Chapter 13: The Secret

Following the direction of Deep Blue’s rotation, at the far ends of each vast frozen plain lay colossal light pillars resembling transparent shafts. These pillars stood separate from the sea areas and extended straight through the atmosphere all the way up to connect with two space fortresses suspended beyond Deep Blue’s orbit.

One of these light pillars was for flying saucers entering Deep Blue; the other was for departure.

A spaceship with a pitted outer hull shot out along one such light pillar-shaft, piercing through the atmosphere. After escaping Earth’s gravity, its engines began shutting down as it obediently sailed into the floating space fortress—along the passageway walls were energy cannon muzzles scattered like honeycomb cells, and every ten meters stood an armed robot sentinel.

“Hurry up with the inspection! I’m in a rush!” Bald Jim randomly chose an empty exit station and frantically shouted into his communication device, “I haven’t smuggled any fine wine from Deep Blue, nor have I carried more than the allowed amount of psychoactive hallucinogens, let alone any illicitly purchased weaponry! My ship is just as pure and innocent as myself! Do you understand clearly now?”

The daily volume of traffic through Deep Blue’s customs was enormous. The peculiar momentary stagnation at the ground port docking area lasted less than half a minute, resulting merely in slightly fewer outbound spacecraft queued for inspection at the space fortress checkpoint. This minor anomaly failed to attract even the slightest attention from any staff member whatsoever.

In their safe offices, staff members monitored anomalies in the passages while observing the scan results from various instruments on the departing spacecrafts.

One of the staffers couldn’t help but remark sarcastically:

“Innocent? Pure? Damn it, this guy is a member of the renowned interstellar pirate organization in the White Whale Galaxy! His arrest warrant is valid in over seventy countries!”

However, among these countries was not included the Deep Blue Kingdom.

Never mind interstellar pirates—even war criminals and political dissidents could come here to indulge in pleasures without restraint. Unless they violated laws within the Deep Blue Kingdom itself, in this “haven forever free from warfare,” they enjoyed equal freedom alongside law-abiding citizens.

As such, few interstellar pirates and terrorist groups in the White Whale Galaxy dared to target the Deep Blue Kingdom.

Unless, of course, they had no interest in seeking entertainment there, nor desired access to the most advanced decadent drugs and alcohol produced by its industries; unless they didn’t plan to engage with peers in their field or purchase weaponry…

“These scum are like locusts—just let them be done with inspections and get lost already!” another staffer shrugged nonchalantly. “Our salaries, benefits—even our children, destined since before birth for well-paid jobs with top-notch education—all thanks to these fellows’ extravagant spending in the entertainment district.”

The last instrument lit up with green light. At the end of the corridor, the metal door slowly lowered to form a platform inclined upward at a 15-degree angle.

Bald Jim pulled on the control lever, sending the spacecraft hurtling out along the sloping surface.

Outside was the boundless starry sky, pitch-black in its expanse.

Through the viewport, one could see the azure planet below—a vast sphere of water without any peaks or rivers, only an endless ocean stretching horizon to horizon.

Gazing upon Deep Blue, it seemed as though even one’s soul might be deeply drawn into its depths.

“It possesses a bewitching beauty,” Wen Luan murmured, standing by the viewport, visibly shaken.

Thud! Jim’s head slammed against the console as he frantically turned his neck, stammering, “Luan? When did you wake up?”

“Did I faint?” Wen Luan asked. “I just wasn’t quite accustomed to this environment.”

Jim rubbed his bald forehead and let out two forced laughs. “Anyone experiencing their first trip into space would feel some discomfort. How do you feel now?”

Wen Luan had no recollection of fainting at the port’s landing field. He only remembered miraculously encountering a familiar face from Meteorite Town, then Jim successfully leading him away from Deep Blue. As someone who had never been aboard a spaceship before, he couldn’t bear it for long and lost consciousness briefly—just now regaining full awareness.

He was left wondering whether he should consider himself incredibly unlucky or extraordinarily fortunate.

After time-traveling two thousand years into the future, Wen Luan found himself inexplicably in possession of a supposedly highly intelligent mecha. When pursued by the kingdom with his life on the line, having reached a dead end, he suddenly encountered Jim—a chance meeting that effortlessly achieved his first-stage escape goal.

This—this turn of fate is far too dramatic!

Wen Luan was certain that the person before him was indeed Jim, the miner from Meteorite Town—not just because Jim recognized him, but also because he had “unintentionally” mentioned the name of the priest at Meteorite Town’s church earlier.

“How did you end up here on Deep Blue?” Wen Luan pressed.

“Oh, same as you!” Jim scratched his bald head, speaking without even turning back. “I got drunk at the town bar, and when I woke up, I was right here on this street, filling out a missing persons registration form.”

“Same as me?” Wen Luan frowned sharply, his senses keen. “Did you know I went missing?”

“Uh! Ah…right, Dad Su Ta mentioned it while I was drinking.” Lowering his voice further, Jim dared not look back. Pretending to be preoccupied, he tapped hurriedly on the console. “Where’s the navigator? Damn, this piece-of-junk spaceship needs a complete overhaul.”

