52. The New World
Her Majesty the Queen kept her word, and that very night, a certain foul-mouthed man was thrown back to Earth alone.
Only Pimin and the former Lord of Thethia remained, staring at each other in bewilderment.
“You…” Pi Min stared at the familiar yet unfamiliar beauty in front of him, unable to utter a complete sentence for a long time.
Her trembling appearance made the beautiful woman involuntarily smile.
"What's wrong? Are you afraid of me?"
"No!"
I'm just not used to it.
It feels so strange that the owner has suddenly become "the opposite sex".
In the end, the beautiful older sister ended this unspeakable awkward situation with a familiar head pat.
"Little cutie, I'm leaving now. From this day forward, you are the master of this planet. If you have any questions, you can ask the planet's main AI."
As she spoke, she suddenly reached out and hugged Pi Min tightly. It was a very strong hug, so strong that it seemed as if she wanted to meld Pi Min into her body.
"If you ever encounter any problems that you can't solve, just call my name. As long as I'm still alive, I'll be there for you the moment."
After the hug ended, she turned and left decisively.
Just before stepping out of the castle, she turned back and gazed deeply at Pimin. Her eyes seemed to hold a thousand unspoken words; though she was smiling, Pimin sensed the sadness within them.
The cow cat that always got angry was sent away, the little fox who was always deliberately provoking others also left, and even the glass wall separating the castle was removed. The castle, which used to be noisy every day because of the two of them arguing, suddenly became quiet.
Apart from the intelligent robots that take care of her daily life, she is the only person left in the entire castle. The cage that once confined her now feels emptier and more desolate than ever before.
Everything was exactly the same as before, but the chilling, clipped sound would never be heard in the air again.
Looking at the majestic full-body statue of Her Majesty the Queen in the hall, she felt a surge of emotion and almost cried.
"It's just withdrawal symptoms, it's normal..."
To dispel the indescribable loneliness, she turned on the live stream of the Cosmic Drift game again.
I just wanted to casually enter a live stream to kill some time, but I didn't expect to be greeted by Sheng Ming's smiling face as soon as I opened it.
The main live stream room was actually open. Not only that, but there was even a light screen hanging behind the man with the words "Top Ranking Rescue Plan" written on it.
At this moment, he was holding a 3D projection of the solar system, seriously discussing with the audience how to break through the planetary defense system of the Thetian Empire.
In the 3D projection in his hand, Mars's position had been replaced with a terrestrial planet with land and ocean.
It was only then that Pimin suddenly realized that he had returned to the solar system.
She walked into the garden, looked up at the sky, and saw that the three suns were gone, replaced by a single sun no bigger than an apple. Judging from the size of the sun, she had indeed reached the Martian orbit that Kami had mentioned earlier. Incredibly, it had all happened without her noticing; she didn't even know how she had arrived.
After the live stream ended, Pi Min finally reconnected with Sheng Ming through private messages from the game system.
"You even livestream this? You're really something else."
The man said helplessly, "There's nothing I can do, I have to pay off my debts."
Pimin asked, puzzled, "What debt? The debt you mentioned to Kami before? Isn't that something all of humanity owes you?"
The man patiently explained, "Although that debt is real, I never intended for anyone to repay it. But the debt owed to me can be waived, while the debt owed to Huanxing cannot be waived."
Pi Min became increasingly puzzled: "When did you start owing Huanxing a debt?"
The man chuckled and retorted, "Doesn't it cost money to do special dungeons? Doesn't it cost money to activate special privileges? Doesn't it cost money to buy exit cards or preserved eggs?"
Only then did Pi Min realize: "So, it really was all done behind closed doors?"
Unfortunately, the man remained defiant: "How can it be called shady dealing when I spend money to buy game equipment for my wife?"
"Tch!" Pi Min scoffed at this.
The man was unimpressed, looking eager to try his hand at his skills.
"A level zero civilization challenging the planetary defense system of the Thetian Zerg is such a sensational event. I need to make good use of it, seize the opportunity to gain more popularity points, and strive to pay off the debts of the Phantom Star as soon as possible."
Then, for several days in a row, he talked theoretically and boasted to the audience in the main live broadcast room, without showing any sign of taking any action.
Pi Min held back for a long time, but finally couldn't help but ask the question that had been bothering her: "Why do I feel like you don't really want to save me?"
The man quickly explained, "How could that be? I just wanted to make good use of this wave of traffic."
