CH 82

The sounds of a hauler docking came from outside the warehouse. I immediately gripped my laser gun and prepared for combat.

"Don't worry. It's my people," said Giorno.

Shortly after, three Liyate thugs came in from outside. The leader had an eye patch covering one of his eyes, revealing only a single intact eye on his face.

"Boss, you're finally back. I set off the moment I received Aaron's message," said the one-eyed Liyate.

"Um. I won't die so easily," said Giorno. "How's our emergency passage? I need to return immediately."

"Our headquarters is gone," said the one-eyed Liyate.

"What?" Giorno exclaimed in shock.

"The imperial police swept through the Miner's District and our stronghold. Fode was captured, and our brothers were scattered. Only my trade station out of the original four is left," said the one-eyed Liyate.

Giorno dropped weakly onto the ground.

"Boss, are you fine?" asked Aaron with concern.

After staring blankly for a few minutes, Giorno said, "My hard work for over a period of 10 years…just like that, that dogshit emperor, Fille IV, destroyed everything I built."

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"Boss, don't worry. We obtained so many treasures from raiding the college. We can easily rise again," consoled Aaron.

Seemingly agreeing with Aaron's words, Giorno slowly regained a little of his confidence.

"Great explorer, the Golden Book is gone. We weren't able to unveil its secret. Seeing that you have helped us escape, I'll send you to our trade station. We will part ways there," said Giorno.

"Thank you for the help, president. How about these students?" I asked.

"I will take them to the trade station before arranging passage to Lidu for them. After all, Jeferun is a member of the Brotherhood. I won't make things hard for him," said Giorno.

"Many thanks," said Zhang Xingxing.

"However, if I can get my hands on the Golden Book in the future, this fatty must decipher it for me," said Giorno.

"Agreed," I said.

At this time, Zhang Bao'er whispered to me.

"This Giorno guy is a two-faced snake. I can't believe he's letting us go so easily. Is there a trick somewhere?" he asked.

I blanked out slightly. Yes, Bao'er's worries were reasonable.

"I had contacted Dodo. They will arrive soon with Fearless," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Really? Great!" I said.

"Great explorer, let's go," said Giorno with a wide smile on his face.

"President Giorno, you can go without us. We will withdraw ourselves," I said.

Giorno's face sank when he heard that we weren't willing to go with him.

"Bao'er, I've arrived," Dodo's voice came from the system.

I was greatly relieved to hear Dodo's voice.

"Our ship is here. Giorno, do you want to visit our ship?" I said with a wide smile on my face. While speaking, I tightened my grip on my gun.

"Boss, a battleship appeared outside," said a Liyate thug after running into the room in a flustered manner.

Evidently, Giorno's hauler couldn't compare with our battleship.

"Hehe, since ancient times, heroes have always risen from among the young. This is it, then. I'm sure we'll meet again someday," said Giorno before leaving unhappily with his people.

The team was finally returned to Fearless, our aimlessly drifting yet warm home. After a series of thrilling experiences, including dying in a different timeline, I felt that Fearless was a paradise. Everyone took their suits off and rested on the ground the moment we boarded the ship. Dodo collected our suits before putting them away to recharge.

"Canyue, Dondon is still on Eternal. We need to pick him up as quickly as possible," said Zhang Xingxing.

"I tried contacting Dondon with our communication channel, but it didn't work. Planet Eternal's electromagnetic field is too dense, interfering with our channel," said Dodo.

"We need to return to Eternal as fast as we can. The Miner's District and the college have been swept through by the imperial army. I don't know how he's doing alone," I said.

"The imperial police has probably placed the entire planet on lockdown. The emperor will be on alert after our escape," said Zhang Bao'er, who was lying on the ground.

"Domo, we'll have to trouble you to take us to Kado yet again," said Zhang Xingxing.

"That fellow is an unscrupulous businessman. I reckon he will charge us double this time," said Domo.

"We are willing to pay him," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Even so, I can't work for free," Domo put forth his own request.

"We will pay you as well," I said before Zhang Bao'er had the chance to rage.

"Let's go, then," said Zhang Xingxing.

Dodo brought the ship to Kado's grocery store.

"Canyue, did you really travel through time?" Old Du asked me in private.

I shared my entire experience in the alternate timeline.

"I finally understand. The Dark Hall is an imprint preserved by solidified time of the moment after a supernova. The solidified time functions similarly to Jupiter II's core you saw before, capable of showing alternate timelines," said Old Du.

"Keep this a secret. I don't want everyone to remember this operation as a nightmare," I said.

