Chapter Nineteen: Uncle and Father

He returned to his room and picked up the voice recorder, suddenly feeling a sense of relief that he had changed the password as soon as he got back. The subsequent surveillance footage showed that Jiang Yaoxing had come by while they were away, but hadn’t been able to get in.

His wristwatch vibrated, and a voice echoed in his mind: “Jiang Taixuan is requesting a projection call.” The watch, a soul-sensing artifact, transmitted the message directly into his consciousness.

Jiang Taichu hesitated for a moment, then chose to accept. Above his wristwatch, a translucent figure appeared—it was Jiang Taixuan, with a bed visible behind him, clearly in his dormitory.

“Big brother, what happened? Did someone break into the house?” Jiang Taixuan asked immediately.

“Jiang Yaoxing’s been here. I’ll talk to him,” Jiang Taichu replied with a light smile. “Just stay at school for now. Don’t come home these next few days.”

“Don’t do anything rash. Just report it to the Justice Bureau, and make him return whatever he took,” Jiang Taixuan said, then his expression shifted. “How did he get our house password anyway?”

“I’ve been wondering about that myself,” Jiang Taichu replied, unwilling to say more. “All right, I’m going to see him now.” With that, he ended the call.

After a moment’s thought, he uploaded the contents of the recorder to his family’s ether net as a backup.

“The most recent of my parents’ colleagues lives in the neighboring complex, with a wife and child still at home,” he mused as he stood up.

If Jiang Yaoxing was looking for the recorder, as long as he let the news slip, Jiang would surely make a move—perhaps even draw out whoever was behind him.

With this in mind, he made his way to the neighboring residential complex, searching his wristwatch for information about the Planetary Graveyard.

At the Planetary Graveyard, mechs could be rented for a thousand credits per session. These were outdated models, never fully charged; running at full power, they’d only last three hours. Their particle concentrators were heavily downgraded. Once energy was depleted, the restored power was enough only for oxygen and fresh water conversion. All other functions failed, leaving merely the armor and cold weapons. The sniper rifles, ether cannons, and particle guns had been removed—only a semi-automatic rifle was issued, though ammunition could be bought in unlimited quantities.

Arriving at the complex, he found the gate closed—it required a soul-sense ID or a guard’s approval to enter.

“I’m looking for Xia Chunhui’s family. My father is Jiang Hai, a former colleague of his,” Jiang Taichu said to the elderly guard at the security office.

“Wait here, young man,” the guard replied, operating his wristwatch. A weary female voice came through: “Let him in.”

“10-903,” the guard nodded.

“Thank you,” Jiang Taichu said, entering the complex. He headed straight for Building 10, took the ether elevator upstairs, and knocked on the door.

A young woman answered, fatigue etched into her features. “Come in. The child’s asleep in the other room, so please keep your voice down.”

Jiang Taichu entered the modest two-bedroom apartment. Beside the coffee table sat a baby stroller. When Xia Chunhui had left for gold mining, his child was just a year old. Life must be hard, raising such a young one alone.

“Auntie,” Jiang Taichu addressed her in a hushed voice, careful not to disturb the sleeping child, “I wanted to ask, after Uncle Xia’s accident, did anyone come to see you?”

“Quite a few people came—the Justice Bureau, and folks from Terra Corp,” she replied.

“Did Uncle Xia leave any instructions?”

She let out a bitter laugh. “He left so suddenly, still out on Star 10977—what instructions could he have left?”

“Have you received anything recently?” Jiang Taichu pressed.

“Anything? Just the compensation from Terra Corp, I suppose,” her exhaustion deepened, eyes welling with tears. “He left so easily, leaving the two of us behind—how are we supposed to get by?”

Seeing her grief, Jiang Taichu felt heavy-hearted and didn’t press further. “I’m sorry to trouble you. If you need anything, you can contact me.”

She didn’t reply, but stood to see him out. As they reached the door, she suddenly said, “Your uncle Jiang Yaoxing came by.”

