Perhaps due to his lack of knowledge, the Royal Guards were more united than Qin Zhongquan had imagined. His bold words not only failed to crush their confidence, but instead drew a decisive and ruthless blow—fortunately, the howling metal storms could not penetrate their shelter.
"First platoon reloads, second platoon on alert, third platoon covers His Majesty's retreat!"
The sound of uniform footsteps and the closing of mechanical locks came from behind the iron gate, which for a moment drowned out the ubiquitous noise of machines.
"Hey—wait a minute!" Qin Zhongquan shouted again, "If no one talks to me today, I might do something stupid! I'm not a rational person, I'm a reckless person, and I think you probably don't want to keep a reckless person here!"
Then another shuttle came...
Gary pulled Qin Zhongquan's back and whispered, "Old Qin, this is useless. Authorities will never apologize or admit their mistakes; they'll just use other excuses later. Your threats will only make them worse. Even if they try their best, they won't be able to do anything to you."
"Then what should I do? I'm not a nice guy."
"You should stand behind me and see how I do it." Gary moved the brutish man who was blocking his way aside and stood in front of the stage. He cleared his throat and said loudly, "Gentlemen, this was all a misunderstanding. We mean no harm, we just want to discuss matters concerning the Great Library." He paused, and before the other party could react, he continued, "We have come from afar, seeking a win-win situation, not war. Your Majesty, I respectfully call you Your Majesty, please reconsider."
"You've come to the wrong place. If you want cooperation, you should go to the Minister of Foreign Affairs." said the man who had previously commanded the soldiers.
“We don’t represent any one world,” Gary replied.
"How did you find this place?" This time the response came from a gentle and wise bass.
"Sunset City isn't anything special," Gary said.
There was a long silence.
"Put down the gun and let me talk to them."
"But your majesty, this will make it impossible for us to ensure your safety!"
"No need, my Ser Merry. They understand the importance of this place better than you do. They chose not to fight back from the beginning, and you almost broke the gate! Now, in the name of the Emperor of the Red Moon Empire, I command you to close the safety and guard the gate!" After the footsteps faded, the steady voice showed a slight ripple. "Well, I believe the dangerous elements have left. My distant guests, you can come out now."
The two men slowly moved out of their shelter and immediately spotted a gray-haired old man standing about ten meters away. He stood about 1.6 meters tall, looking quite short compared to the two men, who, with their exoskeleton axes, stood over two meters tall. His clothes weren't particularly fancy, but they were clean and crisp. Ties were tied around his collar, cuffs, and trouser legs, and a tool bag hung from his waist. He didn't look like a noble ruler at all.
"Are you the emperor?" Gary took off his helmet and bowed, but his face was full of shock.
"As you can see," the emperor nodded in response. "I suppose you have already met my worthless sister. How is she doing now?"
Gary put his helmet back on.
Qin Zhongquan replied, "Are you referring to Princess Xue Ji?"
"Of course, I will never have another sister in my life." The emperor said, leaning against the railing.
"I met her on Earth. She seemed to have a close relationship with a politician from the space army. Unfortunately, I didn't have the chance to chat with them even for a word at that time." Qin Zhongquan concealed "a small amount" of facts and answered concisely.
"Haha, she's cute, isn't she?" the emperor laughed.
"Uh, uh, that's true." Qin Zhongquan could only say what he meant to fulfill people's wishes.
"Are you here for the returnees as well?" the emperor asked again.
"It used to be, but not anymore," Gary said truthfully.
"You did well. The Returners are a hoax," the emperor said, shaking his head. "There are many people with the same name in this world, and my sister naively believed she had found the truth."
"So who is Khan Robert?" Qin Zhongquan was still a little curious.
"That's too much." The emperor took out a paper notebook from his toolkit, turned to a page in the middle, wrote a few letters with an old-fashioned fountain pen, and then continued, "If you don't mind chatting with an old man like me for a while - the name Khan Robert has appeared three times in recorded history. All this history is in my palace, you come with me." He stood up and waved to the two of them.
"It's our honor!" The two hurried to catch up.
"The first person my sister and I found, Kehan Lauber, was the last president of the Community before the Great Chaos. He held the position for less than three years before disappearing in a spaceship accident. After researching the relevant information, we initially believe the accident was deliberately orchestrated, possibly due to factional strife." As if finding someone with whom he could communicate on an equal footing, the Emperor's steps became more eager than usual. "This factional strife originated very early on, perhaps leaving hidden dangers from the very beginning of the Community. Because not much historical data from Earth's era has been preserved, we can only make a simple guess—the unity of the Community was incomplete."
"So he can't be a returner?" Gary asked himself.
"Yes, that's what we thought." The Emperor turned a corner. "Listen, I'll continue. The second Khan Lober lived before the founding of the Empire, somewhere between 260 and 290 A.D., before the automatic machinery completely ceased functioning. He was a legendary businessman. The Imperial Entry Point in the sky and the intercity tunnels underground were all his work. It could be said that this man connected the entire planet of Venus, giving its scattered people the opportunity to unite as one."
"And what was his ending?"
"Yes, he also disappeared, but this time he disappeared gradually. There are even memoirs that specifically mention his grave, but no one knows where it is. History doesn't give the exact time of his death."
The emperor stopped in front of a door that could only be opened outwards and gave the two a reminder: "Don't talk or make unnecessary movements for a while. Follow me."
He took out a card from his pocket and held it above his forehead.
With a "beep" sound and a voice reminder, the door slowly opened and a slightly dazzling light shone in.
Outside were soldiers lined up in two rows, as if holding a welcoming ceremony.
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