"Is it that hard to believe? A civilization's vision is determined by the height it has reached. I thought that after so many historical upheavals, not being arrogant toward other civilizations had become common sense."

Xi Yujin spoke calmly.

The other beings stiffened. Although Xi Yujin occupied only a corner of the spiral staircase, he had become the focal point of the entire auction hall. His gaze swept across all the beings present before finally settling on the alien who had provoked him.

"How many cultures did you find in your archaeological records of the Civilizational Contact era?" he asked.

The alien masked its insecurity with disdain. "What do you mean by how many cultures? What are you talking about?"

"You only found one," Xi Yujin said, already certain. "Just one. So you believe that your species was unified from the very beginning? That different regions never develop different customs? Did you prefer stone tools or bronze and iron? Did you come from the mountains or the riverbanks? Did you experience wars? Why did your dynasties change? Did different cultures merge or clash? What were your major historical turning points? How far did your philosophy develop? Were there genetic variations among your people? What are your views on art? Do you know any of this?"

The alien shouted, "S-So what if we don't?!"

Xi Yujin replied, "I offer my deepest regrets that your past is such a blank slate."

Quite a few aliens present had their sore spots struck. The Civilization Contact era was far too distant from them. Wars and migrations had occurred multiple times since then, leaving them with mere fragments of historical records with uncertain authenticity. The nearest alien retorted stubbornly, "How dare you show such disrespect to an ancient civilization!"

"You're doing the same," Xi Yujin said simply.

"Enough with the big talk! If Blue Planet really traces back to the Isolated Planet era, you should know that a single planet can host at most one culture. Because a planet's environment is essentially uniform."

The alien steadied itself, seizing on what it perceived as a flaw in Xi Yujin's argument.

"It was only in the later Civilization Contact era, when species discovered more habitable planets, that more splendid cultures could develop. The fact that we only found one culture is perfectly reasonable."

"Because you live at the bottom of a well, you assume the sky is only as big as its opening…"

Xi Yujin stopped engaging with the alien and brushed past it.

A trace of mental power unconsciously spilled from him. Though he couldn't fully control this ability yet, his reserves were deep enough to put the nearby aliens on alert. They parted instinctively, clearing a path for Xi Yujin and Gano.

Xi Yujin waved toward an empty space, and the six-eyed being in charge of reception immediately descended from the ceiling.

He folded the invitation into a paper airplane and placed it in the creature's hands. "I want to auction this. It can be exchanged for one viewing of Blue Planet's latest archaeological findings."

"O-Of course." The six-eyed being clutched the paper airplane, nodding nervously. "We'll personally notify you of the time of the next auction…"

The assembled high civilizations watched as the two figures left the venue. Not a single being dared to stop them, because Xi Yujin was right: arrogance was a capital sin in this universe. Some looked on with suspicion, others observed from the sidelines, but none chose to intervene. It felt as though dark clouds were gathering over the auction hall.

Xi Yujin walked straight toward the black market exit, and he overheard several staff members whispering.

"This is the eighth failed auction… What should we do?"

"…Will it be destroyed at the next stop?"

—

Tidal Peace.

In the reception lounge, Xi Yujin ground his teeth as he began crafting aliases. The lavish décor and wide view helped improve his mood a little. Gano had put on his armor and was sitting on top of Tidal Peace, probably catching the wind to clear his head.

Xi Yujin logged into the Black Box backend and created three new pages at once. His optical computer was split into several small screens, and the four asteroid Typing Machines floated up beside him, standing ready.

"I've figured out what the official novelists should do."

He rapidly typed out a long passage.

 

[

"On Blue Planet, official novelists are responsible for archaeology, restoration, and interpretation of ancient texts. They rarely produce original works and are also known as the Classical School. Freelance novelists pursue more contemporary expressions and are called the Modern School. Both originally came from the same source, but as Blue Planet's cultural development has flourished in recent years, conflicts between them have become inevitable. After countless literary battles, the rift between them grew wider…

But overall, things are still harmonious. After all, there are people like Yujin who belong to both schools."

]

 

Xi Yujin first looked at Jung's homepage and found himself at a loss. He assigned Jung's first public work as a Lovecraftian-style novel, which probably fit better under the Modern School.

Then inspiration struck! He added a new tag to Jung: Gothic novelist.

