Ch 59: Interplanetary Planting Master

Long-Term Planning

After the return of the Iris, Wei Na, who had been stationed in the asteroid belt, made contact with Lu Li to exchange updates.

The bodies of the dark beasts had already been delivered, but to Lu Li’s surprise, Shen Shen came in person to see Wei Na and pass on a message. The exploration team of Aokor Group had officially named the habitable planet they discovered as Iris Star and extended an invitation for the Iris survivors to obtain citizenship.

“Nothing comes free—either a bribe or a trap!” Shen Shen exaggerated.

Wei Na shot him a look, giving a more balanced take. “Colonel Shen’s intentions are in good faith.”

Lu Li laughed, defending Shen Shen’s exaggeration with a joke. “Shen’s deputy mentioned the Aokor Group. I heard that Guide Bernice took an immediate liking to Colonel Shen, and their compatibility rate is quite high. The Inspectorate is eager to play matchmaker. As one of Aokor’s heirs, this is probably Bernice’s way of pursuing Colonel Shen. However, Colonel Shen is resolute, unlikely to fall for such sweet-talking tactics.”

“I wouldn’t be so sure,” Shen Shen quipped, rolling his eyes. “Big brother will do whatever it takes to climb the ranks. If Guide Bernice ever promises to support his run for president, he might just clean up his act and offer himself up.”

“…”

Lu Li and Wei Na exchanged glances, both breaking into wry smiles. For a long time after the Iris disaster, ambition had been a common trait among the survivors. Even Lu Li himself believed firmly that if a few of the Iris people held powerful positions, Lin Ji might have been more hesitant to order the black hole bomb’s launch back then. Even after learning that Guide Minghui had been on Iris at the time, this belief remained unshaken.

He, Shen Jin, Shen Shen, and Wei Na… The reason they all chose to join the Inspectorate after graduating from military school was the power and fast promotion opportunities it offered. But then something happened that shook their faith, leading to the eventual split between the Iris and the Inspectorate—and Shen Jin.

“What happened?”

During dinner, when Lu Li casually mentioned Shen Jin, Su He curiously inquired. It wasn’t a pleasant memory. Lu Li gently patted Su He and said, “I’ll tell you another time.”

Sensing Lu Li’s emotions, Su He quietly brushed his hand against Lu Li’s, a small gesture of comfort. Whether Sentinel or Guide, such physical contact always brought them both joy. Lu Li smiled faintly, and Su He changed the topic. “Is there any place on Karn or nearby that would be suitable for large-scale farming?”

“What do you want to plant?” Lu Li asked.

Su He passed Lu Li a small steamed bun, hinting at something. “Haven’t you noticed anything special?”

Lu Li’s gaze swept over the dining table, and he suddenly realized, “Those red plants have already matured? Like you said, they can be ground into flour?”

Su He nodded excitedly, asking, “Are we eating it right now? How does it taste? Isn’t there a slight sweetness?” Due to his background with his sect, Su He was particularly happy to discover this edible plant. He added, “I’ve read through the Federation Legal Overview on the table, and it mentions that the Federation protects the patent rights for discovered alien plants. I want to register a plant patent and then rent a planet or a farm to start cultivating.”

Lu Li listened attentively, and Su He continued, “Otherwise, what else would I do after returning to the Federation with you?” He had thought carefully about it. Previously, he had considered joining the military as a regular citizen, but now that he was bonded with Lu Li, that path was no longer possible. “If there’s a war, of course, I’ll join you on the battlefield. But what about during peaceful times? The border isn’t constantly at war all year round, is it?”

This was a real issue for both Su He and Lu Li: what would Su He do once they returned to the Federation? Su He had never received any formal training as a guide, so many of the specialized jobs for guides in the Federation wouldn’t suit him. Besides, Su He was used to his free-spirited lifestyle and would struggle with the Federation’s numerous “protective restrictions” for guides, and Lu Li couldn’t bear to restrict Su He’s freedom either. After thinking about it, Lu Li suggested, “If you’re going to start farming, how about doing it on Karn? There’s a large, flat valley not far from our base. The terrain and climate are suitable for cultivation, and with the military nearby, we can protect the farm. Plus, the crops can be sold directly to the local garrison.”

When Lu Li mentioned selling the crops to the local garrison with a completely serious face, Su He burst out laughing, looking skeptical. “Is that even allowed? Won’t the Inspectorate accuse us of favoritism, backdoor deals, and all that?”

“Don’t worry. The military has a lot of autonomy in logistics procurement. The Federation government can’t interfere much here.” This was actually one of the Federation’s long-standing complaints—the military had too much power, and successive governments had tried various ways to limit the military’s authority, with little success.

Since Lu Li had put it that way, Su He wasn’t going to be picky about potential customers. Excited, he started making detailed plans for development, narrating them while Lu Li helped organize. By the time Lu Li had memorized every detail of Su He’s ambitious plans to farm, sell crops, and buy a starship, he received a new order from Li Zhengdao: it was time for the Iris to return to the Federation.

Before heading back, Lu Li met once more with the chubby prisoner. The Bai Pangzi was being held on the Red Spider’s ship, living in constant fear that Lu Li might one day decide to execute him. When he first saw Lu Li again, he was so overwhelmed that he burst into tears. In just a few short days, the once plump man had lost a significant amount of weight.

Lu Li raised an eyebrow. “What’s wrong? Has the Iris not taken care of you properly? You’ve lost so much weight, Mr. Bai!”

The chubby man, wiping away his tears, hurriedly replied, “No, no, everything’s been great. I wanted to lose weight myself.”

