29 Purple Comet

On the afternoon of July 6, 1807, there was still a day and a half left before the "purple comet", the cruising spacecraft, passed by Planet 10. In the misty jungle in the northwest of the Sprelet Empire, Milo, Erin, Koran, and Parrett were slowly groping their way through. Speaking of groping, this fog-filled jungle is like an ordinary forest in Milo's eyes, these fogs are just hallucinations produced by people under the influence of "visual jammers", and Mello has become immune to this interference due to various coincidences and its thorough self-reflection.

Still, the distraction was painful for the other three.

"This place was just here, right?" Parrett said sweatingly.

"It always feels like it......" Erin chimed in, but she wasn't nervous or afraid.

"You can't make a wrong mark, can you? Brothers? How long do we have to go? Parrett suspiciously asked Milo, who was leading the way in front.

Milo said without looking back: "At the current speed, it will be there as soon as early tomorrow morning." ”

"But it's all gray here, and I can't see the ...... time."

"It's past noon, haven't we had lunch?" Milo tried to lighten the mood.

Parrett asked no more. In a moment, a soft sigh mingled with the noises—Melo could tell it was Kolan's, and she hadn't spoken since she entered the jungle. In fact, during the Shaling crisis, Milo realized that Kelan was very afraid of getting lost. However, she always looks very calm on the surface, and she has never let others notice.

Melo decided to distract Kran to ease her fears: "Kran, can you tell us where that purple comet can be observed?" ”

"Well, if you want to see that comet, you need to climb over the wave to get to its north side, and you'll get to the best spot to observe it. If you're lucky, you can actually see it in Fengxing Town, but at this time of year, the direction of the snowy mountains is always foggy, so you can't see clearly. Kelan replied, and his steps gradually became more rhythmic.

"Over the Qibo Snow Mountain?! Kelan, do you have to do this every eight years? Erin asked in surprise, she had been to the foot of the snow-capped mountain, and she had been frightened by the towering peak.

"Hey, I have to go every eight years. It was a place of memories for me and Carl, and I couldn't miss a single moment of memory. Kelan said affectionately, "It is not very difficult for me to climb over the snowy mountain, little Irene don't have to worry. ”

"Can't you go by boat? Isn't it dangerous? Parrett asked curiously.

"Hey, icebergs and ice floes are deadly."

Milo changed the subject again: "Kelan, there is one thing that I am curious about: I have read all your writings, but I found that there is nothing about the 'Fude Fortress Rebellion', it is your battle for fame, why don't you write it?" ”

"Yes, yes, I noticed it when I read the history books of Komet," Erin added, "It seems that Koran prevented the outbreak of a full-scale war in the three empires, and it was not written because there was a hidden secret?" ”

Kelan smiled bitterly and said, "Hey, little Erin is right. All official records about that incident are fictitious. ”

"Really? Can you tell us what happened? ”

"Well, if you want to hear it, I'd like to talk about it." Kelan took a deep breath, "Do you remember the four old-timers of 'River Rat', 'Frog', 'Mole', and 'Badger'?" It's also about their story. I was 35 years old, and Barty Jr. and Duminique were both young......"

……

“…… After that, the general's body was not cremated, but was buried in the riverside town of the Dragongon Empire, the same small village where we last took the Otter to halfway island, where the four seniors were paying their respects. I feel guilty about his death, but I can't do anything about it...... This is how the rebellion of Fude Fortress ended. I have kept in touch with the four seniors who gave up their identities or positions because of this incident and began to adventure in ships in the name of explorers. ”

"I can't imagine that Klan has experienced such a painful and helpless thing......" Erin felt it, and her face became melancholy.

"Hey, fortunately, the result is good, if it evolves into a full-scale war between the three empires, Komet caught in it will be ruthlessly crushed. This incident also laid the groundwork for many things that happened later, but that was someone else's story. ”

Listening to Kelan tell about his experience, the three of them all had a feeling like a fish in their throats, but at the end they felt hearty, it seemed that everything was logical, but only those who have really experienced it can experience it.

