Chapter 65
As expected, the moment the top leader finished speaking, the hall erupted in an uproar. A cacophony of different languages instantly filled the entire auditorium.
Xia Anran and Ren Yi also had two seats in the third row. In front of them were the heads of state of various countries, and behind them were the scientists.
At such a historic moment, Xia Anran still had the leisure to observe the state of these two groups. Although they were all talking to each other in surprise, their specific reactions were vastly different.
The scientists, after their initial shock, became animated. They almost immediately began to chatter enthusiastically with their colleagues, their eyes not filled with worry or fear, but with excitement. There was even a hint of… satisfaction that years of speculation had finally been confirmed.
The heads of state in the first two rows, however, were completely different. From the moment the top leader had made the announcement, their brows had been furrowed, their faces grave. Their conversations were in low whispers, each clearly with their own calculations.
The one with the most obvious worry on his face was the head of state of country A, Kaelen.
Although country A’s international position was that of the Hua nation’s number one hater, always taking jabs at each other and blaming them for everything, he also had the deepest understanding of them. Although the people of the Hua nation were always talking about grand principles and liked to elevate the conversation, they rarely spoke without a purpose. Especially on a matter of global life and death like this, if they were making a public announcement, it meant they were at least ninety percent certain.
So, Kaelen, who usually loved to contradict them, was now as quiet as a mouse, his mood having hit rock bottom. He was rapidly calculating how to handle the subsequent arrangements and how to take advantage of their “savior of the world” persona to fleece them a little.
At the same time, he had a sudden realization. No wonder they had been so high-profile recently, with all sorts of technological breakthroughs. So it was because they knew the Earth was about to be destroyed and were no longer hiding their strength.
So, it was the leaders of other countries who were the first to speak up.
“May I ask how the Hua nation came to know of this matter?”
“Mr. Chairman, do you have any concrete evidence?”
“Please explain the specific situation in detail.”
“Has the Hua nation already established contact with extraterrestrial life?”
Xia Anran had a translator specially assigned to her. Listening to the leaders’ questions, she thought to herself, The Hua nation has indeed established contact with extraterrestrial life, just not this kind of extraterrestrial.
The top leader was clearly prepared for these questions and answered them one by one, flawlessly. For the trickiest question—how they knew about this—the leaders chose an explanation that she had not expected.
He said that their space exploration had broken through the current furthest distance, successfully detecting an exoplanet, and had intercepted their communication signals, thus learning of their plan.
Although there didn’t seem to be a more plausible explanation, she still whispered to Ren Yi, “Don’t you think the leaders’ explanation is a bit too…” She thought for a moment and chose a more tactful word, “…radical?”
“Only in this way can we deter some countries,” he whispered back. “The moment this is announced, the world is destined to be in turmoil. Anything can happen. Saying this now is also to let the whole world know that the Hua nation now has formidable strength, so they won’t act rashly.”
As for the specific location of the invading exoplanet—the Yaxun star—the Hua nation had already obtained it through the United Star System’s records. It was just that their current technological capabilities made it difficult to get close to them. The most likely scenario was that they would be discovered first before they could get close.
After asking a few more questions and receiving the top leader’s seamless replies, the heads of state gradually fell silent again, their brows furrowed as they began to think rapidly.
The scientists behind them, however, asked more questions related to technology. The top leader selectively and briefly answered one or two before saying, “As for the specific scientific matters, our professors from the Academy of Sciences will be very happy to share with you all later.”
The meeting ended more peacefully than Xia Anran had imagined. She had thought the whole auditorium would explode. After all, the Earth was about to be destroyed, and aliens were preparing to colonize. Anyone who heard that would have their mind boggled and then go crazy. One could only say that they were truly the top figures in their fields; their psychological fortitude was truly admirable.
But after the meeting, both the heads of state and the scientists tacitly chose to stay in the Hua nation. Their scheduled return trips, which had been set for that night, were all canceled. And so, they fell into a slightly eerie calm.
…
Xia Anran and Ren Yi followed the leaders back to the villa in the capital. After everyone was seated in the living room, the top leader rubbed his temples and said with a bitter smile, “Although I was mentally prepared, after making this public, I still feel a heavy burden on my shoulders.”
The second-in-command also smiled. “It happened so suddenly today, many people haven’t had time to process it yet. Not a single one of them left tonight. I think tomorrow will be the truly difficult time.”
“Yes, none of them are easy to deal with,” the top leader said, taking a sip of tea to wet his throat. “Especially Kaelen. He didn’t say a single word today.”
After saying that, the leaders all exchanged a smile. Everything was understood without words. A quiet child is surely up to no good.
After chatting for a bit, the top leader looked at Xia Anran. “Little Xia, how much funds do we have now?”
She took out her phone, opened the admin panel, and converted her earnings. She now had a little over one hundred and twenty thousand Activation Coins. This was thanks to the nature reserve streams last week. The two broadcasts had brought in almost two to three times the usual earnings. She had even chatted with the system, sighing that the richest people in the interstellar era were actually the Beastman race. They were all loaded. The top spots on her donation leaderboard had been successfully taken over by them. Even Jeqi had been pushed down.
