Chapter 3079

After nearly ten star-hours of flight, the spacecraft finally reached the first stop of this expedition, Bert Comet.

Looking out the porthole, it was an extremely beautiful planet, surrounded by a thin pink halo — the color produced when starlight is refracted through the atmosphere — appearing especially gentle against the dark cosmic background.

When the spacecraft passed through the atmosphere, the cabin lights automatically softened, and the pink clouds outside grew closer, eventually revealing the full view to everyone aboard.

After Blake and the spacecraft steadied, he turned to face the seven guests.

"The basic situation of Bert Comet was already briefly explained when you all signed the responsibility waiver, but since we've arrived, I have the duty to inform you of the details."

He called up a set of projection images, displayed on the cabin wall screen, showing old tourism publicity photos of Bert Comet.

"Bert Comet used to be a famous tourist star system on the happiness index rankings, boasting the most beautiful beaches in the galaxy and the most pleasant climate, but since nearly twenty years ago, almost every visitor to the planet has experienced varying degrees of mental breakdown symptoms — mild cases show anxiety hallucinations, severe cases lose all rationality, and some even exhibit suicidal tendencies."

"The Empire quickly blockaded the planet's external routes after the incident, halted all tourism, and thereafter kept it almost completely sealed off; only a small number of the planet's original inhabitants still live here, and they are unaffected."

Blake switched to another picture, an investigation report marked with the Imperial Military Department's insignia.

"Seven years ago, the Empire dispatched a special forces team to investigate this star system; the team consisted of fifteen soldiers, and after conducting a forty‑five‑day investigation, they concluded that these anomalies might be linked to a new energy source — namely the star core we are here to find. All fifteen soldiers exhibited mental symptoms similar to previous cases, and this time also showed varying degrees of bodily tissue decay. The investigation was therefore forced to stop, and the cause of the planet's abnormalities remains unknown to this day."

After Blake finished speaking, he pointed toward the direction outside the porthole and said, "The outpost base is what the earlier special forces team left behind when they were stationed here; it is currently the only known safe zone. The base has complete living facilities and basic medical equipment, enough to meet everyone's basic needs for the next fifteen days."

He then emphasized the rules once more.

"You each need to submit a preliminary report within seven days, and return no later than the fifteenth day. If the star core is not found within fifteen days, or the cause of the planet's anomaly is not discovered, the mission will be deemed a failure."

The hatch opened.

The planet's air rushed in, smelling like the sweet fragrance of some plant.

Jin Chen was the last to descend the ladder, looked up, and saw the outpost base not far ahead; its exterior walls were coated in light‑gray material that looked weathered, various colored plants grew all around it, and the distant sky was a pale pink, still quite pretty.

: Pink sky, my goodness, what a dreamy planet……

: It's hard to imagine such a beautiful place would have mental pollution.

: All fifteen members of the special forces team had something happen to them; is this mission really safe……

: But the natives aren't affected, right? That suggests there must be a way to resist.

: Come on, General Chenshu is here — we're the Empire's pride! There definitely won't be any danger!

: Stop the hype, I'm scared something might actually happen!

Jin Chen withdrew his gaze and followed the others into the base.

The first floor is an open space with the living room, dining room, and kitchen connected; in the middle stands a large conference table, its surface covered with an electronic map that casts a soft blue light from the projection lamp.

Jin Chen stepped closer to look; the map showed five red markers, each with a brief textual note indicating the locations previously explored by the earlier special forces team and what they encountered there.

The five points are distributed across different regions of the planet — some in the southern hemisphere, some near the poles, and some not far from the base, about a half‑day's journey away.

Blake stood beside the map and added, "The earlier special forces team explored these areas, which are also where they noticed the anomalies most clearly. The star core is likely hidden in one of these points, or along the route to them; I've already uploaded the specific routes and precautions to everyone's brain‑implants."

The sky gradually grew dark.

The pale pink sky turned into a deeper rose‑color at dusk, and the plants around the base faintly glowed in the twilight.

Before leaving, Blake gave one final instruction: "I won't be staying with you; there's a separate dormitory building next to the outpost base where I and the security team are stationed. The base interior is for your exclusive use — if any safety issue arises, contact me anytime via your brain‑implants."

Immediately, Blake looked toward Chenshu; although he was the team leader, obeying superior orders had already become second nature to him.

Chenshu gave him a slight nod, whereupon Blake restrained his urge to salute and led the security team out of the base.

The living room fell silent; the seven people stood by the conference table and needed to first settle the room‑allocation issue.

The base's interior is a symmetrical hollow structure; looking up from the first floor you can directly see the second‑floor corridor and railings, with a staircase on each side leading up to the second floor. The second floor has eight rooms total — the first four and the last four face each other. Rooms 4 and 8 flank the right‑hand staircase, the only passage to the third floor. Blake said the third floor houses an observation deck and the biological samples left by the earlier special forces team that haven't been fully examined yet.

Therefore, Blake had mentioned before leaving that the third floor was relatively dangerous, and it was not recommended to stay there for a long time without protection.

