Chapter 82: Star Luo

“Alright then, Chilian, I’ll start telling the story. It’s a long one…”

“Xingluo, you’ll be responsible… this great ship… I entrust you to steer it…”

“You must remember… the tides of history cannot be stopped by one person… And, no matter what, never forget your original ideal…

The stars have lit up.

When the earth no longer shines bright, the starry sky above blooms again with colorful lights.

Starlight pierces through thick clouds, draping a halo over the barren Heitiekui.

The girl sat on the roof of the thatched hut, looking up to admire the beautiful starry sky. That boundless space was the shared yearning of every child.

The books told her that humans lived on Earth, which was twelve thousand kilometers in diameter, with a surface area of over five hundred million square kilometers.

She didn’t really understand how vast that was since she had never left here. To her, the world was only this small patch of land around Wudong Town, and the sky overhead.

The books also told her Earth was the third planet in the Solar System, which had eight other planets. She couldn’t remember their names, only that there were ones called Mars and Mercury.

She was curious—was Mars covered with flames everywhere? Was Mercury filled with oceans? But she had never seen an ocean herself, so she couldn’t imagine it.

Yet, what fascinated her most was the vast Milky Way. The Solar System sat on the Orion Arm of the Milky Way, which was one hundred and twenty thousand light-years across.

To her, it was an infinite space sprinkled with colorful stars, like glowing candies. How wonderful it would be if she could pluck just one.

Sometimes, she wondered if the Milky Way was just a long river, and the stars were stones floating along its flow to unknown realms.

She dreamed of one day drifting through that starry river, escaping this sorrowful earth.

“Yang Jie Jie, you’re daydreaming again. What’s so interesting about stars? You can’t touch them or catch them; they just hang there in the sky. How boring.”

“You don’t understand.”

“Alright, Yang Jie Jie, the factory folks are calling you back. It’s late, and there’s work tomorrow.”

“I know, Xiao Han.”

Back inside the bunker, Yang Nini felt frustrated and suffocated again. The air hardly circulated here.

After work, the stench of men’s sweat mixed with the weird smells of machinery hung thick in the air—disgusting.

In the narrow underground corridor, workers leaned against the walls, resting their eyes under dim lights. On the floor lay worn-out quilts—their only places to sleep.

That broken fluorescent tube had gone unrepaired for days. Every time she passed by, she treaded carefully, afraid of bumping into something in the dark and falling.

“Yo, Yang Nini, wait up, I need to talk to you.”

Yang Nini turned her head. It was Uncle Wu calling her.

“What is it, Uncle Wu?”

He leaned close to her ear, speaking quietly, “I lost my gun. Could you help me look for it? I’ve searched the entire dorm but found nothing. I’m afraid someone took it.”

“You’re a kid—if you sneak into the Security Office, they probably won’t punish you much. I’m just scared… scared that those bastards find my gun. I’d lose my head.”

Seeing Uncle Wu’s pale face, Yang Nini worried for him.

“I understand. I’ll help you look tomorrow.”

Uncle Wu breathed a sigh of relief. “Good, good. You go back and rest now; it’s late.”

“Mm.”

Yang Nini returned to the dorm where she lived with Han Yu’s family.

Han Yu’s father had been an engineer at the Fire Power Plant in Shishan County. After the beast invasion, they had to hide in the underground shelters of Wudong Town.

Now, thanks to his expertise, he managed Wudong Town’s thermoelectric facilities. That was why their family could live in a separate room, unlike the ordinary workers who lived in the corridor.

“Uncle Han, I’m back,” Yang Nini said.

Han Yu’s father pushed up his scratched glasses, put down the thick book in his hands.

“Ah, you’re back. Han Yu still needs you to tutor her. You’ve read more books—teach her addition, subtraction, multiplication, and division,” he said.

“I know, Uncle Han.”

“She’s already asleep now. Wash up and get to bed soon. You kids have work tomorrow, don’t wear yourselves out.”

***

After washing up, Yang Nini came to the bedside and gently lifted the quilt. Han Yu was curled up, dreaming sweetly.

She lay down and snuggled into the warm quilt. Compared to the stuffy air in the shelter and the cold wind outside, the warmth inside soothed her, easing the day’s fatigue.

Another day passed. What would she dream of tonight?

Wrapped in a thick cotton jacket, Yang Nini arrived at the worksite—an open-pit mine near Wudong Town.

Over ten years had passed since the once bustling open-pit coal mine was abandoned. Snow piled up on the roads, mixed with black soil, making every step difficult.

