"...This is the Gemini. We've received orders from Command to assist you in executing the 'Endgame Plan'. Please open your deflection shields, guide our landing ship to land, and coordinate for work handover with our personnel."

"This is the Hunter... We've received your request and are confirming with Command..."

"...Gemini received... (static)... Please respond promptly..."

"Hunter received... We are unable to confirm the command's legality, requesting to submit the arbitration to the Military Committee..."

"...Request denied, this is wartime, our enemies are slaughtering our people. We don't have time to wait for committee arbitration, execute the order immediately!"

"... (static) ..."

"...Calling Hunter, what are you doing? Our ship detected unstable gravitational field fluctuations, immediately shut down the warp engine and deflection shields! Repeat, immediately shut down the warp engine and deflection shields for inspection!"

"... (static) ..."

"...Good night."

Zhao Tianhe had few choices.

He was almost certain that from the moment he disobeyed the order, the neutron torpedoes on the Gemini were already aimed at him and his subordinates, and it would definitely strike before he entered the hyperspace passage.

If he chose to resign himself to fate, it would mean he was leading the entire crew of the Hunter to suicide, and handing over tens of thousands of neutron torpedoes on the ship to those bloodthirsty lunatics.

For the Constitution he was loyal to, and for the survivors on the surface, he had no choice but to launch neutron torpedoes on the launch rails at friendly forces while starting the warp engine.

This was his sole decision.

Yet it had indeed received tacit approval from all officers and soldiers.

They, along with Zhao Tianhe, were traditional soldiers in the conservative faction who were not that conservative.

They would rather point their guns at themselves than point their guns at unarmed compatriots.

Under the cover of gravity field disturbances, the torpedo successfully hit the Gemini.

Continuously accelerating torpedoes can resist the repulsion of deflection shields and release a high-energy neutron beam after the warhead penetrates the ship's armor.

Three thousand crew members would die instantly, not even aware of their deaths, and the process would be without any pain.

At the same time, the Hunter cruiser also jumped into the hyperspace passage simultaneously.

Everything happened in an instant, thus except for a few crew members involved in the "rebellion", the vast majority of crew members on board were almost unaware.

This was actually for their well-being.

After all, regardless of the reasons, it was a fact that the Hunter sank a friendly force.

Those were three thousand lives, not something that can be lightly dismissed with the phrase "understandable".

Both the issuers and executors of the order would eventually be judged by the law, and Zhao Tianhe never intended to justify his crimes.

He only hoped to shoulder as much responsibility as possible alone, so his subordinates could bear as little as possible, thereby reducing or exempting punishment.

As for now, he must quickly bring the truth back to the Solar System and stop the Air and Space Army high command's so-called "Endgame Plan".

That was essentially not a war launched for the future of civilization, but purely a rehash of the "Torch Plan"!

This was what happened on the Hunter cruiser before entering the hyperspace passage.

What happened afterward was the bizarre situation witnessed by all the crew on board.

They were stuck in the hyperspace passage...

Zhao Tianhe frankly disclosed the entire event to Luo Yi and Wu Xinghuan.

Regardless of whether they could emotionally accept it, now they had no other choice.

"...I don't expect my confession to earn your forgiveness or understanding. My mistakes will naturally be judged by the law, and I am not trying to evade it. But now is not the time for this, we must unite to overcome the current crisis."

"You are both known survivors, and you are the most learned scholars on board. You are the ones most likely to break the deadlock."

As he spoke to this point, Zhao Tianhe looked at Dr. Wu seriously.

"Especially you, I want to hear your suggestion... the method I mentioned, is it feasible."

"Deceiving the Observer who opened the box... Such things have no precedent to follow, nor can there be a 'successful example' left behind."

Wu Xinghuan touched his nose, feeling the tremor at his fingertip.

This would be a gamble.

Yet it seemed to be the only chance of victory.

They must voluntarily abandon everything predestined to be abandoned, which likely includes not only life but also other things including honor and faith...

