Faceless and 03 were above one of the starships evacuating from the base with a clear destination in mind. They haven’t received any orders in the meantime, but they weren’t allowed to temporarily move about on their own like before either.
All they did aboard everyday was eat and sleep. It was so boring that 03 was growing irritated.
Just like the previous days, Faceless opened the toolbox and spread out his tools and weapons on the table. He maintained each of his knives and daggers meticulously.
03, who was by the window, only cast a brief glance at the sound before turning away in disinterest. He stared out the window again. The ship channel was more crowded than ever.
This volume of starships was…abnormal.
03 straightened and thoughtfully turned on his holomind for a quick look at the galactic network.
[? Don’t scare me like that. What rift? Wasn’t the rift taken care of already?]
[Have you been living under a rock? A new rift has been discovered in the Exile Sectors! Complete with HD proof! Braver streamers have even gone to livestream on scene.]
[Actually, it’s a good thing it was discovered. I don’t know if everyone paid attention or not, but the Grantz rushed over to pick up their little prince as soon as they finished dealing with the rift back then without cleaning up the battlefield. That task was left to squads of professionals, right? Well apparently they estimated that there were 33% less king insects there this year based on the number of carcasses. There was a corresponding increase in other countries, but not enough to totally make up for the deficit. Everyone, including Grantz, has been scouring the galaxy for those remaining king insects.]
[This is an urgent situation, ah! If those 33% of king insects successfully scatter and hatch their brood, the consequences are unimaginable.]
[I agree. Even though I don’t know how they should be dealt with, it would all be over if the king insects in that rift are allowed to hatch. If they can spread uncontrolled through a sparsely populated place like the Exile Sectors, no one aside from Grantz will be able to withstand them…]
[Then aren’t we already screwed? The Exile Sectors have no coherent means of defense. Even if you count in the notoriously unreliable galactic pirates, there’s no chance of containment. Not to mention their constant wasteful internal power struggles and avoidant strategy when it comes to the insects.]
[According to the latest update, the Grantz legions have already been sighted moving in the direction of the Exile Sectors!]
03 scanned it briefly before turning off his holomind and casually tossing it aside.
Sure enough, the news released by the organization has spread already.
He suddenly turned to look at Faceless a beat later. “Do you know where we’re going?”
Faceless’ motions paused. “Apparently to a central base.”
Central bases were the cores of the organization. Faceless had only been to one before, and he was asked to log into a simulation pod connected to the galactic network when entering to scramble his sense of direction.
Faceless bowed his head and continued what he was doing, but his mind was already starting to wander. Would there be a chance to obtain the coordinates of a central base this time?
……
Travelling in unison like some behemoth, the Grantz fleet boldly entered the Exile Sectors. The closer they drew to the target planet, the more starships could be seen evacuating.
People living in the general area had learned of the situation from online sources long ago. Those with the means scrambled to flee. Tickets going anywhere had already skyrocketed in price. Lines of starships big and small stretched beyond the eye could see like an endless river.
Grantz stuck out like a sore thumb in the river’s otherwise harmonious flow. Only it went against the current and travelled upstream.
Thousands of Grantz warships soon surrounded the target planet.
Adrian pulled up its stereoscopic image. “It’s much smaller compared to old Grantz. Should make extermination a breeze.”
Dylan worked out the kinks in his neck with a few pops. His voice was still a little hoarse after his nap. “Not bad.”
Ano, who stood beside Adrian hugging his sword, nodded along. “The data compiled by the detection device agrees.”
“The legions are also well rested.”
The nearby adjutant hesitated but eventually spoke up, “Your Highnesses.”
All three Grantz turned to look at him.
The adjutant paused. He grit his teeth and met their gaze. “A livestream on this planet started 30 minutes ago.”
“Like the previous incident, it’s broadcasting using public domains.”
The Grantz continued to stare at him.
Adrian broke the silence first after a couple of seconds, “Let them see then.”
The adjutant bowed slightly. “Yes, I understand.”
……
The Grantz medical centre.
Ye Muo was undergoing his usual round of tests. He was used to it after being examined at least twice a day.
He raised his arms without needing to be reminded so the staff could attach the testing equipment to him.
Adlet stood to the side with Ye Muo’s jacket draped on his arm. He observed Ye Muo’s biometric data and estimated Ye Muo’s height with his hand. “You’ve grown quite a bit this month, Your Little Highness.”
Ye Muo immediately turned to look at him.”Really?”
