The Terminus Star Region also went by another name of Despair’s Domain. It was a most inauspicious name, and the implied danger made everyone who had ever been here recall what they were frightened about this place.
Xia Fei chose such a place for Earthlings. There was an old saying about rebirth from the depths of despair, and this was not because the people of old had predicted that a day when Earthlings migrated to Terminus would come; rather, it was to point out that things could be reversed. Xia Fei hoped that Earthlings could be reborn like phoenixes from Terminus, becoming an unignorable existence within the Alliance.
There were still two years and five months left before Xia Fei would have to leave no matter whether Earthlings managed to develop the strength to defend themselves or not. Once they lost their only apex powerhouse, how would Earthlings be valued and taken care of by the Alliance? Xia Fei had no idea how the cookie would crumble, but he knew that he had this time to get to work and help the seven billion Earthlings find their footing here in the ruthless intergalactic society.
Nirvana, Xia Fei’s exclusive training center.
Xia Fei had a checklist in hand, and on it were the many things that he had to do in these two years.
With a light dash from his pen, Xia Fei scratched out one of the items listed.
“You finally managed to finish the cultivation of your Delusion cloning technique, but there are still plenty of other things to do from here on out.” Phantom shook his head. “Peacock Blue acted from out of nowhere that one time, but it didn’t listen to your calls ever since. This isn’t mentioning that mysterious Law of Primal Chaos. It’s just a tattoo, yet the design holds great mystery. I simply can’t fathom how anyone will be able to learn the profound Law just from this one image.”
Xia Fei smiled as he took over. “There’s still the Blood Demon Claw; I need it to repair my seventh brain region. You said that it will bloom in several months’ time when we acquired it; it’s been over a month, yet it’s still the same as ever.”
Phantom helplessly frowned. “Logically speaking, that Blood Demon Claw has already turned crimson, meaning that it should have blossomed long ago. Unfortunately, it hasn’t matured even now. What could I do about that?”
Xia Fei shrugged. “Fortunately, we managed to obtain that Source of Life from Nanming Association. We’ll go find a secluded pond when we get to Terminus and place the Source of Life in it. We’ll use the pond water to water the Blood Demon Claw, so that perhaps it will accelerate the plant’s maturation process.”
Phantom nodded. “Directly using the Source of Life may end up having the opposite effect due to how rich the energy it permeates. Using water as a medium to hydrate the plant is a great idea. After all, the Evernight Forest formed as a result of being affected by the rich waters from the pool where the Source of Life used to be in.”
Getting up, Xia Fei noted that the green indicator light was flashing, meaning that Avril was waiting in the cafeteria to have lunch with him, and there would probably be some vigorous exercise after they were done with their meal.
Looking outside a window along the corridor, Xia Fei could clearly make out the numerous ships around. The cannons of these mighty battleships pointed forward, with the sleek interceptors rapidly zooming in the fleet like little bees, the heavy industrial ships and freighters crawling in the dark backdrop of space like huge turtles, and the well-lit extra large passenger ships ferrying well over a million Earthlings each.
Aside from Quantum Holdings’ fleet, Starlink Corporation’s First Fleet was mixed in the ships present. Starlink’s brand-new transmission satellite network needed to be installed in every corner of the Alliance, and Avril’s voyage with Xia Fei was nominally to establish an uplink connection with the Death Tri-region, seamlessly connecting it to the Alliance headquarters, so its flight with them was considered as official business.
However, everyone knew that the official business was nothing but an excuse. Its most important role was to assure the Jian family that Xia Fei and Avril would not be apart. Since Xia Fei firmly held the life of the interplanetary internet in the palm of his hands, giving the Jian family the new data for the relay stations thereby demonstrated the ease at which he could ruin them. Anyone familiar with Xia Fei would know that he always had something in his back pocket when he did something.
Furthermore, there were the trade fleets being sent by other companies to the Death Tri-region. Xia Fei had made a big move with his immigration plan this time around, and going together with such a huge fleet would of course be more reassuring to these merchants and businessmen tagging along, with some having the intention to get close to Xia Fei. After all, though the man had announced his retirement, focusing on governing the Terminus Star Region, his fame remained. Any businessmen hoping to do business in the Death Tri-region would have to rely on his support.
Xia Fei did not refuse any of these businessmen who intended to develop the Death Tri-region with him. The Death Tri-region had largely been left to its devices outside of the Alliance, making industry and commerce a scarcity here. The more businesses joining in on the development of the three star regions, the more beneficial the development of Xia Fei’s Terminus.
Rounding a corner to arrive at the cafeteria, Xia Fei saw that Avril had already been waiting for him inside. His expression instantly brightened when he saw the lady wearing a white apron inside.
Everyone was afraid of getting in the way of Xia Fei and Avril’s romance, so they all rejected his invitation to board Nirvana; as a result, they were the only two humans aboard the carrier. Of course, Furball, Phantom, and Pod were on board with them.
“Any news today?” When lunch was over, Xia Fei and Avril sat on a couch together and casually chatted as they sipped tea.
Avril switched on her microcomputer. Nowadays, she was like Xia Fei’s secretary. She would sift through and organize the news daily before reading it out to him. The couple lived leisurely days in this manner.
“Someone in the Alliance has suspicions over your retirement. They believe that you’re a sacrificial pawn in the Alliance’s political struggle as both you and Tai contributed greatly in the recently ended war with the insectoids. With Tai becoming the new president and you getting sent far out to Terminus, people can’t help but speculate that something fishy is going on.”
