Chapter 1598: Extra – In a Foreign Land – The Fourth Millennium

Standing tall on the plains, the Yunliu Tower brought the latest news: the great leader of their people had cut short his long journey through the fourth millennium and had returned to the land he had shaped and protected.

For Mabel, the youngest of the “Audience Bearers,” today was a very special day.

She had been chosen as an Audience Bearer on the very day the leader’s primary consciousness set off on his voyage away from their land. For years since, her duties had been carried out in the presence of only the leader’s dormant physical form—a silent, imposing shell that had remained asleep and unresponsive to her care and greetings day after day.

The young Audience Bearer could only piece together what kind of being the leader truly was from the sparse words of her more experienced colleagues. She imagined how she might one day communicate with this great presence, and how she should conduct herself when the leader finally returned and that majestic form awakened.

And now, that day had come earlier than expected.

Morning light gradually brightened the sky.

The brilliant orange-yellow sun had just risen above the horizon, blazing like a fiery orb high in the sky. Its radiant beams bathed the plains below, gilding the crops, towns, and roads in a warm golden hue. Mabel stepped out of her room, inhaling deeply under the sunlight, her gaze fixed on the “Supreme Nest” not far away.

That ancient, mysterious fortress still stood quietly at the foot of the cliff. Its walls, forged from resilient alloys, blended seamlessly with the rock face like sharp blades. Nearby, the tall towers and atmospheric probes hummed softly in the sunlight, occasionally releasing faint static rings from their spires. These subtle signals resonated with the distant Yunliu Tower on the plains—clear signs that the leader had returned to his nest.

Mabel felt a slight itch beneath the scales on her arms and neck; her black, hardened-scaled tail tensed involuntarily. She knew she was nervous—but who wouldn’t be when facing the leader?

Especially since this was, in a sense, her very first audience.

For the intelligent beings living on this warm, fertile planet just seven light-minutes from their sun, an audience with the leader was no small matter.

After quickly finishing her morning routine, the Audience Bearers boarded their vehicle bound for the Supreme Nest. Six-legged beasts without scales pulled the carriage smoothly and swiftly to the fortress entrance. Mabel leaned her head out the window, watching the grand gates grow larger in her view. As the beasts approached, two small triangular machines floated out from inside the gate.

These machines were the leader’s sentinels. Mabel’s people were quite familiar with them, though their exact workings remained a mystery. They knew these little guardians had long guided the mortal beings of the world. Now that the people had grown capable of surviving independently in nature, the sentinels had mostly returned to the leader’s nest and various bases, taking on basic security duties.

The two machines scanned the beasts and carriage carefully with their dark red “eyes” before quickly granting passage.

It was a routine inspection, but Mabel exhaled sharply. Her more seasoned colleague sitting beside her noticed and chuckled. “Mabel, you’re nervous again.”

“I’m not!” Mabel protested, flustered, then lowered her voice, “Well… maybe a little…”

“Nervousness is normal. When I first spoke with the leader, I was just as nervous. I even forgot to respond to his questions, and he had to repeat himself three times before I answered.”

“Really?” Mabel’s eyes widened in surprise. “Didn’t the leader get angry?”

“Of course not. The leader,” her colleague paused, choosing words carefully, “is far more patient and kind than you imagine. He doesn’t care much for formalities or hierarchy, but he does care deeply about certain… ‘essentials.’”

“Essentials?” Mabel frowned, confused. “What does that mean?”

“It’s hard to explain,” her colleague admitted, shrugging. “I only heard it from others. If I had to say, it’s something like ‘the psychological health of the group.’”

Mabel’s confusion only deepened, but before she could ask more, a mechanical synthetic voice announced their arrival at the “Distribution Junction” inside the fortress.

Following the instructions, Mabel and her colleagues disembarked onto a plaza with many branching paths. She quickly found her own route—her name floated in a projection above the path, and a transport platform fixed to a sliding rail awaited her.

After bidding farewell to her colleagues, Mabel stepped onto the metal platform. As it accelerated smoothly, the scenery on either side began to recede. She soon left the plaza behind, along with the other paths and her fellow Audience Bearers, heading deeper into the nest toward a certain chamber.

Just before entering a sealed area, she instinctively looked up toward the high platform at the plaza’s end.

There lay a massive, awe-inspiring form, crouched silently. It resembled an ancient beast with enormous wings and a powerful torso, but it was forged entirely of cold steel. It had remained there for countless centuries. Despite meticulous maintenance, time had left countless weathered marks on its metallic body.

Mabel recalled the elders saying this was the leader’s original “vessel” when he first arrived on this land.

It was said that this form was not the leader’s original shape but was modeled after an even older, more distant race. The leader had mimicked that ancient species’ appearance to create his initial vessel, crossing the vast star seas to arrive in this once barren land during the ancient era, sowing the first seeds of life.

