Chapter 1: The Silver Leopard

In the year 3**2, an explorer spaceship voyaged through the vast starry sky.

Aboard was a peculiar ensemble.

Grandfather, born in 3780 AD, was 112 years old this year, a career military man who retired as a lieutenant general at the age of 100. He was the former commander of the Special Mech Assault Corps, known as Lin Junbao. In the mech forces, he had a nickname, Silver Leopard, and had evolved to the eleventh tier. His greatest wish was to engage in interstellar exploration after retirement.

Grandmother, eleven years younger than grandfather, was 101 years old this year. She was a renowned human evolution scientist, a first-class academician at the Human Science and Technology Evolution Research Institute, named Zhong Beimu, and had evolved to the ninth tier. Her greatest wish was to nurture her grandchildren to adulthood, to roam the stars with her spouse, and to search for the nameless planet where the miraculous evolutionary agent was once discovered.

The elderly couple had three sons and one daughter, but none were by their side.

Thanks to the evolutionary agent, it was common for humans to marry around the age of forty, and to have children at an even later age, so their children still had their own work to do.

Knowing it was impossible for the old man to have his children join him on his adventures, he asked them to send their grandchildren to the spaceship, under the guise of: "Utilizing my remaining years to let my children work with peace of mind."

Thus, the spaceship was home to four mischievous grandsons. To the old man's regret, none of his four children had a daughter.

The name of the spaceship was the Silver Leopard. In addition to the elderly couple and four grandsons, there were five crew members onboard, all of whom were the old man's subordinates. After retiring, they did not want to go elsewhere and joined their old commander.

The eldest grandson, Lin Qiyong, was 28 years old and an excellent pilot of small fighter mechs. He had evolved to the third tier and could walk briefly in space without protection, with extremely agile reflexes and a hearty and warm personality.

The second grandson, Lin Qimeng, was 25 years old, with a robust physique and a fondness for combat. He too had evolved to the third tier, but unlike others, upon reaching this level, he stepped into the ranks of super-evolvers, becoming a primary awakener, commonly known as an Earth Waker. He was usually quiet and reserved, but in terms of individual combat capability, he was second to none on the spaceship.

The third was the eldest grandson on the maternal side, Ke Zhenfeng, who was 19 years old. He was fond of mechanical electronics and weapon manufacturing, earning him the moniker "Weapon Whiz Kid," and had evolved to the first tier.

The youngest grandson, Lin Qiyu, was only 16 years old. He was the apple of his grandmother's eye, a mischievous little rascal, a daring spirit who dared to touch and try anything. He was the joy of the spaceship and was closest to Ke Zhenfeng.

He was the only one on the spaceship who had not been injected with the evolutionary agent and was the focus of everyone's protection. He was also a master on the Federal Virtual Network, skilled at cracking various passwords.

The Silver Leopard exploration spaceship was a gift from a group of old brothers after Lin's retirement. They renovated and refurbished an abandoned medium mech assault ship, installing a fair amount of military-grade weaponry and equipment on it.

They knew the old man wanted to explore the stars, and knowing that many unknowns would be encountered during interstellar travel, these additions were like extra insurance.

The volume of this spaceship was twice that of a typical civilian exploration ship, and in the eyes of civilian explorers, this ship was a bit of an anomaly.

There was only one laboratory on board, which was exclusively used by grandmother Zhong Beimu, while there were five weapon storage rooms, all dedicated compartments. One of the rooms was over 200 square meters, housing twelve of the latest single-soldier fighter mechs.

The most extreme feature was that two particle beam cannons were added to each side of the spaceship, with a high-powered laser cannon at the bow, along with numerous missiles hidden beneath the armor.

The entire spaceship was equipped with eighteen layers of high-energy shielding, six more than its prototype, the "medium mech assault ship," and was nearly on par with heavy mech ships, which only had twenty-one layers of high-energy shielding.

