Chapter 35: A Race of One – Section 7

Human Territory, 31st Star Region, Death Star.

Breezes, like playful elves, danced across the surface of the planet. The lush green grass swayed up and down, creating a picturesque landscape that resembled a fairyland. Beside the tall black towers, the mirror-like Mirror Lake was also rippled by the wind. Small fish swam joyfully beneath the ripples, occasionally leaping out of the water.

Death Star remained as beautiful as ever.

At first glance, today’s Death Star was nothing like it used to be. The hundreds of large transport ships used to build the city had long since been dismantled. Vines of deep green covered them, giving them the appearance of houses wrapped in green coats. Numerous alien residents stepped out, taking deep breaths of the fresh air and smiling brightly.

In an era where the cosmic situation grew increasingly tense and death and destruction were everywhere, Death Star was undoubtedly a paradise in the eyes of all aliens.

An alien shaped like a snail crawled slowly along the streets of Death Star. Its large shell carried heavy cargo, making it look like a small mountain. It moved slowly but never stopped, as if the mountainous load posed no burden to it. Its wrinkled face bore a joyful smile.

Today was another market day on Death Star. According to its laws, the market was fully open on this day, allowing aliens without permanent residency rights to exchange their resources for anything they desired—though in limited quantities.

It was unclear when it started, but permanent residency on Death Star had become the most coveted status among aliens. As Miss Suley gradually took control of the planet’s internal affairs, the rules regarding residency became much more lenient than under Black Hair’s rule. Now, in addition to the original five permanent races, many new races had joined, bringing the total to over thirty. Yet, demand still far exceeded supply. With Death Star’s reputation spreading, more and more aliens came from distant galaxies, hoping to secure a share of its resources, further straining the already limited living space.

Still, Miss Suley was indeed Black Hair’s capable administrator. She wouldn’t give up just because of the high demand. No matter how many aliens sought permanent residency, she wouldn’t undermine Black Hair’s established policies for optimizing the environment. The population of Death Star was always kept at a low level, ensuring its environment remained intact and unspoiled.

Of course. Seeing such a beautiful planet, the aliens later on would never imagine what Death Star used to be like. Yet, some people would never forget it—whether it was the high-ranking figures like Blackhair, Sulei, and Bloodpupils, or the crew members who followed them to Death Star back then. No one would forget that desolate, almost deathly planet. The name “Death Star” was indeed a true reflection of it at that time. If it weren’t for the existence of the Wandering Race… this paradise might only exist as an illusion.

The Snailman crawled cheerfully, getting closer and closer to the market. Thinking of the rewards ahead, his shriveled little head was filled with excitement, and his soft body beneath the thick shell moved even more vigorously. Unaware of it, hundreds of meters underground in a cave beneath him, several pairs of eyes were watching him closely.

“The muscle tissue is weak but quite resilient. Some of its structures meet our requirements. Core, I request permission to capture this creature’s genes.” A large fleshy mass writhed, emitting strong wave frequencies.

It was a completely enclosed, massive cave. The entire cave was made up of strong muscle tissue. At first glance, it resembled the walls of an organism’s stomach. At that moment, dozens of fleshy masses, large and small, were writhing within the cave, emitting intense wave frequencies from time to time, as if holding a meeting. Above the cave, a small black crystal emitted a faint glow. The wave frequencies emitted by the large fleshy mass were aimed at this black crystal.

Visibly, as the wave frequencies traveled, a subtle glimmer flashed across the crystal. Then, an extremely strong wave frequency suddenly appeared in the cave, silencing all sounds.

“I request permission. Be careful not to disturb the residents of Death Star during capture. Also, erase its memories from this period when returning it, and provide sufficient compensation.”

“As you command, Core. But I don’t understand why go to such trouble. Just capture it directly. Given our contributions, the beings living up there surely won’t object.” The large fleshy mass writhed a few times, seemingly dissatisfied with the Core’s caution.

