Chapter 41
The Human Body Repair Instrument had been temporarily moved from the Academy of Sciences to this base. The leaders, after careful consideration, had decided that although the Hua nation and country F were currently strategic allies, it was still somewhat inconvenient to bring him directly to the academy.
Professor Gong, who was in charge of the instrument’s research, had come along, as had Professor Xu Liyun, the attending physician for the instrument’s first patient, Jiang Tianyang.
At ten o’clock in the morning, a black car arrived at the base’s gate on time. The head of state of country F got out, forcing himself to look energetic, and shook hands with the Hua nation’s second-in-command, who was there to greet him.
“The Chief is already waiting for you. Everything is ready inside,” the second-in-command said with a smile.
“Thank you very much. I am also prepared,” the head of state of country F said in fluent Mandarin. Although the fatigue on his face was undeniable, his eyes were very firm.
His two bodyguards were asked not to enter the base. When this request was made, their expressions clearly changed, and they looked at their leader. He gave them a nod, and only then did the two men step back and stand ramrod straight at the gate.
As the group walked into the base, the head of state, though his face was impassive, was secretly assessing the facility. It was heavily guarded, well-disciplined, and clean and bright—a standard experimental base. There didn’t seem to be anything particularly special about it.
Soon, the second-in-command led him into a hidden laboratory at the end of a corridor. After a facial recognition scan, they entered an antechamber where the top leader, Professor Gong, and Professor Xu were waiting.
“Florence, long time no see,” the top leader said, stepping forward to shake his hand with a smile.
The head of state of country F also smiled. “Long time no see, my friend.”
After a brief exchange of greetings, the top leader introduced Professor Gong and Professor Xu to him. Professor Xu then led him to an examination room for a preliminary physical.
After the two had left, the second-in-command sighed. “The physical condition of a head of state is top-secret information. To be honest, I’m a little surprised that country F agreed to let their leader receive treatment here.”
“This is the human will to survive,” the top leader said. “From another perspective, their acceptance also shows that Florence’s physical condition is indeed not optimistic, or rather, that it is completely incurable with the current medical level on Earth.” The higher one’s position and the more one possessed, the more reluctant one was to leave this world.
Professor Gong, who had been listening on the side, interjected, “Chiefs, although we haven’t yet fully understood the working principles of the repair instrument, according to the tests on our volunteers, its safety is not a problem. If the two of you have time, you might also consider using it.” The instruction manual from the United Star System had been very clear: the instrument cured illnesses and strengthened the healthy. In short, a trip inside was guaranteed to be beneficial.
“Old Yue was just trying to persuade us to try it yesterday,” the second-in-command said with a smile. “Now that his leg has recovered, he’s even more restless, running all over the place every day to see his old comrades-in-arms. They are all meritorious heroes of our Hua nation. You all have also worked hard recently.”
After Jiang Tianyang’s treatment, Marshal Yue had impatiently tested it himself. In just over ten minutes, his amputated leg had been regenerated. The moment he got off the operating table, he had rushed to the top leader, vehemently fighting for the opportunity for the old soldiers who had dedicated their lives and bodies to the Hua nation to use this repair instrument. These men had become the first batch of volunteers.
“We’re not in a hurry. Our health has been fine these past few years,” the top leader said with a smile. “Let’s first treat the soldiers who have shed their blood for the Hua nation. And the health of you great scientists can’t be neglected either.” The second-in-command also nodded with a smile.
Knowing he couldn’t persuade them, Professor Gong could only agree helplessly.
“Speaking of life being short, I wonder if the interstellar side has any new discoveries about the impending disaster,” the top leader said, sitting down in a chair, his expression a little grave.
The second-in-command also gave a bitter laugh. “You have no idea. Ever since we learned about this, the Chief and I haven’t been able to sleep well for nights on end. We’re worried sick!” The destruction of the entire Earth… the price was simply too great.
As it happened, the weather in the capital was bad today. The gloomy sky outside made the room feel even more somber.
Professor Gong hesitated for a long time before finally saying, “The Academy of Sciences has not yet discovered any asteroid that matches the prophecy. An asteroid that could collide with Earth in a few decades should, by all rights, be showing some traces by now. There is another possibility…”
“That the asteroid is not a natural collision, but is being pushed towards Earth by some force.”
The top leader and the second-in-command exchanged a look, their expressions turning sharp. “You mean… extraterrestrial beings?”