“Jiang Yaoxing?” Jiang Taichu asked. “What did he want?”

“He said he was checking in on behalf of Jiang Hai, and asked if Jiang Hai had sent anything home—maybe to my address,” she explained. “I told him we hadn’t received anything, so he left.”

“Rest well, Auntie. Things will get better,” Jiang Taichu comforted her before leaving.

So Jiang Yaoxing was searching for something Jiang Hai sent home—but how did he know about it? Jiang Taichu set off for the next family.

He visited seven or eight households in succession. Like Xia Chunhui’s family, they were all steeped in grief, though the intensity varied; some children were older and more composed, the atmosphere less suffocating. Jiang Yaoxing had visited all of them.

“One left—Gu Shengyun’s family. He has a younger brother, Gu Shengshan, who’s still single. I’ve heard the brothers are very close, so perhaps they’re faring a little better,” Jiang Taichu thought. These were the only colleagues of his parents nearby whom he knew; the rest lived too far away or were strangers.

With the guard’s help, he entered the community and arrived at Gu Shengyun’s home.

A healthy-looking young woman opened the door—Gu Shengyun’s wife, Zhang Xin.

She welcomed him in. “You must be Taichu? You’ve grown so much. I remember when I just married, you were starting middle school.”

“Auntie,” Jiang Taichu greeted, sitting on the sofa. “Is Little Jun at school?”

Gu Jun, Gu Shengyun and Zhang Xin’s son, was about kindergarten age.

“Yes, Jun is at school. Shengshan is at work, so it’s just me at home,” she replied. “I heard you followed in your father’s footsteps and joined Terra Corp?”

“Yes, I’m an employee there now,” Jiang Taichu said, then asked, “Did Uncle Shengshan join Terra Corp as well?”

Gu Shengshan had always preferred running small businesses, but none had succeeded. Only after Gu Shengyun persuaded him did he agree to join Terra Corp, but with Gu Shengyun gone, Jiang Taichu wasn’t sure how that turned out.

“He joined not long ago,” Zhang Xin replied. “Let me get you some water.”

“Thank you, Auntie,” Jiang Taichu said. He noticed she didn’t seem sad at all despite her husband’s death—perhaps four months was enough for someone resilient to recover.

He sipped his water and asked, “By the way, did Uncle Shengyun leave any messages before he passed?”

“Messages?” Zhang Xin sighed, a strange look flashing across her face. “That fool left just like that—what message could he have left? Did your parents leave any instructions?”

“No, that’s why I’m asking around. I wanted to see if any of the uncles left messages, or if my parents passed anything through them,” Jiang Taichu explained.

“There’s nothing,” Zhang Xin shook her head.

“Did my uncle come by?” Jiang Taichu asked.

“Your uncle?” Zhang Xin paused, then shook her head. “No, he hasn’t.”

Jiang Taichu nodded, his expression giving nothing away. It was odd—Jiang Yaoxing had visited every other family, why skip this one?

As he was about to ask more, Zhang Xin glanced at the time. “Sorry, it’s time to pick up Jun from school.”

“It’s that late? Then I won’t keep you,” Jiang Taichu said, standing to leave.

They left together and went downstairs. The kindergarten was just below the building. Zhang Xin went to pick up her child, while Jiang Taichu lingered nearby.

Soon after, she returned, holding a little boy’s hand, her face lit with a smile.

“Mom, why didn’t Dad come?” the boy asked in confusion.

“In public, you should call him Uncle, remember? I’ve told you so many times—only at home can you call him Dad. If you forget again, no special treats for you,” Zhang Xin said sternly.

“I’ll remember,” the boy promised quickly.

Jiang Taichu’s heart jolted. Had he just overheard something extraordinary? Uncle? Dad?

“I want to go to the amusement park—the one Uncle took me to last week. You can go on a star journey there!” the boy said hopefully.

“No problem,” Zhang Xin replied with a smile, but suddenly she stiffened, staring at Jiang Taichu in shock. “You… you haven’t left yet?”