Chapter 255: Ruins, Population, and Harvest

Shirley and Gabriel and the other recruits walked into Punishment.

When all personnel had boarded, the gangway began to detach from the hull and folded back toward the edge of the port.

Immediately after, Punishment's hull shivered slightly, and the engine exhaust at the stern filled with blue light.

Finally, the massive fixed mechanical arm began to retract, freeing the entire warship so Punishment could sail out of the port.

Adjusting the bow's direction, it passed through the air valve and left the star port, arriving at the gray desert of the moon surface.

When it rose to a height sufficiently far from the moon surface.

Not far from the bow's front, a vortex entrance appeared, about four hundred meters in diameter and interlaced with eerie blue light.

Punishment sped into it, and only after the whole warship had entered Rift Space did the entrance generated by the jump engine fully dissipate.

Above the lunar desert, tranquility returned, as if Punishment had vanished into thin air.

Within the shimmering Rift Tunnel, Punishment headed toward the Ai Pu Sen VIII Star System, 450 light‑years away.

A corridor inside the ship.

"All personnel, attention: I am Mianda Ma Cha, captain of Punishment; the ship is scheduled to exit Rift Space in 38 hours.

Also, the maintenance team should proceed immediately to the equipment room; the mechanical arm in sector 3 requires inspection.

Combat personnel, report immediately.

Ground crew."

The broadcast came from the female captain named Mianda, who, in a cold tone, listed a series of notices.

Heeding the broadcast, Shirley, pulling her suitcase, followed a UNSC Marine dressed in desert‑colored training uniform as they walked through the corridor.

They arrived outside the door of a cabin.

The Marine stopped, turned, and said, "Sir, this is your temporary berth."

"Thank you; I'll take care of the rest myself, Sergeant," Shirley replied gratefully.

"At your service; let me know if you need anything, Sir," the Marine nodded.

"Very well," Shirley responded with a smile.

After the brief exchange, the Marine stepped away, while Shirley touched the terminal on the cabin wall.

The sensor‑unlocked cabin door opened slowly, revealing the berth's layout to Shirley.

A fixed single bed, a desk with a chair, and a wardrobe for clothes and luggage faced a small porthole opposite the door.

Though cramped and plain, it is a single berth reserved for lieutenant‑level officers near the bridge.

After all, the Paris‑class ranks fourth from the bottom among human warships in specifications.

But Shirley said it was quite nice.

Before becoming a supervisor, she had carried out missions far harsher than these conditions, so a single room was more than enough.

She entered the berth.

She closed the cabin door.

Shirley opened her suitcase, took out a thin crystal‑like laptop, placed it on the desk, and then retrieved some spare clothes to hang in the wardrobe.

After a quick tidy‑up, she sat behind the desk, lit the laptop's holographic screen, and prepared to review the company's recent important news and data.

Punishment is equipped with a relay, so Shirley's personal electronic device still enjoys full‑strength network signal.

She opened the company intranet homepage, and the first headline she saw was a report titled "Quantum Communication Has Entered the Trial Phase."

Seeing this.

Shirley lightly tapped the screen and opened the quantum communication column.

The report showed that Wang Zhaofeng's high‑tech research team, together with the engineering department, had built large quantum communication relay stations on major colonies such as Zhi Yuan Star, Xi Rou Star, and Jing Song Star.

Preliminary trial results indicated that the quantum relay stations successfully enabled genuine real‑time communication between the main colonies and, most importantly, Earth.

Later, Wang Zhaofeng's team will focus their efforts on simplifying the quantum relay stations, aiming to replace the warships' outdated relays as soon as possible.

At the end of the column, a group photo of the research team was attached.

Standing at the center was Wang Zhaofeng, wearing glasses, his face aged, appearing to be in his fifties or sixties.

Shirley had not forgotten Dr. Mediterranean Sea.

During the years she lived in the mother‑nest, while her parents were busy researching the G virus, other researchers helped look after her, including the kindly old Dr. Wang Zhaofeng.

Recalling those early moments made Shirley smile, and she swiped the screen to exit the column.

She continued browsing.

Many headlines read "Zhi Yuan Star to Build New Flagships Far Surpassing the Zeus‑class" and "Arcadia Population Breaks the 3.5‑billion Mark!", seemingly published by the editorial or news department to meet quotas.