Gothic fiction originated on Earth in the late 18th century. Generally sensational and popular in nature, it carried a somber foundation, creating an atmosphere of mystery and morbid beauty. Common imagery included doom, curses, and ancient castles, which evokes a decadent aesthetic.

Why couldn't Lovecraftian fiction be considered the overseas neighbor-child of Gothic literature?

 

[

"Ms. Jung's archaeological focus is European and American culture, and she's deeply interested in Gothic art. But she's not a gloomy or sickly person herself. She simply believes that a withered rose is more beautiful than one in full bloom, and she calmly accepts that she doesn't fit in with her surroundings. She won't change herself for others, nor will she demand others to accommodate her.

She is an elegant Gothic lady."

]

 

Xi Yujin could already picture a woman with black-painted nails. He decorated Jung's homepage with Gothic elements so visitors could immediately identify her unique style.

"She should get along well with Yongye… Perhaps they’d have afternoon tea together?"

He added a repost to Jung's page: On the Differences Between English Black Tea and Chinese Black Tea.

He switched to EARTH:007 and created a new persona. The archaeological focus would naturally be Chinese civilization, the culture he knew best.

"I'll call him Qiongtian. Oh right, Canghai's tomb-raiding novel was also tied to Huaxia culture…"

Since he hadn't clearly defined each persona's specialty early on, there were several overlapping characteristics now. To better distinguish them, Xi Yujin had to work on their relationships.

"Let's say they were old friends, but are now estranged. The sky and the sea are destined to oppose each other."*

Xi Yujin's melodramatic impulses flared. He almost wanted to channel Xun Ming and write a gossip post that barely stopped at naming names. But business came first; he still had deadlines to meet.

He filled Qiongtian's homepage with fake links to archaeological articles:

 

[

"Latest Archaeological Findings on Dream of the Red Chamber: Did the Final Forty Chapters Truly Exist?"

"Was There a Dynasty Before Xia, Shang, and Zhou? A Summary of Tang-Yu Era Records."

"When a Dynasty Lasts Only Fifteen Years: Causes of Rapid Collapse."

]

 

"For the next persona, I want someone in poetry… Poems are shorter, so I can excavate them faster. This will prove that cultures other than China existed…"

Xi Yujin considered the most practical aspects first.

He thought of the poet Rabindranath Tagore, whose modern poetry was immensely influential. Though born in India, Tagore embraced pantheism, the belief that all things possess spirit. His work captured the wondrous beauty between humanity and nature.

This poetry-focused persona would be named Fuling, which meant Floating Spirit.

He hadn't figured out the personalities for Qiongtian and Fuling yet, so they were just rough shells. However, he could add details later. What mattered most were their archaeological discoveries.

Now, the circle of official novelists had four aliases: Jung, Qiongtian, Fuling, and the leader, Yujin. But since Yujin's retired from writing persona had to be maintained, there were essentially three active styles.

"Is three too few?"

Xi Yujin always liked to have backup plans. He reviewed the three personas and discovered a glaring oversight: all three were far too dedicated to their work.

That wasn't normal!

Who doesn't slack off at work?

Blue Planet's office was missing a habitual slacker!

So he created EARTH:009 and introduced a young man who specialized in slacking off: Mingxing.

Mingxing's archaeological focus was Japanese literature, for no particular reason other than familiarity. Perhaps from reading so much of it, his writing style had gradually drifted in that direction. Mingxing's homepage featured only a short poem he'd written:

"Happiness is like a transparent cover around a person.

I walk down the street,

Pressed by them until I am as thin as paper."

His outlook on life might be gloomy, but Mingxing was happily slacking off all the same.

The Blue Planet Novelists' Office was officially open for business!

Yujin, who was always away on diplomatic missions. The diligent and responsible Ms. Jung. Qiongtian and Fuling were still lacking detailed backstories. And Mingxing, the melancholic slacker youth.

Everyone, work hard! Scale new heights! Achieve even greater success!

Suddenly, Xi Yujin realized that he should highlight Yujin's distinct status. So he had every persona repost a piece of inspirational chicken soup for the soul that Yujin had written, adding their own comments.

 

"Very well written [thumbs up][smile]."

"Liked it [flower bouquet]."

"Looks great, immediately sharing to my friend group [dancing][dancing]."

 

In truth, the inspirational piece wasn't particularly profound. But Yujin was the boss.

Respecting the boss was the unspoken rule of the office.