Upon seeing this ship, the old man was so delighted that he couldn't stop smiling for three days. He didn't intend to use this formidable ship for attacking anyone; instead, he felt as if he was still in the military, still commanding his beloved mech ship.

Old man Lin Junbao sat in the command cabin of the spaceship, leisurely sipping cloud and mist tea, with his eldest grandson Lin Qiyong at the helm.

After the modification, this kind of spaceship could be piloted by just two people, and it could also be set to autopilot, much easier than the military's mech ships. However, once the weapon system was activated, at least five people were required, although it could also attack automatically, it was not as effective without human control.

Lin Qiyong complained, "Grandpa, we've been to seven or eight nameless planets already, what exactly is grandma looking for?"

Lin Junbao smiled and took a sip of tea, saying, "I'm not sure what your grandma is looking for, it's all very mysterious. Why don't you ask her yourself?"

"Ah! Yong'er, look over there, this planet doesn't seem to be on the star chart!"

Lin Junbao pressed a button on the armrest and said, "Lao Gao, come here for a moment..." He thought for a moment, then pressed another button and said, "Bei Mu, I've found an unknown planet, are you coming?"

The tenderness in his voice was hard to believe coming from a centenarian.

Lin Qiyong laughed, "Grandpa, every time I hear you call grandma... hehe, Yong'er can't stand it."

Lin Junbao chuckled and scolded, "You rascal! Are you asking for a beating again? Afterward, I'll punish you to clean the second cabin... You dare to make fun of your grandpa!"

Lin Qiyong wailed, "Grandpa, make me clean the cabin again? No! I didn't say anything just now, did I?"

Lao Gao hurried in, and Lin Qiyong said, "Hello, Uncle Gao!"

Lao Gao was Lin Junbao's close friend who had faced life and death together, having served as the commander of the Special Mech Assault Army's assault brigade. His name was Gao Liansheng, and due to a serious injury, he became severely disabled and retired early.

He was a master of tactics and had once evolved to the twelfth tier, but after being injured, he regressed to the seventh tier.

He smiled and said, "Xiao Yong, shall we have another match one day?"

Lin Qiyong raised a hand, clenched his fist, and said, "Next time, I will definitely win!"

Lin Junbao pointed to a muddy yellow planet on the port side and said, "Why isn't this planet marked on the star chart?"

Gao Liansheng squinted, took a close look, then turned to check the interstellar map. After a while, he said, "You're right, this is a new one. Shall we go investigate? Or should we call your wife over?"

Lin Junbao said, "I've already called her; she might be with Yu'er." He pressed the intercom button again: "Bei Mu, would you like to come take a look?"

"Jun Bao, stop calling, I'm coming... Oh, Yu'er, what are you doing? I told you that you can't inject the evolutionary agent yet, Yu'er be good! Listen to grandma, you have to wait until you're eighteen to use the evolutionary agent, not now."

A woman with white hair but the figure of a woman in her thirties entered the cabin door; she was the mistress of the spaceship, Zhong Beimu, followed closely by a teenager, their beloved youngest grandson, Lin Qiyu.

Lin Qiyu was only one hundred and sixty-five centimeters tall, with a soft facial shape that resembled his grandmother's, lively eyes, and a slender figure. Because he had not yet been injected with the evolutionary agent, it was still unclear what his future development would look like.

Lin Junbao smiled and said, "Yu'er, come here."

Lin Qiyu called out, "Hello, Grandpa, Uncle Gao, big brother, when can I drive for real? It's so boring always driving on the simulator; it would be much more exciting to do it for real."

He was not only bold and mischievous but also the most flattering of the four children.

Zhong Beimu examined the star chart carefully and questioned, "This planet is very strange; analyze its composition."

Lao Gao walked over to the control panel, quickly pressed the keyboard, and said at the same time, "Analyze... planet composition... main components..."

Royal Road is the home of this novel. Visit there to read the original and support the author.

As he spoke, a series of light green numbers appeared on a glass-like transparent display screen on the side, jumping upwards.