Adlet felt like he could almost see those eyes light up. He nodded, somewhat amused. “No need to be impatient, Your Little Highness. You’re not at the age for a growth spurt yet. Once your psychic power development period is over and your psychic power stabilizes, you will be much stronger psychically and physically. At that time, your body will develop at a rapid pace.”
“Everyone says I’ll become pretty tall, but Big Brother Ye He is already much taller than me.”
Adlet didn’t seem phased. “As you know, the body’s reactions are somewhat delayed. Rest assured, Your Little Highness. Your future height will not be far off from the predictions.”
Adlet returned to reading through the report on Ye Muo. “Rather than worry about your height, let’s focus on the present. Your recent results have all been optimal.”
He looked up at Ye Muo. “I’m preparing to arrange lessons for you, Your Little Highness.”
Ye Muo’s eyes became even brighter. He looked at Adlet expectantly, “So Ye Yun, Augustus and the others will come over again, right?”
“Of course, as long as that is to your liking. If you stabilize some more, I believe you’ll even be allowed to take some courses at the academy again. Perhaps you would like to take part in the upcoming Military Academy League, for example?”
It’s already been established that Ye Muo could use the crystals to stabilize his psychic power. Even without the crystals, he wouldn’t go berserk like the other Grantz. His form of losing control was harmful mainly to himself.
Which made him relatively stable compared to the other Grantz.
“Hmm… Can I really go back to school?”
Adlet gently replied, “The other princes and princesses certainly did after passing their restless development periods. They even achieved great academic success afterwards. I can’t think of any reason for His Majesty to deny a request like this if your condition is stable.”
The tests were wrapping up. Ye Muo accepted his jacket. He ran out as soon as he threaded his arm into the sleeve, saying, “I have to tell Big Brother Ye Yun about this!”
He ran so fast he had to grab the doorframe to skid to a stop.
Adlet instinctively took a few steps in his direction. “Be careful! The floor may be slippery.”
Ye Muo had already vanished from sight. His reply drifted back from a distance, “Got it, Adlet!”
The first thing Ye Muo did after returning to his room was pick up the holomind he had tossed on his bed. He wanted to tell Ye Yun right away.
In his haste, he accidentally opened the general school group chat. There were all sorts of students here from every grade. People sometimes used this chatroom to form groups for activities or courses that required students outside of their own year.
Normally though, it was just used to gossip. Ye Muo hasn’t needed to form a group like that since he started at the academy.
Whenever he had a course or activity that needed seniors, Ye He would often come find him before he had even worked out what was going on.
Ye He always remembered every detail of Ye Muo’s schedule.
So Ye Muo muted this group ever since his fellow classmates added him.
Ye Muo glanced absentmindedly at the chat logs. They seemed to be talking about some livestream based on the newest messages.
[Our super hacker senior has already tried several times to no avail.]
[It should be the same people as last time behind this. I’m curious who has the guts to insult Grantz like this.]
[I watched it. It’s a holographic livestream just as expansive as last time. You can move all over once you’re in. I tried jumping into the rift and it returned me to my original position once I was about halfway down. A shame there’s no projectors down there. I really wanted to go and see it for myself.]
[Who would dare to go down there and install them?]
[Hurry up! It’s already starting!]
Ye Muo wasn’t that interested. He was in a hurry to get in contact with Ye Yun. Just when he was about to back out of the group, a message appeared.
[I’ll be right there! Although the source of the livestream makes me sick, I hope I can catch a glimpse of the princes! I heard all three of them are there from the grapevine.]
Ye Muo paused. He reread that message to make sure he understood correctly before scrolling back up. Although he got a general gist of this livestream they were talking about, he didn’t find a link.
New messages were still popping up: [Hurry up or else it’ll be full! There’s a limited number of spots since it’s in the public domain.]
Ye Muo was panicking a little. He tentatively sent a message.
[Can I get a link?]
Since this group was formed through the academy platform, everyone’s real names were on display along with their year.
Messages stopped coming in for a few seconds after Ye Muo sent his. Then links started flooding in. Hundreds of them.
Ye Muo immediately tapped on one. The screen froze for a while, but he successfully made it in.
The livestream supported holographic mode. Ye Muo lay back in bed, his psychic power connecting to the holographic interface. When he opened his eyes again, he was standing in an empty, desolate land.
He seemed to be in a base of sorts, a clearly empty one.
The sky was somewhat overcast.
Ye Muo looked around. It seemed to still be getting dimmer. Suddenly, a realization hit him. He raised his head.
His eyes widened slightly. The sky wasn’t overcast, it was filled with Grantz warships. Thousands of them hovered in the air and blocked out the light.
They continued to decrease in altitude.
