Chapter Summaries

Bai Fengfeng, Grand Marshal of the United Nations of Earth, received Xi Yan’s news that the Interstellar Human Military Junta had found the long-lost Hyacinth and its 114,514 survivors. After confirming the survivors would remain with Xi Yan, Bai Fengfeng warmly offered to look out for his old friend Xi Lie’s son.

• Bai Fengfeng reflected on the Human Federation’s growing fleet and worried that future expansion might require war.
• Bai Fengfeng accepted a private communication request from Xi Yan, the new Marshal of the Interstellar Human Military Junta.
• Xi Yan told Bai Fengfeng that he had found the Hyacinth, and Bai Fengfeng was stunned by the news.
• Xi Yan revealed that 114,514 people from the lost ship had survived because a wormhole’s temporal anomaly had slowed time for them.
• Bai Fengfeng told Xi Yan to keep the survivors safe and asked how he was doing, then said Xi Lie had been his close friend and invited Xi Yan to call him Uncle Bai.

Xi Yan persuaded Bai Fengfeng to provide six technologies in exchange for promising to make the Interstellar Human Military Junta xenophobic. After receiving the data, Xi Yan celebrated and sent the technologies to the Academy of Sciences.

• Xi Yan told Bai Fengfeng that the Interstellar Human Military Junta lacked food, minerals, and consumer goods, and asked for Fusion Reactor and Hydroponics Farming technology.
• Bai Fengfeng offered those technologies for free, then promised to add four more if Xi Yan adopted a xenophobic ethos.
• Xi Yan demanded Field Modulation technology in exchange for his promise, and Bai Fengfeng sent him all six technologies.
• Bai Fengfeng asked whether the old Marshal's generals were causing trouble, and Xi Yan said he had slaughtered all the troublemakers.
• Xi Yan advised Bai Fengfeng to watch for an abandoned Dyson Sphere, then disconnected before Bai Fengfeng could question him.
• Xi Yan reviewed the six technologies and contacted the Academy of Sciences to share them.

Xi Yan directed the Empire’s scientists and officials to develop key technologies while throwing himself into governing, and his publicized work routine boosted his prestige and encouraged productivity. As the Empire flourished, Beta told Xi Yan that he needed to attend the Former Marshal’s funeral.

• Xi Yan gave the Academy of Sciences documentation for six technologies and assigned research priorities, including resource production, Destroyers, Blue Lasers, and Xeno-Linguistics.
• Xi Yan spent more than ten days making government decisions while Beta helped with research and prevented him from making poor choices.
• Xi Yan publicized his long workdays in a livestream, and the citizens were moved by his apparent dedication as his prestige rose.
• The Empire reopened workplaces, provided social services funded by the treasury, and paid labor points for work beyond quotas as production and prosperity grew.
• At the end of February, Beta told Xi Yan that it was time to attend the Former Marshal’s funeral.

Xi Yan attended a private space funeral for his father, Former Marshal Xi Lie, and watched his coffin be sent into the star. Afterward, Ailiveer played a hidden recording Xi Lie had left for Xi Yan and his closest companions.

• Beta explained that Xi Lie's funeral had been delayed and kept secret, and Xi Yan agreed to attend in his marshal's uniform.
• Ailiveer, Xi Yan, Yu Shuo, and the generals traveled to Cybrex Starport, where they gathered beside Xi Lie's coffin.
• Ailiveer delivered a eulogy honoring Xi Lie's leadership and contributions to the Empire.
• Xi Yan launched the spacecraft carrying Xi Lie's coffin toward the star, completing the brief space burial.
• Ailiveer unlocked Xi Lie's hidden audio recording, and his voice began addressing his son, his generals, and Ailiveer.

Xi Yan listened to Xi Lie’s final message, which assigned him responsibilities toward his allies and the Empire before revealing that he had two older sisters living in the United Nations of Earth. The recording ended with Xi Yan facing a new family problem on top of his fragile hold on power and the Empire’s shortages.

