Chapter 18 “Crane”

Chapter 18: "Crane"

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Water lilies, an ancient aquatic plant, often carry metaphors related to death in mythological tales from the Earth era. Legend holds that the sacred crown of Osiris, the god of death, was lotus-shaped, and water lilies, closing at dusk and opening at dawn, symbolize "rebirth."

When the climate of Chaos was not yet so pleasant, less than half of the seeds brought from Pandora survived. The rest, after countless generations of botanists' cultivation and improvement, finally adapted to the alien soil and barely sprouted.

Water lilies were among them. They lost their vitality in the lakes of Chaos until scientists cultivated the first water lily decades ago.

On the mirror-like surface of the water, ripples trembled. Water lilies floated there, their petals as light as white feathers gently swaying—such enchanting flowers were worth thousands of years of waiting.

The Emperor rarely visited this garden. He remained handsome and youthful, yet his eyes were deep and melancholy, as if shrouded by an indelible haze. His shoulders drooped slightly, his entire demeanor as if crushed by a heavy burden.

It seemed as if the weight of the entire galaxy rested on him, but was that truly the case?

He asked himself, but the answer was no. He was arguably the most idle person in Chaos; even Princess Leila, his heir, had more on her plate.

The garden's scenery did not make him feel better. After a very short wait, his subordinate arrived.

Hoshi, the President of the Life Association, was nearly a hundred years old, but his eyes were still sharp. Only a touch of gray at his temples revealed that he was no longer young.

His steps were still brisk and powerful. Three meters from the Emperor, he performed a standard courtly salute.

The Emperor waved his hand at him, signaling him to come closer.

Hoshi had watched the Emperor grow up and was closer to him than others. He offered consolation: "Your Majesty, I hear you have been restless lately. You should take your Soothing Tablet." As he spoke, a messenger approached with an exquisite green circular tray, on which lay a small pill and a cup of water.

Under everyone's gaze, the Emperor took the Soothing Tablet. The haze in his eyes almost entirely cleared, and his expression became gentle, just as it appeared on television.

The Emperor said lightly, "Thank you for reminding me. I always forget."

"Are you worried about the Prince?" Hoshi's eyes narrowed slightly, a benevolent smile on his face. "The Prince is very intelligent, just physically weak." He shifted his tone, lowering his voice to a volume only the two could hear, "Moreover, you understand, he can no longer stay in Chaos."

After hearing this, the Emperor was silent for a moment, then quickly smiled, though his smile always seemed forced.

"Indeed."

Hoshi sighed, and for a moment, he almost felt pity for the young Emperor. "Perhaps you need a companion. That woman has been dead for many years, and you are still quite young. Even the Late Emperor had two partners, yet you... remain alone to this day."

"I have no such intention," the Emperor said firmly, as if defending some inviolable territory. "I don't need anyone's company."

"Alright, Hoshi," his gaze shifted from the calm lake surface back to his subordinate. "Let's return to the main subject. Has the Prime Minister made any new moves lately?"

"Prime Minister Wu Tu recently went to Oceanus," Sharpe said, as if hinting at something.

"Oceanus?" The Emperor's brow furrowed slightly. "Oceanus is not a strategic location for the Empire. What was he doing there?"

"Your Majesty, you might not be aware," Hoshi's tone carried a hint of concern, "Oceanus is indeed exceptional. It is an important commercial hub for the Empire, ranking first in annual tax revenue among all star systems. The position of Governor of Oceanus has always been directly appointed by the Prime Minister." He paused, lowering his voice further. "I can't be sure how much of that ended up in the Prime Minister's private pockets."

Noticing the Emperor's slightly tightened jaw, Sharpe continued, "Your Majesty, you seem a bit impatient. I know you tire of endless political struggles. The next piece of news will interest you more."

Sharpe met the Emperor's eyes directly. "Since the Prince left Chaos, we've had people shadowing and protecting him. A few days ago, he quietly boarded an inconspicuous merchant ship heading to Oceanus."

Under the Emperor's controlled yet piercing gaze, Sharpe took a deep breath and continued, "However, a day ago, that merchant ship made multiple jumps in a short period, and we lost it."