And the only result achieved would merely be to allow "that part that can survive" to survive.

In other words, it means the part that has not been observed, or the part whose life or death is uncertain.

After serving on this starship for so long, it was the first time he felt such a heavy pressure.

Facing a multitude of gazes, he took a deep breath and calmly continued.

"Firstly, we must change the layout of the ship, including the coating and markings on the exterior of the ship... and send away the person who opens the box before leaving the hyperspace passage."

"However, these are actually trivial matters, we are sister ships with Gemini, and disguising as each other is not difficult... the real difficulty lies in two other matters."

Looking at the three listening intently, Wu Xinghuan raised two fingers and continued calmly.

"First, we must understand the Celestial Beings. Currently, we only know from the few words of the 'Opener' that they are a group of digital life forms and do not harbor good intentions for Earth's survivors."

Zhao Tianhe frowned and said.

"Isn't that enough?"

Wu Xinghuan shook his head.

"Of course, it is not enough. Firstly, the 'Opener' is just one of the 'Observers', the information he is aware of does not equal the information known to all Observers, nor does it equal absolutely accurate information."

"To seamlessly piece together two fragments, every edge must fit perfectly...otherwise, we will be in trouble at the level of cause and effect."

Wu Mengke pondered and asked.

"What is the trouble at the level of cause and effect?"

"This is unknown, anything can happen, after all, the encountered people can't tell us," Wu Xinghuan shrugged his shoulders and continued, "Maybe we fall into a black hole, maybe hit by a meteor... Of course, these are too trivial, I am more inclined to believe we will be permanently lost in time's gap, or become quantum-state ghosts, with some people able to see parts of us, and some not."

Three people looked at each other in shock.

This matter is too bizarre; they really can't imagine what kind of state that would be.

Actually, not to mention them, even Wu Xinghuan himself can't imagine it.

Everything he said is theoretical speculation, and the things he described using theories happen to be invisible on a theoretical level.

Zhao Tianhe was silent for a while, then continued.

"We can simulate a digital life and hide behind it, which isn't hard... and then?"

Wu Xinghuan nodded and continued.

"Then comes the crucial part: we have to send the Observer away, and do it as quickly as possible... Only by letting him return to his timeline quickly and reducing his observations of us can we have ample preparation time to deceive the Observer, allowing us to change our future within the box without altering the Observer's future significantly."

"The more he knows about us in this process, the less room we have for maneuver. Of course... Conversely, we must use him; the more we know through him, the higher our success rate."

Wu Mengke asked seriously.

"So the question arises, how can we safely send him away?"

Wu Xinghuan said in an uncertain tone.

"If our speculation is correct, just let him return to the Research Ship, lie back in the Sleep Cabin... then we close the door and leave the area, there should be no problem. When he wakes up next, he should be back in his timeline."

He paused and looked at Captain Zhao.

"The divergence point is here; what we brought into the Hyperspace Passage should be something else, like the landing craft sent by the Gemini? Didn't you say that they sent a landing craft to take over our Starship? That landing craft should have set off, right."

Zhao Tianhe nodded thoughtfully.

"I see... Close the overturned box and reopen it, and we will return to each other's timelines."

Wu Xinghuan snapped his fingers.

"Exactly."

Upon hearing what he said, the expressions of Zhao Tianhe and Wu Mengke relaxed a bit, as if they breathed a sigh of relief, and their moods were not as heavy as before.

Especially the latter.

She pressed her index finger against her brow and said with a bitter smile.

"Although it's a bit difficult to understand, the situation doesn't seem as pessimistic as we imagined."

Zhao Tianhe also nodded.

"Instead, we obtained revelations about the future from the future Observer..."

However, at this moment, Luo Yi, who had been silent all along, raised his hand.

Seeing three pairs of eyes looking towards him, he hesitated before slowly speaking.

