Chapter Six: Redemption

Early the next morning, not long after Chen Nian finished breakfast, a vehicle from the Space Force arrived at his apartment building. There was still half an hour left until the scheduled eight o’clock meeting.

Chen Nian glanced around his home. In the end, he brought nothing with him and descended the stairs to the entrance.

“Excuse me, are you Mr. Chen Nian, president of the Sky Dome Guild?” A young man in military uniform approached, his tone exceedingly polite.

“I am,” Chen Nian replied.

The young officer cast a look at the small villa before him, feeling a touch of melancholy. The place was nestled against the mountains, remote to the point of isolation. In this era of advanced metaverse technology, one’s location hardly affected their ability to commute to the Imperial Capital. Some people lived in the country yet worked daily for companies abroad. Still, such a secluded residence brought its own inconveniences, especially for the wealthy. After all, many forms of entertainment could not be replaced by the metaverse. Few could have imagined that this renowned top player of China lived such a reclusive life.

“Mr. Chen Nian, if you have any business to take care of, please feel free; we can wait until eight o’clock,” the officer said solemnly.

Chen Nian shook his head lightly. “Everything I needed to do is done. I can leave now.”

The officer was momentarily stunned, then glanced at the closed villa door. “No… no one to see you off?”

To his mind, anyone embarking on such a dangerous mission would surely have family distraught at their departure. That was the main reason they had arrived half an hour early… On the way, he had even prepared some words of comfort. But the outcome was quite unexpected.

“No one. I live alone,” Chen Nian said calmly.

The young officer fell silent for a while, unsure how to offer comfort. He opened the car door and said, “Don’t worry, there will be many people to send you off. Our orders are to take you all to the Imperial Capital Airport. After gathering there, you’ll proceed to Space Force Base One. For part of the journey, the public will be allowed to witness.”

Chen Nian nodded, then climbed into the military vehicle.

Inside, the car was spacious, like a small reception room. After setting the car to automatic driving, the officer added, “You might think this is for publicity, to forge heroes and boost public unity. That’s certainly one reason. But more importantly, the Space Force wants the three thousand volunteers to know their sacrifice is not in vain. Even if they fall, it will be for China, and countless people will remember them.”

Chen Nian smiled. “To sacrifice for China… what hot-blooded youth could refuse those words?”

“Haha, exactly! It’s a pity my squad wasn’t selected for the Space Force.”

The two chatted leisurely along the way.

Chen Nian’s home lay over two hundred kilometers from the Imperial Capital Airport. The journey was smooth, and in just over an hour, the military vehicle arrived at the airport parking lot.

Through the window, Chen Nian could see three enormous dark grey transport planes, several hundred meters away.

“Mr. Chen Nian, you may need to wait in the car for about an hour, as many people haven’t arrived yet,” the officer said after reporting their arrival via radio.

“Alright,” Chen Nian responded.

He answered with a brief word.

“You can play on your phone… If you’d like a drink, everything is stocked in the car. Or, you may use the airport lounge,” the officer offered.

“No need. I’ll rest for a bit,” Chen Nian shook his head and closed his eyes.

His usual phone was switched off; he only carried a backup, meant for official contact. Last night, he had done a few things he’d originally intended to do a year later, just before passing away. If his phone were still on, he didn’t know how many people would try to reach him. In times like this, there was no need for drama.

He didn’t know how much time passed before the young officer’s gentle voice drifted into his ears.

“Mr. Chen Nian… please wake up…”

Chen Nian slowly opened his eyes. That nap had been unexpectedly sweet. The car’s curtains were drawn, yet through the narrow gaps, he could see a sea of people not far away.

“Mr. Chen Nian, you’re awake. Please get out and prepare to depart; I’ll escort you to the plane,” the officer said as he got out and opened the door for Chen Nian.

Chen Nian, still dazed, stepped out. Both sides of the road to the transport planes were packed with pedestrians—perhaps tens of thousands by rough estimate. Remarkably, the crowd was utterly silent, as though the advance team was marching to the gallows.

