Supreme Electromagnetic Tyrant-Chapter 45 - 26: The Night of the Star Realm

This inn wasn’t large, with only three floors.

Ji Xinghuo walked out to the balcony of his room and could see the bustling street about dozens of meters away, with people coming and going.

Gazing into the distance, he could only see a small part of Olympia City.

This city was Earth’s hub in the Star Realm, initially managed by the "Star Realm Defense Council (ADC)" upon its construction; however, over the ensuing decades, the ADC gradually fell from power, global geostrategic disputes reignited, progressively evolving into the multipolar world of "two superpowers, two strong nations" of today.

The sovereignty of Olympia City reflected the political ecology of Earth.

Starting from several decades ago, Olympia City was roughly divided into four districts, each controlled by one of the four major powers on Earth.

As two superpowers, the Asia-Pacific Community and the American Federation naturally boasted the largest scope of influence.

One controlled the East Xia District, the other the South Star District.

The remaining two strong nations were the New Roman Empire and the Western Democracy Alliance.

The other countries all relied on the breath of the four major powers to have a foothold in Olympia City.

Ji Xinghuo’s location was in the East Xia District, which occupied a quarter of the entire city; over seventy percent was under the Asia-Pacific Community’s control, with the remaining thirty percent divided among its allies and economic partners.

Just the East Xia District alone housed more than five million people!

The permanent population of the whole Olympia City exceeded twenty million, a staggering figure unimaginable in the ancient times of Earth.

In a city without technology and modern architecture, the only way to accommodate so many people was to expand the districts.

Therefore, the length and breadth of Olympia City both exceeded fifty kilometers.

The city’s buildings stretched on endlessly, with no sight of an end, but no matter which direction one looked, a towering city wall was always visible.

Apart from Olympia, countries built other cities in areas far from the Star Gate.

For instance, the "Yanhuang City" of the Asia-Pacific Community was located over four hundred kilometers to the east of Olympia; while the "New Philly" of the American Federation was to the south.

In total, over twenty cities expanded the territories of all humankind by more than a million square kilometers.

However, Olympia was the most important.

Only here was travel between the Star Realm and Earth possible. It had the largest population, concentrated resources, millions of troops from various countries stationed, and with all surrounding dangers thoroughly eliminated, it was also the safest.

Ji Xingyan planned to stay in Olympia for a while.

With more than twenty million people in Olympia, if he was cautious enough, finding him would not be as hard as finding a needle in a haystack for the Sword Bureau, but it would still be quite difficult.

If he sensed trouble coming, he would change locations immediately.

After observing from the balcony for a while, Ji Xinghuo returned to his room.

He opened the Wanxiang Star Pupil interface, and those three arrows were still there; his body turned towards the largest of them and he immediately sensed guidance from a distant location again.

"What exactly could it be?"

Ji Xinghuo was quite expectant, but he didn’t rush out impulsively.

He remained still, concentrating on sensing the direction of the arrows, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t get any more information, only that clear connection.

"Hm?"

Ji Xinghuo suddenly frowned, "It can move?"

After sensing for another fifteen minutes, he finally confirmed that the direction indicated by the arrow was shifting. Although the degree of movement was small, he was sure it was indeed moving!

Ji Xinghuo’s heart sank. This was definitely bad news!

There were two possibilities.

One was that the object itself was mobile, which was highly unlikely since the Wanxiang Star Pupil itself didn’t have the capability to move.

The other was that it was being moved by another organism.

"Was it swallowed by some Star Realm creature?" Ji Xinghuo speculated inwardly, "Or perhaps, was it obtained by someone else?"

If it was the latter...

Ji Xinghuo gasped in shock, could the other party sense him if he could sense them?

If the other party was a terrifyingly powerful Star Realm expert and headed straight here, wouldn’t his hiding here bring disaster to Olympia City, even involving Earth as well?

Ji Xinghuo became somewhat restless.

But he didn’t act rashly, remaining in his room, constantly focused on sensing any changes in the direction of the arrows.

Time slowly passed.

The flow of time in the Star Realm was the same as on Earth. The difference was that a Star Realm day had 49.6 Earth hours, and there were more than just day and night.

In between day and night, there was also a "Star Night," thus a day was divided into three stages.

Several hours later, the "golden glow" from the west descended below the horizon, and the setting sun painted Olympia with a layer of golden light.

As the last ray of sunlight disappeared, rising from the eastern horizon was a "moon."

Ji Xinghuo watched this spectacle from the balcony.

The "moon" gently rose into the sky, half again as big as the golden glow but not as bright. The silvery-white light, mixed with splendid blues, created a dream-like moonlight that enshrouded the whole world, as if in a beautiful dream.

At the same time, stars began to twinkle in the distant firmament.

These stars were countless, forming a galaxy that spanned the entire sky; most were dim, but a few shone brightly.

Everyone was very familiar with this galaxy.

"The Milky Way reflection!"

Ji Xinghuo exclaimed in admiration.

Unlike viewing the Milky Way from Earth, one could see the entire galaxy in the Star Realm without any obscuring bands or dust.

It was as if viewing the entire galaxy from the front, tens of thousands of light-years away.

This phenomenon was utterly incomprehensible in terms of astronomy.

