Chapter Eighteen: The Present State of New Yumen

After all, being a makeshift bio-battery from a mountain bandit camp, its production methods were rife with the unorthodox, guerrilla-style workshop vibe, naturally presenting all sorts of issues. The rest were manageable, but the high temperature and odor were unavoidable. The former placed a certain strain on the vehicle frame and engine, while the latter inevitably left a trail for pursuers. It should be noted that the Sand People and nomadic horse bandits favored raising the Mauk Swiftbeasts—creatures with noses even keener than dogs.

Nonetheless, no matter the circumstances, it would still be several hours before the Sand People caught up. Yu Lian finally had his first extended respite since his rebirth. It was time to introduce the current state of New Yumen Star.

As is well known, the Andromeda Galaxy, also called the "Andromeda Nebula" in this new universe, is the nearest large galaxy to the Milky Way. Its diameter is 1.6 times that of the Milky Way, its mass twice as much, and conservatively, its number of stars is more than triple. Since the Milky Way has given birth to such dazzling intelligent species and civilizations, there was no reason for the Andromeda Galaxy to lack them. Therefore, when the ancient Enlightened Ones inexplicably activated the most precious and mysterious legacy left to the civilizations of the Milky Way—the Venus Gate—the galactic civilizations braced themselves as if facing a great enemy, expecting a flood of powerful invaders from another universe, such as so-called high-dimensional demons.

Yet, after the Galactic Civilization Council led a joint fleet, with the two poles and two major factions cooperating sincerely, standing ready for over a month, nothing happened. Eventually, the Milky Way dispatched probes and reconnaissance ships cautiously into this new universe. Later facts proved everyone had been overly anxious.

There were indeed civilizations and intelligent beings here, but none had reached the stage of interstellar travel. After years of exploration, no interstellar spacecraft from Andromeda civilizations had been found. The most advanced known civilization in this star system, discovered and named by the alliance, was a planet called "New Nodar," barely entering its industrial revolution.

What did this mean? How did the Galactic Civilization Council’s regulations read? Ah, yes! “Civilizations that have not independently entered the space exploration era are indigenous native civilizations. The great civilizations of the Council are expected to uphold the simple moral values befitting intelligent life, providing appropriate guidance and respect to native species.”

Indeed! Guidance and respect—this was exactly how the Empire and the Alliance treated Earthlings back then. If not for the fact that we were so closely related, sharing over ninety percent similarity in appearance with virtually no reproductive isolation, who knew if we might have been canned.

In short, this meant that this vast, grand cosmos beyond the Milky Way was unmistakably a no-man’s land, an undeveloped new continent.

That was thirty years ago. At that time, the great founding father of the Blue Star Commonwealth, Marshal Victoria R. Lee, died of overwork in her office.

When she was born, the Blue Star Dominion, with Earth as its capital, was an autonomous territory under the rule of the Galactic Empire. When she passed, the Blue Star Commonwealth was a fully independent nation. Although its overall national strength could not rival the two poles, it had secured a place among the second-tier powers of the galaxy. Numerous times, it had defeated larger forces, thrashing the Empire’s “pacification” armies composed mostly of its vassal states, and even triumphed over the Empire’s direct fleets. Some even regarded the Blue Star Commonwealth as the “third largest military power in the galaxy.”

Having already become the “third largest military power,” the Commonwealth, adhering to Marshal Lee’s policies, continued to leverage its geographical advantage to play the fence between the two great factions. At the same time, with the star gates opening, they naturally embarked on the development of the Andromeda Galaxy.

Within the Milky Way, faster-than-light travel relied on hyperspace channels formed by gravitational influences between stars. To reach beyond the galaxy, star gates—those precious legacies left by the ancient Enlightened Ones—were necessary. To date, eleven Venus Gates have been discovered in the Milky Way. The Galactic Empire controlled three, the Free Star Alliance had four on home soil, the Empire’s vassals held two, the Alliance’s allies one, and the final one lay within the Blue Star Commonwealth’s territory.

However, compared to the powerful Alliance and Empire, the Blue Star Commonwealth’s development of the new universe was far from smooth. Several colony worlds and space cities required subsidies. New Yumen Star was one of the better-developed ones, at least able to supply the home planet with considerable quantities of high-energy minerals, superior spices, and other specialties.

As for the native inhabitants of this planet—the so-called Sand People... well, this species, resembling upright flat-snouted crocodiles, seemed to have evolved from reptilian oviparous ancestors, hardly conforming to human aesthetic standards, yet we were willing to coexist peacefully.

We were willing to provide them with jobs in the cities and hire them in mines and plantations. Of course, lacking formal education, they could only do labor-intensive work—digging, carrying bricks, mining—and, as non-citizens of the Commonwealth, they had no labor protections or social benefits. Still, we sincerely hoped that after basking in the light of civilization for some time, the Sand People would embrace the civilized family and become an inseparable part of the Blue Star Commonwealth.