He felt a little awkward at the spectacle, but he understood it was necessary. Perhaps few in the advance team, who had already put life and death aside, cared about such things, but China had to show the world it honored and respected heroes.

“Let’s board,” the officer reminded him, leading Chen Nian toward the distant transport planes.

Meanwhile, members of the advance team gathered from every direction. Chen Nian was surprised to see that most of these volunteers were elderly scientists, white-haired and frail.

Their faces, weathered and wise, revealed a lifetime’s understanding of the world’s warmth and coldness. While Chen Nian felt like hiding from the silent gaze of tens of thousands, these old men and women remained unfazed, as if oblivious to the crowd.

At the front of the procession, He Huaien—his gaze cloudy—stared at the transport plane ahead. As a former president of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and one of the era’s most renowned physicists, he walked at the very front, supported by the rising star of the new human race, Zhou Zhicheng.

Formal send-offs, no matter how extravagant, meant nothing to him. At his age, he had seen through all such things. Only two thoughts lingered in his mind now: to serve his country one last time while still alive, and to pursue physics.

He hoped to find new discoveries in physics within the alien metaverse.

As he walked, he noticed the sympathetic and ashamed looks from many along the road—an uncomfortable feeling. He instinctively freed himself from Zhou Zhicheng’s support and muttered, half to himself, “Don’t be fooled by my shaky steps. If there really is a new world in that alien metaverse, you young folks may not be as useful as us. After all… you rely too much on precision instruments, and there may not be any in that world. Me, I can spot things with the naked eye. That old fellow beside you works in chemistry—give him something to taste, and he’ll tell you what elements are in it…”

“Absolutely, you’re right,” Zhou Zhicheng replied quickly.

The line of thousands of volunteers stretched far, moving at a leisurely pace, like a group of travelers. Yet the devout expressions made them seem more like pilgrims.

Tens of thousands stood in silence. They watched the fading procession, the elderly scientists, as if witnessing the end of an era. This era, on the brink of dusk, was using the last of its strength to shield the nation once more.

Chen Nian instinctively walked at the tail of the procession. He wanted to avoid attention, but it was impossible—he was simply too young. Fortunately, even when people noticed him, their gaze was brief. The vast majority of attention remained on the aged scientists.

The short distance of several hundred meters was quickly covered. As they neared the plane, Chen Nian noticed, in a quiet corner of the crowd, someone waving a small flag at him.

“Tang Ping…”

Alongside Tang Ping, he also saw Lu Yixiu standing quietly… and Xu Jing, eyes rimmed red… as well as Zhou Zhirui, tall and prominent amid the crowd. Altogether, a dozen or so people. They stood inconspicuously, blending into the silent masses.

A sudden pang of emotion struck Chen Nian. When Tang Ping saw his gaze, he quickly put away the flag, raised his phone, pointed at the screen, and mouthed: “Look! Look!”

Chen Nian understood, taking out his phone as he boarded the plane.

In the corner, Tang Ping watched Chen Nian pull out his phone and breathed a sigh of relief.

After taking his seat, Chen Nian opened the messaging app and logged into his account.

The guild management group had been set to mute for all except Lu Yixiu.

“President, Sky Dome has five hundred thousand members. Many wanted to come see you off… Even if not all, we could easily have gathered ten or twenty thousand. But I stopped them. I know, in the eyes of the world, you’re not today’s protagonist. If so many came to send you off, you’d be thrust into the spotlight. Yet truly, so many wanted to be here. We met in the virtual world… so we’ll send you off in the virtual world. You are our pride.”

After her message came a series of images. Each image was composed of hundreds of handwritten notes—some elegant, some bold, but all neat and orderly. Each image held a thousand such notes, and the images kept coming.

Every note bore those four words…

“Take care, big brother.”

The plane began its slow ascent.

Through the window, Chen Nian watched the crowd recede into the distance, his eyes shimmering with hidden tears.

Some say the greatest loneliness is not being needed.

He knew this well.

Though many in the guild saw him as generous, treating everyone as brothers and quietly supporting many people, in truth, he…

was the one who had been redeemed.