2158

After the thin thread of cause and effect dissipated, a tiny blue-gold leaf slowly emerged in the assessment results section of the Hard-Shell Register.

"Vaksya certification, student Jingxing, qualified." The Chief Examiner closed the roster, his voice dry as if he had been somewhat upset.

The tall, thin priest was still trying to argue about the "illogical reasoning" of the regulations when a deep, rumbling roar came from the berth in the distance—the engine of the Chasing the Moon had forcibly broken the logic lock and started its own fire.

The Personal Terminals that had been blocked for more than ten days also started vibrating wildly at this moment.

The Chief Examiner looked at him and said, "You can go now."

"What's the rush? We haven't settled the score yet." Jingxing put away the Cloud-Washing Ink-Tracer and glanced towards the Back Hill. "Those hundred-plus tombstones on the Back Hill, and that Company Employee who swept the floor for you for ten years—someone has to claim them."

He had no interest in debating with these rigid-minded priests. He pulled out his phone, logged into the Traditional Projects Department's intranet, and sent Kenneth Zaitian a coordinate: [Yaxche, there's a batch of old, messy accounts and over a hundred sets of skeletal remains. Bring people to clean up the mess.]

The reply came very quickly: [Received.]

These old academics are bound by rules, so let the company's bureaucrats, who are best at bureaucratic wrangling and bureaucratic wrangling, deal with them.

Three days later, a black spaceship with gold trim crashed heavily onto the White Sand Ground. Kenneth, collar wide open, carrying an old leather suitcase, jumped off the gangway and led a team of smartly uniformed commissioners, leaving the Academy speechless with three thousand pages of airworthiness and repatriation documents covered in official seals.

The inscription on the Back Hill was rubbed and sealed in a box. After thirty years of hard work, old Fansuos received his back pay for his continuous years of service up to yesterday and his pension. With tears streaming down his face, he handed Jingxing a worn-out copper pen with a thirty-year-old petition inscribed on it.

As for the tender leaf that actually grew out of the crack in the lecture hall floor tiles, the Technical Research and Development Department staff who came with the Traditional Projects Department treasured it. They dug it up with chisels overnight, stone slab and roots intact, and placed it in the Specimen Room at the deepest part of the room.

Jingxing, too lazy to look at their expressions of both reverence and trepidation, dusted off his hands and boarded "Chasing the Chasing the Moon."

"Goodbye, and I hope we never meet again." The Chief Examiner bowed slightly as he descended the gangway.

"Alright, let's go back." Jingxing waved his hand from the cabin door. "Don't try to grab people in the sky next time. Not everyone wants to do tests with you guys."

The hatches are locked, Chasing the Moon breaks free from gravitational pull, leaving a trail of flames.

The pale plains outside the window receded rapidly, and the Silver-White Giant Tree that pierced the void once again transformed into a cold glimmer on the horizon.

Just as the spaceship climbed to the edge of orbit, the entire sky darkened for a moment without warning.

The sky remained clear, yet the vast expanse of white sand on the entire planet seemed to be lifted up by an invisible hand, suspended in mid-air for a moment, before falling back to its original position in unison. At the edge of the plain, the Silver-White Giant Tree slowly lowered its massive canopy, bowing slightly in greeting to the distant beings.

The next second, the hammer struck.

The sound was so loud that its source and echo were indistinguishable, like a heavy hammer striking the universe. The pressure penetrated to the bone through the armor, every rivet in the cabin resonated faintly, and all the monitoring indicator lights simultaneously emitted a dazzling amber light.

From the direction of the Academy, the Ancient Giant Bell, silent for centuries, suddenly rang out on its own.

In the center of the console, a line of amber characters, forcibly displayed by the Interastral Peace Corporation's Underlying Protocol, remained fixed on the main screen:

"The Amber Era 2158 begins today."

Jingxing held the control lever and watched quietly for a while.

The company records his tenure as spanning 723 Amber Era, but he actually lived for only about twenty years. History turns a page; it's just that the giant in the depths of the universe has piled up another stubborn rock.

Jingxing reached for the paper cup on the counter and took a sip of coffee.

"Homage to the new era." A bitter chill ran down his throat. "And homage to those unlucky souls who didn't get to see the calendar change."

The sketchbook turns to a new page, the charcoal pencil moves swiftly horizontally, and at the end, a tiny amber-colored dot is made.

The tiny, intertwined lines on my palm trembled slightly, as if silently urging me on.

"What's the rush? We're leaving now." Jingxing said with a laugh, pushing the valve all the way down.

The Chasing the Moon trailed a straight white wave across the sea of stars, leaving Yaxche far behind.

The spacecraft broke out of the gravitational field completely, and the Public Channel, which had been silent for many days, suddenly exploded.

Dozens of news articles and push notifications flooded the screen like an avalanche, accompanied by jarring alerts. Jingxing was filling a tub of hot water when a highlighted news flash on the radio made his wrist freeze in mid-air:

"... The Interastral Peace Corporation officially announced: The long-lost Jarilo-VI has officially resumed interstellar network connectivity today. The shipping routes have been Trailblaze and expanded by the Astral Express, and the first interstellar trade voyages are expected to depart soon..."

Jingxing raised an eyebrow.

"They've already Trailblaze a new planet? Those guys are really efficient."

The image of the disheveled gray-haired girl in the Herta Space Station, wielding an iron ball and refusing to let go, flashed through his mind, as did the pink-haired girl named March 7th.

Jingxing casually created a temporary group chat on the terminal and pulled all the members of the Astral Express into it.

He tore off a sticky note, grabbed a charcoal pencil, and sketched a section of the Astral Express's front end with a few strokes. A snowball, almost melting, was still atop the front. He took a picture and sent it to the group chat.

[Jingxing: Sure, that's much faster than the staff in the company.]

Of course, just talking isn't very sincere, so he casually sent a red envelope in the group chat.

The next second, the previously quiet group chat was instantly flooded with messages.

[March 7th: Wow! You're incredibly well-informed! We just got on the bus in Belobog!]

[Himeko: Mr. Jingxing, is there something you need?]

[Star: Hey, you got the fewest on March 7th.]

[March 7th: Huh?]

The next second, both March 7th and Xing fell silent. Jingxing guessed that the two of them were probably getting physical on the train.

Turn off the group chat and Jingxing to the pinned private chat interface.

The Robin left a message three days ago. "Remember to let me know you're safe if you see this."

Jingxing replied, "I just got rid of some trouble and incidentally Trailblaze a new market for the company."

The Robin replied almost instantly with a cartoon version of itself as an emoji.

Jingxing smiled and slid his fingertip to the topmost profile picture.

There were over a dozen unread messages, spanning the past ten days:

[Fu Xuan: It's been three days. Where are you now?]

[Fu Xuan: It's been a week. The affairs of the Divination Commission are numerous and demanding. I'm not deliberately urging you, just making a schedule reminder.]

[Fu Xuan: Ten days have passed... Please reply quickly after reading.]

The last message, posted this morning, almost overflowed the screen with the Diviner anxiety and barely perceptible disarray beneath the surface, conveying a palpable sense of trying to maintain the dignity of a diviner.

Jingxing composed himself and typed his reply:

[Jingxing: I just resolved a few issues; we'll be at Luofu soon.]

There wasn't even a "typing" hover on the other end; a message popped up directly:

[Fu Xuan: Hmm.]

He followed immediately with another comment, as if unwilling to give up:

[Fu Xuan: But you've made me worry for so long. You'll have to explain yourself properly when we get to Luofu. Be careful on the road...]