Chapter 75: StarNet Buzz

StarNet was flooded with news related to Xi Ming. The last time it had been like this was right after the 823 Incident, when Xi Ming was being condemned and cursed by the entire interstellar network.

Now, the heat around topics concerning Xi Ming was no less than it was back then.

[Xi Ming is still alive?]
[You just asked what I was thinking.]
[Wait, seriously? The cosmic radiation was that bad at the time—how is he still alive after all this time? Just how strong is his body?!]
[New to the net? You don’t know there’s a cure for cosmic radiation now? That news has been around for a while.]
[??? For real? I always thought that was a rumor. There’s been no official confirmation!]
[Heh… the info came from the star pirates. The healer who can cure radiation is also a star pirate. How could the authorities confirm that? You want them to tell people to go join the pirates to get treated?]
[Why would such technology appear among the star pirates? Their research level can’t possibly surpass the Empire’s, right?]
[I heard it’s not about tech—more like a special bloodline ability. Apparently there’s only one such healer, so even now, appointments are rare.]
[??? Why are you all so calm? Aren’t we talking about Xi Ming? The traitor of the Empire?!]
[Xi Ming that despicable shameless **** he ****** is not worthy &%##%#*]
[How is Xi Ming even still alive? I’m still trying to process it. It’s been so long—wasn’t he seriously injured back then? I heard his legs were crippled and the radiation messed with his mind. Then he disappeared—and now they’re saying he’s the leader of the star pirates?!]
[I’ve been in shock too. How did he survive? Wasn’t he in the Capital Star? How did he suddenly end up at the border with the star pirates?]
[Are the star pirates done for? They actually made a cripple their leader? I heard Xi Ming’s Steller force is expanding fast. A lot of pirates are joining him. Did they forget the grudges they had with him?]
[Are you stupid? Xi Ming fought the star pirates back then—who do you think he was fighting for? You’re seriously mocking that now?]
[Oh wow, look! A Xi Ming bootlicker? Why are you still in the Empire? Now that your crippled idol is back, hurry and give up your citizenship and go join the pirates. Hahaha. As if Xi Ming will last much longer. Now he’s making up crap about curing radiation. I bet everyone who follows him is a fool. He’s just trying to get revenge on the Empire before he dies.]

On the Empire’s StarNet, rational discussion was rare. Most people still held intense hostility toward Xi Ming.

The royal family had been deliberately scrubbing posts related to the “truth behind 823,” so most citizens remained stuck on just a few talking points:
Xi Ming, the Empire’s traitor, is still alive.
He’s colluding with star pirates.
He’s leading them in a war against the Empire—betraying the Empire all over again.
No one’s thinking beyond that.

On top of that, with the Empire constantly losing ground in the current war and people living harder lives, the StarNet atmosphere had grown increasingly toxic. Even threads that started out calm would quickly be overwhelmed by more extreme voices.
Cursing Xi Ming—the “traitor of the Empire”—had basically become a way for people to vent.

Compared to the Empire’s rage-filled, grievance-heavy StarNet, the networks in the Federation and the Independent Nations Alliance were a little better. Many people were actually talking about Xi Ming’s past—especially what really happened during the 823 Incident.

[Even though Xi Ming was from the Empire, you can’t deny his military talent. [Network links][Network links]… These are some of the battles he commanded before 823. Aside from being a bit inexperienced in the beginning, his later battles were brilliant. He used tactics to their fullest. Some of those classic battles are still analyzed in Federation military academies.]
[If only someone like him had been in the Federation. Showing up in the Empire is such a waste. That place destroys talent like no one else. Remember XX and XXX? They were incredible, but the moment they offended some nobles, they got destroyed.]
[Come on, the 823 Incident clearly had something shady going on. Honestly, we should thank those Empire nobles. In the war between the Federation and the Empire, their nonsense has helped us out a lot. Xi Ming was a real threat—and they took care of him for us. It’s laughable.]
[Lmao. That’s what you call killing someone in body and spirit.]
[Who knows, maybe we’ll even see those nobles in the Federation someday. Their specialty is abandoning their country with their money. “As long as I still have my wealth, I’m a noble wherever I go.”]
[LMAO. Those old fossils are going to lose it when they get here. I heard in the Empire, omegas aren’t even allowed to go out. If they see omegas walking freely on the street here, they’ll probably freak out and scream about immorality. Just imagining it cracks me up.]
[Apparently the Empire really is that rigid. They’ve got tons of restrictions on omegas. A lot of them aren’t allowed to study past basic education, and they have to get married before twenty—or else they get system-matched.]
[What?! They have to get married? Omegas are people too! Do they not have human rights? Are they just baby factories? I’m shook!]
[System-matching??? Might as well call it state-run breeding. Is an omega’s only value giving birth to more big-A supremacists? Do they not have dreams or goals of their own?]

