On the central control bridge of the Low Earth Orbit Defense Platform, heads were pressed against the floor-to-ceiling windows so hard it looked as if they were trying to push right through the glass.
"Holy crap!"
"A starship!"
"Damn... Brother Ye Shi actually flew that thing back?!"
"Tsk, you still calling him brother?"
"Right! Thirty years east of the river, thirty years west—"
"I heard he even brought a Gaian back with him!"
"I'm hyped!"
"Hyped about what? What does that have to do with you?"
"Damn it! Can't a guy just be curious what they look like?"
"Man, Wasteland Online might as well change its name. When open beta hits, just call it Starry Skies Online."
"Shh! Don't let the trash dev hear you!"
Every one of the people crammed together in front of the windows was an Alliance player.
Some belonged to the Burning Corps, others came from different corps, and quite a few were solo players unaffiliated with any squad.
Welcoming the return of the Orion missile cruiser was a recent limited-time server event open to anyone who registered.
Naturally, the moment such an event dropped, virtually every single person signed up.
Yet a bridge spanning merely a few hundred square meters clearly had nowhere near enough room for everyone.
Furthermore, those standing in the "spectator gallery" were not just Alliance members. Representatives sent by the various survivor factions across the wasteland were also present—including the Academy, Enterprise, the South Sea Alliance, and even the Eastern Empire.
As the saying went, joy shared was joy doubled; what was the point of admiring such an enormous starship behind closed doors?
Ye Shi wasn't the only one itching to flex—Chu Guang had the exact same itch.
Standing behind the crowd of players and looking at the sea of heads packed against the glass, Fang Chang couldn't help but sigh.
"I can already picture that guy's smug mug trying and failing to keep a straight face."
"Hahaha! What can you do? The kid genuinely earned his bragging rights this time."
Lao Bai chuckled, clapping Fang Chang on the shoulder before turning his gaze toward the deep cosmos not far off.
Looking out toward geosynchronous orbit from here, the starship was actually completely invisible to the naked eye.
Yet that familiar face seemed to have already flown right up in front of them.
He could practically hear the guy's brazen laughter echoing in his ears.
Maybe this was psionics, too.
Standing off to the side, Brother Edge remarked with deep feeling, "Who would've thought... You guys suffered a total team wipe, and in the end, it was your least reliable guy who turned the tables."
"I wouldn't call him unreliable," Kuang Feng said, rubbing the bridge of his nose with a faint smile. "It's just that Fang Chang usually calls all the shots. Not just Ye Shi—Lao Bai and I have gotten used to coasting, too."
"Hahaha, that's true enough," Lao Bai laughed.
Fang Chang felt a little embarrassed this time and cleared his throat softly.
"Honestly, I'm not surprised he pulled off a turnaround. That kid's luck has always been off the charts... Remember that time on the Heart of Steel? It was a similar situation, and in the end, he was the only one who made it out alive."
Commander Spring let out a whistle and teased, "Just luck?"
Fang Chang shrugged.
"And Perception, of course."
Lao Bai: "Hahahaha, nice one!"
While the group bantered, several low-ranking Rank D researchers from the Academy glared at the noisy bunch with open distaste, yet none dared utter a word of reprimand.
The reason was simple.
These people were far too formidable in martial prowess, and their reputation across the wasteland was illustrious.
Still, while direct confrontation was out of the question, that did not stop them from grumbling behind their backs.
"Do these people honestly expect to see a starship in geosynchronous orbit with their bare eyes?"
"Foolish wastelanders. Heh."
"Though come to think of it... I heard someone among them mastered psionics and can communicate with their kin five light-years away?"
"Bullshit," a Rank D researcher scoffed, giving the Rank E colleague beside him a sidelong glance. "You believe whatever people say?"
The young Rank E blinked, scratching the back of his head.
"Then... what about that morphogenetic field? The higher-ups launched a formal research project for it. That can't be nonsense too, right?"
"That sounds a bit more plausible."
"...Aren't they the exact same thing?"
"..."
Aside from complaining about the vault dwellers from the Alliance blocking the entire floor-to-ceiling window, several researchers wore expressions filled with envy.
That envy wasn't directed solely at the starship, but also at the Low Earth Orbit Defense Platform itself.
Though the Academy possessed countless technological legacies preserved from the pre-war era, very few could actually be reproduced in reality; most remained stored away in databases.
The root cause lay in the fact that most creations from the Era of Prosperity relied on a bewilderingly dense, sophisticated industrial supply chain—a massive network that the wasteland clearly lacked.
