Summary
The Warrant Officer and his party arrived in Unity City. Due to the dissolution of the Union and the end of the space race, this place has fallen into stagnation and hardship. The only entity interested in continuing to invest in and develop Planet Nox is the private high-tech corporate giant, Marianne. The Warrant Officer recalled the mission he had received on Earth: to search for the Union's mysterious scientific research project on Planet Nox, "The Heritage". He originally had no interest in this, but Valena had accepted the mission alone behind his back and came to Nox...

[On the street, many children are pressed against the windows of TV shops, and pedestrians turn their heads one after another to watch the crowd gather around the new shop selling Earth technology.]
Elena Welcome, everyone, to Unity City, the capital of the United Territories—the center of the space development industry, and the window of industrial civilization on Planet Nox.
Lida I didn't expect Planet Nox to have such a bustling market street! I thought "Unity City" was just a small town.
Elena Unity City has over a million residents, at least—though it certainly can't compare to the large cities on Earth.
Lida I think this place is much more lively than the cities on Earth!
Lida There are so many shops, all kinds of goods, and so many people strolling around freely!
Karula Yeah?
Elena Is that so?
Warrant Officer Lida has been drifting with me due to the civil war since she was ten years old. She no longer remembers what a city without the flames of war looks like.
Elena I see. Sigh, I hope the atmosphere of Unity City can make her feel at ease and happy.
Karula (I almost got robbed the moment I landed, I can't feel at ease or happy!)
Karula (But Lida must have experienced many far more dangerous situations... I'd better not complain in front of her.)
Lida There are so many beautiful decorations hanging along the street, and the shops have put out so many New Year's goods—are they already preparing for New Year's Day?
Lisa Heheh, New Year's Day is still early. This is to welcome the great savior of the United Territories dropping from the sky!
Lida Great savior? So big brother is already this famous in the United Territories?
Lisa Uh…
Elena Sergeant Lisa is always being sarcastic, causing everyone to misunderstand. "Savior" is not a good word, and of course, it doesn't refer to you all.
Lisa I wasn't being sarcastic, I love and respect her from the bottom of my heart!
Elena Sergeant Lisa?
Lisa I'll shut up.
Warrant Officer (redaing from a banner) "Welcome Mariana's visit to the United Territories."
Warrant Officer So this beloved savior is named Mariana?
Karula Mariana! Is it that Mariana?
Elena I'm afraid there is only this one Mariana on both Earth and Nox. The founder of the new aerospace force—Tharsis X Company…
Karula The mad scientist who boasted that she would "be the pioneer of exploring the universe, and grow old and die on Nox".
Lida A mad scientist? So Mariana is a rocket scientist?
Elena No, to put it simply, she is a big boss running an aerospace launch business.
Lida Using rockets built by others to make money for herself just like Sergey, the oligarch of Antey Starlines.
Karula Sergey never bragged about being the "interstellar guide of the new century" or the "representative of space exploration."
Elena Aren't you Vespuccian? I thought Mariana was the pride of Vespuccia.
Karula Vespuccians were scammed by Tharsis X Company the most!
Karula None of you have ever used those products with "aerospace technology blessing" released by Tharsis X Company, have you? I’m the only one who has!
Karula That Tharsis X phone she released always has no signal! And those VR glasses, you can't see anything clearly at all!
Lida Sounds quite unreliable! Exactly what difficulties did the United Territories encounter that require her help?
Elena The Joint Development Region was established through the Union and the Entente spending regardless of cost during the space race.
Elena Its operation and development are also inseparable from the support of Earth.
Elena But after the dissolution of the Union, the space race ended, and governments of all countries stopped investing in the aerospace industry, and the United Territories deteriorated day by day along with it.
Elena Now Tharsis X Company has shown interest in the United Territories and is willing to help us improve production technology and upgrade our industrial structure.
Elena In particular, a production line for building new, low-cost, reusable spaceships.
Elena The new spaceship can reduce the transportation cost from Nox to Earth, greatly improving the economic situation of the United Territories.
Lisa In other words, the United Territories is dirt poor right now, and this liveliness is just a polished surface over a piece of junk.
Lisa Take that shop for example. Yesterday the window was completely empty, but today it's filled with goods; the diversified business bureau must’ve rushed to get a batch of merchandise overnight.
Lisa If you all hadn't been willing to pay us to help, the Security Bureau wouldn't even be able to pay our wages!
Lisa As for industrial upgrading and new spaceships... who cares if they can be done?
Lisa Anyway, we need to get some investment from Mariana first, and quickly pay the year-end salaries and bonuses to the hundreds of thousands of people on the management committee!
Elena Lisa?
Lisa !
Karula The economy is so bad…? I was hoping to spend a nice holiday here…
Elena There is no need to worry about this. The worse the economy of the United Territories is, the more pleasant your holiday will be.
Karula Oh…
Karula (What does this mean? Did I upset her somewhere?)
Warrant Officer Low-cost, reusable spaceship…
Elena I understand what you are thinking. If the new spaceship succeeds, there will be a way to send those rookies recruited by Valena to Earth for training.
Warrant Officer Yes. We need qualified personnel first, then we can set out to search for the "Union's Legacy."
[One month ago]
[Earth - Omsk Autonomous Region - Office of Mikhail Dolokhov, President of the Yugansk Oil Trust]

"The Secretary" Long time no see, "Warrant Officer," how have you been?
Warrant Officer As busy as if we just met the day before yesterday.
"The Secretary" It really hasn't been long, our cooperation last time was very pleasant.