[Yeah, which is why I’m so glad we were born in the Federation. The pressure might be intense sometimes, but at least no one’s forcing us to get married.]
[I’d rather take inhibitors every month than marry some alpha I don’t even like! Omegas in the Empire are so pitiful.]
[Speaking of, now that they’ve found a way to treat cosmic radiation, when will they figure out something for omega heat cycles?]
[Not anytime soon—gotta wait until the war’s over. Right now, all resources are going into the war effort. Everything else is on the back burner.]
[I was just saying. Of course the war takes priority. But seriously, why hasn’t the Empire surrendered yet? We’re already in the interstellar age, and there’s still a country like the Empire around—just speechless.]
[Don’t worry. With how corrupt and self-destructive they are, they’re not far from collapse. Once this war’s over, I bet the Federation will expand its territory. Maybe land prices will finally drop. It’s so crowded in the central zones—I want my own little asteroid!]
[Wait, what?! A rich lady from the central zone has appeared! Rich lady, let me leech off you! Feed me! I’m starving!]

Most of the current war was being fought on Empire territory. While the Federation was feeling the squeeze in terms of resources, it was lucky to be untouched by the war directly. So aside from the war coverage, the Federation’s StarNet still had a relatively relaxed and rational vibe.

The news that Xi Ming was still alive was a huge deal. No matter how people felt about him personally, the entire galaxy knew who he was—this once-in-a-generation genius from the Empire. They also knew that a so-called “tactical error” of his had caused massive civilian casualties, and that he’d been fatally irradiated. Everyone assumed he was long dead.

As discussions about Xi Ming heated up on StarNet, someone even dug up the old story about him being matched with an omega through the Empire’s system.

Apparently, according to someone from an internal department, Xi Ming and this omega hadn’t even formalized their marriage until the system automatically updated their status. The so-called marriage photo was literally just two ID pictures stitched together. Clearly, their relationship hadn’t been good.

Naturally, the Empire’s StarNet was quick to twist the story again—spreading gossip that Xi Ming had abused his omega. The rumors got so detailed it was like they were just one step away from producing video “evidence” of the abuse.

“They’re going way too far!” Lan Ying scowled as he read the latest headlines on StarNet.

Just yesterday, Chi Wenyu and the others had finally stabilized the business operations along the border. As soon as he had some free time, Lan Ying rushed over to visit his good friend. Chi Wenyu had personally brought him here, asking Lan Ying to stay with Shi Chan for a while before heading back to work.

Lan Ying had barely stepped off the starship when he caught the latest round of gossip about Xi Ming. Even the bit about him having an omega had been dug up.

Seeing all those slanders about how Xi Ming supposedly mistreated his omega made Lan Ying fume with rage. He knew better—Xi Ming and Shi Chan got along incredibly well!

But…

“Chanchan, is it true your marriage registration photo is a stitched-together one?” Lan Ying asked. After getting a nod from Shi Chan, he groaned in frustration. “That’s such a shame. You two should’ve taken a real one back then. Now they’re using that to ‘prove’ you had a bad relationship.”

“Don’t pay attention to what people say online.” Shi Chan had never cared much for StarNet’s opinion. Ever since learning the truth behind Xi Ming’s framing—or even earlier, right after 823 happened when everyone had turned on Xi Ming—Shi Chan had been disillusioned with so-called “freedom of speech.”

“Let them say whatever they want. You know full well what my relationship with him is like,” Shi Chan said, patting the still-fuming Lan Ying on the shoulder.