Old Du nodded in agreement. Fearless traveled quickly through space. After experiencing the world of darkness in the black hole, the red Betelgeuse before me looked so very mesmerizing. After about 10 minutes, Kado's shop appeared before our eyes. The place was still bustling with activity. After the ship docked, Domo was the first to rush into Kado's shop.

"Brother, I'm here again," said Dodo to Kado's back.

Kado, who was fully focused on his accounts, was startled. He scolded, "You guys have created a massive mess. What a miracle that you were able to escape alive."

"What? You learned of my heroic deeds?" said Domo smugly.

"Heroic my ass. You fled like rats after losing to the imperial army and escaped through the sewers," said Kado.

"What? They're claiming that we escaped through the sewers?" said Domo in astonishment.

"Are you going to claim that you left on the emperor's carriage with your heads held high?" Kado sneered.

We did not know whether to laugh or cry upon learning about the empire's official version of the conflict.

"Kado, can you take us to Eternal again? We still have a friend stuck there," I asked.

"You still want to go to Eternal?" Kado asked.

"Yes. I need to pick up a friend. I also wish to continue to try to find a chance to meet the emperor," I said.

"Sigh. It is true. Birds of the feather flock together," said Kado.

"Brother, your face is looking very punchable. How much would you charge for this? Get to the point," said Domo.

"You think I'm like you?" said Kado. "The emperor wishes to meet Zhang Xingxing, the prince, and you."

Everyone was alarmed.

"The emperor has announced that he has agreed to an audience with Zhang Xingxing, Li Canyue, and Prince Toruse. Nobody is allowed to stop them. You can strut openly to the planet, and nobody can stop you," said Kado.

None of us had expected that.

"Is this a trap?" Zhang Bao'er asked.

"What do we do after you go?" Sarje asked.

"Since the emperor is giving us this chance, we should take the risk," I said.

"I agree with Canyue. Everyone else should wait here for us. We can also take this chance to look for Dondon," said Zhang Xingxing.

"Why didn't the emperor ask for me as well?" Zhang Bao'er grumbled.

"Canyue, I believe the emperor intends to talk terms with you. Exercise your judgment carefully," said Old Du.

"Don't worry. We won't agree to anything that goes against our conscience," I promised.

"Dodo, how are the suits?" Zhang Xingxing asked.

"Fully charged. You can set off anytime," said Dodo.

"I'll prepare a small hauler and send you to the checkpoint. I won't charge you for this, but if you want all these people to stay at my place, they will need to pay," said Kado.

"I thought you weren't greedy like me?" Domo cried out.

"This is a fair transaction," said Kado.

Everyone smiled seeing the antics of these Jidos who were natural-born merchants. The tense atmosphere also calmed somewhat.

"Since you're charging, you better supply us with nice food and drinks," said Zhang Bao'er.

"Don't worry. So long as you pay, I can provide the food of any race here," Kado declared with a wide smile.

Nevertheless, the three of us were not in the mood for a meal. We intended to set off immediately.

"Team leader, Canyue, prince, be careful. We will wait for you here," said Old Du.

"You be careful, brother," Zhang Bao'er said to me.

We nodded to them before heading to the hauler Kado had prepared for us. The hauler was an unmanned ship with a green light flickering at its front end. It carried us and flew toward the checkpoint leading into the planet.

"Prince, don't be in a rush to talk after seeing the emperor. Let's gauge his intentions first," I said.

The hauler reached the checkpoint after about 20 minutes. I saw that the patrolling battleships and fighters had doubled from when we were first here. It seemed like our successful escape had caused the emperor to tighten the security around the planet.

"All haulers line up according to the system's specifications before entering the checkpoint. Violators will be struck down," a mechanical voice rang out in our ship.

There was a long queue before the checkpoint. In fact, the line was so long that they had to make two circles in front of the checkpoint. The ships in line had various shapes and forms, displaying the numerous different cultures and technologies of the various civilizations. A countdown to inspection appeared on our display screen. We had to wait for 100 minutes before it was our turn to enter the checkpoint.

"I did not expect to see so many races entering the planet. A powerful empire is truly a place many people yearn for," remarked Prince Toruse.

"Don't worry, prince. Perhaps you will have your very own powerful kingdom in the future," consoled Zhang Xingxing.

We stood at the window and gazed upon the flourishing scene around us. The massive silhouette of Betelgeuse continued enveloping the planet with its radiance. Everything was moving in an orderly fashion. Witnessing the hustle and bustle of the planet, I momentarily forgot about war.

Di! Di! Di! The system started blinking. Without realizing it, our turn had arrived.