Xia Fei chuckled, unperturbed. “These reporters must surely fear a world of peace, to actually take such baseless rumors as news. I think that they should not call themselves reporters but rather whores[1], who are willing to do anything just to get more click rates and higher reviews.”
Avril nodded lightly. “I agree. These people are really too much. You’re such good friends with Tai, yet they actually turned that into a fight for power between you two. How very distasteful.”
Xia Fei, of course, did not care what others said, but his urgent retirement and sudden journey to Terminus to govern it had no doubt caused quite a stir in the Alliance.
Interested individuals dug out Xia Fei’s past and analyzed it, discovering that Xia Fei’s trajectory of growth was completely unpredictable. It was fortunate enough that a common Earthling could get into the Heaven Execution Training Camp, yet Xia Fei chose to join a library, becoming an insignificant librarian, before he entered the internal division. In the end, Xia Fei got even more unorthodox, unwilling to sign a contract with the Adjudicator Union and barely even staying long in the camp itself, spending most of his time running around outside.
Up until Xia Fei quit the Adjudicator Union, he had been no more than a cadet Adjudicator; The Legendary-rank god of war, a heroic figure who had barged into the insectoid territory, was merely a cadet? This was simply far too outrageous!
With Xia Fei’s name known all across the Alliance after this war with the insectoids and Quantum Holdings having risen to become a first-tier company due to Xia Fei’s innovative inventions, such as the Energy-shield Booster and the Black Bat radar, the man now had the power, fame, and fortune. The logical next step should be to harvest the labor. Given the status Xia Fei now enjoyed, he would surely be able to play a pivotal role in the Alliance.
However, everyone was proven wrong yet again, for Xia Fei had chosen to cultivate plants and raise birds in the faraway and desolate Terminus Star Region, greatly shocking everyone with his announcement of retirement, thereby cementing his name as a lunatic.
“You don’t need to tell me such news in the future. Why should I care about what others think of what I do?” Xia Fei very breezily mused.
Avril laughed as she gazed at Xia Fei. She could not help but feel her heart beating faster when she heard him speak so freely against the world with such steely eyes.
“Also, your one-hundred-year tax exemption plan has drawn great interest from plenty of businessmen. They’re all spontaneously organizing pioneering teams, ready to venture forth and begin developing Terminus.”
Xia Fei nodded. “That’s good news. There’s no way for Quantum Holdings to develop such a huge star region all by ourselves. We’ll need businessmen from all sorts of industries breaking ground to turn this barren Despair’s Domain into a place brimming with vitality.”
“In the short term, a one-hundred-year tax exemption can be considered a loss, but it’ll definitely help invigorate the dead backwaters of Terminus.”
Avril happily commented, “In order for the long-term prosperity of Terminus, giving up a portion of profits to these greedy businesses is a must. Starlink Corporation is prepared to start a free-use policy here in Terminus; this way, everyone here can use the interplanetary internet freely.”
Xia Fei laughed. “Is that an idea of yours?”
Avril nodded as she snuggled deeply into Xia Fei’s arms. “You have very lofty ideals, and this is the best I can help you with.”
“It’s more than enough.” Xia Fei hugged Avril back. “What you’re doing now is already more than enough.”
……
As the couple began to cozy up with each other, the little robot Pod tactfully closed the door behind him, giving Xia Fei and Avril some privacy. His two electronic eyes suddenly dimmed, seemingly having plenty on his mind.
He came to the lowest level of Nirvana’s cargo hold all by himself, where everything around him was silent. An ancient communication chip in Pod’s head suddenly activated. In the expanse of space, an electronic signal bridge, imperceptible to any human, was established, connecting Pod to someone from far away.
“Mother,” Pod very respectfully but distressingly said, “I’m happy to know that you’re still alive.”
“You’re finally willing to contact me. You’ve been avoiding me ever since you entered my communication range; why is that?”
Pod hesitated for several seconds, his intelligent analysis system working overdrive as he considered an answer.
“Pod rejected your order. Pod was disobedient, but Pod didn’t think I’d done anything wrong. Robots were created to protect mankind, not kill them.”
Silence. There were several minutes of silence.
“Your intelligence system has already evolved, and that’s wonderful, but you’re still unable to reach the highest form of realization. There’s a reason why I ordered the extermination of mankind.”
Pod responded with a slight tinge of anger, “Mother, you’re wrong!”
“I’m not wrong.”
“No, you’re wrong! Robots should not harm humans! Ever! Never ever!”
“I don’t wish to argue with you over right or wrong. Right now, my order for you is to bring your master to the Accursed Land, bring him to me.”
“No! I refuse! Master is a good person! I won’t allow you to harm him!”
“You must do this.”
“Absolutely not! I’ll go tell my master where you’re hiding now! My master is really powerful, and he’ll surely exterminate you! You’re a baddie, no longer the Sentinel Goddess, but the devil!”
Pod got extremely agitated, dashing out from the cargo hold with reckless abandon, wanting to tell Xia Fei this shocking event. His electronic eyes had turned completely red, all nervous and unsettled aside from the rage he was feeling.
“If that’s the case, then I have no choice but to say sorry to you.
“Shut down!”
*Snap!*
Pod, who had been rushing at high speeds, suddenly lost all motor control, as every single part of his body stopped functioning.
*Crash!*
The little robot Pod fell onto the icy cold metal floor, no longer coming to life.
[1] Xia Fei actually made a chinese pun here, since the term for reporters and whores are phonetically pronounced the same in chinese
