Before Su Cha even arrived, his reputation had already spread. All the major and minor forces gathered here now knew that the heir of Fog Star would be attending this time—and that he was even more doted on than the royal of the Zergs.
Being overbearing doesn’t mean being brainless. The Zerg wouldn’t tear things up with so many powers at once, but being constantly used as a benchmark was grating, and the suppressed frustration was nearing a breaking point. As the Royal, he was probably the only one in the clan without hostility toward Su Cha—more than anything, he was curious.
So when the Fog Star soldiers held up their support signs and headed off to receive their young lord, he followed along to the landing zone to join the excitement.
With the king insect heading out, the high-ranking royal insects naturally followed close behind to guard him.
The boy wasn’t the only one curious. People from almost every power came out to watch the show.
“I heard a little rumor—it’s said this heir of Fog Star was brought over from the Galan Empire.”
“Seems true. A few years ago, Fog Star and Galan Star had that standoff on a border planet. Everyone thought some huge war was about to break out.”
“Wasn’t it said to be a cultural exchange? Maybe there was more going on behind the scenes?”
These vague whispers only stirred the crowd’s curiosity even more.
High in the sky—
The ship made a steep dive before landing. Su Cha sat upright in his seat and fastened his harness. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Cyril frown slightly and asked, “What’s wrong?”
“There are quite a few people below.”
Cyril swept the area with his spiritual power and spotted the Fog Star people among them. Since they weren’t in a combat stance, the situation didn’t seem dangerous.
After the dive, the ship slowed again. Through the window, Su Cha noticed the throngs of people.
What’s going on?
Why did it feel like every time he stepped off a ship, it turned into a massive public spectacle?
“It can’t possibly be because of me again… right?”
He checked himself honestly—confident that couldn’t be it. He’d just awakened from his slumber and had been keeping a low profile these past few years.
That confidence lasted less than two minutes.
As the boarding ramp lowered and Cyril stepped out in front—with Su Cha on his left and Ji Tianjin on his right—Su Cha sharply sensed all the gazes shifting toward him.
Ji Tianjin had striking features too, but it was immediately obvious who the real heir was. The same silver hair silently confirmed it all.
The wind was strong at the landing site. Su Cha’s silver hair lifted slightly in the breeze. His figure was lean, long-limbed, like the most exquisite porcelain vase—light, fragile, and stirring a deep protective instinct in those who saw him.
In that moment, silence returned to the lively Jibei Star.
Even the Fog Star soldiers holding up their support signs forgot their rehearsal song. They hadn’t caught the livestream and hadn’t seen Su Cha in years—had that once-frail boy really grown into something so heartbreakingly beautiful?
“…D*mn.” Someone cursed softly, overcome by the sight.
Su Cha was puzzled by all the staring. Of course, he waved first to his own people. The Fog Star soldiers finally snapped out of their daze and quickly saluted.
As Su Cha helped lift them up, he scanned the crowd, visibly disappointed not to see any of his old friends.
Unconvinced, he looked again, and wherever his gaze passed, many felt a strange tingle down their spine.
“There are too many people. Not safe,” Ji Tianjin said quietly. “The Empire will definitely send someone. We’ll ask again later.”
Su Cha nodded. There were too many people now; the path ahead was nearly blocked.
Not that he needed to worry—Cyril silently released a portion of his Spiritual energy. Feeling the warning, the onlookers automatically dispersed.
As Su Cha walked forward through the cleared path, those nearby noticed a strange fragrance—perfume? No, it smelled too natural, like real floral scent.
He looked like that and even gave off a natural scent? Even the most advanced entertainment planets wouldn’t dare craft a persona like this—it’d get roasted by the audience.
As this living, breathing anomaly walked briskly forward, it should be said: before his deep slumber, Su Cha had already learned to control his floral aura. But perhaps because of the upcoming deep awakening, his spiritual power was becoming unstable again.
“Please wait a moment.”
Su Cha turned to see a red-haired boy waving at him, and immediately felt a surge of goodwill.
It was the Zerg youth: “Hello, I’m Lien.”
Noticing the crest on Ji Tianjin’s spatial ring, he raised a brow. “Ji Clan? Aren’t you guys our planet’s biggest ore suppliers? How come you’re doing an exchange program?”
