Final Chapter (Final Chapter) What will become of us tonight...?
Outer space, 60,000 light-years away. The Greater and Lesser Ursa Major galaxies.
The Navigator Project was the first to discover these two adjacent galaxies, which resemble two bears, one large and one small, like a mother bear with her cubs, hence the name.
Alpha Fortress and G1 and G2 Fortresses hovered silently, like wordless mountain peaks.
These two star systems haven't even developed the technological capability to land in space; they are still in a feudal era.
The arrival of the Gamma Empire was a devastating blow to them.
The space fortress spent more time on the road and dealing with enemies along the way than it took to conquer the two star systems.
Not to mention the power struggle instigated by the federal government.
Expeditions are never easy.
And now it's finally coming to an end.
The largest planet in the Ursa Major system, the surface of the planet, the royal palace.
The former royal family and nobles were still granted a special privilege: they could continue to reside in the palace until the empire dispatched an executive officer. Once the executive officer arrived, the palace would become the executive officer's residence, and everyone would be moved out.
Eve's server room has been initially set up, located in the back garden of the palace.
Lin Changli took out a huge core from the spatial button, so large that he needed both hands to hold it in his arms.
The two suspended probes generated a huge suction force, drawing the blue-glowing core towards them.
Lin Changli exited the core server room. The glass door slammed shut instantly.
The server room roared to life. Eve was officially connected.
Once the network is in place, Eve will take over the entire realm.
"Marshal Lin Changli, greetings." Eve's mechanical voice rang out, "Congratulations on completing this expedition."
Eve paused, then glanced around, the cameras serving as her eyes: "Please forgive my inappropriate wording, but the environment I'm in right now doesn't seem very safe. Are you being a bit perfunctory?"
Lin Changli's hair had grown much longer, and he simply tied it back. Hearing this, he chuckled and said, "Eve, don't worry, there's nothing on this planet that can threaten you. Their technology can't support flight."
Eve still strongly disagreed: "This is only a temporary facility. You must find a very safe place to relocate me."
Lin Changli nodded: "Don't worry, after the old royal family moves away, this place will become the executive office. At that time, your core will be hidden again, and the server room facilities will be placed in the ocean behind the palace."
Eve was finally satisfied. After a pause, its complex mechanical camera turned to look behind Lin Changli, watching the royal family members hiding behind the glass window.
"..." Lin Changli followed its mechanical eyes and looked back.
The queen, holding the hands of the two princesses, swayed precariously, her eyes red from crying, leaving two deep marks.
Her husband and sons, the country's former king and prince, were killed in the fight against the coming empire. The two princesses became the sole rightful heirs.
This frail woman obeyed all the demands of patriarchal society: she obeyed her husband and sons after marriage, and she did not stop her husband from fighting against her. After her husband's death, she became the only person in the royal family with power and two daughters. She maintained the royal family's emphasis on bloodline. In order to protect her two daughters, she opened the city gates and chose to surrender.
Lin Changli heard the insults and denunciations directed at her by those "powerful and influential people" and "old ministers".
But the queen's answer seemed so innocent, naive, and irrefutable: "I obey my husband and the royal family in everything. You can't expect a woman to save the country without her own thoughts, can you?"
The chaotic royal council chamber fell silent because of those words.
Lin Changli almost burst out laughing at that moment.
"The empire still needs this royal family," Lin Changli explained to Eve, regaining his composure. "This country places great importance on the legitimacy of bloodlines. The preferential treatment given to the royal family can quickly win over the hearts of the people and create the illusion that everything is still stable, so that our actions can continue."
Eve tapped her mechanical eye to indicate that she understood.
When they turned around again, the younger princess ran out and hid behind a pillar in the corridor, watching Lin Changli and Eve with curiosity.
She had red hair and pretty freckles on her face. Her face showed no trace of the timidity of a queen, nor the submissive pretense of her sister after being educated.
She was like an elf from an ancient myth, emerging from the forest—lively, clever, and intelligent, yet with a certain stubbornness, untouched by the formalities of human society.
The little princess noticed Lin Changli looking at her, and she bravely peeked out from behind the pillar, her voice clear and strong, her words exceptionally distinct: "Are you a bad person?"
The queen behind the window was filled with anxiety, but her throat seemed to be blocked by something, and she could not make a sound.
Lin Changli glanced at the delicate queen and the eldest princess, then looked away, walked to the little princess, and knelt down.
The little princess took a small step back warily, looked him up and down, her chubby face still showing signs of childishness.
Looking at her red hair, Lin Changli thought of someone he hadn't seen in a long time, and suddenly smiled: "Do you think I'm a bad person?"
Good and bad in this world are judged based on one's own interests.
The little princess was still too young; she blinked her innocent big eyes and didn't say anything.
Lin Changli patted her head without explaining.
He stood up, and his adjutant came from the end of the corridor to report on the status of the space fortress and its personnel.
Finally, the words Lin Changli most wanted to hear came: We are now ready to return.
*
After becoming the executive officer of Black Tower Star, the various matters she had to deal with were more complicated than Sangye had imagined. She spent a lot of time learning just how to handle official documents.