“But I still don’t want them talking like that!” Lan Ying huffed. As an omega raised pampered and carefree, he wasn’t used to this kind of vitriol. “And they’re insulting you, too! They don’t even know who you are! It’s just… it’s so awful!”

Besides the people directly accusing Xi Ming of abuse, there were also some self-righteous types who claimed the omega must’ve been problematic too—after all, who in their right mind would agree to marry Xi Ming? So they threw shade at this nameless, faceless omega as well.

Watching Lan Ying grit his teeth in frustration, Shi Chan couldn’t help but chuckle and give his friend’s puffy cheeks a squeeze. “Don’t worry. Brother Ming will announce the truth soon. When that happens, they’ll change their tune.”

“I don’t want that!” Lan Ying practically shouted. He’d been glued to StarNet, watching all these strangers rip into his best friend. The longer he looked, the angrier he got—until tears welled up in his eyes. “Why do they get to say whatever they want—so viciously—and get away with it? Later, even if they realize they were wrong, all they have to do is delete their posts or mumble some half-assed apology and act like nothing happened!”

“Forget what they said about Xi Ming being framed—you didn’t even do anything! You just got system-matched to him, and that alone’s enough for them to tear you apart? If it were me—if people on StarNet were saying those things about me—I don’t even know what I’d do! Waaaahhh…!”

“You’re my best friend! I don’t want them insulting you like this!” Lan Ying finally broke down sobbing, throwing himself into Shi Chan’s arms. “I hate them—I hate them so much! Chanchan… don’t be sad…”

Even though he was telling Shi Chan not to be sad, Lan Ying was the one crying his heart out.

Being cared for like this felt surprisingly nice. While gently patting his wailing friend, Shi Chan’s lips quirked into a smile. After thinking for a moment, he said softly, “Alright. Let’s get back at them.”

He remembered a spell from his cultivation days—one that turned curses back on the sender. It used the target’s name as a medium, so as long as someone cursed him by name, their malice could be reversed and sent back.

“What do we do?” Lan Ying asked, still clinging to Shi Chan like a soft plush toy, looking up at him with big, hopeful eyes.

Shi Chan rubbed his chin. “First, we go take a proper marriage photo.”

Shi Chan had never given StarNet authorization to use his image. Back when Red Rose Ghost secretly filmed him, the footage had to be distributed as hard copies. It had drawn some attention, but no one knew about his relationship with Xi Ming.

If people were so eager to spread harm without consequence, then maybe it was time to give them something stronger to chew on.

“Chanchan, are you finally going to post your photo online?!” Lan Ying lit up. Ever since he became friends with the stunning and gentle Shi Chan, he’d wanted to show him off. But Shi Chan always avoided trouble and never allowed his photos on StarNet, so Lan Ying couldn’t post a single picture.

“Probably,” Shi Chan replied. He’d long had enough of the keyboard warriors mindlessly parroting the same harmful nonsense. Normally, neither he nor Xi Ming paid any attention to StarNet, but seeing Lan Ying this upset reminded him of that old spell.

Using a person’s name as the conduit, it would reflect all “curses” back to their source.

This spell wasn’t very effective in the cultivation world—if the target had spiritual energy protecting them, the backlash could be blocked. The caster had to use even more energy to break through. But here in the interstellar world, no one had spiritual energy to shield them.

All it took was for someone to say his name with hatred in their heart—and the spell’s conditions would be fulfilled. Then, Shi Chan could bounce all that malice right back at them.

He didn’t plan to amplify the curse or anything. He wouldn’t go out of his way to make it worse or track losses. This way, he wouldn’t have to expend much energy—and the widest possible net of haters would get what was coming to them.

“Then what next? How do we get revenge?” Lan Ying sniffled, still not letting go, eyes wide with curiosity.

“Uh…” Shi Chan suddenly remembered—Lan Ying didn’t know he was a cultivator.

After a moment of hesitation, he figured there was no point in hiding it anymore. People in Gudu already knew, so keeping secrets from Lan Ying seemed unnecessary.

Shi Chan placed both hands on Lan Ying’s cheeks, turning his face toward him with a serious expression.

“I have something to tell you. Don’t freak out.”

Lan Ying blinked. “Okay?”