Chapter 11 The Freeloaders Are Coming

　　I should have thought of it earlier...

　　Pandora told me about her identity right at our first meeting—Xyrin General.

　　What is the most important quality of a general? Obviously, it isn't the general's belly—besides, a loli who's just tall enough to reach the dining table at home surely doesn't have that build, so the most important quality of a general should be soldiers...

　　So, in fact, the so-called Gaia's Immortal Sister didn't just send me a Xyrin Apostle named Pandora; she sent a whole regiment, including this general herself!

　　Although this was quite an obvious fact, Pandora's appearance still made me involuntarily overlook that she was really an Imperial General, and she didn't think it necessary to explain to me something she assumed I knew.

　　It seemed I underestimated the trouble those mysterious beings could cause me... an army! Never mind supporting them; just finding accommodation for so many people would be a nightmare! Where should I put them?!

　　Sending them to Shanxi to dig coal seems like a good idea; I'm only worried they might dig their way to Brazil. Judging by Pandora's capacity for action, I suspected all Xyrin Soldiers might have this spirit...

　　The old lady on the podium started speaking at the speed of a fast-talking rapper in her impeccable London accent, while I conversed with Pandora in my mental world at a speed not slower than the English teacher.

　　"Pandora, can you ask your army not to come? It feels... a bit too much..."

　　"Space Transition cannot be stopped."

　　"Then can they turn back immediately once they arrive? Uh—it's not that I have a problem with them, it's just that there's really nowhere to house them. How about we organize a three-day Earth tour for them once they get here, and then everyone goes home? It wouldn't be a wasted trip, would it?"

　　"This planet has no outpost base, and the mother star's equipment is not yet fully repaired. Therefore, the Imperial Expeditionary Army's transition this time is one-way. If you want them to return quickly, please establish a Xyrin outpost base first. Once the base is established, you can initiate war at any time to turn this world into a new frontier of the Empire."

　　…Why did I feel like we had discussed this topic before?

　　In an era where everyone pursued peace, friendship, societal harmony, and development, having a mysterious being around you who always thought about establishing bases and initiating wars to expand territory was very stressful.

　　"So, no matter what, your... army has to come here?"

　　"Yes."

　　"Then... how many of them are there?" I began seriously calculating how much it would cost to support an army and concluded that selling myself wouldn't be enough to feed them a meal; to support them, my first step should be securing the right to issue currency...

　　Unlike usual, Pandora remained silent for a long time without answering. Suddenly, cold sweat began forming on my forehead: Are you still counting? Haven't your calculations finished yet?

　　"Three hundred."

　　The number caught me so off guard that I couldn't react for a moment.

　　"How many?"

　　"Three hundred."

　　"...Thousand?"

　　"Three hundred, just three hundred people," Pandora said calmly, showing no sign of impatience.

　　"Three hundred! You must be joking! The so-called Imperial Expeditionary Army of the Xyrin Empire has only three hundred people?"

　　I felt like a condemned man who had been sentenced to death, watching the executioner about to swing the blade, only for a gasping eunuch to rush over at the last second, holding the Emperor's draft paper: "Stay the execution!"

　　"Three hundred refers to our number before expansion."

　　"Expansion?" I asked in confusion. In the two days since I met Pandora, though I hadn't made much progress otherwise, I had certainly picked up several bizarre new terms, enlarging my vocabulary significantly.

　　"Large-scale legion transmission consumes massive amounts of energy, which is an unnecessary drain during a war. Therefore, we utilize legion compression. Our basic soldiers are all lifeless Mechanical Puppets. During legion transmission, they are stored within Space Rifts created by their Commanders. Since they lack independent consciousness, there's no concern that psychological issues might reduce their combat effectiveness during prolonged transmission. Once at the destination, Commanders can quickly establish an outpost base via Space Transmission, releasing the stored soldiers. This process is called expansion."

　　"So, the ones coming over this time are just three hundred Commanders, with the actual soldiers stored in Space Rifts?"

　　"Yes."

　　"Great! Wonderful! Listen, Pandora, under no circumstances, let that army expand without my command. If it's just three hundred, accommodating them might be manageable..."

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　　Even though the number had shrunk from the anticipated thousands to just three hundred, the pressure was still immense.

