The first joint meeting of the Imperial Alliance after a resounding victory had ended in a completely inconceivable manner. Although Yang Hao had also fled in panic, his heart was actually brimming with joy. Not only had that annoying Steve been publicly humiliated, more importantly, he was about to travel and enjoy the scenic mountains and waters with Steve’s beloved daughter. Perhaps in the evening, they could also have a wonderful reunion. Thinking like this, Yang Hao’s day immediately became bright and sunny again.
Indeed, today was a bright and sunny day.
That’s exactly why Amanda had invited Yang Hao out to visit the most famous Starlight Sea in Sanjing System. These past few days had been a mixture of surprise and frustration for Amanda. The surprise, of course, was meeting Yang Hao again. Although after leaving school, she had been promised by her father to be engaged to Lodongjie, Amanda had always had a soft spot for Yang Hao. She didn’t know what had happened to Yang Hao during this time or whether he had been bullied again like he used to be at school.
Then, after being kidnapped by Lodongjie, it was Yang Hao who flew into danger to rescue her, which made Amanda even more surprised. Her lover, whom she hadn’t seen for quite some time, had become even stronger and had even become the leader of the anti-Imperial Alliance—an exhilarating sense of fulfillment she hadn’t felt in a long while.
However, just as she was happy, she was also extremely frustrated because after Yang Hao rescued her, he brought back another woman. This woman was not only more beautiful than Amanda, more seductive, but also far better at clinging to a man. After returning to the Starlight Sea, she had stuck to Yang Hao nonstop.
Even today, when Amanda had specially arranged a private outing with Yang Hao, that woman still followed like a piece of chewing gum, with a faintly defiant expression on her face, making Amanda extremely annoyed—annoyed to the point of bursting.
“Why is she here!” Amanda stomped hard on Yang Hao’s foot, pointing at Ling Ziyun behind her.
That’s right, it was Ling Ziyun, the one who had recently been clinging to Yang Hao like a devoted little wife. She was the owner of the Lingfei Star Sea, the emissary of the Imperial Council, and the leader of the Mysterious Assassins—Ling Ziyun.
Dressed today in a light blue coat with cloud-patterned sleeves, a low-cut sweater highlighting a purple gemstone pendant on her chest, and a lace skirt just reaching her knees, revealing her tender white legs, she looked nothing like a seductress—she looked like a perfect, obedient girlfriend.
Seeing Amanda pointing at her, Ling Ziyun even acted like a startled little deer, hiding behind Yang Hao. Just days ago, she had still been the fierce commander of the Mysterious Assassins, ordering deadly strikes. Now, she was pretending to be so fragile and easily hurt—it was truly astonishing.
But it was Amanda who was about to be driven mad. Although she had never met Ling Ziyun before, after returning, she had heard all about her. This Ling Ziyun had not only tried to kill Yang Hao multiple times, but was clearly a spy for the Imperial Council. Yet for some unknown reason, Yang Hao had actually brought her along.
Ling Ziyun had indeed saved both of their lives, so when Yang Hao brought her aboard the battleship Doomsday, no one had much to say. Originally, out of gratitude for saving his life, Yang Hao had arranged an escape pod for Ling Ziyun, thinking she could just go back to her assassin group. But instead, she had leaned close to his ear and whispered something, causing Yang Hao’s expression to change dramatically and his hands to tremble uncontrollably. In the end, Yang Hao actually brought Ling Ziyun back to the Sanjing Sea Base.
Sanjing Sea was Amanda’s territory, and with her straightforward personality, how could she possibly tolerate a romantic rival? Of course, she stomped on Yang Hao’s foot furiously and shouted, “Why! Why! Why didn’t you get rid of her?”
With every “why,” Yang Hao’s toes swelled a little more. By the time she was done with her “whys,” Yang Hao’s foot was swollen like dough, nearly on the verge of disability.
“Hahaha… To avoid being trampled again by the furious Amanda, let’s just say we’re all good sisters. What’s the big deal about staying a few days? After all, the world belongs to everyone. We should help each other.”
“But she’s a spy!” Amanda’s finger was practically poking Yang Hao’s nose. “She’s from the Council, she’s a bad woman!”
“Look!” Yang Hao turned around and pulled out Ling Ziyun, who was hiding like a quail. “Is this how a spy should be? So cute? So innocent? So… big-chested…”
“What?” Both women exclaimed in unison.
“I mean,” Yang Hao quickly added, “you’re both beautiful, smart, and amazing girls. Don’t fall out over me, okay? I may be a little handsome, but I don’t want to ruin your sisterly bond.”
