The sun sets in the west, and dusk gradually arrives. A group of little ones, having had their fill of whimsical gas, finally settle down. Most gather around Big Sister to listen to those equally whimsical fairy tales, while a few are engrossed in their own activities. Little dwen runs around like a carrier mothership, with five or six miniature dwens the size of handmade figurines hanging on her. She occasionally bends down to pluck so wild grass from the ground and feeds it to the little ones perched on her shoulders. These figurine-sized miniature dwens are just like fledglings, and apart from their appearance, they share an uncanny resemblance to birds in their habits. When faced with the wild grass offered by Little dwen, they chirp excitedly and gnaw on the grass stems joyfully—their diet seems to have expanded once again, now including a wide variety of green plants. Based on observations over the past couple of days, I’ve determined that Little dwen even feeds her ’children’ leaves and grass seeds, and those handmade Crow Gods accept all of it without any refusal—except for at, which is still strongly rejected.
This leaves Little Crow, who still can’t stop thinking about field mice, very disappointed.
Lilina isn’t interested in the fairy tales either—after all, she’s a professional fairy tale writer, and virtually all the fairy tale books in the house originate from her. So she doesn’t join the little ones. This little shorty seems to have run into so trouble. She’s set up a small chair next to , sitting there like a lancholic young girl, with her elbows propped up on a small round table in front of her, resting her cheeks in her hands. The most eye-catching part is the fresh, verdant little sprig of grass growing on her head. I’ve been observing this curious scene with amazent for several minutes now, confirming that the grass is indeed sprouting from her head and sways as if part of her body, following the various expressions on her face—it’s my first ti in this lifeti seeing a green Dai Mao, and judging by appearances, this Dai Mao can even perform photosynthesis.
I reached out and tugged at the little grass on Lilina’s head, finding it quite sturdy: "What on earth are you up to?"
"A tiny... failed experint." Lilina continued sitting with her cheeks in her hands like a lancholic young girl, her legs dangling in the air due to her height, looking quite irritable, "It’s grown on my head, and it seems I can’t remove it until it blooms... Ouch, that hurts!"
I gave up on the impulse to pull the grass off, thinking to myself that I would never lack these eccentric characters around ...
"It must have gone wrong while I was trying to make that ’EXP 5’ effect work." Lilina pondered over it alone for a while, finally drawing a conclusion.
Suddenly, a voice called out beside : "Master, caw caw!"
As soon as I heard this unique speech pattern, I knew it was undoubtedly Little Crow. Sure enough, she was standing right next to . She had two Little Crows on each shoulder and one more perched on her head, making a total of five Little Crows, each with a wild grass blade in their beak. They were chewing the grass stems in unison, five pairs of shiny little eyes watching their master’s master curiously. They looked comical and entertaining—much like hamsters.
Little Crow was holding a small, shiny light ball in her hands, seemingly wanting to show it to , and indeed it piqued my interest. It appeared to be a magical artifact: "What is this thing?"
"A letter from Vanilla, caw caw!" Little Crow said excitedly, lifting the small light ball to my face. The motion almost toppled the handmade Crow Gods perched on her shoulders, "It was sent from the temple. Lilina’s thod is working, caw caw!"
I was taken aback and turned to look at Lilina, who was busy sulking in silence. She nonchalantly explained while touching the photosynthetic Dai Mao on her head, "It’s a prayer system. It seems that Little Bird’s power has already established a stable system on the Mother Continent, and it’s been written into the world’s foundational data. Followers can send important information to the gods through prayers, which forms the basis of a mature belief system, much like a backbone network. It won’t be long before the Crow God Sect can move past the current blessing system, which feels like a random lottery. Well, anyway, all you need to know, boss, is that Little Bird has grown again."
I looked at Little Crow with delight, and she was rolling the small light ball in her hands, mumbling, "Master, this kind of looks like an egg, caw caw!"
"Pfft—" Lilina nearly slipped off her chair, turning to stare at Little Crow’s collar, which was flashing a bright red light. She couldn’t help patting her chest, "Luckily, we discovered this bird’s egg-hatching impulse in ti. Otherwise, we’d be in big trouble!"
Bingdisi had co over at so point, listening to our conversation. She thoughtfully looked at Little Crow: "Hmm, she’s already able to receive prayers, and it seems her power is enough to respond to any prayer. But her mind is still too immature. It might not be a good idea to let her communicate with followers now; this bird needs educating."
"Leave it to ," Lilina said, her head leaf standing straight, "Little Bird can only hear prayers right now. As for how to respond, it’s done with a simple feedback chanism on full auto. She’s not involved, so let this Pope train her into a proper deity—give a century or two, and it’ll definitely work."
"Then I’ll be responsible for designing an operating system for her," Bingdisi, now interested, said as she patted Little Crow’s cheek, "I’m quite the tech enthusiast, so I’ll definitely build a managent terminal that even this bird can master!"
