The administrative center of Planet Jedas was located near the equator of this terrestrial planet. The most eye-catching thing in the center of the city was a tower-shaped building that rose high up into the sky like a beast's horn. At the top of the building was a circular structure that protruded out of the tower. That was where we were now.
When General Zeon went to explain to his superior why the entire colonial planet was conquered while he was out exterminating two small groups of pirates, I suspected that he was more interested in explaining how he managed to recover the lost territory in a mere six hours. We were temporarily placed in this place that had a very high administrative level. Yup, I wasn't sure what the administrative level was, but this place was really high.
It should be called the President's Palace or something like that. This design was such a pain in the ass. Instead of using such a sturdy structure, they had to use such an unconventional building shape to build an unbalanced tower crane. They were just trying to show off their material science skills. Anyway, when I saw this tower that looked like it was just waiting to fall, the first thing I thought of was that the people living under the tower had really strong mental fortitude.
In the end, the Empire's buildings were sturdy and reliable. We installed an anti-gravity generator on every floor of the three-story buildings …
"This city looks like a junkyard. I mean, the impression it gives off."
Renault stood in the middle of the large semi-circular window and looked at the city below. After a long while, he took two steps back dizzily and shrugged at us.
"I agree." The chairs here didn't seem to be designed for humans. At least, the human body structure in this universe was different from the human body structure on Earth. I felt extremely uncomfortable sitting on the luxurious chair, so I stood up and paced around. "The architectural styles are varied, and every area has a different hue. It looks like the designer had it all planned out. I don't know if it's because of the difference in aesthetic between the two universes. Anyway, everything in this world feels so weird to me."
"But I think this place is quite interesting!"
Shallow Shallow had been running around the house since the beginning. She started an indoor adventure with the curious Visca. At this moment, she felt that it was time for her to express her opinion.
"Isn't our Shadow City the same? Beside the Dwarven Building is the Beastmen's Crypt, behind the Troll Treehouse is the Elven House, right across the skyscraper is the Mage Floating Space Tower, and in the middle is the Gnome Commercial Street …"
I choked. "Ahem … our house is much more organized than here …"
However, I really should face up to Shallow Shallow's occasional sharp senses. With her reminder, I really discovered the similarities between this so-called 'Capital of Jedas' and the Shadow City. A large number of residential areas of different styles intersected with each other. The city facilities of different cultures and even technological systems were arranged neatly together. If there was anything that was different from the Shadow City, it would be the fact that this place was several times more chaotic than the Shadow City. Furthermore, there were almost no signs of an orderly plan.
"Ah Jun, do you know? I've always had this feeling," Big Sister leaned over lightly. "Everything in this world is pieced together. Not just those spaceships, but this city as well. Also, the residents of this world that we saw just now are dressed differently. Even the furnishings in this room … Although I don't really understand some of the things that Tawil mentioned, there is one thing that we can see. The technology that these natives possess has reached an unimaginable level. Furthermore, dozens of completely unrelated technological products are forcefully combined together."
After admiring Shallow Shallow's occasional sharp senses, I had to admire Big Sister's meticulousness and meticulous observation. Do you think it's easy for me to be an ordinary person?
"It's so high here. Chen-jun, are we traveling overseas? Eh? What is this … "Sylvia's unhurried and silly voice sounded from behind me.
Instantly, I regained my confidence.
So what if they are ordinary people? Could it be that Sylvia is still stupid?
However, Big Sister and Shallow Shallow's sharp observation makes sense. The cultural system of this world is their own business. Let's not talk about it for now. But what's with their technological system that is so messy here and there? Fuel engines matched with warp engines, gunpowder weapons matched with laser cannons. Even the armor of the battleship was made of everything from steel to interstellar alloys. The feeling it gave me was as incongruous as the next door Grandpa Wang wearing a vest, tie, straw hat, slippers on his left foot, and a crocodile carrying a stack of Vietnamese dong to KFC for a bowl of Old London noodles. If you don't feel confused after reading my words, you will feel confused when you look at the current technological state of this world that spanned across tens of thousands of years of technological history.
Based on my impression, the only ones who could exaggerate technology to such an extent were those China style sci-fi novels. For example, piloting a 30-meter tall mech to practice ancient martial arts, making the mech squat in the horse stance, thinking that it could increase the mech's balance, but not knowing that metal fatigue was the deciding factor, not changing the gyroscope even at the brink of death. For example, there was a dazzling array of keyboard shortcuts, not knowing that one's hand speed determined one's technique cramps. Only when one was about to cramp did one realize that there was a divine technique called Ctrl + C, Ctrl + V, and so on and so forth.
Of course, the aforementioned technical pain in the ass was completely different from the aforementioned technical pain in the ass. Ancient Warrior Mech and hand speed were things that were pleasing to watch, while Jedas' technological chaos was full of logical conjectures that made people's heads hurt.
