“No—no need for a Void Hunter?”

Peipei exclaimed, “How can this be?”

“Why not?”

The elder brother said, “Over the past thousands of years, we have lived in the bodies of the Void Hunters and become small… reptiles under the protection of such enormous creatures. Such humble and humiliating days have passed so long ago that many people have forgotten the glory of the distant past. They have forgotten that when our ancestors were still living on Earth, we were the ‘spirits of all things’. We were the kings of the entire planet. We were the terrifying upright apes standing at the top of the food chain. No creature could compete with us!

“At that time, our ancestors were kings on Earth. As far as one’s eyes could see, all life was either our food, our slaves, or our toys. There was no such thing as a Void Hunter that could be compared to us or even surpass us.

“When we were wandering in the sea of stars, desperate and on the verge of death, we were forced to attach ourselves to the bodies of the Void Hunters and barely survived. It was because we had no other options, and we were regarded as the greatest disgrace by countless people! Right now, we have come back to ourselves and embarked on the road to glory again. Why are we still tied up by the Void Hunters?

“Did you know, Peipei, that many fleets have chosen a certain natural paradise as their base after abandoning the Void Hunters? Their development is so fast that we are left far behind.

“The people on the fleet even mocked us for our inflexible stubbornness and refused to let go of the garbage that has lasted for thousands of years. They didn’t know how to change our style and develop new ways of production and social form.

“It also involves the power struggle of the Supreme War Meeting. The relationships are too complicated for me to explain.

“Right now, more than half of the fleets that still chose to rear the Void Hunters are wavering, too. They are ready to accept the technical assistance of other fleets and abandon the backward and dangerous vehicles that are the Void Hunters.

“The commander-in-chief of the fleet is the most stubborn one in the Supreme War Meeting. I always feel that we can’t put all the eggs in one basket. Since most of the fleets have chosen a new direction of development, it’s not a bad idea to keep the traditions of the past thousand years. In such a way, some seeds of hope can be preserved in case of unexpected changes. His father’s persistence is also very important for his stubbornness.

“However, right at this moment, the Void Hunters of our fleet have touched the dangerous bottom line of ‘awakening their self-awareness’. Right now, billions of pairs of eyes are staring at us, waiting to see how we deal with the Void Hunters. If we can’t resolve the issue cleanly or cause any trouble, not only our fleet but also the Void Hunters of the other fleets and the entire lifestyle of human beings living in harmony with the Void Hunters will be compromised. Do you understand or not?”

Peipei’s mind was a mess.

She understood every word that her brother said, but when they were combined into a sentence, the cold killing intent hidden inside made the girl shudder in fear. She could not and did not want to understand.

In the end, Peipei was still a sensible girl. She knew that it was useless to lose her temper at her brother. She just kept on crying.

“Don’t cry.”

His brother handed him a tissue and said, “Such a beautiful little girl. How ugly would her face be if she cried?”

Peipei took the tissue from her brother, only to cry even harder.

“Don’t blame your father for being cruel. I think he was trying to protect you, too.

His brother continued. “Over the past half year, the changes of the Supreme War Meeting have been quite subtle. The doves are weak, and the hawks are on the rise. It is said that the new commander-in-chief is trying to increase the control over the hundreds of fleets and hunting down the heretics. It is a critical period. We have to be prudent.

“Hawk? Dove? Heresy?”

Peipei stopped crying. “What is that?”

“That is…”

His brother thought for a moment and managed to explain, “The hawks are the most iron-willed, the toughest soldiers. They believe that the living space that we can colonize right now is far from enough. The civilization of mankind should continue expanding, expanding the living space by a hundred, a thousand, or even ten thousand times, until we become the dominators of the entire sea of stars. All the lives and civilizations that might threaten us should be wiped out mercilessly. At the very least, we should eliminate their threat, suppress them, and serve the civilization of mankind.

“The Dove Faction, on the other hand, believes that the goal is too grand and far away. For now, we should get along with the intelligent alien species in space and grow stronger.

“As for the heretics, they are probably the guys who betrayed the interests of the civilization of mankind because of cosmic radiation, the control of the alien species in space, or other unknown reasons!

“Huh?”

Peipei’s eyes widened. “There is such a guy?”

“Of course.”

His brother said gloomily, “If I hadn’t controlled you in time and asked you to tell everything to Shanuya in secret, wouldn’t you have become a heretic who betrayed the interests of the civilization of mankind by being controlled by alien species?

Peipei shuddered and replied subconsciously, “I—I am not!”

“It doesn’t matter whether you are or not.

His brother said, “The most important thing is whether or not the Supreme War Council and the supreme commander think that you are—the new commander-in-chief—who is going to put on a show. I’m told that the supreme commander-in-chief has employed a lot of underhanded methods when he took office. His position is not very stable right now. Therefore, he has been sharpening his saber, hoping to make an example out of you and consolidate his position. It is not strange at all. Let’s not give him any excuses.”

“Brother, what are you talking about? At first, it was about Shanuya, then it was about the supreme council, and finally, it was about the supreme commander.

Peipei mumbled, “I don’t understand. I don’t understand at all.”

“It’s best if you don’t.”

His brother smiled. “My brother’s and my father’s biggest wish is that you never understand the… bloody, dirty, and even evil things and be a carefree princess forever.

“Alright, my little princess. Have a good sleep. Tomorrow or the day after, you will be transferred to the medical starship. By then, everything will be fine.”

When he heard that he was going to be separated from Shannuya, the nerves that had just relaxed once again tightened.

But when she saw her brother’s expression, she knew that whatever she said was useless.

“Brother, I just want to ask you one last question.”

The girl said softly.

“Ask away.”

His brother smiled.

“I remember that you told me a long time ago that you chose to be a ‘warrior’ because you wanted to protect your family and not be hurt at all.

“Now, look me in the eye and tell me one more time—do you still think so? Are you still 100% convinced that you are fighting for ‘protection’ and not for any other purpose?”