The Wandering Race was a straightforward race. Though they strictly adhered to hierarchical relationships, they were by no means polite. There was no room for the flattery common among humans. Even their most basic sense of autonomy allowed them to address their Core by name—simple and direct.

However, as their leader, the Core had recently become much more human-like, often using human-like emotions in his speech.

“You don’t need to understand. And once again, I must emphasize that those creatures above us are not in a hierarchical relationship with us—not even prey to be taken. Although we contributed some effort to the transformation of Death Star, we also gained a lot in return. The endless radiation energy beneath our feet is our reward. It is precisely because of this that we can evolve more rapidly, so I don’t want to hear any suggestions that hinder evolution.”

“Understood, Core.” All the flesh balls trembled simultaneously, emitting the same frequency.

Seemingly satisfied with his subordinates’ response, Core’s voice softened considerably.

“I know this goes against the habits of our race. But times are changing, and evolution is a long journey. The higher we ascend, the more I realize our past shortcomings. You won’t understand this until you evolve to my current level.”

“But… Core, you are the highest-ranking being among us. It will probably take us a very long time to evolve to your level, right?” asked one of the smaller flesh balls. In the main brain at that moment, it was a newly joined member, having just completed its consciousness evolution, so its words carried a hint of immaturity.

Core wasn’t too strict with such members. After all, he had also gone through this stage countless years ago. He remembered back then when the entire Wandering Tribe was just a disorganized group. He, as a tiny flesh ball, had gone through many hardships, memories of which were still fresh in his mind. Even back then, for a little bit of energy, he had recklessly tried to devour a spaceship passing by.

So, he was willing to explain to this small flesh ball.

“You’re Number 36, right, little one?”

“Yes, Core.”

“Alright, Number 36. I understand what you mean. But I must tell you that the path of evolution certainly cannot be completed in a short time. It took me many years to achieve what I have today, and the difficulties involved need no further explanation. But now, with radiation energy, your path to evolution will be much smoother than mine. I estimate it will take at most a thousand years for you to reach my current level.”

“Oh, another thousand years? That’s really too long.”

Hearing this reply, Core smiled bitterly.

They truly take their blessings for granted. Back then, it took me so much time just to barely reach the second stage. If it weren’t for Blackhair, how could I have quickly reached the third stage now? Although the Wandering Tribe is powerful, every evolution comes at the cost of life. Success is one thing, but failure means returning to square one—all consciousness and memories vanish. The hardships involved are beyond description in words.

Sigh, what a group of naive kids. Perhaps only that man understands me. I wonder if he’s doing well since I’ve been away for so long. His miraculous left arm must have completed its evolution by now. Hmm, I should go check…

With these thoughts, Core emitted its familiar frequency. It’s a special frequency, a unique ability of the Wandering Tribe. Through this frequency, no matter how far apart they are, Core can quickly connect with the cellular base it left on Blackhair. It also creates a channel similar to a mental wave. Though brief, it’s enough for Core to transfer part of its consciousness over. It’s truly amazing. Core has used this channel to help Blackhair solve many tricky problems before.

But today, the channel failed. No matter how hard Core tried, it couldn’t reach its cellular base. Suddenly, a ominous premonition enveloped Core, making its voice tremble.

“Black… Blackhair, something’s wrong.”

“Core, what are you talking about?” The fleshballs below still didn’t understand and asked in confusion.

But Core had no time to explain. In just a short while, it had tried hundreds of times, all to failure. It felt as if a barrier separated it from its cellular base, preventing it from breaking through no matter how hard it tried. If it were in human form now, its face would surely be pale with fear.

Core had never encountered such a strange situation before. In the past, even when Blackhair was in the reverse space, Core could still sense him at least a little. But now, there was absolutely no sense at all, leaving Core panicked.

Just then, a powerful frequency suddenly broke through the constraints of time and space, echoing in Core’s heart like a thunderclap. It was an old man’s voice, filled with mockery.

“Hehe… I’ve got you, little thing! Where do you think you can run now?”

“Father… God Father…” Core was utterly terrified.