While waiting for Jayne's return, we had already discussed no less than ten conjectures about the current state of technology in the universe. Even Sandora and Tawil, who were far away in the City of Shadows, had joined in. The conjectures we discussed included the theory of technological failure, the theory of technological collapse, the theory of high civilization succession, the theory of the religion of science and technology, and the theory of Shallow shallow's Empire Soy Sauce Group, the theory that the Great War of the Past Would Last Ten Thousand Years. Unfortunately, the last theory was at least ten percent convincing to all of us. Throughout the entire discussion, Immortal Lin sat in a corner of the communication window with a smile on her face. She reclined lazily on the sofa like a rich young lady, holding a feather duster made from Mercury Lamp's feathers and pointing it between us. She looked as though she knew everything and was not going to tell you. At first, I thought she had just finished cleaning the house. Later, I found out that she was planning to cosplay as Kongming. Unfortunately, Mercury Lamp was undergoing rehab, and Anveena's crow feathers were not suitable, so she could only use a feather duster instead of a feather fan …
How much of a pain in the ass do you think we are?
"I'm very sorry, my friends from the Federation. I've kept you waiting!"
Suddenly, we heard a loud voice coming from the door. It was Major General Zeon, who had gone to report, and he was finally back. What I wanted to say was, if you hadn't shown up, we would have started discussing the evolution of life in this universe … You're right, Zeon.
Previously, I had only seen Jayne through the communication device, and it was only a profile picture. The clearest impression I had of him was his left arm, which was holding the camera. Now that I saw him gasping for breath, I could only sigh. As expected of an old general who had led troops on the battlefield. That 1.489 Pandora's height and the muscles under his military uniform were not grown for nothing. A handsome middle-aged man standing out in front of me made me want to tease him. Sir, have you been living under a cliff all this time, waiting for a talented young man to fall down? Until recently, when you had no hope of becoming a space captain?
"It hasn't been that long."
Uncle Renault stood up to welcome him, extending his arms out of courtesy. This was a symbolic invitation for a hug. Regardless of whether the two of them were really close enough to be entangled with each other in public, a hug was inevitable as a political figure. As a result, Jayne lived up to his reputation as a soldier. He quickly stepped forward and hugged Renault.
This was just the temperament of an old soldier, but Uncle Renault's temperament also changed. This time, it was Jayne who hugged him.
I said, Uncle Beard, you should just stop hugging him. His white hair has already taken up a third of his height. If anything bad happens to him, you can forget about your medical fees.
In short, the two high-ranking military generals completed a historic hug. Then, they each hugged their ribs and sat in their seats. I was secretly glad that I had pushed Renault to be the spokesperson. I was really not used to hugging an old man like this. It would have been fine if you had been a girl — — That is, if Shallow shallow didn't bite after the incident.
Also, I really don't know what the brains of these soldiers are made of …
"I think you should receive the cheers of the people as the heroes of Jedas," Jayne said to us as soon as he sat down. "We should celebrate. Apart from the day the colony was established, this is the most memorable day in Jedas. We have driven away the evil invaders …"
"In fact, they only managed to stay on your planet illegally for six hours. They didn't even have the time to rape the women when they left," Renault said jokingly. Reynolds joked. He looked at my expression and shook his head apologetically at Jayne. "We're not interested in such pompous things. Also, I don't think you'll make your superiors happy by holding a celebration at a time like this."
"Alright, I think so too." The handsome middle-aged man Jayne agreed with Renault's statement in a surprisingly straightforward manner. "Those nerds who only know how to discuss the political atmosphere and public opinion are really idiots. Forget about the celebration, but maybe we can have a drink?"
Now, I was very curious. How did this old man, who had the body of a macho man, become a major general? Did all his colleagues die?
When Renault heard the words' have a drink ', a blush flashed across his face. This uncle really had no resistance to these three words. Anyone who heard the slightest gossip of the upper echelons of the New Eden Federation would know that their beloved James Renault let his wife rule over him. When Kerrigan found out that Renault had been drowning his sorrows in alcohol during that period of time, she was both heartbroken and angry. In order to prevent the Federation, which had just escaped from a nightmare, from welcoming a leader with an alcoholic liver, Kerrigan, who had changed from a queen to a good wife, used almost all the methods in the concentration camp to help Renault quit drinking. Behind every successful man, there was an S woman, and every S woman was accompanied by an M man. Renault was happy to let his sister rule over him. It was just that he was a little thirsty because he hadn't touched alcohol for months.
"Say, how many times have you tried to quit drinking?"
I poked Renault's shoulder and looked at the embarrassed uncle teasingly.
"Who is this?"
General Zeon was a little confused when he saw me patting the shoulder of the 'leader of the Federation'. I couldn't blame him. From the very beginning, we had only introduced Renault and Zeratul as the spokesperson and military leader. Of course, he didn't know my identity. However, your 'who is this passerby A' look really annoyed me!
