Chapter 122: The Return Journey

When Yan Xia woke up again, he opened his eyes to see a figure in a white lab coat, with silver curls cascading down to their waist, swaying gently with their movements as they walked by the bed. A unique fragrance wafted through the air.

However, the lab coat seemed a bit too tight, almost like a bodysuit.

Perhaps it wasn't the fault of the lab coat, but rather...

The woman turned around, her round face beaming with joy. She looked at Yan Xia, and they exclaimed in unison, "Master, you're awake!"

After saying this, she jumped, like a waitress in a maid café, and Yan Xia felt the entire battleship shake slightly.

At that moment, Yan Xia thought Ella had put on some weight.

But after nearly ten thousand years of training in the Star City, he remained calm and composed.

"Am I back?" he asked.

He averted his gaze, as the light from the ceiling was too bright, causing dazzling patterns to appear if he stared for too long.

During his slumber, he had been cut off from all senses and was unaware of anything.

However, he had prepared for this before entering hibernation. If he was discovered and killed by the Olive Branch Civilization, he would be rescued by the Civilization Federation.

At least, that's what it seemed like for now.

"Yan Xia, you've become more astute. If it were the old you, you would have been startled," said a miniature Ella, about a foot tall, wearing a white floral skirt and white lace stockings, with a pair of butterfly wings on her back, resembling a fairy.

"You haven't changed at all, Ella," Yan Xia remarked.

Seeing Ella's virtual image, Yan Xia's memory was suddenly pulled back to a distant past.

Not only had Ella's main body left him, but even her accessories had been gone for a very long time.

In these thousands of years, he had been almost alone, facing the vast Star City by himself.

Of course, he understood that it was also thanks to Ella's efforts within the Civilization Federation that he had made it this far.

Yan Xia got up from the hospital bed but felt a sudden weakness throughout his body.

"Yan Xia, you entered a state of deep hibernation in the universe, and the extreme cold and radiation severely damaged your body. Fortunately, the quark machines worked hard to repair you, or you would have died long ago," Ella said earnestly.

Yan Xia nodded slightly.

The hibernation chamber had protective devices, and his armor should have been able to block the radiation in space.

But he was inside the Star City, where the radiation was much stronger than in space.

He had detected the high radiation levels before entering hibernation, but it was still better than staying in the Center of Mass Prison, unable to hibernate and waiting to starve to death.

There is a fundamental difference between hibernation and dormancy.

It was the best decision at the time.

"How long have I been in hibernation?" Yan Xia asked.

He felt that it had been a relatively short time.

And indeed it was.

"1,129 years," Ella replied.

Yan Xia took a deep breath. Had it really been that long since he left the Center of Mass Prison?

At that moment, the plump doctor removed her silver-white wig, revealing a bald head with tattoos. She pushed a wheelchair over and helped Yan Xia sit in it.

"How is the situation with the Star City now?" Yan Xia asked, as this was his primary concern.

"There is no Star City anymore. The internal class conflicts have divided it into five parts. It's truly astonishing how quickly and extensively their civil war escalated, considering they were once a civilization that collapsed due to internal strife," Ella explained.

Although Ella's words were simple, Yan Xia could imagine the scene.

"But we are still the Star City's nemesis, aren't we? Even if it is now at its weakest," he added.

Even an old and frail lion is not to be disdained by ants.

Yan Xia's initial goal was not to conquer but to seize the initiative in front of the Olive Branch Civilization.

"I think there's still a chance," Ella said.

Yan Xia shook his head.

"The Star City is just one of the dozens of star cities of the Olive Branch Civilization. Even if we succeed, we must not be discovered," he argued.

"All we need is for the Star City to remain in chaos, giving us more time," Ella suggested.

"The conflict between the Silk Civilization and the Star City has already been ignited, and they will likely focus more on the Silk Civilization from now on."

"Our top priority now is to recuperate and let the class conflicts spread to the other star cities of the Olive Branch Civilization."

"I have a good idea."

"Release Chu!"

Ella instantly understood. Releasing Chu would create chaos in the Star City.

As a manager who loves her civilization, Chu would definitely report the conflicts in the Star City, and that would be their opportunity.

Having the initiative meant having more possibilities.

This was what Yan Xia had been working towards for the past ten thousand years.

"You shouldn't be thinking about these things right now, Yan Xia," Ella said.

"You should relax a bit."

"We're on our way back now."

"In any case, welcome back, Yan Xia!"

Ella wanted Yan Xia to relax, and he understood that the doctor's disguise was part of the plan.

However, this was a matter concerning the Civilization Federation and his own safety, so he couldn't help but think about it.

"I just want to know if we can buy enough time for ourselves," Yan Xia said.

Pushed in a wheelchair, Yan Xia arrived at the dining area, and seeing the food reminded him that he had been hungry for a long time.

He ate heartily, with grease dripping from his mouth. Then, like a gentleman, he wiped his mouth with a napkin, went to the bathroom, and returned to order steamed fish dragon, stir-fried dinosaur liver, and grilled dragon tail...

After the satisfying meal, Yan Xia remembered something.

"How is the Light Wing Race developing within the Civilization Federation?" he asked.

Ella retrieved the information from the database.

"They have already surpassed 3 billion in population."

That was a lot, but considering it had been over ten thousand years, Yan Xia felt relieved.

"New has been captured by the Star City, and he's quite interesting. But the cost of rescuing him from within the Star City is too high," Ella added.

"Ella, when we go to destroy the fast communication device, we can look for him. If we can't find him, then forget it," Yan Xia said.

As for the remaining 6 million soldiers left in the Star City, they would have to stay there forever.

Yan Xia didn't want to rescue them, not because he didn't care, but because rescuing 6 million would require sacrificing 600 million, and there was no guarantee of success.

It was cruel, but the nature of the universe was cruel.

In this game, Yan Xia couldn't even guarantee his own safety, let alone anyone else's.

The heavy topic came to an end.

After recovering his body, Yan Xia entered another round of deep sleep.

When he woke up again, it had been over ten thousand years since his last return.

A new Civilization Federation would be waiting for him.

Or perhaps it would be the same old one, as Ella had told him that the Civilization Federation had consumed too many resources in this struggle for the initiative, and they had lost 90% of their battleships in the previous battle.

There would be a lot to do when the time came.

Yan Xia thought about it for a moment and then decided to sleep.