Chapter 25 p1
The moment she went live, Xia Anran knew something was wrong. For one, more than half the comments were furious complaints about the stream lagging terribly. For another, the number of online viewers today was skyrocketing past the ten-billion mark.
Xia Anran: ?
Where did this sudden extra half of the audience come from?
…
Beastman Home Planet
Jeqi, having been dutifully confined for three days, was finally released. He was now watching Xia Anran’s livestream with his sister, Ruoya.
“What’s so good about this human livestream from who-knows-where? It has nothing to do with us Beastmen,” Jeqi muttered under his breath.
“If you don’t want to watch, then get out.”
Ruoya pulled out a stack of screenshots of the animals that had appeared in Xia Anran’s stream, which had been analyzed by the Beastman race’s top technicians. She gestured at them with her chin.
Jeqi took them with a serious expression, though inwardly he was dismissive. What good could possibly come from a human livestream…
Wait a minute!
Are these our primitive Beastmen?
Jeqi was still in solitary confinement when Xuan Mo had reported this matter. The moment he was released, Ruoya had grabbed him and informed him that the Beastman race had exchanged the Aler System with the United Star System for access to their internal network.
Jeqi had no objection to getting rid of that piece-of-junk Aler System, but what was so great about the United Star System’s internal network that it was worth accessing? Although it was an exchange of trash, it was still them asking for a favor, showing weakness first! The more he thought about it, the angrier he got.
But seeing this stack of screenshots, Jeqi finally understood why his sister had made this decision.
“Well? What do you have to say, Your Majesty the Emperor?” Ruoya asked with a half-smile.
Jeqi immediately sat up straight, his gaze fixed forward. “Who said this livestream wasn’t good? Drag them all out!”
Ruoya shot him a sidelong glance, then tapped her photon-computer, sending a hundred gifts and successfully embedding her user ID with a golden border. Then, she went on an all-out offensive, engaging in one-on-one flame wars with the netizens who were hostile to the Beastman race.
Jeqi watched his sister’s one-versus-ten typing speed, wanting to say something but hesitating.
“Sis, how about I have the guys from the Beastman Academy write you an auto-reply program?”
“What do you know?” Ruoya’s eyes were wide, her hands never stopping. “It’s only satisfying when you curse them out yourself!”
Jeqi: “…”
Soon, people discovered that the user with the ID [Kneel and Call Me Sis] was an incredibly fierce combatant.
[Sis! I’m calling you Sis, okay?! Please stop chasing me with insults!]
[The Beastman race is too arrogant, running wild in our territory.]
[Brothers, temporary retreat! This one seems too insane!]
[I suspect this person is from the Centipede Tribe! Does she have ten hands?!!]
[It’s this beast!]
[Just got here, what’s this stream about? There was a sudden nationwide notification to watch.]
[Why are they cursing us Beastmen for no reason? QAQ]
[We just came to watch the stream…]
[Come on! Keep it coming! Say one more thing, I dare you!]
[Detestable humans! You make me sick!]
….
After lagging for two or three minutes, the United Star System’s network administrators quickly expanded the connection. Seeing the stream return to normal, he wiped the sweat from his forehead and let out a long sigh of relief. Although he had been mentally prepared, he hadn’t expected so many people from the Beastman race to flood in all at once. Was this a mandatory nationwide viewing? It was too much.
After watching the comments for a while, Xia Anran also figured it out. It turned out that from this stream onwards, the Beastman race had also joined the audience. Although she didn’t know why they had suddenly appeared, she figured it was something the United Star System government had negotiated. So, she simply put it aside and started her regular broadcast.
They were traveling in a large, specially prepared RV. It was fully equipped with all the necessary facilities and was very spacious. Xia Anran sat on a small sofa by the window. The moment the viewers opened the stream, they saw a field of golden wheat flashing past the window behind her, with many farmers harvesting in the fields. It was a bustling scene of a bountiful harvest.
The interstellar audience had seen plenty of colorful fruits and green plants in the past few streams, but this was the first time they had seen golden wheat. The comments section erupted with a cacophony of questions about what it was.
“This is wheat. It’s one of the main staple foods of our Hua nation. It’s August now, which is the time for the wheat harvest.”
