Chapter 298: Five Years Later

Five years—neither too long nor too short.

For genetically edited cosmic humans, five years is one-twentieth of a 200-year lifespan—enough for a toddler learning to speak to run and jump.

For a star energy user, however, it is merely an insignificant portion of a life spanning hundreds or even thousands of years.

But what about on a cosmic scale?

If humanity had not developed warp technology, even with the most advanced level-5 warp engine capable of 125 times the speed of light, five years would only allow them to reach the nearby regions of the Milky Way.

The universe is too vast, and individuals are far too insignificant in comparison.

But for Lin Zhen?

These seemingly insignificant five years were actually one-third of his entire life.

Leaving aside the first two five-year periods he grew up on Junk Star, in the third five-year period, he arrived at battle camp, where he met a companion he could trust for life, and also came to know a beloved girl he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

Although the end of that third five-year period was not very pleasant, it truly changed his entire life. In the next five years, and in many five-year periods after that, he would work hard to save that girl.

And now, looking back, this is already the first five-year period since he left battle camp.

Five years passed in the blink of an eye.

In these five years, he fulfilled his childhood dream and came to Cosmic Academy.

Relying on the solid star energy user foundation he built at battle camp and the extensive alloy knowledge taught to him by Dr. Forefinger, he carved out a place for himself at the Imperial Institute of Technology, where the strong gather like clouds and prodigies abound, earning him the title of a gifted student.

But having seen a true genius, he knew that compared to her… he still had a long way to go.

On a sunny meadow, a lean and upright male student sat cross-legged in the shadow of a large tree. His eyelids were lowered, and half of his face was hidden in the shadows, making his expression unreadable.

A copper-colored mechanical arm guard lay in front of him. This arm guard was small and old, not only completely mismatched with the student’s size, but also extremely low-tech.

At a time when the Imperial Institute of Technology commonly used nanotechnology, it actually employed traditional mechanical structures that had been popular nearly ten thousand years ago as its driving method.

Furthermore, the design, materials, and manufacturing process of the arm guard were also terrible. The material was just ordinary copper alloy, which nowadays was even less hard than a common kitchen knife.

Gears, chains… these key transmission structures were blatantly placed on the surface of the arm guard, and any external force would damage them, making it completely unusable for battle.

If anyone else at the academy saw it, they would probably think this mechanical arm guard was an antique salvaged from the ruins of some junk star.

But even though this arm guard was so shabby, the male student sitting under the tree still treasured it like a precious gem.

He gently picked up the arm guard, held his breath, and carefully disassembled it, taking out each part and performing extremely meticulous maintenance.

Dusting, repairing, applying lubricant. The student’s movements were exceptionally skilled, yet he remained fully focused, his actions as gentle as if he were conducting some important experiment.

Soon, the mechanical arm guard was reassembled, and the gears and chains ran smoothly. The mechanism locked with a crisp click.

Only then did the male student lift his head and let out a slight breath.

A cool breeze came from somewhere, lifting his bangs, and the shadows on his face receded inch by inch, revealing a handsome and striking face, but one that somehow carried a hint of gloom between his brows.

His appearance was unmistakably a grown-up Lin Zhen!

He lowered his head and silently looked at the mechanical arm guard in his hand. As the sun slowly moved, his shadow was revealed.

But whether due to the angle or not, the shadow cast by his tall and upright figure under the sun was as short as that of a teenager, as if it were just an ordinary teenager… wearing a neck collar.

Zzt!

The instant the male student’s face appeared, the screen went black, and only a one-week countdown popped up: [06:23:59:59].

But at that moment, the barrage reached its climax.

“Who’s that handsome guy on the screen?”

“Wait, is he pretending to be a goblin?”

“Where did my big goblin go?”

“How much time has passed? Lao Zhen is this old now.”

“Give me back my young A Zhen!”

“Where’s Lao Xi? Where’s Lao Xi? Where’s my wife?”

“Your wife is still in the Saints’ hand society’s prison.”

“Looks like Lao Zhen is still hung up on Lao Xi leaving. This mechanical arm guard is so well-maintained.”

“After all, it’s a relic of his ‘deceased wife.’”

As a super popular hot anime that easily became the global streaming champion with just three episodes released in its first season, even though the final episode of Starfall had been broadcast for over three months, the show’s popularity online only increased rather than diminished.

On Bilibili, a related video with two to three million views would pop up almost every week or two. Game merchandise collaborations and behind-the-scenes interview videos appeared one after another, attracting a large number of viewers from outside the circle who were still hesitating.

So during this time, the people of Earth in this parallel dimension had a feeling that Starfall, though completed, seemed even more popular than when it was still ongoing.

And now, after three months, the PV and specific broadcast time for Starfall’s second season had finally been released after much anticipation. How exciting it was!

Many fans, who had been continuously attacking the production team online every day because of Yun Ruoxi’s ending, unusually calmed down for a day and decided to watch the PV first.

Although it’s said that one should strike while the iron is hot and it’s foolish not to profit from traffic, the production team’s pace was still too fast.

In this era where sequels typically take one, two, or even several years, releasing a second season in four months was still too over-the-top, truly shocking many viewers.

And more importantly, this PV had a lot of information.

While many UP Masters were guessing that the second season’s plot might be about how Lin Zhen and the others entered Cosmic Academy to get stronger, the PV immediately showed Lin Zhen, who had grown to 1.9 meters and was probably already 18 years old.

Doesn’t that mean the second season’s timeline is later than they imagined? And that Yun Ruoxi, who chose to stay in the Saints’ hand society, had been living alone in that damn place for five years?

Thus, three minutes later, fans who were both looking forward to the second season and feeling sorry for Yun Ruoxi once again sent the production team’s ancestors flying to heaven.

February 7, 2026, Saturday, 6:00 PM sharp.

Under the eager anticipation of global audiences, the first episode of Starfall’s second season officially launched on all major global platforms.

That certain unreliable Bilibili site had its server instantly crushed, causing the website to crash.

Not only that, but the viewership of Starfall’s second season on other websites skyrocketed to the top, overshadowing all other anime, TV series, and cartoons.

“It’s out instantly!”

“Bring it on!”

“A ‘once in a lifetime’ series? No, it’s not ‘once in a lifetime’!”