The Night of the Star Realm

The inn was not large, with only three floors.

Ji Xinghuo stepped onto the balcony outside his room. He could see the street dozens of meters away, bustling with crowds.

Looking into the distance, he could see only a small part of Olympia City.

This city was Earth's hub in the Star Realm. When it was first founded, it was governed by the Astral Defense Council (ADC). But over the following decades, the ADC gradually lost power, and global geopolitical conflicts flared up again, eventually evolving into today's multipolar world of two superpowers and two major powers.

Olympia City's sovereignty reflected Earth's political landscape as well.

Beginning decades ago, Olympia City had been roughly divided into four districts, each controlled by one of Earth's four major powers.

As the two superpowers, the Asia-Pacific Community and the Americas Federation naturally possessed the largest spheres of influence.

One controlled the East Xia District, while the other controlled the South Star District.

The remaining two major powers were the New Roman Empire and the Western Democratic Alliance.

All other nations had to rely on the four major powers just to secure a place in Olympia City.

Ji Xinghuo was in the East Xia District, which occupied one-quarter of the city. More than seventy percent belonged to the Asia-Pacific Community, while its allies and economic partners divided up the remaining thirty percent.

The East Xia District alone had a population of over five million!

Olympia City as a whole had a permanent population of more than twenty million. By Earth's ancient standards, that was an unimaginably enormous population.

For a city without technology or modern architecture to accommodate so many people, the only solution was to expand its urban area.

As a result, Olympia City was more than fifty kilometers long and wide.

The buildings within the city stretched on without end. There was no way to see where they stopped, yet no matter which direction one looked, a towering City Wall was always visible.

Besides Olympia, the various nations had built other cities far from the Stargate.

For example, the Asia-Pacific Community's Yan Huang City lay more than four hundred kilometers east of Olympia, while the Americas Federation's New Philadelphia was to the south.

More than twenty cities in total had opened up over a million square kilometers of territory for humanity.

However, Olympia remained the most important.

Only here could people travel back and forth between the Star Realm and Earth. It had the largest population, concentrated resources, and more than a million troops stationed by different nations. The dangers in the surrounding areas had been thoroughly cleared away, making it the safest place as well.

Ji Xinghuo planned to stay in Olympia for a while.

With more than twenty million people in Olympia, as long as he was careful, it would be difficult for the Sharp Sword Bureau to find him. It might not be like looking for a needle in a haystack, but it would not be easy either.

The moment he sensed trouble coming, he would immediately move elsewhere.

After watching from the balcony for a while, Ji Xinghuo returned to his room.

He opened the Myriad Stellar Eye interface. The three arrows were still there. When he turned his body toward the largest arrow, he immediately sensed guidance from afar once again.

"What exactly is it?"

Ji Xinghuo was quite expectant, but he did not impulsively rush over.

He stayed still and focused on sensing the arrow's direction, but no matter how hard he tried, he could not obtain any additional information. There was only that clear connection.

"Hmm?"

Ji Xinghuo suddenly frowned. "It can move?"

He continued sensing it for more than ten minutes before finally confirming that the direction indicated by the arrow was shifting. The movement was slight, but there was no doubt—it really had moved!

Ji Xinghuo's heart sank. This was definitely bad news!

There were two possibilities.

First, the thing itself could move. The odds of that were low; the Myriad Stellar Eye did not possess the ability to move.

Second, it was being carried by another creature.

"Could it have been swallowed by some Star Realm creature?" Ji Xinghuo guessed. "Or has someone else obtained it?"

If it was the latter...

Ji Xinghuo was startled. He could sense the other party, but could the other party sense him? What if that person was a terrifyingly powerful Star Realm expert and came straight for him? If he hid here, would he not bring disaster upon Olympia City and perhaps even implicate Earth?

Ji Xinghuo immediately became restless.

However, he did not act rashly. He remained in his room, constantly focusing on changes in the arrow's direction.

Time slowly passed.

Time flowed at the same rate in the Star Realm as on Earth. The difference was that a day in the Star Realm lasted 49.6 Earth hours, and there was more than just daytime and nighttime.

Between day and night was another period known as "star night," dividing each day into three stages.

A few hours later, Golden Radiance descended beyond the western horizon. The sunset cast Olympia in a layer of golden light.

When the last ray of sunlight vanished, a "moon" rose above the eastern horizon.

Ji Xinghuo observed this strange sight from the balcony.

The "moon" slowly climbed into the sky. It was half again as large as Golden Radiance, but less bright. Its silvery-white light was mingled with gorgeous blue, pouring down and enveloping the whole world in dreamlike moonlight, as if in a beautiful dream.

At the same time, stars began to light up in the distant heavens.

There were countless billions of these stars, impossible to count. They formed a galaxy that covered the entire sky. Most were extremely dim, but a small number shone brilliantly.

Everyone was familiar with this galaxy.

"The Milky Way Reflection!"

Ji Xinghuo let out a sigh of admiration.

Unlike viewing the Milky Way from Earth, in the Star Realm one could see the Milky Way in its entirety. There was no obscuring band and no dust blocking the view.

It was like looking down upon the entire galaxy face-on from tens of thousands of light-years away.

