Compared to the survivors’ shock and complaints, the stardust humans were like mice that had fallen into a rice jar—ecstatic and giddy, wanting to take everything home with them.
“Stardust Softshell Turtle—grab it! Stew it, braise it in soy sauce—it’s insanely delicious. Major nourishment boost!”
“I was just wondering earlier why all the stardust creatures near Jiuzhou Star had disappeared. Turns out they all came running here!”
“Seriously though, with this many creatures crammed into one area, don’t they feel suffocated?”
The Radiant Jellyfish, which had escaped by ditching its tentacles, flickered through every color of the rainbow upon hearing that.
Did they want to crowd together? They were hiding from you pests!
Especially those Stardust Sonic Whales!
They were practically traitors among the stardust mutants. What grudge did they even hold? Why did they come bouncing and howling, leading the stardust humans straight to their doorstep?
Did that make any sense?!
Sure, they had plenty of tentacles, but they couldn’t withstand the stardust humans hacking off two of them every single time they showed up!
Say too much, and it’s just tears.
Outside the Dark Domain, there were the Zergs. Inside the Dark Domain, there were the stardust humans, every bit as formidable as the Zergs.
The entire universe was practically becoming a paradise for foodies!
Lin Xiaohe glanced at the Radiant Jellyfish, which had retreated far into the distance. From its kaleidoscopic body, she could read its sheer indignation.
Then she looked at Wesley and the others, who were buzzing with excitement, and her already biased heart tilted even further.
Her poor people just wanted to eat something good—what was so wrong with that?
They’d worked so hard, traveling all the way from the Dark Domain to Gonggong Star, fighting a brutal battle. They deserved a treat.
As the leader of the stardust humans, Lin Xiaohe took it upon herself to fulfill her duty of feeding them.
She locked her eyes on the Radiant Jellyfish. Her spear shot out like a bolt of lightning, striking with blinding speed, piercing the jellyfish’s core. In an instant, fine green vines burst forth, weaving into a massive net that dragged the entire creature over.
“Go ahead. Cut whichever part you want to eat.”
Whoa!
“Long live the Party Leader!” The stardust humans cheered, swarming over and pointing at the jellyfish with great deliberation.
Wesley shouted above the noise, “Our motto is sustainable development! Don’t kill it—this is the only Radiant Jellyfish in the whole Dark Domain.”
The Radiant Jellyfish thought: Are you people demons?! You know I’m the only one of my kind, and you’re still eating me?!
As the stardust humans sliced and diced, the survivors watching from the sidelines shed tears of envy.
“So this is what it means to latch onto a powerful backer? And that backer is ridiculously strong!”
“I’m in love, I’m in love! Lin Xiaohe spoils them so much.”
“The Federation treated us like pawns, but Lin Xiaohe is out here feeding her people. The contrast is just brutal.”
“Don’t even mention those bastards to me. I hereby solemnly declare—I’m defecting from the Federation!”
It had to be said—the stardust humans treating the Dark Domain like their own personal farm did wonders for the survivors’ psychological stress and anxiety.
Especially after seeing Lin Xiaohe carve through those immensely powerful stardust mutants as if she were chopping vegetables. The survivors’ sense of security went through the roof.
Even if Jiuzhou Star turned out to be a primitive planet with a harsh natural environment, they now had the confidence to stick it out!
The group pressed on cheerfully through the Dark Domain and soon arrived near Jiuzhou Star.
“We’re here! Look—that’s Jiuzhou Star!”
The stardust humans who had stayed behind on Jiuzhou Star also spotted the returning crowd.
Hundreds of streaks of flowing light rose from the planet’s surface.
Wesley and the others rushed forward to meet them.
In the vacuum of space, the two groups silently converged. Specks of stardust and human forms intertwined gently, like long-lost family members embracing tightly.
There was no sound, but the starfield around Jiuzhou Star was illuminated by pure light and joy.
