Touchdown

"The missile cruiser Orion has been captured by the Alliance's Burning Corps! The Celestials' attempt to dictate the future for wastelanders has failed once again, though they clearly have not given up just yet. Let us wait and see how subsequent events unfold. "Additionally, the hero most responsible for taking the missile cruiser has declined to disclose his name—perhaps because it is too long and awkward to pronounce. "In short, historical truth has come to light: the three thousand crew members of the missile cruiser Orion have finally been exonerated! They never carried out any surface cleansing missions, and in fact, they once saved the wasteland world! The Council of Representatives has proposed constructing a memorial cemetery to honor their contributions. "However, upon deeper reflection, a terrifying question arises: if the Orion never fired a neutron torpedo at Earth, and the Gemini is five light-years away... where did the nuclear warheads that rained from the heavens in the early Wasteland Era actually come from? "Regardless, this expedition spanning 36,000 kilometers has ultimately concluded in victory! "As General MacLaren stated, even if God were their opponent, the Alliance's Burning Corps could never lose—and the Goblin Corps, of course, is no different. "Furthermore, the emergency meeting of the council of our old friend, Ideal City, has entered its most heated phase of debate. It seems they will soon announce the outcome of their discussions!" — Goblin Observer ... Inside the missile cruiser Orion, within the refitted maintenance bay now equipped with buffer pods. Ye Shi was updating the news on his tablet computer, transcribing what he had acquired through his "superpower." Sipping vintage instant coffee that was a full two centuries old, Jiang Xuezhou glanced at the text on the tablet and couldn't help teasing, "Are you serious?" Ye Shi chuckled. "Whether it's real or not, you'll know once you get back." This nerd absolutely refused to believe he could transmit information across five light-years through thin air. Her skepticism had sparked his competitive streak, so he decided to show off. Verifying it would actually be simple enough. Once they got back, all she had to do was buy an issue of the Goblin Observer from a specific date. As for leaking secrets, there really weren't any secrets left to keep. The relevant intelligence had long been written in the Southern Legion's intelligence briefs, not to mention that once upon a time, their esteemed Administrator had exploited the players' cross-regional messaging feature like an in-game exploit to pass messages between Ideal City and Dawn City. Back then, a stable communications channel hadn't even been established between Ideal City and Dawn City yet; anyone with half a brain could tell there was something strange going on. At least for the Alliance, having people know about this was no big deal. Compared to the other ridiculous rumors out there, this was the least significant. Of course, that was merely Ye Shi's wishful thinking. Watching him spin an entire front page of news with such solemn dedication, even if Jiang Xuezhou didn't believe a word of it, she couldn't help being moved by his perseverance. This guy was really going all out just to keep her from falling into despair. Perhaps she had misunderstood him all along; it wasn't that he didn't know how to look after someone. He just wasn't good at expressing it. "Uh-huh, sure, let's just say that's true." "What do you mean, 'let's just say that's true'?" Ye Shi looked up indignantly. "I'm seriously transcribing this from memory, okay?" "Fine. Since you're so adamant you're not joking, then this young lady will play along." Jiang Xuezhou uncrossed her arms, set down her coffee cup on the side table, and curled her lips into a mischievous smile. "Care to make a bet?" Ye Shi immediately grinned. "Sure! What are the stakes?" Jiang Xuezhou smiled. "If the text you wrote on that tablet matches the real Goblin Observer by more than fifty percent, you win. If it's less than fifty percent, that proves you made it all up, and I win." Dope! Ye Shi had seen people feeding kills before, but he had never seen someone feed their own head right into their opponent's mouth. "Haha, deal! We'll do it your way." "Hold on, I'm not finished yet." Jiang Xuezhou held a hand over her helmet's visor with a cheeky grin, brazenly declaring what was essentially a total giveaway: "If I win, you have to act like a little piggy for a week and add 'oink' to the end of every sentence." Damn. Pretty devious, huh? Ye Shi chuckled. "Fine. And if I win?" "Whatever you want." Jiang Xuezhou smiled with utter confidence, saying leisurely, "Of course, there is absolutely no way this young lady could lose, so you don't even need to waste energy thinking about it, heheh..." Hearing that arrogant, weak-villain laugh, several gigabytes of adult material flashed through Ye Shi's mind in an instant, and an evil grin crept onto his face. However, that lasted only a split second. Because he quickly realized that he lacked the tools to commit the crime—even with a head full of dirty ideas, he couldn't do a thing. Nothing on his body could get hard except his fists. The wicked grin withered away at once, morphing into regret and vexation. Motherfucker! Damn you, Ah Guang! So