Translator: Abyssruler Editor: Lucas
Wang Zheng could hear her as she walked out. Her graceful footsteps revealed that she was probably wearing a pair of flats. Perhaps she was a petite beauty.
Within his scattered mind, Wang Zheng vaguely imagined how his savior, Lan Ling, looked like.
He did not think of anything else anymore. While he was slightly angry, it was nothing compared to the quiet surrounding his own accident. Wang Zheng was not naive. The worst thing was that even if he became the world’s strongest warrior, in the eyes of the Aslan Empire, he would still be considered just a soldier – a slightly skilled soldier at best.
“The diagnosis is complete. Body is in recovery; progress at 37/100… Energy warning, activating emergency backup energy…”
Charcoal’s voice suddenly rang out.
Wang Zheng came to his senses, calling out to Charcoal, “Charcoal are you alright? How’s Bonehead?”
At the last moment, it was Bonehead who had protected him. The incomplete Skeleton mech rigidly resisted the fall impact for him, shattering as a result. Nobody would have been able to survive a fall from such a height otherwise.
Charcoal was silent for a long time before finally speaking again. “Reset complete… Master, it was far too dangerous this time. Bonehead’s hard work over this period of time was all for naught.”
Thump. With a beat of his heart, Wang Zheng realized that he had entered the Rubik’s Cube. The space in the Rubik’s Cube was clearly smaller after the reset, and bizarre fragments were scattered all around as well.
In the center of the Rubik’s Cube space, a palm-sized Bonehead lay with his two legs buried underground. The eye sockets in his skull emitted dim, red lights that were flickering unsteadily like candles in the wind.
“Is Bonehead alright? I don’t need the mech anymore, just let him recover as quickly as possible.” Wang Zheng was very concerned, for it was clear that Bonehead had suffered serious damage.
Charcoal walked over from the side. “Bonehead’s recuperation process is irreversible, and right now 97 percent of the energy in the Rubik’s Cube is being used on Bonehead. My recommendation is that replenishing Battle Energy would be better for him. We aren’t from the same generation, so I can’t really interfere in his inner world.”
Wang Zheng let out a heavy sigh. “Charcoal, if I start a massacre, would the Rubik’s Cube recharge faster?”
“Master, obtaining Battle Energy and committing a massacre are two different things altogether. You have to achieve a breakthrough, so you might as well put some thought into it.” Charcoal shook his head.
Wang Zheng blinked in surprise. He was undoubtedly aware that he could hear the sound of the outside world, but his body could not react to this awareness of his. “I can’t wake up now because…”
“I’m currently making some modifications to Master’s body systems for future purposes. This way, you can better adapt to Primordial Regression Technique upgrades,” Charcoal said.
“Can we hold off on making any more modifications? I feel fine as it is.” It truly did not matter to Wang Zheng. He did not fully understand the technique as it was yet, so it felt like there was still no need for these further efforts.
“We are already past the point of no return,” Charcoal stated. Wang Zheng seemed slightly disappointed, or perhaps he was just perplexed.
In the end, Wang Zheng did not mind. He would occasionally enter the Rubik’s Cube to stare blankly at Bonehead. While Bonehead and Charcoal were not humans, they were the people that Wang Zheng felt the closest to now.
Bonehead definitely had not saved him just so he could give up all hope. He had to have some reason to live!
Lan Ling visited Wang Zheng every day, mostly accompanied by others. Sometimes she was accompanied by an old man who known as the Seventh Uncle, but most of the time it was her assistant. This assistant had a booming voice and was always complaining. She grumbled about how Wang Zheng had not woken up after so long, the nutrient fluids in the IV being drained extremely fast and being very costly as a result, the fact that there was nothing beneficial about the whole enterprise, as well as the fact that it would have been alright if Wang Zheng was a woman, but he was a grown man and saving him tarnished the Miss’ good name…
All in all, her main point was to convince Lan Ling to send the vegetative Wang Zheng back to the Milky Way Alliance as soon as possible. If he was to be healed, the Milky Way Alliance should be the ones to do it.
Lan Ling always just smiled in response. She simply pointed out that she had saved Wang Zheng with her own hands and wanted to be responsible for him till the very end.
It was apparent that Lan Ling commanded a high position of authority. Even as she called out for her Seventh Uncle, he was extremely respectful before her.
Occasionally, Lan Ling would visit alone. She would talk a lot while changing Wang Zheng’s nutrient fluids.
Wang Zheng was able to piece together an impression of Titatitan Star from Lan Ling’s words.
When the Titatitan Star was first discovered by humanity, there was already a highly advanced Tita civilization present. The Titans were truly extraordinary, for two siblings born of the same mother could, as a result of making different choices, grow into two entirely different beings – the elder or the warrior.
The elders were the wise men of the Titans. There were not many of them, and they were often short and had wrinkled faces. Despite this, they possessed high levels of intellect. According to the sayings of the Titans, the elders were blessed by Titan, and they inherited the wisdom of all the elders from previous generations.
On the other hand, the warriors were the soldiers of Tita. They averaged three metres in height and were extremely strong. The strongest of these beings would be able to use just simple weapons to defeat human mecha in single combat.
The people who discovered the Titatitan Star were actually from Lan Ling’s family.
It was during the Interstellar Voyage Period that the Lan family discovered the mystical Titatitan Star.
Under the guidance of the Lan family, the Titans halted their resistance and actively integrated with the Milky Way Alliance. A large number of humans began to migrate to Titatitan from then on.
The Titans also started to take a liking to human technology and culture, for they were able to transform their lives for the better. New weapons also allowed their warriors to become more formidable.
