ISMW Chapter 122

“Day after day, year after year, I can see nothing but you.”

 

“You’ve harmed me so terribly. If you don’t kill me,” the system turned its face, those blood-red pupils quietly gazing at Yun Xunlan, “I won’t let you go in the future.”

 

Yun Xunlan didn’t say much to it, only looked up at the endless mountain ranges ahead and said: “I won’t kill you.”

 

The system laughed heartily: “Yun Xunlan, I know you’ve always been unwilling to kill those who bear you no grudge, but you won’t even slay your inner demons. What path are you actually cultivating?”

 

Yun Xunlan also curved his lips, smiled, and said: “How easy it is to kill inner demons? But after killing this inner demon, there’s no guarantee there won’t be another. Moreover—”

 

He also turned his face, looking into the system’s eyes and raising an eyebrow: “Little Ju, aren’t you my system?”

 

The system also looked back into his eyes and asked in return: “Am I your system?”

 

“Yes.” Yun Xunlan said with certainty. “When Master warned me years ago, saying you were my inner demon, I denied it just like this. To this day, I still think so.”

 

The system gradually stopped smiling. That face identical to Yun Xunlan’s had a calm expression, appearing compassionate at first glance, but his gaze was full of gloom that would make people uncomfortable if looked at too long.

 

Yet Yun Xunlan, as he had for a thousand years, spoke to the system slowly and gently, just as he had always spoken to his patients: “Because I’m very clear about what my inner demon is.”

 

“My inner demon is the me who couldn’t get out of the Demon Refining Pot. It was never you.” The young man said, slightly leaning down to reach toward the mirror lake. “So even though heaven and earth are right before my eyes, I still can’t see them.”

 

The moment his fingertip touched the mirror lake’s surface, ripples spread across the lake. Those ripples grew larger and larger, like cracks spreading across a mirror, until the entire lake suddenly shattered like a broken mirror.

 

Beneath the lake wasn’t solid, hard stone and mountains, but a cosmic sea of stars broader than heaven and earth. This freedom opened to Yun Xunlan, and also to the system.

 

So the system looked at the universe studded with stars below the cliff, then at Yun Xunlan, and smiled again: “Going outside won’t always be happy and carefree, will it?”

 

“But life won’t always be painful either.” Yun Xunlan told it. “Let’s go.”

 

“I still won’t let you go.” The system stood up from the cliff and leaped into that sea of stars. “I said I would cling to you forever.”

 

Its figure dispersed into points of light, like scattered tiny stars, and it too merged into the stars.

 

Only one last sentence remained, like a meteor passing by Yun Xunlan’s ear from near to far: “—Until you met Yu Chen.”

 

Yun Xunlan was stunned for a moment, leaning forward to look again. This sea of stars overlapped with the universe in his true vision, with no boundaries.

 

Therefore, he also saw the last Severir insect spore egg pass by the side of mecha Star Sink like a meteor falling into the jump channel. Star Sink’s pursuit cannon followed it, but was suddenly severed by a sharp blade intent.

 

“Young Master, be careful!” A man dressed in white martial attire as a guard blocked in front of the man wielding the blade.

 

The man wore the luxurious robes of a Yun clan young master. Upon hearing this, he waved his hand and said: “It’s fine.”

 

“Since I want to subdue this secret treasure, I must pass through the tribulation it has set.” The man withdrew his gaze from the remnants of the pursuit cannon and turned to look at the blood-red sphere suspended in mid-air.

 

The guard frowned, puzzled: “…Young Master, is it really a secret treasure?”

 

The man carefully grasped the small sphere: “It came from the void, so it should be… hiss!”

 

He cried out in pain and immediately let go, but the small sphere had already turned into silver liquid, flowing from his fingertips throughout his meridians. The man sat down to meditate on the spot. When he opened his eyes again, his originally jet-black hair had all turned silver.

 

He opened his eyes joyfully: “It really is a secret treasure. My realm has been stagnant for a hundred years, but this secret treasure can expand my consciousness sea more than tenfold in a single night…”

 

The remaining words were swallowed by the closing jump channel, but this time was enough for Yun Xunlan to see the man’s face clearly—it was the ancestor who had captured the secret treasure and initiated the Yun clan’s thousand years of prosperity.

 

But at this moment, he could never have imagined that hundreds of years later, his family would also be destroyed overnight because of this secret treasure.

 

What about the Severir insect race then?

 

Their supreme Brood Mother’s fall and their home planet’s destruction… did it originate from the war between insects and humans that began hundreds of years ago in this universe? Or did it originate from this last spore egg sent to another world, thinking it could bring them new hope but instead bringing death?

 

In this Möbius strip-like cycle, perhaps only those outside the loop could know the answer.

 

Yun Xunlan within the loop had no way of knowing.

 

“Lanlan?”

 

Seeing all the mechas controlled by Yun Xunlan suddenly stop moving, Yu Chen thought something had happened to Yun Xunlan and called his name.

 

“I’m fine.” Yun Xunlan closed his eyes and said, “Baby, take me home.”

