***

First thing the next morning, the two alphas Klaire sent escorted Xi Wei to planet Nami. However, just when they were halfway there, Uncle Berg gave him an urgent video call. “Xi Wei, don’t come to planet Nami, turn back immediately!”

Confused, Xi Wei said, “What’s going on?”

“That madman Auguste actually prepared an interstellar nuclear missile. He’s aimed it at planet Nami, and he’s going to blow it to pieces!” Berg said angrily.

Xi Wei was stunned. Humans had managed to develop up to the present for a reason. In order to avoid the harmful effects of nuclear weapons on the universal environment, as early as the founding of the Empire, the first emperor had banned the research and development of nuclear weapons. He hadn’t expected that for the sake of wiping out resistance, Auguste was actually crazy enough to use an interstellar nuclear missile.

This kind of guided missile was intensely lethal. Its advanced, high-grade positioning system could accurately reach the appointed coordinates through a hyperleap. Once successfully launched, it could straight out blow up a small planet, not to mention planet Nami, which was used purely for natural resources and didn’t have strong military defenses.

Right now, the Glory Corps, the Cobra Corps and Klaire were all on planet Nami!

If Auguste’s nuclear weapon successfully started up, it would wipe out absolutely everything—blowing everyone who was a threat to him into pieces!

Xi Wei felt a chill down his spine. He couldn’t help but ask worriedly, “Uncle, how’s your situation over there? Have you all evacuated?”

“Yes.” Berg nodded and said, “It’s a good thing we realized what Auguste was plotting ahead of time. Right now, all of the troops on planet Nami have already withdrawn to Hilter, a no man’s land. After we finish reorganizing, we’ll go to the Lyra galaxy to join you.”

Xi Wei finally let out a sigh of relief. “That’s good, then Sia and I will return to the Lyra galaxy to wait for you.”

“That’s right, after you return, immediately contact the Lyra galaxy’s television stations. The television stations on the capital planet are all under Auguste’s control. We need to make a media announcement of the reestablishment of the royal family as soon as possible.” Berg said seriously.

Xi Wei nodded immediately and said, “Don’t worry, Uncle, leave this to me!”

***

After they returned to the Lyra galaxy, Xi Wei had his little sister go home to wait for news. He personally went to Lyra’s central television station and informed the station director of his purpose in coming.

The elderly director looked at him awkwardly. “Prince, if you make a public announcement on a Lyra TV station, it’ll be like we’re openly opposing President Auguste…”

“President?” Xi Wei said coldly, “How many people have acknowledged him as president?”

“Uh...this…”

Xi Wei walked up a step and looked calmly at him. He said word by word, “The Glory Corps, the Cobra Corps and the Morningstar Corps are all standing on the side of the royal family. You can weigh exactly what that traitor Auguste’s odds of success are! What’s more, the “marshal’s last wish” he spoke of is just a baseless fabrication, the marshal isn't dead at all!”

“But...Your Royal Highness, I can’t just rely on your side of the story to open the TV station. The Empire has expressly stipulated that in order to make a public statement on TV, you have to pass through three stages of investigation…”

“What investigation!” Seeing the station director still using all sorts of excuses, Xi Wei was at the end of his patience. He shouted, “Egret, tie him up for me!”

“Yes, owner!” Following Xi Wei’s command, Egret bound the old station director to a chair with magnetic handcuffs.

The indoor alarm started to beep in warning, and the TV station security guards swarmed in. The jet-black muzzles of ion guns aimed accurately at Xi Wei.

Xi Wei looked back, and his cold gaze swept over them. “Who dares to fire?”

The guards looked at each other in dismay, wondering what to do for a moment.

The old director said, shocked, “P-Prince, you can’t act like this, you're breaking the law by holding the TV station director hostage…”

“Shut up!” Xi Wei didn’t feel like wasting words on him, and stuffed a napkin straight into his mouth.

“Put your guns down.” Xi Wei looked back at the crowd of alpha guards and frowned. “Or you can try and see if your guns are faster than an S-class mecha!”

