099: Chat with my elderly father
What's it like to live in space?
Overall, it's comfortable.
First of all, space is undoubtedly beautiful. The stars are no longer like tiny jewels set against a black curtain, no longer like they are in Earth's night sky. There is no sky, no atmosphere, only perfect points of light contrasting against perfect darkness. Countless stars shine here as if burning, their starlight unwavering, a radiant expanse.
The universe is so, so vast. So vast that in such a place, it seems as if time itself ceases to exist, as if there is no war, no conflict or strife, no politics or betrayal. For all that is the folly of sentient beings, and the stars are above such folly, untouched by it.
Unfortunately, that's not the case.
Nothing surpasses stupidity, not even space. Even in space stations, there are hierarchies. Even though these divine realms built in space are almost exclusively inhabited by gods, there are still distinctions of rank and status within them.
There are masters and servants here, as well as laborers and corporate dogs. They're just... a little bit more high-class.
However, the order of the story is incorrect. It's better to rephrase it differently.
The place that Peacock King teleported with Hayden and Angela to was his own private space station, so it was much smaller than the Mithra Group's public satellites—much smaller in the sense that it was only about the size of a fortress. In his space was a magnificent metal and jade fortress, towering in low Earth orbit, simply called the Peacock Palace, because Peacock King himself was not very interested in naming things.
The design of this space fortress possesses aesthetic appeal, but those who admire its design, functionality, and elegance are mostly engineers and military strategists, not artists and poets. The Peacock King specifically built his space station as a fortress capable of withstanding sieges. He didn't create a mansion for himself in space, but a castle.
A castle in a military sense.
...That being said, even though it's a castle in the military sense, the living environment here is still far better than on Earth.
Here, pristine white clouds float in the sky, and the fresh, unpolluted air allows residents to enjoy the sunset and breathe in the mist, cultivating their inner peace. Through the artificial clouds, one can also see the glass surfaces used for lighting, constantly absorbing the essence of the sun, moon, and stars.
Just by taking a breath of the specially supplied air here, and then looking at the environment in which people on Earth live, one can realize why the gods are superior to mortals.
Before birth, they have excellent genes, and they grow up in the heavenly palace where the air is more nutritious than the earth's. They absorb the energy of the clouds and are nourished by the essence of the sun and moon. With all this, how can children on earth compare to children in the heavens?
Needless to say, the food and drink we eat, the education we receive... these things go without saying, right?
Of course, to live like royalty in such a large space station, one would naturally need servants to attend to the masters.
Similarly, the permanent inhabitants of all space stations are basically Protoss. So naturally, there will be Protoss lords and Protoss servants.
Therefore, even though they are all gods and live in the heavens, there are still distinctions of rank and status among them.
Even the outer universe cannot escape the class society of sentient beings.
As soon as Hayden and Angela were brought into his space station by the Peacock King, he immediately waved his hand, ordering a group of celestial maidens to take Hayden for a health check. The process didn't take long. The maidens stripped Hayden of his tattered robes, scanned him with strange instruments, applied an oily ointment, and then dressed him in a new blue robe, leaving Hayden completely bewildered.
After everything was arranged, he was led by the celestial maidens to a reception room. Peacock King and Angela were sitting there, chatting and drinking tea.
"You should not waste the sacred fire carelessly, nor should you squander the breath of your life, the most fundamental energy."
When Hayden entered the reception room, the Peacock King was speaking to Angela.
"This world is not our homeland, and we can no longer obtain endless energy support as we did in the past. Until you learn to digest and purify the various energies of this world, your sacred fire will diminish with every use and cannot be replenished."
His tone was calm when he spoke to Angela, even seeming somewhat sympathetic and kind.
“In the past, many of our compatriots were weakened to the point of madness because of these problems, and were overthrown and sealed away. Now, in this era, mortals rule the world as new gods, and we have no way to escape this world; we can only live here.”
“I know it’s hard for you to accept, but if you’re not careful, you could also be deified as a devil and disposed of by the current rulers.”
That sounds like a very kind suggestion.
However, after listening to this, Hayden became even more certain: Peacock King must have made a mistake somewhere.
Angela's energy is indeed the breath of life, that's true. But Hayden had already determined that Angela's energy couldn't be consumed normally. Rather, as the Peacock King said, Angela seemed to have an inexhaustible supply of external energy.
...Perhaps there is indeed some connection between Peacock King and Angela.
