Chapter 4
Xia Anran didn’t dare touch the household cryo-freezer just yet. First, she packed the fruit into the boxes one by one according to the shipping information. After watching them vanish into thin air again, she finally turned her attention to the machine.
The cryo-freezer looked a lot like a rice cooker. Xia Anran opened the lid on top and found several small, deep-looking compartments inside. She examined it from all angles but couldn’t find a place to plug it in, nor were there any power cords in the packaging. There was only a single button on its side.
She picked up the instruction manual and studied it for a while. She finally understood that it must have a built-in power source, like a battery, with a lifespan of two hundred and twenty years. As long as she didn’t plan on passing it down as a family heirloom, it would basically never need replacing.
Holy cow, she thought. So this is alien technology?
She tried pressing the button. A small screen immediately lit up on the front, indicating that the power was sufficient and it was now cooling. She could even adjust the temperature via the touchscreen. The operation was surprisingly simple.
Just as she was fiddling with it, she heard Uncle Li’s voice from outside.
“Anran! Anran, you home?”
Xia Anran hastily shoved the machine under the table and went out. Uncle Li was standing there with a straw hat, a fishing rod, and a bucket.
“Uncle, did you go fishing?”
She quickly opened the gate. Uncle Li entered with a cheerful grin and tipped more than half the fish from his bucket into the basin in her yard.
“That’s too many, Uncle,” Xia Anran said. “I can’t eat all this by myself.”
She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Uncle Li was just too enthusiastic.
He waved his hand. “I just caught ’em at the reservoir. They’re fresh!”
The sun wasn’t too harsh yet, so they didn’t go inside, instead sitting under the grape trellis. Fanning himself with his straw hat, Uncle Li said, “Anran, Little Chen from the provincial capital is coming to pick up goods tomorrow. His prices are better, so remember to pick some extra.”
Xia Anran had originally planned to tell the villagers about the livestream sales once it showed some promise, but now that she was connected to some bizarre interstellar broadcast, she had no way of explaining it. If she collected the village’s fruit, she couldn’t account for how it would disappear from her house.
“Are the prices still dropping?”
Xia Anran didn’t know much about farming. She had stopped cultivating most of her family’s orchard, leaving just a small patch for her own use and to sell a little on the side. Her original plan had been to use the compensation money to open a supermarket in the village, so she wasn’t very familiar with the wholesale prices.
At the mention of this, Uncle Li sighed. “Ah, business isn’t good this year. It is what it is.”
He stayed for a little while longer before rushing home to make lunch. Xia Anran stared at the more than ten million yuan in her bank account, unsure of what to do.
With such a large sum of money suddenly appearing, she needed to think carefully about how to use it, or if she should use it at all.
….
After the livestream ended, the interstellar community was a scene of jubilation. For the United Star System, establishing a connection with their mother planet from ten thousand years ago was a momentous occasion. Beyond the researchers, the general populace also felt a natural affection and nostalgia for their ancestral home, and the entire nation was in a state of euphoria.
For the Interstellar Empire, the fact that a specialty fruit from the United Star System’s mother planet could heal psychic instability was a massive shock. Both nations quickly classified Xia Anran’s livestream at the highest level of secrecy.
The United Star System immediately convened a Supreme Council meeting. The Consul General of the main planet and the consuls from every other planet were present without exception. Old Director Li from the Science Academy had also arrived early.
The consul of the Fifth Planet was a former classmate of Director Li’s and on good terms with him. He took the opportunity to chat with the director before the Consul General arrived.
“Old Li, is that livestream really connected to ten thousand years in the past? It’s just incredible.”
Even with the rapid advancement of interstellar technology, time travel remained an unsolvable problem. No scientist had ever achieved it.
Director Li coughed twice and whispered, “With a commotion this big, could it possibly be fake?”
“Then we need to be on guard. The Empire…”
Before he could finish, the conference room doors opened. The Consul General entered, flanked by two deputy consuls. His hair was streaked with gray, but his spirit was sharp and his gaze was steady.
Everyone in the room rose to their feet. The Consul General walked to the front and gestured with a smile. “Everyone, please be seated.”
A secretary sat in the back, taking minutes. The Consul General rolled up his sleeves and looked first to Director Li. “Director Li, why don’t you start by giving everyone a brief introduction to this recent livestream.”
Director Li nodded and gave a simple report. He emphasized that while the specific reason for the stream’s appearance was unknown, it was certain that the broadcast originated from their mother planet ten thousand years ago, with archaeologists dating the period between 2000 and 2100 AD.
The most crucial point was that one of the mother planet’s plants—fruit—seemed to have a healing effect on psychic instability and could even enhance psychic power.
This meant the livestream held immense appeal for the Interstellar Empire as well.
After listening, the Consul General asked, “I heard that in today’s stream, Host Anran held a giveaway and gifted some fruit to a few lucky viewers. Is that correct?”
Director Luo, head of the United Star System’s public security, quickly replied, “Yes. We’ve had our information management team compile a list of the winners. We have already contacted the United Star System citizens who won, provided them with compensation, and confiscated the fruit in the name of the United Star System for research purposes.”