Lin Junbao was surprised and said, "Eh, the oxygen content is so high, there are signs of water, hmm, signs of life... This planet is very strange; it's odd that a planet with life hasn't been developed. Beimu, shall we land and investigate?"

Before anyone could speak, they heard Lin Qiyu exclaim, "Yay! Finally, something fun to do! Grandpa, grandma, I'm going to get my gear ready; this time, I must go."

Without waiting for a response, he dashed out of the cockpit door to find Ke Zhenfeng.

Gao Liansheng laughed and said, "The little guy has been cooped up for too long, but Yu'er still can't be in the first group to go down; let's understand the situation first."

Lin Qiyong laughed and said, "If Xiao Yu hears Uncle Gao say that, he'll go crazy."

Lin Junbao laughed and said, "Yong'er, don't make fun of your little brother; if Yu'er starts to evolve, even you brothers might not be able to compete with him."

Zhong Beimu said, "Jun Bao, what have you taught the children? They're always fighting and causing trouble; there's not a single quiet one. I think only Feng'er is the most honest, always in his room tinkering with various devices... Alas, none of these children like the profession grandma studies; it seems I have no successor."

Lin Junbao proudly stroked his beard and quietly winked at Gao Liansheng.

Gao Liansheng, well aware of his old commander's meaning, smiled slightly and said, "Yes, madam, there's no need to feel regretful; these children are all excellent, and Yu'er is particularly good. Last time I had a simulated confrontation with him, I almost lost; he's even better than Yong'er."

Lin Qiyong grinned and said, "We are now entering the circular orbit; let's start timing. We have four hours and eighteen minutes left."

He felt very unconvinced, thinking to himself that Uncle Gao must have deliberately let him win.

Lin Qiyu sprinted all the way, following the left passage, straight to the number one hangar, where the single-soldier fighter mechs were parked.

Pushing open the hatch, he shouted, "Third brother! Third brother! Where are you? Come out quickly!"

"Clank!"

The bottom hatch cover flipped open from the ground, and a head emerged from below, a chubby round face covered in grease and dirt.

He said, "Rain brother, what are you shouting about in such a hurry? Come down here!" The head retreated back in.

Lin Qiyu quickly ran to the hatch, grabbed the edge, and nimbly leaped down.

This was a bottom cargo hold of about fifteen square meters, formerly a place for mechs to store spare parts. Ke Zhenfeng had converted this into his private workshop and storage room.

Lin Qiyu, not yet evolved, was always with Ke Zhenfeng, making small devices to compete with his brothers. Over the years, the two youngsters had come up with many strange and unusual gadgets.

Ke Zhenfeng could be considered a genius in manufacturing, a master of assembling machines. No matter what he got his hands on, he could always modify it in an unimaginable way.

He and Lin Qiyu were the best of friends, and he had made many strange gadgets for him. Upon hearing that they were going to explore an unnamed planet, Lin Qiyu first thought of asking Ke Zhenfeng to prepare things.

Lin Qiyu excitedly said, "Third brother, we're about to explore an unnamed planet. Help me get ready... I can finally have some fun; haha, I'm so happy, third brother, are you going?"

Ke Zhenfeng looked at him skeptically and said, "Rain brother, did Grandpa agree to let you go? Don't get your hopes up for nothing. Last time, I prepared for you for half a day, and in the end, you just walked around the deck and came back..."

Lin Qiyu exclaimed, "Bah! Bah! You're such a jinx! I'm definitely going this time! Do you know why?"

Ke Zhenfeng wondered, "Why? Did Grandma speak up for you?"

Lin Qiyu said triumphantly, "No way, Grandma wouldn't help me with this... Because this planet has oxygen and life, and it's newly discovered by Grandpa and them, which means they can't use the excuse that I haven't evolved yet to stop me. Isn't that exciting? Haha, I'm so happy!"