In truth, let alone the Academy, even the Alliance or Enterprise found it practically impossible to replicate the prosperity of the Human Alliance era straightforwardly.
Yet the Alliance had accomplished something no one else had:
They had used the legacy of the Era of Prosperity to create a different kind of prosperity altogether.
If the Era of Prosperity had been a utopia for the people of the old era, then the new era was undeniably a utopia belonging to the wastelanders.
They had forged a future of their own...
Unlike those chattering, fault-finding junior Rank D personnel, Yang Kai, as a Rank B researcher, appeared far calmer.
Due to his duties, he frequently traveled between Alliance territory and Academy grounds, including the Science Committee's special administrative zones, so he had long grown accustomed to the players' antics.
Observing Yang Kai's unruffled expression, the man standing beside him chuckled softly.
"Congratulations. Your apprentice is safe and sound... and at a conservative estimate, she'll probably be promoted to Rank B after this."
Very few people managed to mentor a Rank B researcher before retiring.
After all, Academy researchers typically retired at age fifty.
Even for someone like Yang Kai, who was considered exceptionally young and capable, climbing from apprentice to Rank B had taken nearly twenty years—to say nothing of the students he took under his wing.
Yet to everyone's astonishment, the unexpected had occurred when no one was looking.
A lowly Rank E researcher had skyrocketed to Rank C at an unbelievable pace, and shortly after reaching Rank C, she had crossed paths with monumental events like the Death Agent and the Orion in rapid succession.
Looking back across the Academy's century-and-a-half history, such an occurrence was entirely unprecedented.
"As long as she's safe, that's all that matters," Yang Kai replied stiffly to his colleague's congratulations.
The man chuckled heartily.
"Indeed. Safe and sound is what counts."
Yang Kai glanced at him without speaking, his thoughts racing.
This man's status was extraordinary: Qi Liu, Director of the Investigation Department, one of the Academy's Four Great Departments!
Although Yang Kai was not a researcher under the Investigation Department, in the Academy's strict hierarchy, a Rank A was practically a deity to everyone beneath the Chief Technical Officer and Dr. Conclusion.
Only the directors of the Four Great Departments and retired former directors held that rank!
While Yang Kai's resume already met the criteria for promotion to quasi-Rank A—what people called Rank A-minus—there remained a considerable gap in authority and status between a quasi-Rank A and a true Rank A.
Yet unlike his own stiffness, Qi Liu displayed no condescension whatsoever, showing an affability that was almost disarming.
For a moment, Yang Kai was uncertain, unable to fathom what this big shot was scheming.
Qi Liu gave him a genial smile, suddenly shifting the topic.
"Speaking of which, a rumor has been circulating around the Academy lately. I wonder if Mr. Yang has heard it?"
Yang Kai started slightly and replied cautiously, "I've been on field duty here with the Alliance recently, so I'm not very familiar with developments back home... I would appreciate your guidance, Mr. Qi."
Qi Liu raised an eyebrow in slight surprise, then continued with a smile, "It's just a rumor. I'm merely mentioning it in passing, so don't take it too much to heart..."
Pausing, he went on, "Rumor has it that the esteemed Dr. Conclusion spoke with our Chief Technical Officer, proposing that a separate department be established alongside the Four Great Departments. It would oversee research into the Void, dimensional theory, and the Progenitor civilization that departed this universe, and then merge the projects related to the morphogenetic field into it."
Yang Kai's eyes widened in sheer astonishment.
His shock came not entirely from the rumor itself, but from the fact that it was coming out of Director Qi's mouth...
Could this even be called a rumor?!
Above the four department directors stood only the Chief Technical Officer. Who else could have told him this if not the Chief Technical Officer in person?!
Looking at Director Qi's meaningful smile, Yang Kai was left speechless.
It seemed the one making history wouldn't just be his apprentice; he, the mentor, was about to bask in her reflected glory and make a little history of his own...
"Generally speaking, quasi-Rank A personnel serve as reserve directors for the Four Great Departments. The promotion process usually involves placing them in a deputy role for seasoning until the previous director retires to take over... But for a brand-new department created out of thin air, the old method doesn't quite fit.
"Our deputy director in the Investigation Department was quite interested, but I'm still waiting to hand off my duties to him. If I let him go, who would take over for me? Besides, relics of this Progenitor civilization are nothing like Human Alliance relics... None of us have even seen what psionics looks like, have we? I could hardly have the gall to tell the other directors that this assignment belongs to us.