As a major power, the Zerg naturally knew about the cultural exchange between Galan and Fog Star. Lien immediately guessed Ji Tianjin’s identity as an exchange student.
Ji Tianjin didn’t respond—as if too lazy to bother.
Lien was smart. Connecting it to the rumors he’d heard, he guessed Su Cha and Ji Tianjin had a decent relationship during their time in Galan. It wasn’t exactly a secret that Cyril personally mentored Ji Tianjin. Looked like a solid friendship.
The Zerg had a bit of mischief in their nature. Lien whispered, “But it seems your friend had a better first impression of me.”
After all, when Su Cha saw him, he smiled so much his eyes bent into crescents.
Ji Tianjin flatly stated the truth: “You’re the shortest among our age group. He was thrilled.”
Lien’s smile froze.
Su Cha pressed his lips together. Why say that out loud?!
Behind them, a high-ranking royal insect silently issued a warning—but their spirit force rebounded instantly off Cyril’s, bounced back without a trace.
The two, who bore the brunt, locked eyes, narrowing them slightly. It was their first real face-off with Fog Star’s king—and yes, he was powerful.
Lien had a bit of a wicked streak but was generally tolerant. He didn’t get mad at being called short—typical of the King Insect. He waved a hand, signaling not to escalate the matter, and then said to Cyril: “Please forgive me for not greeting you first. Just following my instinct—I figured Fog Star probably doesn’t place as much weight on formalities as the Federation does.”
That, at least, was accurate.
Su Cha wasn’t sure if it was just his imagination, but he felt the other Zerg members looking at him oddly. Not hostile—but there was a kind of… resentment?
As if sensing his confusion, Lien blinked and said: “Youngster, you used magic to defeat magic.”
…What magic defeating magic?
Su Cha got into the shuttle, even more confused than before. Lien followed right after.
From a distance, they could already see the outline of a grand mansion up ahead. Su Cha asked, “That’s not…?”
A Fog Star soldier quickly replied, “Specially prepared for Your Highness. One thousand square meters.”
“Only a thousand?” The tone was questioning, but it was clear from Su Cha’s expression that he was pleased.
He really was in a good mood, secretly thinking that everyone had finally gotten sensible. Back in affiliated high school, Land had wanted to transport in a 7,000-square-meter estate—compared to that, this was downright modest.
In truth, the soldiers had wanted to go for ten thousand, but considering the security challenges with that size—and Su Cha’s preference for simplicity—they had decided to keep it low-key.
Everyone from Fog Star, including Su Cha, was very pleased.
Su Cha even couldn’t help but praise, “You all were very thoughtful.”
Cyril nodded and gave his approval.
With stone-cold faces, the Fog Star soldiers displayed what could only be described as beaming pride.
Lien: “……”
Are you guys serious?
The Zerg entourage: “……”
Are you all serious?
What is this, a frugality award ceremony over a thousand-square-meter mansion?
Thankfully, the baffling celebration ended quickly. Su Cha asked, “Have you seen the people from the Galan Empire?”
“Their warship arrived just about an hour before Your Majesty and Your Highness. The docking area was too crowded, so we sent someone to check. Hearing that there were friends of Your Highness aboard, we brought them straight to your temporary residence.”
Everything handled perfectly—Su Cha almost felt like applauding.
The fragrance of roses drifted in through the windows, signaling that they were nearing their destination.
Su Cha noticed another mansion hidden among tall trees nearby and looked to Lien: “You live there?”
Lien nodded.
Su Cha sighed—zerg’s love for their monarch was truly excessive.
That double-standard expression of his was clearly burned into the minds of the high-ranking Zerg present. They nearly erupted—who was really to blame here? Initially, they’d only planned to prepare a modest little villa! The Zerg didn’t even have extravagant demands for their dwellings.
The shuttle finally came to a stop, cutting off any further ridiculous commentary.
When Su Cha saw a few familiar figures ahead, he practically jumped out of the car. The people on the other side, admiring roses, immediately recognized him.
“Su Cha!” Rong Shao took a few strides over and clapped him on the shoulder. “Good thing we saw that promo video you sent—otherwise, we would’ve been shocked out of our minds.”
The features were the same, but the fragile, porcelain-like aura he had now tugged at people’s hearts.