I quickly waved my hand to interrupt Sister Bing’s flights of fancy: "Enough, don’t you rember you’re from the Star Domain Divine System? Your operating system isn’t at all compatible with the Xyrin Divine System."
Bingdisi was taken aback, scratching her chin: "Oh wow, I’d forgotten! I’m from the Star Domain Divine System."
: "..." If it’s going to be addressed to the point of rising to the occasion, your statent was already enough to later ask why it falls apart, okay?
However, Bingdisi’s words also served as a wake-up call for , indicating that there are yet more issues to consider: the fundantal construction of the Xyrin Divine System. Little Crow is growing at an apparently hormone-fueled rate. In less than a year, she already has both a religion and Divine Status, yet we have yet to fully comprehend her complete power spectrum. Although a long-term and several temporary research teams are closely monitoring Little Crow’s growth, the challenges this bird presents are likely no less than those of the Deep Dive plan. I’m contemplating possibly taking a trip to the Mother Continent to check on the Crow God Sect, and perhaps have a word with Shajina and the others. But before all that, I must tackle another pressing concern in my heart.
Feeling a spark inside, I sent out a call through the Spiritual Connection.
"Ah Jun, did you call for ?" Sandora appeared beside amid a ripple of space distortion, curiously asking as I handed over a little note (seriously, why do both King Huron and the Father God have the sa quirk? Using little notes to communicate?). "Take a look—this was just sent over from the other side of the Void a little over an hour ago."
"The other side of the Void... signed by King Huron?" Sandora scanned the note, then exclaid in surprise, "Wait a minute, the people ntioned here are..."
"The lowa People," I stood up and took a deep breath, "it refers to the whereabouts of the lowa People."
"So you had King Huron help investigate the whereabouts of the lowa People?" Sandora looked at with surprise, "When was this? How did I not know—you said you couldn’t deploy forces against the lowa People just yet?"
"Just about the situation two days ago," I spread my hands, "didn’t I tell you once? Last ti when I went to et the Fifth Fleet, I entered that strange ’dissipated’ state, and then ran into Hila who was strolling around. Later, I found it quite interesting and tried several more tis. Two days ago, I t Hila again, and then asked her to look for traces of the lowa people."
"Wait, so what you’re saying... the Fifth Fleet was actually in the territory of the Huron Divine Race back then?" Sandora imdiately realized this, with a look of surprise, "No wonder... it’s such a distant place. Ah, when we left in a hurry, we didn’t realize we were turning around in the territory of the Huron Divine Race. Thinking back now, it feels a bit regrettable..."
"No, not there," I waved my hand, "still quite far away, but after coming back, I had a chat with Father God, and compared it with the Void Map in the hands of the Divine Race, only to discover that the refuge of the Fifth Fleet was within one quadrant unit from the Huron border—though I don’t know why the Hurons have never found the Fifth Fleet, I think it should also be within Sister Hila’s range of influence, so I asked her to search for clues about the lowa people around the world where the Fifth Fleet once stayed. After all... although we can’t dispatch troops, leaving the lowa people unchecked isn’t an option, I’m quite uneasy. If they happen to be within the territory of the Huron Divine Race—even if just adjacent—it’s good news, at least we can track the rebel army."
Sandora knowingly nodded: "I see, it turns out to be the Void creatures’ own communication network... You three are really interesting. So, the King Huron didn’t find traces of the lowa people in the end?"
"Sister Hila is quite straightforward, she scanned the entire Huron territory, then expanded the search range to its limit," I frowned slightly, "aning the entire zone where the Fifth Fleet was once active was scanned, but no traces of the lowa people were found —this is completely different from our initial guess."
Sandora understood my point, her expression turning serious: "So, the lowa people didn’t establish a force near the refuge of the Fifth Fleet at the ti; their old base isn’t in that place... those rebels tracked all the way there."
"Basically, that’s it," I looked up at the night sky, as if I could see the lowa people’s nest from there, "the possibility that the lowa people settled near the Fifth Fleet refuge has been completely ruled out, leaving only two scenarios: First, they are in another completely unknown corner in the Void where we may not find them again in the future; second, the place they are hiding is actually not far away, just near the Old Empire’s remnants..."
Sandora followed my thoughts, "In the blank areas among the New Empire, the Fallen Apostle, and the Star Domain Divine Realm, soplace no one has ever ventured into... this possibility is much higher than the first!"
"So now I’m really puzzled about whether to dispatch reconnaissance ships to scan the entire territory," I scratched my head, "Also, we need to contact Father God to help scan the border areas of the Divine Race, and the blank zones at the intersections of the other two races need checking. Additionally, the worst case is if the lowa people are hiding near the Fallen Apostle’s territory; I don’t think the Fallen Apostle will respond to our call to search for the rebels’ traces, they’re busy with their grand plans and surely won’t have ti."
Sandora pondered a mont, then decisively shook her head: "No, we can’t do that, it will alert them."
: "?"
