Chapter 1271: Chapter 484: The Decaying Empire

Ren Zhong ultimately never got an answer.

For some levels of research work, he could entrust it to the fleet and other smart people on Source Star.

But when it came to space-time, and the matter of his greatest secret of resurrection, after Sun Miao’s death, he had no one else to confide in and could only rely on himself.

It’s not just that he didn’t trust others, but the matter was too significant. Both the Empire and the Spirit Demon Race had Telekinesis Masters who could probe people’s memories, and the more people who knew, the greater the risk of exposure.

As long as he himself could be immune to psychological examinations, the risk of exposure would always be zero. Yet, even if just one additional person knew, that risk, even if only increasing to one in a billion, would transform from non-existent to existent.

Ren Zhong had not completely shared memories with Sun Ai up to now, and the reason for being honest about the truth lies here.

Sometimes he regretted not waking up midway, not chatting face-to-face with Brother Sun before he passed away, discussing everything thoroughly.

Perhaps Sun Miao wouldn’t have given any effective suggestions, but at least it would have helped him to unburden himself, relieve stress, and leave no regrets.

It’s a pity that time has passed, after all, never to return.

The two never had a grand farewell, only a letter spanning several years.

Such a farewell was free and bold, but inevitably left people feeling regretful.

One can only say that no one’s life can be perfect.

Only after losing the resurrection ability did Ren Zhong begin to genuinely feel the irretrievable passage of time.

...

Upon returning to the Tracker Spaceship, Ren Zhong summoned Isu Rock, Liang Qifa, Zheng Dafa, Gao Ya, Tang Youyun, Donald Alson, Vincent Fanhuoyi, and the routinely awakened supervisor from the legal department, Xiao Xingyue, to his office.

Counting himself, these nine were the nine highest-ranking awakened officers currently on the fleet.

He had a new decision to discuss with everyone.

As per usual, he would first present his point of view, then let others discuss among themselves, and finally he would make the final decision.

During non-war management, Ren Zhong preferred using such democratic centralism, which ensured execution while minimizing the risk of significant losses due to his own misjudgments.

Of course, once in wartime management, Ren Zhong would switch to autocracy without hesitation. He could be seen as obstinate, or as choosing to shoulder all responsibility alone. Regardless, up to now, he had never been wrong.

"There are four years and eleven months left until we reach the edge of the Black Mist Zone. The current situation is as follows..."

"Nanxiang Marquis Liu An has already dispatched a special task fleet and promised to escort us."

"Below is the information I have obtained on Nanxiang Marquis Liu An from the public network under the authorization permitted by the Empire’s laws."

Liu An, acknowledged as one of the Empire’s strongest Earls, with outstanding military accomplishments, cold-blooded and indifferent.

Some Earls excel in commerce, possessing excellent skills in identifying and employing talents.

Some Earls specialize in production. To improve the production efficiency of their enterprises, these Earls have even purchased gene compilation technology from the Royal Academy of Sciences to selectively compile the genetic predispositions of their population according to production needs. At certain stages, fully mechanized and automated production lines using artificial intelligence represent higher efficiency, but in certain specific industries and specific production demands, planetary transformation technology brings a large number of habitable planets, making manpower decided by population equally cost-effective and economical. In the Empire, human lives are not considered valuable.

Other Earls excel in research, extremely good at planning, and have a deeply tied cooperative relationship with the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Of course, most Earls follow a middle path, primarily drifting through life.

As for Liu An, he is rather ambitious, ruthless and martial, indulging in military aggression.

He believes he has no other talents and is committed to pursuing military achievements by any means necessary.

Apart from possessing extremely strong military command talent, Liu An also bought targeted gene compilation services from the Royal Academy of Sciences.

Over thousands of years of subtle guidance, humanity within the Nanxiang Star Cluster has diverged on the evolutionary branch towards a side path.

Within Liu An’s territory, apart from the nobility and a few special talent reserve civilians, most civilians’ innate genes include aggressive and irritable targeted genes.

The people of the Nanxiang Star Cluster are known for their fierce and chivalrous disposition, often resolving disputes with drawn weapons, determined to fight to the death, exceedingly martial.