However, the more Hayden thought about it, the more he felt that Angela's true identity might differ from what the Peacock King had perceived. They might indeed have some connection, but Angela was clearly not one of those "compatriots" he described who would weaken due to the loss of energy.
Despite this, Angela didn't directly point out the problem or criticize anything wrong. Instead, she asked curiously, "You've learned how to absorb and transform the energy of this world? How did you do that? I've tried to understand, and this world is already in a state of filth, like excrement. How can you still have a way to utilize it?"
噫
Isn't this evaluation a bit too harsh?
Hayden started sweating profusely.
However, the Peacock King was not angry when he heard this. Instead, he smiled wryly and said, "No one had this technology at the beginning. After all, we didn't need it before. But since it is impossible to escape this world, we can only try to survive in this world. So of course, we must find a way to absorb the energy of this world."
"Initially, Asmodius developed the first conversion technology, and everyone established their own kingdoms on the land. Then, more than four hundred years ago, the second conversion technology developed by mortals finally brought about a bourgeois revolution, and the feudal rule established by their compatriots was overthrown."
Hayden was completely baffled by what he heard.
However, Angela seemed to understand, not only appearing thoughtful but also showing an expression of admiration. It was as if she had witnessed someone polishing stone tools, smelting iron by hand, or making a rocket from a gas cylinder—she couldn't help but admire them.
"How long have you been awake? Has this young wizard been supplying you with energy all this time?"
At this point, the Peacock King finally turned his attention to Hayden.
Angela immediately replied with a smile, "It was Master Hayden who summoned me into this body more than a year ago. He has helped me a lot."
Hayden suddenly had a strong premonition that the two were actually talking past each other. Fortunately, the Peacock King had not yet realized that they might not be talking about the same thing at all.
...But what if he realizes it?
If Peacock King suddenly realizes that something seems wrong, what should Hayden and Angela do?
This is the castle of this celestial being! It is his domain, his main base! Even a Bodhisattva cannot walk around here with impunity!
So Hayden immediately focused his attention on his nose, mouth, and heart, keeping his mind unwavering, emptying his head, and giving up thinking about nothing. This wasn't because he was afraid of being mind-read—mind-reading magic is still imperfect and unreliable, otherwise the world would be completely different.
But the Peacock King is very powerful. He is an ancient deity with superhuman perception. Perhaps he could perceive Hayden's current mental state simply by observing changes in Hayden's breathing, heartbeat, and muscle reflexes.
Even if the Peacock King cannot directly read Hayden's mind, he might still find Hayden's reaction suspicious.
So Hayden shouldn't be Qin Wuyang at all, right? That's why he quickly calmed himself down, told himself not to listen to anything, not to think about anything, and pretended to be a stone.
Fortunately, all classical magicians know meditation techniques. A few minutes later, Peacock King and Angela ended their seemingly relaxed conversation and finally shifted the topic and focus to Hayden.
"I've done some research on you. It seems you and Karen were friends back in college?"
The topic changed, and the atmosphere became a little more relaxed. The Peacock King asked with great interest,
"We met again by chance at the wedding of Dhritarashtra's daughter a year ago, and our relationship has only gotten better since then. That's about it, isn't it?"
Even so, Hayden still found the golden gaze of the Peacock King unsettling.
Clearly, this god was testing Hayden. But what kind of answer did he want to hear? What might Hayden say that might anger him? Was this guy the kind of terrifying old father, like in a comic book, who wanted to kill every male who approached his daughter?
As the ancients said, serving a ruler is like serving a tiger. The man before Hayden was a god-king who had wielded immense power since ancient times. With just a word from him, Hayden would die a horrible, utterly horrible, and inhuman death!
What exactly are some things Hayden is saying that he can be sure are not wrong?
At this moment, facing an unprecedented life-or-death crisis, his brain began to work at an astonishingly high speed. Fragments of abstract, magical thought flew by, eventually piecing together an answer.
"Indeed."
So Hayden immediately lowered his head and said he wouldn't look at the Peacock King, because he didn't completely trust his own expression.
"I admire Miss Karen's talent, I am fascinated by her alchemy skills, and I am in awe of her diligence and courage in constantly pushing herself."
"I am honored to be able to fight for her dream of independence today. If she still needs my support in the future, I will do my part without hesitation."
loyalty.
At this moment, only loyalty is the best protection.
This was the answer Hayden finally came up with.
Regardless of the Peacock King's personal preferences and thoughts, as long as Hayden doesn't change his stance of loyalty to Karen, it's fine. In this way, whatever strategies the other party employs won't matter, as loyalty itself is the most powerful form of protection.