"I don't quite understand... but I vaguely caught some parts. Essentially, if we want to survive, do we have to become the 'Celestial Beings' the child mentioned?"

The air in front of the bar turned silent.

Faced with this question, the three of them unanimously fell into silence.

Become Celestial Beings...

Meaning, destroy the world 200 years from now.

Yet not long ago, they sunk the Gemini to prevent the world's destruction.

If they were to do the same thing as the Gemini, then what was the point of going the extra mile to sink the latter, only to wait 200 years to do this?

Zhao Tianhe couldn't answer this question, so he temporarily set it aside, paused briefly, and then spoke.

"Things two hundred years later are too distant; I still prefer to believe we exist in different parallel worlds, and our fates might not be completely connected."

He paused before making a decision.

"Let's first verify Dr. Wu's conclusion and inquire about the Heavenly Beings Organization."

"Then, send that child home."

...

Perhaps because people during the Prosperity Epoch lived in privileged environments, Night Ten often felt that these guys were a bit too scatterbrained.

Anyone who barges into military territory with a "Civilian Spaceship" and nearly injures an active Soldier with a combat prosthesis wouldn't be locked up and could even swagger around on the ship.

To be precise, wandering around isn't quite right; there are places he can't go.

For instance, other decks and the site of the collision accident.

In contrast, aside from these restricted areas, he could freely move in all areas of the lower deck without anyone following him.

Apart from the guarantee of personal freedom, his other basic rights were maximally ensured, almost similar to the crew living on this Starship.

Before clarifying his background, they first recognized him as a human and treated him as such.

The management department on the Starship even considered his special situation and arranged a single dorm room for him, even giving him a chargeable meal card.

According to the person who issued the meal card, if he was truly from the future, this debt would likely be eaten away by inflation in the distant future, meaning he wouldn't have to repay it.

If he wasn't from the future, they would issue him an invoice when he disembarked, which he could repay gradually after returning to Earth by finding a job.

Though education might be an issue, many research institutes would likely be interested in him.

Whenever he thought of the staff who considered him in all aspects, holding the meal card, Night Ten couldn't help but feel touched.

This is nowhere near the Conservative faction.

It's practically way more left than the Ideal City!

He couldn't help but wonder just how radical those Rebels in the colony would have to be to make these kind-hearted people look conservative.

On the other hand, the attitude of the crew toward him was quite intriguing.

Some people thought he was bullshitting, while others believed what he said. Regardless of belief, they all showed him immense enthusiasm, hoping he would talk more about the future.

Bar on the lower deck.

Night Ten, sitting at the bar counter, was surrounded by a crowd; whether in terms of numbers or the noisy environment, this couldn't compare to the elegantly toned bar on the middle deck.

Listening to this self-proclaimed time traveler from the future talk about things to come, the crew surrounding him widened their eyes, faces filled with incredulity.

"The Province of Yúnjiānxíng actually became the most prosperous area?! That old industrial district?! This... It's truly hard to believe!"

Sipping the drink offered by others, Night Ten casually said.

"After all, the Pioneer landed there, they started off with an advantage, I could have done it too."

A woman with a big chest crossed her arms, shook her head, and said.

"Vellante people... Looks like the War Construction Committee is no good either, even bringing out slavery."

Night Ten replied.

"You have to consider the era's context when looking at issues... Never mind, I don't know them anyway, can't be bothered to defend them."

Another young man was stunned for quite a while, suddenly snapped back and shouted.

"Wait, I've been wanting to ask... Do you mean people live in Poluo Province again?! Where did the animals go?"

Night Ten shrugged.

"Who knows? People can't survive, let alone them. But thanks to one of your colleagues, a guy named Lowell, he's a true environmentalist, thanks to him, it's still like a zoo there, not much different from before."

"That's great."

The young man visibly sighed in relief, Night Ten couldn't help but roll his eyes.

Damn, what's so great about this!

In a way, he had already become a celebrity in the "small town of three thousand people."

