The universe was vast and boundless, home to countless intelligent species. Based on the classification of habitable planets, they divided the universe into three broad tiers: the Central Star Systems, the Remote Star Systems, and the Lifeless Star Systems.
Earth had originally been classified as part of the Remote Star Systems. After all, its resources had been exhausted and its technology was backward, so the lofty intelligent species of the interstellar world had never taken it seriously. But after learning of Earth’s mutation, they mercilessly invaded it.
Humanity on Earth had been in a miserable state at the time. The mutation had already reduced the population to less than one in ten, and after the invasion war, fewer than one in a hundred remained. Most survivors were ability users or mutants, while Earth itself had nearly become a wasteland planet.
Humans from Earth had always been a grudge-holding and warlike species. When Earth was clearly becoming uninhabitable, what else could they do? They broke out of Earth and searched for a path to survival. It took humanity more than a century, but in the end, they fought their way into the Central Star Systems.
The Earth Alliance was born from that point onward. The Dongfang family had existed ever since Earth rose to prominence. It had gone through ups and downs over the years, but never anything as serious as this, because this time the Dongfang family had been convicted of treason.
The interstellar world contained many different species, so treason carried an especially severe sentence. They might not literally exile three generations, but people of the same surname and clan, spouses, and children were all unable to escape implication. It was an extremely inhumane method of punishment.
Precisely because it was so inhumane, the law had long existed mostly in name. The Dongfang family became the test case used to revive it, and the entire clan was sentenced to exile. Su Xing was one of the innocent people dragged down with them.
As a human born and raised on Earth who was also living through the apocalypse, Su Xing should not have known any of this. The strange part was that, for as long as he could remember, whenever he fell asleep, his soul would arrive in the interstellar era.
More accurately, he would become trapped there, confined inside a body. Ever since his earliest memories, whenever he came to this interstellar world, he had been trapped inside that body and unable to move. It was a terrible feeling.
The one consolation was that he learned Earth would be invaded by extraterrestrials after the apocalypse. He did not yet have the ability to do much, but at least he could give Earth a little more time to prepare.
Although both bodies shared the same soul, he had never felt much identification with his interstellar self. It was only after experiencing the apocalypse that he began to feel some attachment to that interstellar life. Compared with the nightmare of the apocalypse, the other Su Xing had lived very happily.
But that happiness came to an abrupt end after his parents died in an accident and he was forcibly separated from his younger brother. His interstellar self was forced to marry into the Dongfang family, forced to give birth, and now forced into exile. His fate truly was miserable.
June weather could change at a moment’s notice. A sudden downpour brought a trace of coolness to the scorching summer, yet the soldiers who had come to the General’s Residence to escort the prisoners were still restless and irritable.
Everyone in the interstellar world knew about Su Xing’s unusual condition, so the soldiers escorting him treated him relatively politely. They waited patiently until they received their orders before getting up to leave.
When a soldier carried Dragon Cub out of the nursery, the child looked rather confused. “Daddy, hold me.” He was not usually very close to Daddy, but compared with strangers, he still preferred Daddy to hold him.
Su Xing wanted to reach out and take him, but he could barely control this body. His reactions were even slower than the body’s instincts, so he could only watch as the soldier carried Dragon Cub downstairs.
“What did our general do wrong? Before he fell unconscious, he was still fighting on the front lines. Some members of the family rebelled, so why must the general’s entire household be exiled?” The old steward was filled with righteous fury. He had been like this ever since hearing the news.
“We’re only carrying out orders.” The officer in charge of the escort was angry too. Just how unlucky did he have to be to get assigned here? But orders were orders, and he had no choice except to grit his teeth and lead his men through the task.
“Grandpa Steward, Dragon Cub is scared.” After being forcibly carried downstairs, the chubby Dragon Cub instinctively appealed to the steward for help the moment he saw him.
“Dragon Cub, don’t be afraid. Grandpa Steward is here!” The steward tried to take Dragon Cub, but a soldier stopped him. The tears he had been holding back finally spilled over. “They won’t even spare a two-year-old child. They’ve lost every shred of humanity!”
The soldiers felt terrible as well. Faced with a household made up of the elderly, the weak, the sick, and the disabled, anyone with a conscience would feel sorry for them. But this was not something they had the authority to decide, so none of them looked happy.
“Daddy, Daddy, I want Daddy.” Seeing Grandpa Steward getting farther and farther away, Dragon Cub could only turn to his father again.
Dragon Cub stretched out his arms to be held, and Su Xing instinctively reached out again. The soldier did not want the child crying all the way either, so he slowly placed Dragon Cub into Su Xing’s arms.
Before Su Xing could even secure his hold, Dragon Cub instinctively wrapped his little arms tightly around his neck. So many strangers had suddenly appeared. He really was frightened.
“What a terrible sin.” The steward helplessly watched Su Xing carry Dragon Cub aboard the aircraft. When the general, still in a vegetative state, was carried out, the old man could no longer hold back and burst into tears.
The General’s Residence had already fallen into decline over the past few years. After trouble struck the Dongfang family, the steward had gradually dismissed all the other servants. Now only the old steward remained. When the general’s family of three was taken away, he followed them to the spaceport.
Only three people were taken from the General’s Residence, but across the entire Central Star Systems, more than a thousand people were being taken away. Everyone was gathered at the spaceport.
Su Chen had received the news as soon as he learned that the sentencing had been moved forward. He had spent the past several days running everywhere and was still making one last effort. When the video call came through, his heart trembled with it.
“I’m sorry. I can’t help you.” Su Chen was not surprised by the words from the other end of the call. The moment he learned that the exile date had also been moved forward, he knew the person behind this was unwilling to let go.
“He’s only a patient who can’t even take care of himself. Why can’t they just leave him alone?” Su Chen clutched his head in anguish. At this moment, he truly, truly felt devastated.
The man beside him felt his heart ache at the sight. “It’s all right. We can still activate the backup plan.”
“Three months is too long. You know my brother’s condition. Who knows what could happen during those three months?” If there were no problem with the backup plan, why would he be this desperate?
Su Chen truly was in despair. Even when his brother had been forced to marry Dongfang Zhan while Dongfang Zhan was in a vegetative state, he had not felt this hopeless.
Although Dongfang Zhan was a vegetative patient, the General’s Residence had no shortage of servants, and outwardly, no one dared treat his brother badly. Who could have imagined something like this would happen to the Dongfang family?!
Ever since their parents died unexpectedly, no one had looked after the brothers. Fortunately, the rest of their clan had not coveted their family property. If not for the Dongfang family, his brother would never have suffered through any of this. He hated them so much…
Both the Dongfang and Su families were evolved families originating from Earth. The Dongfang family specialized in combat, while the Su family specialized in support. The Su family was famous for its intersex physiology and powerful hereditary genes, making its members extremely sought after in high society.
Back then, Dongfang Zhan had been gravely wounded and fallen unconscious. The people of the Dongfang family all wanted him to leave behind an heir, so they forced the Su family to provide someone. There was no one else the Su family could offer, and his brother was forced to marry into the Dongfang family.
Although members of the Su family could possess intersex physiology, that did not mean the trait was common. Among the adults of this generation, only his brother had it, and given his brother’s condition, he had never been suited to marriage in the first place.
The Dongfang family had done plenty of excessive things over the years, so their exile was not entirely undeserved. But his brother was completely innocent, yet he had been pitifully dragged into it.
“You have to make a choice now. If we save only your brother, we can act within a month.” The man’s heart ached for him, but he would not gamble with the lives of his own subordinates.