In the wake of humanity’s further establishment of the Milky Way Alliance, it was only recently that the Titatitan Star had finally an expressed interest in joining the Alliance.
However, just as the Titatitan Star was about to become a member of the Alliance, a business corporation discovered that the Titatitan Star contained large reserves of Titan Ore. This was a type of gravity-defying ore. A piece of this ore around the size of a fingertip allowed one to free oneself from gravity and soar freely in space. This was an extremely rare resource used in the construction of mecha and battleships, and even more crucial was the fact that this mysterious mineral provided much potential for further research.
The situation became complicated for the humans wanted to extract the Titan Ore, whereas the Titans believed that the Titan Ore was the spirit of Titatitan Star and was a sacred entity that should only be extracted naturally. In the Titans’ words, only the amount bestowed by the heavens should be allowed to be taken away. The humans, on the other hand, held a different point of view, for large-scale extraction was a necessity for the progress of mankind. In the face of this conflict, the Titans began to withdraw their application to join the Milky Way Alliance.
It was obvious that the business alliance would not give up on the Titan Ore. In the entire Milky Way, there were only a couple of extremely dangerous places where the collection of such an ore was possible, and, furthermore, there was only an exceptionally small amount found at these locations. On the other hand, the Titatitan Star contained this rare ore under its entire surface. While the exact volume of these untapped reserves had not been determined, word was going around that the reserves could be extracted for at least five hundred more years.
If not for the restrictions set in stone by the Milky Way charter, the only ones with the rights to develop the Titatitan Star would have been the Lan family that discovered it. If that were the case, the Milky Way Alliance would have totally annihilated the Titans long ago.
However, the Laws of Voyage were unable to stop the business alliance from gradually spreading their influence to the Titatitan Star. A large number of mercenaries bearing business alliance flags set up outposts one after another. They demarcated the ground and began their preparations. If the situation were to turn in their favor, they were willing to bend the rules.
At the same time, a special supervision team formed by various nations from the Milky Way Alliance was established on the Titatitan Star. The Milky Way Alliance Parliament condemned the conflict publicly, but privately they endorsed such an expansion. As a result, the peace of the Titatitan Star was broken, they had gotten into trouble for possessing treasures.
This was the complicated situation on the Titatitan Star.
The three powers involved were the first-generation immigrants led by the Lan family, the business alliance that arrived later, and the indigenous Titans.
There was also the Milky Way Alliance’s special supervision team, which was a neutral party made of members from various nations.
The business alliance and the Titans were in clear conflict, whereas the Lan family served as the lubricant between them. Based on strength alone, the Lan family as early immigrants benefited more from being partial towards the Titans. If the business alliance managed to obtain the rights of ore extraction, then the Lan family would lose their ability to lead the Titatitan Star. Within the Lan family, there were various opinions regarding what to do with the ore as well. Some supported the plan of sustainable development, whereas others wanted to extract it all for development due to the tremendous benefits involved.
On the other hand, the special supervision group was more partial towards the business alliance. The extraction methods that the Lan family proposed were entirely unable to appease the different nations’ interests. At the same time, all-out war was a situation that they wished to avoid, for the Titans were a force to be reckoned with after all.
Charcoal’s body modifications were finally complete. However, Wang Zheng honestly could not feel anything different other than the sense that he had finally survived once again.
At long last, Wang Zheng opened his eyes.
“Miss! He’s awake!”
A shriek greeted Wang Zheng!
It was Lan Ling’s female assistant, Sun Xin. She was currently changing Wang Zheng’s nutrient fluids. While she was doing it unwillingly, she knew that if she did not do it, Miss would personally do the job. Sun Xin knew that Miss had already done it many times, but as long as she was present, it made no sense for her to let Miss personally intervene instead.
Wang Zheng blinked and immediately saw a brutish woman rushing towards him. Cheh, did he really have to suffer such a shock the moment he woke up?
Thankfully, a delicate face quickly revealed itself through the fiberglass of the treatment pod. “You’re awake! Oh, that’s great!”
However, Wang Zheng noticed a tinge of regret from her pleasantly surprised eyes before they were swiftly engulfed with joy. This was probably from the loss of someone to talk to. Over the past few days, the words that Lan Ling spoke to him included the heartfelt concerns that girls faced. Even if they were secrets, much thought had to be had before saying these things out loud, for Wang Zheng was an adult male stranger after all.
Immediately after, a large crowd of people surged in to carry out a diagnosis on Wang Zheng. All was fine, and it seemed that his body had already recovered completely.
Wang Zheng emerged from the treatment pod. After a standard sterilization procedure, he changed into clean clothes. An old man came up to him. Wang Zheng recognized his voice instantly – this was the housekeeper that Lan Ling called Seventh Uncle.
“Miss has some questions for you in the guest hall.”
The strict rules of a renowned household meant that Wang Zheng would not receive any special treatment just because of Lan Ling’s kindness.
The quiet corridor was filled with paintings that depicted the historical struggle of the Lan family.
Upon entering the guest hall, the imposing aura of a renowned household was immediately felt. Portraits depicting Lan family leaders of past generations hung on the wall. Their stern gazes overlooked the hall as though they were judging every visitor.
“Please take a seat.”
Upon Wang Zheng’s entry, assistant Sun Xin interjected before Lan Ling could even say anything. She threw a plastic bag containing Wang Zheng’s personal effects into Wang Zheng’s hands. It even contained the tattered federation military uniform. Sun Xin flipped her large, goldfish-like eyes and glared at Wang Zheng. “Little Brat, in order to save your life, Miss Lan Ling spent 1,630,000. Have you even thought about that yet?”