Then, the stardust humans who had remained on Jiuzhou Star fixed their gaze on Lin Xiaohe, their eyes blurred with tears.
They didn’t rush forward with small talk, nor did they ask what Lin Xiaohe had been through. Instead, they bowed deeply and said with utter reverence, “Welcome home, Party Leader!”
The ordinary humans of Jiuzhou Star had already erupted into a sea of celebration.
Human space fleets flashed their lights in rhythmic patterns, and from the orbital port called [Tiangong], small ships streamed out, forming an escort formation around Lin Xiaohe.
Their communication lights flickered in unison, spelling out a single message:
“WELCOME, OUR LORD!”
The smile on Lin Xiaohe’s face froze for a moment. That wave of “Our Lord” energy—the very same octopus-borne breeze—had finally drifted all the way to Jiuzhou Star.
She was moved, yes, but also inexplicably embarrassed.
Would the survivors from the Fifth Star Ring think they’d been lured into some kind of cult headquarters?!
But their reactions surprised her.
“Wow, this is actually Jiuzhou Star? It’s gorgeous!”
“Oh my god, their spaceport is beautiful—is it built into a tree?”
“Holy moly, look at all that green—is that forest?! Jiuzhou Star is actually a habitable planet untouched by stardust contamination?”
“Even the tourism paradise on the First Star Ring isn’t this pretty!”
Jiuzhou Star hung like a finely polished sapphire, suspended in the absolute darkness of the Domain.
Its polar caps, wrapped in crystalline ice, gleamed like pure white crowns.
Its sprawling coastlines traced the quiet contours of continental plates.
Clouds drifted like light veils, slowly swirling, beneath which the vibrant green of life intertwined with the deep, azure blue of the seas.
It floated serenely in the Dark Domain, radiating a gentle yet resilient glow—so utterly dreamlike.
The Fifth Star Ring’s warship couldn’t help but scan the planet.
Golden waves of wheat rolled across the fields, with people piloting harvesters through the crops.
Besides wheat, there were corn, tomatoes…
“Stardust contamination level: zero. Land accounts for 30% of the planet’s surface, of which 83% is natural soil. Atmospheric composition is habitable—no… no protective suits required.”
The officer reporting this had a voice choked with emotion, pausing several times mid-sentence.
But no one blamed him, because everyone else felt exactly the same—they couldn’t believe what they were seeing.
Was there any planet in the entire universe more suited for human habitation than Jiuzhou Star?
Even their homeworld, Tigre Star, was barely comparable to this!
It all felt too good to be true—like a dream.
The military commander of the Fifth Star Ring stared blankly at the scene, as if struck by a massive pie falling from the sky, his head spinning.
“If I remember correctly, the Stardust Party once claimed that Jiuzhou Star had been terraformed by them?”
“Yes, that’s correct,” the Chief Scientist said, his voice airy, as if he were walking on clouds, his legs too weak to stand firm.
Holy crap!
With limited technology and resources, they had managed to transform Jiuzhou Star into this.
If they were given enough support—every planet in the universe…
Hiss.
He dared not think further. Just the thought sent his blood pressure skyrocketing, making it hard to breathe.
The Fifth Star Ring military commander grabbed his friend’s arm tightly, on the verge of passing out. “You bald-headed genius—we’re finally about to hit the jackpot! Before the entire universe goes to hell, if I can set foot on Jiuzhou Star just once, my whole life will have been worth it!”
“Don’t pass out yet! Jiuzhou Star’s spaceport is sending a transmission—they’re asking if we need to dock.”
“Of course we do!”
“They have a request—they need us to register our identities. Visitor or settler?”
Without a second thought, the Fifth Star Ring military commander said, “Settler, obviously. I’ll be the first. Name: Hardy. Occupation: career soldier. Graduate of the Central Military Academy, Mech Warfare Division. Extensive combat experience and team command expertise.”
Then he added, “And I pledge my loyalty to Lin Xiaohe and the Stardust Party!”