Then, the leaders all gathered around her. The top leader said, “We have to use our savings. Let’s see what good things we can buy.”
This discussion lasted until almost dawn. The leaders compared everything from cost-effectiveness to practicality, pinching every penny, and after a long and serious deliberation, they selected three items.
An Invisible Space Probe, priced at thirty thousand. According to the product description, it had no problem flying to the Yaxun star, and its anti-detection technology should also be superior to theirs, so it wouldn’t be discovered. Most importantly, this thing was fully automated. Once connected to a computer, the operation was especially simple, almost like a fool-proof device. The top leader said he had had his eye on this for a long time. As the saying goes, he who strikes first gains the advantage. They had to strike first and grasp the enemy’s movements. And it just so happened that they could use it to back up their previous claim of being able to detect the Yaxun star.
The second was a Spaceship that claimed to have full-function defense and attack capabilities, capable of accommodating three hundred thousand people. The price was a direct eighty thousand. Xia Anran’s jaw nearly dropped when she saw the number. She immediately pulled out the system and asked if it was a scam. The system jumped up and down in anger, saying she was uncultured.
[This is already a small-sized spaceship! Is accommodating so few people considered a lot?]
[Don’t say I’m your system when you go out in the future! It’s embarrassing!]
She was speechless. With the leaders present, she was too embarrassed to argue with it, so she could only make a note of it in her little book to deal with it later.
These two items had cost her 110,000, leaving her with only a little over ten thousand. But even she felt that in this special period, they had to buy more things to… bolster their courage.
With the remaining ten thousand plus, everyone picked and chose and finally settled on a Covert Communicator. A set contained fifty communicators. Unlike the existing communication devices on Earth, it did not rely on electromagnetic waves. The specific terminology was all Greek to her, but in short, it was a very powerful communication device. Contact over tens of thousands of meters was no problem.
Seeing so many of these things, she couldn’t help but wonder if this alien technology was really still technology. It was more like divine skill! Science was on the verge of becoming obsolete. But the professors at the Academy of Sciences had always been very receptive to these things, because they believed that current technology was only in its infancy. Their understanding of this world, of this universe, was only skin-deep. Many of the seemingly unshakable views of modern science could easily be overturned in the future.
Overnight, Xia Anran’s savings were empty again, but she was exceptionally excited. She could feel that the Hua nation and the Earth were about to enter a new era.
This time, Ren Yi was also assigned a task by the top leader. He would no longer follow the production team for outdoor streams. After his guidance, Qi Yunhan had gradually been able to externalize the energy in her body, but perhaps because of her added ability to communicate with animals, her combat power was a little weaker than his.
“After the Qilin came to the capital, it said it sensed some energy fluctuations similar to Professor Qi’s. For the next two days, I’ll have to trouble you, Ren Yi, to take the Qilin and start selecting people from the military who can awaken their abilities,” the top leader said.
Ren Yi nodded. “Rest assured, Chief. I will complete the mission.”
The moment he finished speaking, the system, itching to get in on the action, jumped out again.
[I have a good thing here. Want to consider buying it?]
Xia Anran looked at her empty account. She didn’t have a single cent left now. The system should know better than her that her pockets were cleaner than her face.
The top leader also looked over, very interested in the “good thing” the system was talking about. “Then, little comrade, can you introduce it to us?”
The system had always liked the top leader very much, and its voice was very sweet.
[Okay, Grandpa! It’s this one. A Psychic Power Detector.]
The system operated the phone and pulled up a product page.
Xia Anran’s eyes nearly popped out when she saw the five million Activation Coins marked below. How much?!!!
[Don’t look at how expensive it is, it’s really useful! It can screen out people with psychic potential. With a simple stimulation like with Little Brother Ren, they can awaken.]
It was indeed… very tempting. The leaders were all a little moved, but the price was truly astronomical.
Xia Anran pursed her lips. “I don’t have that much money.” What was the intention of this damn system, showing her something she couldn’t afford?!
[If you don’t have money, you can take out a loan! It’s very convenient!]
[With your current credit rating, a five-million loan is no problem at all!]
Xia Anran: “…” Something’s wrong. This is too wrong. Could it be a loan shark loan, where she borrows five million and has to pay back fifty million?
The top leader also realized this problem and asked, “Are there any conditions for this loan?”
[No conditions. There isn’t even any interest. It’s a benefit for the host.]
Xia Anran: Do I look like I believe you?
Based on the principle that there’s no such thing as a free lunch, the top leader, after careful consideration, still refused. Although they really needed this detector right now, it was too inappropriate to let her bear such a huge and unknown debt.
Seeing that he was about to refuse, the system immediately got anxious, unable to hide its little scheme.
[I’m really not scamming you! I applied for it myself through my own authority. It was actually very difficult!]
[Because… um… I’m just five million in transaction volume short of being able to apply for a system residence, so…]
[Aiya, help me out!]
“A system residence? What’s that?” she asked.
[It’s like a house for you humans. A batch of luxury houses was just released, but my qualifications aren’t enough. I need the transaction volume to upgrade my job title.]
An electronic life form also needs to buy a house?