***

Crane's history predates the Empire. Anyone who knows a bit of human history would recognize that the planet's name has a strong ancient Eastern cultural flavor.

In the pre-Imperial era, Earth had many countries, each with its unique culture. Thus, the first planets colonized by interstellar settlers usually had distinct regional features. By the Imperial era, the old order had already crumbled, and survivors had to put aside millennia-old grudges and unite.

Planets settled after the Empire was founded were mostly cookie-cutter. That made these early planets unique, with most becoming popular tourist destinations, like the famous "Aster" planet.

Crane's surface is covered in a thick ice sheet, giving it a white appearance. Even filtered through special window membranes, the reflected light was still blinding. However, this bright planet has two non-reflective surfaces at its north and south poles, looking almost black from low orbit.

Using hyperwave telescopes, you could see that all the planet's cities were built on the ice sheet, with houses also covered in snow and ice. If its orbit were a bit farther from the sun, it might no longer be suitable for human habitation.

But Crane's crust is highly active. Near the equator on the day side, there is an active volcanic group continuously spewing lava, like the red spot on a red-crowned crane's head, which is why the first colonists named the planet "Crane."

The Far Star was waiting for landing clearance from the ground station. In the galaxy, you have to go through this procedure before entering any inhabited planet; unauthorized landing is a violation of space law.

Crane did not have advanced space stations like those in the Inner Ring, only a few spaceports orbiting the planet.

With a slight vibration, the airlock door slowly opened, and a young woman in standard work attire entered. She had a neat short haircut and immediately began the inspection procedure upon entering the ship.

She held a detector in her hand, from which a slender infrared beam extended, slowly moving along the ship's interior walls, meticulously scanning every inch of space.

After confirming that there were no other living beings besides humans on the ship, the woman asked Konsu to present his travel permit. Outside the Inner Ring, customs on most planets usually did not go to the trouble of using genetic testing to verify a visitor's identity; a permit from the home planet sufficed.

Konsu calmly transmitted his permit to the customs terminal.

The customs officer focused intently on the screen, carefully checking it for a moment, then looked up. Her eyes, as sharp and vigilant as an owl's, narrowed slightly as she stared directly at him: "Our infrared detector indicates there is another life form on this ship. Please bring him out for inspection."

The top few buttons of Konsu's shirt were long gone, revealing his well-defined muscles. His skin bore scattered bruises, and he wore several rings that looked expensive on his fingers. He stroked the smooth surface of a ring and replied in a frivolous tone, "Oh, him? That's my little darling. I'm afraid he's not quite available to meet guests right now, Your Excellency."

His tone was very suggestive. The customs officer glanced inside the ship, her voice exceptionally cold. "We need his permit."

"A permit? He doesn't have one, Your Excellency. I paid a pretty price to buy him—tsk, it was no small sum." Konsu lounged lazily against the seatback, as if boneless, a perfectly teasing smile on his face.

The female officer's brows furrowed tightly. "Do you mean he is your property?" The word "buy" made her feel physically uncomfortable.

"Exactly!" Konsu raised his voice deliberately to cover any sound that might come from the sleeping pod. "That's how things are back in my hometown! People buy multiple partners to show off their wealth! They're no different from goods in a warehouse. How could they have permits?"

The officer's lips turned down imperceptibly, her nostrils flaring slightly. It seemed the very air inside the ship had become foul.

"Your entry permit has been confirmed," she said stiffly, tapping a few times on the terminal with businesslike efficiency, clearly eager to finish the inspection.

Many horrifying rumors about the Outer Ring flashed through her mind: a dark corner filled with violence, chaos, and injustice, inhabited by a group of rude barbarians.

She secretly congratulated herself on being born in the Central Ring, a relatively civilized place. Although the Central Ring could not compare to the resource-rich, technologically advanced Inner Ring, they at least had a civilized social code, unlike those remote planets that treated intelligent beings as buyable goods.

The Empire's territory was vast and boundless, with countless planets scattered across the starry sea, each developing unique cultures and rules. To promote interstellar trade and economic prosperity, the Empire had formed an unwritten tradition: in diplomatic interactions, to respect each other's customs as much as possible, no matter how strange or unacceptable they might seem.

Perhaps that was why this "upstart" could be so arrogant and domineering.

