TCPUAAV Chapter 128

 

Before leaving, Rong Heng personally cleaned Ruan Shiqing’s body and changed him into fresh clothes.

 

Normally, this was something 09 would handle, but whenever Rong Heng was home, he preferred to do it himself.

 

Compared to before, the young man’s body had grown even leaner and more flexible. His skin was now fairer, smoother—so delicate that Rong Heng’s gaze lingered, reluctant to part. Even though he knew Ruan Shiqing was sound asleep, completely unaware of the outside world, Rong Heng still blushed and averted his eyes.

 

This task was a mix of sweetness and torment for him. It often took a long while afterward for his surging emotions to settle, yet he never tired of it.

 

After carefully blow-drying and combing Ruan Shiqing’s hair, Rong Heng cradled his love—now dressed in soft sleepwear—back into bed. He thoughtfully adjusted the pillow for him as well.

 

“I’m heading out,” he said softly.

 

Just before he left, Rong Heng hesitated. Then he took out a medal from his pants pocket and tucked it under Ruan Shiqing’s pillow. It was a five-pointed star-shaped metal medal in an antique bronze hue, carved by his own hand. On it were the initials of Manyin Star[mfn]I don’t think we’ve ever heard of this planet before in the novel? My guess is that it’s where the Ymir clan originally comes from like Tutar (foxes) or Sijialan (mermaids) or Luso (dragons)?[/mfn] and the emblem of the Ymir clan.

 

He had made it on the return journey, during a moment of deep longing for Ruan Shiqing.

 

In the past, no matter how difficult or dangerous the situation, they had always fought side by side. But this time, Ruan Shiqing had been absent. Rong Heng wanted to leave something behind to mark this period—so that when Ruan Shiqing woke up, he could tell him: Even though you weren’t there for the battle, we never left you behind.

 

So he carved a medal.

 

Etched into it was the glory of victory—and the longing he could never speak aloud.

 

“Wait for me to come back.” As always, he bent down and placed a light kiss.

 

But this time, it wasn’t on the corner of his mouth—it landed right on his lips. Rong Heng wasn’t good at kissing, still a little shy. He rubbed gently, then lightly sucked on the soft lips. Blushing furiously, he slipped away like a thief.

 

*

 

The war against the Zerg turned out to be far more grueling and prolonged than anyone had imagined.

 

More and more planets fell under attack, but the Empire responded with increasing apathy—acting as if, so long as the Zerg didn’t reach Sikkim, they had no need to intervene. Since his recovery, Siyan had shed all pretense, revealing his true face. With the backing of the Four Major Conglomerates, he concentrated all military power on the planet Sijialan, determined to conquer the Melchers Sector and seize full control of Sijialan.

 

Naturally, Sijialan refused to sit back and take the blows. They allied with the Nine-Tailed Fox Clan of Tutar and dragged several surrounding planets into the conflict, muddying the waters even further.

 

The peace of the past was utterly shattered. Outside of the Central District, nearly every planet under the jurisdiction of various administrative zones was plunged into turmoil. External threats from the Zerg, internal pressure from forced conscription—the shadow of war loomed over every citizen. Online protests grew louder by the day across the holo-net.

 

Eventually, those online protests spilled over into the real world as demonstrations.

 

Ordinary citizens began organizing, listing out the crimes of Siyan’s government, denouncing both the regime and the military for inaction, and demanding the Emperor’s abdication. Some even attempted to form their own factions, hoping to build a new government and take up arms in self-defense…

 

Various organizations and religious sects sprang up like mushrooms after the rain, quickly expanding by absorbing masses of disillusioned or desperate civilians, bolstering their own strength.

 

Among them, the Holy Legion grew the fastest. They slandered the Empire, incited ethnic and class divisions, and lured the discontented into their ranks. They widely preached a doctrine claiming that “The Creator rules all, and any race untouched by divine light shall perish.” Only by following the Creator and founding a Holy Empire, they claimed, could people survive the dark age, escape suffering, and find salvation.

 

While working along the interstellar rescue frontlines, Rong Heng occasionally browsed the holo-net for news, checking up on the state of the Empire. But more often than not, he was immersed in brutal battles with the Zerg.

 

The defensive lines on the front had completely collapsed. The Zerg moved freely within Imperial space, as if no one dared stop them. Encouraged by past successes, they no longer attacked in isolated waves but launched full-scale assaults from multiple directions.

 

To maintain efficiency in rescue operations, Rong Heng no longer brought the cubs with him each time. He began assigning them to different missions. At first, they were sent out under the guidance of Hector or various ship captains. But as manpower dwindled and the cubs gained experience, they started leading their own forces in independent rescue operations.

 

Behind the lines, the B3024 Star’s munitions factory and the neighboring unnamed star’s military base were running non-stop. Workers, robots, and machinery worked around the clock, churning out warships and weapons to sustain the rescue efforts.

 

Once the military base was fully operational, antimatter warships and weapons entered mass production, drastically increasing the efficiency of both rescue and combat missions, while significantly reducing casualties.

 

Even so, the rescue operations remained stretched thin.

 

To relieve pressure on B3024 Star, Rong Heng proposed that rescues would no longer be unconditional. From then on, any planet that received assistance would be required to sign an agreement to join the Eastern Alliance. As part of the pact, these planets would be obligated to provide aid to other nearby planets in the event of future Zerg attacks.

 

His goal wasn’t merely to protect planets from Zerg invasions, but to empower them to protect themselves. A single force had its limits—but if these planets could band together and watch over one another, there would still be hope in the face of annihilation.

