Danger, Part 2

In District Seven, General Yan Mingke followed Mo Mo’s orders without question. If Mo Mo told him to wait, he would obediently wait, without even considering other options. Even though they were already within sight of the lush green planet ahead, Yan Mingke held his ground. As long as Mo Mo said not to move forward, he wouldn’t.

Yan Mingke was firm in his stance, but not everyone in District Seven was as patient. One particular officer, an adjutant named Wen Qi, was especially irritated by their general’s deference to Mo Mo. The sight of the green planet only made Wen Qi more restless.

“General, that’s a green planet full of vegetation. Wouldn’t it be better for us to seize it early? The longer we wait, the less we’ll gain,” Wen Qi suggested, his voice tinged with frustration.

Yan Mingke turned to him, his tone cold as he asked, “Wen Qi, who’s more capable, you or General Mo?”

“Of course, General Mo is more capable,” Wen Qi admitted reluctantly. “But General, we’ve already entered the Beast Clan’s territory. Are we really going to stay behind General Mo forever, just picking up the scraps?”

“Scraps? Is that how you see it?” Yan Mingke couldn’t help but feel his subordinate was ungrateful. They had always shared the spoils equally with District Eight, but Wen Qi’s attitude made it seem as if they were left with nothing.

Besides, many of their successes came from learning and collaborating with District Eight. If not for Mo Mo and his team, they wouldn’t even know what to do with half the resources they encountered.

Yan Mingke’s voice grew sharper. “Wen Qi, our warship has strong defenses, and yet General Mo still advises caution. What makes you think you can lead all of District Seven’s troops into danger? Do you have Mo Mo’s foresight to spot distant threats? Can you safely navigate us through the Beast Clan’s territory?”

Wen Qi had no response to this. He shook his head quickly, realizing he had spoken out of turn. He had been driven by greed, but he knew he didn’t possess Mo Mo’s abilities or knowledge.

Furthermore, they had all seen the Beast Clan warrior crossing the starfield. Even though that warrior was now in District Eight’s custody, there was no denying his strength. Wen Qi doubted the entire District Seven army could defeat him.

Yan Mingke’s stern gaze pierced through Wen Qi. “If you lack the skill, keep your mouth shut. Mo Mo has shared plenty of victories with us. Where do you get the nerve to think we can take everything for ourselves, leaving Mo Mo with scraps? Who gave you that courage?”

“Wen Qi, this isn’t right,” another soldier chimed in. “General Mo has been more than fair to us.”

“Exactly! Look at what happened to Districts Three and Four. We’re lucky to be following District Eight.”

“Yeah, actually, District 8 can completely do it by themselves to cross the two star regions but they still took us with them, so we should be grateful.”

Wen Qi remained silent. His greed had blinded him, but now that he thought about it, the idea of defying General Mo seemed absurd. If General Mo abandoned them, how would they return to the Interstellar Alliance?

Seeing Wen Qi back down, Yan Mingke sighed inwardly. It wasn’t easy leading a group like this. His subordinates were often unruly, unlike Mo Mo’s unified District Eight. He might need to ask Mo Mo for advice on how to lead better.

Meanwhile, Ye Mo was observing the planet. “Are you planning to land on the planet now?” she asked her husband.

“Not yet. I’ll wait until nightfall and see how things look,” Mo Mo replied. He didn’t know enough about the planet to act impulsively, so he decided to wait until nightfall to observe any changes.

The planet was close by, and Ye Mo kept an eye on it too. The presence of vegetation suggested sunlight, but strangely enough, they couldn’t see any sun in the vicinity.

“If there’s no sun nearby, how are the plants photosynthesizing?” Ye Mo asked Mo Mo, puzzled by the absence of a visible star.

“We’ll find out soon. There must be a sun somewhere, even if we can’t see it from here. Sunlight is essential for life,” Mo Mo said, confident that their observations would reveal something.

Yan Mingke, after speaking with Mo Mo, understood the plan to wait. He connected the warships of Districts Seven and Eight and headed to District Eight’s ship to spend time with Mo Mo and Ye Mo’s six children. He had seen them on the StarNet and was eager to meet them in person.

As time passed, the sky gradually darkened, and nightfall arrived. That’s when something strange happened. Both the soldiers of District Seven and District Eight noticed the green planet beginning to rotate slowly. During the day, it had been stationary, but now, it was moving.

How odd.

Everyone watched in silence as the planet spun. Ye Mo and Mo Mo, however, were focused on something else. Parts of the planet’s surface were beginning to emit a faint glow, though the light was very weak at first.

As the glow spread, the plants on the planet started swaying, as if they were dancing. The deeper the night became, the faster the planet rotated, and the brighter the lights grew.

“I have this strange feeling,” Ye Mo said suddenly, “that this green planet might actually be a sun itself.”

Mo Mo considered the possibility. “Those lights aren’t flames, though. How could they allow plants to photosynthesize? It seems impossible. Who could be powerful enough to create light for photosynthesis?”

Ye Mo looked at the plants above and said. “Many of those plants are edible, which makes me think humans might have planted them.”

“Then where are they? We haven’t seen any signs of human activity on the planet,” Mo Mo frowned.

“Could they be underground?” Ye Mo suggested, but from this distance, her spiritual sense wasn’t strong enough to penetrate the planet’s surface.

“I’ll take a look,” Mo Mo said, focusing his energy as he peered through the vegetation toward the ground.

(End of Chapter)