Chapter 208 : Chapter 208 Without me, Black Tower, this world would surely perish.
Herta did not answer, her chest heaving slightly due to emotional turmoil.
Then, she dropped a statement sufficient to leave the entire communications department stunned.
"I am Herta, who left Azure Star in the year 2143 of the azure calendar to execute the [Space-Time Coordinates] mission. I belong to the Space-Time 001 spacecraft... I have returned."
The other end of the communication fell into a deathly silence, leaving only the rustle of static echoing between the frequency bands.
An unknown amount of time passed before, at a certain moment, an incredible exclamation suddenly erupted from that side.
The entire channel fell into complete chaos; the sound of panicked footsteps, urgent reports being passed up through the ranks, and hoarse shouts of arrangements and instructions could be clearly heard.
Hearing those noisy sounds and learning that the United Government was still operational, Herta's tense nerves relaxed slightly, and she proactively disconnected the communication.
The signal for her coordinates would have been sent synchronously during the communication just now.
The United Government had not perished; a specialized team would soon arrive to receive them.
Putting away her equipment, Herta's gaze fell back onto the vast white world of ice and snow, a complex expression appearing on her face.
Relief, confusion, but more so an indescribable melancholy and powerlessness.
...She had been gone for over three years, yet 356 years had passed on Azure Star...
Even though she had long been mentally prepared for the effects of time dilation, knowing that traveling through worlds of different dimensions would inevitably cause a discrepancy between the time she experienced and the time that passed in her homeland.
But when this massive difference was actually laid out before her, facing a chasm of over three hundred years, how could she possibly remain completely unmoved?
Everyone she once knew had returned to dust during those long years.
Those people weren't worth her nostalgia or remembrance, yet this strong sense of things remaining while people had changed still made her feel uncomfortable.
Her homeland had spent hundreds of winters and summers; time had brought great changes to the world.
Meanwhile, she had only spent three years finding the correct spatial coordinates.
Herta felt like a time-traveler abandoned by the era, facing a familiar yet strange world in solitude.
Qi Zhimu asked, "What year was it in the azure calendar when you left?"
"The year 2143," Herta replied.
Upon learning that exactly 356 years had passed, an imperceptible sorrow flashed in Qi Zhimu's eyes.
Looking toward the distant and blurry horizon of ice and snow, he couldn't help but murmur softly.
"Is it a missed connection after all..."
The wind and snow were heavy, but the voice still reached Herta's ears.
"What missed connection?"
She didn't quite understand the meaning behind it.
"It's nothing." Qi Zhimu returned to his senses, his tone normal as if the reaction just now was merely an illusion.
Herta clearly didn't believe him, but she didn't probe further.
After a moment of thought, she suddenly remembered something and asked seriously:
"I remember you once told me that you would tell me what destiny you carry once we returned to Azure Star. Can you answer now?"
Qi Zhimu was quiet for two seconds, then gently shook his head.
"It's not yet time."
"Oh." Herta tilted her head.
Since that was the case, she would wait a bit longer.
She didn't think much of it.
The atmosphere fell into silence, with only the sound of the wind howling outside the magic shield, illustrating the environmental changes on Azure Star over the past few centuries.
About ten minutes later, the clouds on the horizon were forcibly pushed aside by a stream of energy.
The sound of engines approached from afar, and a massive black fleet shuttled down from the high altitude, hovering several hundred meters away from the two.
Inside the flagship, a female leader with graying hair at her temples pulled up the relevant personal files on the command console, comparing them with the real-time images being sent back.
The young girl sitting on a long Staff-like pole, held tightly by a human who was an unknown Virtual Substance Lifeform, had features that were almost a scaled-up replica of the portraits in the files.
"It really is Herta... the descendant of those two... Quick, go and receive them!"
A small spacecraft skimmed out from the belly of the flagship, quickly approaching them and hovering steadily about ten meters away. The side hatch slowly opened to both sides.
Sensing a pat on his arm from Herta, Qi Zhimu flew directly into it with her.
...
Inside the flagship, within the core assembly hall.
Looking at the girl holding tea to draw warmth and the man sitting next to her with crossed arms, radiating a defensive aura, the leader still felt a sense of unreality.
"Ms. Herta... and this gentleman, I am Helena, the current Fog City representative of the United Government. Regarding the current situation..."
Helena hesitated.
Herta knew her concerns and said calmly:
"In your eyes, I am someone from 356 years ago, but the time I've experienced is only a fraction of that. There's no need for reservations in our communication."
Hearing this, Helena and even the guards behind her clearly breathed a sigh of relief.
Herta briefly went over her general experiences, seeing many expressions of overjoyed surprise as expected.
Learning that she had found the spatial coordinates needed to save Azure Star, no one could hide their inner excitement.
"Herta, the Jump Project has always been in a state where it can be executed at any time!"
Helena's voice cracked slightly with excitement.
"We have already verified the leap formulas, curvature equations, energy function sequences, and other errors countless times."
"We only need the correct data in your hands to be input for final verification, and we can safely migrate the entire Azure Star, arriving quickly at the star system where the coordinates are located!"
"I need to personally inspect it and obtain the highest authority, including execution authority," Herta stated her requirement.
This... Helena felt hesitant in her heart.
Qi Zhimu saw through what she was thinking in an instant. Just as he was about to speak up bluntly, Herta's attitude unexpectedly became stronger than ever before.
That tone made him look at her in a new light.
"I know your difficulties, but if I do not provide the data, I'm afraid Azure Star will be lost in the sea of memory substance before the red giant star even explodes."
Saying this, Herta raised her chin, a sharp edge inconsistent with her apparent age surfacing in her eyes.
"I will save this world because I want to save it, and more importantly, to tell everyone a fact—"
"Without my family, without me, Herta, this world will surely perish. The fact that not one of the hundreds of spacecraft returned is the strongest proof."
"Hundreds of years ago, my great-grandfather personally initiated the plan. It failed, and despite it being a multi-party error, it was pushed onto him alone. This has continued to my generation, still facing much doubt and hostility."
"That group of bastards kept saying they believed in the wisdom of descendants. And the result? Three hundred and sixty-some years have passed, and still, only I have returned."
"Other than wisdom, my ancestors left me no legacy worth mentioning."
"Regardless of the situation within the United Government, I only need you to know that I, Herta, owe no one anything."
"If this world can be saved, it is you who owe me instead. No matter when, no one has the right to negotiate terms with me."
As each sentence fell, the atmosphere became eerie.
Sensing a certain inclination, Qi Zhimu's eyes turned cold, and the people carrying weapons in the assembly hall instantly became ice sculptures.
"The brat Herta is gentle with you, but I am different. Anyone else who dares to harbor unnecessary thoughts will die without a whole corpse."
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