infuriating! Seeing Ye Shi suddenly lose his smile, Jiang Xuezhou completely misread the situation, assuming he could no longer keep up the act. The triumphant smile on her face grew even more unrestrained. Beside them, Little Koala tilted its head while sweeping the room, utterly unable to comprehend their conversation. Meanwhile, far away in Dawn City, Chu Guang sneezed involuntarily. Rubbing the bridge of his nose, he muttered vaguely, "Which son of a bitch is blaming me now...?" ... Days drifted by. In the blink of an eye, the two marooned in Alpha Centauri had spent an entire month in their world of two. During this time, they scavenged whatever usable supplies they could find aboard the starship while repairing and modifying whatever facilities could still barely function. Though life was tough, finding joy amidst adversity kept despair at bay. In particular, the news and dry jokes Ye Shi gathered through his "superpower" were among Jiang Xuezhou's few comforts out in the freezing cosmos five light-years from home. They were also her driving force in relentlessly searching for a way back. After a period of searching, Jiang Xuezhou finally confirmed through the repaired positioning apparatus that the Gemini had crashed onto the surface of the third planet orbiting the Alpha Centauri A and B main-sequence stars—Gaia. Not only that, she had also picked up a radio beacon transmitting from the Gemini's black box! The path home gradually became clear. Only one of them needed to take the research vessel down to the surface, locate the wreckage of the missile cruiser Gemini, and salvage the fuel storage tanks from its reactor. That would give them enough power for another hyperspace jump. Although fraught with risk, this plan was vastly more realistic than upgrading the warp drive to reduce hyperspace jump consumption. After some debate, Ye Shi ultimately persuaded Jiang Xuezhou to remain aboard the missile cruiser Orion as remote support, while he headed down to the surface alone. According to the golden rule of standard RPGs, whenever two people entered a dungeon together, a side quest like "Where Did My Teammate Go?" was bound to pop up. Having anticipated the trash dev's dirty tricks, he wasn't about to step into that trap. Going solo suited him just fine anyway. ... Next to the repaired research vessel. Clad in his Dragoon power armor, Ye Shi conducted a final check of his gear and toolkit before looking at Jiang Xuezhou, whose face was etched with worry. "...If I don't come back, don't panic. Above all, stay calm." Jiang Xuezhou's eyes reddened, her voice choking up. "...What stupid nonsense are you saying? How could I not panic?" Even through the thick EVA suit and visor, Ye Shi could still feel the sorrow welling in her eyes. "No, I really mean it. Ah man... how do I put this?" Scratching his head, he struggled to find a way to explain that he couldn't actually die. Gritting his teeth, he finally said, "In short... you have to trust me. I will never abandon you." Although the Player Handbook didn't mandate a unified excuse for reviving or telepathic messaging, not revealing the existence of the "game" remained the consensus among all players. He couldn't be sure whether Ah Guang's surveillance cameras were watching nearby. Besides, even without a GM looking over his shoulder, he didn't want to break a promise. "Promise?" Jiang Xuezhou raised her bulky glove with reddened eyes, extended her pinky, and muttered softly, "Pinky promise..." "Pinky promise." Childish as it felt, Ye Shi hooked his finger around hers and gave it a gentle shake to put her at ease. That shake lasted a long time. Jiang Xuezhou hooked his pinky tightly, reluctant to let go. Looking at the hand clinging to his, Ye Shi felt a twinge of heartache, but he ultimately hardened his resolve and pulled his hand away. He didn't care about his own life, but he couldn't disregard her safety. "If I don't come back... I mean, just in case! Find a hibernation pod and sleep in it. "I swear, I won't abandon you. I will come back for you!" Sleeping in an emergency hibernation pod on the Orion for fifty years wouldn't be an issue. This wasn't the dawn of the Wasteland Era anymore. Even if the Alliance couldn't reach a world five light-years away right now, fifty years would be more than enough for them to rediscover warp drive technology. "Mm..." Jiang Xuezhou softly agreed, drawing back her hand hanging in the air. Receiving her agreement, a bright smile appeared on Ye Shi's face. He patted her head. "Wait for me." Standing nearby, Little Koala puffed out its rounded metal belly and waved its hand clumsily. "Have a safe journey." "Yeah! I'll be back before you know it!" With that, Ye Shi strode purposefully onto the research vessel, passed through the airlock, and took the pilot's seat. That was where Jiang Xuezhou had sat before. Over the past three days, under her guidance, he had familiarized himself with the research vessel's operation procedures. Simply flying the thing and bringing it down to the ground wasn't difficult; the shipboard AI could navigate with one click and automatically evaluate viable landing sites using camera sensors. Besides, Jiang Xuezhou would be watching from above. The Orion's command system had established a direct link with the research vessel's communication module. That way, even if