028. Long Time No See, Have You Traveled to Space? (Part 3)
"Mr. Li Aozi! You’re truly amazing, not only as a hero who defeated the Abyss Humanitarian Anti-Humanity anization, but also as an iional warrior who helped liberate the Gunth people, and the greatest adventurer of this tury!"
Barnum was utterly vinced.
Was this the suspect with a 20 million derby bounty? What a joke, Li Aozi will always be my big brother!
With 1.8 billion derbies, you could set up a y and bee its governor, a hereditary o that. As an ordinary person, he couldn’t even fathom spending that amount of money in a lifetime—not just him, but probably not even aire family.
If Li Aozi were ied iering real estate and finance—my goodness, with a strategic preetal like Niobium Alloy, he could directly bee a financial magnate of the Frost-Pted Republic!
However, Li Aozi's move nearly made Barnum's heart leap out of his chest.
g!
Tossing aside the shovel, Li Aozi drew his sword. The 【Soul-Engraved Swordmaster ? Wargod】 activated, and with a swift, stroke, the sharp bde slid into the coffin’s seam. With a light slice, the gravity-enhanced bde effortlessly cut a fissure, yet the high temperature geed by the kiiergy didn’t spark any fmes. The exceptional physical properties of the Niobium Alloy, with its memory-like qualities, prevented fragmentation, smoothly rest its shape. Li Aozi exerted ford flipped the coffin lid made of Niobium Alloy.
"Be gentle!" Barnum clutched his chest, his eyes red with anguish, and said with rese, "This stuff is insanely expensive—just one er you cut is worth my month’s sary!"
"The alloy itself isn’t important; this stuff is everywhere in the universe."
Li Aozi didn’t care much about the alloy; he was truly ed about the person ihe coffin.
After unc the outer coffin, the teological devices inside made even him pause. Before him erfectly self-sustaining cryogenic life support system, with various devices geiricity based on air pressure, temperature, soil pH, and other ditions, keeping the freezer running. The sophisticated equipment was so advahat if shown to Du Zexin, it would drop his jaw in amazement.
This was the industrial pinnacle of the old era, one of the brightest achievements of that golden age, where people, driven by pure beliefs and noble ideals, heroically sacrificed themselves for the progress of their time.
The era that created it may be fotten, but that doesn’t diminish the importance of what’s i’s a gift from the pioo the future.
Or rather, a bride prepared by the idealists of the past for future geions.
Li Aozi turhe bination lock; he was very familiar with how to operate such old-era equipment. The Yami Liyoko text on it was basiowledge for pyers. After a series of activations, a holographic s popped up in front of him, and a synthesized female voice spoke:
【(Yami Liyoko nguage) Please ehe tract password.】
Li Aozi nodded and replied fluently in Yami Liyoko nguage:
"The Yellow Cucks the letter; I’ve e for the wedding."
【(Yami Liyoko nguage) Correswer, gratutions on your wedding.】
Barnum couldn’t help but ask, "How do you know this nguage? And you’re so fluent… Are you from the old era?"
"Basic courses." Li Aozi didn’t eborate. The devi front of him had already started operating, releasing gas as the internal pressure gradually normalized, and the frozen individual began to revive.
Li Aozi and Barnum stepped back two paces as the coffin’s meical system engaged, lifting the internal cryo-chamber upright.
Hiss—
The sedary pressure release pleted, the heavy alloy lock disengaged, and the door slowly opened. A lively, bright female voice sounded:
"(Yami Liyoko nguage) Long time no see, rades, have you reached the moon?"
In the moment, a vibrant young woman stepped onto the grass. Her fxen hair was meticulously braided and draped over her back. She wore a bck, era-appropriate uniform with silver buttons shaped like scales. The silver epaulettes on her shoulders seemed to signify her identity: an Inquisitor from the old era.
Her beauty was undoubtedly at the level of a true beauty—high-bridged nose, delicate features, and charming eyebrows. Even though her figure was tightly ed in the uniform, it was clear she had an outstanding physique. But pared to the passion, kindness, and fidence radiating from her golden eyes, which were so different from porary people—her beauty was insignifit.