But Shirley was browsing each article out of a desire to relax and pass the time, taking interest in each.

Ruins?

After more than ten minutes, she found a report about ruins built by non‑human beings.

The headline read "Meisi Ruiyin Colony Discovers Non‑Human‑Made Ruins, Archaeological Team Led by Lao La Kelaofu Currently Excavating".

She clicked in to see.

The photo placed at the top of the column was an aerial view of the excavation site.

The picture showed two tall metal pillars with dark‑gray outer walls standing on a grassy clearing within a dense forest.

The pillars resembled rectangular slabs, driven vertically into the ground; a close look revealed orderly seams emitting a teal glow.

Engineers clad in orange exoskeletons, along with the latest SCVs and engineering vehicles, had set up a temporary camp near the pillars.

Excavation had only just begun, yet they had already uncovered what seemed to be larger metal structures beneath the surface.

At the end, the column's editor reminded colleagues, especially scattered informants, to watch for similar ancient ruins on other colonies.

"."

After finishing the report, Shirley's brow furrowed slightly.

Finding ancient ruins on Earth is not surprising, but discovering them on a colonized planet indicates that the alien race that built the ruins became extinct or vanished for some reason.

The company permits reporting Meisi Ruiyin's ruins, which is to have all employees pay attention to their respective jurisdictions.

"Once we reach Aipusen d, conduct a covert investigation."

Shirley thought.

She swiped the screen to exit the column; the content below consisted of trivial matters, interspersed with newly issued or recently updated company benefit policies.

The most frequently mentioned topic was still "increased childbirth."

Shirley did not pay much attention to it; she would not consider it for the time being.

But the population boom that lasted over half a century shows that her and a few employees' views diverge from the mainstream.

Humanity's most advanced medical and biotechnologies have successfully raised the average lifespan dramatically, projected to be 185 to 200 years.

If one is willing to pay the steep extra cost, lifespan can be extended further.

Nevertheless, most Umbrella employees and the populace under UEG still choose increased childbirth.

After all, in today's society, words like poverty, famine, disease have almost vanished, and resources for humanity at this stage are virtually limitless.

Moreover, with the White Queen's covert regulation together with the authorities, prices and housing remain stable, so people are willing to let humanity become more prosperous and strong while enjoying generous welfare policies.

After reading the latest report on Shirley, she left the company website's homepage and opened the data and archive repository.

After a few operations, she brought up the galaxy's holographic star map.

She saw a dense field of stars, with company‑marked annotations, causing the miniature galaxy flashing different lights to appear directly above the fixed desk.

It was somewhat dazzling.

Immediately, Shirley extended her left hand, placed it on the Orion arm beneath the galaxy, thumb and forefinger spread outward, mimicking a zoom gesture.

Soon, the star map was zoomed by Shirley to the human‑occupied territories.

She then made a fist with her left hand, switching the map to a planar view for easier viewing, with brief textual information displayed on both sides.

She viewed it together with the planar map and the brief information.

Human territory is an irregular circle centered on the Solar System, with a radius of about 450 light‑years.

Within that range, any stellar system possessing a terrestrial planet meeting terraforming criteria has been stepped onto by humanity.

The total number is 304.

Even star systems lacking suitable planets have been turned by UEG and Umbrella, or by private firms with long‑standing cooperation with the authorities, into system‑scale mines.

Counting all colonized and mining star systems, the total reaches 610, and this number changes periodically.

It should be noted that after Umbrella used UEG to unify humanity, it indirectly—or forcibly—discarded many bad habits and amplified certain traits.

For example—

Infrastructure.

In the decades since humanity entered the interstellar era, despite episodes like colonists and Arcadia, overall it has been peaceful and stable.

With a good living environment and official support from UEG and Umbrella, humanity's infrastructure drive has been fully unleashed.

Netizens have also bestowed the title 'Infrastructure Maniac' on the engineering teams handling various projects.

Human development to date has seen the total population multiply several times, soaring from 27 billion in 2042 to 93.4 billion now.

Even Arcadia, once on the fringe with only 270 million people, has now surpassed the 3.5 billion mark.

