Chapter 1369: Seeing the Starry Sky for the First Time
Translator: EndlessFantasy Translation Editor: EndlessFantasy Translation
This was the first time Hao Ren had appeared before White Flame and Hessiana in such a way. They were used to Hao Ren’s usual way of doing things, but they were a little confused when they saw Hao Ren appearing with a group of elven guards. But still, the two of them were calm in comparison to the others who were there.
Hessiana also pursed her lips and muttered, “Whoa, keep faking it… Who doesn’t know what you usually look like…”
For those who saw Hao Ren that day for the first time, the man in front was worth watching and speculating. He had the ability to open a large number of teleportation portals all over the world at the same time. He had such an incredible “base” there. He also apparently had an “army”… Even for those in the Shadow Council, the journey started a little beyond expectation. Their cognitive range was somewhat inadequate to cope with the current situation.
The situation was a little out of control. Most people thought this way—all the plans and methods they had prepared were now useless.
And this was exactly what Hao Ren wanted. His plan was to start the journey at a pace that was completely beyond the knowledge of anyone in the team of 100 partic.i.p.ants as they were easier to control when the situation was beyond their control. After all, these partic.i.p.ants were inherently hostile to each other.
It was not enough to depend on White Flame, Hessiana and Hesperides to maintain order.
The alloy gate in the hall slid silently, revealing the wide pathway behind it. The Aerymian Royal Guards turned neatly and stood in two rows on both sides of the path and the silvery white plasma lance tilted slightly to form a pathway.
Under such a strange atmosphere, this team, whose personnel structure and historical background were rather peculiar, set foot on the first step of ‘homecoming’.
“I don’t know if any of you have read the proposal that was sent to you. It has a more detailed description of the trip, but some basic concepts are difficult to describe directly using the written word, so I’ll give more details on the road slowly,” Hao Ren led the way, patiently introducing and explaining to the selected partic.i.p.ants. “I’m sure all of you who are standing here have experienced the Day of Return prophecy. In that prophecy, the otherworldlings will return to their homeland, find lost strength and civilization, and find glory and prosperity again. The prediction turned out to be a farce, but there’s one point that’s correct. Among the supernatural races on earth, whether otherworldlings or demon hunters, you do have a home. And this home has your origins and your civilization. It’s not on earth, it’s not even in this galaxy, this universe, it’s farther away from the world than you think. If you had believed the prophecy, you would never have reached your hometown. But fortunately, it’s not too far away for me.”
The corridor was wide and bright, but few people move about. The most common scene was a variety of mysterious high-tech machinery crisscrossing here and there. They darted back and forth along the bright white lines above the corridor, oblivious to the unusual creatures that were marching through it. There were also a handful of crew members in s.p.a.ce station uniforms. These crew members had been informed of the news, so they did not take much notice of the ‘weirdos’ who suddenly appeared in the outpost of the imperial frontier. These crew members just paused and saluted respectfully when pa.s.sing by Hao Ren, greeting him, “Good day to you, Lord Hao.”
“Long live the Bomberman.”
Fortunately, they were not speaking any earth languages and Hao Ren had not unlocked the public translation channel. Otherwise, it would be really difficult to explain the cultural differences in the sea of stars…
The delegates walked along the long corridor, listening to Hao Ren’s explanations and looking curiously at the “strange place.” Most ordinary otherworldlings had few clear ideas about s.p.a.ce stations, artificial intelligence, alien life and the like, so now they were absorbing a dizzying amount of information. Fortunately, most of these people had sharp minds and were receptive. They were slowly adjusting to the environment.
Hao Ren smiled and thought to himself when he saw this scene: Well, you guys can try to adapt to it, anyway later you will have to adapt to something new again.
“So from this place we can go to the ‘homeland’ you’re talking about?” A werewolf in the line suddenly asked.
“It was called the Plane of Dreams, which is now the official name of the place,” Hao Ren looked back and explained to them. “It’s not so easy for you to reach the Plane of Dreams. You have to go through a gate which lies deep in the universe and the place is guarded by the remnants of a disintegrating galaxy. And this is only the first stop, the one from which you will travel in your s.p.a.cecraft to that region. It’s not too far from the earth. It’s actually in the Kuiper belt. You can even see the blue ball with your naked eye from here.”
The universe, the s.p.a.cecraft, the s.p.a.ce station, and the Kuiper belt, a bunch of words just popped up. These otherworldlings may have heard of these ‘human-made terms’, but they clearly did not connect them to their journey. Perhaps in their initial imagination, this was supposed to be a more sacred process, more in line with ‘the ident.i.ty of otherworldlings’ and full of the mysticism left behind from the Mythological Age.
However, if you thought about it carefully, it seemed that the journey described by Hao Ren was more genuine and believable than what they had expected before. After all, they had searched for innumerable ancient divine artifacts and opened innumerable ancient portals under the influence of the prophecy of the Day of Return. However, all of them had failed. The only thing left was the cosmic skies… It seemed that no one had ever tried it.
…Because who the heck would build a s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p!
After hearing Hao Ren’s explanation, the werewolf who asked the question just now was also stunned for a moment. Then before he was ready to say something, the corridor in front of him had come to an end. The sight in front of him made everyone hold their breath and dumbstruck.
They were walking along a transparent crystal levitating bridge through the upper part of the s.p.a.ce station. This was a position that could overlook most of the station’s transit zones, special s.p.a.cecraft landing platforms and the sky above. Through the light blue energy barrier, they could see a huge arc translucent vault covering the whole s.p.a.ce above. Outside the vault floated large and small gray s.p.a.ce stones. Metal pipes and energy gratings connected asteroids to form complex but orderly structures, and the bright stars were s.h.i.+ning behind the structure. Below the bridge was an unusually large s.p.a.ce station, with floating metal platforms, crisscrossing bridges, intricate lighting combinations, and strange flying vehicles.
Nearest to the levitating bridge, a metal platform was slowly flying under the traction of twelve white beams. The platform was neatly packed with troops, consisting of special-shaped soldiers up to three meters tall and covered with super-strong alloy armor. The fighters were covered in the dark paint, and both arms were equipped with huge and weird weapons. They were heading in the direction of a huge, dark wars.h.i.+p. The atmosphere was depressing. Hao Ren and the rest of the team stopped in surprise.
Hao Ren did not know what was happening, so he stopped a s.p.a.ce station worker pa.s.sing by. After a brief inquiry, he understood the situation and explained to everyone, “Those are the ‘Hawkell mercenaries’ leased out by the Fairy Void Consortium. There’s a war in the Cansara-Icahn Nebula. A warlord rents out these mercenaries for a high price to go to war. The Hawkell mercenaries are ‘biochemical products’ manufactured by a militant race and are in high demand among warlords. But you don’t need to worry about them. These mercenaries must abide by strict imperial laws. The areas in which they are active are far from your ‘world’.”
The otherworldlings looked at each other. One moment they were still immersed in the thought of family struggles, territorial struggles, and shelter interests, and the next moment they were frozen in place by waves in the sea of stars.
It was like looking up and seeing the starry sky for the first time, then being startled by the vast and profound world.
At the end of the line, the sirens took out their mobile phones and started to take pictures.
It was quite embarra.s.sing…