DDT - Chapter 117

Chapter 117: Interstellar ABO (2)

The Yi Family was one of the ancient noble houses of the Blue Star Alliance. More than 1,500 years ago, the Alliance didn't exist. At that time, people still lived on a planet called Blue Star. Technology on Blue Star advanced at a breakneck pace, and the human population grew unchecked. Nations fought fiercely over the planet's resources, eventually leading to an irreversible world war. Within a century, Blue Star was scarred beyond recognition. Only when the planet's ecosystem had deteriorated to the point where it could no longer sustain human life did people realize their mistake was irreparable.

The few remaining functional nations on Blue Star agreed to a ceasefire. Humanity expended vast resources to build an interstellar warship named the "Ark," sending those with the ability and means into the boundless cosmos.

At first, the people on the Ark clung to their nationalities. But as they sailed through the endless universe for one decade after another without finding a new, habitable planet, returning to Blue Star became an impossibility. The initial hope of escaping death and finding a new life gradually turned to despair under the weight of time. They began to feel like abandoned children, cast out into the universe by their own countries. One by one, the people on the Ark renounced their original nationalities. Yet, to ensure future generations would not forget this history, they continued to call themselves Blue Star humans. The Blue Star Alliance had already begun to take shape during the long years of drifting on the Ark.

The Yi Family, once a noble house from the capital of Huaxia, made immense contributions to the formation of the Blue Star Alliance on the Ark. Ultimately, the Yi Family was the first to gain a position of authority on the ship.

The Ark drifted through the universe for over a century. The people aboard gradually mastered the technology of space travel. The starship was now an incalculable distance from its original Blue Star. Finally, the Ark slowed its pace in a brand-new star region, one never before explored by humanity. This region is now the territory of the Blue Star Alliance.

This star region contained several primitive planets that were barely suitable for human survival. After multiple reconnaissance missions with smaller aircraft, the Ark finally landed on the one that appeared most perfect.

This planet would later become the Alliance's Main Star.

The star region the Alliance chose to inhabit was filled with strange, unavoidable radiation and unknown energy fluctuations. Humans could not resist the radiation, nor the various strange viruses, bacteria, and other microorganisms on the Main Star. In the few short centuries that followed, humanity underwent tremendous mutations to adapt to the environment, gradually differentiating into distinct branches. The Alliance named the three evolving human types, from strongest to weakest, Alpha, Beta, and Omega.

As time went on, the people of the Alliance continued to evolve rapidly.

Beginning in Star Calendar 700, humans gradually developed the use of mental power. By Star Calendar 850, the brain's mental power had essentially finished evolving, and physical fitness had improved across the board. In Star Calendar 900, humanity encountered the Zerg for the first time. The Alliance paid an extremely heavy price to drive them away. Afterward, the Alliance began to vigorously develop various weapons and warships. As an arms-manufacturing family, the Yi Family had once been isolated from the Alliance Parliament. When the Alliance first settled on the Main Star, most parliament members, swayed by public opinion, accused the Yi Family of holding advanced military technology that would threaten the Alliance's peace.

When the Zerg suddenly attacked, only the Yi Family and the areas surrounding their territory suffered minimal damage and casualties. The Alliance parliament members and citizens, terrified by these fearsome creatures, hastily invited the Yi Family to rejoin the Alliance Parliament.

The first-generation mecha, as well as the later humanoid and beast-form mecha, were all developed solely by the Yi Family. It was from that moment on that the Yi Family truly stood at the apex of the Alliance's power.

Various types of mecha gradually became the Alliance's main combat force against the Zerg. The Yi Family was one of the few noble houses that secretly insisted on preserving the Chinese language. Back when they were still drifting on the starship, it was the Yi family who covertly directed the people of Huaxia to spread the idea of abandoning nationalities. For so many years, the Yi Family had been subtly guiding public opinion. Finally, after seizing the opportunity presented by the Zerg attack to secure the highest authority in the Alliance, the Yi Family used the Alliance Parliament to gradually promote Chinese as the common language of the Alliance. This was why Chi Junluo heard her most familiar language coming from the mecha when she first arrived in this world. Chinese had already become the standard language of the Alliance.

By Star Calendar 1325, the Yi Family's power was truly immense. The people of the Alliance privately speculated that if the Yi Family wished, they could turn the Alliance into their personal dictatorship. After several hundred years, the main and branch families of the Yi had infiltrated every level of the Alliance Military. If they wanted, they could completely transform the Alliance into a monarchy, with the Yi Family becoming the new era's royal house.

The latest generation of the Yi Family's main branch had only one child, and an Omega at that. In this era, the only role for a delicate and weak Omega, for most families, was to bear children. Omegas had extremely poor constitutions and average mental power; their only outstanding trait was their fertility. Although the social status of Omegas had improved slightly in recent years, a noble house's branch families would never allow the entire family to be inherited by a frail Omega.

