From Titan Corporation to the Empire of Man

Chapter 695 "A New Spatial Gate Has Been Opened"

Shortly after.

Lei Ruoya's red sports car smoothly drove into the top-floor parking space of the commercial district's multi-story parking garage under AI control. The magnetic adsorption device emitted a slight hum, precisely fixing the car body in place.

She opened the car door, her heels clicking crisply on the alloy floor.

The parking lot is almost full.

Various types of hovercraft are arranged like a dense honeycomb, with family-use multi-functional hovercraft making up the majority.

Some of the streamlined cabin sidewalls are also printed with cartoon stickers, such as glowing asteroids, grinning starships, or Q-version patterns of imperial dragons.

The air was still filled with the echoes of children playing, and with Lei Ruoya's extremely sensitive sense of smell, she could also smell the sweet aroma of candy, indicating that many families had already arrived.

She looked up at the sky.

The azure sky is cut into geometric patterns by crisscrossing air routes, and sightseeing boats marked with "Family Special Line" signs glide by, filled with laughter and joy.

Sunlight penetrates the glass curtain wall of the high-rise building, refracting into flowing light spots on the car's paint surface.

As she walked through the connecting passage, she noticed that a holographic screen on the wall was scrolling through holiday announcements—

"In accordance with Article 55 of the Imperial Law on the Welfare of Minors, all public facilities today offer free admission to children under the age of 14, and accompanying parents can enjoy double the reward points."

Below the subtitles, live footage flashes of the zoo's gene resurrection exhibit and the lunar-themed amusement park, showing children dressed in interstellar uniforms touching genetically modified, docile Triceratops cubs through an energy field.

Today is June 1st, Imperial Calendar 0055, which is also Children's Day in the Human Empire. Children under the age of 14, as well as their parents, are entitled to a day off.

At that moment, Lei Ruoya headed straight for the coffee shop she frequented.

As expected, the place was packed after we passed through the automatic doors.

The frosted floor-to-ceiling windows blurred the noisy outside scene. The simulated wind chimes of the automatic door opening and the automatic welcome voice sounded at the same time: "Dear member number 0336, welcome to our office. We have reserved a window seat for you."

The shop is filled with the aroma of roasted coffee beans and the buttery scent of desserts.

Young people gathered around the floating table, operating the holographic interface, while parents with children occupied the circular sofa area. A little girl was tiptoeing, trying to touch the interstellar map projected on the table, while her father scanned the QR code on the corner of the table with his personal terminal.

Lei Ruoya selected her preferred combination on the terminal ordering interface:

Double espresso milkshakes with extra caramel syrup, plus four Portuguese egg tarts, and edible gold dust to be added.

The payment was completed instantly.

She then leaned against the frosted glass curtain wall and waited.

Fingertips unconsciously glide across the cold surface, leaving fleeting misty traces.

Lei Ruoya, who possesses perception and vision far exceeding that of ordinary people, is actually able to clearly observe the scenery outside the window through the fog.

Outside, colorful holographic billboards played recruitment videos for the Legion's auxiliary forces, street cleaning robots "swallowed" festive ribbon debris, and further away, a giant holographic projection displayed news about how the 18th Universe (StarCraft) had become a major "city" and "industrial backyard" of the Empire under the management of the Iron Hand Legion.

A warm feeling spread through her chest.

She recalled herself hundreds of years ago, hiding in the shadows and eating leftovers. At that time, there were many scoundrels among the vampires and werewolves who believed that their mutation was evolution, and thus despised their fellow humans, even taking pleasure in eating them.

Whether they are vampires or werewolves, they do not need human flesh and blood to live a normal life. Livestock such as pigs, sheep, and cattle can satisfy their survival needs.

It's just that those scoundrels take pride in eating humans.

It was the emperor who tore through the "clouds" and let the purified "sunlight" shine into every corner.

The bloodthirsty creatures were utterly wiped out, and the wolves that devoured children were reduced to charred remains in the flames. But at the same time, many more hybrids like her, as well as vampires and werewolves who had never eaten humans and were devoted to good, were given the chance to be reborn.

"Hello, order A04417 is ready."

At this moment, an elven waitress came to Lei Ruoya's side with a metal tray and placed the coffee and desserts Lei Ruoya had ordered on the table next to her.

Please enjoy!

After the elven waitress left, Lei Ruoya, pulled back to reality from her thoughts, also turned her gaze to the table.

The gold powder on the surface of the egg tarts shimmered like stardust under the light, and the cream on top of the coffee milkshake was piled high, making it look like a "calorie explosion".

