Chapter 1625: Chapter 614: Where the Invaders Go, I Go Too

"Let’s bury them all here. If one day my time comes, I want to be buried here as well."

With his hands behind his back, Ren Zhong stood before a pile of newly erected graves and spoke slowly.

This was a vacant spot within Starfire City’s inner area, scattered with numerous graves.

The graves are roughly of the same standard: white stone and black tombstones, with names engraved on them alongside dense lines of text detailing their biographies, which are essentially epitaphs.

On Source Star, only those who have made significant contributions and whose names are remembered in history qualify for a grave.

To be buried in this special cemetery is a mark of great honor.

Such as Ma Dafu, Yu Chengde, Wang Zhaofu, Shi Xuan..., and the couple Wen Lei and others.

Now, some new names have been added here. Zheng Tian, Bai Feng, Ou Youning...

Saying "returning to one’s roots" is fitting. Although Zheng Tian and the others were unable to return to their homeland voluntarily, their homeland reached across thousands of light years to bring them back.

This was not a grand funeral; only a few dozen people attended.

People even eagerly picked out spots for themselves.

Ren Zhong looked at the row of tombstones of Zheng Tian’s team, then at Chen Hanyu, and said, "Now it’s just the two of us left."

Chen Hanyu hummed in agreement, "Yes."

No regrets; compared to the generation before them, having a grave after death is already an unspoken advancement of the era.

Afterward, Ren Zhong walked around the cemetery, placing a bouquet of flowers before each tombstone.

This act held no practical significance; it was merely a sentimental gesture.

However, it seemed the logistics staff did not prepare adequately. When Ren Zhong reached the simplest grave, a small mound in the center, he was out of bouquets.

The logistics staff from Source Star were taken aback and intended to prepare more, but Ren Zhong waved his hand, walked to the side, picked a bouquet of dandelions with green leaves from the ground, returned to the small mound, and gently inserted it into the earth.

A breeze arose, white tufts floating.

Time returned to the beginning, but her name remained unknown.

Afterward, Ren Zhong decided to stay on Source Star.

However, others had their own destinations.

Ju Qingmeng and Ma Xiaoling returned to the Starry Sky Red Blade Armor and were once again frozen, in slumber.

Yujin, Hu Yang, along with the families of Wen Lei, Wang Zhaofu, Jiang Kai, and Dedmon, went to the Red Blade Clan’s administrative main starship, beginning to familiarize themselves with current Red Blade Army management tasks under the guidance of Han Zhixin, Tessis Alson, and Andra Locke.

Although Yujin and Hu Yang’s absolute lifespan was far greater than Han Zhixin and others, they spent most of their time in frozen slumber on Source Star; hence, the Red Blade Clan now faced was vastly different in population size, production scale, military power, and social atmosphere compared to Source Star.

So, even though those from Source Star were quite experienced and trusted by Ren Zhong, they still needed extensive learning to integrate into the current Red Blade Clan’s social management system.

Among everyone, Yujin and Hu Yang held the most special positions, clearly set to be the successors of Han Zhixin, Song Qingqiao, Tessis, and others in military and political power.

Indeed, Han Zhixin and others had aged unknowingly, and the Red Blade Clan was once again at a junction of power transition.

Clearly, the upcoming situation faced by the Red Blade Clan would be more complex and challenging.

The Marquis had intentions to let his old team lay the foundation for and safeguard the new era.

At first, Song Qingqiao, Tessis, and other newcomers felt a bit discontent, but the veteran members like Guo Denghuai and Yuan Qinh said nothing, making the newcomers hesitant to grumble.

Ren Zhong, of course, was aware of these circumstances, yet he did not intervene.

The Red Blade Clan was unlike ordinary civilizations; with Ren Zhong as the stabilizing force in place, any power struggle below remained a healthy competition, not devolving into the life-and-death mutual hindrance seen between him and Liu An.

Soon, Hu Yang emerged with remarkable success in the fully-realistic simulated battles, rapidly gaining fame.

Just half a month later, Hu Yang passed the highest-rated assessments and headed to the front lines, participating in the skirmish and commerce with the Red Blade Clan against the Ascender army, starting with a small fleet.

In the following half-month, Hu Yang consecutively accomplished feats, and within the Red Blade Clan’s internal merit system, her scores rose steadily, granting her increasing authority, and the size of fleets under her command expanded progressively. The battle zones under her command started gaining the upper hand.

Outside the war zone Hu Yang was focused on, lay exactly the escape route provided by Duke Wenle from the Empire for Ren Zhong.

With things reaching this stage, Han Zhixin and others naturally understood why Yuan Qinh and Guo Denghuai from Source Star were impressed with Hu Yang.

It became clear that Hu Yang was not relying on seniority but true skill. This hometown ally of the Marquis was on a command level with Military Ancestor Zheng Tian, genuinely formidable. Source Star is indeed a good place.

While Hu Yang gained swift fame within the Red Blade Clan, Yujin, the one rumored to be the Marquis’s first true confidant, remained inconspicuous, quietly studying.

However, no one dared underestimate him. With a spouse at such a level, how could he be lacking?

Aside from these managerial changes, deeper transformations occurred in the spheres of research and production.

Source Star Science Academy and Red Blade Science Academy, these two major systems under Ren Zhong’s command, collided, akin to Mars hitting Earth, reunions of old friends.

Though both operated under Ren Zhong and Sun Ai’s dispatch, the vastly different external environments indeed fostered distinct thinking patterns.

Under Yang Misi’s leadership, Red Blade Science Academy exhibited boldness, focusing particularly on combining theory with practice, and regardless of the project, the first consideration was to invest vast resources, even if it meant constructing a colossal structure for a one-time experiment—willing to spare no effort.

However, Source Star Science Academy, with its array of Grandmaster-level scholars, lacked such resources, and over years, became more focused on theorizing through pure mental calculation—adhering to the principle of economizing where possible, opting to simulate calculations with data rather than conduct experiments whenever feasible. In such a state, Source Star Science Academy nurtured many scholars adept at theoretical deduction despite lacking practical exposure.

In the past, Ren Zhong acted as intermediary, enabling mutual promotion between the two.

Now, uniting as one, they engaged in free exchange without the need for Ren Zhong to mediate, exponentially increasing efficiency.

Furthermore, the Red Blade Army’s numerous planet ships started emulating Source Star Ships.

Everyone recognized the advantages of original ecological planets.

This was precisely what this nomadic Red Blade Clan urgently required.

Moreover, extensive ship modification work proceeded intensively.

Next, all the planet ships, fortress ships, and medium and small vessels within the Red Blade Army would possess the mobility of Source Star Ships.

Time flew by, and in a blink, four years had passed.

Ren Zhong looked at the external battle zone map and said, "It’s time to go. We need to head into the Ascender’s territory. If they could come, so can we."

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