Ke Zhenfeng knew that last time, it was just because of Grandpa's words, "Rain hasn't evolved yet and can't adapt to the environment of this planet," that he was sent back, and he had been holding a grudge ever since.

Seeing Lin Qiyu's eyes shining with excitement, Ke Zhenfeng really didn't want to disappoint him, so he said, "Alright! It will be the same set of equipment as last time."

Lin Qiyu said, "Third brother is the best, third brother... haha, third brother, please help me..."

Ke Zhenfeng's small eyes immediately widened: "You little rascal, what scheme are you plotting now?"

Lin Qiyu spun his lively big eyes, looking ingratiating: "Third brother! Bring that kinetic gun we modified to fire rapidly...

He stealthily observed his third brother's expression and continued, "And that high-performance, rapidly extendable vibration knife, and those mini super automatic homing missiles as thick as fingers..."

Ke Zhenfeng's plump face scrunched up: "Rain brother, are you going on an adventure or to war? Giving you so many weapons for this little troublemaker, Grandpa and Grandma would skin me alive! I can't give you these; at most, I can give you an electric gun. I can give you the best protective suit and the best helmet scanner, okay? Forget it, I'll give you the multifunctional boots too!"

Lin Qiyu wailed, "Th... i... r... d... brother... Waaaaaah! An electric gun? That kind of gun is only good for shooting sparrows, it's too lame, third brother... Good third brother..."

Ignoring him, Ke Zhenfeng walked to the metal wall, kicked a part of the base with his foot, and "bang," a piece of the wall flipped down from the top, revealing a digital keypad.

He quickly entered a long string of numbers and pressed the confirmation button.

"Clatter!" The metal wall trembled slightly and slowly slid open, and the fluorescent lights inside turned on automatically.

Lin Qiyu knew this was his third brother's treasure storage room. He rushed in and reached for the kinetic gun on the shelf.

Ke Zhenfeng held it down and said, "Rain brother, it's not that I won't give it to you, this gun is too dangerous even for someone who has evolved to the sixth level."

Lin Qiyu made a wry face and said, "Third brother, then give me other weapons. I don't want the electric gun, good third brother! Third brother!"

Ke Zhenfeng, exasperated by his persistence, said, "Alright! Alright! I'll give you the rapid vibration knife, but you have to promise me, don't let Grandpa and Grandma see it, okay?"

He thought: Although this knife is fierce, it's a close combat weapon, different from the kinetic gun that can attack distant targets. It's more protective, and even if Grandpa and Grandma find out, it's easier to explain.

Although not satisfied, Lin Qiyu knew his third brother wouldn't agree, so with a shift in his eyes and a smile, he said, "Hehe, thank you, third brother. The others have to be the best for me, okay?"

Ke Zhenfeng began to put the equipment into a large box, including a high-performance light armor protective suit with excellent resistance to impact.

The biggest feature of this protective suit was its chameleon-like skin function. Once the command was activated, its outer layer could imitate the surrounding colors and also evade enemy scanning.

This was Ke Zhenfeng's pride and joy, something not available on the market.

The scanning helmet was another great item. Ke Zhenfeng had installed seven scanning modes on it. According to him, with this device, one could see the color of a girl's underwear, which was a bit perverted.

The multifunctional boots mainly functioned to accelerate running, as well as to increase jumping power and adhesion, in essence, they were great for escaping.

There were also items like the breathing mouthpiece, specially designed for Lin Qiyu, which could separate oxygen from complex gases. A small palm-sized water bottle that could adsorb water molecules from the air, so one wouldn't have to worry about finding a water source. There were many other similar small items.

Among them, what Lin Qiyu liked the most was the high-performance extendable vibration knife.

It was a knife with a one-foot-long silver blade and a black handle, wrapped with extremely fine strong synthetic threads, woven into a very beautiful pattern. If needed, it could be untied to be used as a rope, capable of supporting the weight of an adult.

At the upperend of the handle, there was an induction switch.