"He's my boss." Renault pointed at me casually. "Although I'm the leader of the Federation, I have to listen to him here."
"Err, let's talk about me later. Let's talk about today's inexplicable battle later." Seeing that Zeon still wanted to dig deeper, I quickly interrupted him. "You know, we are lost here, and we are not familiar with the situation here. For example, the pirates that run amok everywhere, and your strange multilateral relationship. If you don't mind, can you tell me more about this?"
"You haven't received the message yet?" This time, Zeon looked at us in surprise. "Could it be that … even the Shepherd is late?"
"Shepherd?" I noticed this term that I had heard more than once, but I didn't dare to show too much confusion. Zeon's reaction just now didn't seem right. Under normal circumstances, we would have already received the message from the so-called 'Shepherd'. If I showed too much confusion, I couldn't guarantee that he wouldn't connect the dots. "Ah, who knows? I'm still confused."
"… Alright, maybe the Shepherd is lazy too." Zeon didn't dwell on this issue. "Just remember one thing. Once you come to this place, you will meet the Shepherd sooner or later, or they will give you orders. I'm not trying to scare you, but if you fight alone, you will die here sooner or later. The Shepherd has no compassion. All they want is for the entire universe to kill each other. I should tell you more, but … the Shepherd hasn't contacted you yet. I don't know what they are planning. So, it might be a good idea to talk less …"
Zeon's words were a little vague, and his face was filled with undisguised anxiety and nervousness. I never thought that this tough old general would be like this. Who are these 'Shepherds'?
The evil forces of this universe? Or …
This is ridiculous. I actually thought of Liliana … That girl shouldn't be this dangerous, right?
But no matter how hard I pressed him, Zeon was unwilling to say anything. He was tight-lipped about the Shepherds, and he even said that he needed to wait for the Shepherds' explicit instructions before he could tell us anything about this world. To be able to make a general so fearful, and even to the extent that it sounded as if all the countries in the universe were afraid of it, the Shepherds were instantly labeled as the United States of America in my mind.
"Speaking of which, there should be other fleets that got lost here before us, right?" My sister pretended to be nonchalant as she sat down next to me and said, "From your tone, it seems like you're already used to lost fleets."
Thanks to my sister's reminder, we almost forgot about Liliana.
"Lost fleets. Of course, there are lost fleets that barge into this place almost every day and are trapped here. Hm, are you hoping to find a fleet that came from the same place as you? Don't waste your time, the chances are next to nothing … "
"Of course, my sister is just asking casually."
"This is human nature. It was the same when we first came here … Speaking of which, there was some trouble in the Eastern Sky of the Great Nebula a while ago, but it was just a rumor …"
Before Zeon could finish his sentence, my heart skipped a beat. He mentioned that it was the same when he first came here. In other words, this person in front of me actually got lost here from another universe?
Is it a common phenomenon in this universe?
"Eastern Sky? We don't know anything about the star map of this universe, but are those troubles related to lost fleets? "
"Something like that." Zeon was a talkative person. "It is said that there is a cult that suddenly appeared out of nowhere, and they are extremely powerful in battle. Some people even say that they are as powerful as the Shepherds. They first killed all the pirate forces in the entire Sky and then disappeared. Now, they only occasionally come out to scare people. It is said that their doctrine changes every day, and the name of the organization is decided by a referendum every Monday. They rob everywhere, claiming that they are robbing the rich to give to the poor, but their actions are often disorganized. As a result, they don't know who to give the loot to, so they just find an uninhabited planet and throw it away …"
Before the old handsome man could say anything, I clapped my hands. There is no doubt about it. Other than Liliana, no one else would do such a thing.
However, Zeon's knowledge was limited. The Great Nebula was ten light years away from this place, and it was the center of the star map. It had almost no connection with Jedas. Even though the humans in this universe had mastered hyperspace communication technology, they were not so extravagant that they could travel ten light years for a stroll. The information that Zeon spoke of was only gossip. There were more than a hundred explanations about the mysterious cult that suddenly appeared and preached everywhere (these adjectives were all provided by Zeon out of friendship). Zeon knew less than two aunties on the street …
You could imagine how big of a commotion Liliana had caused when she first arrived.
However, there was one thing that was certain. After Liliana had caused a ruckus when she first arrived, she immediately went into hibernation. As a result, many people in this universe did not know the true identity of the Holy Temple Army, and could only rely on rumors to spread. I had no idea how that girl did something that was completely out of character, but at least she had saved me a lot of headaches.
A distance of ten light years was a costly journey for the natives who had yet to perfect hyperspace communication technology, but it was nothing to us. I immediately decided to go to the Eastern Sky of the Great Nebula to find out what was going on. However, before I could announce this decision to Shallow Shallow and the others, Zeon gave me another piece of information.
Her Majesty, the 'Queen' of the Free Kingdom of Gotark, wanted to meet us.
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