300: Go home! Back to that blue planet!

The smoke of battle had dissipated.

This star sector, six million light-years away, was now as quiet as a massive graveyard.

To be precise, it was a massive "Recycle Bin".

The once-arrogant "the cleaners" fleet, that torrent of steel capable of sweeping across most of the universe, was now reduced to nothing but floating debris filling the sky.

The liquid metal spaceship fragments shimmered with an eerie luster under the starlight, looking exactly like shattered, exquisite porcelain.

"Tsk, tsk, tsk, such a waste, what a terrible waste!"

In the communication channel, Wang Peng's heartbroken howling broke the deathly silence.

Dozens of engineering salvage ships belonging to the Future Technology Group swarmed like sharks smelling blood, frantically weaving through the wreckage.

Wherever their mechanical arms swung and gravitational waves pulled, not even a single screw was left behind.

"Old Ye! Why did you have to aim your cannons so accurately? Huh?!"

Wang Peng pointed at an engine core that had been blasted to ruin, cursing at Ye Qingcang on the other side of the screen: "This is a Fourth-level civilization curvature compressor! A complete one is worth one trillion Federation credits! Now that it's broken, it's worth at most the price of scrap! Do you have any idea how much my heart is bleeding?!"

"Get lost!"

Ye Qingcang's cursing voice came through, yet he sounded exceptionally refreshed: "Do you think I care about your profits when I'm fighting a war? That last volley was satisfying! So damn satisfying! I've never fought such a wealthy war in my life!"

Lu Chen stood on the bridge of the "spaceship name", watching the busy "demolition site" before him, a signature smirk hanging on his lips.

This wasn't a war.

It was clearly a one-sided "armed robbery".

"heavenly craft, have the combat damage statistics been tallied?" Lu Chen asked casually.

A stream of light flashed, and heavenly craft's stunning figure appeared, a hint of a smile seemingly on her lips.

"Father, we have zero combat losses. Unless you count General Old Ye smashing a command console because he was too excited."

Lu Chen chuckled.

"What about the spoils of war?"

"The harvest is bountiful." heavenly craft's eyes instantly became digitized. "The 'space folding shield' technology of the cleaners, the 'liquid memory metal' formula, and the core 'Causality detection radar' fragments have all been recovered. Analysis progress: 5%."

"Very good."

Lu Chen snapped his fingers, the golden light in his eyes slightly receding.

This battle not only struck down the sword of Damocles that had hung over their heads for four hundred years, but it also conveniently pushed the Earth Federation's technology tree up by a significant margin.

This is what they call fighting to sustain the war.

"Tell Fatty to stop picking up that scrap metal and leave it for the cosmic dust."

Lu Chen stretched, then turned to look at the vast star map behind him.

His gaze pierced through billions of light-years, seemingly able to see that tiny point of light located on the edge of the Orion Arm.

They had been out for too long.

From the expedition to the Galactic Center, to subjugating the myriad races, to crossing the sea of stars to intercept powerful enemies.

Even gods get tired.

"It's time to go back and take a look."

Lu Chen's voice softened, losing some of the domineering aura of ruling the heavens, and gaining a bit of mortal warmth.

Su Qingying had walked up beside him at some point and gently took his hand.

Her hands were slightly cool, but the warmth in her palms reached straight to his heart.

"Homesick?" she asked.

"Yes." Lu Chen interlaced his fingers with hers. "I miss the Li's breakfast stall at the end of the alley, I miss that pot of bright red, spicy butter hotpot, and I also miss..."

He leaned into Su Qingying's ear and whispered something with a smirk.

Su Qingying's cool, fairy-like face instantly flushed with a rosy hue, and she pinched his waist in annoyance.

"You're incorrigible."

Lu Chen laughed heartily, suddenly waving his cloak, and ordered the entire channel:

"All troops, listen up!"

"Cleanup of the battlefield is finished!"

"Target: Solar System, Earth!"

"We—are going home!!"

At this moment.

One hundred thousand interstellar warships turned their bows simultaneously.

The "genesis engine" roared once more, and that "Heavenly Gate" Wormhole connecting six million light-years away emitted a warm, welcoming glow of home.

A flash of light.

The world flipped.

When their vision cleared again, the familiar starry sky slammed into everyone's eyes.

It was a scene that could make anyone tear up with joy.

The Solar System was no longer what it used to be.

A massive Dyson Sphere skeleton, like a golden cage woven by gods, encased the sun, with a constant stream of stellar energy being transported to every planet.

Mars, "Houtu", was still crimson, but it was already covered in green ecological domes.

In Jupiter's orbit, countless space factories were busy loading and unloading giant cargo ships.

And at the center of it all.

That azure planet was quietly rotating.

It was very small.

In the territory of the Earth Federation that now ruled the Milky Way Galaxy, it was as small as a speck of dust.

But it was also very big.