Jim spoke English haltingly, far from fluently. Narrowing his eyes slightly, Wen Luan asked nonchalantly, “Is that so? So then, did I ever make it back to Meteorite Town in the end?”

“No idea. You’d been missing for two days… ahem, when I arrived,” Jim replied evasively.

“Friday? No wonder you’d be drinking yourself into oblivion at the bar. I remember you liked vodka and whiskey.”

“Haha, indeed!” Jim perked up, slapping his forehead as he laughed heartily. “This godforsaken place may look terrible, but it has enough flavor in its weaponry and liquor. The Deep Blue specialty, ‘Frost,’ is such that just one sip could make you dash across the frozen plain with reckless abandon. From throat to stomach—even down to your very soul—it burns fiercely. Tsk, of course, it’s far too expensive!”

“It sounds like you know this place well.”

“Of course, after living here for so long… See, having survived all these years on this planet, I’m deeply familiar with it!” Bald Jim, who had successfully left Deep Blue, felt his tense nerves finally relax. He feigned nonchalance, cutting off any further questions Wen Luan might have had by saying, “However, when it comes to the Lost Population Principle, I don’t understand even half of it. And frankly, I don’t want to return to Meteorite Town; this place is far superior compared to that dump—much more exciting!”

Jim waited for Wen Luan to ask about how he’d been doing and what kind of work he’d found, but instead…

“You mentioned earlier that the harbor wasn’t the right place for conversation?” Wen Luan stared intently at Jim, deliberately asking, “I must say, I didn’t find Deep Blue particularly dangerous. In fact, it seemed quite prosperous. The locals there were remarkably friendly towards lost persons, and even the city patrol officers envied the favorable treatment time travelers received.”

Jim broke out in sweat, inwardly cursing those damned bats—how could they fail to detect even a single true time traveler? Among all those TV-watchers, wasn’t there a single person who knew Wen Luan? Oh Satan above, he hoped that scene of hasty escape had been live broadcast by Dark Parliament Television—huh?

Jim noticed that there was no watch on Wen Luan’s wrist.

Only now did it dawn on him that Wen Luan’s entire outfit of ragged snow wolf fur appeared, with uneven coloring as well—it didn’t seem like purchased clothing at all.

Could those bats have botched their act? Was his identity exposed?

Still frozen stiff, Jim heard Wen Luan’s question and responded offhandedly, “Yes, Deep Blue is indeed very dangerous, especially when Cyrus is around. ‘We’ must always be cautious.”

“Cyrus?”

What does this have to do with the Prime Minister of the Kingdom?

“Because he is… uh, he’s extremely dangerous, truly terrifying!” Jim snapped back to reality just in time, emphasizing his words while desperately racking his brain for suitable phrases. “Especially for us, he—he…”

“He conducts experiments on time travelers?” Wen Luan asked, horrified.

“Uh! Experiments? Right, right—that’s exactly what I meant, conducting experiments!”

Drenched in sweat, Jim could only desperately try to pin all blame on Cyrus. After all, in the eyes of ordinary humans, he was nothing more than a mad scientist.

“I’m not entirely sure about the specifics,” Jim mumbled vaguely. “If I knew the secret of his experiments, I wouldn’t be alive right now! My friend, considering we both reside in Meteorite Town, I simply cannot help but assist you!”

Pointing at one war fortress after another amidst the starry sky beyond the viewport, Jim continued, “Once we leave this stellar system, we’ll be completely safe. Lost persons occur every month; Cyrus won’t lack for experimental materials!”

Wen Luan nodded without further comment.

“Dear friend, why don’t you stick with me?” Jim boasted recklessly. “How does it sound? It might be more dangerous than mining, but the pay is the highest in this era! What do you say—shouldn’t you give it some thought?”

Xi’er, who had remained silent until then, suddenly communicated telepathically with Wen Luan:

“Master, he’s an interstellar pirate. In the data I replicated, there were arrest warrants from over seventy countries featuring his photograph.”

“That sounds truly impressive!” Wen Luan retorted sarcastically.

“Haha, it’s true indeed.” Believing Wen Luan’s remark was directed at him, Jim bragged further, “Fine wine, beautiful women, wealth—all of it awaits us!”

Xi’er calmly continued providing information to Wen Luan. “The earliest arrest warrant dates back three hundred years from now.”

Wen Luan’s eyes flickered briefly. “Jim, how long have you been here?”

“Ah, quite some time.”

“I heard the average age here is 350 years old?”

“Oh, that’s just the average age in the Deep Blue Kingdom. In some backward countries within the White Whale Galaxy, people can only live up to one hundred years, much like ancient Earth dwellers. However, those countries’ rulers don’t want to die either—ha ha—so occasionally we also smuggle certain items to sell them,” Jim said casually. “For example, a single dose of gene therapy medicine and two tubes of cellular aging retardant. If you use these, I guarantee you could live until you’re three hundred years old too. Of course, such medicines are incredibly expensive!”

Unaware that he had inadvertently passed a test, Jim persisted in his persuasion, urging Wen Luan to join him as an interstellar pirate. “My friend, I’m actually doing this for your own good. Regardless of whether you wish to return to Meteorite Town or continue enjoying life here, first and foremost, you must survive. But since these medicines are so costly, joining our trade is the only way you can earn enough money.”

