73: Hello

"Okay!"

A mischievous smile appeared on Grey Wind's face, as if to say, "It should have been like this a long time ago."

She extended a slender finger and tapped lightly on the void interface made of nanomaterials in front of her.

The next second, the communication screens of everyone on the flagship rathia of the Faleim Far Star Fleet, as well as those in the Central Council meeting room on the home planet, light-years away, switched images simultaneously.

The image of the beautiful young girl, Grey Wind, disappeared.

In her place was the face of a young man, both familiar and strange to them.

It was a face that was very similar to the Faleim People, yet with slight differences.

Black hair, black eyes, regular features; the most distinctive feature was his short, round ears.

But when Talon, Price, Zeral, and all the Faleim People present saw this face, a strong sense of familiarity surged in their hearts simultaneously.

The appearance of Earthlings is actually very similar to the Faleim People.

Except for the Faleim People's iconic long, pointed ears, fairer skin, and more perfect facial contours due to genetic optimization, the two are almost homologous in their general biological form.

But this sense of familiarity did not come from racial similarity.

It was a deeper echo of memory, as if branded into the depths of their souls.

They always felt as if they had seen this face somewhere.

Not in a specific situation, nor at a specific time.

But on a more macroscopic scale, running through the collective memory of their entire civilization's history.

It was as if...

He had always been there.

Quietly watching every birth, every expansion, every war, and every leap of their civilization.

But when they tried to recall exactly when or where they had seen him, their minds went blank.

This contradictory feeling of both familiarity and strangeness plunged all the Faleim People present into a confused silence.

Just as everyone was baffled by the mysterious image suddenly broadcast by Grey Wind, the young man on the screen slowly spoke.

"Hello."

His voice echoed clearly through the communicators in the ears of every Faleim Person.

It was a very standard Faleim official common language, without any accent.

(Yes, the Faleim common language is Chinese.)

But the shock brought by this voice when it sounded was a hundred times stronger than when they saw that face just now.

Because this voice...

Was too familiar!

So familiar that the DNA of every one of them was screaming in excitement.

It was a sense of familiarity as if they had been living with him for thousands of years.

It was like a wanderer who had been drifting in the distance for thousands of years finally hearing the most intimate call from their hometown again.

Just then, the holographic projection of Consul Price, who had always remained absolutely calm, suddenly fluctuated violently.

For the first time, his blue eyes, which were usually as calm as an ancient well, revealed a subversive emotion—it was extreme shock, disbelief, and a hint of surprise at witnessing a miracle.

He stared fixedly at Lei Wen's image on the screen, his entire body, made of photons, beginning to tremble violently.

His lips moved, as if he wanted to say something, but he could not make a complete sound due to excessive excitement.

"You... You... Who are you..."

Lei Wen looked at Price's uncharacteristic behavior and knew he had already guessed it.

So, he no longer had any hesitation or concealment.

He slowly closed his eyes, as if recalling an extremely long and ancient history.

Then, in a calm and solemn tone, he began to recite the shared memory that belonged only to him and them.

"January 1, 2200, Faleim Calendar. The first starbase of the Faleim Resource Unification Nation was built in the Faleimland System, and the first batch of Explorer-class research ships equipped with faster-than-light engines officially set sail, flying into the unknown deep space."

"July 13, 2231, Faleim Calendar. A research ship named 'Exploring the Unknown' discovered a habitable planet with size and environment extremely similar to the home planet in the Alpha System, 77 light-years away from the home system."

"August 22, 2294. The Faleim Resource Unification Nation discovered another civilization that had just set sail into the starry sky on the edge of the Pegasus Cluster. That civilization called itself the Chira Interstellar Empire; they were a group of silicon-based stone creatures."

"February 11, 3748. When the colonial fleet of the Faleim Resource Unification Nation was preparing to colonize a Gaia planet, an ancient fallen empire calling itself the 'Holy Land Guardians' sent a warning. They claimed that the planet was the sleeping place of the Great Prophet in their faith and strictly forbade any mortals from setting foot on it."

"May 18, 5387. The first battleship was built."

"September 29, 6547. The first Titan flagship was built, and on the same day, war was declared on the xenophobic Astrodia Civilization."

"August 8, 13035. The first complete Dyson Sphere was finished."

"November 4, 19217. Defeated the main fleet of the Dimensional Demons."

"May 24, 21358. Shattered all dimensional portals."

"January 19, 28621. Defeated the awakened empires 'Benevolent Interventionists' and 'Jingoistic Reclaimers'."

"October 30, 32479. Unified the Galactic Community."

Lei Wen's voice echoed in the quiet command room and bridge.

He was reciting the forty thousand years of interstellar history of the Faleim Civilization since it stepped into the starry sky.

From the joy of discovering a habitable planet for the first time to the curiosity of encountering an alien civilization for the first time.

From the forbearance when facing the warning of the fallen empire to the heroism of having the first Titan flagship.

From the tragedy of fighting against the Dimensional Demons to the glory of unifying the galaxy.

Every event he mentioned was a critical and core turning point in the development history of the Faleim Civilization.

Many details among them were known only to the highest decision-makers like Price and Talon.

Yet he awakened these memories, which had been sealed in the deepest parts of the historical archives, one by one, as if he knew them by heart.

Every major event recited made all the Faleim People present feel the magnificence and vastness of history.

It also made the guess in their hearts, which was becoming clearer but more unbelievable, become increasingly certain.

"January 1, 40047. After completing research on all known technologies in the universe, I issued the final order—activate the Shroud Tearer, leading the entire Faleim Civilization to make the final ascension to a higher dimension."

When Lei Wen finished this last sentence and opened his eyes.

The whole world seemed to fall into absolute silence.

Everyone stared at him in astonishment, their minds blank.

"You... Who exactly are you?"

Finally, Talon broke this suffocating silence, asking in a trembling voice that he hadn't even noticed himself.

"How do you know all this?"

Lei Wen smiled and said nothing.

He just cast his gaze towards the holographic projection of Consul Price.

Under the gaze of all the Faleim People, full of shock and confusion.

Consul Price, the supreme leader who commanded the entire Faleim Civilization and had always maintained absolute calm and rationality through thousands of years of storms, slowly walked to the front of the screen.

With an incomparably solemn posture, he placed his right hand on his left chest and bowed deeply to the black-haired, black-eyed figure on the screen.

In the Faleim Civilization, this is a gesture performed only on extremely formal and solemn occasions.

His voice crossed virtuality and reality, spanned tens of thousands of years of time, and resonated in the ears of every Faleim Person with an emotion that was almost choking.

"Hello."

"Great Guide."