Love Code at the End of the World - Epilogue
I am Luo Xiao Qiong, a seventeen-year-old teen. I am at a carefree age, but am living under tremendous pressure because….
My grandpa is the Minister of Defense in Radical Star. He is the Chief Instructor of the national defense force!
My grandma is the Minister of Education in Arts and Culture! She is the Dean of Silver Star College!
My dad, Loki, is the captain of Radical Star starcraft! He is the Vice-Dean of Interplanetary Science College! He is also an explorer and a scientist!
My mom, Xing Ya, is the Minister of Internal Affairs! She is the Vice President of the United Nations!
Isn’t that cool? Isn’t that amazing? Isn’t that badass?
No, there are more amazing ones up next!
My aunt! She’s the Queen of Radical Star, the legendary Kansa Star savior, Luo Bing!
I have eight cousins and they are all princes and princesses of Radical Star! Tell me. How can I not feel pressured?!
Recently, they have been working hard to become the crown prince or a crown princess!
I am really stressed growing up with them!
Because I… am useless….
I didn’t inherit my dad’s extraordinary intelligence or my mom’s beauty. I didn’t inherit my aunt’s powerful battle capability, nor do I have superpowers like my cousins.
Although, my mom comforts me that it is okay to not have a superpower just like her. Speaking of which, my dad is strange. He came from Earth, where everyone is an ordinary human being. Theoretically speaking, he should have liked women with superpowers when he came to Kansa Star. Plus, he’s Aunt Luo Bing’s younger brother. He should be pretty popular.
It is said that countless men and women were fighting for his affection. You heard it right—men… and women….
But he fell for my mom, who is an ordinary human.
My mom comes from Hagrid Island. There’s another Xing Chuan there. Aunt Luo Bing fell on Hagrid Island back then and got to know my mom. My mom became curious about the world outside of Hagrid Island ever since Aunt Luo Bing’s arrival. In the end, she decided to leave Hagrid Island to look for my mom. Then, she stayed back in Radical Star and took Uncle Xing Chuan as her brother.
Since then, my Mom and Dad became friends. It seems my Dad found my Mom familiar because she is an ordinary human. Then, eventually, they got together and had me—another ordinary human….
Even though I am seventeen years old, I show no signs of having a superpower. Unlike my cousins who were born with superpowers! Even the worst of them showed signs of a superpower at the age of five.
My aunt always comforts me that a superpower wouldn’t appear straightway sometimes. Just like herself, where she realized that she had a superpower much later on. Blah blah blah…
But that is because she was slow on the uptake. It isn’t because her superpower didn’t exist from the very beginning. I, on the other hand, really don’t have a superpower.
Anyway, I have accepted the fact that I am an ordinary person and have given up on my superpower long ago.
Plus, my dad was originally an ordinary human from Earth. He became a metahuman after transformation. After Brother Ula brought away the rail, blue crystal energy on Kansa Star receded, and the metahumans’ blue crystal cells gradually disappeared too. Hence, it led to the decreasing number of metahumans.
My mom is only an ordinary human. So, what hope do I have?
I stood before my aunt. She is nice to me and spoils me. Not just my aunt but also all eight of my cousins love me a lot too. It seems that they have too many siblings, but I am alone, which is rare and precious to them.
“Aunt, I want to go to Earth,” I told her.
She was shocked, “Why do you want to go to Earth?” Her eyebrows were tightly knitted. As a powerful metahuman, she doesn’t grow old. She looks like my sister instead. She said, “Xiao Qiong, I know that you think you are an ordinary human, but there are many ordinary humans in Radical Star too. So you don’t have to feel so stressed.”
I looked at her solemnly, saying, “Aunt, I have thought it through. I’d like to go on an adventure too. That’s why going to Earth is like an adventure to me. Plus… Brother Xing Su and the others keep bothering me. That’s not nice….”
She raised her eyebrows. She knew that her sons, Xing Su, and the other boys liked me a lot. They would say that they wanted to marry me. They are already eighteen years old, so… I don’t think they are just joking…
“Aunt, consanguineous marriage… ain’t good…” I complained, pouting.
My aunt held her forehead, saying, “Who told you to be the only one… They are just like their fathers. One of them wants something and the rest start to fight over it… Sigh….”
“That’s because they worship you! They want to marry a wife with the surname Luo, but they can’t marry their sisters… Plus, I do look like you… So, they changed their target to me instead…” I feel so innocent. I don’t know if it was because I am a human from Earth or for some atavistic reasons, but Aunt Luo Bing’s children look exceptionally handsome and beautiful because her husbands are metahumans and their genes are strong. On the contrary, I, who am her niece, look like her instead.
Aunt Luo Bing sighed helplessly, saying, “But Xiao Qiong, with Radical Star’s current technology, it would require a century for you to reach Earth…” She looked at me apologetically.
I said with confidence, “Doesn’t Brother Ula have a cosmic bead? Take it out and try! Brother Ula said that a cosmic bead is barely enough for a return trip. That’s just nice. I can travel on Earth for a few years. Otherwise, I can wait until Brother Xing Su and the others marry someone else before I return.”