That ancient and distant race remained the leader’s most trusted and intimate ally—a necessary companion on his voyages through the star seas.

To be honest, these distant, ethereal tales were hard for Mabel to grasp. Even the elders knew little beyond fragments overheard from the leader’s rare words. They pieced together stories from afar and passed them down to the young as best they could.

Mabel withdrew her gaze, setting aside thoughts of “voyages,” “star seas,” and “ancient races.” The light around her softened as she entered the nest’s sealed interior.

After a brief, calm wait, the transport platform slowed and came to a stop at the corridor’s end. Mabel looked ahead and saw she had arrived at the “Audience Chamber,” one of the few rooms in the nest she knew well.

The leader awaited her in the deepest part of this chamber.

A towering rectangular alloy structure stood silently at the room’s far end. Its silver-gray shell shimmered faintly, topped with a glowing red “eye”—a crystalline orb that calmly watched Mabel as she stepped off the platform.

On either side of this standing machine, smaller devices operated steadily, filling the room with a low, resonant hum.

That hum was the sound of the leader’s thoughts.

Mabel swallowed hard.

The scene was no different from what she had seen over the past few years, but she knew that today, these cold ancient machines were no longer empty shells. Within them stirred an ancient and great consciousness—the leader’s mind had ended its star-sea journey and returned to his loyal vessel.

“Mabel, certified descendant individual FX-1234551S32, do not be nervous. Step forward a few paces so I can see you clearly.”

The leader’s voice echoed through the room—deep, calm, yet strangely comforting.

Mabel swallowed again and stepped forward to stand before the towering machine.

The dark red “eye” at the top scrutinized the small girl standing before it. Inside the machine, endless streams of thought code flowed.

“Yarling, B Group, 733rd generation, healthy, adult individual. Primary heart rate elevated—some nervousness detected but within normal range.”

“Y-You… Hello!” Mabel finally found her voice, bowing hastily. Her own voice startled her with its volume. “Le-Le-Leader…”

“That is the title you have given me. Don’t bite your tongue over it,” the calm, authoritative voice said again. “If you find it difficult to pronounce, you may simply call me ‘Omega.’ That should be easier in your language.”

“Oh… No, no, my language skills are fine!” Mabel blinked, waving her hands nervously. She didn’t know what to say—this first conversation with the leader was nothing like she had imagined. “I’m just… a little nervous.”

“That’s alright. You’ll get used to it. Few are truly socially anxious for life,” the leader’s voice was always measured and unhurried. “A long time ago, a friend of mine said that.”

“Socially anxious for life?” Mabel blinked, the unfamiliar phrase momentarily distracting her from her nerves. “What does that mean?”

“That’s a term from a distant alien world, meaning… never mind, I’ll explain it next time.”

The leader’s unexpected response surprised Mabel. She clearly sensed a hint of helplessness and laziness in the voice echoing through the room, but she dared not comment. Instead, she lowered her head and listened quietly.

The leader continued, “Mabel, I have been watching you. You are a young and vibrant child. Now, I will ask you some questions. You may treat this as a casual conversation.”

Mabel nodded instinctively, then suddenly widened her eyes in surprise. “You’ve been watching me all these years? But you…”

“My primary consciousness has been journeying across the stars all these years—but that doesn’t mean I’m unaware of what’s happening here,” the voice of the clan leader carried a hint of amusement. “Mabel, I keep a constant watch over every planet within my perception.”

Mabel nodded, half understanding.

She was ready—ready to face every question posed by the guardians, shapers, and watchers of this land.

Deep within this ancient lair, in the main server array hall where the ‘audience seekers’ were forbidden to tread, rows of server nodes hummed steadily.

Omega’s consciousness flowed through this vast computational network, and at the deepest level of his mind, a conversation spanning the endless star seas was underway:

“To the Loren-Noy United Fleet: After compiling and analyzing the latest collected data, I conclude that the cultivation program on Omega One has succeeded. The Yalong people have grown into a healthy, thriving community. This confirms that the maturation process of the Noy civilization under the influence of the Pioneer clan is replicable—Omega.”

“To Omega: Glad to hear the project’s success. This long and large-scale observation finally bears promising results. It will serve as a crucial reference for the fleet’s future contact protocols when encountering native civilizations during expansion efforts.

“Also, passing along a remark from several anonymous members of the Immortal Matrix: This project, starting from now, who knows when it will finally conclude? Looking back, we’re lucky it was your spontaneous idea back then.

“We look forward to more observational data—United Fleet’s duty navigator, Tyr.”

(Recommended read! This time it’s from Hufu: Abyss Express, an underground (underworld) adventure brimming with everyday life—thought I was done posting? Think again!)

(Pretend it’s 8:05 now.)

(End of chapter)