 

Originally, this should have been the Imperial government’s responsibility. But with Siyan consumed by civil war, Rong Heng unhesitatingly stepped up to shoulder the burden of rebuilding the defense lines.

 

At first, only a few planets were willing to join. But as the Eastern Alliance gained a reputation for never losing against the Zerg, more and more stars came forward, even small, remote, and underpowered planets applying for membership on their own.

 

Rong Heng accepted them all.

 

Using B3024 Star as the hub, he established an expansive interstellar network. Overseeing and managing this vast web was Noah, an AI with extraordinarily high clearance.

 

Every planet that joined the Eastern Alliance was required to report any Zerg sightings immediately. Nearby planets would then mobilize troops to assist, while the standby Orient, stationed on B3024, would launch in the shortest time possible to help annihilate the invaders.

 

In just half a year, one-fifth of the Empire’s planets had joined the Eastern Alliance. With their support, Rong Heng had established the foundations of a new defense network within Imperial territory.

 

He no longer remembered how many planets he had rescued. All he knew was that the glass jar beside Ruan Shiqing’s bed—filled with the star-shaped medals he had personally carved—was almost full.

 

Ruan Yuebai, Heli, and Nota were now capable of acting independently. The codenames once printed on wanted posters had become the names of heroes. Even Ruan Jiao, who had long shown no signs of growth, had started to mature. Under Garland’s constant research, he was learning to control his psychic power. Now, when he released it, even the lesser Zerg he created no longer dared disobey his orders.

 

The Falling Star Vine in the courtyard had borne new fruit. 09 discovered that the freshly grown fruits were no longer toxic and had a pleasant, sweet taste. He somehow found an old-fashioned recipe for brewing and began fermenting Falling Star Wine. Before each mission, he would fill a large bottle with the golden, crystal-clear liquor and hand it to Rong Heng and the cubs.

 

Everything was getting better—except for one thing.

 

Ruan Shiqing still hadn’t woken up.

 

*

 

After struggling with all his might to reach the surface, Ruan Shiqing finally woke up from that long, unending dream.

 

But something must have gone wrong along the way—when he opened his eyes, he wasn’t on B3024 Star.

 

He was back in his original world.

 

He lay on the narrow single bed of his dorm room at the research institute, a communicator vibrating non-stop by his hand.

 

—He had returned to his old, orderly life.

 

Day after day: lab, cafeteria, dorm. A monotonous triangle of routines. He was either working overtime, or on the way to more overtime. Occasionally, he’d squeeze in a few combat training sessions with the instructors, or catch a bit of his coworkers’ parenting complaints over meals—little slices of everyday life that helped ease the constant tension.

 

By all rights, he should have been happy. He’d finally made it back from that strange, unfamiliar world.

 

But every time he heard someone talking about raising children, he couldn’t help but think of a few well-behaved, clingy little cubs. Though they had grown stronger, they were still children at heart—sensitive and affectionate. Now that he was suddenly gone, could they take care of themselves?

 

And then there was Rong Heng. He must be incredibly worried.

 

Ruan Shiqing remembered that ambiguous thread between them that he never had the chance to unravel. A faint sense of regret lingered in his chest. He hadn’t meant to uncover Rong Heng’s feelings, but once he did, he hadn’t felt repulsed. On the contrary, whenever Rong Heng used their interactions as an excuse to get a little closer, he found it endearing—and couldn’t help but tease him right back.

 

Though he’d never been in a relationship, he wasn’t some clueless teenager. He had planned to see just how long Rong Heng could hold back. And if the man really couldn’t take that final step…

 

Well, then he would’ve taken it instead.

 

But now… there was no longer a chance.

 

Ruan Shiqing sighed and trudged back to his dorm.

 

Familiar coworkers greeted him along the way, and he responded with a polite smile. But once he stepped through the door, the loneliness hit like a wave—so heavy he could barely breathe.

 

He sat at his desk, the design files for his overtime project already pulled up on the light screen. But he only stared blankly at it, lost in thought.

 

By the time he came back to his senses, a whole hour had passed.

 

With another long sigh, he shut down the design software. After a moment of hesitation, he opened a search bar and began looking up information on the Galactic Empire.

 

B3024 Star, Sikkim, Driftwood Star… Familiar names filled the search box—but no results came up.

 

He switched to searching for people. Then, desperate, he tried to look for that novel he remembered, hoping to find anything that proved that world had existed.

 

Still nothing.

 

Frustrated, he slammed the light screen shut.

 

A few seconds later, he opened it again.

 

Like someone grasping at straws, he searched: “how to enter a novel,” “how to travel back after returning from a fictional world.”

 

This time, he did find a few forum threads, but they were all clearly made-up stories from netizens—entertaining, but useless.

 

Ruan Shiqing stared at the light screen for a long time. Then he leaned back in his chair, raised a hand, and covered his eyes.

 

The longing to return hit him harder than ever before—but there was no trace, no link, no clue about that world.

 

It felt as if he were stranded on a lonely island, completely cut off from the place he had come to call home.

 

After wallowing in that feeling for what felt like an eternity, Ruan Shiqing slowly pulled himself back together.

 

He combed through every memory, every potential connection between the two worlds.

 

And finally, after a long pause, he typed into the search bar: “Blue Star.”

 

 

 

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When I said Ruan Ruan needs to wake up… I didn’t mean it like this ;____; orz

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~