Professor Gong nodded heavily. “Chiefs, as you know, the world has never given up on making contact with extraterrestrials. We also firmly believe that they must exist. In this vast universe, humanity is not alone. And now, Little Xia’s livestream has confirmed this for us. Beyond our world, there are too many things that cannot be explained by our current technology.”
Aliens had always been a very popular topic in the global scientific community. Almost every country was secretly trying to contact or investigate extraterrestrial civilizations. But to this day, no message had been received, so many scientists speculated that it was because their technological level was far superior to ours, allowing them to hide their location and remain undetected.
The top leader lit a cigarette. Since Xia Anran’s livestream had appeared, he had picked up the habit he had quit for many years. “How certain are you?”
“It’s just a speculation, but so far, we can’t find a more reasonable explanation,” Professor Gong said. This was also why they hadn’t reported it upwards. To put it bluntly, it was still just their conjecture.
“There has always been a view in the scientific community that the main reason for the extinction of the dinosaurs was also an asteroid impact. An impact that could wipe the dinosaurs from the face of the Earth did not completely annihilate the planet. So, if according to the interstellar people, Earth was completely shattered in that disaster, how big must that asteroid have been? For such a large asteroid to collide with Earth in a few decades, it’s impossible that it wouldn’t be observed at all.” He continued to add the recent opinions discussed within the academy. After eliminating all other possibilities, the only one left was external intervention. In other words, Earth was not destroyed by a natural disaster, but by an alien attack.
The top leader was silent for a long time. Only after finishing his cigarette did he stub it out and say in a deep voice, “I understand. Although this is just a guess, we can try to investigate in this direction.” This was his approval for the Academy of Sciences to put more effort into space exploration.
Professor Gong nodded. After some thought, he added, “Actually, we can also gather more information during Little Xia’s livestreams…” Even ordinary viewers from the interstellar era might have some clues about what happened back then.
The top leader interrupted him. “Don’t put too much pressure on Little Xia. She has already done so much for us and helped a great deal. She is also working very hard. For now, let her stream happily, earn points, and buy some things that the Hua nation can use. As for these troublesome matters, let us old men worry about them for now.”
Professor Gong chuckled. “Right, I forgot. Little Xia is still just a child in her early twenties.”
“The children these days are incredible. Ren Yi, who was just transferred to Little Xia’s side, is not old either. He’s been on the front lines, risking his life, and has achieved a lot. Looking at these children really makes you feel your age.”
“I think the more young people like this we have in our Hua nation, the better.”
“Haha, Chengyue, you’re being clever with your words, but I like to hear it!”
…
As they were chatting, Professor Xu came out of the examination room with the head of state of country F. They didn’t return to the antechamber but went directly into the treatment room with the body repair instrument. A moment later, she came out.
“How is the situation?” the top leader asked.
“He has entered the repair instrument for treatment,” Professor Xu said, recalling the freshly printed test results. Even with her years as a doctor, she was a little shocked. “Severe kidney failure, hypertensive heart disease, and his stomach has likely been operated on, with a portion removed.” She found it hard to imagine how he was still standing, how he had just walked in on his own. In addition to these, he had many other minor ailments, which were almost not worth mentioning in comparison. His body could be described as riddled with holes, especially at his advanced age of over eighty. He was in a state where he could pass away at any moment.
“I believe his private doctors have already done their best. Without the Human Body Repair Instrument, the end of this year would have been his limit.”
The top leader sighed, feeling a sense of empathy. “Country F now relies on Florence to hold it together. If he falls, chaos will surely ensue. So he dares not die, and he cannot die.”
“We also hope he lives a long life,” the second-in-command added. “The international situation is changing rapidly. It’s best if our alliance with country F does not change in the coming years.”
A few days ago, the top leader had received a top-secret call from him. It was then that he had learned his old friend’s body was on the verge of collapse, his time near. The call had been, in a way, to arrange his affairs. He had hoped that the Hua nation could help stabilize the internal situation in country F after his passing, so that the two countries could continue their friendly cooperation.
After hanging up, the top leader had thought about it all night. The next day, after a brief discussion with several other leaders, he had decided to invite him to the capital for treatment. He had frankly told him that the Hua nation now had an instrument that could cure all physical ailments and that it had been tested and was absolutely safe. If he was interested in coming for treatment, they would welcome him warmly.