To extract precious coal for heating and power generation, Wudong Town’s leaders decided to dispatch former workers from the Wudong Town Steel Plant to survey and dig—after all, the apocalypse had come, and steel orders had ceased…

The once towering coal hills had become gentle slopes, weathered over the years. Their surfaces changed from jet black to a faint rusty yellow.

Acidic wastewater oozed from them and froze on the ground, forming murky, rust-colored dirty ice.

Workers labored atop these coal hills, scraping away the weathered surface with iron shovels to dig out black coal gangue mixtures, loading them onto wheelbarrows to haul down.

Yang Nini’s job was to sort out burnable coal pieces from these black mixtures.

From her vantage point, the tiny figures looked like ants crawling on the decomposing brown-black carcass of a giant beast, scraping the black rotting flesh from the hard crust covered with white sulfate crystals…

This was not a safe job. Each time the shovel disturbed the black rocks, toxic heavy metals and sulfate dust flew into the air.

Without facial and respiratory protection, exposure could cause heavy metal poisoning, which was almost incurable under current medical conditions.

The danger wasn’t just the poisonous dust. Due to the perennial cold in the Northeast region, rainwater seeped into coal crevices and froze.

As ice expanded, it created unstable structures inside. When external temperatures rose, the ice would break apart, causing landslides.

Such events had already buried twelve workers under the coal rocks. Even survivors’ skin, exposed to acidic substances inside, would quickly ulcerate. Few lived beyond a week.

Wheelbarrows were pushed to a relatively safe clearing and dumped, forming small piles of coal. In this clearing were two trucks, surrounded by fifty or so people sorting and moving coal.

Yang Nini and a woman spread out a makeshift sieve crafted from broken wire mesh to sort the raw mixtures.

They shook the sieve, letting smaller coal pieces and dust fall through, while larger gangue remained on top, thereby selecting usable coal lumps.

Five or six kids around Yang Nini’s age crouched under the second sifted coal dust, competing to find the largest coal chunks.

They handed their finds to adults and received rewards based on size. Yang Nini worried about their safety.

Although the second sift reduced heavy metals, some residues remained, risking poisoning over time—this was what Han Yu’s father told her.

That’s why she always wore a mask like the other workers on the coal hills.

The work usually lasted seven or eight hours, from around ten in the morning until five or six in the evening, returning before dark.

Unlike other kids, Yang Nini disliked this work. This sticky black substance, like all the world’s filth, was dangerously toxic.

Han Yu worked at the Wei Sheng Zhan (Health Station) and often complained to Yang Nini about how many people this stuff had killed.

They died in pain, and the nurses’ only remedy was to ease the agony with strong liquor.

The work was tedious and joyless, yet unavoidable…

Just as Yang Nini planned to sneak a break, a tractor appeared in the distance, its black smoke stark against the snowy white land.

“The factory director is coming to inspect! Work harder!” the Bao Gong Tou (Foreman) shouted.

The foreman was a short man wearing a safety helmet, just a head or two taller than Yang Nini. While others worked, he lounged in the tractor, said to be the director’s confidant—no one dared to cross him.

The tractor rumbled closer; its engine noise was unbearable. Yang Nini hurried away until the tractor shut down.

The Chang Zhang (Factory Director) stepped down, wearing a sable coat and a large fur hat, flanked by guards, exuding authority. Yang Nini thought the warlords of last century must have looked like this.

Wudong Town’s leader was known as the Dong Shi Zhang (Chairman) or simply the Chang Zhang (Factory Director), because he owned 67% of the two largest enterprises in Wudong Town.

Before the disaster, he was the de facto owner of all factories in the region. When the apocalypse struck, his control of production materials easily secured him leadership of the Survivor Settlement.

Under harsh conditions, he organized Wudong Town’s production order and held considerable prestige among some engineers.

He also formed an Anbao Budui (Security Force) to defend against beasts, though many believed its real function was to uphold his rule……

The director approached the sorted coal piles, donned gloves, and examined a lump closely before shaking his head.

“This batch needs to be sorted again. Come look at this yellow thing and tell me what it is.”

He knocked a small yellow stone out of a coal lump and showed it to everyone. It gleamed with metallic luster.

No one answered.

“You fools, illiterate morons! This is Pyrite! When it burns mixed with coal, it causes explosions! Didn’t anyone teach you what this is?”

The foreman hurried over, apologizing, “Ah, my bad, boss. These are all new recruits, not veteran miners. Forgot to tell them…”

“Next time you make a mistake like this, you’ll be working with them!” the director snapped.

