Red and vibrant, yet hazy and surreal.
The survivors on Vulcos Star were all in a daze, as if wandering through a dream.
The good news? They were saved.
It was just the way they were saved that was a little unexpected.
“Holy black hole, ‘unexpected’? I wouldn’t even dare to dream of a scenario like this! The Zerg actually made way for Lin Xiaohe! Is this even the Zerg I know?”
“I feel like I’m watching some drama about an underdog rising from the bottom and coming back to slap everyone in the face! How lucky am I to play a tiny cannon-fodder role in this show? If possible, can I sign up to be a leg pendant for the big shot?”
“Oh, give it a rest. You flip-flopper, weren’t you the one who was most optimistic about the Federation? Weren’t you dead set on the idea that Lin Xiaohe wouldn’t come to save us?”
The man gave himself two sharp slaps. “I was wrong! I couldn’t see past my own nose, and I judged a gentleman’s heart with a petty mind. With my shallow understanding, of course I couldn’t grasp the big shot’s noble integrity.”
The survivors swarmed aboard the Imperial warships in a chaotic mess.
Holy black hole.
Who would believe this?! At a life-or-death moment, they ended up on an Imperial warship, and the one who came to their rescue was Lin Xiaohe—the very person the Federation had branded a traitor!
Boo-hoo.
Was this the light of humanity?
They were transported by the Imperial warships to the Ark and assigned to the fifth level.
After the last ounce of energy in the Imperial warships was spent, the Imperial soldiers shuffled forward hesitantly, asking if they could enter the Ark. “I don’t have to be an Imperial citizen. I don’t even have to be human.”
They had already done some quiet snooping and knew that Wesley and the others had voluntarily joined the Stardust and become Stardust Humans.
Sure, Stardust Humans weren’t pure-blooded humans, but they were all ordinary folks from the Empire. Their bloodlines weren’t all that noble either—unlike those aristocratic lords in the Empire who made such a fuss about “pure, noble lineage.”
Pure-blooded or not—it didn’t matter.
Lin Xiaohe agreed without a second’s hesitation.
During the rescue operation, these Imperial soldiers followed orders strictly, worked tirelessly, and bore both merit and hardship. They absolutely deserved a ticket aboard the Ark!
The Imperial soldiers were also arranged on the 5th level. When the two groups met, after an awkward pause, they started chatting.
The survivors from Vulcos Star were eager to find out: “Where are we heading next? Back to the Dark Domain?”
“Yeah. Over in the Dark Domain, one year there is equivalent to one month in Federation time. Haha, who knows—maybe by the time the Zerg finish with the Federation and come for the Dark Domain, I’ll already be dead of old age.”
The Vulcos Star survivors were hearing about the time-flow difference for the first time. Some of them were horrified and strongly demanded to return to the Federation.
As it happened, Lin Xiaohe was also wrestling with the problem of how to handle so many survivors.
Upon learning that some survivors were petitioning to go back to the Federation, Lin Xiaohe decided to make a detour to the Fifth Star Ring, since it was nearby anyway.
“How many people want to return to the Federation? Wesley, get a headcount and make preparations for them to disembark from the Ark.”
Wesley kept a stern face, clearly unhappy.
He thought these people didn’t know what was good for them and couldn’t tell right from wrong. “Party leader, everyone from Miro Star is staying. From the Wasteland Star, about 150,000 people want to return to the Federation. A large chunk of them have relatives in the Fifth Star Ring.”
A tiny minority just didn’t want to follow Lin Xiaohe—for instance, Brother Cheng and his few henchmen. They were worried Lin Xiaohe would make things difficult for them later.
As for the Vulcos survivors, forget it. They were originally close to the 5th Star Ring, and their economy, education, and loyalties all leaned much closer to the Fifth Star Ring anyway.
Vulcos Star had a total of 1.3 million survivors. Even though they were grateful to and in awe of Lin Xiaohe, when given a choice, 1.1 million of them still chose to return to the Federation.
Lin Xiaohe laughed. “Wesley, why are you wearing that expression like you’ve been jilted? Them leaving is a good thing for us. After all, our resources on Jiuzhou Star aren’t exactly abundant either.”
