175: Chapter 175 Triumphant Return, Family Praise

The engine roar of the transport ship growled in the starry sky, the light bands outside the warp tunnel twisted into spirals, and the metal walls inside the cabin vibrated slightly.

Chen Wuwang stood before the command console, his fingers resting on the edge of the control panel. A flash of blue light emanated from his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye, and the tactical interface appeared in the center of his vision.

The navigation coordinates had drifted by 3.7 degrees, and spatial turbulence was eroding the warp path.

"Reduce load on the left thruster by twenty percent, and switch the main control Formation to the emergency Spiritual Vein."

His voice was not loud, but it cut through the air like a blade, and everyone heard him clearly.

A young soldier's hand trembled, and he nearly pressed the wrong button.

A veteran beside him nudged him with his elbow: "The Head of the Chen Family has spoken, why are you still dazed? Execute the order!"

The order was passed down level by level, the ship's hull made micro-adjustments, and the humming sound gradually stabilized. Chen Wuwang did not turn back, only saying in a low voice: "If the spoils of war aren't transported home, it doesn't count as a victory."

This sentence spread through the communication channel to the entire fleet, and the faces that had been somewhat relaxed tightened once more.

Some gripped their weapons, others checked their shield readings, and even the wounded lying in the medical pods opened their eyes.

The moment the warp ended, the reddish-brown atmosphere of the East Wasteland Star Domain appeared in the porthole.

In the distance, the silhouette of the Chen Family's main city emerged in the morning light. Tall towers stood in rows, and rune light strips lit up in circles, like the eyes of the earth opening.

The moment the fleet entered low-altitude orbit, the ground exploded into chaos.

"They're back! They're back!"

"Look up at the sky! It's the transport ship!"

The news spread like wildfire, and in less than half a quarter of an hour, the entire city's population poured into the streets.

The elderly, women, and children crowded the edge of the plaza, soldiers spontaneously lined up to maintain order, craftsmen put down their hammers, medicine boys ran out of the fields clutching their herb baskets, and even the lame old men who usually hid in their houses stood at their doorways leaning on their crutches.

The convoy landed slowly on the central avenue, the tracks rolling over the bluestone slabs, emitting a steady clacking sound.

The moment the cabin doors opened, cheers crashed like waves against the shore, one wave after another.

Children screamed as they rushed forward, refusing to retreat even when blocked by the cordon; several elderly clansmen knelt on the ground, pressing their palms together and bowing to the sky three times; a woman holding an infant suddenly burst into tears, triggering a wave of sobbing all around.

Chen Wuwang leaped down from the flagship, landing on a floating platform. He raised his hand and pressed down, and the entire crowd fell silent.

"Today's victory is not my achievement alone,"

His voice spread across the area through the Spiritual energy amplification Formation, "It is what your sons, brothers, and husbands fought for with their lives."

The crowd was silent for two seconds, then erupted into even louder shouts.

He did not pause, waving his hand to activate the projection Formation.

A clear list appeared in mid-air: 427 units of star-patterned stone, 19 standard weapons, 11 volumes of encrypted files, two mech wrecks...

"These," he pointed to the data stream, "will all become Cultivate resources for your children, longevity pill ingredients for the elderly, and forging materials for the craftsmen."

Someone below began to wipe away tears, and a child tugged at his mother's clothes and asked: "Mom, can I go to the training ground now?"

"Yes! Sign up tomorrow!" the woman answered, choking back sobs.

Chen Wuwang scanned the crowd, then suddenly sneered: "Some say that after winning a battle, we must immediately divide the loot? Very well—when your father died under the blades of the Zerg three years ago, did anyone share a mouthful of Spiritual Qi with you? Our Family is not a black market Gang, it is a tree with roots connected to roots!"

The young man who had spoken flushed red, lowering his head and not daring to make a sound.

"This batch of star-patterned stone is to build warships that can fly out of the galaxy, not copper coins to trade for a meal of wine and meat." Chen Wuwang pointed to the new factory area under construction in the distance, "Ten years from now, our name will be carved on the Myriad Realm Stele—and it won't be because we robbed, but because we are strong!"

The silence lasted for three breaths.

Then, applause erupted from the first row, followed by the second, the third...