• Xi Lie asked Ailiveer Yan and the Regent Generals to support Xi Yan and help improve the country.
• Xi Lie warned Shoigu, Gerasimov, Ning Zhiyuan, and Prigozhin to support Xi Yan, and urged him to treat General Veronica and her sisters well.
• Xi Lie apologized to Xi Yan for neglecting him and asked him to love the Empire’s citizens and lead the country to greatness.
• Xi Lie revealed that Xi Yan had two older sisters in the United Nations of Earth and asked him to bring them back if he could.
• The recording ended, and Xi Yan complained that his father had left him a precarious position, a struggling country, and an unexpected family obligation.

After learning that the Former Marshal had left family members in the United Nations of Earth, Xi Yan feared they could be used to control him and ordered everyone to keep the relationship secret. Left alone, he steeled himself to sacrifice anything for the Empire.

• Ailiveer asked Xi Yan about the Former Marshal’s message, and Xi Yan realized the family ties could give the United Nations of Earth leverage over him.
• Xi Yan shouted that he would choose the Empire and began ranting about activating the Aetherophasic Engine, so the others restrained him and helped him calm down.
• Xi Yan said his psionic powers felt close to awakening, then told the group that his family ties would obstruct the Empire’s progress.
• Xi Yan threatened extreme measures if anyone revealed the secret and dismissed everyone to return to work.
• Alone at the stern viewport, Xi Yan resolved that nothing was beyond sacrifice for the Empire and insisted that everything he did was right.

Xi Yan discussed using his family ties to gather intelligence but postponed contacting them, then arranged to join Ning Zhiyuan’s expedition through VR. The fleet entered the Amaterro System, where its ships split up to establish a Stellar Base and approach Amat Eiro II.

• Xi Yan told Beta he could use his relationships with his older sisters to extract intelligence from the United Nations of Earth, but said it was not yet time to contact them.
• Xi Yan learned from Ning Zhiyuan that the fleet would reach Amat Eiro II in about ten days and that a robotic body would let him join the expedition through VR.
• Xi Yan promised Ning Zhiyuan a bonus for the battle and looked forward to playing a first-person VR shooter.
• Two corvettes and a Faster-than-Light Construction Ship emerged from the Hyperlane at the edge of the Amaterro System.
• The Construction Ship departed to build a Stellar Base while the corvettes headed for orbit above Amat Eiro II.

Xi Yan coordinated the delivery of supplies and armed colonists to begin retaking Amateur Arrow II Planet. After watching the operation proceed efficiently, he ordered General Veronica and Prigozhin to build faster-than-light transport ships so the Army could conquer and colonize the planet.

• The Left Guardian delivered supplies to the Hyacinth, where colonists unloaded and received them in an orderly manner.
• With the Old Captain's authorization, the first group of able-bodied colonists boarded the supply ship to join the counterattack on Amateur Arrow II Planet.
• The supply ship carried the colonists to the Right Protector Ship, where officers issued them weapons and body armor before they boarded landing craft.
• The Left Guardian sent repeated shipments, and the coordinated operation deployed more than a thousand people to the planet per cycle.
• Xi Yan watched the deployment, praised its efficiency, and ordered General Veronica and Prigozhin to build transport ships and send the Army to conquer the planet.

Xi Yan remotely joined the first colonists heading to Amat Eiro II and met their commander, Ningdi Lingling, whose name and appearance reminded him of a character from an old dating sim. After final checks, he ordered the landing operation to begin.

• Xi Yan connected to a robot aboard the corvette and encouraged the armed colonists preparing to land on Amat Eiro II.
• Commander Ningdi Lingling introduced herself, and Xi Yan recognized her resemblance to Ayachi Nene.
• Ningdi Zhiyuan admitted he had named Lingling after a character from an old dating sim, and Xi Yan accepted his explanation.
• Ningdi Lingling strapped Xi Yan's robot to a colonist's back as the landing force completed its preparations.
• Xi Yan ordered the colonists to move out and take the planet.

Xi Yan led the Colonial Pioneers in a landing on the unclaimed Gaia Planet Amat Eiro II, rousing them with a speech as their Landing Ship descended. The colonists reached the planet’s surface, beginning the Interstellar Human Military Junta’s first colony there.