Astronomy could not explain this phenomenon at all.

There were many other incomprehensible things in the Star Realm.

For instance, that "moon" was not actually a moon. It was also a star. Astronomers believed it to be a blue-white supergiant. Following the terminology of the Star Realm's natives, it was called Silver Luminary.

Silver Luminary was more than a thousand times the size of Golden Radiance. It was simply extremely distant, so it was less bright than Golden Radiance and appeared only half again as large.

Besides Silver Luminary, there were four other "moons" in the sky.

The one that emitted scarlet, blood-red light was Crimson Flame Star; the one that gave off a faint, deep-blue glow was Azure Glow Star; the one resembling a spherical emerald was Emerald Star; and the last, shrouded in eerie purple light, was Violet Zenith Star.

Astronomers did not know whether they were stars or planets. They were roughly similar in size, positioned in different directions, each following its own orbital path and speed.

Sometimes the four stars could be seen during the day, while at other times they vanished even during star night.

But during the night, they were invisible most of the time.

Based on observational evidence, astronomers had reached a shocking conclusion: Golden Radiance, Silver Luminary, and the four colored stars all revolved around the Star Realm.

This was somewhat similar to the geocentric model from centuries ago, though it differed in many details.

Yet there was not even a conclusion as to whether the Star Realm itself was a planet.

Countless astronomers had racked their brains over this.

The length of star night was not fixed. It changed every day.

Based on the cyclical pattern of star night's duration, a Star Realm year was divided into two seasons: Hot Season and Cold Season. Each season had 328 days and was further divided into nine months. Each month had its own name. Most months had thirty-six days, while a few had one extra day.

A "day" here referred to the Star Realm's day length, which was 49.6 Earth hours.

It was currently Warm Moon of Hot Season, the fourth month of the year.

Star night lasted eleven Earth hours.

Ji Xinghuo never left his room at the inn, nor did he sleep. Every half minute, he sensed the arrow's direction once.

As Silver Luminary descended, the sky fell completely into darkness. The Milky Way Reflection and the four colored stars vanished as well.

Only then did true night begin.

The combined duration of star night and night was fixed, exactly equal to daytime, amounting to 24.8 Earth hours.

One cycle of daytime, star night, and night constituted a complete day in the Star Realm.

But tomorrow, star night would increase by 272 seconds.

During Hot Season, star night lengthened by 272 seconds every day. By the final day of Flourishing Moon, star night would last 24.8 Earth hours, equal to daytime, while night would shrink to zero.

That day marked the midpoint dividing the Star Realm year, and it was also when temperatures were at their hottest.

The following day marked the beginning of Cold Season.

During Cold Season, daytime was followed by night, and only then by star night.

On the first day of Cold Season, night lasted only 272 seconds. After that, it grew longer day by day as temperatures began to fall. By the final day of Cold Moon, night would be at its longest, while star night would shorten to zero.

Thus, eighteen months completed the two seasons, ending a 656-day Star Realm year.

One Star Realm year equaled 3.7 Earth years! Even during the night, Olympia remained brightly lit. Though there were no electric lamps or oil lamps, the Star Realm had many methods of illumination.

The most commonly used lighting in Olympia City was a type of crystal lamp whose main material was Nightlight Crystal.

It absorbed sunlight during the day to store energy, then glowed at night. Though it was not very bright, sufficient numbers could still provide illumination.

There were also several fluorescent plants that could light up streets and homes when cultivated there.

Looking out from the inn's balcony, points of light dotted Olympia City like stars. The city was like an isolated island in an endless ocean of darkness.

Ji Xinghuo gazed beyond the city and felt a strange illusion.

It seemed as though immense terror lurked within that unseen darkness.

In truth, night in the Star Realm was the most dangerous time. For most Hunting Teams and Aberrants who ventured out to explore, night was the greatest enemy they faced.

Ji Xinghuo did not sleep that night.

More than ten hours later, Golden Radiance rose again, illuminating the land.

It was his first day in the Star Realm. He spent the entire day inside his room at the inn, not even stepping outside to eat.

He cultivated diligently while keeping watch on the arrows' changes.

The second day, the third day...

Ji Xinghuo stayed at the inn for three days, then moved to another inn farther into the city, where he stayed until the seventh day.

He had already grown accustomed to the Star Realm's environment and climate.

Most importantly, over those seven days, Ji Xinghuo finally confirmed something.

The movement pattern of whatever the arrow pointed toward was synchronized with the Star Realm's daytime, star night, and night. It moved most frequently during the day, also moved during star night, and became completely still at night.

That meant the other party really was a "person," an intelligent species! However, the other party's movements were limited to a certain area, showing no sign of approaching him.

Ji Xinghuo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Only I can sense it, while it cannot sense me."

Though he did not dare be one hundred percent certain, he was more than ninety-nine percent sure. Otherwise, he would have had to return to Earth immediately. He would not dare remain in the Star Realm for even one more day.

When his own safety—and even Olympia City's safety—was at stake, no amount of caution was excessive.

On the eighth day.

When star night arrived, Ji Xinghuo slung a backpack full of cash over his shoulders and left the inn.