He threw the yellow stone at the foreman, then climbed back into the tractor and left within minutes.

Once the director was out of sight, the foreman picked up the Pyrite and threw it in the middle of the clearing for all to see.

Angrily, he said, “Look carefully! This stuff must never appear in coal, or it’s dangerous, understand? If I catch it again, I’ll ask the higher-ups to fire you all! Now, re-sort the product. Make sure this never happens again.”

Because of this blunder, Yang Nini and the workers had to redo the sorting, wasting two hours. By the time they left, it was already dark.

On the way back, the distant howls of beasts unsettled them.

No father, no mother. Since she could remember, Yang Nini’s parents had died of a terminal illness.

“Leukemia,” was the name of their disease. Because they had long worked in hazardous radioactive fallout zones, they contracted the illness soon after she was born and died quickly.

Yang Nini’s memories of her parents were vague, nearly nonexistent.

In the underground town, her closest companions were Han Yu and her family, and Uncle Wu—Yang Nini had played with Uncle Wu since childhood.

Uncle Wu was a skilled hunter who often sneaked out with his Shuang Guan Lie Qiang (double-barrel shotgun) to catch wild game and share it with her.

He taught her how to identify beasts and many social realities, the “adult things.”

Uncle Wu told her that the Chang Zhang and his cronies were the worst kind of villains, pretending to work for Wudong Town’s residents but ruling mercilessly for their own gain.

He said the director had persecuted many opponents.

Back in town, Yang Nini went to the cafeteria and exchanged her Nianmian Piaoyang (grain coupons) earned from work for dinner. As a child, she usually got more food for fewer coupons.

The cafeteria meals were always tasteless. Struggling to swallow her cornbread, she suddenly remembered what Uncle Wu told her and planned to sneak into the Security Office.

The Security Office was inside the Fire Power Plant, a massive structure mostly underground.

Wudong Town was essentially built around this power plant, and the director’s residence was above the plant’s management room.

Yang Nini arrived in the power plant area, heading to the Security Office beneath the director’s residence.

The guards there were the director’s Anbao Budui, maintaining Wudong Town’s law and order. The director decreed that all firearms must be registered with the guards and that private possession was forbidden.

Uncle Wu had clearly broken this rule, which explained his fear.

Outside the Security Office, a large crowd wielded tools, protesting something.

“Liu De Gang! You bastard! I work fourteen hours a day, barely get soup to eat, and you dare cut our rations again? Are you even human? Come out, stop hiding in your doghouse! Give us an explanation!”

A man in the crowd shouted into a megaphone, echoed by others.

“Come out!”

“Come out!”

“Give us an explanation!”

The rioters pushed against the guards’ human wall, their shouts echoing through the power plant.

Finally, the director appeared at the gate. Yang Nini noticed he held a gun—the very Shuang Guan Lie Qiang belonging to Uncle Wu…

“Silence!” the director’s voice boomed over the loudspeaker, louder than the crowd’s noise. At once, the protest ceased.

“I hear your demands. Everyone must learn patience. The recent harvest was poor. Last month’s beast attacks damaged many outdoor farms. We have no choice but to tighten belts and ration food. Do you understand?” the director continued.

Someone shouted back from the crowd, “Then why do the engineers and guards eat better than us? There’s still plenty in the granary. Why cut our workers’ rations? People in the East District are starving to death!”

The crowd stirred up again.

“Give us an explanation!” they shouted in unison.

“Quiet!” guards barked, holding batons, ready for violent action.

“Resource allocation is important. For the whole of Wudong Town, limited resources must go to those contributing most.”

“Without engineers, our infrastructure can’t hold, even the power plant might shut down. Everyone would die. Our security force faces deadly beast invasions; it’s only natural they get more food.”

“You must endure. Think of other ways to survive. This is a necessary sacrifice,” the director spoke smoothly.

The protesters couldn’t refute his words but refused to back down.

“Enough. I’m issuing new orders. No unauthorized gatherings. Assemblies over five people require approval, understood? Now, disperse immediately!”

The protesters ignored him. Someone yelled, “My wife and kids are starving! Who the hell will listen to your crap? Brothers, grab your weapons!”

They were organized, unwilling to break up easily.

A brawl broke out—batons and shovels met blood. People fell, trampled underfoot, unable even to cry out.

“Rioters, get your guns!” the director ordered.

Soon, a gun squad emerged from the Security Office.

Bang!

Gunshots pierced ears. A smoking bullet hole appeared in the ceiling.

Both sides froze.

“Who dares move now, and I’ll blow his brains out! Hear me!?” the director roared.

