Before the fleet scanned the Abyss Gate, we first contacted the ancestors on the other side.

Communication between our side and the other side is now more convenient, thanks to the Star Ring Federation’s efforts in placing several high-power relay stations on the Abyss Critical Layer without counting the cost, and improvements in their communication systems to better integrate with our equipment after the ancestors arrived with Imperial devices. Initially, communications could only intermittently send some text, but gradually progressed to transmitting larger data packets, and now it can almost achieve real-time communication, advancing significantly. However, some issues related to the Void Structure cannot be solved, like communication delay between the two sides — even if we push the computing speed of decoding devices to the limit and compatibility to the extreme, the delay problem persists due to the peculiar Void Structure layer. This situation has been mitigated somewhat, and by applying various technologies, the delay has been reduced to an acceptable level, making simple conversations feasible.

This was the first time in almost a month since the fleet set out that we contacted the other side; before this, the ancestors on the other side were entirely unaware that we had begun the journey to find the Hometown World. This was because, until we had tangible results, Sandora didn’t want to worry the ancestors too much, and truth be told, we were all unsure about whether or not we could find the Hometown World until we reached the destination. The greater the hope, the greater the disappointment; the ancestors have long awaited this day and deserve a genuine surprise rather than being on tenterhooks.

Taville quickly set up the communication channel with the other side. This highly encrypted and high-intensity rebroadcast system is one of the most technologically advanced components on the Imperial Admiral (another being the Abyss Xyrin’s box). The communication signal was transferred to the officer platform’s communicator, and the holographic projection flickered before slowly becoming clearer, as the unique static during contact with the other side gradually faded, and a figure appeared on the screen, accompanied by a slightly distorted female voice: "This is the watch station, duty officer Luo."

The holographic projection showed a young woman with short hair named "Luo," one of the ancestors who reached the other side, originally the ecosystem maintenance officer aboard the Ark. Though unfamiliar, I recognized her. Luo was still wearing the Imperial Uniform, indicating that the ancestors, even on the other side, never forgot their origins, though a slight tiredness showed on her face, suggesting a long shift.

In order to receive communications from this side anytime and because they shoulder the responsibilities akin to an "ambassador," the ancestors never slackened on their work at the other side, establishing a watch station directly aboard the deep-diving ship with the Star Ring Federation’s assistance, manned 24 hours a day (Capital time scale). Clearly, Luo was on duty.

"Ancestor!" Qianqian, being straightforward, happily greeted, but a moment later (considering the delay), the short-haired woman opposite us cried out in exasperation: "Don’t call me ancestor! If you’re going to call someone that, call our old Captain instead. I’m still young and not yet married!"

The biggest difference between female and male ancestors is their liveliness, and seemingly, they care a lot about having an age that could scare even the Divine Race; the youngest among ancestors can be a great-great-great-grandfather to Bingdisi, only surpassed in age by the Pantheon and those old relics around Father God in the Divine Realm (maliciously reminded: including Jiajia).

This truly is a story best not delved into too deeply.

I held Qianqian’s head to prevent the overly daring girl from saying something crazy, then worked on maintaining a calm expression to relay our current situation in as relaxed a manner as possible: "Luo, can you guess where we are now?"

Bingdisi gave me a silent glance: "...Is it appropriate to speak like this at such a serious moment?"

Without changing my expression or moving my eyes, I resignedly explained through the Spiritual Connection: "There’s no choice; the truth is too impactful. We need to set the mood to prevent shocking the ancestors too much. I’m suddenly regretting saving this ’surprise’ for the ancestors; sure, the joy is significant, but is the ’shock’ too much?"

Bingdisi coldly laughed through the Spiritual Connection, being no help. Meanwhile, Luo appeared puzzled: "Guess where you are? Did you open this channel just to joke with me?"

"We’re at the Hometown World," Sandora suddenly stepped in before I could think of how to approach the topic; Her Majesty’s decisive side took center stage, "The fleet set out a month ago, but because success was uncertain, we didn’t inform you. Now we’ve successfully arrived at the Hometown World and intend to commence bridge building operations here."

Luo’s face didn’t change, but not due to composure; she was frozen in place, staring at us, until tentatively asking: "Are you concerned we’re bored here and decided to joke about this?"

"This isn’t a joking matter, and she wouldn’t make such jokes," Bingdisi pushed Sandora aside in a friendly manner, smiling at the communicator, "We’ve truly found the Hometown World, absolutely credible; if you doubt it, we’ll be transmitting video signals to you shortly."

Luo mulled over, then slowly leaned sideways on screen, silently slipping out of the frame.

Everyone gasped in shock: "!"

