In front of me is a large house, a very large house. I don’t know if land here is as precious as in an unfamiliar universe on an unknown planet, but judging by the surrounding building styles and layout density, this house seems to be quite a standout presence.

All around are tall complex buildings, and on the way, I also saw densely packed residential areas, indicating a high population. This is far from being a sparsely populated area. This street doesn’t seem to be a villa area either, but at the end of the street... there stands this three-story mansion that’s out of place with its surroundings, not only is the house enormous, but it also has a sizeable yard, with even a fountain inside.

"Lord Brother, reminds you of home, doesn’t it?" Alaya fluttered her wings in the air, since she doesn’t really need them to fly, she’s floating with anti-gravity, "This house looks a bit like ours!"

"Hmm," I absentmindedly replied while observing the large house in front of us again, "It sort of looks like it, but there are still big differences. Maybe we’re overthinking it."

Yes, this grand house in front of us indeed reminds Alaya and me of our own home: similarly situated in a densely packed city, similarly an oversized building appearing in a place where there should be none, complete with a courtyard, and inexplicably a fountain. The house seems simple and rustic, even though it covers a large area it always looks like an enlarged bungalow; these features are rare elsewhere — not everyone has a team of Imperial Engineering Soldiers to help remodel their house.

But aside from those similarities, this grand house doesn’t really resemble ours: neither in the architectural details nor the plants in the yard, neither in the size of the fountain nor the color of the rooftop, it’s all different from home.

One can only say it shares a similar style; I truly didn’t expect to encounter locals with aesthetics so similar to mine in such a bizarre world. If I hadn’t confirmed I didn’t buy property far away, I might have been fooled, and acquaintances might think this was a Xyrin Royal Family’s palace built in some suburban universe — speaking of which, building a palace like this could indeed be unprecedented, right?

With a head full of jumbled thoughts, I walked forward to look for a doorbell: Anyway, there’s nothing pressing to do right now, and since we’ve come across such a "fated" place, why not visit its owner, besides, Alaya and I do want to learn more about this place.

And sure enough, there really is a button on the cement gatepost by the courtyard, more complete than ours: For various reasons, our doorbell has been out of use for years, and guests coming to our house have long reverted to shouting.

After pressing the button, I faintly heard some noises coming from the big house, indicating I guessed the function of this button correctly. At this time, Alaya flew into the air, seemingly with the silly idea of flying over the wall (a common trait among flying species), so I hurriedly grabbed her foot and pulled her down. Just then, the door of the large house opened, and a plainly dressed woman with an apron tied around her waist came out: now that’s quite a down-to-earth style.

"Who are you...?" the young woman, looking like a housewife, looked puzzled at the two of us at her doorstep, then she focused on Alaya, "Oh, a Feather Clan member? Here to buy a feather brush and care liquid, right? Ours is a big brand, plenty of people have been coming these days to buy. Come in, come in, I was just about to cook, you can talk to my husband."

This somewhat brisk young housewife didn’t give us a chance to speak, quickly deducing the situation herself, then stepped aside letting Alaya and me into the yard, leaving me somewhat awkward: I haven’t even said anything yet...

But it seems the other party misunderstood us as customers here to buy items, so this mansion owner is a merchant? The locals on this planet refer to angels as the "Feather Clan," and this young housewife mistook us as here to purchase Feather Clan-specific "feather brushes" and "care liquids"... now this is quite interesting, it feels like I’m in Shadow City...

Those rather strange-sounding "daily necessities" are indeed often used by the bird people at home.

Nonetheless, such a misunderstanding doesn’t seem to be a bad thing. It’s just as well since Alaya and I weren’t sure how to strike up a conversation with this family: it felt a bit rude to disturb them abruptly, and I did have slight regrets after ringing the doorbell. As for buying something... it’s no big deal, we did manage to get some local currency earlier on the road, and probe units from other areas had collected information about this currency.

Curiously, we followed the hostess into this house that somehow felt familiar, only to find the interior really was different from home! Well, what was I even expecting before?

"Have a seat here," the brisk young housewife ushered us, her "guests," into the living room, then swiftly served drinks and snacks that looked like pastries, while heading to the kitchen she yelled with a Lion’s Roar towards upstairs, "Hey! Deadbeat upstairs! It’s not nap time! Feather Clan customers are here to buy, get down here and entertain them!"

Sweat trickled down my forehead in sheets, waking up in an otherworld, closing my eyes it’s home again, if Bingdisi ever had the fortune to marry, she might end up like this, not to mention the voice would definitely be just as loud.

