Chapter 1 The Beginning

Home, living room.

Nangong Wuyue and Izhaks stood like two bodyguards to Hao Ren's left and right, while Vivian and Lily were busy nearby checking the three people's small suitcases for the last time. Everyone's expression was more serious than the last, looking like staff before a moon landing.

"Nothing forgotten, two sets of clean clothes, biscuits, mineral water, dry food, tools..." Vivian checked Hao Ren's small suitcase like a conscientious new daughter-in-law (it was actually just a small handbag; too big would be inconvenient to carry.) She even checked the places Lily had checked again with concern. "Send a message back after you reach your destination. Doesn't your data terminal have that function? Remember to report your safety at any time. Don't touch strange things; they might be poisonous. Come back quickly after finishing your business. Being in a foreign land..."

"Okay, okay," Hao Ren looked at this girl, known as the oldest vampire, with a wry smile, "You're like my mom."

Vivian kicked him: "Acting like you're not grateful after getting a good deal. Do you think ordinary people get this treatment? I finally found a place where I can get enough to eat. I'm afraid you'll die outside, and I'll have to worry about food and housing again."

Nangong Wuyue blinked her eyes as she looked at Hao Ren and Vivian, feeling that this "family" was becoming more and more interesting.

"Sorry, you just moved in, and you have to go on a long trip with me to handle this troublesome thing," Hao Ren saw Nangong Wuyue looking around, thinking the siren was impatient. "That crow is just like that, one idea after another. This time, I'm making you work hard. It's usually not this busy."

"Oh, oh, it's okay," Nangong Wuyue waved her hands quickly. "I'm very happy! I like traveling everywhere the most, seeing new places and new scenery, so I'll never get bored in my life. Speaking of which, I think it was a wise decision to settle down here. It's very interesting to be with you guys. The people are interesting, and the things are interesting—I can actually travel to a place more than eight hundred light-years away. No siren would dare to imagine such a thing!"

Well, it seems that the siren's love for travel is well-deserved. Nangong Wuyue is not at all resistant to this troublesome errand suddenly thrown at her. It's much easier to deal with if she has this mentality.

"It's 9:30 a.m., fully prepared," Lily looked at her watch seriously after checking all the luggage. "Landlord, I wish you a smooth journey! Bring me something delicious when you come back..."

Hao Ren waved to Lily and Vivian, and at the same time, he gave the command to the data terminal in his pocket: Start the teleportation.

A dazzling white light enveloped the three people standing together, and the surrounding space twisted and shrunk into a bright, crystal-clear sphere in that instant. Then the spatial anomaly subsided, and Hao Ren and the others had disappeared.

"They're gone," Lily's ears drooped listlessly. "They didn't take me."

"There will be opportunities next time," Vivian comforted her casually. "I'll make noodles for you at noon... Speaking of which, why do I feel like I'm becoming your nanny! When did we become so close?"

"Nonsense, I have to be responsible for earning money to support you when the landlord is away!" Lily's tail was about to curl up. "If you have the ability, go out and earn money~~ Okay, now you're responsible for feeding the cat. I'm going back to my room to write..."

Vivian: "Try being cheeky again, and don't forget that I'm the only one who can cook at home! You can't even cook instant noodles properly!"

"I was wrong, I'll go feed the cat, but I'm afraid 'Gun' will scratch me. Can you protect me from the side..."

Vivian: "..."

How the two superwomen will spend the days when the landlord is away may be an interesting question, but after so long of running together, it's at least no longer a dangerous problem. Now, let's see how the three people who just teleported away are doing.

When the white light in his vision gradually dissipated, Hao Ren woke up from a slight dizziness. He found himself standing in an unusually wide place, and as Crow 12345 had said—the scene was more impressive than anything he had seen in any Hollywood blockbuster.

This was a wide hall with a radius of one hundred meters, or even an indoor plaza. The entire hall was oval, and the walls were inlaid with silver-white hexagonal structures. The hall was divided into two parts. One part was where Hao Ren and the others were standing, where the ground was inlaid with neatly arranged rings emitting a bright blue light. The place where Hao Ren was standing was one of the rings. The other part was empty, and several silver-white thick cylinders connected the ground and the vault. The vault of the hall was more than ten meters above the ground. Hao Ren looked up hard and found that there were a large number of blue light streams like blood vessels slowly swimming on the roof. He had also seen this structure in some rooms of Crow 12345's mansion—it seemed to be called "crystallized network," which was used to conduct energy for large facilities.