Director Luo thought for a moment, then added with some difficulty, “However… thirty-five pieces of fruit went to the Interstellar Empire.”
With such a large pool for the giveaway and a random draw, it was inevitable that some Imperials would win.
The Consul General smiled and waved his hand. “That’s unavoidable. Since it’s theirs, let’s not interfere.” He continued, “Additionally, aside from scientific research, take a portion of this fruit and give it to our special forces. Let’s see what effect it has.”
Ever since the United Star System had extracted trace elements from soil to defend against psychic attacks, the two nations had been in a state of balance. But having only a shield and no spear still left them in a passive position. After years of research, the Science Academy had finally used radiation and energy to enable a portion of their population to wield psychic power, just like the Imperials. For now, they were still in the developmental stage—their psychic power was weak and unstable, and this program was a top secret of the United Star System.
Since the fruit had this effect, it was worth letting their own psychics give it a try.
The consul of the Third Planet spoke up. “This is our mother planet. It originally had nothing to do with the Empire. But now that the fruit has this effect, I propose that we can no longer define this livestream as a cultural and scientific exchange. This is a matter of critical diplomatic importance between our two nations.”
The Consul General nodded in agreement. “Old Lin is right. We must establish contact with Host Anran as soon as possible. No matter what, that is our mother planet. We can’t let them get there first!”
….
An emergency meeting was also being held in the Interstellar Empire’s Supreme Council, attended by the highest echelons of the Empire.
Emperor Phileas presided over the top-level meeting. Director Hukeni of the Imperial Academy was reporting on their research findings regarding the fruit.
“After multiple experiments, we have reached a reliable conclusion. The products from the United Star System’s mother planet, Earth—two species named ‘lychee’ and ‘cherry’—can suppress psychic instability to varying degrees. The effect of the cherry is approximately twice that of the lychee, capable of reducing an instability event from Level 7 to Level 3.”
The moment he said this, the conference room erupted in an uproar, especially among the generals from the National Security Department who had led troops for years. Most of them suffered from chronic psychic instability but were unwilling to use suppressants. When an episode occurred, it was a fate worse than death.
The Empire’s First General, Morian, was the first to stand up. “Director Hukeni, are you telling the truth?” he asked excitedly. “Can it really achieve such a remarkable therapeutic effect?”
Director Hukeni nodded. “Yes. We have confiscated the fruit obtained by our citizens for research and have tested it on volunteer soldiers. The results are authentic and credible.”
Emperor Phileas knocked on the table. “Alright. Now that we have confirmation from the Science Academy, from this moment on, Anran’s livestream is classified as a top-level imperial event. We must establish contact with her at any cost and have her provide us with more fruit.”
The imperial high command quickly passed the resolution, each of them rubbing their hands in anticipation. After the meeting, a crowd of generals surrounded Director Hukeni, blocking his path.
“Director Hukeni, is there any fruit left? Quick, give us a share!”
“That’s right, I’ll volunteer for you too!”
Director Hukeni protectively clutched the hard-won fruit. “Ahem, esteemed generals, please don’t be anxious. Our academy has already begun cultivating the fruit. We will inform you as soon as there is any progress.”
The generals were all hot-tempered and weren’t happy with what they heard as a scholarly brush-off. “When will it be cultivated? Just give us old-timers a little bit first. You can keep some for yourselves, can’t you?”
An elderly, decorated general, seeing that force wasn’t working, began to wipe his eyes and play the victim. “Director Hukeni, we have fought for the Empire our entire lives. Now that we are old, the psychic instability is a fate worse than death! Ouch!”
Hukeni: “…”
Who knew these generals were such drama queens!
Just as Director Hukeni was trapped with no way out, Emperor Phileas approached.
The moment the generals saw the Emperor, they snapped to attention.
“Your Majesty.”
The Emperor grunted in acknowledgment and cleared his throat. “Alright, alright. All of you, head back for now. Don’t make things difficult for Director Hukeni. If there is any extra, I will have it sent to your homes.”
With the Emperor’s command, the generals had no choice but to disperse. Hukeni breathed a sigh of relief and quickly offered his thanks. “Thank you, Your Majesty! These old bones of mine were nearly crushed!”
Phileas had ascended the throne over twenty years ago and was now only in his forties. In an interstellar society where the average lifespan was over two hundred, he was still a young man.
He flashed a toothy grin and took Director Hukeni’s arm with great familiarity. “Teacher, how is the fruit cultivation coming along?”
At the mention of this, Director Hukeni sighed. “We collected a total of thirty-five pieces of fruit. Ten were used for volunteer experiments. We took another ten and tried to cultivate them with soil using methods from the United Star System’s ancient texts. But after just one day, the life signs vanished.”
“You’ve worked hard, Teacher. At your age, you must also take care of your health.”
Director Hukeni was moved to tears. His student truly cared for his teacher.
Phileas coughed twice, then blinked. “So, I hear there are still fifteen pieces left, is that right? My headaches have been getting worse lately. Teacher, how about you give me one of each to start?”
Director Hukeni: “…”