Not to mention military logistics, financial expenditures, personnel management, crisis early warning, patient admission, and so on.
As the Black Tower Star mineral veins are gradually depleted, managing the indigenous people and developing new industries have become her current priorities.
Despite the assistance of Eve and Du Yuan, Sangye was still incredibly busy, traveling by running.
In recent years, she and Lin Changli have always found it difficult to find a suitable time to have a proper phone call and chat.
Lin Changli had no signal in deep space, and when he was on the ground, he was separated from Sangye by a time difference.
When both of them are particularly busy, they might only have time to reply to a "goodnight" message from last night until late tonight, while the other person is already preoccupied with something else.
In comparison, the news coming back from Rong Cheng, who has already entered the pilot program, is more stable than that from Lin Changli.
She would also regularly send back various local specialties from her explorations to Sangye and Du Yuan.
However, Du Yuan no longer had time to miss her, because she was now completely preoccupied with the twins of the Aso Ment family.
Aso Ment rarely had time to return to Black Tower, while Jiang Sili continued to serve as the hospital supervisor on Black Tower, a post that only an S-class Sentinel like him could accomplish.
Therefore, Du Yuan, who loves children very much, volunteered to take care of the twins together with Ms. Sophia.
The twins are exceptionally mischievous and energetic; together they come up with more wicked ideas than the stars in the sky. Moreover, they display immense courage when together, far surpassing that of their deceased sister, Xia Lin—who, at the age of five, stole Jiang Sili's personal warship from its hangar.
According to the two women, they wanted to visit the underground black market that Aunt Jiang Zhaoyuan had taken them to last time.
Jiang Sili doted on the twins too much. When he took them to find their mother, he recorded their mental information in the warship.
So, taking advantage of the late hour and while Jiang Sili was at the hospital guarding the newly arrived riot sentries, the two secretly slipped out of the house. They easily opened the hatch on Jiang Sili's private warship and sped away.
It wasn't until the twins approached the star cluster's edge and were routinely checked by Eve's access to the warship's systems that the infant protection regulations were triggered. Eve notified the two guardians, and Jiang Sili realized her daughters were missing.
Eve piloted the warship to land at the G13 Legion, where they were met by an enraged Aso Ment.
Jiang Sili and Aso Ment were prosecuted by Eve and brought to court for their dereliction of duty. The jury and judge required them to submit a written statement to the child protection office. Given that they did have official duties to perform and their remorse was sincere, they were penalized with 720 star hours of community service. These hours could only be counted as eight hours per day and had to be completed in one sitting without delay.
After the "sentence" is completed, one party must stay with the twins until they are 10 years old, and the other party must provide financial compensation.
Aso Mente chose Black Tower Star as his "prison" location, took a long leave, and led Jiang Sili and his daughters to farm and cultivate land, raise ducks and sheep as public labor on the Loda Plain.
As a result, with their parents by their side, the twins' mischief and vandalism decreased dramatically, prompting them to reflect on their actions for a long time.
This "reversal of fortunes" amused Sangye so much that she made a long video call when both she and Lin Changli were free.
However, these video calls always end up being rather inappropriate, and Kuwano is reluctant to hang up, so he always goes along with it half-heartedly.
Lin Changli knew that Sang Ye wasn't interested in marriage; she was someone who disliked being tied down, as was the case with most women in the interstellar era. Those like Wu Huansheng, who found their ideal partner and got married right after graduation, were extremely rare.
However, he tentatively asked Kuwano what he thought of children.
Sangye thought about it seriously for a long time on the other end of the video call, and finally leaned closer to the camera, blinking her emerald eyes: "I think we should let nature take its course. With your high mental level, I feel like you can't have a baby. Besides, I think we should take care of our things before the baby is born. We can't be busy every day after she is born, or she will be pitiful."
Having received Sangye's "definite letter," Lin Changli was filled with renewed vigor to advance the expedition, wishing he could shorten the originally planned 10-year journey to just one year.
But after all, people are not sophisticated instruments, and the enemy will not act according to Lin Changli's ideas.
Even so, thanks to Lin Changli's initiative, the expedition finally received permission to return at the end of the fifth year.
The emperor personally approved the return voyage.
What we might encounter on the return journey is unknown.
Even space fortresses need to stop midway for energy replenishment, medical care, and food resupply.
In recent years, thanks to the ingredients and raw materials provided by Sangye and Jiang Siwei's persistent efforts to expand trade routes, the expeditionary force's meals have been greatly improved, and the burden on the accompanying guides has been reduced significantly.
Lin Shuangqiao had asked Lin Changli in advance what reward he wanted this time.
It is right to reward those who have made contributions, but Lin Changli lacks nothing, whether it is status or wealth.
Lin Changli thought for a moment and replied, "Mother, give me a title, like the one in the Duke of Seren's family, so that my children can inherit it."
"A child?" Lin Shuangqiao was still a little confused. "Where did this child come from? When did this happen?"
Lin Changli: Oh, not yet. I don't know when it will be available, but I'm lucky, it should be available eventually.
