Outside the base, interstellar dust was flying wildly in the strange energy halo, adding a sense of solemnity to the tense atmosphere.

Yuchi Chenning and Rong Yunqi stood side by side, their postures straight, looking up at the ships of the interstellar law enforcement fleet in the air.

Behind the two men, Carl, who was captured alive, lowered his head. The arrogance that was once invincible and notorious among the stars was gone.

His hands were firmly locked by specially made restraint bracelets, which flashed with a cold blue light and constantly suppressed him, forcing him to move forward with heavy and weak steps.

Carl was tall, but at the moment, his hunched back showed his miserable appearance, and his messy hair covered most of his face. He only raised his eyes occasionally, revealing unwillingness in his eyes, but he could only submit obediently under the escort of Yuchi Chenning and Rong Yunqi.

Ships of the interstellar law enforcement fleet hovered in the air, their huge hulls emitting a majestic silver-white sheen, their gun muzzles uniformly pointed toward the base, their defense and attack systems on standby, and the warning light strips surrounding them like sharp eyes, scanning the dangerous area.

Under the hull, the jets spewed out dark blue plasma flames, and the hot air instantly condensed into white mist in the cold vacuum of the universe, like a mysterious nebula.

Yuchi Chenning raised his hand and sent a communication signal to the fleet, briefly reporting the capture of Carl, directly to the fleet command cabin.

Soon, a small landing craft broke away from the fleet and landed precisely in front of them, with its hatch slowly opening.

A team of fully armed law enforcement officers emerged from the small landing craft. They were dressed in uniform interstellar blue uniforms and moved in unison. They quickly surrounded Carl and took over the escort mission.

"General Yuchi, thank you for your hard work!" The law enforcement team members saluted Yuchi Chenning in a standard manner.

Outside the base, looking at Carl being taken away, Yuchi Chenning let out a long sigh, and his tense nerves finally relaxed a little.

The metal hull of the interstellar shuttle glowed with a cold and hard luster under the dim light of the stars, and the engine emitted a low hum, as if urging the departure of an unknown journey.

Rong Yunqi looked up at Yuchi Chenning who was tidying the dust off her clothes. He hesitated for a moment, then walked towards her.

"Zhizhi," he called softly, his voice a little hazy due to the wind outside the base, "I want to take you to a place, a place that is... very special to me."

Yuchi Chenning stopped what he was doing and turned to look at him, his hair ruffled by the wind, his eyes full of confusion and inquiry.

Rong Yunqiu's eyes drifted towards the asteroid floating in the distance, as if he was searching for words in that desolate place.

"It's my home planet, and it's now deserted." He spoke slowly, kicking a small stone under his feet and watching it roll away in the dust. "But that's where everything I had before was hidden. Now it's deserted and silent, but I want to go back and take a look, and I want to... let you see it too."

Yuchi Chenning frowned slightly. She knew that Rong Yunqiu had a past that he didn't want to talk about. The heaviness behind it seemed to slowly emerge with these words.

Rong Yunjie looked at Yuchi Chenning intently with a sincere gaze, a hint of nervousness and anticipation.

Yuchi Chenning raised the corner of his mouth and smiled, "Okay, then I'll go with you to meet your 'old friend'."

A light instantly lit up in Rong Yunjie's eyes, and the corners of his mouth widened. He reached out to help Yuchi Chenning pick up the equipment box, and they walked towards the interstellar shuttle side by side.

Two figures were stretched very long in the wind and sand.

*

The interstellar shuttle broke through the brilliant stardust and the silent void, heading towards the dusty planet.

Yuchi Chenning's eyes reflected the colorful yet cold scene of the universe outside the porthole. He looked through the window at Rong Yunluo who was silently looking at the report in his hand, trying to interpret Yan Xing's past from his stern profile.

When Yan Xing's outline gradually became clear in his field of vision, Yuchi Chenning blinked.

It is a planet that is like a fading giant. The barren land reveals cracked "wounds". The former ocean is now only a dry seabed, like the dry eye sockets of the earth, engraved with endless vicissitudes.

The mountains were broken, exposing the dark and rugged rocks. Under the dim sky, there was a tragic silence.

Rong Yunqiu smoothly controlled the spacecraft to land in a relatively flat valley. The landing gear raised a large amount of dust, as if awakening the long-sleeping land.

As he stepped out of the cabin, Yuchi Chenning was choked by the dry and cold wind blowing in his face. The wind was filled with fine sand and gravel, caressing his skin.

Rong Yunqi handed over a windproof mask, his eyes full of apology and tenderness.

"I'll show you around." Rong Yunjie considerately adjusted her mask and patted her back gently to comfort her.

He whispered, his voice rustling through the mask, and led her into this desolate place, the creaking sand under her feet seemed to whisper about the past.

They walked along a winding "river channel". Rong Yunqiu bent down and picked up a piece of mottled broken tiles. It might be the remnant of a riverside house in the past, and the patterns on it reflected the old times.

Yuchi Chenning touched the tile lightly, as if he could touch the laughter and fireworks of those years.

Deep in the hinterland, several ruined walls stand abruptly in the wind and sand, which are the remains of the former town.

Rong Yunqi walked into the ruins, his fingers running over the weathered bricks and stones, and dust fell.

Yuchi Chenning looked around, imagining colorful banners fluttering and bustling crowds.

Now there is only the wind howling among the broken walls, but in Karen's narration, the ruins have become warm, and the laughter, quarrels and greetings of the past are revived in the desolation.

As dusk fell, Rong Yunjie took Yuchi Chenning to a small hill, spread out a thermal blanket, and sat down side by side.

The starry sky above is in stark contrast to the barren land below.

"Yanxing's resources are exhausted, and the Zerg have brought a devastating blow. Only a small number of people have escaped." Rong Yunqiu's voice was low, full of helplessness and nostalgia.

"How did the Zerg solve it?"

Yuchi Chenning asked softly, and his voice was clearly heard by Rong Yunqi amid the whistling wind and sand.

"When I left, my father activated a new type of energy weapon that he had just developed, which could accurately destroy the Zerg's breeding nests and command centers. After several months of continuous bombardment, although the Zerg was defeated, Yanxing was devastated and its resources were exhausted. It was no longer the same as before, so it was abandoned.

Yuchi Chenning lowered his eyes and held his hand, "Perhaps it can be reborn in the future."

Rong Yunjie glanced sideways, tears glistening in his eyes, and found comfort and hope in Yuchi Chenning's eyes. This barren land witnessed his painful past, but it also added new colors because of her company.

"I'll take you to see its new life."

Stepping into the ruins, the wind whistled and shuttled through the broken walls, making strange sounds, like the sad whispers of the old times.

The military boots made a dull sound as they stepped on the sand.

Rong Yunqiu held Yuchi Chenning's hand, his palm warm, and led her around the abrupt rocks, moving forward steadily in the wind and sand.

As we walked deeper, a different color appeared faintly in the dark sky and earth.