Seeing Pimin's dismissive attitude, he had no choice but to lay it all out: "The former Empress of the Thetian Empire abdicated after failing to find a husband. As the instigator of everything, many people are curious about our current situation. We have to capitalize on this massive influx of attention; whether we can redeem the rest of them ahead of schedule depends on this wave!"
"Wait a minute, you weren't being sarcastic earlier on purpose, were you?"
A sudden inspiration struck Pi Min, and to her surprise, she received an affirmative answer.
“That Empress’s behavior pattern is actually quite predictable. She’s really nothing like Thetia.” At this point, the man chuckled. “Do you know why that Empress chose Earth?”
After piquing Pi Min's interest, the man enthusiastically offered his answer: "Because she thinks Earth is a terrible civilization, and there's no need for such a civilization to continue. She said I'm particularly suitable to be her spouse, and she won't feel guilty being with someone like me."
Pi Min was initially shocked, but after the shock subsided, she was overjoyed to have found a kindred spirit: "She really said that? How can she be so adorable?"
"Which side are you on?"
"I stand on the side of fairness and justice."
The man shook his head helplessly: "I didn't agree with her at the time. She told me to go and see the worst place on Earth, and then I met you."
For some reason, the smile on his face suddenly froze: "When we first met, she smiled and said she hated me, so she wanted me to be her royal consort. I always thought it was just another way of expressing affection. Now that I think about it, she probably really did hate me. It's unbelievable that she chose me because she hated me."
"Hahaha... She's so cute!"
Pimin suddenly recalled the gleaming look in Kami's eyes when she smashed the fake progenitor's skull during the previous test.
"How can there be such a wonderful girl in this world? She can actually empathize with the suffering of alien ants."
Upon hearing this, the man gasped, his face contorted with the pain of being betrayed.
"Whose side are you on anyway?"
"I stand on the side of fairness and justice."
Pi Min's ruthless answer made his expression even uglier. The man lowered his eyelids, his expression like that of a dog that had just been kicked hard by its owner.
"If you had known I was a permanent contributor, would you have saved me in the first place?"
He cautiously raised his head and stole a glance at Pi Min, whose beautiful peach blossom eyes were filled with humble expectation.
Unfortunately, Pi Min's answer remained as cold as ever: "Absolutely not. Not only will I not save you, I'll even add more soil and bury you even deeper!"
Such a heartless answer caused the man's shoulders to slump instantly, his eyes filled with resentment and accusation.
Stared at by his tearful gaze, Pi Min suddenly felt uncomfortable. Recalling everything that had happened along the way, she knew he wasn't some great villain. She awkwardly touched her nose and changed the subject: "Unfortunately, given your condition back then, even if you told me you were a prolific progenitor, I wouldn't believe you. You looked so pathetic. What villain looks like a homeless stray cat?"
Seeing that the man was still listless, she could only try to change the subject: "That's not important. You should continue thinking about how to crack the new Mars' planetary defense system!"
When the topic of concern was raised, his dim peach blossom eyes suddenly lit up: "The previous live broadcasts have already whetted the audience's appetite. In order to make sure the audience gets their money's worth, we have to do something interesting."
Pi Min raised an eyebrow: "Fine, I'll fire a few Star Destroyer shots at you tomorrow."
"No, no, no, this is too exciting! You might accidentally destroy the Earth."
"Then I'll pretend to let you in, and then accidentally open 'No dogs or spies allowed in Shengming,' is that enough for the show?"
"That's enough, that's far too much!" The man said, both amused and exasperated. "His Majesty has no intention of letting me go, and neither do you."
Pi Min really wanted to try out the projection effect, so the next day, when Sheng Ming came to the vicinity of New Mars with a live broadcast, she pressed that mischievous button without hesitation.
As the text projection covering half the planet unfolded, the entire live stream room was filled with the audience's surprised "wow" sounds. The audience's gossip desire was greatly satisfied, and the popularity of the live stream room quickly soared to an incredible value.
Everyone was happy, except for Sheng Ming, who was being compared to a dog.
During the evening call, he jokingly remarked, "Look, isn't our current situation like the fairy tale 'Rapunzel'? You're the princess imprisoned in a tower, and I'm the prince who's going to rescue you."
"But I don't have long hair to hang down so you can climb on me."
"Long hair, yes, the key now is to find your long hair. Everyone knows that it's an impossible task for a Level 0 civilization to challenge the planetary defense system of a higher civilization. Although His Majesty has a perverse sense of humor, he wouldn't deliberately leave us with an unsolvable problem. There must be a way."