That's Hayden's intuition and quick thinking!
If Hayden showed such loyalty to Karen and was still killed by the Peacock King, then one can only laugh at his narrow-mindedness and let him pass away peacefully!
—That being said, after hearing Hayden's words, the Peacock King showed a somewhat strange expression. Hayden thought that this was probably because he emphasized protecting Karen's dream of independence. But Hayden's stance was absolutely unwavering, even if the Peacock King might be displeased.
Otherwise, if the Peacock King were to ask Hayden to help bring his daughter back to her hometown, Hayden would be in serious trouble.
However, the Peacock King's reaction to Hayden's thoughts was somewhat strange. He looked Hayden up and down again, and for some reason, the corner of his mouth twitched slightly.
This guy, after all, has been a god who has lived for who knows how long and has maintained a lofty status. He may have misjudged Angela, but he wasn't so blind as to not see through Hayden's little scheme.
"Aren't you tired of speaking so cautiously?"
So the god looked at Hayden and smiled meaningfully.
So Hayden started sweating.
Even though Peacock King seemed a bit silly when interacting with Angela, he is still a god after all!
"Don't be so nervous. I'm not some kind of demon."
As the Peacock King finished speaking, he chuckled self-deprecatingly.
"Sit down, young man. It's a rare opportunity; could you please have a chat with me?"
……ah?
"The fact that you were able to concoct a complete séance on the spot, just like before, already shows that you and Karen have a deep bond. It would be impossible to complete such a spell if neither of you had enough trust in the other."
The ancient god chuckled softly again.
"It's not easy to find friends who have the courage to fight to the death in that kind of situation and who also trust each other. Why would I want to do anything to you?"
It was unclear what exactly the Peacock King was pleased with, but as he spoke, his mood only improved.
"A union, a divine descent that summons power through bonds and trust... What a nostalgic relationship. Ha!"
He was in such a good mood that he actually laughed out loud.
Hayden was completely baffled.
In the end, he could only obediently sit down in the reception room. However, just as the celestial maidens were serving tea to the sea goddess, another unexpected situation occurred.
With a loud "bang!", the door to the reception room was suddenly flung open. Karen, dressed in green armor, stormed in and began shouting at the top of her lungs:
"Old man! Let go of my friend!"
This startled Hayden so much that he almost spat out the tea he had just drunk.
Fortunately, the Peacock King did not appear to be angry.
"Shut up and sit down."
He calmly said to Karen,
"Your mother is coming back too, so let's all have a meal together and chat."
This sight and Peacock King's reaction surprised even Karen.
100: A new storm is coming.
It's kind of funny, even though Peacock King could slap ten Karens at once, Karen wasn't actually that afraid of her father.
It's not that she was fearless because she was a daughter—she didn't have that kind of ulterior motive. Karen was simply fearless instinctively.
Because deep down she still knew that her father was actually a good person, a truly upright and indomitable martial god. Even now, bound by the chains of capitalism, the Peacock King remained clear-headed about the filth and depravity of this world, at least knowing right from wrong.
After all, he had lived in this world for so many years, and the sharp edges he had when he was young had been worn away.
So Karen was actually a little afraid of her mother.
Although her mother's fighting ability was far less than her father's, she was far more... eerie than Karen's father.
Now, when Karen hears that her mother is coming back and they'll all have a meal together, she's a little confused.
"Your energy is weak and your movements are loose. Your skills are almost rusted."
Then the Peacock King said...
"How many years has it been since you last practiced martial arts? And you still have the nerve to run around in armor?"
As soon as she finished speaking, the celestial maidens quickly dragged the young lady away and removed her armor. It's truly baffling where Karen got that blue-green armor from; does she usually keep it hidden in the flower shop?
Karen didn't struggle—the celestial maidens of the Peacock Palace were merely high-ranking employees of the gods, and Karen's fuss would only be bullying them. A few minutes later, she returned wearing a light-colored dress, just as bewildered as Hayden.
"Hayden, what exactly did you and my father talk about?"
Finding an opportunity, she asked Hayden in a low voice.
Hayden's expression was also bitter: "Basically, he just said things like we have a good relationship and I support you starting your own business, but your dad doesn't seem to care much about hearing that."
Karen frowned: "So he captured you just to force me to come back too?"
“That’s part of it,” Hayden scratched the back of his head, “but I think it’s more than that. By the way, what kind of goddess is your mother anyway?”