Unfortunately, the Sand People, now in their city-state era and at the height of their martial vigor, had begun to awaken a nascent sense of racial consciousness. Coupled with some clandestine agitators stoking the flames—though it would be odd if there weren’t any—their discontent with Earthlings’ rule was natural. Various uprisings and attacks never ceased.

Plantations, mines, cargo railways, settlements, even larger towns were targets of Sand People assaults. Anyone living on New Yumen who had never been attacked was likely a faker.

Still, the governor’s office did its utmost to maintain absolute control over cities like Turon, supported by garrisons stationed at various outposts, and militias under the command of farm and mine owners guarding industrial settlements, forming a reasonably smooth transportation network to barely maintain dominion over the entire planet.

Sound familiar?

Now you understand why Outpost 12 functioned as a fortified tower, and why the Sand People’s volatility was so understandable.

“Overthrow Earthling tyranny! Freedom belongs to the Sand People!”

“This isn’t New Yumen—it’s Dan, our homeland!”

“What Dan? It’s clearly Nuwa!”

“Nuwa is a mountain valley term; this is clearly Ogonu!”

Alright, the Sand People’s understanding of the world was still thousands of years away from a planetary concept. Different tribes had different names for their world. They united against a common enemy but frequently clashed violently over such details. For this reason, although there were hundreds of millions of Sand People on New Yumen Star, they never posed a serious threat to the colony.

Thus, the fact that the disorganized tribes could muster a million-strong army to besiege Turon was headline news across the galactic civilizations.

Indeed, this was true. In later years, due to abundant records and the fact this event sparked a chain of subsequent incidents, Yu Lian had earnestly studied this history.

The operation was led by Elder Hesson, the most revered spiritual leader among the Sand People. Originally a priest of the local indigenous religion and a psychic sensitive, he led his tribe in resistance after Earthlings claimed the entire planet. During the grueling conflict, he awakened psychic powers and later “coincidentally” acquired systematic methods of psychic cultivation. Over decades, he had trained some outstanding disciples and became the most respected figure among the Sand People.

Of course, one must understand that “spiritual leader” means spiritual, not secular. Though highly prestigious and the top psychic among his people, real power remained with the chieftains of the tribes and the former city-state “kings.”

Elder Hesson, who never had his own followers or subjects, was able to gather such a vast army—even if a “motley crowd,” it was an army—thanks to behind-the-scenes support.

The Sand People had acquired a substantial quantity of firearms, high-carbon steel weapons, composite armor, and even siege cannons capable of threatening Turon Port’s city shields. Compared to that, a few armored vehicles were hardly surprising.

Nonetheless, when Ina spotted the hovering combat vehicles emerging from the black night through her telescope, her expression was one of disbelief. “Tanks... they really have tanks! How on earth did these get to New Yumen?”

“The Commonwealth’s surveillance of the entire Andromeda Galaxy is like a sieve. Even this New Yumen Star has vast unexplored regions,” Yu Lian said casually. “Uncle Carl, can you tell where they’re from? Anything we can exploit?”

“Hmm... judging by appearance, they somewhat resemble products from Polaris Heavy Industries over in the Alliance, but we’ll only know for sure after dismantling them. However, based on sensor feedback from the devices you planted just now, it’s very likely they’re modified from the chassis of Ketai’s Mastiff tanks. Those use Empire-made Lu Type 3 land battle engines. I’m too familiar with those sounds...” The old mechanic replied offhandedly, then seemed to recall something and sighed, “Wait, sir. You don’t really think I can identify the model, structure, and weaknesses of the enemy just by eyesight from several kilometers away, do you? After all, I’m just an ordinary human!”

He seemed drawn into some sorrowful memories and rambled, “When I was young, I always thought I might become a psychic, walking the great path of seeking truth and knowledge! Even if I ended up with constant tinnitus and some mystical, autistic psychosis, it didn’t matter. But now, at this age, I’ve finally realized dreams are just dreams. No matter how hard we try, life is destined to be mediocre...”

That was a “Listener,” a fifth-tier psychic master specializing in general knowledge and research, who would be well-fed and cared for by any nation or force. Not all “Listeners” were autistic; those Yu Lian would meet “in the future” were lively and cheerful.

Yu Lian ignored the old mechanic’s rambling. He had already gotten the answer he wanted and then nodded to Ina.

“So, let’s finish them here.”

The military officer nodded silently, quietly shouldering an anti-material rifle—the heaviest weapon in their hands besides the Vulcan cannon on the Black Panther vehicle.

“They have forty men... all riding Mauk lizards,” the old mechanic said.

“I counted,” she replied.

“They also have five tanks. No matter how they were cobbled together, a tank is a tank, with big guns and armor...”

“I see that! That’s why we’re meeting them here!”

“...”

Alright then, whatever you say. Now that you’ve ordered a charge, no one dares object.