Rest, Organize Thoughts

The thirty-minute speedrun was still making waves, and it wasn't just the league and starship circles buzzing—industries across the Empire were starting to question the 'old rules' the Federation had left behind. The Empire had only broken away a century ago, and in many ways, it had simply assumed the Federation's methods were the pinnacle of progress. Everything was about learning from the Federation first; as long as they mimicked it faithfully, they were doing it right.

Now that the records held by the Merlin Family—the most powerful family in the Federation—had been shattered by a genius who'd come out of nowhere in the Empire, people were beginning to wonder: were the Federation's so-called authority, its advancements, and its rules really always right?

A wave of anti-authority sentiment swept through the Empire, and even sent ripples into the Federation itself. But the Merlin Family quickly doused it, like throwing water on a match, and deftly redirected everyone's attention.

Would this year's league see an all-Empire final? If Qingjun couldn't hold the line and take down Longyuan, it would be the first time in over a decade that the Federation failed to reach the finals—an internal Empire showdown.

The Federation's audience was on edge; the Empire's audience was brimming with anticipation. Xu Lingqu was asleep.

Liu Ming crouched by the bed, watching her.

Over the past few days, whether online in the Empire's internal networks or out in the real world, talk of Xu Lingqu was everywhere. Reporters had even tried to barge into the league base, which had so enraged Instructor Kai Ang that he'd stormed out with a gun, threatening to shoot anyone who came a step closer. Only then did they back off.

The base itself was restless, too. Of the participating students, only those from Longyuan and Moye were left; everyone else had been eliminated. Aside from those heading to the mech arena, the rest had nothing to do, and they'd taken to loitering outside Xu Lingqu's dorm like she was some kind of rare zoo animal.

Jin, Shen Shouli, Liu Zheng, and Xu Xiqin had essentially become Xu Lingqu's personal security. They spent every day shooing people away, and by now they'd developed a whole system: if it was someone from Cimei Academy or Dolanston Academy, they'd threaten to have their Chief Commander come collect them; if it was from Du'e, they'd tell anyone from Du'e to come haul Jinfang Taibai away immediately—and the same went for Guan Chuanjun.

Xu Lingqu, however, was oblivious to the commotion. She spent two solid days resting in her dorm.

As the mech arena date drew closer, Liu Ming had gone from initial excitement and anticipation to growing nervousness. Xu Lingqu had said she'd bring it to meet Chi Ren.

Liu Ming kind of hated Chi Ren. He was too proper, and he often looked down on Liu Ming for being clumsy. Liu Ming much preferred playing with Chen Dao.

Chen Dao could have a bit of a temper sometimes, but other than that, he was great—the two of them got along well enough. Liu Ming wondered if Chen Dao had come to watch the league. He'd probably like Xu Lingqu too! But Xu Lingqu was already its master now, so she wouldn't like his ugly tomato!

Ugh, if it really met Chi Ren, and Chi Ren found out Liu Ming couldn't even locate its own main body, he'd definitely mock it, wouldn't he? And Chi Ren would definitely interrogate it about Yin He's whereabouts...

Liu Ming lay on the floor, lost in mech existential brooding, when Xu Lingqu woke up on the bed.

She sat up, instinctively reaching for the blade beside her, then turned to see Liu Ming staring at her and tossed the weapon back.

Liu Ming was used to this by now. It watched as she got up, washed up, and settled onto the sofa. She said nothing, seemingly lost in thought.

Xu Lingqu was sorting through her thoughts.

She opened her terminal to check: it was now Imperial Year 95, Federation Year 418.

When she'd first arrived in this world, her initial question had been why the interstellar political landscape consisted of a Federation and an Empire.

But she'd quickly shifted focus to surviving, throwing herself into the military academy and the league, into training and growing stronger, without seriously digging into the nature of this world.

How had the interstellar Federation, with over four hundred years of history, managed to develop this far? How had interstellar humanity even come to be? Where was the cradle of civilization? And why was everything here—culture, institutions, all of it—so similar to Earth humans?

Interstellar historiography was practically a farce. Historians were more like bards singing praises for the Federation or the Empire.

Interstellar humans seemed utterly uninterested in digging deeper. Everyone cared more about the future—would the Federation or the Empire have the last laugh? Or would they just keep staring each other down forever?

Xu Lingqu was certain there had to be a history of interstellar humanity before the Federation, but she couldn't find any relevant records on the network.

She'd tried posting her questions on both the Empire's and Sky Network's forums, but her posts vanished without a trace.

So burying the origins of interstellar humanity was a consensus between the Empire and the Federation.

If these two governments, locked in an endless death struggle, could agree on anything, then this deliberately forgotten history very likely had the power to topple them both.

And if Xu Lingqu wanted the truth, her opponents would likely be the most powerful people in the entire interstellar realm.

Liu Ming trotted over with a nutrient pack in its mouth, setting it by her hand. "Eat, eat!"

Xu Lingqu turned to look at it, wrapping her fingers around the pack. "Still no clue where your main body is?"

Liu Ming rolled on the floor in distress. "Actually... I can sense its state. I can feel that it's in a very safe, very comforting place right now."

It just couldn't pinpoint the exact location, which was driving it crazy.

Xu Lingqu opened the nutrient pack and downed it in one go, tossing the empty shell cleanly into the trash bin before patting Liu Ming's head in reward.

She turned to look at herself in the mirror. The face staring back was about three parts similar to the one she'd had as a grad student before the apocalypse. At certain angles, she looked exactly like the same person; at others, completely different.

This body's origins were a mystery too.

Born on a border planet, adopted by the lonely old man Liu Zhi, raised as his own daughter—yet she possessed the mech of the missing Galaxy Admiral...

And then there was the fact that they were both named Lingqu. That was bizarrely coincidental. She'd always thought her name was fairly niche; who'd have guessed it would match this body's original owner exactly.

If this interstellar world was a parallel dimension of Earth, then was she her own parallel self?

And if she'd come here, had the interstellar Lingqu gone to the apocalyptic world, into the body of the law enforcer Lingqu?

Judging by the fact that this body's original owner seemed like the reserved type, she'd probably survive just fine in an evolved human's body—though she probably wouldn't want to keep being a Law Enforcer at Lake Arden.

That was fine, too. Xu Lingqu averted her gaze.

No matter what, she wouldn't live her life in this world in a fog. She had plenty of time to uncover the truth of this world.