Chenshu walked to the side of the conference table, where eight keys were scattered. He reached out and took the key to Sihao Fang. Chi Mo's eyes lit up, and right after Chenshu, he reached out and grabbed the key to Sanhao Fang, as if afraid that if he waited another second someone else would snatch it away. He also casually picked up the key to Erhao Fang beside it, turned around, smiling, and handed it to Yan Xu standing behind him.

"This makes me feel much safer," Chi Mo said in a soft voice, "Thank you, older brothers, for looking after me."

Yan Xu took the key, gave a slight smile—his expression warm and proper, revealing no extra emotion—nodded and said, "That's only natural."

Chi Mo's gaze lingered on Yan Xu's face for a moment, then turned toward Chenshu.

Chenshu frowned, looking across the table. Jin Chen leaned against the other end of the conference table, idly playing with the remaining keys on the table, his expression relaxed, as if he didn't care at all about the room assignments.

Jin Chen lifted his eyes and met his gaze, giving a slight shake of the head; Chenshu could only take back his words about wanting to switch rooms.

Jin Chen took the key chain from Blake's hand, picked out the key for Room Eight—Room Eight is at the far end of the hallway opposite us, directly across from Sihao Fang—he spun the key on his finger, smiling faintly as he continued to listen to the others discuss the room assignments, as if he hadn't noticed anything.

The guests went upstairs one after another to put away their luggage.

Jin Chen found Room Eight, pushed the door open and went in; a single bed stood against the wall, with a small table and a lamp at the head, the window facing the patch of luminescent plants behind the base; in the dim light those plants glowed Youyou blue-green, he set his small pack on the bed, stood by the window for a couple of seconds, then turned and left.

999: 【Tasker, you look much more relaxed than you were on the aircraft.】

Jin Chen hummed, smiling faintly, as a reply.

The trigger condition for the audit mechanism is a deviation in the plot points; as for the rest, he can enjoy a considerable degree of freedom.

Moreover, as a game designer, Jin Chen has always been skilled at making small tweaks within the framework, turning the game to his advantage.

Jin Chen leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed, lazily glancing at the situation in the hallway.

Opposite the railing, Chi Mo stepped out of Sanhao Fang, leaned over to glance down at the first floor, then turned his face to Chenshu standing beside him.

"This place is more dangerous than I heard," Chi Mo said, his tone mixed with lingering fear and greater reliance, "Fortunately Chenshu Dage is here; otherwise I would really be a bit scared."

Jin Chen leaned against the doorframe for a while, then straightened up and sauntered over to the railing in the hallway, propping his hands on it, supporting his chin, tilting his head to look at the two people opposite, with a hint of nonchalant teasing.

"He could be your uncle, Chi Mo—don't start calling yourself old."

Chi Mo blinked, turned his head to look at Jin Chen, not understanding why he and Chenshu had suddenly become opposed again, wondering whether their relationship was good or bad.

He gave an embarrassed chuckle, "Better not call him uncle then… Mr. Jin, can I call you Brother Chen?"

Chenshu's face fell.

He looked at Chi Mo, his gaze a bit colder than just now.

Jin Chen, however, seemed not to have noticed his change in expression, walking from one end of the hallway to the other until he stood in front of Chi Mo, speaking casually, "Being peers, it's fine."

While saying it was fine, his gaze didn't linger on Chi Mo; instead he reached out and poked Chenshu's shoulder, his eyebrows and eyes curving.

"Right, Uncle Chenshu?"

Chenshu grasped Jin Chen's finger that had just poked his shoulder and hadn't yet been retracted, "You can shout whatever makes you happy."

"Any discomfort? I'll go make something to eat for you, okay?"

Jin Chen tilted his head, glanced at him, and said seriously, "I'm hungry, thank you, Uncle Chenshu."

Chenshu's fingers tightened slightly, wanting to hold Jin Chen's hand more firmly, to pinch his fingertip, but Jin Chen withdrew it without changing expression.

"I'm changing clothes." Jin Chen tossed that off, walked away light‑footed without looking back, which could be considered quite rude to an Imperial Upper General.

Chenshu stood in the corridor, watching his retreating back, the corner of his mouth slowly curving.

: Is it really reasonable for an Imperial Upper General to laugh like that???

: Reasonable, how could it not be, the way he smiles at Jin Chen is just tenderness……

: Some Upper General's hands should be used to resist a quantum cannon, not to make food for Jin Chen—ahhh, isn't the nutrient agent tasty?

: No, wait a minute, just now Chi Mu teased him all the way and he showed no expression, but Jin Chen called him "uncle" and he laughed like this?

: Stop, stop, I can't take it—I was originally planning to firmly ship the Upper General and Chi Mu!

: Is "uncle" some kind of couples' kink? (No.)

: Help, what exactly is the relationship between these two? I'm dying of curiosity! They must be ex‑lovers, definitely ex‑lovers!!

: Are Chi Mu's fans still around? Your main seems to have been left hanging on the side~

Chi Mu, left standing aside, was at the door of Sanhao Fang, his smile hard to keep. He watched Jin Chen disappear down the corridor, then glanced at Chenshu's gaze still lingering on the door of Room Eight, bit his lip, tightened his grip on the key to Sanhao Fang, turned and went downstairs silently.