• Ningdi Lingling ordered the Landing Pod deployed from the Corvette above Amat Eiro II.
• Science Ship One reported that Amat Eiro II was a highly habitable Gaia Planet with abundant resources.
• Xi Yan learned that the planet appeared unclaimed and declared it the Interstellar Human Military Junta’s territory.
• As the Landing Ship entered the atmosphere, Xi Yan rallied the Colonial Pioneers and praised David Newland.
• The Colonial Pioneers landed on Amat Eiro II, marking the Empire’s first colony.

Xi Yan rallied the colonists as the Amatiero Plant People launched crude bioenergy missiles at their landing craft. The craft’s armor withstood the impacts, though the bombardment knocked it off balance during its descent.

• Xi Yan gained the Orator trait, which strengthened the loyalty and productivity of audiences who heard him speak.
• The Amatiero Plant People, a technologically limited civilization on Amat Eiro II, had previously driven the Hyacinth’s colonists back with powerful biological weapons.
• Xi Yan began rallying the colonists for a summer counteroffensive, but an alarm interrupted him when the plant people locked their bioenergy missiles onto the landing craft.
• Ningdi Lingling assured Xi Yan that the missiles were crude wooden projectiles that could not pierce the craft’s armor.
• The plant people fired their kinetic missiles, rocking the descending landing craft without breaching its hull.

Humanity’s landing ship reached Gaia Planet and established a secure landing site despite attacks from the Plant People. Xi Yan and the colonial pioneers prepared to defend the new foothold while drones set out to locate the Plant People’s settlements.

• The landing ship absorbed the Plant People’s kinetic attacks, and Xi Yan worried when its captain introduced himself as Captain Zobayan.
• The ship corrected its descent, anchored itself to the ground, and completed humanity’s initial landing.
• Xi Yan emerged safely on David Newland’s back and surveyed the highland landing site and the planet’s enormous vegetation.
• Bioenergy transports approached, and Commander-in-Chief Ningdi Lingling ordered the pioneers to prepare to engage.
• Technicians released drones that began surveying Gaia Planet and searching for the Plant People’s main settlements.

Xi Yan’s forces defeated the Plant People’s aircraft with red lasers and began organizing the colony on Amat Eiro II. As colonization expanded, Xi Yan mobilized the empire’s resources and received a proposal from the Academy of Sciences.

• Xi Yan fired a red laser that pierced a Plant People airship, revealing how effectively the weapon countered their bioenergy technology.
• Captain Zobayan formed a red laser unit, which shot down the approaching Plant People aircraft before they could attack.
• The colonists divided their efforts between building infrastructure and scouting the area around their landing site.
• Xi Yan returned to his office and issued directives to prepare logistical supplies for the front line.
• The empire mobilized to support the colony and began preparing a publicity campaign to recruit more colonists.
• Xi Yan received a proposal from the Academy of Sciences.

Xi Yan chose a cautious but friendly approach to alien diplomacy and directed the empire to prepare for colonization. The chapter ended with him facing a proposal about whether the media should report truthfully on the Plant People or portray them as evil.

• Xi Yan rejected a hostile first-contact stance and wrote that the empire should welcome aliens while treating them as potential enemies.
• Xi Yan instructed the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to deal with peer and stronger civilizations in a friendly but dignified manner and to practice communicating with the Plant People on Amat Eiro II.
• Xi Yan oversaw preparations for colonization as the empire recruited settlers, expanded shipbuilding, and organized military and administrative resources.
• The Ministry of Culture presented Xi Yan with competing proposals to report honestly on the Plant People or use propaganda to justify attacking them.
• Xi Yan frowned at the proposal's claims that the empire was free and democratic.

Xi Yan reviewed a news release about the empire’s invasion of Amaterro II and furiously ordered the media to shape public opinion. He ended by promising to write a new release and directing the Control Faction to vilify the Plant People.

• Xi Yan read a Ministry of Culture news release that reported the planned seizure of Amaterro II and rumors of mass slaughter of its Plant People.
• Xi Yan angrily berated the Truth Faction for stating the rumored atrocities outright and suggested sending uncooperative members to generate electricity.
• Xi Yan praised the Control Faction for treating media as a tool for spreading imperial ideology rather than accurate information.
• Xi Yan said he would write a news release and instructed the media to promote the invasion and portray the aliens as evil.