As she spoke, the vehicle turned a corner and entered the main road leading to Yanshan Village. In the distance, they could already see several fruit-covered mountains and a quiet, peaceful little village. The villagers of Yanshan mainly relied on fruit cultivation for their income, but there was a flat piece of land at the village entrance where many families also grew some wheat and corn, mostly for their own consumption rather than for sale.
[What’s a staple food?]
[Is it something to eat? Such a shiny color, so beautiful!]
[Wow wow wow, a huge field of glowing plants!]
[The scenery on Earth is too beautiful. How come there are so many green plants everywhere?]
[I see the sun! It’s still so bright! I’m so envious of ancient humans. I can’t stand another day on this dark Eighth Planet.]
[Wheat… it sounds so fragrant. It must be delicious!]
[Anran, get a little closer! I want to see the wheat!]
[Such a wide-open space! A different kind of beauty from the capital!]
“Yes, it’s food. It’s a very important staple for us. There are many ways to prepare it, and it’s very delicious,” Xia Anran explained.
Before long, the group got out of the vehicle. The driver parked the RV under an old locust tree at the village entrance.
“Anran! When did you get back? Where have you been lately? We haven’t seen you!”
Auntie Zhang, who was harvesting wheat in the field, heard the sound of a vehicle braking and thought a relative of some family had returned. She turned her head and saw more than a dozen people getting out of a large vehicle, one of whom was Xia Anran. She quickly wiped her hands and came out of the field. Xia Anran had been gone for almost a week, and she had been thinking about it just a couple of days ago.
Seeing Auntie Zhang, Xia Anran also smiled and went to greet her. “Auntie Zhang, I went to the capital for a trip for a few days. I just got back.”
“The capital! That’s a great place!”
Auntie Zhang’s gaze shifted to Director Huang and his team behind them, who were carrying large bags and equipment. She quietly pulled Xia Anran aside and asked, “Anran, who are these people you brought back? They’re carrying so much stuff and filming everywhere. They don’t look like good people.”
Xia Anran didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “Auntie Zhang, they’re a film crew, here to scout for locations. I’m acting as their guide, a kind of part-time job to earn some money.” This was the excuse they had come up with in the car to handle the villagers.
Only then did Auntie Zhang feel relieved. She said she still had work to do in the fields and told Anran to come to her house for lunch, reminding her several more times to be careful before she left.
The moment Auntie Zhang had approached, Xia Anran had handed her phone to the cameraman, who was now filming the wheat in the fields in response to the audience’s enthusiastic requests.
[Who is that? Why did she pull Anran away?!]
[It looks like they’re whispering. I want to listen too!]
[Wow wow wow, there are so many thorns on this wheat. Won’t they poke you?]
[So this thing can really be eaten? It looks so strange.]
[Anran would never lie to us. Of course it’s edible.]
[United Star System Science Academy Director Li Sheng]: According to our historical records, wheat was indeed an important staple food for ancient humans, along with rice, corn, and so on.
Director Hukeni of the Imperial Academy ground his teeth in annoyance when he saw Li Sheng’s comment. Show-off! Damn it! We must also cram ancient Earth history! I’m going to read twenty more books when I get back today!
A large green mantis flew past in the wheat field and happened to land right in front of the camera. The cameraman decided to give it a close-up. This unknown species with a triangular head and sharp forelimbs immediately terrified many people.
[Ahhh, what is that green thing on the wheat!!!]
[Sob, so scary, what a big belly!]
[Such big eyes! Are those two things in the front legs?]
[So long and thin, so ugly!]
[Is it a Beastman?! The shape of its head looks like our Claw-Dragonfly Tribe!]
[The news is actually true! Earth has Beastmen?!]
[It looks like a primitive beast, not yet evolved.]
[It clearly looks more like our Sharp-Wing Tribe! Look at its transparent wings and forelimbs, it looks just like our ancestors!]
“This must be a Beastman too!” Jeqi’s eyes lit up. He stared, mesmerized, at the agile mantis on the screen, stroking his chin. “It does look like the Claw-Dragonfly Tribe.”
He then shot up, unlocked the Beastman race’s classified files through his genetic code, and began to flip through the ancient records of primitive beasts.
“It really does look like it!” He found the record of the Claw-Dragonfly Tribe and presented it to Ruoya like a treasure. “Sis, look!”