Finally, the entire long street was clapping. Some clapped so hard their palms turned red, and some jumped up and shouted, "The Head of the Chen Family is right!"

A white-haired grandmother leaned on her cane, clapping and crying: "My grandson can study in the school now... he can study now..."

Chen Wuwang stood on the high platform, his silver hair lifted by the wind, the three claw marks on his right cheek glowing dark red in the sunlight.

He did not smile, nor did he move, just quietly watching this group of people—watching them cheer, watching them cry, watching them hug each other, watching those figures who once curled up in the corners of ruins now standing tall.

He knew these people trusted him.

Not because he was the Head of the Chen Family, not because he knew how to fight, but because they had seen with their own eyes that the Chen Family, which was filled with rubble three years ago, now had mechs, factories, and the confidence to negotiate with the Angel Race.

This trust was heavier than any Magic Treasure.

"Head of the Chen Family!" A little boy broke free from his mother's hand, rushed to the front of the platform, looked up and shouted, "When I grow up, I want to pilot a mech and beat up the bad guys too!"

"Good!" Chen Wuwang looked down at him and finally smiled, "When you learn to read, come and sign up first."

"I can already write the character 'Chen'!" The child proudly took out a small stone tablet with a crookedly carved "Chen" on it.

The crowd burst into laughter, and even the guards grinned.

Chen Wuwang bent down to take the stone tablet, his fingertips gently stroking the strokes, then he drew a dagger from his waist and added a vertical stroke next to it, turning it into "Zhen".

"I'll teach you how to carve runes another day," he said.

Another burst of jubilation ensued.

At this moment, a few burly men squeezed forward carrying a jar of wine: "Head of the Chen Family! This is the newly brewed Spiritual grain wine from this year, to welcome you back!"

"Open it." Chen Wuwang nodded.

The lid of the jar was lifted, and the fragrance of the wine instantly filled the air. He took the bowl but did not drink; instead, he turned and poured it onto the ground: "A toast to those who could not return."

The laughter stopped abruptly.

Everyone bowed their heads in silence.

A moment later, an old blacksmith raised his bowl: "And a toast to the living!"

"A toast to the living!"

"A toast to the Chen Family!"

Thousands of voices merged together, shaking the dust from the eaves so that it fell in flurries.

Only then did Chen Wuwang raise the bowl and drain it in one gulp.

The strong liquor rolled down his throat, he squinted his eyes, and tossed the empty bowl behind him.

"Clean up the streets, transport the supplies, and don't let the items get rained on."

Once the order was given, everyone moved immediately. Those moving crates, those laying out dust covers, those registering serial numbers—they were busy but not chaotic.

There was no scrambling, no complaining, just like farmers who had finished harvesting crops, knowing that every single grain of food was hard-earned.

He turned and walked toward the Council Hall, his footsteps not stopping.

The plaza behind him was still lively; children chased each other, the elderly chatted, young women discussed the newly arrived mech models, and young men boasted about how they would become pilots in the future.

Everything looked so peaceful.

Yet his Mechanical Prosthetic Eye was still running in the background, scanning the city's energy fluctuations, population density, and abnormal signal sources.

The System interface floated quietly in the depths of his consciousness, and three heavenly secret instructions appeared right on time:

[Tomorrow at the hour of the dragon, an exotic crystal core will appear in the West Ridge mining tunnel]

[Warning: Risk of foundation subsidence in the southeast corner of the Artifact Refining Workshop]

[Must complete the blueprint review for the third-generation defensive Formation within seven days]

He did not open them to look closely, just noted the time.

Walking to the door of the Council Hall, he stopped and looked back.

Sunlight shone on the plaza, the crowd was like a tapestry, and the laughter was constant.

A little girl in coarse cloth clothes was standing on tiptoe, touching the tracks of a transport vehicle, her eyes shining.

Chen Wuwang withdrew his gaze and pushed the door open to enter.

Documents waiting for approval were already laid out on the desk, and the shouts of clansmen working drifted in from outside the window.

He sat down, picked up the pen, dipped it in ink, and wrote the first line:

"Draft on the Principles of Distributing Triumphant Supplies—Prioritize Basic Infrastructure and Next-Generation Cultivation."