Night Ten quite enjoyed their adulation, answering all their questions from the east to the west of the Central Continent, even chatted about places he hadn't been to like the Antarctics and Arctics and the New Continent.

There were other players who had been there, but it didn't cause much of a stir.

Those experiences were turned into travelogue-style guides, updated on the official forum.

If he successfully survives this crisis, he might also write about his experiences on the forum.

He once sat in the bar of a starship from the Human Alliance Era 200 years ago, chatting with a group of ancient people.

But how to say it?

His mindset was probably like chatting with the deceased for relaxation, pointing out mountains and rivers while conveniently gathering some intel, nothing more, and certainly not putting these people's situations at heart.

After all, from his standpoint, these people living over 200 years ago are just dead, aren't they?

Even if they didn't meet an accident, they'd die of old age!

"The so-called Alliance... is just an alliance of survivors coming together, initially, there wasn't anything mysterious, we weren't as great as you think, not doing anything with a mindset of saving the world, just not wanting to be eaten by the Looter."

The woman with a big chest blinked curiously.

"Eaten?"

The young man with a not-so-normal mind also spoke uncertainly.

"Is it the kind of eaten I'm thinking? Or... in a broad sense, territorial annexation?"

Night Ten chuckled.

"Annexation? Do you mean swallowing it into the stomach?"

After hearing his words, a wave of exclamations spread around, many wore astonished expressions.

Some with a weaker psychological resilience even turned pale, making one wonder how such cowards mixed into the troops.

"Looter even eat people..."

"These guys... haven't they thought that they're also human?"

Listening to such idiotic questions, Night Ten casually replied.

"Expecting Looters to understand this is like expecting slime mold to see itself as a human... Cough, but speaking of which, we did encounter such slime mold, it mimicked until it completely became our shape, even more human than humans."

The crew standing around exchanged glances, a man who appeared robust shook his head and said.

"I still can't believe that our kids... future people would be so barbaric."

Night Ten took a sip of cocktail, sighed and said.

"Human... the concept is too broad. Humans are different from one another, the definition of humans also changes with the era. That's why I say the Alliance isn't really great, it's just relatively normal. You might be more suited to life in the Ideal City, but there are quite a few who couldn't bear the Ideal City and joined us."

The big-chested lady whistled, teased and said.

"So you won."

Night Ten shook his head.

"I wouldn't say that, but we did get through the present crisis, it's the result of several forces compromising with each other."

Humans and Gaia can't fight anymore.

Survivors and Vellante people are the same.

Within the survivors too.

These three conflicts have a sequential order, together they form the main line of the Wasteland Era.

And when they are all resolved, the Wasteland Era naturally comes to an end.

Night Ten always has the feeling that he's somewhat redundant, the history he personally pushed might be far less than Brother Fang Chang, and the roles they've played together were more akin to catalysts rather than the fuel itself.

But thinking it over, it's actually normal.

Everyone plays different roles in the tide of the era, some bear a little more responsibility, some less, but there's no saying someone's completely dispensable.

This show couldn't go on with just Fang Chang alone, including the Manager revered as a god by countless Waste Land Wanderers.

They, along with the survivors on the Wasteland, completed this epic, possibly available for future generations to sing.

Honor belongs to every survivor.

While everyone still wanted to ask some things, Luo Yi walked through the crowd and came in.

"Sorry everyone, I need to borrow your star."

A burly man looked at him and whistled.

"You still haven't played enough?"

Luo Yi shrugged and said.

"Our misunderstanding was resolved a long time ago, just need to chat with him about some matters, very important to him."

The man placed his hand on Night Ten's shoulder, patted and grinned.

"If this guy gives you a hard time, just let me know."

Night Ten didn't know the name of this "fan", but still said "Thanks" to him. Then, he jumped down from the bar stool, followed Luo Yi out of the crowd, and headed to the room at the other end of the corridor.

After closing the door, he looked at Night Ten and said,

"I have good news, we've found a way to help you return home."