The unprecedented breadth of the territory, the fleet of colossal vessels, and the extreme societal prosperity fill humanity with immense pride.

What the public does not realize is that the Lone Wolf and Celtic Iron‑blood homeworlds have, unnoticed, become humanity's 'neighbors.'

Knowing the internal news, Shirley learned that her superior, Sui Bian of her uncle's generation, has included the announcement of the Iron‑blood clan as allies in humanity's next phase.

But she does not know how or when it will be announced.

She guesses that once the authorities announce an alien race as an ally of humanity (Umbrella), humanity is very likely to be drawn into an interstellar war.

Thinking of a future war of incalculable scale, Shirley can't help but sigh to herself:

"I hope peace can last a while longer."

Speaking, Shirley lightly waved her left hand, dispersing the holographic screen and putting her computer into standby.

She glanced at the Rift Space outside the window, got up from her seat, and lay on the bed, closing her eyes to rest for a while.

She still has to spend nearly two days aboard the Punishment Vessel before the leap‑flight journey even begins.

——————————

Thirty‑eight hours later.

Aipusen VIII Star System.

It has five planets orbiting a star slightly larger than the Sun.

The first through fourth orbits are terrestrial planets; the fifth orbit is a gas giant with rings, resembling Saturn.

The destination where Shirley is about to take office, Aipusen d, lies on the fourth orbit of this system.

Observed from a position tens of thousands of kilometers away.

Aipusen d's size is about one‑third that of Earth, even smaller than Mercury in the Solar System.

Though small, Aipusen d's surface is extraordinarily beautiful.

Colonists have named the supercontinent 'Ailin,' which covers 70 % of the surface, while two low‑salinity oceans occupy the remainder.

The continent is blanketed by vast grasslands and forests, featuring thousand‑kilometer plains, rolling low hills, and over a thousand freshwater lakes.

Close‑up observation within the atmosphere.

Freshwater lakes and forests host introduced animals everywhere, enriching and completing the ecosystem.

Aipusen d lacks metropolitan areas like Arcadia, Zhi Yuan Star, or other colonized planets; instead, towns of tens of thousands or hundreds of thousands of residents are scattered across the supercontinent 'Ailin.'

On the outskirts of one coastal town are orchards, vegetable gardens, and farms raising various livestock.

The most astonishing are the seemingly endless golden wheat fields and the fertile lands cultivating other crops.

People drive agricultural machinery, harvesting the ripe grain at a leisurely pace.

Feel the warm breeze brushing past.

Hear the cicadas chirping intermittently in the distance.

The slow-paced pastoral life lets people unconsciously clear their thoughts; the comfortable environment further makes them want to just lie down in the fields for a nap.

Not only this seaside town, but all towns on Aipsen D are quite similar, with hardly any heavy-industry factories.

Grain, farmland, abundance—these are the labels of Aipsen D.

Earth's gravity is 0.998 times, atmospheric pressure 1.02 times, a day lasts about 23 hours, a year is 312 Earth days, and the lowest surface temperature stays above 12°C.

A series of such excellent conditions makes Aipsen D one of the most productive and stable "granaries".

Therefore, besides its official name Aipsen D, "she" is also called Harvest Star.

Shirley chose this place as her new workplace; helping the company train newcomers is one aspect, while occupying her main motivation also includes Harvest Star's beautiful environment.

The "flavor" of Mars Heavy Industry is really too strong, and since she hasn't been out of the Solar System much, she applied to be the director of Harvest Star's Intelligence Department.

And Harvest Star's capital is located at the center of Ailin Continent, a city called Aerdejia with a population of four hundred thousand.

The biggest difference from other towns is that Aerdejia possesses an orbital elevator that truly breaks through the sky.

The elevator's terminus.

It is a massive transport hub that matches Harvest Star's rotational speed.

More than ten cargo ships and passenger liners are docked in the external port of the hub station.

Goods and passengers pass through the orbital elevator, making boarding and disembarking ships faster and more convenient.

At this moment.

Having just left the Rift Space, the Punishment, as its jump-out portal dissipated, also adjusted its bow direction and slowly approached the hub station.

Finally moored in the dedicated berth, the mechanical arm completed fastening, the gangway extended and connected to the hull, allowing Shirley and others to disembark from the Punishment.

(End of chapter)