It was clear that he was indeed at a loss, his eyes revealing an indescribable frustration and exhaustion, like a trapped beast.
"Since things have come to this, let's eat first!" During this time, Pi Min has been well taken care of by Her Majesty the Empress. She, who had previously relied on nutrient solutions for survival, has even developed the good habit of eating on time.
Upon seeing the delicious food in front of Pi Min during the video call, the man, who had been looking irritable, suddenly brightened up: "Eating?! Yes, eating! The answer is right in front of me! I'm so stupid, so stupid!"
He laughed wildly, then quickly cut the connection, leaving Pi Min, who was gnawing on a chicken leg, staring blankly at the suddenly extinguished screen.
But it didn't matter; the next day, she understood what he meant from the live stream.
The Earth's ruler, whose image is weighed down to a ton, actually demonstrated in front of the entire universe how to disguise himself as food to bypass the planetary defense system of the Thetian Empire.
Pi Min then remembered that the food transport route between this planet and Earth still existed, only the unit of transport distance had changed from light-years to tens of thousands of kilometers.
Watching him expressionlessly label himself "meat tenderloin awaiting slaughter" and solemnly climb into the cage, Pi Min covered her face and laughed so hard she almost fell over.
Her Majesty the Queen certainly has a perverse sense of humor!
Thanks to Her Majesty the Queen's outrageous actions, the title of "The man who rejected Queen Thetia was willing to become food for love" has been a topic of conversation among viewers of the space drifting game for a long time.
The moment the man tore off the label and embraced Pi Min, countless fireworks exploded on the planetary synchronous orbit that was originally used to project the message "Shengming and dogs not allowed."
Then, Kamina's slightly teasing voice instantly resounded throughout the entire planet.
"Congratulations to that scoundrel for winning the heart of his beauty!"
"There are many Easter eggs on this planet. Find them yourselves."
"Little cuties, you have no idea how awesome Earth is right now. A Level 0 civilization protected by both the Illusion Star forces and the Thetian Gods. Tell me, aren't you awesome? If any ignorant civilization dares to bully you in the future, don't be a coward, just fight them. Those guys from the Illusion Star can't protect you, but we have you!"
Kami's message only made Pimin feel good, but clearly, a certain man didn't see it that way.
"Should we take her words literally or figuratively? Never mind, it doesn't matter."
After ignoring that question, he couldn't wait to open the data backend of the main live stream.
"You made so much? Too bad, it's still a little short. Oh well, I've done my part. Let them pay it back themselves."
"The purpose of games is to entertain the audience, not to kill players. Once they have paid off their debts, the game developers will naturally grant them their freedom. Of course, if anyone still wants to continue playing at that time, the game developers cannot refuse them."
"In case someone leaves the game and doesn't know where to go, I'll put up a pinned notification in the game that everyone who completes the game can apply for residency on Earth or the new Mars. Oh, and if anyone isn't afraid of harsh environments, Earth 2.0 can also be considered as a residence option."
Humanity's fate was decided by him so casually.
Indeed, fortune may be the harbinger of misfortune, and misfortune may be the harbinger of fortune.
Pi Min was astonished to discover that the Earth, which had been rigidly class-based and stagnant like a pool of stagnant water, had been successfully reshuffled in a strange way. Compared to the world where she felt like a walking corpse, this reshuffled new world was clearly full of infinite possibilities.
"How did you get in touch with the game developers?" This question had been bothering Pi Min for a long time.
"Have you ever heard of the Absolute Connection between Heaven and Earth?" The man didn't hide anything and told the whole story. "Our ancestors may have been pets of the Illusion Star People. Later, the pets rebelled and wanted freedom, and the masters agreed. But even though the master-pet relationship was no longer established, the masters would still protect their former pets."
At this point, he suddenly gave a self-deprecating laugh.
"Seriously speaking, we can be considered pets of the Thetian Empire. We Earthlings are truly far ahead of the rest in the pet niche."
"It's alright, it's all for survival, nothing to be ashamed of."
The two looked up. Night had just fallen on the new Mars, and countless civilizations were rising and falling among the myriad stars above.
Beneath this vast expanse of space, humanity is but a speck of dust. At this very moment, countless civilizations are struggling painfully for their survival. In comparison, humanity is already incredibly fortunate.
As for how things will develop in the future, that depends on humanity itself.
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