Just as he spoke, Egret followed his owner’s desires and suddenly transformed, turning into a huge, snow-white magnetic blade. Xi Wei took it by the handle and swept it across the crowd of alphas. With a few loud bangs, all of the metal ion guns in the alphas’ hands were attracted to Egret!

Xi Wei’s movements were simply too fast. Before the group of alphas could react, the prince took away their weapons. They looked at their empty hands and were immediately dumbstruck.

Xi Wei threw the heap of ion guns in the corner. He looked back at the team of alpha guards whose jaws had collectively dropped, and calmly said, “As alphas of the Empire, your guns should be left to deal with the Federation, and shouldn’t be pointed at the Imperial prince! Let me through!”

“...”

The group of people looked at Xi Wei with embarrassment. Xi Wei walked over quickly, and they conscientiously parted and stood on either side to make way for him. At that moment, the alphas who’d never seen the eldest prince Xi Wei in person before finally understood that he wasn’t called the big beast for nothing! Xi Wei was simply too fierce!

—Desperate times called for desperate measures. Since they weren’t willing to cooperate, Xi Wei didn’t mind using force.

By the time Caesar, Berg and the others arrived at the Lyra galaxy, Xi Wei had already successfully occupied the TV station. He’d tied up the station director, and the group of alpha guards stayed awkwardly in the office, not daring to resist. The eldest prince was too terrifying; no one could beat him at hand-to-hand, not to mention he also brought an S-class mecha with him!

Berg was very pleased with this situation. He smiled and patted Xi Wei’s shoulder. “Good job!”

Xi Wei asked anxiously, “Uncle, how are Father and Mother right now?”

Berg said, “Don’t worry, I had Little Yuan fly the SS-class mecha back to the capital planet to rescue them. Right now they’re hiding at the capital planet Underground Alliance headquarters, in the Locke Castle underground city. They’re very safe.”

After going round in circles, he hadn’t expected that the SS-class mecha the Underground Alliance had been developing for many years had finally found an owner—the omega Caesar liked, Lin Yuan. Xi Wei had once taught him many techniques for piloting mechas. That this mecha would acknowledge him as his owner was well-deserved!

When he heard this, Xi Wei finally felt a little relief. He looked them over and found that Klaire wasn’t there.

Berg saw him looking back and forth and immediately understood who he was looking for. He couldn’t resist smiling slightly, and said, “Don’t worry, Klaire’s fine too. While we were evacuating planet Nami, we discovered a small unit of Federal troops sneaking around near the Iswell galaxy. Klaire led the Morningstar Corps to clear them up.”

Xi Wei nodded. He walked up to Caesar and said, “Caesar, have you prepared the public statement about reviving the royal family that Uncle wanted you to announce?”

Caesar looked at his big brother and nodded seriously. “I’ve done it.”

Xi Wei smiled slightly, reached out and held his little brother’s hand tight.

His Majesty Trand was trapped on the capital planet, but he still had two sons. Xi Wei wanted to let everyone know that the Empire still had two princes, Caesar and him, an alpha and an omega. The royal family absolutely wouldn’t let anyone bully and humiliate them!

***

On the morning of July 10, 799 of the universal calendar, the head of the Glory Corps, Rosen Bessemer, who had returned from the battlefield; Drew Bech, the head of the Cobra Corps; and Major General Ling Yu, the head of the Night Corps, who’d been missing for many years, made a public appearance live on TV at the same time, to announce the establishment of the Imperial Alliance, in support of Prince Caesar’s restoration of the royal family.

That morning, the Lyra galaxy TV stations gave a live broadcast of the two princes making a public announcement to the imperial people.

The eighteen-year-old Prince Caesar, heir to the imperial throne, stood calmly in front of the media, facing the camera with a steady equilibrium that transcended his age. He said to the imperial people, “My father once proposed a motion that was unanimously overruled by the military. Standing here today, representing the royal family, I once again put forth this motion that truly stands for freedom and democracy—”

“First, to establish a new congress. As the highest authority in the Empire, the congress’s members will be publicly elected from the citizens of the major galaxies, including representatives from all walks of life, alpha, beta and omega, distributed according to demographic proportion. In the future, every major decision in the Empire will be decided by vote among the members of the congress.”