　　It was now 11:30 PM. Considering that the sudden appearance of three hundred people would undoubtedly shock the general public, I asked Pandora to slightly adjust the time of the legion transition and chose a remote, uninhabited location far from any city for receiving them.

　　Pandora stood quietly, her originally jet-black hair turned ice blue, as transparently crystalline as ice. Under the night sky, she looked as beautiful as an angel who had accidentally wandered into the mortal world—even though this angel spent twenty hours daily plotting how to wipe out the U.N.

　　Waves of faint energy fluctuations radiated from her as the center, spreading outwards. Sharing information with Pandora, I felt the impact of these waves extending for a dozen kilometers.

　　"Information interference activated. For the next two hours, all intelligent targets entering the warning zone will be disrupted—Brother, are you feeling better?"

　　I continued lying on the ground, motionless.

　　"Sorry..."

　　"It's fine..." I replied weakly. "Just, never again measure me by Xyrin Apostle standards—someone could die, really, someone could die..."

　　The past 20 minutes had been a hellish journey.

　　Being carried on Pandora's shoulder as she dashed through walls and rooftops at 210 kilometers per hour had me feeling like my internal organs had all shifted: Hopefully, they could still perform their original functions in their new locations.

　　Lying still on the ground, after a while I finally started to feel the pain in my body ease a bit, but I had no desire to get up, simply staring at the starry sky.

　　"So quiet..." I whispered.

　　Away from the bustling city, shedding troublesome thoughts, lying quietly beneath this serene dark blue sky, I suddenly felt an unprecedented peace.

　　If it weren't for Pandora, I might never have had the chance to experience such tranquility, quietly lying in the suburbs on a night like this.

　　The past few days had been so bizarre that I hadn't had a single moment to unwind, but now, I suddenly felt much lighter.

　　"Brother, it's very cold outside now, it might harm your body," Pandora's slightly mechanical voice came through. Though it was as emotionless as always, I sensed a faint hint of concern—perhaps just psychological comfort? After all, the girl had just carried her Emperor over 200 kilometers from the city to the suburbs...

　　"It's fine, this is a rare chance to relax. You don't need to stand; there are still 20 minutes left, come lie here with me."

　　Pandora responded obediently and lay down beside me.

　　Though I knew she wasn't human, I still felt a little flutter when she lay down beside me.

　　Calm down, she's not human; besides, even if she were human, she's still just a loli!

　　A sudden thought flashed through my mind, bringing an epiphany: If even race isn't an issue, then why should age matter?

　　I realized my thoughts were rushing towards an uncontrollable direction...

　　"Hmm? Pandora, what's that smell?" I noticed the faint sweet scent emanating from Pandora.

　　"It's a residual scent from some compound Sister used while bathing me. Personally, I don't understand its purpose. In combat, such extraneous information would just expose oneself faster."

　　"Hehe, Pandora, you don't always have to think about combat. There aren't that many conflicts in this world; you could live a little more freely."

　　The girl beside me, unusually, did not respond this time but remained silent. I figured, with the gap in our worldviews, she found it hard to understand this sentiment.

　　"Pandora, I've always wanted to ask, what was daily life like for you Xyrin Apostles—before you inadvertently fell into slumber?" I was curious about the Xyrin Empire, with which I had now formed myriad intricate ties, and about the world that was completely shrouded in mystery to me.

　　Pandora remained silent for a long time before finally uttering four words: "Temporarily... unknown."

　　"Basic data loss is severe, nearly all records before our slumber are lost. Perhaps once we contact other awakened Xyrin Mother Stars, we'll get relevant data, or maybe over time, the database will partially recover."

　　"I see..."

　　After a while, Pandora's voice sounded again, still flat and emotionless: "Maybe it was just constant fighting. I only remember fighting, continuous fighting. We were a race born for combat."

　　"Not necessarily," I suddenly recalled the colorful world I saw in my dreams, a vibrant world I refused to believe was created by a combat race.

　　Afterwards, we both fell silent until a rhythmic wave suddenly rippled through my mental world.

　　The freeloading forces from the distant Xyrin Mother Star had finally arrived.

　　"Pandora, prepare yourself."