Chapter 1: Emergency Protocol

At this moment, Yuhui stood in Conference Room 308 of the Earth Government. She had visited many star systems and had dealt with the powerful and influential from countless worlds, but this time, her state of mind was different.

Yuhui closed her eyes, and, unbidden, an image rose in her mind: Qing Lan, smiling through her tears.

She had said, “Yuhui, do you know? Back then, the public opinion plan for Autumn Whisper was gentle, full of confusion and doubt. I mentioned to her that she could use the matter of Short-Life Disease to prove Earth’s value. Autumn Whisper refused. She told me, gently, that one cannot use the suffering of others as a stepping stone for oneself; that would be to underestimate one’s own strength, and would only inflict a second wound upon the afflicted. So, Yuhui, I want to help Earth. No matter what, I must help Earth.”

Yuhui opened her eyes, and in them seemed to blaze a fierce, unquenchable fire.

She would give everything she had to help Earth win this battle!

The door to the conference room opened, and people began to file in, one after another.

Yuhui did not know any of them; the only familiar face was Cen Lan’s.

None of them showed any surprise or doubt at Yuhui’s presence. Only after they had taken their seats did they turn their attention to her.

Yuhui was used to such scrutiny. She smiled faintly and said, “I imagine you all already know who I am. Still, allow me to introduce myself. My name is Yuhui. I am the disciple—and adopted daughter—of the Director of the Institute of Interstellar Literature. The reason I am here is because I share your goal: to persuade the highest decision-making body of the Interstellar Federation to agree to recalculate Earth’s civilization recognition rate.”

No one spoke. They waited quietly for Yuhui to continue.

“Have any of you read the *History of Interstellar Civilizations*? That is the official chronicle compiled after the founding of the Interstellar Federation. In it, you will find a detailed account of how the Federation’s current system of governance came to be. But there is one thing the book does not mention: if even the Supreme Intelligence is unable to render a fair judgment, there is an emergency protocol. That protocol is the direction in which we must strive.” Yuhui paused, and seeing that no one spoke, she went on, “That is: if more than half of the top ten ranked star systems, along with the agreement of two Administrators, support it, the Supreme Intelligence will be compelled to recalculate the civilization recognition rate.”

Only then did voices begin to stir in the conference room.

·

Once the room had quieted again, Minister Li spoke. “Ms. Yuhui, it’s not that we doubt you. It’s just—there’s something you may not know. Our civilization recognition rate was personally locked by the Administrators.”

Yuhui smiled. “I understand what you mean. That is exactly what I was about to address. The top ten star systems, plus two Administrators—you need at least eight votes to have a chance at success. I can secure the nod from one of the Administrators for you, but as for how, that is my concern. As for the other Administrator…” Yuhui’s gaze settled on Cen Lan. “Deputy Minister Cen, that will depend on whether Yu Huaiyin can persuade S-77.”

All eyes in the room turned to Cen Lan.

“Could you explain in more detail?” Cen Lan remained motionless, her tone calm.

“This Administrator is from the Third Star System. To put it nicely, he is impartial and strict, never mixing personal feelings with his duties. To put it less kindly, he’s a stubborn old man. But he thinks highly of S-77 and intends for S-77 to be his successor. He will listen to S-77.”

“I understand.” Cen Lan nodded.

The Jadeite representative, somewhat at a loss, spoke up, “So… the consent of the two Administrators is settled, just like that?”

Yuhui did not answer, but continued with her previous topic. “If all goes as expected, the Central Star System, the Third Star System, and the Painted Realm Star System will all vote in favor. There is another vote that is less certain… You might try contacting the person in charge of Interstellar Express—Revi Gatz. His star system is the second-ranked Liese Star System. You worked well together during the last Double Twelve; perhaps you can win his vote.”

“That would make four votes?” Another representative sounded incredulous.

“As for the remaining votes…” Yuhui produced a stack of documents. “These are the dossiers I have compiled on the top ten star systems. Whether you succeed will depend on how you negotiate with them.”

Everyone stood and saluted Yuhui.

“Ms. Yuhui, thank you for your contribution to Earth.” Minister Li did his best to conceal the tremor in his voice.

“There’s no need for that.” Yuhui smiled. “I love Earth. That is why I am standing here.”

·

After Yuhui left, the conference room fell silent once more.