“Second, to approve the regulation of omega pheromone suppressants, and let omegas enjoy the same freedoms as alphas and betas. Before turning eighteen, all omegas can choose the school of their choice, and after turning eighteen, they can marry as they choose…”

“Third, when evaluating employees for promotion in every profession, remove the influence of gender. Whether alpha, beta or omega, their promotion should be determined entirely on the basis of their own capabilities…”

“As an alpha, I’ve always believed that heaven bestowed us with strong physiques and excellent genes not to oppress and control others, but to protect the people we want to protect!”

“As a prince, I’ve also always believed that the Lacey Empire isn’t the empire of our royal family, nor the empire of the privileged military class, but the empire of all of the people!”

Caesar’s speech immediately brought deafening applause and cheers from the audience. The enthusiastic applause almost brought the roof down. Many beta reporters had hot tears in their eyes. For betas and omegas, the proposal of this motion was like the bright dawn of a new era breaking across the horizon in the pitch-black night!

It wasn’t just the reporters on the scene who were stirred up. The people in front of the TV, watching the live broadcast, were also so astonished they couldn’t speak for a long time.

—Omegas could have freedom? They could choose the school they liked? Could choose their marriage for themselves?

—Betas would no longer have to worry that they’d never be able to be promoted because of their identity, that they’d be mediocre all their life and accomplish nothing?

—The members of Congress would be distributed according to the proportion of the three genders, ABO? In other words, omegas would also have a chance to enter Congress? In the future betas, who had the greatest numbers, would occupy more than half of Congress and have the right to speak?!

—This was simply unbelievable!

An astonishing reform like this could be said to have completely broken through the traditional imperial rules that had lasted for hundreds of years. This wasn’t just repairing the original house, but straight out demolishing its foundations, and building a brand-new palace on top.

After implementing this reform, the Empire would look completely new.

Xi Wei listened to his brother say this word by word, and the rims of his eyes felt a bit hot.

Ever since he was reborn in this world, he had always hoped that one day, omegas would be able to break away from the difficulties of gender, and truly stand on an equal footing with betas and alphas. Now, that day had finally arrived!

Xi Wei faced the camera, and with an attitude that was similarly neither servile nor overbearing, he smiled and said, “As an omega prince, I believe there are many omegas who long for freedom and equality like I do, and aren’t willing to be reduced to childbearing machines. If your child is an omega, do you have the heart to send them to Ellen Academy in the distant Andromeda galaxy when they’re only fourteen years old, and not have them come home again for four whole years; to marry them off to an alpha the system matched them with when they’re eighteen years old, who they’ve never seen before; and to part from then on, and never see each other again?

Xi Wei paused, looked calmly at the camera, and said, “I don’t want the next generation to suffer this kind of treatment. If my child is an omega, I hope that they’ll be able to obtain the things they desire, and live freely and happily!”

After the conference, Uncle Berg personally announced the establishment of an organization made up completely of omegas to the reporters, named, “The Underground Alliance.” Berg was the chief, and Xi Wei was the deputy chief and the successor to his position. This organization would completely replace the functions of the Omega Protection Association, and its number one guiding principle was equality and independence. Only this could be called truly protecting omegas.

Far away in the Iswell galaxy, Klaire saw this scene through Bluestar’s live broadcast, and he couldn’t help the corners of his lips rising slightly into a smile.

—Xi Wei, the new age you were looking forward to is on the eve of its arrival.

—And I, as the alpha who loves you, will definitely respect your wishes and give you the freedom you want.

—You don’t have to worry about the troubles and disturbances that your omega identity will bring you anymore. In the future, we can stand side by side without anything in our way, never to part.

***

4 hours and 22 minutes for 2,394 words, or 10.9 minutes for every 100 words. A decrease in rate by 1.9 minutes. I have a feeling that if I was translating this say, four months ago, it’d be very painful. Luckily I’ve improved since then...

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