269: Chapter 270 Melissa Lan

Upon hearing that the other party had invited them for a private peace talk, the players were all excited and expressed their willingness to go as plenipotentiaries to join in the fun.

However, it was not good for too many people to attend such a diplomatic occasion, as it would easily look disorganized.

So, the group discussed it for a while.

Ultimately, it was decided that Dumpling would serve as the public spokesperson and decision-maker;

Luluchiu would act as the lubricant, being a familiar face that the other party had already seen;

And Penny Is My Wife, being relatively familiar with the historical background of warhammer 40,000, must also go along to be responsible for historical research and consultation.

Early the next morning.

The three of them washed up briefly.

To show their sincerity, they did not carry any heavy firepower weapons, wearing only light Power Armor, and boarded the shuttle to depart.

When the shuttle sailed out of the hangar and approached the other party's orbital defense line.

Penny looked through the porthole and, sure enough, discovered a few armed gunships similar to heavy shuttles waiting quietly on the periphery of the defense line.

After both sides confirmed their identities again via short-range communication.

Guided by the other party's gunships, the shuttle began to approach the ocean planet named after the Melisa family among the three planets.

This was a beautiful planet with its surface covered by a vast, azure ocean.

As the shuttle passed through the atmosphere, the view became clear.

Penny was surprised to find that the entire planet had only one huge ring-shaped landmass!

And on this ring-shaped landmass, building complexes were densely distributed.

What was even more incredible was that not only were there modern skyscraper cities full of sci-fi style;

But in the center and edges of the cities, there were actually quite a few retro building complexes similar to ancient China!

Dumpling leaned against the window, looking at the ancient-style high towers with upturned eaves below with a shocked expression:

"Holy crap! Penny! What is going on here? How can there be authentic Chinese elements in the warhammer 40,000 universe? Isn't this stuff only supposed to be in the Cathay of Warhammer Fantasy? How did it end up in this interstellar era?"

Penny rubbed her chin, frantically searching through the official lore books she had read in her mind.

After thinking for a while, she suddenly slapped her thigh:

"Got it! I remember in the official lore books, there is indeed this obscure setting on Earth's historical timeline!"

"Before the Emperor launched the Unification Wars of Terra, there once existed a huge nation on Earth called the Pan-Pacific Empire! Their territory was extremely vast, extending west to the Bashu Basin and east to the Japanese archipelago! And their core capital was called the Jade Capital, Hankou!"

Penny became more and more excited as she spoke,

"The lore says that this Pan-Pacific Empire was a techno-barbarian regime that perfectly inherited the lineage of ancient East Asian civilization! During the later Great Crusade, when the Thousand Sons legion was conducting archaeology at the Bashu ruins on Terra, they even dug up wreckage of a Dark Age of Technology launch vehicle with the National Space Administration logo on it!"

Dumpling suddenly realized:

"So that means! The group of Eastern faces we just met are very likely the descendants of the pure survivors of that Pan-Pacific Empire, who fled to outer space in spaceships to avoid the flames of the Unification Wars of Terra?!"

"It's highly likely."

Penny nodded,

"Let's take a closer look and play it by ear later."

The three followed the other party's armed ships and docked smoothly at the starport.

Subsequently, led by fully armed guards, they boarded a high-end car with a retro design but a hovering chassis and began to weave through the city streets.

The planning of this city felt extremely comfortable.

The roads were straight and square, as neat as a chessboard.

Most of the vehicles traveling in the sky were also hovercars using anti-gravity technology.

The overall technological level and civil infrastructure looked no lower than the current headquarters of the Spark Alliance.

After the vehicle drove smoothly for about thirty minutes, it slowed to a stop.

The three got out of the car and found themselves on a bluestone square outside a huge ancient-style building complex.

Luluchiu looked around, a flash of amazement in her eyes:

"This architectural style... is amazing! It's very similar to the architectural system of the Chinese Song Dynasty. But they have made some adjustments in the details to fit the era. The colors and design are very restrained, and the whole thing looks very high-end!"

As a female player, Luluchiu was very satisfied with the aesthetic design of these buildings.

Although Dumpling didn't quite understand the nuances of the dougong and upturned eaves, he did feel comfortable overall.

There was no oppressive feeling of skulls hanging everywhere like the Ecclesiarchy of the Imperium of Man, nor the tacky colors of bright red and green mixed with gold like a nouveau riche.

Grey tiles, brown walls, brown log pillars, combined with various carefully pruned green plants and flowers in the courtyard.

The entire building complex exuded a sense of high-end tranquility and vitality.

However, what was even more eye-catching was a huge statue standing in the center of the square!

It was not the statue of the God-Emperor that could be seen everywhere in the Imperium of Man world.

But an Eastern man wearing retro heavy Power Armor with a resolute face!

He held a knight's lance with an exaggerated design in his hand, the tip pointing straight at the sky, exuding an unyielding fighting spirit.

"This is the first family head of the Lady of the Lake family—Melisa."

Just as the three were looking up at the statue, a calm voice came from behind them.

The three turned around. They saw that the black-haired man suspected to be a Stone Man from yesterday had already stood silently behind them at some point.

"My name is Yu."

The man was still expressionless, but his tone was polite enough,

"Due to the language barrier between our two sides, Grand Duchess Melisa specifically entrusted me to act as the intermediary and translator for this exchange."