Therefore, other families speculated that the reason the Yi Family had yet to make a move for the highest power in the Alliance was that the main and branch families were locked in a fierce struggle over the position of the Yi heir, leaving them with no energy to deal with external affairs.

At this moment, however, the main and branch families of the Yi, the constant focus of everyone's attention, were not as tense as the outside world imagined.

The only child of the Yi Family's main branch was named Yi Shuhan. The outside world might not know, but everyone in the Yi Family treated Yi Shuhan like a princess, carefully cradling her in the palm of their hands. Perhaps in the early years, the branch families had thoughts of competing with the main branch for the heir's position, but after the results of Yi Shuhan's internal family mental power test came out, the branch families fell silent. SS-class mental power was one in ten thousand even among Alphas.

The Alliance's mental power grading was extremely strict. A-class mental power could only be released in a small area and was mostly used for controlling one's limbs. Only at S-class could one release and retract it at will, using it with ease. Mental power was largely innate; although some people could advance through training, they were a small minority. With SS-class mental power like Yi Shuhan's, she was far from being someone who could be bullied just because of her weaker constitution. During her time at the Alliance Main Star's junior military academy, before her glands matured, Yi Shuhan had always presented herself as a Beta. A few Alphas from the Yi branch families had teamed up to teach this Omega a lesson, hoping she would get the hint and obediently withdraw from the competition for the Yi family's inheritance. However, their malicious intent was so obvious that the powerful Yi Shuhan quickly sensed their ill intentions. Before they could even get close, she used her mental power to send them flying. Several A-class Alphas were thrown so hard they couldn't get out of bed for two weeks. Since this provocation occurred on campus, Yi Shuhan's counterattack was witnessed by everyone. After that, no one dared to provoke this seemingly gentle and weak girl again. This was the legendary "victory without bloodshed," wasn't it?

Returning to the topic at hand, the main and branch families of the Yi had gathered this time because their little miss, Yi Shuhan, had secretly run away again. As the true heir of the Yi Family, the 24-year-old Yi Shuhan had been required to learn how to take over the family business ever since her coming-of-age ceremony at 20. Countless pairs of eyes within the family were constantly watching her every move. Although the elders no longer obstructed her from taking over the family, the younger generation of Alphas in the Yi Family were watching closely, trying to find any fault with the young miss.

This wasn't the first time Yi Shuhan had disappeared. Although she had no interest in inheriting the family business, she never neglected any of her duties. While her handling of matters wasn't brilliant, no one could find any real mistakes. Every time the Alliance went to war with the Zerg, Yi Shuhan would secretly slip away. The head of the Yi Family knew that his daughter had loved studying mecha and weapons since she was a child. He had secretly built a research institute for her, hidden from everyone. Yi Shuhan had her own research institute at the age of 10, developed a new type of weapon at 12, and created a mecha more advanced than those used by the military at 15. With Yi Shuhan's consent, the head of the Yi Family handed the new mecha over to the Yi family's military factory for optimization and mass production. After the Alliance forces used the new mecha in battle against the Zerg, casualties were significantly reduced, and they found it much easier to cut down the Zerg.

In the following years, the Yi Family's research and development department was completely taken over by Yi Shuhan. She quite enjoyed working in the R&D department. Her private research institute also remained open, and not even the head of the Yi Family knew what his daughter had been using the institute for these past two years.

This time, there were no major battles in the Alliance, so they had no idea what Yi Shuhan had gone off to do. The Yi Family had searched the Main Star inside and out, and no departure records were found at any information port. Ultimately, their subordinates came up with two theories: either the young miss was still hiding somewhere on the Main Star, or she had left the Main Star in a mecha.

As the Alliance's primary combat force, combat-grade mecha were not allowed to be privately owned by non-military personnel. The most the noble families on the Main Star could own were performance-grade mecha. These mecha had beautiful exteriors but were outdated models with limited functions. They were good enough for flying around the Main Star and served mostly as status symbols for the wealthy. Trying to fly a performance-grade mecha in space was tantamount to suicide. The main modes of transportation between planets were still starships and smaller aircraft.

Since there were no departure records for Yi Shuhan at the starship port, the branch family members didn't think much of it. They sat for a while before leaving in a hurry. However, one of the branch members who had attended the Alliance's operational meeting on behalf of the family head briefly informed him of the meeting's final decision before leaving.

The head of the Yi Family, Yi Jun, thought carefully. Not long ago, Yi Shuhan had told him that she seemed to be fully committed to a four-year project and would be conducting research behind closed doors at her private institute. If this project succeeded, it would greatly reduce the burden on the Alliance in its fight against the Zerg.

