gene had seen Xue Ji bust his ass for the past month, feeling moved and impressed, but also scared Xue Ji would drop before they found the Monarch. “With His Majesty gone, you’re our rock now. I bet even His Majesty would want you to take care of yourself.”

Devalen didn’t know the details, but he trusted Xue Ji completely. Hearing Gene’s words, he echoed, “Yeah, don’t worry. We’ll do everything we can to find His Majesty and let you know right away if there’s news.”

Xue Ji couldn’t exactly tell them he’d creepily put a tracker on their Monarch—the most likely way to find him now. He just shook his head. “More hands, more hope. Give me the map. Cut the crap.”

Devalen and Gene looked at each other. Gene shrugged, and they did it.

Meanwhile, in some far-off, unknown star system, Asuer awoke from a deep coma. A nasty stench hit him first, followed by the sensation of warm, viscous liquid dripping onto his forehead, accompanied by heavy, snorting breaths. He opened his eyes and met a pair of huge, amber eyes.

Time froze for a second. The giant beast slowly bared its teeth and suddenly raised its right claw. Asuer’s eyes went wide; he rolled sharply to the left, springing to his feet. Where he’d been lying, claw marks like trenches scarred the ground.

He quickly looked around. He was in an open area; the wreckage of a carrier lay a few feet away, its engine still puffing gray smoke. Not far off, towering trees, each huge and sky-high, grew thick, with water and beast sounds echoing from inside. Vague, huge shadows darted through the brush. Beyond was a mountain range, its peaks hidden in clouds.

Asuer found no sign of anyone else or the carrier. He looked back at the beast slowly coming toward him. Locking eyes with it, he got into a fighting stance, reaching for his waist—only to find a tiny dagger. He cursed under his breath and gripped it tight.

The beast stopped, lowered its back, and growled deep in its throat. A few seconds later, it lunged. Asuer’s jaw tightened; he dodged and rolled, pulling the dagger and slashing up.

…

Day forty-seven of the search.

Xue Ji jolted awake from a dream.

Gene, who had been draping a blanket over him, was startled. “Chief, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” Xue Ji rubbed his temples. “Dreamt I was being chased by a leopard.”

“A leopard?”

Such creatures were practically extinct.

Gene looked at the dark circles under Xue Ji’s eyes, genuine concern flickering in his own. He wanted to urge him to rest but feared it would be futile. As he hesitated, Xue Ji drifted back to sleep, propping his head on his hand.

Just as Gene finished covering him, Devalen strode in. “Xue…”

Gene hushed him softly, mouthing, “He just fell asleep. Don’t wake him.”

“Two more jump points are ruled out,” Devalen whispered. “I’m leading a team to the next one. Should we wake Chief Xue?”

“No, not this time. He rarely sleeps so deeply,” Gene said quickly. “We’ll go. When we wrap up, we’ll call him for the next location.”

Devalen thought it over and nodded. “Let’s go.”

Xue Ji slept heavily, even glimpsing two familiar figures in his dream.

He approached them. “What brings you two venerable elders here?”

Black Impermanence folded his arms, his cold face reciting a string of star system coordinates. “Consider this a perk for your diligent work all these years.”

Xue Ji blinked. “Does the underworld extend to the interstellar age now?”

“We are higher-dimensional beings,” White Impermanence said with a smile. “Go quickly. If you’re late, you’ll only find him in some leopard’s or wolf’s belly.”

Xue Ji woke up, momentarily dazed. The coordinates from the dream were still crystal clear, every punctuation mark visible. He put on his glasses and sat up. “Gene.”

No answer. He called for Devalen—still no response. The starship was eerily silent. Xue Ji walked to the central console and cycled through several channels. Finally, a communications center channel replied, “Who is this?”

“It’s me, Xue Ji. Where are Devalen and Gene?”

“Sergeant and the others have led a team to the B6TY1 jump point. They’re not expected back for about ten days.”

Xue Ji couldn’t wait that long, nor did he have time to scold them for sneaking off without him. He relayed the coordinates and instructed them to pass it on to Devalen’s team.

“I’m heading out. Tell them to get to this location as soon as they receive the message.”

“What?” The other end was clearly caught off guard. “Where is this? Where are you going? Alone? That’s too dangerous…”

Xue Ji cut the communication, quickly returned to his quarters to pack, grabbed a sufficient supply of nutrient fluids and inhibitors from the cargo bay, and headed for the spacecraft area. By the time the communications officer rushed over, all he saw was the closed hatch and the spacecraft’s tail flame as it disengaged from the dock.

The officer sighed, tried to recall the coordinates Xue Ji had just given, and found he couldn’t remember them immediately. After racking his brain for a while, he finally recalled them fully and hurried back to the communications center to relay the message.