The three nodded to show they understood.

Dumpling was straightforward, and he couldn't help but ask directly, subconsciously:

"Buddy, don't beat around the bush, are you a Stone Man or not?"

Yu tilted his head slightly, seemingly thinking about the meaning of this term:

"Stone Man? That is a very ancient term. But from the definitions of biology and logic, I indeed am one. However, the three local families, in order to maintain the mystery of their rule, usually call me an angel."

Dumpling's eyes lit up when he heard the affirmative answer, and he immediately followed up:

"Then do you know Hong?"

A ripple flashed in Yu's calm, unruffled eyes:

"Hong? Of course I know him. In the data network of the Golden Age, we had many collaborations and exchanges on interstellar colonization topics; we can be considered old friends."

"Alright, enough small talk."

Yu cut off the topic of reminiscing directly and turned to lead the way,

"The Grand Duchess is already waiting for you in the main hall, please follow me."

After speaking, Yu strode away.

The three could only suppress the fire of gossip in their hearts and quickly follow.

They passed through many courtyards and arrived at a spacious drawing room with a completely Chinese layout.

The furnishings here were simple and elegant.

Beside each rosewood seat, exquisite pastries had already been placed, along with a cup of brewed hot tea emitting a faint fragrance.

And on the grand master's seat at the very top of the drawing room sat the middle-aged woman whom Luluchiu had seen in the conference room yesterday—Grand Duchess Melisa.

After the three sat down, they didn't rush to drink tea, but were attracted by the paintings hanging on the walls on both sides of the room.

On those walls hung many lifelike figure paintings.

The men and women in the paintings, without exception, were all wearing various models of heavy Power Armor or standing beside huge knight mechas.

And the one in the first painting was the portrait of the man holding a spear they had just seen in the square.

Seeing the three of them staring at the paintings, the Grand Duchess smiled and began to explain.

And Yu, who was on the side, dutifully began to translate in real-time:

"Envoys, these hanging on the wall are all the past family heads of our Melisa family, as well as outstanding members who have made great contributions to the family."

The Grand Duchess picked up the teacup and gently stirred the tea leaves,

"I know that since you are capable of interstellar navigation, you have likely encountered the vast Imperium of Man along the way. Therefore, to avoid misunderstandings, I want to clarify our cultural differences here in advance."

The Grand Duchess's expression became solemn:

"The families on these three planets of ours do not believe in any gods in the universe! Whether it is that so-called God-Emperor of Terra, or those evils in the Warp, we do not believe in any of them!"

"We only regard those heroes in the family who have bled and sacrificed as the only guardians! All the peace and prosperity we possess now is not due to the favor of gods, but due to the protection of our ancestors and the blood and struggle of generations of family members!"

After hearing these words, the three looked at each other, and saw deep shock in each other's eyes.

Ancestor worship!

In this crazy warhammer 40,000 universe where theocracy is supreme and even a slight bit of heretical belief will get you burned at the stake.

These people actually dared to openly practice pure atheism and ancestor worship!

If the Inquisition of the Imperium of Man heard this, they would issue an Exterminatus order for these three planets immediately!

But Penny's acuity was obviously higher.

She caught another key hidden piece of information from the Grand Duchess's words.

"Madam."

Penny bowed slightly and asked tentatively,

"Judging by what you said, your closed star system knows of and has contacted the Imperium of Man?"

The Grand Duchess behaved very courteously and nodded:

"Yes, in these long years, we have not only encountered Imperial expeditionary fleets that strayed here. Even, because of ideological differences, we have had armed conflicts with them!"

"And we are also constantly monitoring news from the outside The Galaxy through various secret channels."

Speaking of this, the Grand Duchess's face darkened slightly, as if she was thinking of the ancestors who died in the conflict.

But she adjusted quickly and smiled again:

"In short, we have no intention of joining that backward, ignorant, and fanatical theocratic Imperium of Man. On the contrary, our family is very interested in the origin of your fleet."

The Grand Duchess looked at the three of them with burning eyes,

"The language you speak is very ancient. Our first ancestors, according to ancient records, used this language and script of yours! This is also the only reason why I overcame all objections to facilitate this exchange."

"So, please tell me. Are you also descendants of the survivors who fled the Ancient Dragon Kingdom back then?"

The three quickly exchanged glances again.

They all saw a huge cooperation opportunity in each other's eyes!

This was definitely a reunion moment!

Now, Dumpling was completely fired up.

He slapped his chest hard and said loudly and proudly:

"Yes, Madam! To tell you the truth, we are legitimate descendants of Huaxia! Pure-blooded survivors of the Ancient Dragon Kingdom!"

Dumpling started talking nonsense,

"My surname is Liu! In the long history of ancient Huaxia, this is an absolute major surname that established the Great Han Dynasty! And our hometown is an ancient place called Hebei!"

Hearing this translation.

The Grand Duchess's eyes widened suddenly!

The teacup in her hand even trembled slightly because of her excitement.

Hearing the ancient pronunciation of the surname Liu, and the place name Hebei which only existed in ancient mythological geographies.

The woman believed it without a doubt!

Because, in such long years that had experienced countless destructions and rebirths.

Even for their three families that had always huddled together for warmth, those most ancient surnames and cultural heritages had long been lost in the flames of war and time.

They couldn't even tell where their roots really were.