Once he had composed himself, Minister Li spoke. “Ms. Yuhui has already solved most of our difficulties for us. As for the remaining votes, no matter what, we must succeed.”

Everyone nodded gravely.

“Deputy Minister Cen, what do you intend to do about S-77?” the Europa representative asked. “Yu Huaiyin is a musician. Artists are usually averse to political maneuvering. Will he really go to S-77 for this?”

“I understand your concern. The optimal approach would be to have Ms. Feng speak to Mr. Yu Huaiyin first. After all, they are close, and Mr. Yu is very likely to agree to her request and then approach S-77 to secure the Administrator’s consent for us. But… I do not wish to do that.” She did not want to see their friendship worn away by politics… Cen Lan left the rest unsaid, but her tone was resolute. “I will speak to S-77 myself.”

The Northern representative frowned. “How confident are you?”

Cen Lan met his gaze. “Rest assured, I do not attempt things unless I am certain.”

The others relaxed and began discussing the vote from Liese Star System.

Cen Lan spoke directly, “I will approach Revi Gatz myself.”

No one objected to Cen Lan taking on the task of securing two votes.

The next task was to focus on the remaining star systems.

“We’ll have to give up on the Noble Star System, won’t we? After all, the last incident caused too much trouble,” said the Jadeite representative.

“Then, excluding the Noble Star System, we have… five star systems left.” The Aurum representative stared at the documents.

“We must secure as many votes as possible. No one can guarantee that these star systems won’t change their minds at the last minute,” said the Azure representative.

“Indeed. We must prepare for the worst,” the Desert representative agreed.

Although Cen Lan was still physically present in the conference room, her mind had already begun to turn to other matters.

She had to find a reason S-77 could not refuse, a reason to face the Administrator head-on.

·

Recently, on the StarNet, a certain holographic video had surged to the top of the trending list.

It was a testimony from several patients suffering from Short-Life Disease.

What they spoke of was their experience of finding new life on Earth.

[We, who have been condemned to short lives by the time system of the Long-Lived, are considered long-lived and envied by all on Earth.]

[Within Earth’s time, I have found redemption. I no longer count the days until death; I have begun to look forward to the beauty of tomorrow.]

[We are not short-lived. We have merely adopted a different time system.]

[The time of the Long-Lived belongs only to them, not to the entire Interstellar Federation.]

[Fifty interstellar years is a fifth of our lives. Our time cannot be measured by the interstellar standard.]

[The Interstellar Federation should not have only one time.]

……

When Feng Jingyu saw these words in the data center, she was stunned.

“Qing Lan…”

She let out a long sigh.

No one understood the pain of reopening old wounds better than Feng Jingyu, which was why she had never intended to involve the residents of Wangyunli Community.

They had come to heal; they should not have to relive their pain again and again.

This holographic video was a heavy gift, the pain of the people of Wangyunli Community. Feng Jingyu could not refuse it any longer; she could only accept it with the utmost solemnity.

Yuelü had seen the video as well. She watched it in fragments, unable to finish it in one sitting.

Every word, every sentence in that video was like a sharp blade, slicing through her heart over and over.

She dared not imagine how much courage it had taken for these patients to stand up and speak such blood-soaked truths to the Interstellar Federation.

Tears streaming down her face, Yuelü watched again and again, the faces in the video merging with the faces in her memories.

At last, she broke down and sobbed.

The Wordweaver—Star Anchor, guided by the intelligent housekeeper, entered the living room and saw this scene.

She knew why Yuelü was crying. With sorrow etched on her face, Star Anchor came to her friend’s side and gently embraced her.

Yuelü returned the hug. When her emotions had finally ebbed, she wiped away her tears.

“I let you see me like this again,” Yuelü said, patting her friend’s shoulder as she always did, only to find that today, her friend did not respond with her usual smile, but instead looked at her with a deep, bottomless sadness.

“Star Anchor?” Yuelü felt a pang of unease.

“Yuelü, there is something I must tell you. I believe you have a right to know.” Star Anchor’s voice was gentle yet firm.

“Go ahead.” Yuelü steadied herself.

“Earth joined the Interstellar Federation on ST 1949:010:060:101. That was also the year the Administrators ordered the blockade of Earth’s culture.”

“ST… 19… 49…?” The last fortress in Yuelü’s heart crumbled.