Yuan Hanshuang: “What?”

Waking up to a changed world and facing societal death, well, that’s something.

Unfortunately, she didn’t have a Star Net, and she didn’t remember the contact numbers of the teachers at the Primary Academy. All she could do was buy a ticket back to Star Port, cancel her death record at the security office there, and avoid being purged.

The identity ID card wasn’t important; what mattered was being a citizen of the empire with the right to receive welfare benefits every month!

“It’s been over a month since I left. Dad must be really worried.”

Standing on the starship, Yuan Hanshuang endured the discomfort of motion sickness, feeling extremely anxious in her heart.

In her whole life since birth, she had never been away from home for so long. If her father were a normal adult, there would be no need for her to worry, but the problem was that her father’s mental age was almost the same as hers. While basic survival wasn’t an issue, she feared that something might have happened.

Perhaps due to her eagerness to return, the journey seemed unusually fast.

As soon as she disembarked from the starship, Yuan Hanshuang waved down a hovercar.

After waiting eagerly for a while, she finally arrived at the familiar residential area.

The elevator stopped on her floor, and she pushed open the door with her hand: “Dad, I’m back!”

Silence filled the room.

Could he not be home? Confused, Yuan Hanshuang stepped inside and took a few steps before abruptly stopping and furrowing her brows.

After a moment, she instantly synchronized and resonated with her manifestation and assumed a defensive posture.

Something was wrong.

Her home was in complete disarray.

With just a glance, Yuan Hanshuang could see the traces of numerous intruders. Holding a knife, she cautiously patrolled along the walls, ensuring that there was no one inside before starting to take inventory.

All of her father’s belongings were gone, completely vanished.

As for her wardrobe and bookshelf, everything inside had been thrown onto the ground.

Finally, what remained in the house, apart from the immovable hardware and large furniture, were only the preschool spelling board and educational toys for training, along with a box.

Inside the box, there were only a few scattered Star coins, with some crude handwriting next to them, saying “600” and “boxing gloves.”

Every time her father spelled a word correctly or completed his homework, Yuan Hanshuang would reward him with a reward coin.

When she didn’t saw the coins in the box, she didn’t think much of it, assuming that her father had used the reward money to buy her favorite candy.

Yuan Hanshuang couldn’t imagine that the money that was once stored here had been carefully taken out, with the intention of buying a gift for her beloved daughter before she left. But in the end, it never got a chance to be given.

The only thing she knew for sure was that her father did not leave without a word.

After confirming that there were no relevant clues at home, Yuan Hanshuang turned and went to her father’s workplace. However, the tavern, which usually operated 24 hours a day, was closed today, with a “for sale” sign posted on the door.

Yuan Hanshuang clenched her fists and turned to the street next door. She found a shop selling crystal nuclei and casually asked after buying a bag of cheap ones, “Why is the tavern across the street closed?”

“Something happened,” the shopkeeper lazily replied, “You know about the arrest of that 3S-level fugitive, Haidongqing, by the Third Legion a month ago, right? Who would have thought that even after the press conference and being escorted to the capital star, he would manage to escape during the transfer? They say Haidongqing had connections with the tavern owner, so they arrested both the person and the establishment for interrogation. Of course, business couldn’t be done.”

The shopkeeper, used to the fact that people around here didn’t have neural implants and didn’t care about current affairs, tapped a few times in the air and displayed their star net screen: “Here, take a look for yourself.”

A pale blue screen instantly unfolded in the air, with several eye-catching headlines.

【SSS-level fugitive Hai Dongqing captured, unexpectedly escaped from Central Prison】

【The entire Third Legion of the Empire escorted him, accompanied by a Saint-level executioner. He was wearing a full set of restraints and sealed in a cryogenic chamber on the warship. How did Hai Dongqing manage to escape the capture operation?】

【In-depth analysis: “Empire’s Future Star” ten years later. How could the once youngest Saint-level talent achieve such strength to escape from the “hellish” depths of Central Prison?】

【The Hai family refuses interviews, claiming they have already expelled Hai Dongqing from the family and have no further connection】

【Hai Dongqing captured, whereabouts of the Third Princess still unknown, no news yet】

But it was limited to just the headlines.

