A Girl Dies Every Day in Her Dream Life 250

Chapter 250: A Thirty-Cycle Vigil, In the Name of Xue

“Year three of the forty-second Eternal Day. The Zero Realm is entering a new cycle of Eternal Day. Suspended High Towers 1000 to 2000 are expected to enter sleep mode within three cycles. The remaining towers will continue operation, entering a rotation after six cycles. Residents, please make the necessary arrangements.”

“The never-ending natural disasters on the surface have shown signs of weakening for the first time since the beginning of the day-night cycle, seemingly a consequence of humanity’s excessive development. Experts are calling for environmental protection and a halt to the construction of Suspended High Towers 2250 to 2300, to allow the natural disasters to return to normal.”

“The Ground-Based Tower Project has officially been declared a failure, with the Great Sage’s proposal rejected by the Federal Council for the third time. Does this signify a decline in the Sage’s authority? The council denies this.”

“Deep space behemoths attack again after two day-night cycles. The Federal Legion successfully defended the Zero Realm. Commander Ephesus gave a speech, expressing gratitude for the protection of the ancient spirit ‘Li’.”

“…”

Ceres, her eyes bloodshot, finally finished writing the news report before the deadline. She exhaled, looked up at the scorching sun outside the window, and frowned slightly.

She didn’t like Eternal Day, the bright light was too harsh, making it difficult to sleep, even with the curtains drawn.

Eternal Night a few years ago was much better, everything dark and quiet. If she needed light, she could just turn on a lamp, but Ceres preferred the faint glow of a candle while writing.

It was all because of Eternal Day that her work efficiency had decreased, leading to her being reprimanded by the editor-in-chief!

It wasn’t because she was slacking off!

Ceres blamed everything on Eternal Day, then finally stretched contentedly.

After sending the finished completed manuscript  to the editor-in-chief’s network node, Ceres threw herself onto her bed, burying her face in the thick blanket, blocking out the harsh sunlight.

She really wanted to just sleep like this forever, without work, without social interactions…

“Little Ceres, are you home?”

Just then, there was a knock on the door, followed by a gentle, melodic voice.

“Mmm… I’m not here…”

Ceres recognized the voice but didn’t want to get up.

“I’m coming in.”

The other party ignored Ceres’s protest and entered directly.

“Sister Ling! You did it again!” Ceres sat up, a disgruntled look on her face. “My work is already very hard, please don’t always disturb me!”

“Heh, you mischievous little girl, if I came a few days later, you would be complaining on the network again about me not visiting you.”

The woman, called “Sister Ling,” reached out and gently scraped Ceres’s nose, a lingering tenderness in her eyes, as if she was looking at an old friend.

“Ugh…” Ceres collapsed back onto the bed, a dejected look on her face. “I was wrong! I regret it! I don’t want to work anymore! I shouldn’t have asked you to help me find a job…”

“Wasn’t joining Zero Realm Prophet your childhood dream?” Sister Ling asked with a smile.

“I… I was just saying that…”

Ceres said awkwardly.

She had seen the beautiful host on the screen when she was young and had pestered Sister Ling, insisting on joining Zero Realm Prophet when she grew up.

Who knew that work was just work, and behind the glamour… was such misery…

Zero Realm Prophet was a long-running program in the Zero Realm, with a publication of the same name, mainly reporting news.

It had many departments, and Ceres currently worked in the most important one, the Periodic News Department, a position many would kill for.

Ceres knew this position was valuable, she didn’t know how many favors Sister Ling had called in to get it for her.

But who could imagine the pressure of this job?

However, after calming down, Ceres still diligently continued her work. She didn’t want to disappoint Sister Ling.

Ceres’s parents had died when she was very young. She no longer remembered her father’s face, and her mother, on her deathbed, had entrusted the young Ceres to a gentle and elegant woman, the current Sister Ling.

Even now, Ceres still remembered that scene. Her mother’s gaze towards Sister Ling was filled with an unspeakable complexity.

And Sister Ling had squatted down, scraped her nose, and smiled gently. “Ceres… is it? A beautiful name. Just call me Sister Ling from now on.”

Sister Ling never mentioned her work, just took care of little Ceres, and even now that Ceres was grown up, Sister Ling still looked the same.

Ceres rested her chin on her hand, staring at Sister Ling, and asked,

“Speaking of which… Sister Ling, it’s been twenty years since we first met, right?”

Sister Ling paused, a dazed look flashing through her eyes, then she chuckled softly.

“Yes, it seems like twenty years… You’ve grown from a little one to even taller than me.”

“But Sister Ling, how are you still so young? In a few more years, I’ll look older than you!” Ceres frowned, puzzled.

“No, I just look young. I’m already forty-five this year.” Sister Ling replied with a smile, pointing to the corners of her eyes. “Look, I even have crow’s feet.”

Ceres looked closely. There seemed to be some, Sister Ling really had aged a bit… No, no, matured a bit. Girls didn’t age.

“I thought Sister Ling was one of those thousand-year-old spirits who never age.” Ceres patted her chest, relieved.

“How could that be.”

Sister Ling just smiled, but as she casually glanced out the window, her smile faded slightly, replaced by an imperceptible sadness.

“Alright, Sister Ling, you can go now. I really need to sleep!”

Ceres stood up and pushed Sister Ling towards the door.