There was always a feeling that this scenario wasn't so simple.

However, to push the plot forward, Night Ten leaned against the table with his arms crossed and went along with what he said,

"Let's hear it."

Luo Yi recounted the method that Dr. Wu had thought of, and the young man sitting on the table showed a subtle expression upon hearing it.

Guessing what he might be thinking, Luo Yi lightly coughed and said,

"I know you want to say this sounds stupid."

Night Ten shrugged and said,

"You've already said it for me... But I still plan to try it out with you guys; after all, it doesn't cost me anything."

Unexpectedly, he was so cooperative, Luo Yi looked at him in surprise, paused, and continued to say,

"I'm glad you can work with me, and one more thing... We want to cooperate with you."

Night Ten raised an eyebrow.

"Cooperate on what?"

Luo Yi laid out everything he had discussed with the captain and the officer earlier, saying,

"Our scientists believe there's a reason you ended up in our timeline, and the Heavenly Beings Organization might be an important clue. So, I want you to tell us everything you know about the Heavenly Beings Organization."

Pausing, he continued,

"It's very important, maybe we can help you face that... celestial beings together."

Night Ten suspiciously stared at him, always feeling that this guy hadn't disclosed everything, and there might be secrets unknown to him behind this.

But these thoughts were not important right now.

The important thing was he didn't believe these people had any way to overturn a destiny that was already sealed.

"You're already dead. I've said quite clearly enough, unless you can change things that have already happened."

Luo Yi did not argue, just stared into his eyes and said,

"Have you heard of Twin?"

Night Ten frowned.

"...What is that?"

Luo Yi explained patiently,

"It's another cruiser; its design blueprints are the same as ours, and it was even completed on the same production sequence as ours."

"Wait... My mind's a bit mixed up," Night Ten raised his hand to halt him, looking at him in surprise, "You mean... there's another Hunter?!"

Luo Yi seriously said,

"Technically you thought you boarded the Hunter, but it is actually Twin."

Night Ten interrupted him without hesitation,

"That's impossible. I saw the name Hunter written on their ship with my own eyes."

Luo Yi continued,

"A few lines of paint on the ship's hull mean nothing. They can completely impersonate us to do the dirty work we don't want to do."

Night Ten frowned and asked,

"The dirty work you don't want to do?"

Luo Yi did not hide anything, nodded and said,

"We refused the Lagrange Point's orders on the 'End War', and I think... those celestial beings you mentioned are likely related to that 'End War' plan."

Night Ten stared at him dumbly.

"What is the End War..."

He had never heard of this term.

But actually, that's understandable. Even if he came from the future, he couldn't possibly know every event that happened in the past.

Looking at Night Ten who knew nothing about it, Luo Yi felt relieved instead.

Maybe the drunkard's plan might actually succeed, who knows.

The history outside the "horizon" had room for manipulation, and the space left for them seemed considerable.

"The Lagrange Point's command indeed planned to completely cleanse the surface, thinking it would aid in the rapid post-war reconstruction of the shelters... but we refused them and fired neutron torpedoes at Twin."

"So, the others don't believe you are from the future, but we do... Moreover, according to your description, the war hasn't ended and continued for another two hundred years."

Walking up to the astonished Night Ten, Luo Yi placed his hand on his shoulder, looking seriously as he continued to say,

"This is our war, we won't leave you behind. We will continue forward in our timeline, while you return to yours."

"We will meet again in 200 years."

"For that, I need you to tell me unreservedly everything you know about the celestial beings."

Seeing those steadfast eyes, Night Ten finally swallowed back the words hanging at the edge of his lips, and slowly nodded.

No matter how far-fetched this plan sounded, no matter how slight the possibilities appeared—

Driven by their determination, he decided to take a bet with them.

And what if it succeeded?

It wouldn't just save Jiang Xuezhou; the Alliance would gain an incredibly powerful ally!

"I agree to your proposal."

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