There were still many things in the Star Realm that were beyond understanding.

For instance, that "moon" is actually not a moon, it is a star too; astronomers have identified it as a blue-white giant star, called "Silverglow" by the original inhabitants of the Star Realm.

Silverglow’s volume is over a thousand times that of Golden Shine, but because it is so far away, its brightness is not as strong as Golden Shine’s, so it appears only half as large.

Besides Silverglow, there are four other "moons" in the sky.

Emits a crimson blood light is "Red Flame Star";

Radiates faint blue light is "Blue Lucent Star";

Resembles a spherical piece of jade is "Cuiwei Star";

The last one is shrouded in an eerie purple light, known as "Purple Extreme Star".

Astronomers do not know whether these are stars or planets; they are roughly similar in size, located in different directions, each with its own orbital velocity.

Sometimes the Four Stars can be seen during the day, and other times they disappear during the Star Night.

But in the darkness of night, they are mostly invisible.

Based on observational phenomena, astronomers have reached a shocking and outrageous conclusion: Whether it is Golden Shine or Silverglow, including the four colored stars, all orbit around the Star Realm.

This is somewhat similar to the "geocentric theory" from centuries ago, but it differs in many details.

However, there is no consensus as to whether the Star Realm itself is a planet.

Many astronomers have racked their brains over this issue.

The duration of Star Night is not fixed, changing every day.

Based on the cyclical regulation of Star Night’s duration, the Star Realm year is divided into two seasons, hot and cold. Each season has 328 days, further divided into nine months, each with its own name, with most months having 36 days, and a few having an extra day.

A "day" here refers to the duration on the Star Realm, which is 49.6 Earth hours.

It is now the "Warm Month" of the hot season, the fourth month of the year.

Star Night lasted 11 Earth hours.

Ji Xinghuo stayed in his room at the inn the whole time without leaving or sleeping, sensing the direction of the arrow every half a minute.

As Silverglow set, the sky was completely engulfed in darkness, the reflection of the Galaxy and the four colored stars also vanished.

Only then did true night begin.

The combined length of Star Night and darkness is fixed, exactly as long as the daylight, amounting to 24.8 Earth hours.

A cycle of daylight, Star Night, and darkness makes up a complete day in the Star Realm.

But tomorrow, the duration of Star Night will increase by 272 seconds.

During the hot season, Star Night extends by 272 seconds every day until the last day of "Peak Month," when Star Night lasts for 24.8 Earth hours, the same length as daylight, and the duration of darkness shrinks to zero.

This day marks the midpoint of the Star Realm year and also the hottest temperature.

The next day begins the cold season.

During the cold season, night falls right after daylight, followed by Star Night.

On the first day of the cold season, darkness lasts only 272 seconds, then gets longer day by day as the temperature also starts to drop, until the last day of "Cold Month," when darkness lasts the longest, and the duration of Star Night shortens to zero.

In this way, two seasons pass in eighteen months, and a Star Realm year of 656 days comes to an end.

A year in the Star Realm equals 3.7 Earth years!

Even in the darkness of night, Olympia remains brightly lit, and though there are no electric or oil lamps, there are numerous means of illumination in the Star Realm.

The most widely used in Olympia City is a type of crystal lamp, the main material is "Night Light Crystal."

It absorbs sunlight and stores energy during the day, then emits light at night. While not very bright, with sufficient quantity, it can provide illumination.

There are also several types of luminescent plants, when planted on streets and in homes, they can provide light.

Looking out from the balcony of the inn, Olympia City shines with spots of light like stars, the city appearing as an island within an endless sea of darkness.

Ji Xinghuo gazed out of the city with a sense of illusion.

In that unseen darkness, it seemed a great terror lay hidden.

Indeed, the night in the Star Realm is the most dangerous time, with most adventuring hunting teams and mutants considering it their greatest enemy.

Ji Xinghuo didn’t sleep at all that night.

More than a dozen hours later, Golden Shine rose again, illuminating the land.

This was his first day in the Star Realm, spent entirely in his room at the inn, without even stepping out to eat.

He concentrated on cultivation while keeping an eye on the changes in the arrow’s direction.

The second day, the third day...

Ji Xinghuo stayed at the inn for three days, then moved to another, farther one in the city, staying until the seventh day.

He had gotten used to the environment and climate of the Star Realm.

Most importantly, throughout these seven days, Ji Xinghuo had finally confirmed something.

The object indicated by the arrow moved in sync with the Star Realm’s daylight, Star Night, and darkness, moving most frequently during the day, moving also during Star Night, but coming to a complete stop during darkness.

This meant that the other party was indeed a "person," a member of an intelligent species!

However, their area of activity was limited to a specific range, with no indication of approaching him.

Ji Xinghuo breathed a sigh of relief.

"Only I can sense it, while the other party can’t sense me."

Although he wasn’t entirely certain, he was more than 99% sure. Otherwise, he would have had to return to Earth immediately, as he wouldn’t dare stay in the Star Realm for another day.

When it comes to personal safety, and even the safety of Olympia City, one can never be too cautious.

On the eighth day.

As Star Night began, Ji Xinghuo, with a backpack full of cash, walked out of the inn.