"We are not yet sure how much the lowa people inherited from the Old Empire, nor are we clear about their vigilance," Sandora looked into my eyes, "But one thing is certain: once they discover the Empire has returned, they definitely won’t sit still and take the beating, they will escape at the first mont—at that ti, to annihilate the rebels won’t be easy. Based on my experience, all rebels are usually adept at fleeing."
I agreed with Sandora’s view, then asked for her idea: "So what do you think, how to find the lowa people?"
Sandora thought for a mont, casually opened the holographic projection, which displayed a converted intuitive view of the Void Territory Map. The Divine Race’s land, the New Empire, and the Fallen Apostle territories were situated at the center of this intertwined territory map, while the surrounding areas were vast data-less blank zones. Sandora pointed at those blank zones and said: "Even if the lowa people are hidden ’here’, they won’t be near the three major forces. At the ti when they beca traitors, being even a bit cautious would make them choose to stay far from their old master’s territory. So they should be in these blank zones, these locations we’re not yet ventured into. Without a clear world coordinate, even with Imperial technology, it’s impossible to find a specific world in these blank zones. Scanning with reconnaissance ships or overloading the Leaving World Garden’s scanners are not viable thods, it’s likely we’ll be detected and the rebels will escape before we find them. In these blank zones, they possess the ho court advantage of information response speed, and considering they have a massive inheritance from the Old Empire, they are essentially the oldest servants that have been in contact with the Empire for the longest ti with seventy thousand years of research ti, they are definitely highly proficient with Imperial technology, hence their success in escaping is highly probable."
I looked at the Void Territory Map in front of , which doesn’t represent the actual appearance of the Void, but intuitively shows the Void range the Empire can currently reach. Sandora is right; the Void is vast, even the Divine Race can’t entirely grasp it. What’s hidden in those massive blank zones is completely a mystery to us, and once we start scanning those areas, the lowa people are very likely to flee upon detecting it—they possess Imperial technology, thus they might have world drift technology as well, possibly even hoisting their universe and flee. Facing this possibility, we must adopt faster, sure, accurate and ruthless thods... directly locking onto their world coordinates.
"It would be great if we could capture a few lowa people alive," Lilina, who had been listening beside us for quite so ti, couldn’t resist interjecting, "then this Pope can handle the interrogation."
"Hmm, you rarely get it right in the first half of the sentence, well, the latter half isn’t entirely wrong either," I casually stroked that hair on Lilina’s head capable of photosynthesis, and said offhandedly, "The question is how to capture them alive? The New Empire has revived for over four years, the lowa people have never shown themselves in this region, the Void is so vast, maybe even if we waited a hundred years, they wouldn’t co here looking for trouble..."
"Then lure them out," the small grass on Lilina’s head swayed left and right, "how did they manage to attack the Fifth Fleet back then? Boss, aren’t your brains rusty?"
I was stunned, then suddenly realized joyfully, gripping Lilina’s collar and shaking her vigorously: "Oh, why didn’t I think of that! You’re good!" The little girl rolled her eyes, hugged my arm and bit it: "Let go! Is that how you complint soone?!"
As I ca back to my senses, I placed Lilina back onto the chair: "Oh, habit, whenever you speak, I can’t help but want to throw you out."
Lilina: "..."
Sandora imdiately contacted the research center, ordering the restoration of those ancient hibernation chambers that had been dismantled into parts, to restore them to their original state. anwhile, I contacted Cocogina, the Fleet Commander of the Fifth Fleet. The participation of the Fifth Fleet in executing the capture plan is essential; back then the lowa people watched the Fifth Fleet escape with the Original Body from their control, now the hatred value should still be full—most importantly, we don’t know how the lowa people tracked the Original Body’s signal back then, nor are we sure if the hibernation chambers, which have been dismantled once by the research center, can still emit such guiding signals, so the Fifth Fleet itself... is also bait.
"The lowa people probably don’t know the Fifth Fleet was rescued by the Empire." During the arrangent of these actions, Sandora also considered this issue, I felt this was a convenience left unconsciously back then: "That’s right, luckily we acted quickly at that ti and didn’t face off directly with the lowa people. Now, the other side probably doesn’t know the link between the Fifth Fleet and the Empire. I’m actually curious about whether the lowa people know about the existence of the New Empire and the Fallen Apostles..."
"Most likely not," Sandora showed a gloomy expression, "Those who betrayed the Empire must live in constant fear. If they knew their old master has returned, they would probably erase any trace of themselves in the Void at the first mont rather than grandly rushing so far to chase down the Fifth Fleet."
I nodded, Sandora makes a lot of sense. Moreover, the New Empire has revived for over four years, and the lowa people have never shown themselves in this region, which probably ans that the place they are hiding is very far away, so far that they have completely avoided running into the Empire. The vastness and discontinuity of the Void indeed provide the best barrier for fugitives, not only for the Exile Fleet back then but also for those who live in fear—
The Traitors. (To be continued. If you like this work, welco to visit Qidian (qidian) to vote for recomndations, monthly tickets, your support is my greatest motivation.)
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