Florence had been silent for a long time after hearing this. On one hand, he was skeptical of this instrument that claimed to cure all diseases. On the other hand, he was shocked that the Hua nation would share such secret information with him. If what they said was true, then this instrument would undoubtedly cause a storm throughout the world. Health and longevity were always the ultimate pursuits of the entire world. And when had the Hua nation made such a huge technological breakthrough?
But at that time, he couldn’t think too much. Remembering that his private doctor had recently told him his physical condition was irreversible and that all treatments were just buying time, he had agreed to the proposal on the phone. No matter what, as long as there was a glimmer of hope, he had to go and try. Even if it meant completely revealing his true physical condition, he couldn’t be bothered with that anymore.
Fortunately, it seemed his gamble had paid off this time.
The Hua nation’s female doctor had led him into a spacious room and had him lie on a hospital bed. After he had undressed, she had pushed him into the only large, white instrument in the room. The instrument was oval-shaped and glowed with a silver-white light. It had a very simple and streamlined design and didn’t seem to have any kind of control panel. The female doctor had told him that after entering the instrument, he would fall into a state of sleep and that he shouldn’t be alarmed. He just needed to take a nap, and the treatment would be over in half an hour at most.
Florence had nodded, seemingly calm, but in reality, his heart was in turmoil. If all this was true, then the Hua nation’s technology was now a whole level ahead of the rest of the world. It seemed that choosing to ally with them had been a truly correct decision.
Soon, he was pushed into the white instrument. After the hatch closed, a rare trace of panic appeared in his heart. Before he could survey his surroundings, a wave of drowsiness washed over him. In a few seconds, he closed his eyes and completely lost consciousness.
After pushing Florence into the body repair instrument, Professor Xu Liyun had operated it with practiced ease. The green light on top lit up, indicating that the treatment had begun.
When he woke up again, he had been moved out and placed in a private hospital room. His two bodyguards were already standing by his side. His private doctor was excitedly discussing something with Professor Xu, holding his test results.
The bodyguards were the first to notice he was awake and immediately called the private doctor, who strode over, the smile on his face impossible to hide. “Sir, you’re awake! You should be able to feel the change in your body, right?”
The moment he woke up, Florence had noticed that his body felt much lighter. The pain and heaviness were gone. Even his mind felt much clearer. There were no tubes or monitoring instruments attached to him as usual. He tried to sit up, and there was no problem at all.
“This is a miracle! It’s incredible! Sir, your body has completely recovered! According to the test results, you are now very healthy!” the private doctor said, dancing with excitement. Even his loose teeth had become neat and firm. It was almost as if his body had been rebuilt. This couldn’t be described as a miracle; it should be called a divine act.
The duration of his repair had also been a bit unexpected for Professor Xu. She had originally thought it would be over in a dozen minutes, but the instrument had run for over two hours. Fortunately, after it was over, the test results showed that he had completely recovered.
After his initial surprise, Florence expressed his wish to meet with the top leader to thank him in person. Professor Xu relayed the message the top leader had left before he departed, telling him to rest easy here for the night and that he would personally visit him later.
…
The high command of the Hua nation was currently in a video conference with Xia Anran.
After contacting the capital and receiving no news, Xia Anran hadn’t been anxious. She had prepared the lottery prizes one by one and sent them out. Half an hour later, the top leader’s call came through.
After briefly explaining the situation, she asked if she needed to return to the capital again. The top leader laughed and said that young people were so energetic; she had already made two round trips in the past few days and still didn’t feel tired.
It wasn’t that she wasn’t tired, but it was just a coincidence that such big news kept appearing these past two days. She wouldn’t feel at ease if she didn’t go in person.
The top leader said gently that it was too much work for her. In the future, unless something was sent from the interstellar era, video conferences would be fine. She wouldn’t have to run back and forth like this.
Xia Anran had been so busy she had completely forgotten about video conferences.
After hanging up and preparing for the video conference, she thought of the Portal in the system shop again. Once she had saved up enough money, she had to get it. It would save so much trouble!
The reason she had been so anxious to contact the capital was not only because there was a new way to communicate with the interstellar era, but more importantly, because of the file that Ye Yuxing had sent. She had downloaded it and read it immediately. The content could only be described as jaw-dropping.
To summarize it in one sentence: before the destruction, aliens had arrived on Earth.