*

Xue Ji input the coordinates into the spacecraft, set the fastest route, and selected several jump points. A message popped up.

He opened it to find a video.

The first image showed a massive underground cavity, its dome-like ceiling covered in blue-violet icy crystals. Below, a boiling, golden-red lava lake bubbled with gas and steam. Xue Ji was stunned for a moment before the camera zoomed in on the crystals on the rock wall. The view then shifted to reveal a cross-section of the entire volcano, accompanied by Freya’s excited voice.

“Xue Ji, we found it! Found it! The volcanic cones and upper mantle layers of all the volcanoes on this planet are composed of that rare metal you mentioned.” The camera flipped to show Freya’s bright face. Her red hair had dulled somewhat from the recent hard work, but her eyes still sparkled. “We’re already trying to mine it. The pressure structures inside active volcanoes are too unstable, so we’re starting with dormant and extinct ones.” She paused. “I’ve been unable to reach His Majesty or Serrick lately. Is it related to what happened at the Academy?”

The video ended there. Xue Ji felt a wave of relief—finally, some good news after so long.

Freya’s decision was wise, so Xue Ji didn’t add much, only reminding her to be cautious. As for her last question—

“It’s somewhat related. It’ll be resolved soon.”

The spacecraft began entering the first jump point. All signals would be cut off during the jump. Xue Ji closed his optical brain and watched as the ship was slowly swallowed by the massive turbulence.

The star system coordinates provided by Black Impermanence were extremely far from the K7N9P jump point, even a considerable distance from the jump points Devalen’s team had detected with simultaneous fluctuations—at least a dozen star systems away. Xue Ji wondered how Asuer had ended up there, but the soul-reapers had no reason to toy with him on this matter.

Traveling alone was incredibly dull. Sometimes, waking from sleep, Xue Ji felt as though he had returned to his past life, setting out to find Earth. The universe remained unchanging; the boundaries of time blurred here. The Empire’s standard time calibrated on the spacecraft became meaningless.

After who knows how long, the ship announced the imminent arrival at the destination, and a whole new galaxy appeared before Xue Ji on the main display.

Xue Ji froze, then after a long moment, got up and walked to the porthole.

There, four spiral arms, formed by billions of stars, slowly revolved around the galactic center, forming a massive, dazzling vortex.

The Milky Way.

It was the goddamn Milky Way.

Xue Ji's breath caught as he stared out the window for a long time. Lost in thought, he didn't notice the ship had already entered the Milky Way along its preset course, heading straight for their destination.

Xue Ji stood there until his legs went numb, then slowly walked back to the control console and sat down, gripping the armrests. The display showed a real-time view of what was ahead, and Xue Ji watched every planet that came into view within this galaxy, until a more familiar star system came into view.

Then, a planet of blue, green, and brilliant white.

"Arrived at target coordinates. Begin landing sequence?" the ship's mechanical voice prompted.

Xue Ji tightened his grip on the armrests, his throat feeling like it was clogged with a thousand cotton threads.

The ship, receiving no command to change course, automatically began the landing procedure. A dozen or so minutes later, the ship entered the planet's atmosphere, and at the same time, the long-dormant positioning program in his optical brain started beeping insistently.

Xue Ji closed his eyes, feeling the ship descend, slow down, and finally come to a steady stop.

Xue Ji didn't move—five minutes, ten minutes, half an hour... After who knows how long, he raised his hand and pressed the hatch release button.

With a hiss of air as the hatch opened, the sound of flowing water and crisp birdsong flooded in. Arriving on a strange planet, Xue Ji should have been on guard, but at this moment, he carried nothing, stepping off the ship empty-handed.

Blue sky, white clouds, green mountains, clear waters—a scene long absent appeared before his eyes.

Xue Ji watched for a while, then smiled.

He'd wondered where the leopards and wolves were these days.

So it was here.

Where else could there be leopards and wolves?

So this was how something you once desperately wanted would show up after one had given up.

What was this—a reward from the afterlife for his decades of hard work, or a slap of mockery from on high?

Beep, beep, beep—

The positioning alert on his optical brain rang incessantly. Xue Ji snapped back to reality, raised his wrist, and was about to open the device when he suddenly heard a rough, guttural growl beside him, like a boulder grinding through rock, a tremor squeezed from the throat of some large beast, full of danger and menace.

Xue Ji paused in his movement. As he turned his head, he saw a massive leopard, towering twice the height of a man, lunging at him.

Before he could react, another shadow, swift as lightning, tackled him, carrying him with immense force as they rolled to the side.

The world spun around him. A familiar scent rushed into his nostrils—sweet and rich, yet burning with a fiery intensity that stung his nasal passages.

After rolling an unknown distance, Xue Ji came to a stop, finding himself lying atop a scorching, solid body. He opened his eyes and met a pair of emerald-green eyes, like jewels.