Aunt held her forehead again, “Oh yeah. I totally forgot about the cosmic bead.” She smiled, saying, “Mom and Dad said that they would stay back, so I forgot about the cosmic bead. Alright. Go and look for Ula. Tell me when you are ready. Oh yeah. Don’t let Xing Su and the others know that you are going to Earth.”
“Yes, madam!” I gestured an OK sign. I asked, “And, Aunt, can you assign Brother Ula to me? I know that his brother is on Earth. I will have someone to take care of me then. It’s safer too!”
Aunt smiled dotingly, agreeing, “Alright. I will assign Ula to you. I will be less worried if he is with you too.”
Yay! I got Brother Ula!
On Kansa Star, blood siblings can’t be married to each other, but non-blood siblings can. The technology on Kansa Star can resolve the defects caused by blood ties. In ancient times on Earth, cousins on the paternal side couldn’t get married, but cousins on the maternal side could. This is because maternal siblings are actually considered close relatives. But due to the hereditary defect, there’s a rule whereby close relatives can’t get married.
Hence, Brother Xing Su always refuted me using that point. From my dad’s side, we are considered cousins on the paternal side. But from my mom’s side, we are cousins on the maternal side.
Brother Xing Su’s temperament is just like Uncle Xing Chuan’s. They are very stubborn about their loved ones. So, he wouldn’t let me off the hook. Sigh. I really have no idea what he likes about me. I don’t even have a superpower.
I took the cosmic bead from Brother Ula. It looked like an ordinary black ball. I asked, “Is this the cosmic bead?”
Brother Ula looked at me carefully, exhorting, “Yeah. Be careful. There’s pure cosmic energy inside the cosmic bead. Although it is harmless, it can absorb other energy and transform it into blue crystal energy.”
“How does it work?” I asked curiously, looking at Brother Ula. He grew old very slowly. It is said that he has to serve my aunt until she dies. That’s why he had to remain youthful.
Brother Ula looked at me solemnly, explaining, “Pure cosmic energy is a living thing. So, it depends if it is willing to. Only its owner can order it around. Once it is willing to transform energy, the cosmic bead can bring you anywhere without limitation.”
“How to become its owner?” I asked.
Brother Ula frowned, answering, “This… is a unique superpower. Normally, only a person from Deity Universe can build such a unique relationship with it. So… Xiao Qiong…” He looked at me apologetically, frowning.
I didn’t bother with him but picked up the cosmic bead. I looked at it and smiled. Then, I planted a soft kiss and asked, “Oh, cosmic bead, can I be your owner?”
“Xiao Qing… It doesn’t work with just a kiss…” Brother Ula said, but his eyes suddenly opened wide.
The cosmic bead twinkled with brilliant light. At the next moment, the cosmic bead shattered, revealing the shimmering, pure cosmic energy inside. Next, the bead separated into two shimmering eyes. Then, a thin tentacle extended from its body towards me.
I smiled at it and extended my index finger. As they touched, a phantom image of the vast universe played in my head.
It brought me through Deity Universe and arrived at a place filled with blue cosmic energy. There was a huge platform. Suddenly, I saw blue, glowing men like the spirits that Uncle Jun draws. They looked at me in surprise. Then, a light man wearing a crown flew up and landed before me. He looked at me proudly, saying, “You became a new heavenly body. Please treat cosmic energy with care. Don’t become sorcerous….” He then waved, and I was instantly cast off. My body retreated uncontrollably.
Brother Ula quickly caught me and looked at me in surprise. He exclaimed, “You became a new heavenly body?!”
“What’s a heavenly body?” I asked, rubbing my head.
Brother Ula helped me up. He seemed upset, “Why do I have to be with women who are stronger than me all the time….”
“Brother Ula, what’s wrong?”
“Sigh….” He let out a heavy sigh. “Nothing. I feel that I have terrible luck. I finally ran away from the demon. In the end, you are even more amazing than she is….”
“I am more amazing?!”
He rolled his eyes at me and said, “Aren’t you amazing enough that you became a new heavenly body? But you are not amazing just yet. In short, you are the owner of this pure cosmic energy. That’s strange….” He scratched his head and asked, “How can an ordinary human give birth to a new heavenly body?”
Haha! That means I have a superpower then! My superpower is to connect with pure cosmic energy. I became the owner of pure cosmic energy, meaning I can shuttle through planets!
Wow… I am really amazing then!
I grasped the cosmic bead, and it suddenly became a microscopic particle and entered my body. We became one!
I smiled, saying, “Let’s go! Earth, it is!”
Brother Ula pulled himself together and smiled, saying, “That’s great! I can finally leave the demon! Don’t worry. When we get to Earth, I’ll get my brother to cover for you!”
Hehe! Exactly!
Going to Earth is a brand new challenge to me. I will definitely come across various obstacles, failures, and challenges. But that is just like the admonition engraved on Radical Star’s history stela:
Some failure in life is inevitable. It is impossible to live without failing at something unless you live so cautiously that you might as well not have lived at all—in which case, you fail by default — quote by J.K. Rowling.