Ruoya took it and carefully compared it with the mantis on the screen. She couldn’t help but say excitedly, “It really is!” But how could their primitive beasts appear on ancient Earth?
“An unevolved primitive beast… so beautiful…” Jeqi murmured. As expected, the beast form was the coolest!
Before he could finish admiring the green mantis’s heroic posture, a small, chubby, fair-skinned hand suddenly reached into the screen, grabbed the mantis by its wings, and lifted it up.
“Which bastard is that?! Put down the primitive beast, now! Damn it, how can you treat it so roughly!” Jeqi nearly jumped up and started cursing.
The Beastman viewers in the comments also exploded. In contrast, the Imperials and United Star System people spammed a wave of “hahahahas,” enjoying the schadenfreude of seeing the Beastmen get triggered.
“I got it, I got it!”
“I caught two!”
“Mine is bigger than yours!”
“I also caught a cricket! We can roast them later!”
Three children ran over from the other side, each holding a few mantises and crickets in their hands, having the time of their lives.
The one who had caught the mantis was Auntie Zhang’s son, Kang Kang. He had been lying in wait for a long time to catch this big one. Only after he caught it did he realize a big brother was filming him with a phone. He shyly held the mantis forward and said, “Big brother, do you want this?”
The cameraman, Ah Cheng, smiled and patted his head. “Big brother doesn’t want it. You can go play with it.”
Xia Anran happened to run into them as she was coming back. Seeing her, Kang Kang’s eyes lit up and he ran over like a little cannonball. “Sister Anran! Look at the big mantis I caught! It’s for you!”
Xia Anran was startled by the little cannonball. Seeing the struggling mantis in his hand, she quickly took two steps back. She had been terrified of insects since she was a child.
At this moment, the comments section was nearly drowned in the rage of the Beastman viewers.
[What are those detestable human cubs saying to our noble primitive beast!]
[E… Eat it?]
[These bastard humans really do eat Beastmen!]
[Let go of our primitive beast! Send the troops, send the troops now! I’ll fight you!]
Xia Anran waved her hands repeatedly. “You keep it and play with it. Sister still has work to do. I’ll come find you later.”
Auntie Zhang also called out from the side, “You little rascal, get back here! Don’t bother your Sister Anran!”
Kang Kang stuck out his tongue and ran off with the other children.
Xia Anran took back her phone and saw that the comments section could only be described as a disaster. The Beastman viewers were either furious or terrified, accompanied by the detached schadenfreude of the interstellar humans.
“Everyone, don’t misunderstand. This is a common insect found in fields and grasslands called a mantis. It’s also a beneficial insect that can catch many pests in the fields. The children just like to catch them for fun.”
So this insect that looks so much like our Claw-Dragonfly Tribe’s primitive beast is called a mantis, and it’s a beneficial insect! The chief of the Claw-Dragonfly Tribe found the mantis more and more adorable the longer he looked at it. In his heart, he had already decided that this was the ancestor of his tribe. Although he didn’t know by what principle their ancestor had appeared on Earth, their ancestor was simply too charming! Look at that agile posture, those powerful wings, and that perfect triangular head!
“Announce it! Have all the tribe members send comments asking the host to introduce our primitive beast again!”
And then, wave after wave of [Host, please introduce the mantis again! I want to see the cool insect!] scrolled across the screen.
Xia Anran was also a bit helpless. She didn’t know much about insects either and could only rely on a certain search engine to learn on the fly. She briefly introduced the mantis’s origin, habitat, and predatory habits. The string of scientific terms left not only the audience but also herself feeling dizzy.
“That’s all for now. If everyone is interested, I’ll do some homework and talk more about it in detail later.”
Xia Anran quickly ended the topic. But then, many viewers became very interested in what Kang Kang and the others had said about roasting insects to eat, and they began to plead with her to talk about it.
Xia Anran: …Can I even talk about this? What if I traumatize the Beastman viewers?
There were also people in the comments fanning the flames, enjoying the chaos.
[Imperial Academy Director Hukeni]: We are also very interested in Earth’s food. Please be sure to share. Thank you, host!
[United Star System Science Academy Director Li Sheng]: As a type of animal, insects were one of the food sources for ancient humans on Earth. This is a very normal phenomenon.
So you two are on the same side now.