114 The Survivors

After leaving Yu Daoqing’s room, Zhong Yun went to check on Zhang Xiao. Although Zhang had not yet regained consciousness, his condition had improved significantly.

Returning to the main control room, Zhong Yun immersed himself in "Combat Simulation Training."

Upon first seeing Liberty Star, Zhong Yun was stunned by the sheer number of ships covering nearly the entire planet. Within this small star system formed by a single star, the density of vessels was staggering. Millions, perhaps tens of millions of ships, were constantly arriving and departing.

The "Mars" docked at the outermost planet. Zhong Yun and Yu Daoqing, accompanied by the unconscious Zhang Xiao, then took a specialized shuttle toward Liberty Star. Once they landed, Yu Daoqing departed on her own.

Liberty Star was highly automated. Zhong Yun, followed by a transport robot carrying Zhang Xiao, boarded a shuttle that stopped automatically in front of them. He said only "to the hospital," and a multitude of options appeared before him. He chose the first one at random, and the shuttle took off with a hum.

After settling Zhang Xiao in the hospital, Zhong Yun left enough money and an automatic translator before departing. Following the address provided by Zero, Zhong Yun took a shuttle to a castle-like building. He spent several hours inside and emerged with a small box.

Returning to the "Mars" by shuttle, the ship, having finished refueling, immediately set off and left Liberty Star.

"What exactly is inside this box?" In the main control room, Zhong Yun turned the head-sized box over in his hands. He was intensely curious about it. When he first visited Qiyun Star, Zero had asked him to play a game in virtual space—a game that involved opening this very box.

Despite its small size, opening the box required three thousand eight hundred and sixty steps, all to be completed within five minutes.

"You will know once you open it," Zero replied, remaining tight-lipped.

Zhong Yun was desperate to open it immediately to see what was inside that could possibly determine whether his physical training could advance to the tenth level.

"My success rate is only fifty percent. Didn't you say I needed a success rate of over ninety percent to open it?" Zhong Yun recalled what Zero had told him.

"With the manual auxiliary device, your success rate should reach nearly ninety percent," Zero explained.

"Fine. While I still have time, I’ll practice a bit more. I haven't practiced in over five months; my hands feel a bit rusty," Zhong Yun said. He tucked the small box into a cabinet and reclined in the captain's chair.

When Zhang Xiao woke up, he stared blankly at the empty ceiling, confused for a long time. He felt as though he were submerged in liquid, as if he had returned to his mother's womb.

It wasn't until a doctor entered the room and looked at him through the transparent glass that he truly realized he was still alive. The doctor checked the instruments nearby, confirmed that he had fully recovered, and released him from the healing tank.

As soon as his feet touched the ground, Zhang Xiao grabbed the doctor by the collar and demanded aggressively, "My companion... where is he?"

The doctor muttered something, shook off his grip, pushed him into the washroom, and walked away, shaking his head.

As the warm liquid washed over him, Zhang Xiao was frantic with worry. He remembered the moments before he lost consciousness, but nothing after that. Given the current situation, they must have been saved, but what about Zhong Yun? Where was he? The thought made him even more anxious.

When the "Tongguang Star" met with disaster, and Zhong Yun had turned back to pull him into the escape pod, Zhang Xiao had accepted him as a brother-in-arms for life.

After a quick wash, Zhang Xiao stepped out to find a set of clean clothes, an automatic translator, and a card laid out on the floor.

He picked up the card, and a panoramic video was activated. Zhong Yun’s plain face appeared. "Zhang Xiao, you’re awake. If you are, hurry back to Davo. I have some business to attend to and won't be back for a while. By the way, there is some money on the card; it should be enough for you to take a ship back. Remember to let my parents know I'm safe."

The brief, few-second video put Zhang Xiao’s mind at ease. As long as Zhong Yun was safe, everything was fine.

Only then did he truly feel the joy of surviving a brush with death. The sensation Zhang Xiao caused upon returning to Davo was more than he had anticipated. Initially, he had wanted to keep things quiet and return home modestly to reunite with his parents.

However, the ship he took only brought him to the border of Davo. When the officer in charge of receiving him learned he was a survivor of the "Tongguang Star," the man turned pale with shock and hurriedly reported it to his superiors.

The superiors were equally startled. The "Tongguang Star" incident had been a major controversy a few months prior, and even someone stationed at the border had heard of it. It was arguably the biggest political scandal in the country in over a decade; five ministerial-level officials had stepped down, and the incumbent president had nearly been forced to resign by the public outcry.

The turmoil had just begun to settle when a self-proclaimed survivor of the "Tongguang Star" appeared. The commanding officer at the base made a swift decision, sending an urgent report to the Military Department, which in turn forwarded it to the Presidential Palace.

In the process, many relevant figures became aware of the news.

Yang Yunrong learned of it immediately while in a meeting. He ended the meeting at once and took his private jet to Wol City.

Upon landing, Yang Yunrong rushed to the Military Department without delay. His status was unique; not only was he a core member of the Yang family, but his position at the Giant Machinery Group made his access to the Military Department unremarkable. In some respects, it wouldn't be a stretch to call the Giant Machinery Group a subsidiary of the military, as ninety percent of the military's weaponry and equipment were purchased from them. Furthermore, the current Minister of the Military was his own uncle.

Yang Yunrong walked straight into the Minister’s office. Several high-ranking generals were already present. No one was surprised to see him; Yang Yunrong was a regular visitor, serving as the primary liaison between the Giant Machinery Group and the military.

"Minister, has the identity of the 'Tongguang Star' survivor been clarified?" Yang Yunrong asked, getting straight to the point since everyone in the room was on his side.

The middle-aged man with a fair complexion sitting in the center seat smiled and nodded at Yang Yunrong. "This is the information that was just sent over. Take a look."

A panoramic image of a young man appeared in the center of the office.

Yang Yunrong felt a slight pang of disappointment, but he asked, "Is that him? What is his name?"

"You would never guess," said another younger man with the rank of Major General. "He is from the Zhang family."

"The Zhang family? Which Zhang family?" Yang Yunrong, preoccupied, didn't react immediately.

"Which other Zhang family could it be?"