Then, she picked up her drink and took a sip.

The cream melted on her tongue, releasing a sweet and warm sensation. At the same time, she gazed through the mist at a child sleeping soundly on his father's back outside the window, the child clutching a plastic power sword toy in his hand.

The sunlight of the 55th year of the Imperial Calendar shone equally on every citizen, as if the darkness of thousands of years had never existed.

Only after finishing the milkshake and egg tarts did Lei Ruoya truly feel "appetized".

This mixed-race body's "metabolic engine" was always running at high efficiency. The tea and snacks just now were merely the prelude to the real feast, after all, the basic calories she needed to consume in a day were several times that of an ordinary person.

She then left the coffee shop, where she was instantly engulfed by a torrent of sound and light.

The elevated walkway is located 100 meters above the ground, with a continuous stream of traffic "light strips" below and crisscrossing aerial rail trains.

She walked along the corridor bridge inlaid with glowing guide lines, the sound of her boots clicking blending into the surrounding "interstellar symphony"—

Electronic sounds emanated from the cyberpunk-style shops, an elven musician strummed his harp on an open-air platform, and further away, the rough cries of dwarves echoed through the air.

A vibrant tapestry of races and civilizations unfolds here.

A businesswoman from Universe 17 (Star Wars), draped in a cloak of iridescent, scale-like feathers, brushed past the passersby.

Several Tirek children in school uniforms ran past, chattering excitedly, their antennae gleaming slightly.

Lei Ruoya's exceptional senses captured countless details, such as the pleasurable pheromones emanating from the scalp and tail glands of the Tirek people, and the metallic scent of the furnace in the dwarven craftsman's shop.

She moved into the neon-lit food court area.

One of her favorite Chinese restaurants, with its glazed eaves surrounded by a giant holographic carp, is particularly eye-catching. The path to it leads through the famous Alien Tavern Street.

The light here suddenly became ambiguous, and the air was saturated with the scents of alcohol, spices, and hormones.

Holographic dancers dressed in see-through clothing spin on a magnetic levitation platform on the street. In front of a Baroque-style bar, a female Tirek in sexy attire is giving away cocktails that blaze with purple flames for free.

Just as Lei Ruoya was walking briskly through this "sensory explosion" area, two young men who looked like college students staggered out of the 24-hour Zero Bar.

Their eyes were glazed over and their steps were unsteady, but they weren't exactly drunk.

One of the young men, with slicked-back hair, suddenly reached out to stop Lei Ruoya, asking, "Sister! Would you do us the honor of having a special cocktail? We..."

Lei Ruoya stopped. Her silver hair shimmered brilliantly under the neon lights, and the outer amber and inner scarlet of her irises seemed to shrink slightly in the shadows.

She scrutinized the crooked school badge on the other person's collar, and she was well aware of the two children's intentions, though they had clearly misjudged her age.

“Little boy.” Her voice carried a hint of the low-frequency vibrations of a wolf, freezing the other’s drunken smile on his face. “When I went on the expedition, you two probably weren’t even embryos.”

Upon hearing this, the two boys instantly understood that Lei Ruoya in front of them was a subhuman race with immortality.

However.
!!!

Instead of being disappointed, they became even more excited, forgetting their earlier fear.

One of them quickly said, "Sister! Haven't you heard? Sister, don't go!"

Lei Ruoya ignored these fledglings, whose minds were clouded by puberty hormones and alcohol, and turned to leave.

The rhythmic thud of her boot heels against the ground created a sense of pressure, causing a bartender who was trying to get closer to stumble backward, while two boys behind her made a commotion of frustration and excitement, but it was quickly swallowed up by a new wave of electronic sound.

The closer she got to her destination, the stronger the aroma of Chinese cuisine became. The numbing sensation of Sichuan peppercorns and the scorching heat of chili peppers permeated all sorts of alien scents, as solid as an anchor point of civilization.

but--

Buzz~ Buzz—!

Just as Lei Ruoya was about to step into that familiar Chinese restaurant, her personal mobile terminal (phone) on her waist suddenly vibrated deeply and rapidly.

The pulse-like reminders were distinctly different from ordinary notification sounds; you could even feel an undeniable urgency through the fabric of your clothes.

Her brows furrowed almost imperceptibly.

Before leaving home, she made sure to turn on Do Not Disturb mode so that she could enjoy a moment of peace and quiet during her remaining vacation.

The terminal was still vibrating, which could only mean one thing: a forced priority call from the military system.