“I can do it?”

“Absolutely you can. You even attended the small-town public school; I never got to go to such a place myself! Don’t worry, we’re just smuggling some items—lightly violating the laws of many countries within the White Whale Galaxy. There are risks, but the income is definitely high!” Jim stammered out his English haltingly at first, but as he continued speaking, he became more fluent. Clearly, he rarely used this language in everyday conversation.

“That sounds good.”

“Wen, you agree? Wonderful!” Bald Jim whistled, tossing an earbud-like object to Wen Luan. “Language learning device. I thought you might need one of these.”

“Thank you.”

“The rest area is over there. We still have to stay on board for another month! This lousy spaceship can’t perform long-distance space jumps,” Jim said with a wave of his hand, humming rock music all along.

Wen Luan nodded before leaving the cockpit.

As the sound of footsteps faded away, Jim hastily closed the metal door behind him. From his pocket, he produced an oval-shaped piece of obsidian, which he placed against his forehead. Then, without moving a muscle, he fell completely still.

---

The bald figure of Jim abruptly appeared in a pitch-black circular hall. At the very front steps stood three white candles, with only the second one lit. In the darkness, a raspy voice spoke:

“Beastman Commander Jim, we have already learned about what happened at the port.”

Jim’s figure was ethereal and transparent, standing five meters tall with dense fur covering his entire body. A menacing “king” character mark adorned his forehead. He rudely shouted, “It’s all those damned bats’ fault! What kind of joint performance is this for lost persons? How could they fail to notice that a true time traveler had appeared?”

“No, Commander Jim.” The voice from behind the candle drifted softly through the air. “We’ve already investigated; there were no issues with recent cases of missing persons. However, half a year ago, the vampire Bruce family reported an incident where a time traveler intruded upon Deep Blue. Despite extensive searches and investigations conducted repeatedly, none were found. Fearing the Dark Parliament would halt their entertainment, they hastily announced that the time traveler had simply returned to their own time without any detailed report whatsoever! The Bruce family must bear full responsibility for this matter!”

“…Elder, please calm down!” Jim couldn’t help but lower his voice. “Could it be that no one recognized ‘Luan’? What about the dark wizard Suta?”

“That segment of footage was never broadcasted, so…” The elder of the Dark Parliament spoke with evident anger. “And Duke Bruce truly did not know ‘Wen Luan’ at all! Not until today, when the port surveillance recorded it! By Satan above, for half a year—exactly half a year—we were under the terror of this crisis. Once the demon from the East awakens…”

“What? Port surveillance?” Bald Jim immediately interrupted the elder, visibly tense. “Did the human government see it too?”

“Satan preserve us! The situation isn’t as dire as you think. We’ve already urgently used our authority to delete the surveillance records. Cyrus won’t see them; he remains just like ‘Wen Luan,’ completely unaware.”

Jim promptly reported on the success of his deception of Wen Luan.

“Excellent, Commander Jim,” the elder praised him. “Your quick wit and loyalty will be rewarded by the Dark Parliament! Ensure Wen Luan gets as far away from Deep Blue as possible. Under no circumstances should he have the chance to return!”

---

On the uneven top of the spacecraft, a silver metallic sphere silently swayed once before instantly appearing in the cockpit. A pair of blue electronic eyes materialized on its surface as it stared at Jim, who stood frozen with vacant expression, circling him thoughtfully without touching him.

The metal sphere swayed again, immediately reappearing in the rest cabin where Wen Luan was located.

“Xi’er?” Wen Luan asked, fiddling with that language learning machine.

“Yes, Master.” The electronic eye on the metal sphere shifted towards Wen Luan’s direction.

Wen Luan fell silent.

This design left him utterly speechless.

“Xi’er, your formal name isn’t ‘mecha,’ but rather ‘Hundred Transformations Robot,’ right? When you transformed Pegasus into a knightly lance or from a knight into a small airship, one could still call you Transformers—albeit a bit of a stretch. But now even compressing your size down to just the volume of a soccer ball—how is this possible?”

“The alloy composing me is very special; it cannot even be called metal,” Xi’er said mechanically as he floated through the air before Wen Luan. “It possesses memory elasticity and malleability—key components of Raymond Gaeton’s Analytical Plan—and originates from… Never mind, Master, with your intellect, it would be difficult for you to understand.”

“…”

Wen Luan nearly kicked Xi’er away like a soccer ball.

The metallic sphere hovered in mid-air before Wen Luan, continuing his mechanical speech: “That Jim hid many secrets. I believe he lied to you.”

Upon hearing this, Wen Luan let out a mocking smile.

“It seems you weren’t surprised at all?” The electronic eyes on the metal sphere flickered.

“The day I left Meteorite Town was Saturday,” Wen Luan stated calmly. “How could there be a Friday just two days later? Miners only come to town on weekends to drink; otherwise, they reside near the mining site.”

Xi’er fell silent, leaving unsaid:

Master, you too harbor many secrets.

Xi’er had also been a witness to everything that transpired during the port incident.