Gano returned to Tidal Peace and removed his armor. He took a deep breath, and his whole body finally relaxed.

He hadn't been in a good mood since leaving the black market, especially after those beings had directed hostility at Yujin. After escorting Yujinno back, he'd thought it over, but still felt unhappy. In the end, he secretly slipped back to the black market ship and gave them a beating.

He wasn't worried about consequences. In this universe, ambushing someone with a sack and roughing them up happened often enough that it barely counted as news.

Still, he had been extremely careful. He would never let any being catch Blue Planet making even the slightest mistake.

Among the Zerg, he specialized in infiltration and intelligence gathering: an excellent reconnaissance-class warrior. But strictly speaking, his evaluation scores were not the highest among his kind.

Yet on the day he decided to leave, he had still managed to forcibly seize the Ers Royal Armor from the most elite warriors, equip it, leap into an extremely unstable wormhole, and survive. From that day on, Gano understood one thing: never trust genetic data.

After escaping, he drifted through the universe, slowly pondering the meaning of his actions, but he never found an answer. His mind held vast knowledge, and his armor contained inexhaustible data. Yet his soul was as blank as a sheet of paper.

The world was complex and crowded. He felt like staring at a tangled ball of thread, with no idea where to begin unraveling it.

Until…

"Gano, you're back." Xi Yujin was still busy at his optical computer. "Was it nice sitting on top of Tidal Peace and catching the wind?" He assumed Gano had been sitting on the roof.

Gano nodded awkwardly.

This was the first time he had lied…

He rushed back immediately after beating up the aliens because even with the armor core beside Yujinno, he could only feel at ease seeing him with his own eyes.

At that moment, the four small asteroids beside Yujinno were firing at full power, clattering away at their keyboards.

"I'm acting as a paid online commenter," Xi Yujin paused his typing to explain. "I'm fighting for my personas. They clearly know so much, but those beings ignored all their work. I won't let others slander us. A persona is a person, too! You understand, right, Gano?" He looked up, his gaze clear and sincere.

Gano looked as if he'd been struck on the spot. Even his speech faltered. "I… I can help…"

Gano was far too easy to fool. What would he do if he met someone truly bad?

Xi Yujin couldn't help but think.

Out of a faint sense of guilt, he only let Gano observe what was being said in the temporary chatroom.

The temporary chatroom gave every passenger a nickname, changeable once every 42 universal hours. Chat history was completely wiped every 42 universal hours as well. This guarantee of privacy made conversations far more uninhibited.

The current topic kept circling back to Blue Planet. Occasionally, a passenger or two would make sarcastic remarks while those who hadn't been to the black market were confused. However, most passengers were simply watching.

Suddenly, one passenger shared their chat record.

"I chatted with Ms. Jung. The archaeological work of their Blue Planet civilization is incredibly meticulous. So this is what Blue Planet's Isolated Planet era was like."

In the record, the passenger seemed to be discussing submissions to The Investigator Files. They had noticed Jung's distinctive diction and asked whether it was a characteristic of Blue Planet.

 

[ 

If I understand correctly, I believe a romantic interpretation of death is universal. However, in my archaeological work, within Blue Planet's long river of ancient culture, I did find an even finer way to articulate it. That is why I love my work so deeply.

 —

A finer way?

—

Perhaps not merely one way, but rather one facet of a diamond whose outer surface glimmers with light. Yet that is enough to make me gasp softly: how beautiful, please, pause for a moment.

—

I still don't understand.

—

Our archaeological research on Blue Planet has already reached the Isolated Planet era.

—

What?

—

We've discovered that on that single planet, over thousands of years, thousands upon thousands of literary schools flourished. We have to expend a lot of effort to distinguish them. That is what my office colleagues have been working on.

—

Thousands upon thousands? Wait, that's amazing. Ms. Jung, may I share this chat record publicly? This is incredible! It's my first time communicating with a civilization that can trace archaeology back to the Isolated Planet era! I'm too excited.

—

Of course. That's lovely. May I continue? I found a type of literature devoted to evoking emotion. Through poetic aesthetics, it immerses people in the evolution of feeling. It was heavily influenced by the Middle Ages…

—

The Middle Ages?

—

A period in European history before the Renaissance.

—

European? Renaissance?