"Look at what you’ve done!" I supposedly jumped over a meter high, then angrily pointed at Sandora and Bingdisi, "Do you think everyone possesses nerves as sturdy as a Xyrin Apostle or is as foolish as the Divine Race?!"

"The Divine Race isn’t foolish!" Bingdisi actually protested earnestly, "My being off-kilter can’t represent others."

As a tomboy, could you refrain from being adorable in such circumstances?

"Luo! Are you alright?! Wake up!" We couldn’t help the other side directly, only fret over the empty communication screen, as Big Sister repeatedly called out. Finally, a hand appeared on the communicator, groped around the desk, and supported itself up, revealing a disheveled "ancestor" (let’s indulge in calling it a few more times while she can’t hear, won’t harm). Upon standing, her first act was throwing herself onto the communicator: "Is what you said true?!"

Sandora didn’t speak, just silently transferred the outer space video signal, particularly framing the faint halo spanning the universe. The Hometown World, being in Stasis, largely remains unchanged over the years, so this universe and its starry skies are imprinted in the minds of ancestors as they fled, perhaps the stars may be hard to recognize due to different views, but that grand nebula band is engraved in every Ark Remnant Citizen’s heart and soul.

There was no response for ages from the communicator, and as Sandora added: "If you don’t believe this halo is the sole feature of the Hometown World, we can transmit observational data," the other side remained silent. However, just when I thought Luo planned to pass out again, a sudden exhilarating cry burst through the communicator, startling everyone: "Captain! Anna! Command Leader! Everybody come quickly! Hurry up! Hometown World... They’ve found our home! It’s found! Home is found!"

What followed was several chaotic minutes: explosive, heart-wrenching, mutual rescue minutes — given the ancestors on the opposite side were more agitated than the next, all along I’d worried whether their mutual rescue was timely, whether their emergency equipment was effective, but ultimately everything ended safe: a few ancestors fainted, yet they tenaciously revived.

Typically, trained military personnel shouldn’t lose their composure, but we must acknowledge two points: firstly, not all Ark members underwent military training, despite being soldiers, some were civilian roles, like ecosystem administrators and archivists, you cannot enforce Imperial Army standards on these civilian mortals (truth be told, Sandora was emotional for a while upon discovering the universe herself); secondly, the significance of the Hometown World for every Xyrin Person and Apostle is immense, far beyond ordinary events, considering these circumstances, ancestors’ enthusiastic reactions are natural.

Once the ancestors settled down, only then did Sandora and I gradually recount the month’s voyage.

Anses quietly listened, gradually calming his excited expression, taking a deep breath, smiling slightly: "Seems like we can’t just leave now; we have more important tasks at hand, at least to visit our old home."

Confused, I blurted, reacting to what seemed like a crucial piece of information: "Leave?!"

"Ah, I haven’t told you yet," Anses still smiled, the wrinkles on his face stretching out, a bit like a hidden secret suddenly discovered by his juniors, "Actually, we’ve all planned to leave the Star Ring Federation. We’ve taken care of the matters here. You can continue to research bridge-building with the Federation, while we plan to... go exploring."

The Ancestor never mentioned this before!

"Go exploring?" Sandora was dumbfounded, "Where can you go?"

"Anywhere," Anses nodded, "We feel that staying in the Star Ring Federation doesn’t much matter now. With both sides now connected, data exchange and language decoding are going smoothly, and on the bridge-building matter, all the Order Camp are united in efforts, so there’s no need for negotiation. Staying here seems a waste of time, so we plan to set sail again to find a New World deep in the Void where no one will disturb us. We’ve built a new ecological factory on the spaceship, and along with samples from the Ark passengers and a seed bank of other life in our Personal Space. Though we can’t bring the original beings back to life, we can surely create a new ecosystem, right..."

"Are you planning to rebuild a ’Hometown World’ on the other side?" Sandora immediately understood Anses’ intentions.

The Ancestor didn’t intend to hide it; he smiled openly: "Yes, we really miss home, but just yearning isn’t useful. One must do something. While in the Imperial District, it didn’t matter with a new home, but on the other side, everything is unfamiliar. Although people in the Star Ring Federation are nice, it’s ultimately not home, and time makes it unbearable. We worry about not going back soon or ever... It’s not a lack of trust in you, just a concern. So we plan to find a New World and create a place similar to our Hometown. Maybe we can even rebuild a Xyrin Mother Star and Xyrin Civilization on the other side. Anyway, we won’t die anymore, and with plenty of time, we can use the ecological factory to recreate home planet life and slowly teach them knowledge, which seems a good way to pass the time."

I listened in astonishment, never imagining the Ancestors planned such things. Though surprising, it’s understandable; perhaps any civilization remnant would think the same—given the means, who wouldn’t want to rebuild their home?

