CH 60

Due to the destruction of the light panels, the batteries and laser towers of the planet's second defensive layer were dormant, and our ship was able to quickly fly through the second layer. The third layer was protected by warships and other flying machines. To get through this layer, a battle would be inevitable.

"Let's just create a leap-point here," said Dodo.

"The leap-point will take about a third of the energy required to produce a wormhole," said Dondon.

Everyone looked at the leader, Zhang Xingxing. Her approval was required if we were going to waste five lightyears worth of energy just to make a leap of 300,000 kilometers.

"Everyone has gone through too much. Request granted," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Prepare for a leap. Everyone, return to your posts," said Dodo.

Fearless's energy system then produced a leap-point about three kilometers ahead of the ship. The leap-point was a static space about three times larger than our ship.

"Entering the leap-point," alongside Dodo's words, Fearless charged into the point.

Three hundred thousand kilometers away, Fearless appeared out of thin space. Finally, we were safe. Sure, Fearless was only a spaceship floating in space, but this place was much safer than an actual planet for fugitives and explorers like us.

Planet Eternal was located about 130 billion kilometers away from Betelgeuse, 650 million kilometers from us. Zhang Xingxing commanded Dodo to move the spaceship at a slower speed to give everyone enough time to rest.

A massive flaming ball, Betelgeuse, dominated our vision. The area within 100 billion kilometers of it—about the size of the Solar System—was filled with a gaseous planetary nebula. Anything that entered it would be swallowed by Betelgeuse, which was a massive star equivalent to 700 million suns.

The mesmerizing sight of Betelgeuse was not enough to get rid of our exhaustion. Our injuries and our continuous state of combat had caused us to be both physically and emotionally exhausted. With the exception of Dodo, everyone fell asleep one after another. Everyone slept soundly in the silent and comfortable atmosphere. After an indeterminate amount of time, I was the first to wake up. All around me, everyone was still sleeping soundly. As for Dodo, it was still blankly piloting the ship.

"How long was I out?" I asked.

"All of you have been sleeping for over 12 hours," said Dodo.

I stretched lazily. After the long sleep, my exhaustion was mostly gone.

After a short while, the crew woke up one after another. I could see that the Jido, Domo, looked rather anxious. He was probably anxious about his people after hearing the Gando's threat.

"Don't worry, Domo. After meeting the emperor and clearing things up, we can request the emperor to stop the Gandos as well," said Prince Toruse.

Domo appeared slightly relieved at the prince's words.

"Customer, when can you settle your bill?" asked Domo the moment he was relieved of his worry.

"Leader, when can we eat? I'm hungry," said Dondon.

"Are you two debt collectors or something? You sound so demanding!" said Zhang Bao'er.

At this time, Amethyst came in with the food we had gathered from Sirius B. Everyone started eating.

"Prince, have you been on Eternal?" I asked.

"Once with Royal Father when I was a child," replied the prince.

"How is it?" I asked.

"It is a beautiful planet filled with life. There are races from over 20 different Orion Constellation races that are loyal to the emperor living there," answered the prince.

"Eternal is rich with commerce, and its security is also much better than Lidu," Domo added.

My heart became filled with longing for the beautiful planet upon hearing their description.

"But the empire has its worries as well," said the prince.

"What kind of worries?" I asked.

"Betelgeuse is a red supergiant. It is near the end of its life. It keeps growing in size, to the point where Eternal is now only about 30 billion kilometers away from the star's planetary nebula. According to the Imperial College's estimate, the star's outermost nebula will reach Eternal in 1,000 years," said the prince.

"What will happen when the planetary nebula reaches the planet?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"The scalding cloud will ignite the planet's surface. All life will vanish. That's why Emperor Fille IV is always deeply worried. He is busy looking for a new planet for the empire," said the prince.

After a short chat, Fearless started approaching Planet Eternal.

"We're reaching the capital of the empire, Planet Eternal," Dondon, who was piloting the ship, reported.

Everyone looked out the window. A beautiful blue planet was presented before our eyes.

This was the first time Titan and Amethyst had ever seen their homeland, so the two fixed their gazes on the planet, not wanting to miss any detail from this encounter, which was over 100,000 years late.

As Fearless slowly entered Eternal's low orbit, the blue planet became clearer and clearer to us. The massive blue sphere's surface was decorated by numerous white clouds. The planet was about twice as large as Blue, and its surface was dotted with forests and oceans of different shapes.

About one million kilometers away from the planet, countless spaceships, flying machines, and warships could be seen flying about. Visitors here seemed to face fewer checks than what one would face visiting Lidu. Numerous trade stations were built near the planet. Some of the haulers would only make a stop at the trade stations before leaving, not bothering to actually enter the planet.

"To enter the planet, one needs to get through the checkpoint. All spaceships are required to do so. It is considered a crime to not do it, and it will result in an arrest by the Imperial Police Force," said Domo.

"What kind of an organization is that?" I asked.