Melo suddenly stopped and said to the three people behind her, "We have arrived. ”

"Here?" Parrett looked around, and he didn't see anything special in his eyes, but after taking a few steps forward, he noticed a huge cylinder towering in front of him, Capsule 1.

The original white surface was covered with dead leaves, dirt and dust, but on the whole it did not appear to have suffered much damage. Erin, Kran, and Parrett had seen the massive capsule for the first time, as tall as a medium-sized barn.

"It's incredible." Klan looked around the capsule for a week and sighed, "There are letters that appear on the Saknut Manuscript, but they can't be read, they should be abbreviations of some words." ”

Parrett patted the surface of the capsule and made a dull metallic sound, "This iron sheet is thick!" It's smooth, how long and how long does it take people to make? You say this can still fly? ”

"Yes, it can fly into the sky." Milo replied, "Come, the door is here." With that, Milo walked around to the other side of the capsule and pointed her eyes at a small black hole—

The capsule emitted a stereotyped electronic tone: "Clearance verification has passed, the hatch is about to open." ”

"Who, who, who's talking?" Erin and Parrett took a few steps back in fright, followed by even more surprise - a portion of the capsule's surface "sliped" to the side, revealing the space inside, "This...... Is this the door? ”

"Come in and take a look, don't worry, this thing won't eat people." Milo half-jokingly.

Klan entered without hesitation, Erin and Parrett looked at each other, still a little timid, and Mello simply pulled the two in-

The interior of the capsule is a pure white color, almost spotless except for the tiny gaps in the joints of the modules. Scattered across the bulkheads were handle-like handrails that were used to move in weightlessness. Four cushioned seats are embedded in the corners and there are safety straps on top of them, all well thought out.

Kelan looked down: "This floor is so clean, I don't dare to step on it." ”

"Don't worry, this thing can clean itself, and the dirt on our feet and on the floor will be gone in a while." Melo straightens the seat straps and tests them to see how tight and safe they are.

Parrett felt strange to everything, and couldn't help but ask, "Brother, do you know how this thing works?" ”

"I don't know, but it's very easy to operate, like some complex machines with just a few levers."

"I don't understand, I don't understand, since you can get it, I'll leave it all to you...... But what time is it? How long do you have to go? ”

Milo looked outside at the sky: "It's dawn on July 7th. Then there was a long silence.

"Let's eat something, everybody, and ...... Take a break, take a break. Erin broke the silence and proposed. The four of them ate in the capsule, and if nothing else, it was supposed to be their last meal on the planet.

Kran handed a piece of fragrant bacon to Erin, who was always a vegetarian, and was surprised that Kran had made a mistake. "Don't care about your beliefs at this point." Koran looked at Erin with kind eyes...... Eventually, Erin took the bacon and feasted on it.

After eating, Erin cleaned up the dishes, much slower than usual. It was still early the next day, and instead of passing the time with sleep, the four of them told their own stories—of course, Klan's various adventures were the most popular.

"I've always thought it was strange, Kran," Milo said, looking for a moment to cut into, "when did your mouth habit become a habit?" I always thought it was the Komet dialect, but then I found out that it wasn't, and I thought it was because of my age, but there are no similar examples among the people I know...... So I'm just curious. ”

Kelan laughed "poof": "Well, I was born like this, although I can use all the words of affirmation correctly, I always spit out that word naturally when communicating with others - even before I can react, I can't change it at all." Don't think you're weird, Karl, my parents, Barty and Duminic, Elder Agatha...... Even Erin and Parrett were curious about it. ”

"Ahhh Milo laughed at herself, catching a glimpse of Erin's slightly lost face, but soon, her lost expression turned to interest again, as if waiting for Koran to tell her next.

"Erin......," Milo said suddenly, solemnly.

"Huh? What's up? Erin replied nonchalantly.

Milo took her hand: "Let's go to the ......" At this moment, the electronic sound suddenly sounded-

"The 'cruising spacecraft' signal has been received, and the launch window starts now and is expected to last 120 minutes."