“Now, find the instigators! Who started this? Come out! Or I’ll lock you all up!”

Some tried to flee but were caught and had their legs broken by the guards.

“You?” the director pointed his gun at a fallen man’s head.

The man didn’t speak, only glared.

“I’m about to shoot. Anyone stand up?”

The Shuang Guan Lie Qiang was pressed to his head, ready to fire.

A ragged man stepped out from the crowd. He was thin and small, likely not involved in the fighting. Long-term malnutrition had wasted him to skin and bone.

“Good. Lock him in the Jin Bi Shi (Detention Room). Everyone else clear out! Security, clean the scene.”

The director turned and left.

Yang Nini couldn’t bear to watch the small man dragged roughly into the Security Office…

After this tragedy, sneaking into the Security Office was impossible. But the director holding Uncle Wu’s gun meant Uncle Wu’s illegal gun possession was exposed. She had to warn him quickly.

Yang Nini rushed back to the dorm.

But it was too late. Uncle Wu’s neighbor said he had already been taken away.

“Yang Jie, you seem anxious… what’s wrong?” Han Yu asked, having returned from the Wei Sheng Zhan.

Yang Nini didn’t want to drag others into this but was scared and worried for Uncle Wu’s safety…

“Yang Jie, I heard about the trouble at the power plant. The Wei Sheng Zhan has many injured. You must be careful!”

She swallowed hard.

Recalling the earlier scene—the hollow eyes of the man taken away, pools of blood on the ground—it sickened her. Like those protesters, a nameless rage brewed inside her.

But she was only ten years old. What could she do? She couldn’t save the thin man, couldn’t save Uncle Wu, nor the starving people…

“Yang Jie, are you worried we won’t have enough food? Don’t worry. My dad’s an engineer. My family can eat well.”

“But… what about those who have nothing?” Yang Nini whispered.

“Yang Jie, what are you talking about… Dad told me it doesn’t matter what others live like, just live well yourself. In this miserable world, isn’t it best to protect yourself first?”

Yang Nini was silent for a moment…

“You’re right, Han Yu… let’s go back and wash up for bed.”

Yet, once the seed of hatred is planted, all words become powerless. Yang Nini’s heart was weighed down by something called “hate.”

Even closing her eyes at night, the same feelings repeated in her dreams, leaving her helpless.

The next day, a broadcast abruptly woke her.

“All personnel, please proceed to the surface conference hall. A meeting requires everyone’s attendance,” a cold voice announced.

Dressed in her cotton jacket, Yang Nini went to the surface conference hall.

Calling it a hall was a stretch; it was an open platform with no benches, so attendees had to stand.

Thankfully, it wasn’t too cold. The sun hung high overhead, casting faint white light.

Then, Yang Nini saw Uncle Wu—standing on the platform, hands and feet shackled.

His complexion was poor; clearly, he had suffered much torment last night.

“Everyone, look closely!” the foreman brandished the protesters’ megaphone from yesterday.

“This dangerous criminal concealed a firearm! Death penalty is deserved!”

The foreman grabbed a whip from somewhere and lashed Uncle Wu’s back. Bound and gagged, he couldn’t scream, only staggered, trying to stay upright.

Then the director stepped up, microphone in hand.

“Today’s main purpose is to make an example. This dangerous criminal concealed a gun and could have shot our own people. He must be severely punished! By regulation, he shall be exiled,” the director declared.

“Residents of Wudong Town! Yesterday, some incited people rioted in front of the Security Office. Fortunately, they had no guns, so casualties were few.”

“But we found one criminal with a hidden gun, which is a dangerous start. Our struggling town must not suffer conflict, especially deadly gunfights. I urge you to watch those around you.”

“If anyone is hiding a firearm, report them immediately, or tomorrow the barrel will be aimed at you! Informants will be rewarded with extra food. Understand?”

The director scanned the crowd. Few nodded but he proceeded to announce the next order:

“I hereby revoke Wu Zhiyi’s residency rights and sentence him to exile from Wudong Town!”

Two tall guards grabbed Uncle Wu’s arms and led him offstage, but then something unexpected happened.

“Put him down!”

A young girl’s voice shouted.

The guards looked around for the source.

“I said, put him down!!”

It was a girl about ten years old. People around tried to stop her, but she refused to back down.

“Yang Nini? What are you doing!?” Han Yu’s father exclaimed, rushing to grab her, but she slipped from his grasp.

“Uncle Wu is innocent! You’re the scum! Selfish and uncaring about us poor people! We’re starving, yet you won’t even spare an extra ration!” Yang Nini said angrily, clenching her tiny fists.