This was the first scene Hao Ren saw after arriving at Kuiper Station.

"Are we here... outside the Earth?" Hao Ren couldn't think of how to describe this place for a moment, so he could only use "outside the Earth" to refer to Kuiper Station. He jumped up and down in place in disbelief, "Why does it feel almost the same as on Earth? The gravity is the same, the atmosphere is the same, the temperature is the same... um, the air is fresher than at home."

"Stop acting like a bumpkin," the data terminal's voice sounded in his mind. "You are an inspector, a public official, the side of God, and the spokesperson of the Empire. Standing here, you represent the face of a high-level civilization. If you jump again, the PDA will fall out!"

Hao Ren felt that the last sentence was what this thing really thought.

"Here, the standard environmental parameters of the Imperial Capital are executed. After so many years of adjustment and information disturbance, most of the Empire's dependents can survive in this environment. A small number who cannot survive will undergo temporary physical modifications or carry small environmental adjustment devices before entering the space station," the data terminal finally did not forget its mission and patiently explained as a guide. "It doesn't matter if you don't understand, just think of it this way: this is a subarctic climate, most Earthlings can withstand it, and those from Africa can bring their own cotton-padded jackets."

"... Easy to understand, speechless."

"Artificial gravity, artificial atmosphere, self-sustaining ecosystem, the essentials of a space station," the data terminal floated out of Hao Ren's pocket and used a holographic projection to indicate the direction of the arrow forward. "Although this is just a transfer station, it is not small in scale. After all, God placed her family's teleportation point on Earth, so this place is like Heaven's relay station. Now, leave the teleportation reception platform according to the route indicated by the PDA. Standing in this circle will occupy the teleportation position, and walking into someone else's circle will increase the burden on the guidance host. Although none of these are big problems, as an inspector, you must lead by example and take the 'elevator' of civilization. Your identity is special here, and someone is watching your every word and deed."

The data terminal's words put a lot of pressure on Hao Ren. He heard a very serious tone from this usually unserious PDA: "My identity as an inspector... is quite weighty?"

"How should I put it, it is and it isn't," the data terminal replied. "Inspectors are a very special group in the eyes of ordinary races. Dependence, respect, rejection, fear, any view may appear. Sometimes you will be regarded as a savior by the entire race, and sometimes as soon as you appear, intelligent creatures within a few hundred light-years will wish you were dead. In short, you may encounter any situation. Don't think too much, just do your job. You can't reach that level at your current level."

Hao Ren nodded as he listened, while Nangong Wuyue, who was next to him, couldn't hear these conversations happening in Hao Ren's mind. This siren girl was looking at the strangely styled silver-white hall with wide eyes in surprise. Izhaks on the other side seemed a little better. The great demon also had some curiosity in his eyes, but he had obviously seen similar environments, so he was much more composed than Nangong Wuyue when observing his surroundings. The group of three left the "teleportation reception platform" on the side of the hall. During the process of leaving, Hao Ren noticed that the circles passed by around him would occasionally burst out with a stronger light, and then the cylindrical space in the circles would twist for a moment. Some vague images flashed above the circles, but in the end, no one teleported here. He was very curious: "What is that?"

"Through-station teleportation," the data terminal replied. "This is the only relay node from the Dan-Tuin civilization circle to the Mosa-Mobike civilization circle, and it is also one of the guidance stations leading to the World Gate Starfield. The purpose of this relay node is to reduce the working pressure of the teleportation device and facilitate the management of the space management department of this universe. Many travelers are just teleporting through the station here, just like what you saw, flashing by. The three of you should be the only batch of passengers transferring stations today. In fact, this space station is quite deserted. Although it is large in scale, most areas are managed by automatic systems. The daily traffic flow is not small, but basically, it is through-station teleportation and short-term stays. Few staff members are needed. Don't be surprised if you can't see people everywhere later. There are only a few hundred staff members in such a large place, and they are all concentrated in the central command tower."

Hao Ren thought for a while and found that he didn't understand a single word...

(Writers have really become a high-risk profession... Bei Qingluo, may you rest in peace. May all of you who are still struggling on the front lines of exhausting yourselves, including me, pay attention to your health.)