294: Chapter 297 The most precious gift is the company of family.

The lights were dimmed.

A soft, warm yellow glow enveloped the dining room, which was located in the core module of the luan niao starship, making it feel like a harbor far removed from conflict.

On the dining table, there were no exotic beasts offered by alien civilizations, nor were there any so-called "top-tier interstellar delicacies."

There was only a steaming pot of dumplings.

The skins were thin and the fillings were generous, with even pleats; they had been wrapped by Academician Chen Shuyin herself, though even with a brain capable of precisely calculating curvature trajectories, the dumplings she made still ended up somewhat oddly shaped.

Jiang Chen sat at the table.

He clutched a pair of wooden chopsticks in his hand, staring blankly at the steaming dish of vinegar.

"What is it? Do you dislike that they look ugly?"

Academician Chen Shuyin sat opposite him, holding a small spoon, carefully feeding the just-awakened Jiang Yueying. Her attire today was very casual—a loose beige knit sweater, her long hair pinned up, revealing a graceful and serene neckline.

"Ugly?"

Jiang Chen snapped out of his daze, picked up a dumpling, and popped it into his mouth. The familiar aroma, wrapped in lard and chives, instantly filled his chest.

He squinted, enjoying this simplicity:

"How could they be ugly?"

"These were wrapped by the number one academician in the Dragon Kingdom's scientific community. Not many men in the entire world get this treatment."

"You."

Academician Chen Shuyin shook her head helplessly, her eyes full of unconcealable amusement. "Stop with the glib talk and eat more. You have been... too tired lately."

She looked up at Jiang Chen.

This man was the ruler of this galaxy, the Father God worshipped by countless civilizations.

But the fatigue hidden deep in his eyes, which he could never fully conceal, was something only she could see.

In order to confront that unknown ultimate source and to establish absolute defense for this home, he had not had a peaceful night's sleep in three consecutive months.

Beside the dining table.

Jiang Xinghe was sitting in a high chair, holding an assembled model of an interstellar warship, muttering to himself.

The little guy had inherited Jiang Chen's "refuse to be ordinary" arrogance; even while eating, his eyes sparkled with a longing for the starry sky.

"Dad, the center of gravity on this spaceship is a bit off."

Jiang Xinghe said solemnly, "I just tested it. If it's going to Centaurus, the wings will shake during curvature jumps."

"Design a new keel structure for me tomorrow. I want to lead the test flight myself."

Jiang Chen nearly spat out a mouthful of vinegar.

"How old are you?"

Jiang Chen glared at him, extended his chopsticks, and mercilessly rapped his little hand. "You haven't even learned to walk yet, and you want to fly?"

"Wait until you pass that so-called civil service exam before you talk."

Jiang Xinghe pouted indignantly and pulled his hand back, but the stubbornness in his eyes did not diminish in the slightest.

This kid was exactly like he had been back in the day.

Jiang Chen looked at little Jiang Yueying in her arms again.

The little girl was currently resting quietly in Academician Chen Shuyin's arms, her big eyes blinking. She was clutching tightly to a piece of "spatial folding core" that Jiang Chen had just given her, which had been dismantled from The Sweepers.

This thing was a strategic weapon capable of causing massive disasters outside, but in her hands, it had become just a glowing ball.

"Jiang Chen."

Academician Chen Shuyin suddenly put down the spoon. Her gaze became somewhat profound—the sharpness of a scientist. "Tell me honestly... is this future we are pursuing actually the right one?"

"Look."

She pointed out the window at the envoys from various civilizations who were busy maintaining the shipping lanes.

"We changed them. We forcibly defined what is good, what is bad, and what is peace."

"How is what we are doing... essentially any different from that Sweeper Civilization?"

Jiang Chen's hand, holding the chopsticks, paused slightly.

He looked at the starry sky outside the window, which was so brilliant it felt almost unreal, and remained silent for a long time.

"Old Chen."

