Chapter 1364 — Listening to the Ancestor Tell of Those Days Hanging in the Sky

Gao Yang opened his mouth and looked at Hedy with some surprise, then after a moment could not help laughing. "I always feel your understanding has gone a little off the mark, but it's no problem if you think that way."

Hedy pondered for a moment, then spoke with a thoughtful expression. "So, next you plan to have the Dragon Clan and the Sea Sirens help repair that... 'space station'? You hope to use the repaired station to counter whatever backup plans the Sentinels might have?"

"That would probably be too late, and it's a huge uncertainty—until it's actually tried, no one knows whether the Sea Sirens and the Dragon Clan can even understand the Pioneers' things," Gao Yang shook his head. "I do have plans to use the Pioneers' legacy against the Sentinels, but as for repairing the station... that's a long-term plan. Even if we start now, it will likely be a long time before there's any progress."

"Who knows about this now? How far do you intend to make it public?" Hedy asked again. "In the future, do you really intend to let the other Alliance member states also... 'share' all of this?"

"Now you know, Cassandra and Ashlaina know, and soon Byron's side will know too—everyone trustworthy and bearing heavy responsibility should know of this. And one day in the future, these things, including the Firmament space station and the satellite swarm, will inevitably be disclosed among all the Alliance's member states," Gao Yang had already made his decision. "The mortals of this planet will ultimately have to leave their cradle, whether to 'come of age' or to survive the demon tide that sweeps the whole universe. And as long as we intend to take this step, the Pioneers' legacy in space is something everyone will inevitably face.

"Crabs that drag each other back will never climb out of the cage. That's a very sensible proverb, especially in this world whose environment is none too friendly. The path of mortal progress is precarious at every step, and I am all the more unwilling to see everyone trapped and die on this planet in the end.

"Of course, we must not be blindly optimistic in this process, still less believe unconditionally that everyone can be as rational as we are. The luckiest thing in this process is that the Pioneers' space structures, the Firmament included, are all under my control. With this, we can exert the greatest influence while the Alliance comes into contact with the Pioneers' legacy, ensuring the process stays controllable."

"I understand," Hedy nodded gently. "Your considerations are indeed far deeper than mine..."

Gao Yang's mouth twitched. He somehow felt that Hedy had changed a little after learning these truths—if he had to put it into words, it was a bit more worship toward the Frostvein Sect, which was not at all what he had anticipated...

He could only say it was truly worthy of someone who had once studied magic, and who had blood flowing in her veins kindred to Rebecca's. This capacity for acceptance was simply beyond comparison with ordinary people.

Thinking of a certain iron-headed roe deer, Gao Yang could not help muttering to himself, "I wonder how that girl Rebecca will react once she learns these things..."

"Her? She probably can't think that far ahead," a faint smile rose unbidden on Hedy's face. "Her biggest reaction will likely be thinking 'The Ancestor is so amazing,' 'Truly worthy of my Frostvein Sect,' and then for a long time she'll be kept awake at night because she can't go around showing this off to everyone, or she'll pester you to tell her stories about those things hanging in the sky... Ah, that last remark was a bit improper, but I was speaking from Rebecca's way of thinking. I'll give her a beating later to make up for it..."

"Ahem," Gao Yang at once began coughing. "Isn't that a bit much?"

"I'm joking," the corners of Hedy's mouth suddenly quirked upward. "I'm also looking forward to seeing how that child will react."

For some reason, Gao Yang suddenly felt that Hedy was much more relaxed before him at this moment.

...

Beneath a clear night sky strewn with stars, the towering ancient "tower" stood between the sky and the sea. This was a magnificent sight seen for the first time in human history this season, and everyone standing beneath the giant tower at this moment could not help but feel a heroic pride at taking part in history.

Byron raised his head and gazed up at the deep night sky.

The optical masking system concealed the silhouette of that space megastructure, which would otherwise be observable from the planet's surface. But even if nothing could be seen, once one knew of the existence of that miraculous creation, one's frame of mind when looking up at the sky could hardly avoid a permanent change—especially when, in the process, one had also learned the "little secret" of the person one served. A change of mindset was all the more unavoidable.

"Honestly, did you understand all of that?" Ashlaina's voice came from beside him. The red-haired dragon-marked witch looked curiously into Byron's eyes in the night.

"Honestly, not entirely. Mostly the concepts about space stations and satellites and such..." Byron scratched his already messy hair. "I only understood that they're some very advanced technology that can keep certain facilities with important functions floating high above forever, orbiting the planet and so on... But the part about His Majesty, that I did understand."

"For 'non-professionals' like us, understanding that much is enough," Ashlaina let out a soft breath, as if relieving accumulated pressure. "Any thoughts?"

Byron thought carefully for a long while, countless reflections and a sudden enlightenment rising and falling in his heart. The old knight, who bore the title of the Empire's first Admiral of the Navy, cast his gaze toward the vast sea in the distance, and only after a long silence did he finally speak in a deep voice: "His Majesty is a badass."

Asarena: "..."

"Can't help it—that's the limit of my education. I can't even get through my daughter's grammar textbook," Byron spread his hands. "But one thing I can say for certain: once the war is over... this world is going to be truly turned upside down."

Meanwhile, elsewhere, Cassandra had just finished reporting to the Siren General Vanessa on her experiences aboard the Firmament Station.

Vanessa, a survivor of the "Great Fall," was deeply shaken—not since awakening near the crash site in Antavien hundreds of thousands of years ago had she felt such a shock.

"That ring-shaped megastructure we saw during our descent all those years ago..." the Siren General murmured to herself. "Hundreds of thousands of years, and the next time we come across intelligence of that kind, it has to be under circumstances like these..."

"General Vanessa," Cassandra glanced at the sisters behind Vanessa carrying out sentry duty, her expression turning grave, "on this trip... how many Deepwater Technicians and Abyssal Witches did you bring?"