Warrant Officer For someone like me, a day, a year, a lifetime, are all very short.
"The Secretary" Don't say that, you are one of the few outstanding military officers of the Primorsky Republic, I still have to rely on you a lot! I remember you were born on planet Nox?
Warrant Officer That's right, but I returned to Earth ten years ago.
"The Secretary" At least you had a wonderful childhood back there! Have you ever thought about going back to visit?
Warrant Officer I heard that after the Union broke up, things didn’t improve much there. The place I used to live in is probably unrecognizable now, and I guess none of the people I used to know are still left.
"The Secretary" Oh, I'm truly sorry.
Warrant Officer It's all in the past.
"The Secretary" Speaking of Nox, do you have any relatives or friends of Nox descent?
Warrant Officer My cousin Lida is half-Nox. She is currently in my care..
"The Secretary" That makes things easier. Having Nox blood allows one to use magic, the academic name is EGO, right?
"The Secretary" Does your cousin use it often?
Warrant Officer To use EGO effectively requires training. My cousin has lived on Earth since she can remember, so she has never practiced this kind of traditional acrobatics.
"The Secretary" That's a pity. EGO is not just something as simple as traditional acrobatics; its potential might exceed our imagination.
Warrant Officer As far as I know, even the local people of Nox do not value EGO—they have already witnessed the power of Earth technology in the Ruvilian Revolution.
"The Secretary" But the leaders of the Union didn't think so. I recently obtained a confidential file from 20 years ago.
"The Secretary" It records that the Union once invested a large amount of resources on Planet Nox to launch a top-secret EGO research plan—they called this project the "Legacy."
"The Secretary" I think if we dispatch an expedition team to uncover the results of this research, no one is more suitable to be the team leader than you.
Warrant Officer I guess this kind of "confidential file" can be bought for 50 Energy Tickets at the old book stalls on Arbat Street.
"The Secretary" How could I be fooled by such poorly made counterfeit? An old colleague of mine happened to work in the confidential department of the Union Planning Committee back then.
"The Secretary" He conducted a professional examination of this file: the format and the seal were absolutely flawless, and it came from the same typewriter as several other confidential files that have already been verified as genuine.
Warrant Officer Perhaps it only proves that this is a meticulously crafted counterfeit?
"The Secretary" Why are you so certain?
Warrant Officer Because... if this "Legacy" really had any use, it would certainly have been used on the battlefield during the civil war.
Warrant Officer On this fractured land of ours, is there anything left that hasn't been used for war and oppression?
Warrant Officer The tanks and artillery of the Union People's Army go without saying.
Warrant Officer Fertilizer was made into bombs, oil and natural gas were used for burning, and chemical intermediates became harmful gases and stimulants.
Warrant Officer Even nuclear-warhead anti-aircraft missiles almost smashed onto the city they were supposed to protect!
Warrant Officer If this "Legacy" could pare an apple skin, it would have already been used to slit several children's throats by now.
"The Secretary" Your reasoning is clear, but I am not that kind of person who is eager for quick success.
Warrant Officer Oh?
"The Secretary" Perhaps the "Legacy" project really hasn't produced results that can be practically applied yet.
"The Secretary" But with such a long time and so much investment, there should always be some progress.
"The Secretary" If we can recover some of these crystallizations of the working people's wisdom, our future generations wouldn’t have to start from scratch when they start learning about EGO...
Warrant Officer I didn't expect you to have such a strong sense of historical responsibility.
"The Secretary" That is natural. What does wealth count for? You can't bring it with you when you are born, and you can't take it away when you leave. My purpose of making money is to build the enterprise into the "first foundation" for the revival of the Union
Warrant Officer Are you referring to the one written by Asimov?
"The Secretary" Exactly. When the great Galactic Empire was heading toward decline, the wise Seldon formulated a plan to allow humanity to revive as quickly as possible.
"The Secretary" Which is to establish a "Foundation" to preserve the fruits of human civilization during the dark ages.
Warrant Officer So, did the "confidential file" mention the location of this "Legacy"? Is it in the Joint Development Region?
"The Secretary" How could it be there? The Joint Development Region is full of Entente people everywhere, it’s impossible to keep secrets!
Warrant Officer So you want me to search through all unknown corners of Planet Nox to hunt for the "Legacy"?
"The Secretary" No. Even if the research project of the "Legacy" is not in the Joint Development Region, To supply equipment and personnel for the "Legacy" it must still Have went through the landing site of the Joint Development Region.
"The Secretary" You can go there to investigate whether there are clues to the "Heritage," and then we will decide where to expand our search…
Warrant Officer Unfortunately, I cannot leave my young cousin behind to execute this kind of mission that has no end in sight…
"The Secretary" Don't be so quick to refuse…
Warrant Officer And you, for the sake of "preserving" the cultural heritage of the Union, even "protected" the National Ballet company.
Warrant Officer Clearly considering things even more thoroughly than the wise Seldon, I trust you can find another suitable candidate.
"The Secretary" Actually, there really is such a candidate, I have already found one. I think you will definitely be very willing to cooperate with her.
"The Secretary" Valena Edmoundovna, aren’t you close friends with her?
Warrant Officer Valena?!
"The Secretary" After she heard about this mission, she expressed that she was very glad to join, and even said she could leave for Nox at any time.
Warrant Officer Valena, why... Why did she accept this mission?
"The Secretary" I don't know, perhaps she has her own reasons... I thought she would invite you to join the mission even without my involvement.
Warrant Officer Right... why? Such a big matter...