"They're basically the emperor's personal guards, and they're only loyal to the emperor. They're independent of the regular army and have a higher rank in the government than the army. Their members are all clad in golden armor," said the prince.

"We're all considered alien races. The emperor once decreed that apart from those with a good relationship with the empire, all aliens are not allowed to land on Planet Eternal itself," said Domo.

"We have the golden pass, right? Isn't that the most effective entry pass?" asked Zhang Bao'er.

"Our pass belonged to the governor, and it's only usable by the natives of the Orion Constellation. It only works when presented to the palace guards. It is practically worthless here at the immigration checkpoint," said Domo.

"Can we go through with your disguise?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"My disguise won't work here. The checkpoint utilizes a scanner that can read the genetic makeup of all Orion Constellation life forms. Any foreign genetic makeup will not be able to get through," said Domo.

"Why is this planet so troublesome? Are there any gaps we can sneak through? We don't really want to use force and offend the emperor," said Zhang Xingxing.

Domo gave it some thought before saying, "I have a cousin running a trade station here. I can try to get his help."

"That's great! Take us to him!" said Zhang Xingxing joyfully.

"The thing is, um, you know," said Domo as he made a gesture asking for money.

"Apart from money, what else do you know?" said Zhang Bao'er.

"Apart from reneging on your debt, what else can you do?" retorted Domo.

"Bao'er, stop," commanded Zhang Xingxing. "Old Du, go get some diamonds from our storage."

Old Du moved immediately. Shortly after, he returned with a diamond the size of a basketball. Domo widened his eyes at the sight of the large diamond, not able to tear his eyes off it.

"How is it? This should be enough to pay for everything, right?" said Zhang Bao'er smugly.

"Enough, enough. Yes, probably enough," said Domo as he touched the diamond all over with his tiny hands before slowly moving the diamond to under his seat.

I did not know if I should laugh or cry looking at his antics. This Jido was truly too greedy. 

We followed Domo's guidance and flew toward a trade station 300,000 kilometers away from the planet. After passing numerous ships and trade stations, we arrived at a trade station with an emblem of a six-clawed beast.

"Here we are," said Domo.

"How much have our suits been charged?" asked Zhang Xingxing.

"Reporting to the team leader, all suits have been fully charged, including Dondon's suit," replied Dodo.

"Well done. Canyue, Old Du, and I will go to the trade station with Domo. The rest of you, standby in the ship," commanded Zhang Xingxing.

Zhang Bao'er appeared rather disappointed that he wouldn't get to visit. He grumbled silently. Since the command was already given, we needed to act on it. Old Du helped Domo with the diamond as we left the ship and walked toward the shop.

Numerous products were piled before the shop. Behind the station was the loading area where numerous goods were being unloaded from the haulers. Some sturdy-looking individuals of clearly different races were busily loading and unloading the products. The one who gave me the strongest impression was a six-armed individual that could carry six boxes of goods at once.

"Kado, business seems well for you. You must be rich now," said Domo to a short Jido who was busy swearing at a porter.

The Jido called Kado turned around and said, "Brother Domo, I thought you went somewhere to make some fast money from some thugs? Why are you here at my little shop?"

"I was passing by. When I saw how good your business was, I couldn't resist coming to see just how my brother had gotten so rich," said Domo with a wide smile.

"Rich my hammer. The Katars and Liyatens have been paying close attention to me. They will rip me off once a week without fail. I'm just looking for a place to blow off some steam," complained Kado.

"I can help you settle this once and for all. Shall we have a chat?" asked Domo.

At this time, Kado finally noticed the three of us behind Domo. His attention was especially attracted to the massive diamond Old Du was carrying.

"I knew you wouldn't come for no reason, kid. Come on in," said Kado.

We entered the shop together. The place looked messy, with products piled everywhere. I turned around to feel the door. When I saw that the door had not disappeared, I felt slightly relieved. Kado served us four glasses of green beverage. Some sort of bugs floated atop the beverage, almost causing me to vomit.

"Wow, green crystal. Kado, you have always been stingy. I can't believe you're suddenly so generous the moment you see a big diamond," said Domo before draining his glass in one gulp.

"Drink, this is good stuff," said Domo.

The three of us looked at each other. Out of respect for the host, Old Du picked up his glass and drained it. However, Zhang Xingxing hesitated because the drink truly looked disgusting.

"Why aren't the two of you drinking? Do you look down on my own drink?" asked Kado.

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"No. I’m drinking. What the hell is this? If you keep forcing me, I'll take this place apart!" I suddenly cursed.

Domo and Kado did not expect me to suddenly lose my temper, so they were slightly stunned. After a while, Domo said, "Boss, do not be angry. You don't have to drink it. Let me get you two glasses of plain water instead."

Zhang Xingxing gave me a look of gratitude while I gave Old Du a smug look. Old Du was maintaining a solemn look after suffering from his lack of stubbornness.

"Kado, we're here to do a transaction with you," said Domo.