Jiang Chen gently put down the chopsticks in his hand, his eyes revealing a rare, mature sense of vicissitude:

"In this universe, there is no such thing as absolute correctness."

"When we are weak, rules are our chains."

"When we are strong, rules are the carving knives in our hands."

"The reason The Sweepers were ended by us is that their rules were too rigid, too cold."

"They treated the universe as a pasture, and all life as leeks waiting to be harvested."

"And us?"

Jiang Chen turned his head, looking at the table of warm food, at the warm woman beside him, and at the two growing little lives.

"What we are doing is not being some grand evangelist."

"We are simply doing this to..."

"Let our family sit here and have a meal in peace, without fear."

"Let our people not have to kowtow to some inexplicable The Keeper just to survive."

"If this is a form of selfishness."

"Then I accept it."

"Since this universe itself is a game of plunder, then I will be the one... to end the game."

As soon as he finished speaking, the heavy feeling that had been shrouding the base seemed to become much lighter at that moment.

Yes.

Why think so much?

As long as one guards the peace of this small space, as long as one protects these people, everything else...

Is just fleeting smoke and clouds.

Academician Chen Shuyin looked at Jiang Chen.

Although she did not understand the logic of those so-called "rulers of the universe," she understood the man in front of her.

No matter how far he traveled, no matter how terrifying the power he held in his hands, the true essence of this man was always that lingering, indelible attachment to "home."

"Regardless of whether you are a village chief or a god."

Academician Chen Shuyin picked up her wine glass and gently tapped the juice glass beside Jiang Chen. "Just don't go doing random experiments at home."

"Cheers."

The glasses clinked softly.

Just at this moment, which felt as warm as a movie scene.

"Beep—!"

The console containing the "special scanner" suddenly emitted a faint signal that only Jiang Chen could hear.

The smile on Jiang Chen's face stiffened slightly.

He put down his glass, stood up, and walked to the display screen.

It was a signal from the Far Side of the Moon.

And at the source of the signal.

There was a piece of data climbing at a speed that made one's soul tremble.

That was—a "coordinate positioning" from a higher-dimensional plane.

So that was it.

That so-called "God-level Civilization" did not need any expedition fleet at all.

Those The Sweepers from earlier were nothing more than cannon fodder used to test Jiang Chen's trump cards.

Now.

The true judgment.

Was finally about to descend.

"Old Chen, stop eating."

Jiang Chen turned off all the lights in the base, looking at the deep space that was pitch black as ink yet seemed to hide immense terror, his voice terrifyingly calm.

"Prepare for battle."

"The real god has come knocking."

He turned around and snapped his fingers at Zhao Gang.

"Have those aunties practicing dance in the square, and those laborers planting sweet potatoes, all retreat for now."

"What happens next is not something they can interfere in."

"We need a little... special welcoming ceremony."

He opened that mysterious box, which had been sealed away for a long time, from the gifts given by Jiang Wanqiu.

Inside lay something that looked completely ordinary, even a bit like a dead twig.

That was...

[Dimensional Collapse Device · Truth Version].

"Since they want to come and harvest us."

Jiang Chen grasped that "dead twig," his eyes devoid of any tenderness, leaving only a madness that came from having seen through life and death:

"Then I will let them see..."

"What it tastes like—to be bitten to death by the pig you raised."

After saying this, he didn't look at the plate of warm dumplings again and strode into the deep space tactical command module.

Under that sky full of stars.

On the eve of this ultimate war that was destined to shake the universe.

Jiang Chen suddenly looked back, looking at the two children sleeping soundly in the nursery.

At that moment.

His eyes were as gentle as water.

This was the reason why he had to come this far.

It was not for any position of hegemony.

Nor was it for the stars and the sea.

It was simply to, in this chaotic and disordered universe full of slaughter and being slaughtered.

Leave behind for these two newborn little lives...

Even if it was just a tiny bit.

Even if it was something ripped out by brute force...

That belonged to humanity itself—

Peace.

The starship launched.

Leaving behind, on that deep starry path, the final legend of the people of Earth.