Lin Shuangqiao: ......
*
It was another beautiful, sunny day at the base.
After a day's work, the Ment family returned to the base. It was the end of summer, the sun was setting and about to disappear below the horizon, and the beautiful colorful sunset was slowly fading away.
The base is no longer the lifeless place it was when Aso Ment first landed.
Endless greenery, colorful flowers everywhere, rabbits, weasels, and kittens hiding in the grass and bushes, peeking at passersby...
Long, fragrant flower vines cascaded down between each window.
The two people held the twins in the middle, and the twins skipped and chattered as they walked through a lush, green, and fragrant garden.
When they arrived at the West Building, Du Yuan had already prepared dinner for the day, and even made caramel pudding for the twins, with caramel scalded into the shape of a cute big-eared dog on the surface of the pudding.
Kuwano was unusually free today, so he came back early and was taking a shower.
Before they could exchange more than a few words, a clear, sharp cracking sound suddenly came from the second floor.
At the same time, the West Building suddenly lost power and fell into darkness.
But they heard no sound from Sangye.
The group quickly stood up.
"Sang Sang!" Du Yuan didn't forget to throw the scalding hot pliers into the pool—the ones she had used to heat the caramel earlier.
Sangye remained silent.
Second floor.
Kuwano calmly lit the spare candlestick—a lamp shaped like a lotus candle—put on his bathrobe, held the candlestick, and pushed open the bathroom door.
The branches of the sycamore tree spread out from beneath her feet, stretching outwards, winding and twisting, appearing extremely dangerous.
She is no longer the lowly B-level guide she once was. Over the years, she has made rapid progress, and the spiritual energy gained from building the planet has been enormous. She has already broken through to A+ level.
Sangye wanted to see who dared to cause trouble on her turf and in her room.
The moment the branch reached into the room, it suddenly became very agitated, even beyond Kuwano's control.
A person stood somewhat awkwardly on the shattered glass, with a giant beast crouching obediently behind him. Its feathers were bright and its plumage was held high, radiating a scorching aura.
It's obvious who got so excited they couldn't control themselves and caused trouble again.
Lin Changli's long hair danced in the night wind, her eyes reflecting the moonlight.
Just like when the two first met, he broke the room window and suddenly barged in.
In the flickering candlelight, Sangye smiled brightly: "You're back."
Lin Changli took a few steps closer to her: "I'm back."
—End of main text
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Author's Note: - That concludes the main story. From July 14th to November 26th, I've completed a small part of Sangye's life, but she won't stop here. Her life will continue to move forward, forever following her heart, forever striving upwards.
- I would like to thank all my dear readers who have been with me all this time. This book has more than 200,000 words of unread content. From a few favorites at the beginning to 1,129 favorites when the main text was finished, there were painful periods when I did not receive recognition. But I did not give up on this book, and you did not give up on me.
-The extra chapters will include an "if" scenario, where Lin Changli transmigrates to the cultivation world.
-Finally, let me give a shout-out to my upcoming article:
"Spring and Autumn Snack Shop" is a food-themed farming novel. I hope you can add it to your favorites!
[Food, Management, Farming, Relaxing]
When Man Weiying regained her memories from before her rebirth, her biological father was missing and presumed dead.
The mother, Manxun, was frail and delicate, and also six months pregnant;
Grandparents and her uncle's family were eyeing Manxun's dowry of houses and land, waiting to devour it all.
Man Weiying led his widowed mother away from the snake and ant nest, enduring wind and rain all the way back to Man Xun's maternal home—Yunmeng Mountain in the State of Jin.
The mother and daughter, weary from their journey, were stunned when they arrived home to find their once magnificent three-room, two-story tile-roofed house inexplicably smashed to pieces! Their fertile fields had also been abandoned for a long time!
Fortunately, it is backed by Yunmeng Mountain, and at the foot of the mountain lies the bustling Yunmeng City.
With her culinary skills, Man Weiying set up a stall in front of her dilapidated house. Starting by selling breakfast, she repaired the house, opened a restaurant, and made a prosperous life for her mother and sister!
*
The people of Yunmeng City have been discussing something lately:
The defeated only daughter and granddaughter of the Man family are back! Apparently, they were kicked out by their in-laws! The granddaughter is an excellent cook, preparing a bunch of dishes that no one had ever seen before—
Soup dumplings, pork floss bread, Sichuan-style boiled chicken, pickled fish, medicinal chicken, Yunnan rice noodles... one after another, it's all so novel!
An insider dismissed the title with disdain: "What's with all this talk about granddaughter? She's surnamed Man, she's just trying to establish her own household!"
*
On Yunmeng Mountain, it is said that the disciples have recently been running down the mountain, apparently because they have fallen in love with the food in the small eateries at the foot of the mountain, and even look down on the cooking skills of the chefs on Yunmeng Mountain.
Wang Xu thought that it had been a while since he had gone down the mountain to see the bustling world, so why not go down the mountain and try what was so special about this "Manjia Small Eatery"?
*
1. The background is fictional, imitating the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.
2. Everything is disregarded for historical accuracy and serves only the plot.
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