Chapter 134: Is This Alert Star?

Aolake slowly docked in orbit.

A few merchant ships in the distance fled in terror, their engine lights flaring to maximum, and they took back the pitiful supplies that were supposed to be shipped to Alert Star.

Hangar deck.

Several Yunxuji were warming up; watching the fleeing merchant ships in the void beyond the deck, Bai'er wistfully licked his lips.

Bunoke, wearing a Prosthetic Eye, looked somewhat puzzled:

"Why are they running?"

Fanluosi still commanded his entourage to board the Yunxuji, while Ana would stay on Aolake.

The one who answered Bunoke was none other than Xisi, coming with a stack of Alert Star reports:

"How did they know whether we are friend or foe?"

When Xisi spoke, the crowd that had shown no reaction to Bunoke at all instantly straightened up amid the crisp 'snap' of soldiers aligning themselves.

Even Bai'er suppressed his sickly expression, trying to look as normal as possible.

"Sir!"

The crowd bowed respectfully, while Xisi briskly walked toward his Yunxuji, waving casually:

"Let's depart; the provisional government of Alert Star received news from Terra months ago."

"Now Alert Star, as the Black Watch's Conscription World, has provisional officials waiting for us below."

Hearing this, everyone hurried to follow, silently breathing a sigh of relief.

Fortunately, no useless messages were sent, leaving us without the absurdity of having to fire on Alert Star.

It seems that regarding the defense of Terra, the high lords finally showed rare efficiency.

Soon, the massive Aolake remained docked in orbit, and several Yunxuji, glittering like specks of sand, drifted away from the huge battleship behind them.

The engine's roaring red glow, which had blared for an unknown length of time, finally faded slowly as hostilities ceased, fully relaxing.

Even many crew members were granted leave, gathering on the deck or by the portholes, gazing at the massive world beneath their feet.

Especially the Black Watch veterans who could not accompany Xisi to Alert Star, their eyes fixed on the world below with a strangely complex expression.

Until the light point of Xisi's Yunxuji fully merged into the boundless ground below.

At this moment, the surface of Alert Star was the last remaining Heberia Nest Area.

The towering Nest City palace.

A plaza-sized avenue was packed with crowds.

The Planetary Defense Force wore basic gear, holding rifles while on duty along both sides of the avenue.

Then everyone's gaze eagerly turned toward the Yunxuji above, its roar gradually descending.

Escort fighters circled the avenue on both sides, their cannons vigilantly aimed at the surroundings and the crowd.

On the adjacent tarmac, the Yunxuji that had landed early released a flood of newly recruited, battle‑hardened soldiers.

These soldiers, not yet in uniform, still wore a mishmash of clothing as they stepped forward to receive escort.

Then the central Yunxuji, under the gaze of all, slowly opened its doors.

Accompanied by the faintly scattering steam of turning gears, the shadowy figure in the dark cabin caused the entire Tower Top to hold its breath.

Then Xisi stepped forward, slowly emerging from the darkness, fully exposing his silhouette to the blazing sunlight atop the tower.

The roaring cheers, as mighty as the portraits propagated by the National Church and Mechanical Church, erupted instantly across the Tower Top.

The waves of cheers came one after another, so much that Fanluosi, walking beside, was somewhat surprised by the Alert Star civilians' fervent adulation of Xisi.

"Even if the National Church spreads it, this shouldn't happen in such a short time!"

Fanluosi stared at the massive, tsunami‑like cheering, so loud that even below the Tower Top people joined in, and the cheers, broadcast by surrounding cameras, quickly spread across Alert Star.

In numerous refugee camps, countless gaunt, yellow‑skinned crowds huddled together, watching the tiny projected screen; faces long marked by despair finally filled with boundless hope and excitement.

Then they, too, raised their hands toward the tiny Xisi on the screen, repeatedly shouting his name.

At the Tower Top, Xisi's gaze swiftly swept the relatively orderly welcoming squad, then fixed on the ground below, where the distant roar still resonated.

He took a deep breath, walked to the front toward the cameras and the eagerly awaiting civilians below the tarmac.

Turning his back to Fanluosi, Xisi spoke helplessly yet calmly:

"They are not idolizing me."

"They are idolizing the hope of survival."

Fanluosi was startled, instinctively about to speak, but after glancing at the scarred land in the distance and the recent reports from Alert Star officials, he paused, fell silent, and followed Xisi's gaze toward the ground, letting out a silent sigh.

How to describe the post‑war Alert Star?

Let's put it that way: Fanluosi now looks below the Tower Top and sees not endless toxic clouds from over‑industrialization, but a stretch of purity!

Alert Star is so ruined it can't even sustain atmospheric pollution!

And as Xisi finally reached the front, the cheers of Alert Star peaked over this purity.

Fireworks, source unknown, sporadically burst upon the ground, bringing long‑missed color to the despair‑ and hunger‑laden Alert Star.

Then Xisi mustered a smile, waved at the cameras and the welcoming crowd, and without mentioning any plans to rush to Terra, made his public declaration after landing, concise and direct:

"I'm back."

"Everyone will be fed, everyone will be warm, everyone will have work!"

Brief and forceful, Xisi turned back to the Heberia Nest Area office he had prepared.

Behind Xisi, nearly twenty billion Alert Star inhabitants erupted in an even more intense frenzy, so vigorous that the thin clouds overhead barely swayed.

The cheers were so massive that the Alert Star Nobility and officials behind him couldn't help but squint and mutter that these mud‑trodden folk were surprisingly spirited.

Only when the Nobility and officials followed Xisi into the grand, lavish office did the massive golden doors close slowly, finally sealing out the outside clamor.

The palace‑like massive office, aside from the huge God Emperor Portrait from the 30K era behind Xisi, had all other decorations and furnishings replaced according to Xisi's preferences.

Even opposite the Sacred Emperor, a portrait of Xisi hung, just slightly lower than the God Emperor's.

Xisi, while removing his equipment, appraised the scene, and even discovered that this portrait was painted by Ustali that day, directly by the National Church on the warship.

Now, merely by looking at these two paintings, Xisi knows the suffering of the civilians outside Nest City, as if it has not in the slightest affected the local Nobility after Kaerjia's departure.

Bang~

The Red Sword was placed directly on the massive desk.

Xisi withdrew his gaze from his own portrait, then pointed at it publicly and said casually:

"Sell it, exchange for food."

The crowd: "???"

This painting could fetch a fortune, even could be said to have price but no market; as proof of Xisi's unparalleled achievement, is it being sold just like that?

The Nobility and officials exchanged uneasy glances, daring not to act, and after Xisi finished speaking, he looked at the other's hesitation, then raised his finger toward the back of his own head, kindly explaining:

"You've misunderstood; I'm not saying to sell my portrait."

"I mean, including the Divine Emperor, all valuable things......"

"Sell everything to us!"