The three girls went to work at the factory together for an hour every day. The factory robots would drive to the Orphanage to pick them up and drop them off, providing door-to-door transportation.
08 went to the factory with Xi Xiu and the others, while the Orphanage's real-time monitoring continuously tracked their whereabouts.
Their safety was well guaranteed. Vivian had Corinne accompany Xi Xiu and the others for seven days. Once she was sure there were no issues, she let the three of them go to work with the robot.
Study, training, work, and life were all exceptionally fulfilling.
Xi Xiu had successfully passed Level Nine Physical Combat and received her graduation certificate. From then on, she would have to rely on her own self-discipline to keep at it.
Xi Xiu had originally planned to wait for her opponent on the Virtual Network and thank him, but she never encountered that opponent again. The person seemed to have vanished into the Star Net like a fish entering the sea, leaving no trace to be found.
Xi Xiu actually felt a little regretful. That person was very powerful, a worthy opponent deserving of respect.
As if possessed, Xi Xiu wrote down the other party's ID. She thought that the sea of stars was so vast that she should remember this opponent who had given her so much guidance.
On October 7, Alliance Calendar 2805, Xi Xiu and the others got up early. After breakfast, they prepared to log into the Star Net to study, only to find that they could not log in no matter what they did.
Before long, they heard the notice calling everyone to assemble at the Orphanage. Xi Xiu and the other two quickly got dressed and went downstairs to the gathering point.
When they arrived, Vivian looked grave. Shally and Corinne were both there, as were the other Orphanage staff and children. Vivian had also activated the Orphanage's emergency defenses.
This was a defense activated only in wartime: a massive Protective Shield capable of withstanding one hundred attacks from an Atomic Light Cannon.
Ningkui Star's aerial defenses had also been activated. All Starships were hovering at the spaceport, ready to respond at any moment.
Vivian had received an order from the Central Brain at six in the morning. All defensive systems had to be activated and personnel evacuation arrangements completed within half an hour.
These were procedures they had practiced ever since arriving on Ningkui Star. The Central Brain required every star system to complete all defense and evacuation plans within half an hour of receiving an order.
"Everyone present, regardless of age, today is a serious time. I hope you listen carefully and remember every word I say." Vivian's tone was exceptionally stern.
"Yes!"
"From this moment onward, the Orphanage is under martial law. No one may leave, and no one will be allowed in until we receive the all-clear signal.
"The Central Brain has just sent word that the Inquira attacked the Tianwei Star System without warning on the evening of October 6, Alliance Calendar, attempting to seize our energy resources. The Alliance has already dispatched warships to drive them away. We will remain where we are and wait for news from the front lines.
"During this time, you are to stay in your dormitories and go nowhere. Pack your belongings. If we receive more urgent orders, I hope you will be ready to evacuate at any time. Do you understand?"
"Understood!" Everyone was solemn. Every Alliance citizen knew the importance of Tianwei Star.
It supplied energy to the entire Alliance. The convenient means of transportation they enjoyed now all existed because of Tianwei Star's Energy Stones.
The Alliance had explored countless unnamed star systems, yet it had still failed to find a new energy star.
Tianwei Star was something every Alliance citizen had to protect with all their strength. It was their responsibility.
Ningkui Star was neither particularly far from nor particularly close to Tianwei Star.
If the Inquira chose to change direction, there was a twenty percent chance they would come to Ningkui Star.
After receiving the order, Vivian had arranged the evacuation. As long as the news from the front lines proved unfavorable, the entire Orphanage would have to evacuate.
"Also, I will adjust the robots to protective combat mode. During martial law, do not neglect your studies or training. You must take the Alliance's safety as your own responsibility."
Some of the more than one hundred faces before her were still very young, while others had already grown up. If danger came, those older children would become the backbone of the Orphanage.
Though facing war head-on was cruel, it was something every Alliance citizen needed to be mentally prepared for.
After the assembly ended, Xi Xiu, Xue Fanhui, and the others returned to their dormitory and shut the door. 08 stood motionless in the living room, awaiting orders at any moment.
The Star Net could now be accessed normally. Its brief shutdown had been to block the news immediately, because there would always be people who exaggerated and spread such matters, causing panic.
Once everyone knew the Alliance had been invaded, the Central Brain reopened the Star Net so citizens could check updates in real time.
Xi Xiu, Xue Fanhui, and Zhen continued receiving news from the front lines.
Xi Xiu opened the live news on Channel One and saw footage of the Inquira attack.
The Inquira were not particularly pleasant to look at. Most of them did not have human forms and differed greatly from humans.
They had been required to familiarize themselves with the appearances of the five hostile star-system species since childhood, but this was still the first time they had seen living Inquira on the Star Net.
The number of views on the Star Net's reports grew geometrically as everyone followed the war's progress.
A great deal of frontline footage was uploaded to the Star Net. This was Xi Xiu's first direct encounter with interstellar war since coming to the Alliance.
The enormous objects in space were Inquira warships. This time, the Inquira had deployed nearly half their military strength: five thousand warships, each carrying two hundred thousand people, advancing on Tianwei Star.
Cannon fire blossomed in the depths of space, instantly illuminating the dark, silent sea of stars. Beautiful and cruel.
Alliance soldiers would finish assembling within an hour and immediately use the military passage. After an hour-long faster-than-light jump, the Alliance's strongest forces would arrive at Tianwei Star.
Before then, Tianwei Star's stationed forces should be able to hold out.
It felt as though someone had seized Xi Xiu's heart, making it difficult for her to breathe.
She had just seen how dangerous the front lines were in the footage.
She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and forced the discomfort from her heart away. She still had to work harder. She had not been serious enough these past years.
She knew war was brutal and had prepared herself to serve at the frontier, but if she was not strong enough, then if she encountered a war like this, she might not return alive to fulfill her dream of traveling across the stars.
After all, a single Atomic Light Cannon could blow away nearly half of a small warship.
The weapons in this star region were simply too powerful.
Xue Fanhui was also very nervous. She had not expected the Inquira to develop new weapons again. The light cannons in the footage had one-third greater destructive power than the Alliance's latest light cannons using the same technology.
Seeing such a scene, Zhen did not feel as burdened by the immediacy of it. She was destined not to go to the battlefield unless the entire Alliance fell.
She was only worried about those soldiers, because this was the path her two roommates would walk in the future. They would go to the front lines and stand at the very forefront.
Zhen felt incomparably heavy-hearted. She actually no longer wished for Xi Xiu and Xue Fanhui to possess outstanding talent. That way, they could at least remain together, safe and ordinary, yet happy.
All three of them were equally solemn. This war had accelerated their maturity, both mentally and emotionally.
War had affected Xi Xiu the most. After all, she had grown up in a peaceful star system. The cruelest wars she had seen were historical images of their ancestors fighting in blood.
Those conflicts had already caused enormous casualties, let alone a war between stars.
A single warship carried hundreds of thousands of military personnel.
The number of warships mentioned here was revised following a reader's reminder. Thank you, reader. Bow.
Before you continue