Kelan's expression suddenly became serious, then he closed his eyes and said, "Purple Comet, it's coming." ”

Parrett sorted out his equipment, threw the useless things out of the capsule, pursed his lips and said, "Brother, let's go." ”

Melo took Erin's hand and led her to the seat and helped her fasten her safety straps.

"Thank you." Erin smiled and thanked her, "We...... Let's go! ”

When all four were ready, Milo shouted overhead, "Go to the cruising ship." ”

The electronic voice responded: "Command received, launch ready, oxygen supply turned on...... Countdown to launch: five, four, three, two, one—"

I felt a violent tremor, followed by the feeling of the body pressing down due to the rapid rise, and the eyes were a little black, if it weren't for the soft cushions, the four of them were afraid of being crushed into meatloaf. The high-speed movement continued, and the four of them were so nervous that they couldn't speak, and after about a meal, the feeling of pressing down gradually disappeared, and was replaced by another special feeling—the feeling of floating on water.

The electronic voice sounded again: "Docking with the cruising ship is about to be made." "After a while, there was another tremor, but it was much more slight than before." Equalizing the air pressure...... You can now enter the cruising ship. After a slight sliding sound, another round door in the bulkhead was opened.

Milo reminded the other three: "We can go down, there is no gravity here, it's about the same as swimming, pay attention to the handrail on the wall and follow me." Under Milo's command, the group entered the circular hatch in an orderly manner, and inside was a long passage, and the four of them could only crawl on their knees...... Finally, the four of them arrived at the operation room of the cruising ship.

Although he had seen it in Sevia's memory, what he saw with his own eyes still brought an extraordinary shock to Milo and Kolan, not to mention Erin and Parrett - in front of the console was transparent glass, and the vast galaxy was displayed in front of the eyes of the four of them.

"We're in ...... Starry sky? Erin was stunned, unable to believe she was in space.

Klan took a deep breath: "Hey, we're on top of the purple comet. ”

"Can you see our planet?" Parrett easily accepted the reality, "And what do these four beds do?" Sleep? ”

Melo stared at the twinkling stars of the universe, sighed and said, "Our planet should be in the opposite direction of our advance, that is, behind us...... As for the four beds, that's where we slept for six months. Milo had already explained the concept of "hibernation" to Parrett and Erin before, and the two of them understood what to do next.

"'Harvesting'...... Let's get started, right? Erin said suddenly.

"Yes." "Hey." Milo and Koran replied together.

Erin was stunned by the starry sky, then folded her hands and prayed, "God of Ten Thousand Sources, please bless the people of the planet for successfully surviving these six months." ”

Melo began to operate what they called the "bed", opening the hibernation hatch, "I'll set a time for you to sleep, and then I'll be the last one to sleep." ”

"Then I'll come first......" Parrett walked towards the hibernation pod, but then suddenly stopped, "No, no, I'm going to protect Kolan and let Kolan sleep first." ”

Kelan laughed: "Hey, hehe, it's such a strange feeling." After saying that, he entered the first hibernation pod, "It feels like the last time I slept was a long time ago." ”

"Good night, Kolan." Melo said as the hatch slowly closed. Koran's eyes blinked, and then fell asleep.

"That's it?" Parrett was a little surprised—unexpectedly relaxed.

"It's your turn." Milo walked to the second hibernation pod to operate, and Parrett decisively entered it.

……

"That'...... I ...... too."

"Irene."

"Huh?"

"Don't be patient any longer."

Erin's breathing instantly became rapid, her face quickly relaxed, and her tear glands collapsed directly...... She couldn't control herself anymore, and couldn't help but throw herself into Milo's arms, crying out loud—

"Wow...... I don't want to...... I don't want to be like that...... We are just beginning to live happily ever after...... I don't want it to end like this, just like that...... Wow......"

"Really...... Crying like a child...... "Melo caressed her lover, their tears floating in the gravityless cabin.

……

The cry echoed in Milo's ears, echoing in the purple comet, echoing across the vast galaxy......

……

At the same time, the "harvest" operation against Planet 10 has already begun.