Chapter 49

The Sailiang Imperial City loomed solemn in the twilight. Its former prosperity had been annihilated by war, leaving only a desolate desolation amidst the rubble. Under cover of darkness, Wen Ling quietly infiltrated the old city, home to the Imperial Archives. His fingertips unconsciously brushed against the badge Miao Weizhen had given him. The cool metal edge seemed to still hold the warmth of that brief touch. This badge was a token of love, but also a token of care.

The guards outside the archives were more lax than expected, and this anomaly made Wen Ling wary. He followed the secret passage map provided by Miao Weizhen and found a hidden entrance. Just as he was about to use his badge to open the secret passage, he heard hurried footsteps in the distance.

"It seems someone has gotten ahead of us." A familiar voice sounded in the darkness.

Wen Ling turned around and saw Lei Huan leading a group of federal soldiers out from the shadows. They had obviously been waiting here for a long time.

"Surprised?" Lei Huan fiddled with the energy gun in his hand, a hint of mockery on his lips. "Do you think Miao Weizhen's plan is perfect? ​​He relies too much on outdated technology."

Wen Ling calmly assessed the situation. The enemy had the advantage in numbers; a head-on confrontation was definitely not the best strategy. He glanced at the soldiers behind Lei Huan, noting that while their equipment was sophisticated, it wasn't entirely uniform. He could even see the insignia of different manufacturers on their shoulder armor. The standardization the Federation prided itself on was crumbling from within.

His finger quietly pressed the communicator given by Lao Lin.

"What do you want?" Wen Ling stalled for time.

"Ancient documents in the archives." Lei Huan smiled. "And of course, you."

At this critical moment, an explosion suddenly sounded in the distance. Lei Huan and the soldiers instinctively turned to look, and Wen Ling took the opportunity to dodge into the nearby ruins. A dense beam of energy exploded behind him, scattering debris everywhere.

"Chase!" Lei Huan roared.

Wen Ling quickly shuttled among the broken walls and ruins. His familiarity with the terrain of the imperial city gave him a temporary advantage.

But the pursuers behind him were relentless, and energy beams kept passing by him. Just as he was about to be surrounded, a figure suddenly rushed out from the darkness and accurately knocked down several of the nearest soldiers.

"This way!" the visitor whispered.

Wen Ling recognized them as Luo Yan's scouts. They quickly passed through a hidden alley and entered an abandoned shop. In the basement, several resistance fighters were waiting.

"Commander Luo Yan anticipated an ambush," the scout said quickly. "We've been secretly protecting you. Minister Miao's situation...is not looking good either."

Miao Weizhen stood at the Crystal Cave's main console, monitoring Wen Ling's movements. When he saw Lei Huan appear, his eyes suddenly turned cold, and his knuckles turned slightly white from the exertion. On the holographic star map before him, the red dots representing the Federation Fleet approached the Phantom Machine Wasteland like a swarm of bloodthirsty locusts.

"Launch the emergency plan." He ordered, his voice filled with a biting chill, but his eyes never left the faint light that represented Wen Ling's location.

Lao Lin immediately executed the order and the base's defense system was fully activated.

The fluorescent orchids cultivated by Ayuan suddenly changed their luster at the same time, from soft blue to warning red.

"The Federation's main fleet is moving towards the Ghost Machine Wasteland," Luo Yan reported in a serious voice, "They intend to capture the base in one fell swoop."

Miao Weizhen's fingertips tapped lightly on the console, a habit he made when making important decisions, and one he would only show when he was alone or extremely anxious.

He walked deeper into the cave, where Xing Lan's final research results were kept. In a specially crafted container, several glowing crystal chips floated.

This is the core technology of the Star Shuttle Project. Every use of it consumes traces of the Star Shuttle's existence.

"These chips..." Lao Lin hesitated to speak.

"I know the price." Miao Weizhen interrupted him in a low voice, reaching out to touch the cold surface of the container, as if comforting a sleeping loved one, "But some things are worth protecting with everything."

His mind flashed by Wen Ling's eyes, reflecting the starlight and showing her immense trust in him before she left.

Inside the Sailiang Imperial City, under the protection of the resistance forces, Wen Ling finally entered the secret passage of the Imperial Archives. The heavy metal door closed behind him, cutting off the pursuers outside. The secret passage was filled with the smell of stale dust, and the emergency lights on the wall emitted a faint glow, like guiding fireflies.

Following the route provided by Miao Weizhen, Wen Ling quickly found the main archive room, which contained the most confidential documents of the Sailiang royal family, including records about ancient gravitational weapons.

Wen Ling finally found his target after walking through rows of ancient bookshelves.

A tome made of a special metal. When he touched the spine, the book suddenly emitted a soft glow, and flowing words appeared on the pages.