Yet, Crane's geographical location forced her to deal with these barbarians.

Civilization, truly a luxury.

A command was transmitted via hyperwave to the Far Star's computer, and the spacecraft followed the given path into Crane's low orbit.

"Sir, that was quite a performance just now. I almost believed it."

Konsu quickly browsed the planetary map, too busy to remove the ostentatious accessories scattered all over his body—until the rings actually hindered his operation of the personal terminal. "That wasn't a miming performance. There really are planets like that in the Outer Ring."

"Excellent!" Hu Shi said with an almost excited tone. "I have recorded your entire performance just now into the system." The electronic voice even carried a hint of elation.

Konsu's face darkened. "Stuffing all sorts of nonsense into the system—doesn't it take up memory? Delete it right away."

"Unfortunately, you do not have permission to delete data. Rest assured, I will properly store this footage in the database as a model for learning human behavior patterns."

"..."

Konsu ignored Hu Shi, refocusing on the planetary map before him. After entering the atmosphere, he manually adjusted the ship's course.

"Alert, the ship has deviated from course," Hu Shi sounded the alert a third time.

Konsu, keeping his eyes on the ice field on the map, fine-tuned the ship's direction. "I'm staying on the planned landing path to avoid messing up the city. I'm now landing in an uninhabited area on the edge of the continent. They won't care about a small ship that's off course."

The ship gradually penetrated the thick cloud layer covering the day hemisphere, and the continent below started coming into view. On the vast snowy land, lights scattered like stars dotting the landscape, stretching to the horizon.

The planet had plenty of geothermal energy, enough to support people living on the ice cap.

Those with wealth could use energy freely, turning their dwellings into greenhouses, isolated from the icy world outside. Others had to huddle together to ensure they wouldn't freeze to death—a cruel, universal rule for survival.

And naturals would surely be marginalized. To survive, they usually formed a settlement.

Konsu circled the outer edge of a high continental shelf on the map and commanded, "Search for lifeforms."

Hu Shi: "You shouldn't keep ignoring my alerts."

Hu Shi's predecessor was probably a companion robot, which made him unusually emotional. The previous owner of the Far Star must have been unable to bear the loneliness of long flights, so they installed this chatty AI on the ship.

Konsu had no such need. He often felt Hu Shi was more human than he was.

Despite verbal complaints, Hu Shi quickly executed the task. A circular holographic map slowly unfolded in the air.

Hu Shi had lost contact with his owner twenty years ago, and all information about his owner disappeared from his database. So after completing the last task—escorting Konsu's parents back to "Shang"—he put himself into hibernation mode, until twenty years later Konsu woke him again, promising to help him find his owner.

"Detection results are complete. A total of 372 lifeform signals have been detected in the designated area, indicating a scattered settlement pattern. No abnormal energy fluctuations were found."

Konsu quickly corrected the course. "Land on the slope on the side of the continental shelf."

Hu Shi said gravely, "This position is very steep, with complex terrain, unsuitable for landing. Moreover, because it's far from volcanic geothermal areas, the temperature is extremely low. The current ambient temperature is minus sixty degrees Celsius."

Konsu closed his eyes tiredly and said in a deep voice, "I know. This is our destination."

The ship immediately lit up with a light blue energy shield, then landed on a relatively flat area in the middle of a steep cliff. The anti-gravity engine emitted a dull roar, and powerful pulse waves shot downward, instantly tearing the thick ice layer beneath the ship into countless tiny ice crystal fragments.

The roar was particularly abrupt on the empty and silent ice field. The huge sound lasted for several minutes, and only after the ship docked on that narrow platform did the white mist outside the screen clear.

The steep ice wall was like a huge white curtain. On those smooth ice walls, there were many caves of varying sizes, their entrances tightly sealed with thick ice.

Just then, at the entrance of a cave not far from the ship, a piece of ice suddenly cracked and fell off with a sharp "crack."

A middle-aged man walked out of the cave. He was wrapped in a thick animal fur coat, holding a particle gun in his hand, glaring at the ship ferociously, as if he were looking at a monster.

Hu Shi summarized, "Based on his body language, facial expression, and the direction of the weapon, preliminary analysis indicates that this lifeform has hostile intent."