Resurrection Empire

Chapter 1302 - 494: Eternal Night and Eternal Day_3

More than eighty percent of the people suggested that Ren Zhong should exercise his authority as an Earl, and have Wen Yuanbo submit a memorial to the Empire, requesting a replacement with a somewhat more reliable planet.

But some others, analyzing from the objective circumstances, felt that Nanxiang Marquis Liu An had only slightly reined in his killing intent, while his hostile stance toward Source Star had not changed.

Nanxiang Marquis had served as the Star Cluster’s Military and Political Officer for thousands of years, and had long since achieved unshakable absolute control over the core functional department, the Military and Political Center.

Arranging South Nine C as Ren Zhong’s origin planet was definitely done at Liu An’s own behest; mere protests and appeals would probably change nothing.

Ju Qingmeng said, "Maybe this is the first problem Liu An has thrown at Ren Zhong. If we really lodge a protest and appeal to the Empire, we might instead leave the auditors with the impression that we are utterly incompetent, affecting the Empire Core’s judgment of Ren Zhong, this newly promoted Earl’s potential and capability, and further affecting the level of fief Ren Zhong can ultimately receive. So what we actually have in front of us is a multiple-choice question: either sacrifice the present, or sacrifice the future. No matter which one we pick, we’re still dancing to Liu An’s tune."

After Ju Qingmeng stated her position, Ou Youning, who had been jumping the highest and voicing the loudest objections earlier, shut his mouth at once.

On the other side, it was actually Yu Junren—who had once served as general manager of Purple Crystal Mining’s Chenhui Mine branch, had a deep relationship with Ren Zhong, but was not a core member of Starfire Town, and now held the post of deputy director of Source Star’s Mining Bureau—who provided an effective analysis.

Yu Junren said, "Since the Immigration and Resettlement Office dares to bring out South Nine C, they must already occupy the high ground institutionally and legally. I’m afraid even if we appeal, it won’t do much good. You can look at this related list of idle planets in the Nanxiang Star Cluster. I have to say, although the Nanxiang Star Cluster has quite a few idle solid planets and stars located in the stellar habitable zones, there are not many that, after preliminary planetary engineering, actually possess a complete atmosphere. If we refuse South Nine C, then we either have to choose these planets whose volume and mass are both on the small side, with weak gravity. But those planets have extremely limited resources and are not conducive to development and reproduction. Or we have to choose these planets that aren’t in the habitable zone at all. With our fleet’s technical strength, we indeed can complete planetary engineering on our own, but it takes a very long time and requires collecting a massive amount of stellar radiation energy. I’m afraid by the time the Empire’s assessment period for His Lordship the Earl ends, we still won’t have finished the atmospheric engineering. At that point His Lordship’s score is bound to be terrible. All of this is extremely unfavorable for the assessment. South Nine C’s environment is harsh, but it barely counts as a foothold we can stand on immediately. That’s still better than us having to complete planetary engineering all on our own, right?"

Ren Zhong nodded slightly. "That’s exactly it. Although the Source Star Fleet currently far surpasses an ordinary colony in technological level, the energy and materials we’ve accumulated are insufficient. A level-four Mother Empress can control ten percent of a planet’s energy; we don’t even come close to a fraction of that. As for our wealth in Contribution Points, it’s not enough to purchase a full planetary engineering service, and we don’t have the time either. All right, that’s the end of the discussion. I’ve decided to accept South Nine C."

Ren Zhong had in fact thought this through very clearly.

He knew what Liu An was after, and he also knew that Sosgate Augustus of South Nine Star must have taken Liu An’s orders and was just waiting to viciously suppress the humans of Source Star.

Nanxiang Marquis arranging South Nine C for him was only the beginning.

But risk and opportunity coexist; no one could deny that South Nine C was a big piece of meat.

Besides, the harsher the environment looked and the worse their circumstances seemed, the more it could lower others’ guard and weaken the intensity of the suppression.

This run‑down planet South Nine C was actually more conducive to his long-term buildup and sudden, astonishing breakout.

After speaking, Ren Zhong glanced again at the report sent from the ship’s cockpit.

By now the entire fleet had fully entered the Fold Jump channel.

In the next 108 days, the fleet would lose all ability to communicate with the outside world. Fortunately, Sun Ai had already finished downloading the entire knowledge data package in advance.

"There are still one hundred and eight days left. I hope all departments will work together with full effort to draft complete plans for rapid descent and completed colonization, as well as targeted development of planetary engineering technologies. Meeting adjourned."

After he finished, Ren Zhong declared the meeting over and ended the discussion.

After the others left, Ju Qingmeng and Ma Xiaoling stayed behind, looking at him with expressions that were slightly awkward and complicated.

In the blink of an eye, Ren Zhong also felt a bit dazed. Thinking carefully, it had actually been sixty-two and a half years since he had last spent time alone with the two of them like this.

Although he had spent most of that time in cryosleep, and when he was awake he had been both busy and under constant strain, with no time to let his mind wander, the sheer span of absolute time still left him rather emotional.

By now, Ju Qingmeng and Ma Xiaoling had long since fully understood the many major incidents that had occurred during the voyage, and they were no longer as furious and unable to accept the fact that he had broken his word and sacrificed 18 billion people out of helplessness as they had once been.

Ma Xiaoling in particular had personally taken part in the Mother Empress Ship campaign.

Even in the timeline where things turned around at the end, Ren Zhong, then His Lordship the Viscount, had not just sat comfortably behind the lines and let others risk their lives for him; instead, he had personally charged into battle and even covered Ma Xiaoling multiple times on the battlefield. This had completely changed Ma Xiaoling’s view of him.

Ju Qingmeng let out a long sigh and slowly said, "I’m sorry."

Ren Zhong smiled faintly and lightly wrapped an arm around her waist. "It’s okay."

"You’ve had it rough."

Ma Xiaoling walked over with a grin. "Hey, Qingmeng-jie, you just don’t understand men. Trust me, there’s no conflict that can’t be solved by going at it once."

Ju Qingmeng’s face flushed at that, and she actually looked a little eager to give it a try.

Although the medical department had repeatedly verified that Ren Zhong’s genes were peculiar, seemingly with severe reproductive isolation from ordinary humans of Source Star,

even putting aside the goal of reproduction, this kind of thing could still help deepen their relationship.

Ren Zhong coughed repeatedly. "Hold on... hey..."