Xi Yan shaped propaganda about Amat Eiro II to emphasize food and economic benefits while hiding evidence of intelligent alien life. He then began planning the planet’s development, prioritizing industry and production over environmental concerns.

• Xi Yan imagined introducing gratitude lessons but rejected the idea, deciding he wanted citizens loyal to humanity and the empire.
• Xi Yan drafted a news release presenting Amat Eiro II as an unclaimed, habitable planet that could boost food supplies and provide delicious alien species for processing.
• Xi Yan sent the release and his comments to the Ministry of Culture, intending propaganda to focus people on the colonization’s benefits rather than intelligent aliens.
• Xi Yan turned to planning Amat Eiro II’s development and favored industrial production over agriculture and environmental protection.
• Xi Yan created a document titled Amat Eiro II Development Plan.

After repelling a plantfolk assault with Red Lasers, the human colony expanded while Xi Yan kept the plantfolk focused on the outpost and sent drones to survey the planet. Scientists began studying captured plantfolk as the colony prepared for a global offensive.

• Commander-in-Chief Ningdi Lingling learned that the plantfolk were gathering a large army near the human landing site.
• Zuo Bayang arranged the colonists in two ranks and ordered them to fire Red Lasers, decimating the advancing plantfolk and forcing the survivors to retreat.
• Xi Yan continued expanding the outpost while using it to draw the plantfolk's attention as survey drones explored the planet.
• The colonists cleared the battlefield and captured more than a dozen surviving plantfolk for scientific study.
• The research vessel received the specimens, and scientists began studying them; a detailed report soon appeared on Xi Yan's computer.

Xi Yan received a report declaring the Plant People edible and directed the Academy of Sciences to develop them as livestock while planning to destroy their civilization and colonize Amat Eiro II. As he struggled with the Empire’s paperwork, he resolved to reach the L-Cluster and bring back Gray Tempest; far away, a mass of nanobots suddenly felt ominous.

• Xi Yan praised the Academy of Sciences report and ordered research into processing Plant People as ready-to-eat food and farming them as livestock.
• Xi Yan messaged Ningdi Lingling, learned that drones were surveying Plant People settlements, and planned to visit when the corvettes began striking their cities.
• Xi Yan imagined the Plant People civilization’s destruction and humanity’s colonization of Amat Eiro II, then returned to reviewing Empire documents.
• Xi Yan grew frustrated with the paperwork and resolved to go to the L-Cluster to find Gray Tempest, whatever dangers might emerge from the L-Gate.
• On a nanite planet in the L-Cluster, a gray mass of nanobots shuddered and sensed an ominous feeling.

After surveying Amat Eiro II and locating the Plant People’s cities, Ningdi Lingling prepared to attack on Xi Yan’s orders. Xi Yan paused the assault to see whether he could persuade the Plant People’s leader to surrender.

• Ningdi Lingling reported that the Hyacinth’s crew had established colonies and drones had mapped the planet and its Plant People cities.
• Xi Yan and the captains of the Left Guardian and Right Protector Ship discussed using red lasers instead of nuclear missiles to limit environmental damage.
• Xi Yan ordered an attack to destroy the Plant People’s civilization, then capture survivors for food production, breeding, and research.
• Ningdi Lingling reported that the Plant People lived under a feudal system of royal enfeoffment and that their capital had been located.
• Beta said the Academy of Sciences could already hold basic conversations in the Plant People’s language, so Xi Yan decided to try contacting their leader and asking for surrender.

The emperor of the Plant People learned that their forces could not stop the human invasion and feared his civilization might be exterminated. A human drone reached the leaders beneath the sacred tree and projected a young man who tried to speak to them through a translation device.

• The Plant People's emperor and ministers paid homage to the sacred tree in the capital, Amat Eiro II.
• The emperor asked about the front, and his ministers reported that human forces had defeated their armies and destroyed their antiaircraft weapons.
• The emperor feared the humans intended to exterminate the Plant People, while one minister hoped they would settle for tribute and enslavement.
• A human drone descended over the leaders, and the emperor stopped his guards from firing when it appeared not to attack.
• The drone projected a young human in a marshal's uniform, who tested whether the Plant People could understand his translation device.