316: Go home! I finally waited for you! (Two in one)

Inside a high-end restaurant on a planet with a peak Third-Level Civilization’s technology, Lin Yang savored the unique delicacies of this planet, a look of satisfaction on his face.

After being in the universe for so long, eating only instant meals from the spaceship, the feeling of tasting fresh and delicious food now was an indescribable satisfaction.

However, this satisfaction also made him miss the delicacies of his home planet, Blue Star, even more.

“What a pity, such delicious food with no one to share it with,” Lin Yang sighed softly, pouring a glass of specialty fruit wine and taking a sip.

He was currently dining alone.

As for Lin Mu, that guy was a mechanical Life and didn’t need to eat; he had no interest in eating anyway, so after entering the planet, he temporarily parted ways with Lin Yang to resupply energy.

Lin Yang didn’t force him, after all, even if they came to the restaurant together, Lin Mu wouldn’t eat, only stare blankly.

This was somewhat a buzzkill, and on another note, it might attract the attention of certain interested parties.

Therefore, Lin Yang could only silently enjoy this fine wine and delicious food by himself.

Suddenly—

A burst of conversation entered his ears, making Lin Yang’s expression tighten.

“You all heard, right? A big figure from a Fifth-Level Civilization has arrived near Yaoxing, and just the accompanying fleet has twelve teams, each capable of flattening a Fourth-Level Civilization like Yaoxing hundreds of times over!”

“I heard, it seems they just arrived yesterday, right? I also heard that the people of Yaoxing were scared stiff at first, thinking the big figure came to invade them.”

“Haha, how could they not be? Anyone would be scared stiff, a single fleet could flatten them, it would be abnormal if they weren’t scared stiff.”

“That’s right, let alone them, even one of the big figure’s accompanying fleets could destroy our entire starfield. Anyone would be terrified.”

“Speaking of which, Yaoxing was really lucky this time. The big figure’s arrival wasn’t an invasion. Now their technology will probably improve significantly. Just observing the technology of the big figure’s accompanying fleet is enough to give them a massive boost.”

“Sigh, if only we could visit too, maybe our empire’s technological level could advance to the Fourth-Level.”

“Don’t even think about it. We’re so close to Yaoxing, and it’s not like we haven’t secretly observed them. We’re still stuck at the peak Third-Level, unable to even understand some of Yaoxing’s technology, let alone higher-level tech.”

“True, forget it, let’s not talk about this. The empire’s higher-ups will worry about this. We should be more careful recently and be ready to flee at any time. We’re too close to Yaoxing. For such a big figure, this distance is nothing. If war breaks out, we need to run fast.”

“Run fast? I think you’re overthinking it. If such a big figure targets us, people like us, running fast won’t do anything!”

“Exactly, might as well eat and drink more now.”

“Aren’t you curious why such a big figure would arrive at Yaoxing? I haven’t heard of any special discoveries in Yaoxing recently?”

“Who said I’m not curious, but is curiosity useful? If there’s a secret, how could it be leaked?”

“Exactly, a big figure arriving for no reason would never just be passing by, but as for why they arrived, even if we knew, we’d probably be silenced!”

“Let’s eat and drink. I think the empire’s higher-ups are definitely more nervous than us right now. We can still sit here and eat, but the higher-ups probably don’t have the mood for it.”

“…”

As the discussions faded, the restaurant quickly returned to quiet.

Lin Yang, however, listened with a grave expression.

A big figure from a Fifth-Level Civilization arrived at Yaoxing?

And it was just yesterday?

This was not good news for him.

Yaoxing was just an ordinary Fourth-Level Civilization, and he could still fight with the peak technology weapons he bought from the Tianji Federal Empire.

But if he encountered a Fifth-Level Civilization, there was no chance of winning at all.

“How could people from a Fifth-Level Civilization appear here?” Lin Yang wondered.

During this time, he had Lin Mu collect various information and had gained a good understanding of the technological civilization forces in this starfield.

Whether it was Yunlu, Yaoxing, or the previous Black Axe Federation, they were all Fourth-Level Civilizations.

There were no Fifth-Level Civilizations in such a large starfield.

Not even a civilization that had just entered the Fifth-Level.

Now, a big figure from a peak Fifth-Level Civilization had arrived, which made Lin Yang inexplicably have a bad premonition.

Immediately, he lost his appetite and directly contacted Lin Mu, asking, “Is the energy resupply finished? If it is, let’s go.”

