Set Sail!

Now, humanity’s territories spanned the entire galaxy, and space-time jumps were no longer a difficult matter.

For most people, they might never leave the planet of their birth in their entire lifetime.

However, civilian shuttles had become the most popular means of transportation, showing that ordinary people were eager to travel to other planets.

New Laineis Planet did not have a spaceport or orbital elevator, so civilian shuttles could only take off from ground launch pads.

At this very moment, a civilian shuttle was stationed on the launch pad.

“Shuttle entering launch countdown: ten, nine, eight, seven, six, five, four, three, two, one, ignition!”

With the countdown finished, the shuttle rose from the ground, trailing a long exhaust flame straight into space.

Even though the shuttle’s shape was bulky and aerodynamically inefficient, its atmospheric engines were immensely powerful, allowing it to break through the planet’s atmosphere within minutes.

The thick fairing covering the shuttle ensured that passengers inside would not feel even the slightest temperature change while traveling at high speed through the atmosphere.

Ye Lan was on this shuttle.

The moment the shuttle launched, the intense G-forces pinned him to his seat, only gradually subsiding after several minutes.

The slight feeling of weightlessness told him the shuttle had reached space.

Ye Lan hadn’t ridden a civilian shuttle in a very long time, the last time being over a century ago.

He removed the earplugs from his ears and was immediately struck by the cacophony around him.

Excited, terrified, and panicked screams assaulted his eardrums.

At that moment, the shuttle’s internal broadcast announced:

“Greetings, passengers! I am the captain of this flight. The shuttle is now in planetary synchronous orbit for a short rest. In ten minutes, we will enter warp drive to reach the nearest space-time corridor. The shuttle’s windows are now open for passengers to freely enjoy the view of the cosmos.”

After reaching high orbit, the shuttle redirected its energy from atmospheric propulsion to the hyperspace engine.

Hence, a brief rest was required before the next phase of the journey.

As the windows rose, starlight poured in, brightening the shuttle’s interior.

Ye Lan could see almost all the passengers leaning by the windows, enjoying the view.

Most of the passengers were citizens of New Laineis traveling for leisure.

For many, it was their first time riding a shuttle to another planet, so their excitement was understandable.

“Mom, look! Is that our planet? It’s so beautiful! ⊙∀⊙!”

“Here, hurry up and take a photo. The windows will close soon.”

In front of Ye Lan sat a mother and daughter, both thrilled and curious about the wonders of space.

Watching the heartwarming scene, Ye Lan felt a complex emotion stir in his eyes.

He had no memory of his own parents, having grown up in the welfare institute of New Laineis.

Although called a welfare institute, there were no human staff; cleaning, cooking, and education were all handled by machines.

It provided only basic shelter, food, and education for orphans.

However, Ye Lan was not alone; Su Lixiao was by his side.

According to the institute’s records, Su Lixiao was a year younger than Ye Lan.

Their close ages meant they often played together as children, becoming childhood friends.

Sadly, for Ye Lan, those childhood memories were over a century old; he barely remembered when he first met Su Lixiao.

Yet from as early as he could remember, Su Lixiao had always been there.

For Ye Lan, she was his lover, his family, his only home.

In his previous life, before attending the Soul-Cutting Military Academy, Ye Lan had never cared about his humble origins.

He was cheerful, ambitious, helpful, and carried the recklessness of youth, believing he could achieve great things.

But in the end…

Ye Lan gazed at the slowly rotating blue planet outside the window.

New Laineis was naturally beautiful, but after the alien invasion, planets with mineral resources, including New Laineis, were militarized into steel planets.

‘I will see you again. This time, it won’t end so easily,’ Ye Lan thought.

“Lixiao, aren’t you coming to look?” Ye Lan called to his neighbor, hoping to invite her to enjoy the planet’s view.

A minute passed without a response.

Curious, Ye Lan turned to see Su Lixiao sitting upright and motionless.

Her gaze fixed straight ahead, not even blinking.

If not for the faint rise and fall of her chest, she could have been mistaken for a delicate mannequin.

Ye Lan suddenly remembered something.

As an S-class psychic, only a rare few in the Human Alliance could match Su Lixiao’s combat ability.

But those who seemed invincible often had inexplicable weaknesses.

Su Lixiao did have a weakness: she strongly disliked riding spacecraft.

It was less a dislike than a physiological intolerance.

Whenever she boarded a ship, her mental state became tense and uneasy.

It wasn’t exactly claustrophobia, nor seasickness, but something unique.

Ye Lan didn’t understand why an S-class psychic would have such a human-like weakness, but perhaps this was a case of “one thing can subdue another.”

He waved his hand in front of Su Lixiao’s eyes, but she showed no reaction, her focus unshifting.

Seeing this wouldn’t work, Ye Lan tried another approach, gently taking her slightly cold hand.

“Ah!!!”

Su Lixiao let out a piercing scream.

The sound waves hit Ye Lan at close range, making him shake his head, momentarily feeling deafened.

“I-I’m… sorry…” Su Lixiao realized her outburst, lowered her head, cheeks flushed, yet she didn’t pull her hand away, even gripping it a little tighter.

She seemed shyly resistant yet hesitant to fully reject him, while Ye Lan’s expression twisted in pain.