History

Because of the unexpected trouble he had run into, David had tossed and turned all night, unable to fall asleep. Just as he had finally drifted off, he was jolted awake by the Identity Bracelet on his wrist.

The Smart Butler also came in at that moment to remind him that Jessica was waiting for him at the door.

Thanks to the Smart Butler's reminder, David remembered his arrangement with Jessica: they were going together to the book signing for renowned author Burgess's new book, War and Love.

At first, he had planned to turn down Jessica's invitation to the signing, but when he heard the Smart Butler mention that their destination was a bookstore selling printed books, he immediately changed his mind.

His unfamiliarity with the world and the memories he had lost along with this body made him desperate for more information. But he didn't even know how people in this world looked things up, so the bookstore seemed like his best option.

As they walked together, he could tell Jessica didn't treat him like a particularly close friend. And since he barely spoke, her attitude toward him only grew worse.

After answering Jessica, David quickened his pace and caught up with her. His gaze kept wandering over everything around him.

Cars glided just above the ground. The entire city was built of stone, and even the houses were as sturdy as fortresses. Not one of them had a window. The strange design made him feel that this world was deeply unsafe.

The bookstore wasn't far away, so they didn't take any transport. After walking about three kilometers, they reached the corner of the street where David lived, and he saw a crowd gathered outside the bookstore.

David glanced back uneasily. There was nothing behind him, but in truth, a strange, translucent shadow was hiding there.

He had discovered it after waking up in the basement. When he first saw the translucent shadow, it had nearly scared him to death.

After experimenting with it several times, he found that the strange shadow followed him wherever he went and obeyed his commands.

So far, the only ability the translucent shadow had shown was invisibility. It hadn't displayed any other powers, but it had eased the loneliness he felt in this unfamiliar world.

David had already tested whether Jessica could see the invisible translucent shadow, and she couldn't. But with nearly a hundred people ahead of them, he was still worried someone might notice it.

"We're late. Looks like we'll have to wait in a long line!" Jessica said with some irritation.

She had gotten up at seven for the signing, and it wasn't even eight yet. They were on vacation, after all, and she usually slept until at least nine.

David smiled without replying. He wasn't interested in the signing; he was more eager to get inside the bookstore and find the books he wanted to read.

"Please don't crowd! The signing starts in an hour, and Mr. Burgess won't be here for a little while yet. Please line up and wait!" a bookstore employee called out, doing his best to keep order.

"Jessica, I'm going inside to read. I'll leave you to it," David said.

"Go ahead, go ahead!" Jessica waved him off. She had found a few people she knew, so she no longer needed David's company. They weren't exactly friends, but compared to boring David, she would rather spend time with people she barely knew.

David felt that Jessica treated him like a backup option. His predecessor must have been an admirer of hers, which would explain her attitude toward him.

But none of that had anything to do with him now. He walked into the bookstore, passing the scattered line.

Although e-books were more convenient, that hadn't stopped printed books from selling. The size of this bookstore was proof of that.

The employee glanced at him, saw that he wasn't trying to cut in line, and paid him no further attention.

More than a dozen large electronic posters hung in the bookstore, most of them advertising War and Love.

The glass walls of the bookstore were excellent at blocking sound. The noise of nearly a hundred people outside didn't carry in at all, leaving the place wonderfully quiet—a perfect environment for reading.

David walked past shelf after shelf. The books were organized into categories such as philosophy, politics, law, military affairs, economics, culture, education, sports, language and writing, art, history, and geography, making it easy for readers to find what they wanted.

David went to the history section, found a copy of History of the Interstellar Federation, and took it over to a nearby seat. He opened the book and began to read.

Aside from him, there was no one else in the bookstore. Everyone who had come to this printed-book store at this hour was there for the signing of renowned author Burgess's new book, War and Love.

The signing was being held outside the bookstore, which was why it was so quiet inside.

He opened History of the Interstellar Federation and saw a line on the title page.

"To survive or to be destroyed—the world stands on the edge of a cliff!" —Federation Grand Marshal Danton.

Pondering the meaning of those words, David turned to the main text of History of the Interstellar Federation. There he found the history of this world: a tumultuous tale of iron and blood.

In 10116 of the Star Calendar, a violent spatial disturbance occurred beyond the outer edge of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm, on the frontier of the Interstellar Federation.

The disturbance caused an unknown shift in space, bringing two universes into partial overlap: the Interstellar Federation's Universe and God's Great World.

The point where the Interstellar Federation's Universe overlapped with God's Great World was Planet 82 of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm. Before the two universes overlapped, Planet 82 of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm had been an obscure, ordinary resource planet.

Its environment was harsh, and humans couldn't survive there.

But after the two universes overlapped, Planet 82 of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm underwent a strange transformation. The levels of oxygen and other gases in the atmosphere changed, making it habitable.

At the same time, vast deposits of Krypton Crystal were discovered beneath the surface of Planet 82 of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm.

Krypton Crystal was the Interstellar Federation's primary energy source. It was thanks to Krypton Crystal that the Interstellar Federation could travel through space and rule its entire Universe.

But Krypton Crystal was also the basic energy source of God's Great World. When the two universes overlapped, both sides were preparing to begin negotiations when they discovered the Krypton Crystal deposits on Planet 82 of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm.

From 10116 to 10200, nearly a century, the two universes waged a war on Planet 82 of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm, a battle that would determine whether their peoples survived or perished.

History of the Interstellar Federation only mentioned that war in passing, but Planet 82 of the Sixteenth Spiral Arm was renamed War Star during those hundred years. That alone gave some idea of how brutal the conflict had been.

In the autumn of 10200, enormous insects appeared in the unstable space above War Star. They emerged from space and descended onto the planet.

Then countless insects, ranging in size from that of a human to tens of meters tall, burst from the giant creatures' bodies. They attacked everything in sight with savage ferocity.

The tide of the war turned in 10200. Neither the Interstellar Federation nor God's Great World could withstand the powerful insects alone.

Both sides also discovered that the insects grew by devouring all kinds of matter: human corpses, the wreckage of warships, buildings on the surface—anything they could find was food to them.

Krypton Crystal deposits in particular drove them into a frenzy. Whenever the insects seized a mine, their numbers exploded.

In 10202, the Interstellar Federation and God's Great World signed an alliance treaty. From then on, the two universes jointly established a defensive line on War Star to hold back the insect invasion.

These insects came to be known as the Zerg, a species incapable of communication and driven to attack and plunder.

In the ten thousand years that followed, War Star became a steadfast line of defense for both universes, where countless Interstellar Federation soldiers and soldiers from God's Great World fought bloody battles.

Of course, the Zerg also found ways to attack nearby planets in both universes. Although the two sides continued to intercept them, some Zerg still slipped through the defenses and reached the surrounding planets.

Since the Zerg couldn't enter other planets in large numbers, they couldn't gain a true numerical advantage. The Interstellar Federation and God's Great World also carried out concentrated sweeps of the nearby planets, preventing the Zerg from forming large groups there.

But that didn't mean the Zerg threat had disappeared from those planets. Zerg larvae were extremely difficult to detect. They could hide deep underground, beyond the reach of Scanning Devices.

When the time was right, these larvae could adapt to their surroundings and grow into various forms, attacking the life on the planet.

This endless war was a tremendous headache for the Interstellar Federation. More and more warships were built, and more defenses were established across the universe to ensure that planets farther away would not be affected by the Zerg.