The Empire imposed the highest level of secrecy on everything related to this fugitive. Even when the news media announced it, they only used text and never released any pictures.

The images still hanging on the star network were from when Hai Dongqing had not yet betrayed.

Although the news of Hai Dongqing’s mysterious escape had been more than half a month ago, discussions about him on the star network were still intense, if not growing stronger.

The incident happened a month ago when the Empire captured Hai Dongqing, thinking they had him under control, but once again, they failed.

Even the Third Legion, who had originally planned to accept commendation, had not expected that after finally capturing him and escorting him back to the capital star, they would face military court.

h

…….

The day before the trial, someone could still escape from prison.

Previously, the news of Hai Dongqing’s arrest had been unanimously approved for early release by the Parliament. Who could have expected to be embarrassed again? The support for the radical faction plummeted.

It can be said that among the most shameful events in the empire over the past few decades, Hai Dongqing was involved in two of them, making the high-level officials of the empire itch with hatred.

Yuan Hanshuang looked at it seriously, and her growing sense of unease became stronger.

Now, she was in a race against time. She couldn’t even spare a moment to identify the vaguely familiar feeling when she saw this photo. Her keen sixth sense told her that her father’s disappearance was probably closely related to this news.

But how could her father, a poor man and  an evil S-level criminal, have any connection?

Could it be because her father was involved in Hai Dongqing’s case and was taken away by the military for investigation?

To confirm her thoughts, she casually made up a lie, saying that she had traveled a long way to find a relative, but the relative was missing, and she wanted to inquire about the situation.

“Suddenly disappeared? It’s possible that he was taken away by the military.”

The shopkeeper had also been in the black market and had a deep understanding of the military’s methods. “That’s how the empire’s military acts. They take people away for questioning without hesitation and release them after interrogation.”

He looked at the small, thin golden-haired child and comforted her, “Don’t worry. When the interrogation is over and they determine that there is no suspicion, they will release him. They won’t falsely accuse a good citizen.”

“I see. Thank you, boss.”

Returning the screen to the shopkeeper, Yuan Hanshuang turned and left.

Although her speculation and the shopkeeper’s explanation were reasonable, she couldn’t shake off the lingering uneasiness in her heart.

Her father’s clothes and even his personal belongings were all confiscated.

It was understandable for the Imperial Legion to take away related personnel for investigation. However, it shouldn’t be to the extent of disregarding the empire’s laws and arbitrarily violating the personal property of innocent citizens by searching their homes.

Looking at the empty streets, Yuan Hanshuang rarely felt at a loss.

“How could my father have any connection with a ruthless S-level criminal?”

Her father was a foolish father. Even the doctors said that he had the intelligence level of a ten-year-old child.

But although her father was foolish, he was good to her. He would rather go hungry to buy the best milk powder for her when she was just a few months old. He would run a few blocks to buy her delicious food and clumsily pick up her report card with a silly smile.

Perhaps her emotions were too turbulent, causing faint ripples of spiritual power in the surroundings.

Sensing her master’s emotions, the newly promoted mythical manifestation form of the little black bird poked its head out from the ripples. But because of Yuan Hanshuang’s command, it dared not appear randomly and could only see a few flickering feathers in the ripples, emitting a black light.

Yuan Hanshuang snapped back to reality. “Right, I forgot about this.”

With a turn of her foot, as if she had finally found her target, she hurriedly walked towards the direction of the black market.

If there was a place where information was most up-to-date, it would undoubtedly be the black market. There was a specialized intelligence agency rumored to provide any information you wanted as long as you could afford the price.

At this moment, Yuan Hanshuang didn’t yet realize that from this day on, her foolish father would not return for five whole years.

Five years later, when her college entrance examination scores were released and she was preparing to embark on her journey to the Advanced College in the Central Galaxy…

– End of Volume One: 1999 Star –

Author’s Note:

There are some obvious bugs that will be addressed later, my dear readers.

The female protagonist did not change her name because there are billions of people in the galaxy, and there are many people with the same name and surname. For the convenience of readers, I will not change the name of the female protagonist.

This is a long story, and it is impossible to explain the entire sequence of events in just a few words or in one chapter. Some loopholes in the story will serve as clues to progress the plot in the later chapters. Thank you for your patient support (bows).