“It’s finished, Commander sir, have you finished your meal so quickly?” Lin Mu asked back, somewhat surprised.

“We’ll talk when we meet.” Lin Yang put away the packed food and fruit wine for Cang Miao and left the restaurant directly.

A few minutes later, the two met in the spaceship parking area, and Lin Yang told Lin Mu the news he had just heard.

Lin Mu’s eyes flickered a few times, and he said, “Commander sir, are you worried they are coming for us?”

Lin Yang nodded slightly.

“You don’t need to worry too much, it might just be a coincidence.”

Lin Mu began to analyze, “If we hadn’t bought the star map this time, we wouldn’t even know how long we would have been lost. How would this Fifth-Level Civilization know we’ve returned?”

“You’re right, but I just have a bad feeling.” Lin Yang sighed.

He also felt that the possibility of this big figure from a peak Fifth-Level Civilization arriving at Yaoxing now being after them was small, because as Lin Mu said, there was no explanation for how the other party would know they had returned, but he just felt uneasy intuitively.

After a pause, Lin Yang said, “Even if they don’t know we’ve returned, it’s possible that Gao Shui, after searching for us for so long without success, felt that he had no hope of finding us on his own, so he informed this big figure from a peak Fifth-Level Civilization that there were Wu Cang Clan members appearing nearby.”

The person who took the bounty before said that as a high-level special mercenary of the Cosmic Mercenary Corps, one either had a background or personal strength.

He hadn’t detected any special personal abilities from Gao Shui, otherwise he wouldn’t have been able to make the jump so easily last time, so it was highly probable that he had a background.

It was very likely that Gao Shui, realizing he had no hope of finding them, simply offered this information to the big figure from the peak Fifth-Level Civilization behind him, thus attracting their arrival.

Upon hearing this, Lin Mu immediately became serious, “Then, Commander sir, we must be extra careful as we approach Yaoxing this time.”

“Indeed, we need to be more careful. Whether they’re coming for Cang Miao or not, this is not good news.” Lin Yang was also very serious.

Even if he was overthinking it and the other party wasn’t coming for Cang Miao, they had to pass through Yaoxing’s starfield to get to Black Mountain. The sudden presence of twelve fleets from a peak Fifth-Level Civilization in Yaoxing was not a good thing for their journey.

“Then should I re-plan the route? Try to go to Black Mountain from the edge of Yaoxing’s starfield. Although it will take a longer detour, it will be safer.” Lin Mu asked.

“That’s fine.” Lin Yang nodded.

Upon receiving the instruction, Lin Mu immediately brought up the star map and began to re-plan the route.

The spaceship fell into a moment of silence.

After returning to the Apocalypse, Lin Yang gave the packed food and fruit wine to Cang Miao, and while Cang Miao was eating and drinking, he also briefly explained the situation to him.

Cang Miao immediately became serious and tense.

Lin Yang waved his hand, signaling him to relax, and slowly said, “On the way back, I thought about it. For safety, you and the Apocalypse should stay here, or even move further away. We must pass through Yaoxing’s starfield to go to Black Mountain, and the Apocalypse appearing in Yaoxing’s starfield is very likely to be detected by the other party. We can’t take the Apocalypse back this time.”

Although Yaoxing’s starfield was vast, with the presence of a peak Fifth-Level Civilization’s fleet, Lin Yang still wanted to be as conservative as possible.

“In that case… that’s fine. Then, Commander sir, you must also be extremely careful.” Cang Miao knew the seriousness of the matter and said nothing more.

“Don’t worry, their target is you. Before they find you, even if we are caught, they won’t kill us.”

Lin Yang smiled, then said, “I hope I’m overthinking it. Maybe they’ll leave soon.”

“Then why don’t we wait here for a few days and see if the Fifth-Level Civilization will leave?” Cang Miao suggested.

“This… alright, then let’s wait a few days and see the situation.” Lin Yang pondered for a moment and decided to follow Cang Miao’s suggestion to wait a few days.

If the people of the peak Fifth-Level Civilization left, there would certainly be a significant commotion, and waiting here would allow them to receive the news.

However, a week passed, and there was no sign of the big figure from the peak Fifth-Level Civilization leaving.

Lin Yang’s heart sank slightly, and he decided not to continue waiting in place: “Lin Mu, let’s go. It will still take some time to enter Yaoxing’s starfield from here. Let’s travel while we wait. Waiting here is a bit too much of a waste of time.”

“Understood, Commander sir.” Lin Mu immediately started the spaceship and sailed towards Yaoxing’s starfield according to the newly planned route.