Lei Ruoya took a deep breath and pulled out the jet-black mobile terminal from her waist.

A golden imperial emblem appears on its surface, and a semi-transparent communication light screen is projected the moment verification is completed.

With a simple tap, the call was connected.

"Commander." On the other end of the screen, a junior officer, dressed in a neat military uniform, spoke in a deep and powerful voice, his voice tinged with suppressed urgency. "The new spatial gate has been opened. This time, His Majesty the Emperor has personally issued the order, requiring our Glory Legion, along with the reconnaissance forces and the Lamenters Company of the Holy Blood Angel Legion, to jointly take charge of the initial integration of the Nine Universes."

The neon lights outside the restaurant flickered through her silver hair, reflecting a moment of coldness and solemnity.

After a moment of silence, Lei Ruoya replied in a low voice, "Understood. Immediately notify the First Combat Company to assemble in front of the nineteenth spatial gate at 2:00 PM today."

"Understood!" The lieutenant stood at attention and saluted, then the communication screen suddenly went out, and the terminal returned to silence.

Lei Ruoya pursed her lips, her gaze sweeping over the wafting aroma emanating from the restaurant entrance.

She had planned to savor a long-awaited lunch here, but now she had to put her mind at ease.

Lei Ruoya strode into the restaurant and ordered the simplest set meal. It seemed she intended to replenish her rapidly depleting "metabolic engine" during the short break and store up energy for the upcoming mission.

The scene changes.

Imperial year 0055, outside of New Akra, in the core area of ​​the Imperial Palace.

This area was a primeval jungle a hundred years ago, but it has now been completely transformed into a hub connecting the major universes.

At this moment, the nineteenth spatial gate stands quietly suspended in the ruins area.

Its size is similar to other spatial portals, still maintaining a terrifying 6km x 6km, like a giant mercury mirror embedded between reality and the void.

Its surface rippled with a faint white light, and layers of energy spread out like ripples, as if it were breathing at all times.

With each beat, a deep rumble reverberated through the air, seemingly reminding all who approached that this was a gateway to the unknown.

Surrounding the space gate, crisscrossing magnetic levitation tracks extend out like intricate veins.

Countless transport ships, trains, and floating cargo holds are moving in and out in an orderly manner, carrying supplies and personnel.

Like the lifeblood of the entire empire's industry, it is being continuously injected into another unknown territory through this gate.

The large gathering area in front of the entrance to the space presents a completely different scene.

On the wide alloy platform, armored personnel carriers and heavy mechs stood in formation, exuding a terrifying "aura".

Hundreds of professionals, dressed in uniforms of different colors, are working with various synthetics and Terminators, busily adjusting instruments, calibrating energy stabilizers, and checking the readings of crossgate sensors.

The reconnaissance troops had already taken the lead.

Numerous biological reconnaissance units stepped into the mirror-like light, trailing behind them thin, thread-like wires.

Meanwhile, the mechanical reconnaissance weapons, like a swarm of silver beetles, drilled into the depths of the space gate in rows, and soon the real-time images transmitted back would be projected onto the sky above the assembly area.

At this moment, at the other end of the assembly area, the banners of the Imperial Army were fluttering in the wind.

The Glory Legion's flag, a striking combination of bright red and gold, is inlaid on an alloy flagpole.

A thousand soldiers were assembling in an orderly fashion, their power armor reflecting the white light of the portal. Their synchronized movements and cold armor intertwined, like a torrent of steel.

The Lamenters Company of the Holy Blood Angels Legion has also arrived.

Their armor was predominantly blood red and dark yellow, with ancient Chinese characters and flame patterns engraved on its surface.

Although the team remained silent, the oppressive and chilling atmosphere lingered in the air as if it were a tangible presence.

In contrast, the soldiers of the Glory Legion were cold and resolute. The two legions stood side by side, foreshadowing an expedition that would soon unfold, one that would determine the expansion of the empire's territory and its uncertain fate.

In the distance, a figure was slowly walking towards them.

That's Lei Ruoya.

Her steps were steady, her silver hair fluttering freely in the wind, yet under the light of the portal, it resembled a burning, cold flame.

The echo of the magnetic boots striking the alloy floor gradually blended into the clamor of the thousands of people around them, yet it remained remarkably clear within a certain invisible rhythm.

The arrival of the legion commander was like a signal, causing all the Glory Legion soldiers who were preparing to straighten their backs instinctively.

Her gaze fell upon the silver mirror that stretched across the sky and earth.

The unknown beckoned, but her mind remained as calm as still water.
(End of this chapter)