Big enough to carry everyone's nostalgia, big enough to be the starting point of all these miracles.

The massive space elevator "Jianmu", like a divine needle connecting heaven and earth, linked the surface to the space city.

The two newly completed giant star rings in near-Earth orbit—the "Jiuzhou Port" and "Kunlun Port"—were brightly lit, processing ships from every corner of the Milky Way Galaxy.

"Wow..." Even Emperor Viren, who had seen his fair share of grand scenes, couldn't help but exclaim as he looked at the sight through the porthole.

"Is this... Master's home planet? It looks like it has no defensive facilities, yet it makes one feel... a kind of inexplicable sanctity."

Lu Chen stood by the window, greedily watching that blue planet.

No matter if he was the Master of the Milky Way or a demigod-level existence outside, as long as he saw this shade of blue, he felt like he was still that young man coding in a rented room.

"heavenly craft, connect to the global broadcast."

Lu Chen adjusted his collar.

The next second.

On Earth, on Mars, in the lunar base, and even on the screens of every spaceship, Lu Chen's devastatingly handsome face appeared.

There were no majestic speeches, no long-winded reports.

He just looked into the camera and flashed a smile so brilliant it was even more dazzling than the sun behind him.

"Everyone, I am Lu Chen."

"Please stop what you're doing."

"The war is over, the threat is gone."

"Tonight, the entire Federation is on holiday!"

"Get the hotpot and beer going, and put the bill on Wang Peng's tab!"

Boom—!!! In that instant, the entire Solar System erupted. Countless cheers converged into an ocean, almost overturning the heavens.

An hour later. In Beijing, in that familiar courtyard house.

It hadn't become luxurious due to Lu Chen's change in status; it still retained its original simplicity.

Only, under the old locust tree in the courtyard, there were a few big shots who could shake the universe.

Ye Qingcang had taken off his military uniform covered in medals and was squatting on the ground in big shorts, peeling garlic without any regard for his image.

Long Weiguo was wearing an apron, holding a kitchen knife in his hand, struggling with a "Dragon Fish" gifted by the Deep Sea Clan.

Wang Peng was looking at the bill notification on his phone with a pained expression, while stuffing tripe into his mouth.

"My money, how many billions will be drunk away tonight..."

"Alright, Fatty, stop howling." Lu Chen walked out with two plates of freshly sliced lamb and sat down on a small stool. "I'll let you open a few more mines on that Winged People planet later, you'll earn it all back."

"Really?" Wang Peng's eyes lit up, and he instantly came back to life. "Brother Chen, you better not go back on your word!"

Su Qingying walked over with washed vegetables and sat quietly beside Lu Chen, watching the mortal atmosphere in the courtyard, her lips curling slightly upward.

This was life.

This was what they had risked their lives to protect.

There were no Higher Dimensions or lower dimensions, no universal truths.

Only this bite of hot mutton was the truth.

After a few rounds of drinks and tasting the dishes.

Ye Qingcang, flushed from drinking, asked with a thick tongue: "Commander Lu, since "the cleaners" have been dealt with, does that mean we can... really sit back and relax?"

The atmosphere in the courtyard stalled slightly.

Long Weiguo also stopped his chopsticks and looked at Lu Chen.

Although today was a victory celebration, they all knew that Lu Chen's gaze never stopped at the present.

Lu Chen picked up a piece of lamb and swished it back and forth in the spicy oil pot.

The rising steam blurred his features.

But the golden light in his eyes lit up slightly at this moment, revealing a sharpness that could pierce the heavens.

"Old Ye, do you think if a goldfish in a fish tank jumped out of the tank one day, what would it see?" Lu Chen didn't answer directly, but asked a light question.

Ye Qingcang was stunned: "See... the living room? Or a bigger world?"

"No." Lu Chen put the lamb into his mouth and chewed it with relish, but his voice was a bit slurred, carrying a chilling coldness.

"It would see a pair of eyes that had been lying by the fish tank, watching them coldly."

He put down his chopsticks and pointed to the brilliant starry sky above.

That was the end of the universe, and also the boundary of what they called the "bubble".

"A Fourth-level civilization is just a watchdog."

"The real trouble is the person who keeps the dog."

Lu Chen raised his glass and clinked it gently against the void, as if drinking with some indescribable existence.

"After the holiday ends."

"We will go and smash that "fish tank"."

"I also want to see what that self-righteous "Supervisor" actually looks like."

Su Qingying silently filled his glass and asked softly: "Do we really have to go?"

Lu Chen turned his head and looked at her, his eyes gentle yet as firm as a rock.

"We have to go."

"I don't like being played for a fool."

"Besides..." Lu Chen grinned, that arrogant spirit that could pierce a hole in the sky returning.

"I heard the scenery in the High-Dimensional World is quite good."

"Wouldn't it be a pity if I didn't take you to see it?"