Lin Yang, with his eyes slightly closed, silently asked the System, “System, the situation is urgent now. When we enter Yaoxing’s starfield, can you hack in and get some information? Can I pay back the national treasure value later when I earn it?”

“Sorry, Host, the System cannot currently provide this service.”

“Sigh, alright.”

The System’s answer made Lin Yang slightly disappointed, but to be honest, it didn’t surprise him.

Since exhausting all the national treasure value last time, the System couldn’t invade across starfields except when entering a planet’s interior.

It was the same when they were in Mi Star before.

He just thought the situation was urgent now and couldn’t help but ask again, but since the System didn’t provide credit services, he was helpless and could only hope that when they entered Yaoxing, the Fifth-Level Civilization guy would have left.

However, hope was beautiful, but reality often fell short.

Lin Yang’s wish was not granted.

When they entered Yaoxing’s starfield, the big figure from the Fifth-Level Civilization still hadn’t left.

“Commander sir, should we continue to sail as planned?” Lin Mu asked.

“Never mind, let’s go directly to Black Mountain.” Lin Yang said, suppressing the thoughts in his heart.

In fact, if that Black Mountain Empire was the Black Mountain Empire where Soman was located, then Yaoxing, which was adjacent to the Black Mountain Empire, would also have a very high probability of knowing the location of the Galaxy.

However, with the presence of a Fifth-Level Civilization, Lin Yang decided not to risk entering Yaoxing’s technological planet to inquire about information.

As for the peak Third-Level Civilization where they had previously stopped for resupply, Lin Mu had also checked after entering, but unfortunately, he couldn’t find any information about the Galaxy or any useful information about Black Mountain from it.

So now, they could only head straight for Black Mountain.

Fortunately, the journey was smooth!

More than three months later, the spaceship successfully passed through Yaoxing’s starfield and arrived at a technological planet in Black Mountain.

“How is it? Lin Mu, have you found any information about the Galaxy here, or any information about Soman?” Lin Yang asked almost impatiently.

As he spoke, Lin Mu turned to him and smiled, “Commander sir, I think we can go home.”

Upon hearing this, Lin Yang was first stunned, then became incredibly excited, “This Black Mountain is the Black Mountain Empire where Soman is located?”

“Yes, Commander sir, I found some information about Soman here, including records of him dispatching an expeditionary force to the Galaxy to avenge Solo!” Lin Mu grinned.

“That’s great!” Lin Yang instantly breathed a complete sigh of relief, then excitedly said again, “Then, home! Let’s go home first! We’ll deal with Soman later!”

“Commander sir, please calm down. I also checked some recent situations at the same time and didn’t find any news reports about major events in the Galaxy.”

Lin Mu’s eyes flickered as he rapidly analyzed some information.

“Commander sir, Soman knows Solo died in the Galaxy, and the expeditionary force he sent for revenge was intercepted by us midway. Logically, under such circumstances, he should continue to send new expeditionary forces into the Galaxy to check the situation, but the fact is, there doesn’t seem to have been a second operation. I feel something is not quite right.”

Lin Yang’s expression became serious, “You mean?”

“Sorry, Commander sir, I just feel a bit abnormal through data analysis. Perhaps I’m overthinking it.” Lin Mu said slowly.

“Since you feel it’s abnormal, then something must be wrong, but no matter what, I must go home and see.” Lin Yang said gravely.

“Commander sir, I understand your feelings. Then let’s just be cautious. With the armed forces we currently carry, even if Solo has some ambush, it won’t pose a threat to us.” Lin Mu added.

“Depart, home!”

Lin Yang took a deep breath and gave the instruction.

It would take about two to three months to travel from the Black Mountain Empire to the Galaxy.

However, without considering energy consumption, two months later, Lin Yang saw the dazzling nebula at the edge of the Galaxy!

“Finally, we’re almost home!”

Looking at this familiar nebula, Lin Yang suddenly felt a little teary-eyed.

As long as they rushed through this nebula, it would be the Galaxy!

It would be home!

However, just as the spaceship accelerated, preparing to rush into the nebula, an unexpected change occurred!

A sudden, powerful Beam Power directly penetrated the peak Fourth-Level defensive energy shield on the spaceship, shattering the spaceship’s engine, causing the spaceship to instantly lose its main power and be forced to hover in place.

At the same time, a cold and familiar voice echoed:

“Hehehe, little one, I’ve waited for you for so long, and finally, I’ve waited for you!”