They likely borrowed an ecological factory from the Star Ring Federation (original Deep-diving ships weren’t Colonization Ship, having an ecological cycling but lacking large-scale species creation facilities). Moreover, it’s normal they have home planet life samples in their Personal Space, collected from the Ark and already deceased beyond Resurrection, but using these samples to forcibly piece material can create the same creatures. You might say these lack the home planet’s "Soul" and are thus but shells or another kind of Resurrection, but to the Ancestors, it’s the same, just for commemoration. Taville restored some home planet creatures using these samples, yet we didn’t intend to rebuild a false Origin Mother Star, so it didn’t continue. Now, it seems the Ancestors plan possibly lengthy work on the other side—as Anses said, it "seems a good way to pass the time." They need to pass the time.

"You’re not planning to leave quietly, are you?" Qianqian suddenly had an idea, jumping to the Communicator, "I’ve read many novels and watched shows; surely, that’s your plan! Why only tell us now?"

"Actually... a bit," Anses’ side, Luo scratched his face, appearing embarrassed, "The Captain said you surely wouldn’t agree, perhaps unable to understand this ’meaningless’ and risky act, so we planned to sail away. But we wouldn’t slip away silently! After launch, we’ll contact you right away. Our spaceship has a Communicator, plus the Star Ring Federation built us a long-term dedicated broadcast tower, so staying in touch shouldn’t be a problem."

"Have some faith in your descendants, will you," Abyss Xyrin floated over, expression somewhat helpless, showing due respect facing the Ancestors (the theory anyway), "We can understand your home rebuilding idea, even in the Imperial District, everyone would assist if proposed... Um, perhaps not appropriate now..."

He finally recalled he’s a Commander of the Abyss Zone, unable to manage Imperial District affairs anymore.

"No need to dwell on it now," Bingdisi waved, "You’re not planning to leave now, are you?"

"Of course not," Anses nodded, a bit embarrassed, "We still plan to revisit home, maybe rebuild there. Thanks to your timely contact; actually, we’re setting off in a few days..."

I broke into a cold sweat: lucky to contact them before they left!

Ending communication with the Ancestors, we’ve done the last thing needed; next... Let’s proceed to that Gate.

Scanning the Abyss Gate didn’t take much time. It’s just like the restraint seen in Lilina, conspicuously apparent amid the barrenness, serving as a vast source of information in this aged Universe. Tangled data around it gushes forth in radiant bursts throughout the Universe, more prominent than a beacon.

The Fleet jumped to near the Abyss Gate, revealing the ancient gap existing only in legend.

"So it’s this..."

Gazing at the holographic display’s scene, Sandora muttered, yet couldn’t speak the latter half.

Just like in Ancestor Memory, this Ancient Gate is unlike any Abyss Gate we’ve seen. It’s a massive elongated rift shaped like an eye, spanning five Light years—well beyond any normal Celestial Body, certainly beyond any Abyss Gate in size. With the Fleet transported directly "above" it, we could overlook with a commanding perspective this awe-inspiring grand fissure—Dark and oppressive atmosphere overshadowing everything, imbued with Abyss frenzy and peril, as anticipated, this is an Inactive Abyss.

Lethal to common things, yet to any extraordinary creations, it’s merely a subpar atmosphere; the Imperial Fleet won’t be a bit influenced by this Abyss Gate, even fragile units like Single Soldier Fighter Jets could land directly on it.

Sadly, the past Xyrin Civilization was merely Mortal, swallowed by this Inactive Gate.

The Abyss Gate twisted and crisscrossed with light, not the usual Gravity Field distortion; starlight tangled in erratic zigzags near the Gate; viewing distant outer space through its edge felt like looking into a kaleidoscope. It recalled me of the Peace Core’s peculiar sights, seemingly both contain commonalities.

"Begin data collection as planned; if tests succeed, deploy the Startup Terminal. Teams two to six start building Ghost Energy Wells for charging preparation." Sandora seemed lost yet instinctively allocated tasks, halting mid-command due to a sudden outcry from the command sector:

"Your Majesty! The Mother Star! The Mother Star! The Mother Star is still there!!"

(In the last month before completing this book, I humbly ask for a Monthly Ticket from you Angels! Give me some confidence, would you?

Additionally, a news reveal: The physical book is expected for release around July 5th. Those who joined group purchases can prepare to receive them; the group purchase continues, do not miss out. Although the Fifth is the publisher’s timeline, due to logistical distribution and Man King Magazine’s consistently slow pace... local arrival of stock may be delayed.

Peripheral products will also launch soon, officially released by Diannival.

Everyone, let’s liven things up in this final month! Let me witness some activity~~) (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit qidian.com to cast your recommendations and monthly tickets; your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please go to m.qidian.com to read.)