As Alaya and I studied the peculiar snacks and suspiciously flavored local drinks on the table with curiosity, a commotion erupted from upstairs like a scramble to an emergency escape. I couldn’t imagine someone could cause such noise just getting out of bed. Shortly after, we saw a tall man with messy hair dash down wearing casual home clothes; he must be the owner here. He smiled at us and nodded, then dragged over a large cardboard box from the corner. The first thing I noticed was the box, which had an image of an angel sunbathing on a lawn printed on it, along with some wavy alien text, likely an advertisement or something.

...Sure enough, just like in Shadow City, products related to winged creatures have become a formal industry. Angels may be rare elsewhere, but when living with ordinary races for a long time, they’re just the same, especially after Xyrin Angels resumed mass production, Shadow City’s "sleep-inducing feather pillows" are nearly selling to the Macro World, who’d be fooled by angel-specific feather brushes and care liquids? It’s just that seeing wild angels outside of Shadow City or the Divine Realm for the first time caught me a bit off guard.

"Here’s the latest product, the brush now includes massage and magnetic therapy features, you can take a look," the man assumed we were there to buy, too, not waiting for Alaya or me to speak, he started introducing his products. He took out an object resembling a giant electric toothbrush from the box, then took out a super large bottle of cosmetic, "This is care liquid, all the same brand, buy three bottles and you get a feather brush for free. By the way, does this Feather Clan girl prefer brushing her feathers herself or does she have help? Seeing the two of you so close, you might be Spirit Contract partners, right? You definitely have to try this brush, it’s particularly handy..."

Me: "..." I haven’t said a word, yet how are both the husband and wife so adept at filling in the gaps?

But their enthusiasm and imaginative minds worked in our favor, several topic naturally unfolded without Alaya and me needing to strain our brains—truth be told, I also wouldn’t want Alaya, the dimwit, working with me on coming up with solutions, she’s the kind of miraculous girl who can stumble walking on flat ground. You could only end up with terrible ideas if you try to collaborate on brainstorming with her, unless you’ve given up on everything, who would take such a risk with her?

After chatting with the self-proclaimed "Feather Clan care expert" and "the most trustworthy local daily product agent," I gained more understanding about this paradise-like peaceful planet: it’s home to two intelligent species that cohabitate, one being the numerous and highly talented humans, and the other being the slightly lesser in number but long-lived Feather Clan. They’ve lived harmoniously for thousands of years, with humans driving technological advancement while the Feather Clan are naturally artists, sociologists, and goodwill ambassadors. The two species seem to have never had conflicts; even in records from over ten thousand years ago, they developed by supporting each other, and to this day they regard this "species mix" phenomenon as completely normal.

The Feather Clan also intermarry with humans, but such interspecies love has a special name, called "Spirit Contract Companion." Because the lifespans of the Feather Clan and humans differ greatly, to marry and avoid the pain of losing a partner, they require some special rites. Through such a "ritual," both parties can evenly share their lifespans, achieving true living and dying together. This seems a bit unfair to the longer-lived Feather Clan and a huge benefit for humans, but since history began, no one has illegally performed the Spirit Contract ritual—because it requires both parties to be completely willing, and neither can have selfish intentions in carrying out the ritual.

The household item dealer before me clearly mistook Alaya and me for a little couple—perhaps our behavior just happened to meet certain characteristics of the local "Spirit Contract Companion"? I can’t figure out what the other side is imagining, but this misunderstanding is clearly awkward, although... although it seems Alaya hasn’t noticed at all; she’s busy trying out the so-called fully automatic massage therapy multifunctional feather brush. Does she really think we’re here to shop?

Or perhaps my Angel Sister doesn’t deny the "Spirit Contract Companion" saying? That might be the case; after all, we have been together for five years, and we even have a child together... you understand how shameless this life seems, just taken at face value.

Anyway, we finally said goodbye and left, taking several brushes and enough care liquid to bathe Dingdang seven or eight times. When we got to the street, I suddenly recalled: it seems I wasn’t here to shop, right?

Turning to look at the large house that always caught my attention, the smiles of the local couple specializing in "Feather Clan household items" flashed through my mind as I shook my head and put away the suspicious goods just purchased under the persuasion of profiteers.

"Lord Brother, can we use this to brush the feathers tonight?" Alaya asked expectantly while watching me put things away (though she has a set in her own personal space), her wings flicking instinctively, "Feels like this care liquid is better than what we’ve used before."

"That’s just the novelty. Could it be better than the limited-edition cosmetics Bingdisi stole from her mom?" I replied while pinching my Angel Sister’s wing and starting to contact other probes.