Yi Jun connected this with the news of the young Alliance admiral's sacrifice in the Western Star Region. He had visited the research institute just two days ago, and Yi Shuhan was still there. Before that, she hadn't left the institute at all and had no contact with the outside world. The news of Admiral Chi's sacrifice had come out four days ago. If Yi Shuhan heard this news after finishing her research...

Yi Jun felt that his child was truly a handful. The first time Yi Jun discovered Yi Shuhan tampering with a military mecha was when she was 17. Although the Yi Family's R&D department had long been handed over to Yi Shuhan to mess with, Yi Jun still had his own people there. When he found out that Yi Shuhan had secretly modified a certain mecha destined for the military, as the person in charge of all armaments, it was his duty to intercept it. No one had the right to privately modify or tamper with military mecha. But Yi Jun didn't intervene. He tacitly approved of Yi Shuhan's actions, mainly because he wanted to see what his daughter was up to. He had already had his people thoroughly investigate the background of that mecha's pilot.

The pilot of this mecha was a young, nineteen-year-old female Alpha. She had no parents or relatives and had been a wanderer on Gemark Planet in the Western Star Region since childhood. At sixteen, she reached the minimum age for military enlistment and joined the army. In just two or three years, she had already accumulated numerous military honors.

Yi Jun looked at the color ID photo of this young Alpha in the file and memorized the name beneath it.

Chi.

In this era, many families, in order to appear distinctive, would give their children relatively long and complex, tongue-twisting names, like General Oschalavsky, one of the three great generals. A single-character name like this young woman's was practically unheard of.

Yi Jun sent people to investigate what kind of contact or conflict Yi Shuhan had with this young Alpha, but they found nothing. The Yi family had always been daring in love and hate, and they never let themselves be taken advantage of. If someone plotted against them, they would definitely retaliate. Yi Jun decided to wait and see. If that Alpha had really done something to wrong his daughter, no matter how many military honors she had or how strong she was, the Yi Family would never let her go.

After that war ended, the young woman returned safely, having earned great military distinction. Because she had single-handedly carved a bloody path through a million Zerg and successfully repelled them, a war correspondent's dedicated mecha broadcasted the entire event live. Soon, the people of the Alliance all knew of this rising star. The young Alpha soldier quickly attracted a large wave of fans, her popularity surpassing that of the young idols in the Alliance's entertainment industry. Since Chi was a soldier defending the Alliance, the idols could only swallow their anger. After all, two who couldn't hold back had expressed their doubts and disdain, only to be quickly shamed by netizens on the Star Network, and their management companies suffered as well.

The military also needed a representative for publicity and to stabilize public morale. The older generation of generals had rarely been on the battlefield in recent years and had gradually faded from the public eye. Thus, the young Alpha, Chi, became the military's best marketing tool.

Netizens even called her the Alliance's "Little General." However, this Little General Chi was very low-key. Her Star Network account was created for her by the military. From 1319 to the present 1325, she had only posted one message on her account: "Hello, friends of the Star Network. I am an Alliance soldier, Chi."

After that incident, Yi Jun noticed that every time Chi was about to set out, Yi Shuhan would secretly tune her mecha or install some strange weapons on it.

Then, Yi Shuhan would disappear from the Main Star for a period of time, only to return after the army came back victorious.

In recent years, Yi Shuhan had directly used the R&D department and the Yi Family's influence in the military to replace that Alpha soldier's mecha with the latest model she had developed herself.

Chi's mecha was two heads taller than a standard mecha. It looked more solid, yet it wasn't clumsy at all.

The uniqueness of Chi's mecha quickly aroused dissatisfaction among a small number of soldiers in the army. Yi Shuhan remained defiant, insisting on giving the best mecha to Chi.

"Chi Chi deserves the best mecha, and only she is worthy of my mecha."

This was what Yi Shuhan had told Yi Jun personally. The child was unwilling to say more, so in the end, it was Yi Jun who had to step in and "clean up her mess."

In response to the doubts, the military announced that the mecha piloted by Chi was the R&D department's latest model, a test unit. Once it returned from the battlefield, the R&D department would collect data from the test unit, which would eventually be applied to the next generation of mecha.

Although Yi Shuhan was annoyed that the military had spread rumors that her meticulously developed mecha was a test unit, she also understood that a tall tree attracts the wind, so she kept her mouth shut. However, she secretly vowed to herself that one day, Chi Chi would be able to openly pilot the top-tier mecha in front of the entire Alliance! And she, Yi Shuhan, would be the top-tier mecha creator!