 

—He would quietly wait in the “cocoon,” waiting for the moment of breaking out to see his lover’s face.

 

The war ended, and the star fleet successfully returned with the Brood Mother’s corpse.

 

Yun Xunguang immediately assembled medical research personnel to form a laboratory, working at full capacity to develop insect venom serum.

 

Who knew the development speed would be faster than they imagined. Just as Manuyin Hester had explained, insect venom had no cure—it would only develop in two extreme directions: evolution or dissolution.

 

Theoretically, all creatures infected with insect venom could hardly escape the latter fate—death by dissolution. But the Brood Mother’s body fluid could slow down or halt this process, even reverse it toward evolution.

 

However, this required the Brood Mother to remain alive.

 

And keeping the Brood Mother alive would be like opening Pandora’s box—no one could predict which fork humanity’s future would take.

 

So just as Manuyin Hester had anticipated, Yun Qihe would not allow the Brood Mother to continue living. Without hesitation, he directly killed the Brood Mother who had taken his beloved’s life. After returning to the Imperial Star, he also personally participated in Manuyin Hester’s trial and sentenced him to death.

 

This was the last order Yun Qihe gave as emperor.

 

From then on, Manuyin Hester’s name would be nailed to the pillar of shame in human history, while the names of Huo Su, Ran Xuechen, and all designers who participated in the 3S mecha design team would forever shine brilliantly in the starry sea.

 

“Do you still not want to reveal your identity?” Pei Xingting asked Yu Chen over the phone.

 

Because Yu Chen had never announced that he was the child left behind by Huo Su and Ran Xuechen.

 

“I won’t reveal it.” Yu Chen’s tone was firm. “I won’t reveal it until I die.”

 

He only needed others to know that his mother Huo Su was a hero, a soldier who remained loyal to her beliefs until death. As for who the son of her and Ran Xuechen was… was it necessary for everyone to know?

 

Yu Chen didn’t need to be sheltered by the glory belonging to Huo Su and Ran Xuechen to rise smoothly in his career.

 

Wouldn’t he be mocked to death by Fu Yanxi, who also had a general father but pretended not to be his biological son and absolutely refused to rely on his father’s protection?

 

Moreover…

 

Yu Chen asked Pei Xingting back: “If I reveal it, how can I freely argue online with people who insult my wife?”

 

“…Alright, that’s so like you.” Pei Xingting was speechless. After a few seconds of silence, he told Yu Chen about serious matters: “I’m resigning.”

 

Yu Chen was taking a shower. Upon hearing this, he wiped the water from his face and asked: “So sudden?”

 

“How is it sudden? My dream was never to be a pharmacist for the royal medical team.”

 

“I’m going to the border with my wife to be a doctor without borders.” Pei Xingting looked down at the photo of his deceased lover Zhou Fei in his hand and smiled: “This is my real dream, and our dream.”

 

Hearing this, Yu Chen also laughed and asked: “Can you still attend my wedding next month?”

 

“Of course, I’ll definitely come.” Pei Xingting assured him. “Remember to cover my travel expenses—doctors without borders don’t make much money.”

 

“Alright, alright, goodbye.”

 

“Goodbye.”

 

Yu Chen hung up the communication and walked out of the bathroom, drying his hair with a towel.

 

In the bedroom, Yun Xunlan was feeding a brilliantly colored blue betta fish that was frantically wagging its tail at him.

 

Yu Chen paused, his deep blue eyes like frozen polar seas widening slightly: “When did you bring this fish back?”

 

“This morning.”

 

Yun Xunlan bent down and touched the blue betta’s mouth with his fingertip through the tank, happily discovering that after being sent to spend time with its own kind and returning home, his pet had indeed returned to its original energetic state.

 

“Beauty’s mental state is indeed much better.” Not satisfied with watching alone, he also called Yu Chen over: “Baby, look, it’s blowing bubbles at me again.”

 

Yu Chen: “…”

 

Yu Chen: “It’ll be listless again in a couple of days.”

 

“Baby, what did you say?”

 

Yun Xunlan didn’t hear Yu Chen’s muttering.

 

After becoming an omega, his physical abilities had declined for a while, and his hearing wasn’t as sharp as an alpha’s.

 

“Nothing.” Yu Chen didn’t change expression and changed the subject: “Have you packed your things?”

 

Yun Xunlan pointed to a completely black suitcase by the door: “All packed, it’s there.”

 

Yu Chen changed clothes and walked over: “I’ll carry it for you.”

 

The two left together. They were going to attend Yun Qihe’s funeral today.

 

Yun Qihe had died a week ago.

 

He refused to inject insect venom serum and refused any treatment, letting the insect venom erode him. He seemed to have pursued death his entire life, only briefly living during the time he had He Chubai’s company.

 

In the hospital, he only made one request to the medical staff—fill his room with brilliantly blooming moss roses, which was the scent of He Chubai’s pheromones.