Alaya and I currently belong to a "stranded" status. Although temporarily fine, under Sandora’s prolonged slumber, it’s urgent to figure out where we are in this universe. At least a comprehensive examination of the universe is needed, and if possible, to find a route back to the Imperial District. This series of tasks isn’t something that can be accomplished on a small planet. So, while wandering here with Alaya, I released more Deep Space Probes. These probes have now been transmitted to various parts of the universe, with the furthest already searching nearly a billion light-years away.

For now, I haven’t examined the situation outside the World Barrier; ordinary probes have limited functionality and can’t gather much intel in the Void. I’ll research leaving this universe after I recover a bit more or Sandora awakens.

My Dull Cat Angel and I found a discreet place to activate the camouflage barrier, then slipped into a temporary cabin to study the massive intelligence transmitted from hundreds of Deep Space Probes. Well, to be precise, I was studying the intelligence while Alaya continued figuring out how to polish her feathers... Did she hit her head and suffer further brain damage during the battle? (Alaya was also involved in the previous battle.)

The images returned by the probes confirm that this universe is relatively "prosperous."

The world order is stable, and the material bands support the development of complex life. Star formation is frequent in outer space, indicating a very young universe. In a radius of ten billion light-years, thousands of life-sustaining "hot spots" were discovered; however, only a few dozen have reached higher civilization levels capable of exploring the universe. While the ratio isn’t high, considering most universes, it reflects quite a prosperous situation.

Of course, from the perspective of Void Creatures, this universe has "a large and dynamic amount of information."

So far, the Deep Space Probes haven’t detected anything related to the Empire or the Divine Race, indicating this world is an undiscovered "White Zone." No signs of Abyss pollution have been found either, suggesting it’s far from the Abyss Zone, and the most advanced civilization here is still at the galactic exploration stage. By the Empire’s standards, this is a "prosperous but backward" fringe world... Hence, there’s no immediate need for widespread communication. If local civilizations have accessed the Void level, or comprehensively understood their world, they might be worth contacting.

Alaya finally finished tending to her wings and leaned over my shoulder to gaze at the holographic image before us. Of course, she was just joining the fun: "Lord Brother, will this world become Imperial territory? Take it with us when we leave?"

... This shows that the Xyrin bloodline is the same at its core; even one as dull as Alaya retains a heart for expanding the motherland. You have no idea the pressure of hearing a cute and naive girl speak so earnestly about such matters.

Nevertheless, by Imperial custom, discovering a New World requires going through some "special procedures": first, determining whether there’s Abyss pollution, then assessing the universe’s structural stability, followed by determining the highest level of civilization, and finally packaging it up. Such tasks have been undertaken countless times by Xyrin Apostles. Long live the Xyrin moving company... Is this the first great achievement of expanding territory since I became Emperor?

The number of Deep Space Probes is limited and can’t monitor every life-bearing "information hot spot." My attention is mainly on those civilizations with space navigation capabilities. The nearest civilization is about twenty-two light-years away; their planet seems less tranquil and peaceful than the one beneath our feet—it’s in a state of war.

A probe captured a series of battle scenes in outer space. A group of planetary forces using spindle-shaped Space Battleships is fiercely attacking a large Space City in high orbit. The battlefield is incredibly intense, and both sides are clearly the same Race; this might be a civil war.

"The battle seems huge, a severely destructive conflict..." Alaya blinked, her massive wings almost wrapping me entirely, "They’re only twenty-some light-years away; it’s worth assessing if they’ll become an aggressive civilization, and if they’re to be incorporated into the Empire, we must adhere to the Imperial Code since they’re already considered enlightened."

"Isn’t it a bit early to talk about this?" I shrugged, then ordered the probe to shift focus and prepare to observe the planet’s surface. But just as the lens was about to zoom in, a blue and white blinding light suddenly appeared in the surveillance footage.

I quickly adjusted the lens back, only to find that the previously clashing planetary forces and Space Fortress Defense Army had been annihilated. Debris littered the vast outer space, with a lone Space City floating in the distance, many of its surface facilities melted by high temperatures: whatever was intensely battling has been destroyed.

After searching for a moment, the probe captured the image of the attacker: a massive silver-white Starship nearly a hundred kilometers long was hovering at the edge of the battlefield, its imposing and rugged silhouette somewhat peculiar, resembling a flying coffin... An Eternal Level Imperial Warship?!

This universe has an Imperial Army?! (To be continued. If you enjoy this work, you’re welcome to visit Qidian (qidian.com) to vote for recommendations and monthly tickets. Your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users, please read at m.qidian.com.)