My Omega Rival in Love [Interstellar] - Chapter 2
Ten Years Later
Rota Star
Countless Zerg creatures surged forward in overwhelming waves. In the middle of the swarm, a massive silver-blue mecha darted through the battlefield with incredible speed, cutting down one enormous creature after another. But more kept coming.
“According to our data, this is the final wave of Zerg invaders. Admiral Edmond has already fallen. Marshal, there are fewer than ten of you left on the front line. You must retreat immediately. I repeat, retreat at once.”
A frantic voice came from within the communication system of the silver-blue mecha. Gu Jin glanced at the flashing console, raised her weapon, and eliminated another wave of Zerg.
“The second defense line is within the borders of the Weize Empire. There are hundreds of millions of citizens behind us. I cannot fall back.”
“Increase energy output. Deploy the latest model of mecha from the star-class carrier. Transfer it to me as soon as possible.” Her voice was calm, and her movements grew faster. As Gu Jin looked at the wreckage of fallen mechas and the remains of the enemy, a faint bloodlust flickered in her eyes.
“You cannot use it.” The voice on the other end turned desperate. “Marshal, that new model showed serious flaws during the last round of combat. Many soldiers died because of its defects. It is too dangerous.”
Gu Jin pressed her lips together. Through her neural interface, she scanned the other eight mechas still fighting alongside her. Today’s battle had seemed entirely winnable. With the addition of the advanced mechas, she had estimated nearly a one hundred percent chance of success.
But no one expected that while the new mechas were powerful, they came with a fatal flaw. They inflicted just as much damage on the pilot as on the enemy. Using them was practically a form of self-destruction.
The moment the battle began, most of the soldiers operating the new mechas died without warning. Only Gu Jin and a few others who had stuck with their older models managed to survive, their combat capabilities strong enough to hold their ground.
Those exploding mechas had wiped out a large portion of the invading swarm, but with only nine of them remaining, there was no hope of lasting long. At best, they would collapse from exhaustion and be consumed by the enemy.
“Activate the new model. That is an order.”
Gu Jin issued the command to the mothership. Her hand pressed firmly on a glowing blue button. At that exact moment, a response came from the other side of the channel, choked with tears.
“Yes, Marshal.”
The moment she pressed the button, her original mecha vanished. Gu Jin was left floating alone in deep blue space, completely exposed and surrounded by Zerg beasts hundreds of times her size.
Her silver-gray eyes opened slowly. Her equally silver hair drifted around her in zero gravity, catching the light with a faint blue glow. In her hand, she held a silver-blue ring. She looked around the battlefield, her brow furrowing slightly, then crushed the ring in her hand.
A massive new mecha materialized in an instant. It was hundreds of times larger than the one before, towering like a mountain. Zerg swarms that collided with it were immediately destroyed. The enormous silver giant stood firm at the eastern border of the Weize Empire, an unshakable wall between the enemy and the people.
Inside the cockpit, veins bulged on Gu Jin’s forehead. Her body, now beyond S-class in physical ability, creaked under the unbearable strain. Every movement sent sharp noises echoing through the control room, a grim reminder of the human cost.
The giant mecha sliced through the Zerg with terrifying speed. Armed with the latest combat weapons, including a quantum lightsaber that could expand or shrink at will, it became a nightmare for the enemy. The battle, which had seemed unwinnable just moments ago, began to turn thanks to Gu Jin’s brutal counterattack.
Three Months Later
Capital Planet of the Weize Empire
In the imperial palace, in the room next to His Majesty’s private chambers, a new occupant had arrived. Inside a nutrient pod the size of a three-person bed, filled with glowing green liquid, Gu Jin lay motionless, her eyes closed as if lifeless.
Gu Ting stood beside the pod, looking at his younger sister, the youngest Marshal in history and the hero of Rota Star. She had been hailed as the pillar of the empire. Now she was silent, suspended between life and death. He rested his hand on the pod and gave a tired, bitter smile.
“It has been three months since we brought you back from Rota Star. Are you still not done resting?”
“Your Majesty, Marshal Gu and the former Emperor have arrived. They are at the door.”
A royal guard rushed in to report. No one in the palace dared stop those two, not even the Emperor himself.
Before Gu Ting could respond, heavy footsteps approached. Two imposing men stepped through the door. One wore a white robe with gold embroidery and a long formal coat. The other wore a black and gold military uniform with a matching Marshal’s cloak.
The moment they entered, Gu Ting winced. This black and white pair always gave him a headache. He stepped back to make room for them.
Marshal Gu walked calmly to the pod. His daughter lay inside, her condition unknown. Yet he didn’t falter, not even in his stride.
“How is she?” he asked.
It was the former Emperor who spoke next, Gu Ting’s father. Looking at his niece, his usual calm expression tightened with rare worry.
Gu Ting lowered his voice, no longer the commanding ruler but a quiet junior in front of his elders.
“The medical team has formulated the strongest possible restorative solution. Thanks to Gu Jin’s extraordinary physical strength, they managed to preserve her final breath. Right now, it all depends on whether her body can recover and if her brain can repair itself. But the doctors warned that if she doesn’t wake up within three months, even if her body recovers, she might never regain consciousness. She would be nothing more than an empty shell.”