“Sister?” Amanda’s eyes were practically shooting flames. “Who said I’m doing this for you? I’m doing it for the cause of the anti-Imperial Alliance!”
“Tsk!” Ling Ziyun softly covered her mouth and smiled. “Still saying it’s not for Yang Hao? Who are you trying to fool with that jealous look?”
“I just don’t get it,” Amanda grumbled, her frustration spilling out. “You tried to kill Yang Hao every time before, hated him to the bone. How can you now have the nerve to stick by his side?”
“Maybe she just changed her mind,” Ling Ziyun replied gently, “and now she’s fully committed to Yang Hao, helping him achieve great feats. What have you done? Just being bossy.”
“You…” Actually, it wasn’t just Amanda who was confused about why Yang Hao kept Ling Ziyun around. Even Steve and Hurd found it inexplicable. After all, Ling Ziyun was no minor figure—she had repeatedly plotted to kill Yang Hao. Even if Yang Hao had changed his personality or had a weakness for beautiful women, keeping someone like her around was still far more dangerous than keeping a ticking time bomb.
But Ling Ziyun seemed determined not to let Amanda know the real reason. With a graceful turn, she pulled Yang Hao to look at the Starlight Sea outside.
“It’s so beautiful!!” Ling Ziyun suddenly jumped up.
It was a colorful, transparent sea. From far to near, it displayed more than ten different shades. Under the bright blue sky and sunlight, it sparkled like a brilliant gemstone, enough to move anyone who saw it.
And the daytime view of the Starlight Sea was only half of its charm. The real breathtaking beauty came at night, when everything was silent and the sky was pitch black. Then, the seabed would glow with star-like lights.
This sea would resemble a real starry sky. If you floated on it in a boat, you would feel an even more dreamlike sensation than drifting in the cosmic universe.
Ling Ziyun, after all, was still a woman. Seeing such beauty, she forgot all about jealousy and rivalry. But Yang Hao, while admiring the scenery, noticed something else. He pointed to a corner of the sea and asked Amanda, “What’s that?”
Still angry, Amanda replied curtly, “Silicon Valley.”
“I mean, what are those moving things over there?” Yang Hao, of course, knew about Silicon Valley. The reason the Sanjing Sea System had become another technological center beyond the Milky Way was because of its rich silicon deposits. Therefore, the most densely populated areas on each planet were the silicon valleys.
“Miners,” Amanda thought Yang Hao was just stating the obvious. What else would be in a mining valley besides miners?
But compared to Amanda’s indifference, Yang Hao felt something unsettling. The creatures working hard and exhausted in the valley had pale blue bare skin, and the most distinctive feature was that each had three flat heads.
According to Yang Hao’s previous knowledge, those creatures were also intelligent beings, the original inhabitants of the Sanjing Sea System, known by the Galactic Empire as the Sanjing Sea People.
The Sanjing Sea People were the native intelligent species here. Before Earth’s colonization, they were the absolute rulers of the planet. They could survive using silicon elements and had created their own great and glorious civilization.
But now, after the Empire’s settlers had deeply rooted themselves here, the former masters had been forced into slavery. Using the very arms that once created their glorious civilization, they now dug out their own resources to supply their oppressors, even calling them masters.
“Sanjing Sea People…”
Yang Hao had seen enough of the Empire’s oppression over the colonies. On Remon Star, nearly 90% of the output was shipped to Earth. On Bear Star, most households were empty, with strong young men used as cannon fodder. On Angel Star, it was even worse—so many young women were forced into prostitution.
It was precisely because of such unbearable suffering that anti-Imperial alliances had arisen everywhere, and elders like Hurd and Situ Hai had fought to the death in Outer Mongolia. Although Yang Hao usually didn’t take Hurd seriously, he deeply respected the old bear. Without that battle, there wouldn’t have been peace in the outer territories.
But now, what Yang Hao saw before him was that even outside the Empire, people were still enslaving others. The Sanjing Sea People were the original masters of this system. In fact, people like Steve were merely living on borrowed land. Even if they had oppressed the Sanjing Sea People under the Empire’s orders before, now that they were raising the banner of rebellion against the Empire’s cruelty, in reality, they were still doing the exact same thing—exploiting the colonized.
So, if the Sanjing Sea System really grew strong in the future, wouldn’t it just become another center of a new empire?
Yang Hao didn’t speak aloud, but in his mind, he discussed this with Hunyuanzi many times. With Hunyuanzi’s thousand years of experience, he naturally understood that Yang Hao’s concerns were valid. Moreover, Yang Hao currently bore the title of leader of the resistance alliance. If a new empire really arose in the future, he would gain no benefits, but he would definitely bear the infamy.
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