“I haven’t slept in over twenty hours, I’m exhausted.”

“Eh, you shouldn’t neglect your rest.” Sister Ling didn’t resist, letting Ceres push her, but still said with concern, “Should I talk to the editor-in-chief and have him extend your deadline?”

“No!”

Ceres pouted. “My colleagues are saying I got in through connections, which is true, but still annoying… so I have to prove them wrong! I’m going to write the best report!”

Although she said that, before the deadline… she probably wouldn’t finish it.

Procrastination and diligence always coexisted within Ceres.

After being pushed out of the room, Sister Ling wanted to say a few more words to Ceres, but she saw that Ceres had already collapsed onto the bed, fast asleep.

Sister Ling smiled faintly, and with a flick of her finger, the blanket on the bed, as if sentient, gently covered Ceres.

Although it was Eternal Day, it wasn’t warm five thousand meters above the ground.

After doing this, the gentle expression on Sister Ling’s face faded.

She turned to the middle-aged man who had been waiting and said,

“Let’s go.”

“Yes, Great Sage.”

…

“Isn’t it a bit too much to repeatedly reject her proposals? She is the Great Sage, after all.”

“Don’t worry, the Federal Council holds the true power now, not the Great Sage. She made this decision herself six cycles ago! She… should understand.”

“And… the Great Sage is old, her thinking too rigid. Why is she so obsessed with the Ground-Based Tower Project? Just build more Suspended High Towers.”

“I disagree. The weakening of natural disasters, the forced dormancy of many Suspended High Towers, it’s all because…”

“Stop, stop, today’s agenda is to reject the Great Sage’s proposal again. Think about how to… face her.”

These words silenced the other council members.

There was a lot of pressure from the outside. Many were saying that the council was rebelling against the Great Sage, who had ruled the Federation for nearly thirty cycles, which was why they repeatedly rejected her proposals.

But the council couldn’t voice their true reasons. These rejections were more like desperate pleas, using all their persuasive power to convince the Great Sage to postpone her decision.

Postponement was just postponement, and they would eventually have to face the Great Sage’s new proposal for the Ground-Based Tower Project again.

The council hall was noisy, the 132 council members mostly worried, a few excited, anticipating this historic moment.

But all sounds ceased when light footsteps came from the podium, and everyone held their breath, looking towards the back of the podium.

A gentle woman, seemingly only in her early twenties, walked out gracefully, a faint smile on her lips, her demeanor kind and gentle.

She looked much younger than any of the council members present. Even the youngest council member was rarely younger than forty.

Council members under forty were considered “young,” a rare genius appearing only once every few terms.

But this seemingly young Great Sage had been watching over the Federation for nearly thirty cycles, which, converted to years, was… over three thousand.

No one knew how the Great Sage had lived for so long, or why she could maintain her youth. Her existence was a mystery.

But one thing was certain: without the Great Sage, there would be no Federation today.

Thirty cycles ago, after the ancient spirit “Li” defeated a deep space behemoth at the cost of a Suspended High Tower, the Federation finally had a brief period of peace.

But this peace didn’t last long. The deep space behemoth seemed to have caused some kind of mutation, and the natural disasters changed, countless mutated behemoths rampaging through the Wastelander settlements on the surface.

Fortunately, the Great Sage’s timely disaster engine research report, combined with some legacies of the previous civilization, saved some of the Wastelanders.

But this was just the beginning. More mutations appeared, even affecting some ability users who had come into contact with natural disasters, eventually spreading to all the Suspended High Towers.

The Federation was on the verge of collapse, unable to maintain civilization, and once again, it was the Sage who stepped forward, leading ability user squads to eliminate the threats, while also developing a cure.

Finally, after three day-night cycles, the Great Sage led human civilization out of this darkness and established the current Federation.

Six day-night cycles ago, the Federation was completely controlled by the Great Sage. Not because she craved power, but because the people wanted it, and she had to accept this responsibility.

Anyone who tried to take her power was met with fierce public opposition, even if she suggested it herself.

The Great Sage came up with a solution: establishing a council elected by the people.

Initially, she implemented her decisions through the council, then gradually relinquished her power. Only after the people were used to the council making all the decisions did she completely step down.

The previous council was advisory, but the current council had decision-making power, even able to overrule the Great Sage.

This seemingly young and beautiful woman was a living legend of human civilization.

Her story was even more legendary than that of “Li,” the ancient spirit, but because she was still alive… the statues erected by the Federation were of “Li.”

After the Sage walked onto the podium, the Council President took a deep breath, placed his right fist over his heart, bowed slightly towards the statue of a little girl in the center of the hall, and said in a deep voice,

“In the name of the ancient spirit ‘Li,’ under your sacred witness, I declare the ‘Ground-Based Tower Project’ proposal officially open.”

“Proposed by… the Great Sage, Ling Ling.”

Ling Ling also looked at the statue of the little girl, a flicker of memory in her eyes, then bowed slightly. “In your name, witness my proposal.”

She didn’t invoke the name “Li” like the others, because she knew very well that this statue wasn’t of “Li,” but…

“Xue.”

Luo Xue’s Xue.

Sister Xue’er’s Xue.

It had been three thousand years… Sister Xue’er, when… will you return?

Ling Ling straightened up. No one saw the tears glistening in her eyes, only her usual gentle smile.