I'm Home, Grandma!

Cole led the Taotie soldiers with swift movements. It was clear that each of them must have been absolute elites within the Taotie combat ranks.

If the Taotie had been constantly searching for suitable candidates outside for these past few hundred years, it was no wonder that the loss of over a dozen squads would cause Cole such heartache.

The warship's damage exceeded 60%, and many components were beyond repair under the current conditions. In other words, the warship had lost all value for maintenance.

However, they couldn't completely abandon it either; this was their only refuge at the moment. Without the warship, they couldn't proceed to the next stage of their plan.

Cole stepped over the damaged corridor, his tactical goggles constantly refreshing the damage reports. This warship, once the pride of the Styx Galaxy, was now like mechanical wreckage gnawed by an ancient beast.

The spherical chamber, originally inlaid with high-purity Light Energy lenses, now only had a twisted neutron degenerate alloy framework remaining. Of the thirty-two sets of faster-than-light particle receivers, twenty-seven were permanently offline due to the quantum decoherence effect.

Repair crews were attempting to patch the cracks with molecular welders, but the cracks were too large, and the ship's reserve supplies were insufficient to maintain the effort.

With this level of damage, they should have been destroyed long ago according to past war experience, not given the chance for slow repairs. This was also why they didn't have such extensive reserve supplies.

"Report, Officer Cole. The warship's losses have exceeded expectations. The central system is almost offline. The weapon systems are paralyzed, the detection systems are seventy percent damaged, and only one engine is still operational."

Cole irritably rubbed his temples, but as an elite commander, he regained his composure in moments.

"Take note, I am making the following deployment:

Take out all reserve supplies from the cargo hold. Prioritize the life support system, then the communication system. Allocate energy primarily to the engines and the central system.

Ensure the warship can still maintain flight. Finally, send out a communication ordering the teams still searching outside to abandon their missions immediately and come for reinforcement. Do not waste any more soldiers' lives.

Tell them we have found hope!"

"Yes! I'll send the message immediately." The Science Officer seemed stimulated by the word "hope" in his words, his expression becoming particularly fervent.

"Go. Even a minute sooner might save another warship from sacrifice."

Time always passed quickly when one was busy. This was even more true for Yuan and the others now. The star was in the distance, and without sunrise and sunset, the concept of time had become blurred.

"Central system rebooting, performing system check."

"Weapon systems offline, life support system damaged, flight system damaged, monitoring system damaged, warship energy remaining 27%."

"Set destination: Barren Star System Planet No. 3. All personnel prepare, engines will engage shortly. Departing."

Yuan, sitting nearby, was awakened by the central system's announcement. Although there were no reference points, he could somehow feel the warship's speed through the slight curvature of space outside.

"Your Excellency, I believe you may need to see these. Please follow me."

Cole's voice reached Yuan's ears. He looked up and saw Cole beckoning him over.

With the assistance of his battle armor, Yuan hadn't yet fully mastered his own strength. However, with careful control, walking a short distance was not a problem.

"This is?"

"This is your homeland?"

"So I've been living on a ball all this time?"

When Yuan saw the planet's full profile through the observation window, his fingers unconsciously traced the glass.

This pale blue planet, bathed in the light of its star, appeared so beautiful from the Taotie warship's wide-angle lens.

Beside him, the Science Officer operated the central system to project a three-dimensional holographic display of Planet No. 3. With a wave of his hand, the projection, the size of an apple, instantly enlarged.

The light from the projection caught Yuan's attention. After Cole tapped a few times on the projection, he introduced:

"37.2 degrees North latitude, 121 degrees East longitude. This was the position calculated by our systems before they were damaged. Based on the scanned trajectory, you should have been living there.

I apologize, we lack the ability to detect subspace information, so we cannot determine if the location is accurate. However, you should be able to."

"That's right, this is my home."

In the holographic projection, Yuan saw his familiar village, so small, nestled in a mountain hollow like an ant nest.

The stream where he fetched water every day appeared as a river traversing the continent from the projection's perspective; the mountain peak he once thought reached the heavens was merely a slight wrinkle on the planet's surface.

Yuan suddenly remembered when he was seven, his grandmother holding him as they lay on a haystack watching a meteor shower. "Every star is a spark scattered by the Creator God,"

The old woman's rough finger pointed to the night sky, "Just like the embers from our hearth, they will find their destination someday."

Only now did he realize that those stars were truly 'big embers.'

However, Yuan's brow furrowed slightly. From the real-time projection, there were no signs of life here. Even the banyan tree at the village entrance, which had lived for hundreds of years, was now just dead branches.

Immediately, a bad premonition filled his heart.

"Let's speed up. I want to see her soon." Yuan's will, his first expressed in the warship, echoed.

"Of course, as you wish, Your Excellency!"

Before the words fell, the warship accelerated, quickly arriving at its destination.

"Screech!"

"Bang!"

As white mist billowed, the warship's hatch fell away. The massive hatch crashed to the ground with a loud bang, drawing an angry glare from Cole.

The Science Officer awkwardly explained, "Apologies, Officer. The warship is too severely damaged, and supplies are insufficient. The temporary parts couldn't withstand the 3000°C plasma scorching during atmospheric entry through the ionosphere."

"Never mind, it's not your fault."

"Officer, should we follow?" he said, gesturing with his hand towards Yuan, who was slowly walking onto the familiar path.

"No need, let Your Excellency have some time to calm down alone. All of you go up and get the detection systems online quickly. This planet is a bit strange."

"Yes, Officer!"

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

The silent village was empty. The armor on Yuan's feet made crisp sounds on the stone-paved road, which felt particularly jarring here.

The village wasn't large, and in a blink, Yuan arrived at his home. Looking at the closed wooden door and the scattered white paper around it, his heart felt exceptionally heavy.

"Hoo!" Yuan slowly took a breath and then pushed open the half-ruined wooden door with both hands.

"Creak!"

Empty. The signs of life were gone.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, Yuan seemed to discover something and walked over to the pile of firewood nearby.

"It seems to be the same number as when I left. Could it be?" A thought entered his mind, and he immediately walked towards the mountainside behind the house.

That was the village's graveyard. Those who died in the village were buried here. Grandma had told him before that this was the best place in the village.

It was nestled against the mountains and water, and one could see the earliest sunrise.

"Zorya! Aged 82!"

The moment he saw the tombstone, a crystal tear slid from Yuan's eye. He opened his mouth, sensing a hint of saltiness flowing in his mouth.

Then, he slowly sat down beside the tombstone, watching the sunrise beside him, his face etched with an ugly smile.

"I'm home, Grandma!"

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