031 Valkyrie Fortress

If he really killed himself, would Li Aoz feel sad?

I'm afraid not, because I'm nobody. Even though Li Aoz doesn't like me at all, I keep pestering him.

She raised her hand to cover her head, her pale hair forming feather-like shapes as it cascaded to the ground like a waterfall.

—This version of myself is utterly despicable.

'secret...'

The reason I've become like this is all due to hidden mistakes.

It is Gaia from the [Hidden Society] who, through constant calling and seduction, transformed herself into this hideous monster.

She described herself as a "tailor" and a noble member of parliament.

But Gaia never said that becoming Secrecy's Citizen comes at a price.

In the cold and terrifying black desert Outland, when I was lost and confused, a helping hand secretly reached out, which was a life-saving straw.

Since it saved a life, it seems understandable that a small price should be paid as a reward.

But isn't this price a bit too heavy?

'confidence.'

As a "tailor," Gaia took away her "confidence" quality.

Perhaps, I shouldn't have resisted; I shouldn't have voluntarily left the influence of the "Hidden Society" at the "Sailor's " instruction.

Obediently, as Gaia's daughter, she integrates into the secret family, assisting the Hidden Society in its invasion and slaughter, devouring more civilizations, and gaining more sisters and brothers.

But can I really accept this outcome?

'I don't want Li Aoz to know that side of me.'

She knew about the "Imitation Society" and the Imitation Human, and she also knew that Li Aoz's friend had died at the hands of society.

If Li Aoz dislikes me, if Li Aoz finds out I'm Social Citizen...

don't want.

Rather than be seen, I'd rather be dead—no, if I die, then Li Aoz will lose another invaluable treasure. Will he hate me for it, thinking, 'What a useless thing, he didn't even get to serve me properly before he died on his own, without considering other people's feelings at all'?

That kind of ending is completely undesirable.

But what should she do? The person who was ' Yawen·Hesksin ' is dead, but the ' Yawen·Hesksin ' who is the [Tailor] is still alive.

One day, the secrets will come knocking, just like "The Sailor"—the man who evaded the secrets for countless years, Igolai·Matthew. Even though he fled to the Azure Planet, the secrets eventually found him.

What should I do? I can't run away.

Fighting is impossible; she can never overcome society. Even the process of turning into a monster due to the loss of control over the Blood of Ether is beyond her control. Perhaps she will frequently enter this state in the future.

Now it seems that perhaps the only thing she can do is to use her last bit of time to help Li Aoz as much as possible before the secret comes knocking.

Please help this poor, lonely boy who has accepted ' Ya Wen '.

Ya Wen thought to herself.

A moment later, she saw the energy cluster reactivated. "Have a safe journey, dear Li Aoz."

Ya Wen lowered her head and retreated into the darkness.

Buzz! Li Aoz tore through the teleportation energy cluster. The [Lioz's Armor] and [Overlord Mode] were already activated on him. After emerging from the Teleportation Node, he lightly sprang into space and began to accelerate.

In the distant Galaxy's Eye star system, fighting was still raging—however, since he could see golden streaks of light and bursts of high-energy rays, it meant that he was watching a battle from several years ago.

Interstellar Civilization civilizations differ from Narrative-level Civilization in that the speed of information transmission is limited to the speed of light. In contrast, every inch of land on Narrative-level Civilization shares the same sunrise and sunset.

A domineering, Narrative-level Civilization doesn't need to worry about the impact of the speed of light on time. Within the scope of their laws, their territory is like an unfolded map, a two-dimensional world. And they can directly modify their territory arbitrarily from three-dimensional space.

Li Aoz's goal was clear: he flew along the D-9090-Sl route at near-light speed, passing two giant stars and using their gravitational slingshot to continuously increase his speed. When he finally accelerated to one-sixth the speed of light, he had already arrived at his target location.

—Valkyrie Fortress.

This is an extremely large interstellar fortress with a spherical, hollow design. It generates gravity through centrifugal force from its rotation. Its pale appearance makes it easy to mistake for an asteroid or other object in space. However, the fortress itself is equipped with a powerful Teleportation mechanism that can directly command any living being within 3 light-years of it via psionic communication.

Valkyrie Fortress is a rare no-man's-land in the Abyss, with a radius of 590,000 kilometers and a docking Starport of 10 million kilometers, welcoming any faction and any race of behemoths to rest here at any time.

As an independent faction, Valkyrie Fortress located in a star system where three Narrative-level Civilization civilizations coexist. However, instead of causing conflict or controversy, this place has become a universally recognized wasteland.

It wasn't because the three Narrative-level Civilization were kind-hearted, but because the Keibo Star Cluster, where Valkyrie Fortress was located, was poor.

Poor, I mean 'fuck poor'.

There has never been a place where even Narrative-level Civilization couldn't find anything worthwhile; the only place with a sun in the entire Keibo Star Cluster is the Upper Arm.

This last sun is gradually turning into Red Giant Star, but even if it changes, everyone can still get by.

Then one day, this Red Giant Star disappeared.

It's gone in the literal sense.

Rumors circulated that Red King of the "Plunder Soul" stole the Red Giant Star, prompting the residents of the Interstellar Alliance Keibo Star Cluster to angrily denounce Red King as shameless for robbing them of their life-sustaining resources.

It is precisely for this reason that the United Company, one of the Narrative-level Civilization, took the initiative to build a massive Valkyrie Fortress for its inhabitants to live in and manage.

This is considered by the public to be a rare act of kindness by the United Company.

—Bullshit.

According to Li Aoz, this whole thing is pure nonsense. It's mostly true that Red King stole the sun, but the United Company built Valkyrie Fortress purely to create a lawless black market to help them reduce the costs of exiling prisoners, conducting human experiments, hiring labor, and transporting sensitive goods.

Moreover, half of the control of this fortress is held by the mercenaries of the [United Company]. After it was transformed into a free port, all the extraordinary beings from the Layer Abyss to the Realm Abyss came here to dock, rest, and do business. The taxes alone have made the [United Company] a fortune.

Narrative-level Civilization are always like this: you think you've arrived at a place where it doesn't exist and has no influence, but that place might actually be something created by Narrative-level Civilization.

"Number-CBZ-114, you are rapidly approaching us. Please state your purpose and register."

A gentle voice immediately echoed in Li Aoz's mind.

"My name is Lioz, and I come from the Crystal Tower Civilization. I intend to apply for political asylum and use your Interstellar Route. I have identification documents as a citizen of Interstellar Civilization, and according to the Interstellar Alliance Convention, I can apply for temporary residency."

Li Aoz answered readily and used his Mental Power to present his identity document.

"Understood. We have received your identification consciousness. Please proceed to harbor 514-1919-810 for identity verification and authentication."

"Choosing Valkyrie, that's the philosophy of life."

"Welcome to Valkyrie Fortress. Have a pleasant stay."