—

The Renaissance refers to an intellectual and cultural movement, while the European refers to Europe, which is a region on Earth defined by a conceptual boundary. There are also Asia and the Americas, but those are not my specialization. If you're interested, you may consult my colleagues.

—

There's more?

—

And it spans a very long time. The literary period I study flourished for only about three hundred years, and the entire river of history contains far more.

—

How could there be so much?!

]

 

"No way…"

"Thousands upon thousands? That's just an exaggeration, right?"

"Any concrete examples? If Jung can write in a style different from Travelling with Ctulrt, I'll believe it. Travelling with Ctulrt also uses diction to make readers feel different emotions. Is this so-called Gothic the same?"

"I'll be honest, I actually asked, and Ms. Jung generously showed me her exam essay, The White Candle."

 

[

The White Candle described a woman who lived unhappily in a gloomy, ancient castle. Her daily activities consisted of wandering the lawn and eating her meals made of peas.

White candles would keep appearing and lighting themselves in corners of the castle. The flames weren't large, but they filled the castle with smoke. The woman nearly fainted from it all.

She always felt a strange terror toward the white candles, never daring to approach them, and could only pray for them to burn out quickly. Living in the castle left her perpetually anxious. Every night, she would hear doors creak open, beastlike muffled groans, and the drip of water. She suspected that it was the white candles' curse, after all, they burned and burned yet never grew shorter.

One day, she opened a drawer and found rows of white candles lined up like corpses. Startled, she fled through the main doors in a panic. She rarely went outside because the world beyond was too strange and unsettling. Sure enough, the moment she stepped out, a grotesque black cat let out a sharp, wretched cry at her. It sounded like a baby's wail.

As if driven by some omen, the woman could no longer endure this life. She used all her strength to run back to her room, seized a pair of sharp scissors, and snapped the wick of the white candle. 

The white candle went out.

Several days later, the castle was deserted.

Passing neighbors chatted idly:

"Have you heard? A few days ago, that schizophrenic woman slit her husband's throat."

]

 

The temporary chatroom was full of praise for Ms. Jung's writing. Some passengers aboard the Navigator Colossus quickly finished The White Candle and convened emergency meetings with their own kind. They were the elites within their species who possessed refined literary appreciation skills.

"Though both depict fear, the schools are indeed completely different," said one passenger who had attended the black market with a grave face.

"Travelling with Ctulrt leans toward fear of the unknown, rooted in a cold, indifferent universe. On the other hand, The White Candle probes human inner emotions, focusing on individual fate. The truth of events turns out to be quite mundane, but its language lets us experience subtle emotional shifts that we might otherwise overlook…"

"And the imagery is clearly different," another added. "The choice of imagery is a fairly distinct way to distinguish literary schools. Lovecraftian works are always oozing, viscous, and cold. The White Candle, by contrast, clearly has a chill wind blowing through it, something softer, and even tinged with a kind of end-of-life warmth. Look at the castle, the candles, the restrictive black dress. Compared to writhing tentacles, isn't that more… beautiful?"

"So Blue Planet's Isolated Planet era truly had a Gothic literary tradition…"

"But couldn't this just be contemporary Blue Planet literature, passed off as archaeological material to deceive us?" a newcomer asked timidly.

"What did you learn in your literary appreciation class?!" someone retorted. "Imagery carries historical significance. If this literature were born today, why would the title reference 'a lighting tool made of paraffin wax'? And fabricate its internal structure? Even if we give them the benefit of the doubt, this still proves that Blue Planet had an extraordinarily ancient period."

"Enough arguing," another passenger interjected. "I found Jung's homepage. It seems to be a mirror site, so it's accessible within the ship. Take a look."

They enlarged and shared their optical screen.

Jung's homepage displayed designs that none of them had ever seen before. Dark yet ornate patterns perfectly embodied a peculiar aesthetic. On Earth, netizens would likely comment: "Another Gothic enthusiast."

One motif could be fabricated. A single short story couldn't serve as proof.

But from these interwoven, mutually reinforcing fragments of evidence, they seemed to glimpse a vast, tightly structured entity. Only one creator could craft something so intricate, and it was history itself.

A chill ran through them.

"Could it be... that Blue Planet's Isolated Planet era really had that many cultures?"

 

 

Author's Note:

* The name "Fuling" came from a reader's suggestion. It happened to fit perfectly, so thank you~

* The literary appreciation knowledge referenced in this chapter is also made up.