The situation on Jiuzhou Star wasn’t as bad as Lin Xiaohe had imagined, but it wasn’t great either.
The good news was that there were survivors on Jiuzhou Star.
The bad news was that there weren’t many survivors.
Grandpa Lin and Dad Lin went together to rescue survivors buried underground or hiding in caves.
Grandma Lin and Mom Lin went to save people in the ocean.
Mom Lin forced a smile: “We have a palace on the ocean floor. We’ll definitely be able to avoid the Aura people’s attacks.”
“Yeah, yeah, that’s right. Everything will definitely be fine.” Grandma Lin’s expression wasn’t great.
Her favorite divine tree had been burned black, looking utterly pitiful—no telling if it was dead or alive.
The vast fields stretching across the land had all been reduced to ashes. This made Grandma Lin, who had farmed her whole life, ache in every organ of her body.
Lin Xiaohe headed straight for the Life Safety Center, her heart nearly in her throat. There were many Stardust Humans there, as well as Kailin Reno!
When she arrived at the Life Safety Center, what greeted her eyes was a field of ruins.
She swept the area with her consciousness.
Lin Xiaohe let out a slight breath of relief—there were signs of life underground!
“Xinbao!”
With Xinbao there, the previously interrupted communication network crackled back to life. Though it wasn’t very smooth, at least they could make contact.
Inside the Life Safety Center, everyone huddled together like a flock of startled quails, no longer caring about the distinction between ordinary humans and Stardust Humans.
A scientist whose glasses had been knocked off cursed loudly: “Are these Aura people insane?! Killing the moment they show up—what grudge do they have against us, what grievance?”
“The Aura people are the most savage civilization I’ve ever seen!”
He cursed with great enthusiasm, but his voice was as quiet as a mosquito.
Old Black Brother had a ring of fever blisters at the corner of his mouth, his eyes stubborn yet helpless.
Who would believe it—even as a Stardust Human, he could still get stressed out!
He listened to everyone’s murmuring with a look of utter resignation.
Let them curse. Let them cry. Let them vent all the pressure in their hearts, lest they go crazy from holding it in.
Suddenly, the communicator that had been silent all this time first emitted a few bursts of static, like a bad signal. Then, a familiar voice broke through the panic in the room.
“Is anyone there? This is Lin Xiaohe. I’m standing on the surface above the Life Center.”
Old Black Brother’s eyes lit up like the dawn breaking through, dispelling the gloom around him.
He pushed through the crowd and rushed to the communicator. Countless words jammed in his throat, but he couldn’t get them out.
The communicator rang out once more with that incredibly reassuring voice: “Are you all okay? Is anyone hurt? How many people are there in total?”
That single caring sentence completely broke Old Black Brother.
Countless pressures, fears, and responsibilities weighed heavily on his shoulders.
As the soul of the Life Safety Center, he had to keep a straight face, couldn’t panic. All the bitterness and tears could only be swallowed down, not a single trace allowed to show on his face.
But when the leader he trusted most, relied on most, and admired most spoke a single “are you okay,” it completely shattered the psychological defenses he had built up over so long.
Old Black Brother burst into loud sobs, venting all the pressure in his heart: “Boss, why did you take so long to come?!”
Men need to save face, but boys don’t.
In front of Lin Xiaohe, they weren’t men—they were children.
With Old Black Brother leading the way, the others who finally reacted also shed tears on the spot.
“Lord Sovereign, the Stardust Humans betrayed us! They killed so many of us.”
“Party Leader, it wasn’t our fault! We don’t know either—why our unconscious comrades woke up and went on a killing spree.”
“Waaah! Scared me to death! Lord Sovereign, please, from now on, don’t just disappear without a word. We can’t do without you!”
“That’s right! You’re the most important one!”
“Lord Sovereign, have the Aura people left? Did we win?”
After digging away for a while, Lin Xiaohe—now only three doors away from everyone—heard the chaotic wailing through the communicator. She stopped what she was doing and said gently but firmly: “It’s over. The Aura people have left.”
“Waaah waaah waaah!”
The wailing in the communicator grew even louder.
Lin Xiaohe hesitated for a moment, deciding to wait until they had cried enough before pushing open the remaining three doors.
Judging by how full of energy they sounded, they probably weren’t injured.
If she appeared before them right now, the scene would definitely be very awkward.
Those scientists—usually so image-conscious, especially the top-tier scientists she had scooped up from the First Star Ring—were incredibly proud and aloof.
Right now, they were showing genuine emotion, but in the future, when they recalled today’s scene, they would definitely regret it.
In this society, what is the rarest thing?
Talent!
Lin Xiaohe decided to leave a little dignity for these talents with an average age of over 90.
After crying for about half an hour, the communicator finally stopped sounding like a ghostly chorus. Only the occasional sob remained.
Lin Xiaohe let out a long breath, lashed open the three doors with one whip, and appeared before everyone.
“Hic.” Old Black Brother had snot and tears all over his face. Looking at Lin Xiaohe, who appeared like a deity, he said awkwardly, “Party Leader, you were right at the door just now?”
Lin Xiaohe blinked: “Ah.”
Oh boy, how embarrassing.
Old Black Brother wiped the tears and snot off his face in one swipe, his cheeks flushing red: “Um…”
“None of that matters. Is anyone injured?” Seeing the shock and embarrassment on the scientists’ faces, Lin Xiaohe considerately changed the subject.
“Oh, oh, no.”
No one was injured. Those who were injured were dead.
Lin Xiaohe casually picked someone and asked them to help tally the number of survivors, waiting for the Ark to send a ship to pick them up.
Then, she looked at Kailin Reno: “Will you come clean, or should I do it myself?”
Kailin Reno’s eyes were still disdainful: “Between one Nexus and another, there is a world of difference. With the structure of you lifeforms, even if you climbed to [Domain Sovereign], you would only be the lowest grade of [Domain Sovereign].”
Lin Xiaohe walked closer, practically face-to-face with Kailin Reno: “That’s none of your concern. You’re an Aura person. The sequence you mentioned should refer to the system inside me, right?”
Kailin Reno’s eyelids twitched slightly.
Lin Xiaohe continued: “As far as I know, I’m the only one with a system. You say your sequence is higher than mine, but there’s no system inside Kailin Reno’s body. That’s very strange.”
Kailin Reno said nothing.
Lin Xiaohe said with interest: “Let me guess. Before you, there should have been another batch of Aura people who came here. The system inside me should be the work of that previous batch of Aura people.”
Kailin Reno’s eyes flew open.
Lin Xiaohe grinned: “I’m right. My sequence is so low, I couldn’t possibly have led an important Aura project. Therefore, there should have been higher-level Aura people from the same period as me.”
Once her train of thought opened up, Lin Xiaohe suddenly saw everything clearly.
“It’s Nüwa! She’s also an Aura person!”
Kailin Reno stared fixedly at Lin Xiaohe.
Lin Xiaohe laughed heartily—she had guessed right again!
Lin Xiaohe pressed on: “Hadi said he once saw you send something to absorb light above Jiuzhou Star. I’m guessing it wasn’t light—it was humanity’s Origin of Life! You Aura people, the Sui Star people, Chang Qing, and all the other extraterrestrial civilizations—what you’ve been after all along is this.”
“Something only humans have—more precisely, something only native lifeforms have: the Origin of Life.”
“Did I guess right?”
Lin Xiaohe carefully observed Kailin Reno’s expression.