He looked pitifully at Lu Li, who smiled gently and said, “I just came to check on you, Mr. Bai, and also ask for a small favor. After that, you’ll be free to go.”

Bai Pangzi mulled over Lu Li’s words, hesitantly asking, “You really plan to let me go?”

“Unless you’d prefer to stay a little longer on the Iris as our guest?” Lu Li responded.

Bai Pangzi immediately shook his head vigorously and nervously asked, “What favor?”

“It’s a very simple task. You’ll know tomorrow,” Lu Li said with a meaningful smile.

Bai Pangzi shivered, instinctively feeling that whatever Lu Li wanted from him couldn’t be good.

Meanwhile, thousands of light-years away, Li Zhengdao, accompanied by dozens of aides, boarded a starship bound for Earth. Among the group were Zhuang Wei and Lin Ji, quietly blending in at Li Zhengdao’s side. Three days earlier, the fake Zhuang Wei had awoken and appointed the Third Corps’ Second Army Commander, Ding Tong, to attend a military conference on Earth in his place. This was a clear signal, almost an announcement that Ding Tong was the likely next leader of the Third Corps.

Since the founding of the Federation, the appointment of new commanders for the seven major corps had always been an internal military matter, beyond the reach of the Federation government. Before Zhuang Wei’s disappearance, the widely acknowledged second-in-command of the Third Corps had been Chief of Staff Xu Zheng. Although Zhuang Wei, by the standards of high-level sentinels, was still young and no one had seriously considered who would succeed him, Xu Zheng had always seemed to be closer to Zhuang Wei than Ding Tong.

When the order came, Zhuang Wei’s trusted subordinates were all surprised. It wasn’t that Ding Tong was unqualified, but Xu Zheng had seemed like the more obvious choice. Yet Zhuang Wei’s authority was so great that no one, not even Xu Zheng, defied the command. Xu Zheng even accepted the notion that Ding Tong would take over—until another Zhuang Wei showed up.

On the starship, Li Zhengdao called Zhuang Wei over for a chess match. The old man cheerfully set up the board. “Come on, I’m on a roll. This time, I’m going to wipe you out.”

Zhuang Wei sighed and shook his head, sitting down across from Li Zhengdao. As he casually moved a piece, he asked, “Do you think we’re shaking the mountain to scare the tiger, or just stirring the grass to startle the snake?”

Li Zhengdao thought Zhuang Wei was overthinking things. Whether they were shaking the mountain or stirring the grass, could Zhuang Wei really stay hidden forever, watching as the fake Zhuang Wei stirred up trouble in the Third Corps? Yes, they would be exposing themselves this time, but it would also serve as a warning to the entire Federation. Who knew how many people had already been parasitized? Stirring things up might scare those hiding in the shadows.

Zhuang Wei was worried. “I’m just afraid they’ll hide even deeper.”

Li Zhengdao waved off the concern. “A thousand years ago, Earth’s population had dwindled to a few million. Now, we have over a trillion Federation citizens spread across half the galaxy. And the more we fight the dark beasts, the more territory we gain in the galaxy. Think about it this way—why weren’t there parasitic entities before? Because those aliens or gods, whatever they are, have been pushed to the brink by humanity. They can’t win with the dark beasts anymore, so they’ve had to come forward themselves. That’s our victory! If we’ve caught one, we can catch two, three, or however many it takes to root them all out.”

Li Zhengdao’s optimism made Zhuang Wei smirk. It was a classic Li Zhengdao way of thinking.

Li Zhengdao added, “Didn’t Lu Li say that the Inspectorate is also investigating this? Given how meticulous that group is—knowing even what underwear the president wears every day—tracking down the parasitic entities should be a piece of cake.”

Zhuang Wei was left speechless, unsure whether this was supposed to be a compliment from Li Zhengdao.

A day later, their starship emerged from the wormhole, and Li Zhengdao and Zhuang Wei arrived on Earth. The two men gazed out through the observatory at the beautiful blue planet floating before them. The planet shimmered with an enchanting allure. Zhuang Wei sighed, “Every time I see Earth from space, it feels like a spiritual awakening.”

Li Zhengdao, for once, didn’t mock him and simply nodded silently.

For everyone in the Galactic Federation, Earth is humanity’s homeworld. No matter how far they journey through the galaxy, this planet remains their eternal homeland. Whether soldier or civilian, each person would defend Earth to their last breath. Even during the Federation’s most perilous moments, no one ever considered abandoning Earth or the Solar System. It is the root of their existence.

At the same time, thousands of light-years away, Lu Li piloted his starship to the Third Corps base on Tianxuan Star. He had left the Iris stationed at the asteroid belt, with Wei Na and the fourth squad on guard duty. The rest of the team had followed him to the military base.

Unlike Zhenhai Star, Tianxuan Star was a fully militarized planet, heavily fortified and surrounded by weapon systems in near-Earth orbit. Only Federation military personnel or their families were allowed entry.

As Tianxuan Star grew closer, Lu Li activated the communication link, and the face of Xu Zheng, the Third Corps’ chief of staff, appeared on the virtual screen. Wasting no time, Xu Zheng quickly relayed the day’s entry codes for Tianxuan Star. Lu Li nodded slightly, turned off the link, and said in a low voice, “Let’s move out! Good luck to you all.”

“Good luck!”

Su He felt a bit nervous. Lu Li grasped his hand and whispered, “Don’t worry, everything will be fine.”

Looking at the approaching Tianxuan Star, Su He nodded firmly.

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