And three months had already passed. Gu Ting did not say it out loud, but everyone in the room understood.
The former Emperor sighed.
“I am sorry, second brother. She is your only child. I never meant for this to happen.”
Marshal Gu raised his head and responded with firmness.
“Brother, you don’t need to apologize. Protecting our country is a soldier’s duty. Gu Jin chose this path, and that was her fate. To give her life for the empire is the highest honor. And as a member of the Gu family, it is simply her responsibility.”
Even as he spoke with unwavering strength, his hands trembled slightly. After one last look at his daughter, he turned and walked away without hesitation.
“If it is confirmed that she is brain-dead, end all treatment and give her a proper burial. My daughter would never want to live like that.”
His voice echoed as he walked away. Gu Ting and the former Emperor sighed. They exchanged a glance and shook their heads. That iron-blooded temper of his never changed.
Because they turned away, neither of them noticed the tiny air bubble rising quietly in the green nutrient solution.
“Father, we won the battle,” Gu Ting said quietly. “The Zerg were repelled, but the price was far too high.”
“The new mechas had fatal flaws. Our soldiers did not die by enemy hands. They were killed by the very machines they trusted with their lives. Millions of elite warriors and the empire’s newest generation of combat mechas were lost in a single battle.”
He looked again at Gu Jin, lying unconscious.
“The biggest loss of all was the one thousand officers of colonel rank and above. Ten generals. Twenty lieutenant generals. And Gu Jin, a young Marshal.”
It is easy to find an army, but nearly impossible to replace a great general. The border commanders, each a pillar of the empire, had fallen in a single battle. The pain of such a loss could not be measured.
“Who was responsible for designing and producing the new mechas? Has the exact flaw been identified?” The former Emperor asked heavily.
In honor of those who had died in the Rota Star Defense, the entire empire had mourned for three days. The severity of the sacrifice spoke for itself.
Gu Ting nodded. “We launched an investigation as soon as news came back from the front lines. It was confirmed that the full responsibility for the new mecha project lies with the Imperial Academy of Mecha Science, under the leadership of Director He and his wife. They are also the son and daughter-in-law of Prime Minister He. Both of them have been placed under immediate house arrest, pending further official review.”
“The old man from the He family?” The former Emperor closed his eyes halfway. “Handle it as you see fit. If I recall correctly, doesn’t their family have a granddaughter who is quite talented in mecha research?”
“Yes,” Gu Ting replied. “She was the lead designer of the new model. It passed all reviews and approvals at the time, and there were no issues during development. She wasn’t involved much in the later manufacturing stages, and since she wasn’t a primary official in the project, she hasn’t been held accountable yet.”
Gu Ting hesitated. “Father, what are you suggesting?”
“Has she already been brought back to the Capital Planet?” the former Emperor asked instead of giving a direct answer.
“She arrived today,” Gu Ting said. “I’ve already arranged for everything. You don’t need to worry.”
The former Emperor’s expression softened slightly. “This project struck at the very foundation of our nation. The punishment must be severe. But as for who is truly at fault, I trust you to judge wisely.”
Gu Ting lowered his head slightly, lost in thought. But before he could reply, the former Emperor had already turned and walked away.
Once the two old giants had finally left, Gu Ting let out a deep breath. He returned to the room, slumped into a chair, and poured himself a cup of tea.
“Finally, those two old men are gone.”
“Who are you calling old?”
Gu Ting jumped to his feet, scalding tea spilling across his hand, not that he noticed. His eyes widened as he stared at the person standing right in front of him. His soul nearly left his body.
“What the hell! Oh my god, oh my god!”
The air went dead silent. Gu Ting, still in shock, stumbled backward a full two meters and stared at the pale green figure in front of him.
“You’re awake?”
Meanwhile, in the southern region of the Capital Planet, a small transport ship landed steadily on a military landing pad. He Yu raised her hand to block the familiar sunlight. Behind her, two fully armed soldiers followed silently.
Ten years ago, she had left this planet full of ambition. She never imagined that she would return this way, not after a decade, and certainly not under these circumstances.
But she wasn’t the only one who had come back.
He Yu stepped onto a Capital Planet transport vehicle. Her thoughts drifted back ten years.
Back then, someone else had left the planet with her. They both set out on different paths, never looking back. And now, the deadline of that promise had arrived. She heard the other person had returned too.
But something about that return didn’t feel complete.
Time had changed everything. Even He Yu herself had come to terms with the past. Her memories of those youthful days had blurred. Even Tao Ran, once at the center of it all, was now a faint image in her mind.
What remained crystal clear, however, was the image of that infuriatingly arrogant face, that signature white hair, and that smirk that was always asking for a fight.
No one could have predicted that the two troublemakers who only bickered and fought during school days would end up like this a decade later. No one imagined that in a galactic era where the average lifespan exceeded five hundred years, one of them, still in her twenties, was nearly reduced to a black-and-white photo.
And worse, it seemed this tragedy might have been caused by her own family’s mistakes.