"So, I recommended you to the organization... Your research team is probably the one closest to the morphogenetic field."
Smiling warmly, Qi Liu patted the dumbfounded Yang Kai on the shoulder.
"Congratulations in advance, Director Yang... If all goes well, the Four Great Departments will become five!"
***
While Yang Kai was struck dumb with shock, aboard the Orion missile cruiser, Jiang Xuezhou was nervously sniffling and sneezing non-stop.
Seeing her constantly sniffling, Ye Shi wanted to take off her helmet to help wipe her nose, but fearing she might smack him, he could only hand her a tissue with concern.
"Did you catch a cold?"
Jiang Xuezhou shook her head vigorously. She turned around to blow her nose, then turned back and stared at him with utmost seriousness.
"Ye Shi..."
Feeling that earnest gaze through the dark visor of her helmet, Ye Shi paused, slightly taken aback. "What's wrong?"
Jiang Xuezhou hesitated for a moment before whispering, "When we disembark later, tell them you're the captain, okay? Or I can switch with you right now and transfer the captain's post to you."
Baffled, Ye Shi asked, "Why?"
Jiang Xuezhou said quietly, "Didn't you say you wanted to pilot this ship and take me to the edge of the universe? I... I'm afraid that once we get back and my mentor finds out I'm the captain, he'll demand the ship from me."
*Pfft—*
Ye Shi nearly choked on his own spit. Coughing dryly, he said, "I don't think the Academy would be that petty."
Back when he used to roast the Academy for being narrow-minded, Jiang Xuezhou would get defensive with him. How come she was roasting her own people now?
Well...
Things were indeed different before.
Back then, they had nothing to their names, but now they actually had a whole starship!
This was the very thing the Academy craved most.
Looking at Jiang Xuezhou's anxious expression, Ye Shi couldn't help marveling at how damn realistic this game was—even their stubborn defensiveness was so authentic.
Though the Academy's tsundere researchers always jumped like their tails had been stepped on whenever wastelanders teased them, when real issues arose, they knew full well what kind of flaws their own faction harbored.
"That's a starship! A Human Alliance Aerospace Force missile cruiser! And an intact one at that! Do you have any idea what that means?"
"What does it mean..." Ye Shi muttered sheepishly. "The ship is already in such rough shape. It's not like they can use it as a colony ship..."
"Hard to say," Jiang Xuezhou replied in all seriousness. "Its hyperspace drive still works, and it's the only functioning hyperspace drive in the entire Solar System."
Her earnest expression warmed Ye Shi's heart.
He could tell she already considered this place their future little home. Her loyalty had unknowingly leaned completely toward him, and she finally stopped reciting Academy rhetoric all day long.
Could this be considered a successful romance route?
"I'm talking to you seriously, what are you grinning at!"
Seeing the sudden smirk on Ye Shi's face, Jiang Xuezhou knitted her brows and pinched him hard on the waist in annoyance.
"Haha, I just thought you looked kind of cute when you're all anxious..."
Seeing that Jiang Xuezhou was on the verge of blowing up, Ye Shi wisely dropped the teasing and continued in a half-serious tone, "How about we don't go back at all? Just elope right now?"
Ye Shi felt the hand pinching his waist freeze.
Standing before him, Xuezhou fell silent for a moment before muttering softly, "...It's not out of the question."
It was just that...
Leaving without saying goodbye to her people would still be a regret.
And doing so might end up throwing her mentor under the bus.
Although sentimental teacher-student bonds didn't really exist in the cold, detached Academy—where mentorship was mostly mutual utility and mutual advancement—her mentor had actually treated her quite well. At the very least, she owed him the grace of sparing her life.
Seeing her conflicted look, Ye Shi smiled and reached out to pat her rounded helmet.
"I really appreciate how much you're looking out for me... but I'd never put you in such a tough spot."
Expecting that transferring the captain's post to him would solve the problem was far too naive.
To put it bluntly, if the Academy had eyes on it, Brother Guang would hardly overlook it either.
Jiang Xuezhou looked up at him, her eyes filled with equal parts surprise and touched affection.
"Ye Shi..."
Ye Shi smiled at her.
"Don't worry. We'll leave with everyone's blessings... Leave it to me."
The Alliance would never let the Academy possess this starship; Jiang Xuezhou's worry on that front was completely unnecessary.
Conversely, the Academy and Enterprise would never permit the Alliance to hold such an overpowered weapon on its own—especially one capable of maneuvering flexibly between the Solar System and other star systems.