Even an iceberg would melt before her. Her smile evoked a word that no longer existed on the Azure Star: spring.
What stood out the most, however, was her skin tone.
Today’s Azure Star people, with their mixed blood from exterhlings, had someale skin. Even with long-term exposure to artificial sunlight, their plexion wasn’t particurly attractive. However, this Inquisitor from 500 years ago had a full, healthy body with skin as radiant as milk, subtly indig that people of today and those of the old era had bee different species.
Her gaze fell on Li Aozi, and she immediately walked up to him, saluting:
"Alexia Emanuel Justein, 【Inquisitor】 of the Supreme Prosecutor's Office of the Yami Liyoko Federatioing to the Yellow Cuckoo tract holder."
Then she smiled slightly, extehe back of her hand, and looked into Li Aozi’s eyes with her golden ones:
"o meet you, dear. Please accept me as the bride prepared by the Yami Liyoko Federation General Affairs Bureau for the people of the future."
She blinked and couldn’t hide the excitement and fondness on her face upon seeing Li Aozi’s handsome appearance. Unlike women of today, she didn’t bother to ceal her thoughts aions, immediately taking Li Aozi’s hand and asking in Yami Liyoko nguage:
"Please tell me your name, my groom rade. I’ve slept too long, and there are many things I want to ask you—Has the three-body problem been solved? Oh, what am I saying, that problem should be unsolvable, so surely the death penalty has been abolished by nht?
"Are people living on the moon now? The sky is so white, I ’t see any clouds, but the sunlight seems a bit weak—not the best weather.
"Ah, you must have eradicated poverty and racial discrimination by nht? I must quickly report to the current Yami Liyoko Federation Supreme cil, and once I get my new ID, I want to visit the Iional Space Station."
Faced with her expet gaze, the battle-hardened Li Aozi didn’t know what to say.
He gently patted her shoulder, opened his mouth, anized his thoughts, and said:
"My name is Li Aozi, Miss Alexia."
"Li Aozi—your name is iing, dear."
He hesitated for a moment before saying heavily:
"I’m sorry, but the Yami Liyoko Federation was destroyed 570 years ago. The red-bck clouds of Camity now cover the Earth. We’ve lost the sun and o longer leave our home phe world has returo a frozen age where everyone fights for themselves. War and hunger not o but tio pgue tless people."
The smile on Alexia's face gradually froze, and the light in her golden eyes seemed to vanish as she looked at Li Aozi in disbelief.
‘Please tell me this is a joke, right?’
Her lips trembled, as if she were saying that. Her pupils darted and wavered, and she couldn’t help but retract her hand, pressing it to her heart. After a moment of inteion, she calmed down and looked at him seriously.
Li Aozi pursed his lips and finally decided to shatter her illusion:
"I'm sorry, we failed."
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Although some readers say, "Why hasn’t the p exploded yet?" "It’s b that the p hasn’t exploded," "The protagonist is too much of a saint, just a pure simp."
But I think the buried past of the Azure Star easily reminds one of ahat existed and was fotten.
Gunth is just a small try, a side quest, with nothing newsworthy and nothing much to write about. So after much thought, I decided to quickly the storyline here and guide everyoo the truly iing parts of Star Abyss.
When it es to the unknown, humans are always filled with fear and curiosity—this desire is etched into our very bones.
Every time we look up at the starry sky, apart from feeling the vast a desotion, it also makes one wonder if humaence has any meaning at all. Even if we strive to live, it might be just living; the universe won’t reize or ge because of our existence.
But even so, I still believe that going into space is the most romantid coolest thing humans do. This universe is vast, perhaps vast enough to taihing, or perhaps we find the ultimate ao life within it.
When a dream is both cool and romantic, reason and knowledge bee the bridge that helps people cross from reality to dream. The pursuit of romance is always rational, but the goal is always emotional.
AnnouA big thank you to [Brennan] for joining my Patreon! Your support means a lot to me.
FAL