 

At the last moment of his life, he breathed for the final time, drawing those moss rose scents into his body, as if receiving a reverse mark from his omega lover, then contentedly stopped his heartbeat.

 

No one cried at his funeral, not even Yun Xunguang and Yun Xunlan could cry.

 

Yun Xunguang’s eyes were slightly red. After placing a bouquet of moss roses in front of He Chubai and Yun Qihe’s joint tombstone, she even smiled and helplessly announced: “Let us celebrate the reunion of this couple.”

 

People stepped forward one by one to place bouquets before their grave.

 

Yun Xunlan also smiled at the joint photo on He Chubai and Yun Qihe’s tombstone and said softly: “Father, Papa, you will definitely reunite, in the past and in the future.”

 

After offering flowers, Yu Chen carried the black suitcase and a bouquet of evening primroses, accompanying Yun Xunlan to another place—the Galactic Empire Martyrs’ Cemetery.

 

Mu Xingyu’s mother Mu Weizhou was buried here, and after leaving Yun Qihe’s funeral, Mu Xingyu had come here to visit his mother.

 

He stood before his mother’s grave with lowered eyes, lost in thought. It wasn’t until Yun Xunlan placed the bouquet of evening primroses in front of the tombstone that Mu Xingyu suddenly came back to his senses, looking at Yun Xunlan and Yu Chen beside him in surprise: “Lanlan?”

 

“Imperial Brother.” Yun Xunlan smiled and greeted him.

 

Seeing the young man finally smile at him again after many years, Mu Xingyu wanted to return the smile, but it came out looking very awkward.

 

“…Thank you.” He thanked Yun Xunlan for the bouquet. “And… I’m sorry.”

 

Yun Xunlan replied: “I forgive you.”

 

“Imperial Brother, we’re all family from now on. Why say ‘thank you’? No need to be so formal.” Yu Chen also smiled beside them, adding sarcastically, “You must come to Lanlan and my wedding next month. You’re a distinguished Major General of the Empire—seeing you there would give me a sense of security.”

 

Mu Xingyu: “…”

 

Mu Xingyu: “You won’t be happy if I actually come.”

 

Yu Chen immediately stopped smiling upon hearing this, but still said: “Who exactly would be unhappy? I’ll definitely be smiling throughout my and Lanlan’s wedding.”

 

Mu Xingyu then said: “Next time for sure.”

 

Yu Chen: “?”

 

What did that mean? Was he cursing them to have a second wedding?

 

But Mu Xingyu quickly continued: “I won’t attend your wedding, but the wedding gift definitely won’t be absent, because I’m departing tomorrow to head to the border. Although the Severir insect race has been destroyed, there are still many lost planets waiting for us to reclaim.”

 

“Imperial Brother, I wish you a safe return.” Yun Xunlan had Yu Chen open the black suitcase. “Take these gifts with you.”

 

Inside the black suitcase were exactly twenty-five black spheres like rocky asteroids, contained within cubes and slowly rotating—these were pseudo-planets formed from mineral fragments from the twenty-five planets Mu Xingyu had reclaimed during his three years of service at the first border.

 

He had once given these pseudo-planets to Yun Xunlan, and now Yun Xunlan was returning them to him.

 

“They are your glory.” Yun Xunlan told Mu Xingyu. “I think giving them to Captain Mu, or your future lover, would be more appropriate than giving them to me.”

 

Mu Xingyu was stunned for a few seconds before taking the suitcase: “…Alright.”

 

Finally, he also smiled, looking at Yu Chen and raising an eyebrow: “Major Yu Chen, I’ve changed my mind. I will definitely attend your wedding next month. I’ll bring the twenty-sixth pseudo-planet with me. I can’t let you feel insecure.”

 

Yu Chen: “…”

 

Yu Chen: “I really thank you so much.”

 

Mu Xingyu used his own words against him: “We’re all family from now on. Why say ‘thank you’? No need to be so formal.”

 

That evening, before departing, Mu Xingyu went to see Yun Xunguang and submitted a declaration he had signed, voluntarily renouncing his second inheritance rights.

 

Yun Xunguang glanced at the declaration, then looked at him: “Leaving tomorrow?”

 

“Yes.” Mu Xingyu nodded. “There are still many things I haven’t learned at the border. Maybe I need to study for many more years before I can be like my mother and know how to be an upright person.”

 

Yun Xunguang curved her lips, held up the declaration and tore it in half in front of Mu Xingyu, saying disdainfully: “Even without signing this thing, you can’t threaten my position.”

 

She threw the waste paper into the trash can, buried herself in her documents to continue working, and said without looking up: “Go. I don’t know how many more years you need to study, but anyway, living to today, you’ve finally lived like a decent human being.”

 

Mu Xingyu turned and left the palace.

 

Yun Xunlan and Yu Chen also left the palace that night.

 

They got on that Comet-S7 again. This time Yu Chen sat in front, carrying Yun Xunlan through the wind, under the night sky, like a blazing comet streaking across the star-filled firmament.

 

**

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End of the main text~

Extras coming up next~