Trust had boundaries, and an overpowered weapon of this magnitude went far beyond those boundaries.
No one could guarantee that the hundred thousand missiles floating overhead would never be aimed at them.
Thus, there was room to maneuver regarding the starship.
Before making the return voyage from Alpha Centauri, Ye Shi had already thought through how to handle this issue.
While announcing the discovery of planet Gaia and the secrets of the Progenitor civilization, he would simultaneously issue an initiative: calling for volunteers across the wasteland to board the Orion together and journey beyond the Solar System to trace the Progenitors' footsteps.
This plan would be announced the moment he set foot on Earth, and implemented immediately after resolving the Celestial crisis!
Under the banner of exploring Progenitor ruins, having volunteers from all factions co-pilot the Orion into deep space was the best idea he could devise short of dismantling the starship—and the most practical one.
After all, keeping an overpowered weapon inside the Solar System was a liability; whichever faction held it would put everyone else on edge. Rather than driving up the cost of mutual trust, it was better to simply send it out on an expedition.
Moreover, an expedition under the open oversight of personnel from all factions.
They would periodically report their course and discovered clues to scientific institutions back on Earth while receiving technical assistance in return—a win-win scenario for everyone involved.
For the major survivor factions, they could ensure the ship remained under the collective control of human civilization as a whole, while gathering more exoplanet data and Progenitor clues through deep space exploration.
And over time, as human civilization's aerospace industrial capacity matured, the gap would naturally close, rendering this overpowered weapon far less overwhelming.
Seeing Ye Shi's confident expression, Jiang Xuezhou nodded firmly, took his hand, and boarded the research vessel.
Dora and Little Koala followed behind them, each taking their seats with different thoughts running through their minds.
***
Meanwhile, in the browsing room of Shelter 404.
Watching the research vessel slowly approach the Low Earth Orbit Defense Platform on the holographic screen, a faint smile tugged at the corner of Chu Guang's mouth.
To be honest, for a brief moment, he had wondered if that rascal Ye Shi would try to pull a fast one and elope with his little girlfriend.
After all, the guy had genuinely discussed the technical feasibility of eloping on the forums, and some fellow named "Thunder King Professor Yang" had even offered a bunch of self-righteous, half-baked bad ideas.
It turned out the kid wasn't stupid after all and had obediently brought the ship back.
In truth, the rascal had no reason to worry. Chu Guang was no domineering parent out to strip him of everything except the pots and pans.
Though he had talked about harvesting his players like leeks since server launch, he had never once laid hands on any treasures they rightfully earned. At most, back when everyone was dirt-poor, he had settled certain "dungeon loot" that players couldn't use into silver coins as quest items.
Yet had anyone truly lost out?
Time had proven that not a single person had.
The Alliance had never shortchanged anyone who contributed to it.
That was true in the past, and it remained true now.
Just then, Chu Guang thought of something, set down his teacup, and said with a smile, "Xiao Qi, do you think it's a bit improper to welcome them empty-handed?"
Xiao Qi, perched atop the pen holder, blinked.
"Eh? Prepare a gift now? But... won't it be too late?"
Chu Guang gave a mysterious smile.
"What I mean is, why don't you send out a server-wide announcement? Something like completing a hidden quest or taking down a world boss, welcoming the Orion back to the fleet, and celebrating the Human Alliance Aerospace Force returning home."
He had no hidden agenda.
He simply wanted to tease Ye Shi a bit, perhaps frighten the kid with a commemorative banner.
And along the way, draw some aggro off the kid's back.
The guy had hogged all the spotlight to himself. Over the past two days, the official forums had practically turned into a discount-bargaining app, flooded with threads crying for someone to take a slash at him, as if the game were unplayable without a nerf to this guy.
"Ooooh—"
Seeing her master's knowing grin, Xiao Qi drew out an understanding cry and flashed a mischievous smirk of her own.
"Hehehe... As expected of Master, you're so wicked!"
Looking at Xiao Qi, who caught on instantly, Chu Guang nodded with a smile, his eyes filled with approval.
As expected of his Xiao Qi!
"Don't forget to grant him a limited title and reputation rewards to keep him happy."
A whole starship had already been promised to him; there was no need to be so vulgar as to bring up money in the quest rewards.
That would be far too crass!
Of course, there was no need to mention the starship either.
If the kid had truly wised up, he would figure out on his own how to keep it.
Chapter 1021