“What promo video?” Su Cha’s smile twitched. It was just a “proof of life” clip.
Rong Shao: “It’s all over the Empire. They say the Deputy Chief of Investigation couldn’t sleep a wink after watching it.”
Su Cha, the eternal “fainting sheep,” continued to haunt that department like a nightmare.
“Seems you’ve got quite the influence now,” Wu Shui, now looking even sweeter after a few years, smiled. “When we saw this place, we were shocked too. Since when did things become so… humble?”
Liu Xiqin, still the same aloof beauty, nodded in agreement alongside Di Yuansi.
As witnesses to how unconditionally spoiled Su Cha used to be by Fog Star, they sincerely believed this was already very restrained. If Fog Star had gone this far, it meant Su Cha’s words carried real weight.
But to the Zerg, it all sounded different: Is there no one normal left in this world?
A long-overdue reunion like this didn’t require tagging along a newly acquainted Lien. Su Cha waved, “Catch you later.”
Then, laughing and chatting with his friends, he stepped into the mansion.
Ji Tianjin was last to enter. Before going in, he glanced at Lien and casually commented, “There’s only so much advantage short people can leverage.”
Just when Lien thought the topic was over—bam, a final jab.
He turned to the high-ranking Zerg behind him. “Are all merchant families this petty?”
They thought about it seriously. After working with Ji Chong for so many years, they had never taken a loss—but also never gained so much as a single sliver of extra benefit.
One of the elders warned, “My lord, you’d best keep some distance from them.”
They all seemed a bit… off in the head.
The sorrows of humans are not shared by all. As for Su Cha, he was feeling nothing but joy.
Cyril was about to head upstairs to give them space when a voice stopped him.
“Hello.” Wu Zhi stepped forward on behalf of the others and presented a gift: “Just a small token. We hope you’ll accept it.”
Cyril took the space coin offered to him and instantly sensed what was inside: data disks and some Galan specialties.
Naturally, as a planetary monarch meeting peers, he couldn’t show up empty-handed. But his hosts also wouldn’t lack for expensive gifts, so Rong Shao and the others had chosen what would resonate—photos from Su Cha’s time in the Empire, clips from his plays, all burned onto a disk.
Though Cyril didn’t say much, he looked quite pleased. He even ordered the guards to prepare a return gift.
After he left, only a few people remained in the first-floor hall.
As expected, the Galan delegation had come not just for the summit but also for the Interstellar Youth Tournament. From Rong Shao, Su Cha learned that a lot of people had come—nearly a hundred warships had been dispatched.
“That many are competing?”
“Not all. It’s mostly for security.” Rong Shao yawned. “I can guarantee that right now, Jibei Star is the safest place in the entire universe.”
With such a military presence, not even a fly could sneak through.
Su Cha waved dismissively. “Don’t go jinxing it.”
Most of their conversation revolved around Su Cha. Ji Tianjin, who still visited from time to time, hadn’t been away long enough for it to feel like a true reunion.
The group chatted from daylight until dark.
Dinner was abundant, though it didn’t tempt the Galan natives, who had dull tastebuds. However, they did open several bottles of low-alcohol fruit wine.
Su Cha stood and gave a toast: “The laurel crown will surely go to Team ‘He’s Here.’”
Rong Shao waved him off. “We changed the name.”
Su Cha twitched. He’d almost forgotten. “Then here’s to Team ‘They’re Gone’…”
Ji Tianjin whispered, “Pretty sure it’s ‘They’re Back’ now.”
“…You guys really ran wild with this.”
As competitors, Rong Shao and the others would begin closed training for the next couple of days, so they stayed up late enjoying the night.
But the next morning, the competition committee suddenly announced a delay—the wormhole sovereignty meeting would be held first.
Early that day, Su Cha sent out a group message asking if anyone wanted to get breakfast. Five minutes passed with no replies. Feeling something was off, he got up to go find them—only for Cyril, seated at the table, to quietly speak: “They probably went to the docking site.”
“Hmm?”
Cyril picked up his coffee, pausing before taking a sip. “Sanses has arrived.”
Originally, the Galan Empire’s Second Legion Commander was supposed to lead the delegation. No one knew why Sanses had decided, at the last minute, to come personally.
