New Roommate

Was the appearance of the Gate a turning point for this world, or its doom?

...

The two who had sworn the oath alongside Tu Ran and entered the training base together were brothers, one named Xiang Qian and the other Xiang Hou.

They had moved from Hope Star to the Main Planet three days earlier. Hope Star sat wedged between two Wasteland Stars, making it a likely next target for beast hordes; its residents had been gradually moving away.

The brothers' lifelong dream had always been to join the military.

Joining the military was the dream of everyone in this world.

But not everyone could fulfill that dream.

The rear lines needed enough manpower to keep the front lines supplied with energy and to sustain the normal lives of the elderly and children in the safe zones, so many people were relegated to the rear.

Because they had entered the reserve roster alongside Tu Ran, the two brothers chatted with her about all sorts of things the whole way, subjecting her to an impromptu analysis of the Haendeng Galaxy's political situation.

This gave her a deeper understanding of this world.

When the three of them reached the training base, it was already evening—dinner time for the other reserves.

After registering, Tu Ran was led to the dining hall, which was filled with military reserves in matching dark-green training uniforms.

Those who had seen combat were called soldiers; those still in training were called reserves.

The Haendeng Galaxy enlisted reserve personnel twice a year: military reserves, mech graduate students, and reserve staff for various logistics departments.

The first intake was in the first half of the year, the second in the second half.

It was now the second-half recruitment period, and new arrivals were trickling in; the trio's appearance drew little attention.

Tu Ran got her tray, picked an empty seat at a table, and sat down.

Each table seated eight, and Xiang Qian and Xiang Hou sat across from her.

By now, the three of them were quite familiar with each other.

Tu Ran looked at the food on her tray: a steamed bun, egg drop soup, a vegetable dish, and a meat dish. Not lavish, but balanced and made with real ingredients.

This world's ecosystem hadn't been destroyed. Throughout its rapid economic and technological development, the Rulers of the Haendeng Galaxy had always prioritized environmental protection, so people's daily food was all naturally grown.

Tu Ran was eating with gusto when someone sat down beside her.

She turned to see a petite girl with twin ponytails, a pleasant face, a sweet smile, and dimples.

The girl set down her tray and, without any pretense, greeted her, "I'm Ai Meigui, from Hope Star. And you?"

She extended a hand toward Tu Ran, who put down her chopsticks and shook it politely. "I'm Tu Ran, from..." Tu Ran paused. "Wasteland Star."

Ai Meigui's eyes lit up. "Which wasteland star?"

"Number One," Tu Ran said.

The first planet to be destroyed, Rose Star, was called Wasteland Star No. 1; the second and third destroyed planets were named Wasteland Star No. 2 and Wasteland Star No. 3, respectively.

Ai Meigui wore the same expression as everyone else who'd heard Tu Ran's origin.

That was why Tu Ran had hesitated earlier.

She was genuinely intimidated by the mix of sympathy, excitement, and caution in their gazes.

"Wasteland Star No. 1 is my homeland too," Ai Meigui said, taking Tu Ran's hand familiarly, as if they were old friends. "My family lived on Rose Star my whole life, but in the year I was born, we moved to Hope Star for some reason. We'd just left when the beast horde erupted on Rose Star—that's how we escaped disaster. Do you know why I'm named Ai Meigui? It's to commemorate Rose Star."

Tu Ran listened half-heartedly. She just wanted to eat; she hadn't had anything all day and was starving.

Hearing Ai Meigui mention Hope Star, Tu Ran quickly deflected the topic to the brothers across from her. "What a coincidence—you two have something in common. They're from Hope Star too."

Ai Meigui's eyes brightened again, and she immediately scooted over with her tray to interrogate the brothers. Taking advantage of the moment, Tu Ran wolfed down her food.

Tu Ran and Ai Meigui's connection ran deep.

That very night, they were assigned to the same dormitory.

It was a three-person room, but only the two of them occupied it.

That evening, Ai Meigui dragged her around the entire training base; they didn't return to the dorm until ten o'clock.

Tu Ran's dark-green training uniform was already neatly folded on her desk, along with a box of daily necessities.

Ai Meigui peeked into the box, saw the feminine products and clothes, and sighed. "General Ye is so kind. She must have heard you came from Wasteland Star with no family, so she prepared all this for you."

Tu Ran was a little moved. After putting the items away, she lay on her back on the bed, staring blankly at the ceiling.

The sound of water in the bathroom stopped, and Ai Meigui came out, towel-drying her hair.

"It's true—she's living with me right now. I'll prove it to you right away."

Ai Meigui was on the phone.

Tu Ran sat up. She could hear the conversation.

Ai Meigui, in her bathrobe, walked straight over to her. Floating in front of her was a green holographic screen showing two people.

It was a video call.

What puzzled Tu Ran most was why the screen could hover in front of Ai Meigui without any visible operation—her hands were busy drying her hair, and aside from the bathrobe, she wore no tech devices.

While Tu Ran was puzzling over this, Ai Meigui reached her, sat down beside her on the bed, and slung an arm around her shoulder. With a casual wave of her other hand, the screen receded and expanded, rendering the two people at life size. Apart from being somewhat transparent, it was like facing them directly.

"Sister Tu Ran, these are my parents. I told them my roommate escaped from Wasteland Star No. 1, but they wouldn't believe me; they insisted on asking you personally. Do me a favor and tell them—prove I wasn't bragging."

Tu Ran had no choice but to repeat her story to the two on the screen, the same one she'd told countless times that day.

By now, she'd polished the tale to a shine, weaving in countless details.

No one had heard news from the Wasteland Stars in nearly two decades, so she could fabricate whatever she wanted without risk of error.

As expected, Ai Meigui's parents were moved to tears by her story; the mother leaned on the father and wept.

Ai Meigui comforted them for a while before hanging up.

As soon as she said "bye," the screen vanished—yet she'd made no gesture at all.

Tu Ran had never seen anything like this in the memories she'd read from Liu Wan, nor in the Minister's memories. Just now, while Ai Meigui held her hand, Tu Ran had also skimmed her memories and found nothing about it.

The most likely explanation was that it was too trivial, too commonplace, for anyone to pay attention to it.

Tu Ran asked outright.

"Huh? Video?" Ai Meigui was startled. "You mean the eye crystal?"

"Eye?"