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Marching Toward the Peak

The soldiers carried the coffins containing the martyrs' remains onto the conveyor belt one by one, where they were cremated. In the end, they would be buried in the soil of Dawn Star Planet.

That was their new Homeworld, the Homeworld of the Fourth Civilization that they had defended with their lives.

Returning to the earth was the lifelong wish of every person, and it would also become the Fourth Civilization's most sacred rite.

Watching the scene before him, Tang Xiao felt a fire knotting in his chest, demanding release. Though all he needed to do at this moment was maintain his posture of silent mourning, he felt that he owed an explanation to these fallen martyrs—and to all those still living.

"...Fate brought us aboard this mothership and gathered us together. Fate brought us to this unknown universe and made us face countless challenges. And it was fate that, when we had only just begun, brought those vicious pirates to our doorstep."

"We can complain about everything, but please remember this: fate has never told us to give up."

Tang Xiao swept his gaze over everyone present before continuing. "If someone asked whether I believed in fate, I would tell them that I did—and that I did not."

"I believe that everything has its arrangement in the unseen. I believe that an invisible hand behind the scenes has always controlled all living beings. But I do not believe—I do not believe that any person, any existence, can decide our future! Raise your hands, and all things in the world are within your grasp. Take a step forward, and the road to the future lies beneath your feet!"

"If someone tells me I am destined to fall, then I will tell him that I will walk more steadily than anyone else! If my feet are not enough, I will use my hands. If my hands are not enough, I will seize the hands of countless people! But we will never fall! We will never submit to this so-called fate!"

"Our Fourth Civilization has endured too much! The ravages of three great disasters took everything from us! We lost the Milky Way Galaxy, we lost Earth, we lost our Homeworld! But now, we have come here! To this new universe!"

"We will not fail again!"

"We will fight without end!"

"We will rise again!"

"Because we are the Fourth Civilization!"

After speaking, Tang Xiao stepped down from the platform and personally lifted an urn of ashes. He called out loudly, "A salute to the forty-two martyrs, and to the countless martyrs yet to come!"

"Salute to the martyrs!" everyone shouted in unison. They stood at attention and saluted, tears glimmering in their eyes.

The soldiers on both sides worked their bolts and pulled their triggers. Crisp bursts of assault-rifle fire rang out, seeing all the martyrs off on their final journey.

Tang Xiao looked at those pairs of fervent eyes, took a deep breath, and a faint flicker of electricity seemed to flash in his palm.

On a sunny hillside on Dawn Star Planet, lush green grass stretched beneath the bright sunlight. A gentle breeze brushed past, setting the grass rustling as the scent of nature washed over them.

Tang Xiao stood at the crest of the hill, gazing silently at the forty-two new graves. Before each grave stood a tombstone shaped like a four-armed spiral galaxy, engraved with the martyr's name and life story.

As he sank deeper into his role as Administrator, Tang Xiao felt himself gradually becoming immersed in this world and accepting his place within it. Especially when faced with these forty-two sacrifices, he realized that he could no longer view everything as a mere observer.

He was grieving, impassioned, frustrated, exhilarated. Everything was for the countless living beings of this world.

Yes. He was one of them now.

He looked up at the sky. The enormous gaseous planet Endor hung overhead, filling more than half his view. Tang Xiao muttered, "What exactly did you want me to do by bringing me to this universe? Since you refuse to say, then I'll go and do it... do what I want to do..."

Tang Xiao's eyes gradually burned with intensity as his gaze lowered toward the thriving town ahead.

Dawn City, a city still growing.

The city no longer resembled the shantytown it had once been. Four- and five-story buildings had begun to rise, while enormous wind power stations stood around the outskirts, their slender blades slowly turning in the wind.

At the foot of the distant mountains, the mines had been completed. Steelworks and processing plants had begun operating, purified white vapor billowing from their tall smokestacks. Trucks laden with goods traveled back and forth between the mines, factories, and city.

Near the lakeshore stood four large hydroponic farms, each more than fifty meters in diameter. Their hemispherical glass domes completely sealed the farms inside, simulating Earth's climate in order to grow all kinds of Earth crops.

More than a dozen fishing boats worked busily on the lake, casting their nets to harvest its nearly inexhaustible fish resources. The lake connected to Dawn Star Planet's underground water network, so it could be said that every species of fish on the planet could be caught here.

The open-air farms and livestock bases lay on the other side of the city, where diligent agricultural workers operated advanced farming machinery.

There was also a giant shit collector built inside a secluded canyon. All the wastewater and waste produced by the city and factories, along with vast amounts of excrement, were processed there. Naturally, that entire area was off-limits to outsiders.

Still, given Dawn Star Planet's unique terrain, the giant shit collector truly did serve the purpose of protecting the environment and centrally processing wastewater.

Of course, one had to get used to having a mountain of shit near one's home—or rather, a shit-like mountain.

Dawn City's population had already surpassed five thousand, and facilities of all kinds were gradually being established. The fire department, public security bureau, water and power departments, administrative offices, and more were already in operation.

There were even two schools in the city. However, because most of the city's residents were adults of working age, while the adopted Cryo-embryos mainly learned through information input, both schools were vocational institutes.

One school taught various professional subjects for residents seeking to broaden their abilities, while the other specialized in teaching Galactic Standard. There were also plans to establish schools for children, but with construction needed everywhere, those plans had been delayed.

However, the city's development had now reached a bottleneck. The Modular Buildings carried by the mothership had been used up, and new structures would have to be built locally from available materials. Cement, steel reinforcement, factory equipment, and parts would all require dedicated factories to manufacture them.

Tang Xiao walked down the hillside and entered Dawn City. Everything was orderly here, and every resident had thrown themselves into their bustling work. Though there was always more work than they could finish each day, everyone felt heartfelt joy as they watched Dawn City grow day by day through their own hands.

This was their Homeworld.

"Greetings, Administrator."

"Salute to you!"

"Administrator, these are pumpkins freshly grown at our farm. Would you like to try some?"

When they saw Tang Xiao enter the city, the residents greeted him one after another, but none of them let it disrupt their work. They briefly paused what they were doing, bowed to Tang Xiao, then immediately returned to their tasks.

Tang Xiao smiled and greeted each of them. At the same time, he made a silent decision in his heart—

That was right. If you brought me across worlds, then from this moment on, I will climb to the pinnacle of the Milky Way Galaxy!

Thanks to Zuo Ren Nan Nan Zuo Ren for the 5,000 Qidian Coin donation!! Thanks to Quan Mian Wei Guan for the 1,500 Qidian Coin donation!!