“Hmph, I’m just mad! Aren’t we more reliable than the Federation? Who was it that came all this way to save them?”
Lin Xiaohe rubbed her chin thoughtfully. “You’ve got a point. Our labor can’t exactly be free. Get me the list, and we’ll bill the Federation government for it! Transportation fees, service fees, meals for all these people—charging 100,000 star coins per person isn’t too much, is it?”
Wesley nearly jumped out of his skin. “Not too much? That’s practically a steal! This was a cross-star-ring rescue mission! An ordinary orbital shuttle ticket costs several hundred thousand star coins!”
Lin Xiaohe took his advice. “Fine! Then make it 500,000 star coins per head, and we’ll allow resource payments as well.”
Wesley’s eyes lit up. He decided he’d go rally the survivors again—every single one they could offload was a win.
500,000 star coins per head!
Hahaha, they were about to get rich!
Lin Xiaohe was quietly doing the math in her head, her grin almost stretching to the back of her skull.
Driven by the prospect of star coins and resources, the Ark quickly arrived just outside the Fifth Star Ring defense line.
Lin Xiaohe was about to speak when she received a communication request from the Federation officials.
After connecting, four people appeared on the display. They were seated around a round table, their expressions stern, and their gazes toward Lin Xiaohe were cold and merciless.
This scene hit her like a bucket of cold water, instantly dousing the joy brought on by all those star coins.
Lin Xiaohe’s smile dropped, and she made no effort to hide her disgust for them.
Seriously? She’d been magnanimous enough to overlook their past pettiness and saved their people, and they still dared to give her that attitude right to her face!
Spoiled rotten, the lot of them!
“500,000 star coins per person. There are 1.25 million survivors who want to return to the Federation. I’ll give you three days to prepare. If you don’t have enough star coins, use resources as payment.”
God, it was infuriating. Every extra second she had to look at their sour, resentful faces added another ounce of fuel to the fire burning in her chest.
The only reason she even bothered to act was all thanks to the dozen-plus years of proper, upright education she’d received back on Blue Star, in Huaxia!
“We refuse.”
“The price—wait, what?!” Lin Xiaohe’s mouth hung slightly open as she stood there dumbfounded for a good while.
She turned to Wesley, with an expression that suggested she was questioning her own existence. “Did I just hear the Federation say they won’t take the survivors?”
Wesley’s temples were throbbing, veins bulging on his forehead. He squeezed out a response through gritted teeth: “Party leader, you heard right.”
Lin Xiaohe’s face stiffened, her lips pressed into a tight line.
After a long, silent stare-down with the four people across from her, she dropped her gaze and said coldly, “300,000 star coins. Rock-bottom price.”
But the other side was resolute. “We refuse.”
Lin Xiaohe sucked in a sharp breath. Damn it, these Federation representatives sure knew how to haggle. “100,000. I can’t go any lower.”
“Ah.” The kindly-looking old man sitting in the middle of the table let out a soft sigh.
His eyes were sincere as he spelled things out very clearly: “The Federation’s Fifth Star Ring defense line is now complete. Before the Zerg retreat, we will absolutely not allow anyone from the Sixth Star Ring to enter!”
“Especially you, Lin Xiaohe. We can’t be sure that these over one million survivors aren’t spies you’ve sent. We can’t be sure that some of them haven’t been parasitized by the Zerg. Or even that they aren’t your people in disguise.”
Lin Xiaohe was completely baffled. “What exactly are you trying to say?”
Wesley let out a string of cold laughs. “They’re saying we’ve colluded with the Zerg.”
Lin Xiaohe laughed in sheer disbelief. “Have the Zerg eaten your brains? How can you even come up with such a ridiculous theory?!”
The Federation Security Department representative said coldly, “You can’t prove you haven’t colluded with them, can you?”
Lin Xiaohe: “So, you’d rather abandon these 1.1 million ordinary people who are loyal to the Federation?”
“This is called risk control.”
Lin Xiaohe said “fine” several times in a row, her face dark as thunder, her tone icy cold. “Calling you human is honestly giving you too much credit. You don’t want these people? Fine—I do. You don’t want the Sixth Star Ring? Fine—I do!”
Once they become mine, if you ever try to take them back—don’t even dream of it!