“Someone, lock this girl up!” the director said dismissively.

“Without us bottom-tier folks working every day, how could you live so comfortably on high? Bloodsuckers!” Yang Nini was consumed by rage, paying no mind to the guards towering over her.

“Hey, brat! Who taught you to talk like that? You need a good lesson!” A guard grabbed her hair and dragged her before the director.

“Was it Wu Zhiyi who taught you? What a bad influence,” the director said, squeezing Yang Nini’s cheek hard.

Uncle Wu tried to struggle against his shackles but was quickly subdued, gagged, and could only watch helplessly as Yang Nini was locked into a metal cage once used for cargo.

No!!!

The Jin Bi Shi was pitch black and stifling, worse than outside.

Crack!

Yang Nini was shackled like Uncle Wu and forced to kneel, unable to move.

She gasped for breath, her inner turmoil raging.

“Damn it… if only I could grow strong and beat them… if only I could be as invulnerable as the beasts, I’d tear them all apart!”

Yang Nini bit her lip, tasting blood. The usual metallic tang had become a catalyst for hatred, forcing the seed of hate to root and sprout.

“Who’s making so much noise… I finally fell asleep…” a voice spoke in the dark.

It was the thin man from yesterday, whom Yang Nini recognized through the faint light from the door crack.

“Girl? How could those bastards target a little girl? They’re worse than animals… Little one, what did you do to get locked up?”

“A serious matter… I openly condemned the director’s people. But I hate them so much… Uncle Wu is about to be killed by them…” Yang Nini sobbed, tears mixing with blood on her face.

“Ah, that’s your mistake, little one. But you’re so young, that’s understandable. You’ll have more chances,” the man sighed, lying down.

“What’s your name, little one?”

“Yang Nini.”

“Alright, Yang Nini, remember this: venting emotions is useless—emotions are the cheapest thing in this world. To achieve great things, one must be rational, have foresight, and not be swayed by feelings to make pointless decisions. You must learn to think. Though you’re young, think more and you’ll grow.”

“Think… grow…” Yang Nini murmured. These two words weren’t unfamiliar; she was much smarter and more mature than her peers.

“When you grow up, you’ll see this world seems complex at first, but after understanding some truths, you realize it’s ruled by simple principles. Following these will guide you rightly and lead society forward. I see potential in you.”

“Me…?”

“Right now, calm down. Observe how the world works, think about what drives it, and what drives conflict. I can only teach you this; the rest you must grasp yourself.”

“I understand. Thank you.”

The man was taken away, and Yang Nini never saw him again.

After a day in the Jin Bi Shi’s dark and silent confines, Yang Nini finally calmed.

The door crack opened slightly; light streamed in.

Blinding, dazzling. Like a newborn seeing the surgical light for the first time, Yang Nini slowly opened her eyes…

Uncle Wu’s sturdy figure appeared at the door.

“Yang Nini! Are you alright? Did they abuse you? Starve you? Get up quickly, something big has happened!” Uncle Wu’s rapid words struck Yang Nini’s fragile thoughts like marbles hitting a chain.

“Uncle Wu…? You’re still here?”

“Come, I’ll unlock your shackles. Let’s go.”

“What’s going on?”

Uncle Wu removed her shackles and carried her out of the detention room.

“The invulnerable girl… how can such a thing exist in this world?”

“Really! I saw several long guns aimed at her, but none harmed her, and those beasts seemed to obey her!”

“Truly, the world is full of wonders. Today we are liberated… they are our great saviors!”

Uncle Wu took Yang Nini back to the ruined open-air conference platform. The scene was chaotic. Guards were disarmed and subdued by workers.

In the center, a girl in black uniform held a pistol. The bound and gagged director stood before her.

“I am a magical girl from Matsushiro. We are here to rescue you.”

The director’s terrified expression was visible even with his mouth gagged.

Below the platform, the director’s relatives were surrounded. Some had lost reason and were being beaten.

“Magical girl…? What’s that?” Yang Nini wondered.

The sun still hung high, but its light was sharper this time.

A cold wind blew, stirring the girl’s long hair.

“By decree of the Matsushiro Witch Committee of Yilao North Province, I hereby declare—”

Standing atop the platform, the girl declared:

“I sentence Liu De Gang, a Black Market element from Shishan County’s Wudong Town, to death! By popular vote, his cronies are exiled.”

Bang!

Blood stained the earth.

From that day on, the fate called “magical girl” became entwined with Yang Nini’s own destiny light cone.