Yi Jun sat on the top floor of the Yi residence, a cool breeze blowing against him. He was fairly certain that his daughter had taken a mecha and flown to the Western Star Region herself. She probably couldn't accept it and wanted to search for the wreckage of the mecha she had built, right?

Yi Jun had seen the video at the military headquarters. The concentrated fire from so many super-energy quantum cannons had blasted the "Alliance Admiral," mecha and all, into nothingness. Sigh, it was a good thing he and his wife had discussed it and decided not to agree to their daughter's marriage to that young admiral. Otherwise, his daughter would have become a widow.

Yi Shuhan: ??? What marriage? How come I don't know about this?

Yi Jun had always maintained a detached attitude towards the matter between Yi Shuhan and Chi. The battlefield was ever-changing. Admiral Chi was too young. If she couldn't even protect herself, how could she protect his daughter after marriage? They couldn't rely on the old couple from the Yi Family for a lifetime.

Yi Jun sighed softly. It seemed that Admiral Chi and his daughter were fated to be, but not to be together.

Chi Junluo, who Yi Jun had just determined was not fated to be with Yi Shuhan, was currently dozing off in the cockpit of the giant mecha wreckage. It had been more than half a day since she escaped from the mecha. It was now daytime on this planet, but the day was still gray and hazy, with no "sun" in sight.

A few bird-like creatures were flying in the sky, making strange "woo-woo" sounds.

Chi Junluo opened her mouth to cough, but not a single sound came out.

She had already patted off all the scorched hair from her head. There was no mirror here, but she could guess that she must look like a scavenger right now.

Her stomach was growling incessantly. She looked at the birds circling in the sky, seemingly waiting for her to kick the bucket so they could eat her flesh, and swallowed hard.

These birds looked a little tempting.

The birds: ???

Chi Junluo raised her hand to test it. The power that the Heavenly Dao had told her belonged to her was still there. She hadn't had time to properly study this so-called personal power in the last world. Now that she had the time, she would investigate it.

She raised her left arm slightly. With a thought, a power that could be felt but was difficult to describe in words surged into her left arm. A golden light shone through the combat suit on her left wrist, which had been scorched black by the earlier flames. A golden energy ball gathered in her left palm. Chi Junluo used her right hand to pinch a piece from the energy ball, and she actually managed to pinch off a small clump of energy.

If it weren't for the warm sensation in her hand and her clear connection to this energy, she would have thought she was dreaming.

Chi Junluo aimed her right hand at the bird above her head. After taking aim, she flicked her wrist forcefully, and the energy ball she had pinched off turned into a streak of light and shot towards the flying bird.

Obviously, the first time is always a bit clumsy. The energy ball grazed past the bird.

Chi, the bird: ...

It's normal to miss the first time!

Practice makes perfect. The second energy bullet pierced through one of the flying birds. Chi Junluo climbed up and retrieved the dead bird. Faced with a bird covered in feathers, she didn't know where to start.

Chi Junluo reached out and tugged at the bird's feathers, finding that she couldn't pull them out. She remembered seeing someone kill a chicken before; the chicken was scalded in boiling water before being plucked. She had no boiling water, not even any water at all.

Chi Junluo thought about it seriously and decided to first try if the bird's blood could quench her thirst. If it could, she planned to get the other few down as well. After all, to leave this godforsaken place, water and dry rations were essential.

Chi Junluo channeled golden energy into her right hand, thinking of making it sharp, and then swiped it across the bird's neck. The bird's head tilted, and light blue blood flowed from the wound. Chi Junluo frowned and licked it. It didn't have the metallic taste she expected, so she raised the bird high and happily solved her thirst problem. The next issue was how to cook this bird.

This was starting to feel more and more like some wilderness survival show, wasn't it?

Shaking the thought from her head, Chi Junluo used her energy to simulate a flame and held the bird in her hand, starting a wild barbecue.

She didn't smell any aroma; the wreckage was now filled with the smell of burnt feathers.

Chi Junluo reached out, tore the bird open, used her energy to remove the innards, and roasted it from the inside for a while before tearing off the white meat to eat.

As the ancestors said, if you work with your own hands, you will have plenty of food and clothing.

Plenty of clothing wasn't certain, but she had achieved plenty of food.

Busy filling her stomach with bird meat, Chi Junluo didn't hear the faint footsteps approaching from outside.

---

Two days ago, Yi Shuhan had just finished preparing the results of her new research project at the institute when her father came to visit her.

After seeing her father off, she passed by a warehouse and overheard two assistants indignantly discussing the news of the Alliance Admiral's sacrifice.

She had to admit, when she heard the news, her SS-class mental-powered brain went completely blank for a moment. In all her life, it was the first time she had felt emotions like terror and panic. And there seemed to be an agonizing, heart-piercing pain as well.

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