"Bloodline certification passed."

A mechanical voice echoed in the room.

Wen Ling quickly flipped through the tome, and the contents astounded him. It turned out that ancient civilizations had indeed developed gravitational weapons, but due to their dangers, they also created a corresponding defense system. The core of this system lay hidden deep within the abandoned Youji Planet. His heart raced. If they could master this, perhaps they could truly possess the power to rival the Federation, rather than relying solely on Miao Weizhen's life-threatening use of forbidden technologies.

Just as he was engrossed in studying the classics, the door to the archives room was suddenly forced open. Lei Huan and his soldiers rushed in, all pointing their energy guns at Wen Ling.

"What a touching discovery." Lei Huan sneered, "Now, hand over the tome. Perhaps I can make your death more painless."

Wen Ling calmly closed the book and held it tightly in front of her: "Do you think I will let you succeed?"

"You think you have a choice?" Lei Huan raised his gun and aimed. "Or maybe you'd rather see what Miao Weizhen's expression will be when he receives your body? I'm curious, will that cold-blooded fellow shed a tear for you?"

At that moment, the entire archive room suddenly shook violently. The emergency lights on the wall flickered, and a dull, thunderous explosion was heard in the distance.

"What's going on?" Lei Huan asked sternly, steadying himself.

A soldier checked the communication equipment and his face turned pale. "Sir, the Ghost Machine Waste Planet... the waste planet is undergoing a strange change! The fleet... the fleet's communications are in chaos!"

Miao Weizhen stood on the highest observation platform in the base, watching the miracle unfolding in space. After he activated the chip left behind by Xing Lan, the entire abandoned Phantom Machine Planet began to awaken. Ancient devices, dormant for millennia, activated one after another, forming a massive barrier of flowing blue energy within the Star Debris Belt, seemingly shrouding the entire star region in a blanket of aurora.

The Federation fleet was caught off guard by this sudden change. Their warships came to a standstill before the energy barrier, all their weapon systems failing simultaneously, the flames of their overloaded engines flickering silently in the vacuum.

"This is impossible!" the fleet commander roared into the communication channel, his voice distorted by fear. "Our technology should be far ahead of these primitive devices! Those idiots in the intelligence department!"

Miao Weizhen appeared in the command room of every Federation warship through holographic projection, with an absolute, almost godlike deity. His voice was calm, yet it carried the power to crush everything:

"You made a fatal mistake—you underestimated the resilience of civilization and overestimated your order, which was built on plunder."

Under his control, the energy barrier began to shrink, trapping the federal fleet firmly in place.

At the same time, the ancient weapon system deep in the abandoned planet began to charge, and destructive energy fluctuations locked onto every enemy ship.

He only said one word.

"roll."

Wen Ling took advantage of the chaos and acted quickly. He used Lei Huan's distraction to activate the archives' emergency defense system.

The ancient mechanism began to work, and metal partitions descended from the ceiling, dividing the archive room into several areas.

"You can't escape!" Lei Huan roared and fired, but the energy beam was blocked by the suddenly rising energy barrier, only causing ripples.

Wen Ling, clutching the book, quickly moved toward the exit. As he passed through the final isolation gate, he glanced back at Lei Huan, his eyes calm yet filled with undeniable determination.

"Tell the Federation that Sailiang's backbone has never been broken."

As he rushed out of the archives, the scene outside froze him in his tracks. Above the entire imperial city, a massive energy barrier, radiating a faint blue halo, was slowly unfolding.

It was an energy fluctuation coming from the direction of the Youji Waste Star, warm and familiar, as if someone's protection had crossed the sea of ​​stars and gently enveloped him.

Miao Weizhen's voice came from the communicator, with a hint of fatigue that was hard to conceal, but still steady:

"Is the mission accomplished?"

The tone was not like a boss questioning his subordinates, but more like someone returning home to check on the lights.

"It's done."

Wen Ling looked up at the light in the sky that connected him to the distant stars and answered softly, as if afraid to disturb this moment of peace: "Are you okay?"

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the line, followed by a deeper voice, almost a whisper: "Yeah. Wait until you get back."

When Wen Ling safely returned to the rendezvous point with the tome, the first rays of dawn's sunlight pierced through the clouds, casting a shimmer upon the ruins of the imperial city and the fading afterglow of the energy barrier. The light wasn't intense, but it stubbornly dispelled the chill left by the long night.

On the abandoned star of Youji, Miao Weizhen watched the afterimage of the Federation fleet disappearing into the distance, tightly holding the last crystal chip with a slightly dimmed light in his hand.

In the corners of the star map, more signals of rebellion and independence were sporadically lighting up, like the sparks before a wildfire. He closed his eyes, feeling the sharp pain of mental exhaustion and the expectation in his heart that had become so concrete because of one person.