Star Gate Opens
In the boundless Star Sea, not a single star could be seen for billions of miles.
Darkness was the sole ruler here. There was no light, no sound, no life—only the cold void and the occasional cosmic dust drifting past.
Deep within this deathly silence, an enormous Star Fortress floated silently, like a slumbering ancient behemoth.
Deep inside the fortress was the command hall.
A massive projection displayed the starry sky outside in its entirety. Within the galaxy stood a colossal triangular star gate.
Its three pillars were like columns holding up the heavens, each several hundred zhang thick. Dark blue energy patterns flowed across their surfaces. Between the pillars, a curtain of light rippled faintly like the surface of water; spatial energy was gathering there.
Mu Lei stood at the command console, both hands pressed against its surface, his gaze fixed through the mystic window on the star gate.
He stood as straight as a spear, the stars on his epaulets glinting coldly beneath the lights. He had been standing there for a long time—so long that the advisors beside him had changed shift after shift—yet he had not moved. He wanted to witness the star gate's activation with his own eyes, to see the Empire's reinforcements set foot in this starry expanse.
"Star gate energy charge has reached eighty-seven percent!"
"Spatial stability check complete. Fluctuation levels are within the safe range."
"Coordinates locked. Establishing a passage to Imperial Headquarters."
Report after report echoed through the hall. Every piece of data was checked again and again, every procedure controlled with utmost rigor.
"Governor!" An adjutant approached him and said quietly, "All systems have been checked. We can activate it at any time."
Mu Lei fell silent for a moment before slowly asking, "Any movements from the