he ran into trouble he couldn't handle, Jiang Xuezhou could remotely take control of the craft and bring him back up from the surface. "...Anti-gravity system on, plasma engine engaged, switching to autopilot." Reciting the operating procedure from memory, Ye Shi pressed all the necessary buttons. With a faint hum, the research vessel parked near the edge of the damaged hull slowly lifted off the alloy deck, then separated from the massive starship under the thrust of a pale-blue plasma plume. Outside the cockpit windshield, the view inverted, shifting from the direct sight of the Orion's hull to face the dark-green planet shrouded in wisps of mist. Gazing upon that magnificent planet, Ye Shi held his breath involuntarily, pressing the back of his head into the seat rest. That was Gaia! The place where the Human Alliance Aerospace Forces had once fought— "Ready for departure!" Jiang Xuezhou's voice came over the comms channel. Ye Shi took a deep breath to dispel his nervousness and answered crisply, "Roger!" With his reply, the deep blue plasma plume expanded, steering the research vessel along an arc toward the planet close at hand. As the distance closed and orbital altitude dropped, gravity acting upon the research vessel grew, eventually reaching a new equilibrium with the anti-gravity system. At the same time, descending from geosynchronous orbit, the research vessel neared the edge of the atmosphere, friction igniting a searing glow across its silver-gray hull. Yet the blazing fire did not linger for long. Under the combined work of the anti-gravity system and the plasma engine, the vessel's speed quickly dropped below Mach 3, further decelerating to Mach 1 before entering the troposphere. Sitting in the cockpit, Ye Shi felt all his nerves drawn taut, filled with a mixture of tension and excitement. It felt like riding a drop tower—except dropped from beyond the atmosphere! The hurtling vessel pierced the cloud layer in an instant. The moment it broke through, it deployed four folding-wing drones that shot out toward the four cardinal directions under inertia! Scanned by the drones' dual radar and optical sensors, surface data was quickly compiled aboard the research vessel and relayed via its comm module to the starship in geosynchronous orbit. Strange, broad-leaved flora blanketed every inch of the planet's terrain; as far as the eye could see, it was a boundless ocean of dark green. Just like the aerial footage seen from geosynchronous orbit! Ye Shi took another deep breath and picked a landing site among the several blinking on the holographic display that was relatively elevated and appeared comparatively safe, steering toward it. Engulfed in massive air currents, the silver-gray ship blew away countless vines and foliage before touching down gently on the soft turf. Moments later, the airlock slid open. Rifle clutched firmly in hand, Ye Shi stepped onto the surface of planet Gaia. This was likely the first time in 215 years that human civilization had returned to a world five light-years away. Assuming no living humans were left here... Ye Shi had a strong premonition that there was a discrepancy between the history he knew and real history. There were many possible reasons for such discrepancies. Just like how the residents of Boulder City always believed that Ideal City had once led an expedition against them—and spread the rumor with total conviction—only for the people of Ideal City to have no recollection of it whatsoever. The truth only came out after the inner city collapsed. Those oral traditions were merely fabricated history concocted by the inner-city nobles to manufacture legitimacy for their rule. The biodiversity here was even richer than on Earth; the lush, thriving forest didn't look like it had been cleansed by nuclear warheads at all. Or perhaps the Human Alliance Aerospace Forces had indeed bombarded this place. It was just that the ecosystem here was far more resilient than Earth's, having already restored itself over the past two centuries to how it looked before human civilization ever visited... "Ye Shi! How's the situation down there?!" Jiang Xuezhou's voice came over the comms channel, laden with apprehension and anxiety. Hearing her voice, Ye Shi immediately tapped his helmet. "Touchdown successful, feeling good... How about you? Found the Gemini's coordinates yet?" Jiang Xuezhou was operating the four fixed-wing drones overhead. Soon, an image projected onto the tactical visor of his power armor helmet. "The signal source has been pinpointed in a valley roughly three kilometers from your current location... The vegetation there is extremely dense, with average canopy heights between twenty and thirty meters." At this point, Jiang Xuezhou's voice grew tense. "Ye Shi... you have to be careful. The conditions here are completely different from what's recorded in our database. I spotted quite a few bizarre creatures along the way." "Understood." Ye Shi turned his gaze toward the shadows beneath the nearby forest, his index finger already flicking off the rifle's safety. A chilling aura of killing intent silently wound around him. Without a doubt. It was the murderous intent of a predator. He could feel an eye watching him from behind those shadows. "...There's so much flora and fauna here, it's like they've never taken a beating before."