Chapter 73
Director Hukeni looked at his emperor’s face, which had turned as black as the bottom of a pot, and wondered who had provoked him this time. But right now, Host Anran’s livestream was the most important thing. He couldn’t be bothered with this emotionally fragile emperor.
After Professor Zhao Yun briefly introduced some strawberry cultivation techniques, the comments section was flooded with messages from interstellar researchers, asking detailed questions about everything from planting to fertilizing and fruit thinning.
To be honest, it had been a long time since Professor Zhao had taught such basic things to students. Fortunately, she had been informed early on that the interstellar era’s fruit cultivation technology was basically zero, so she had spent several days preparing these fundamentals, even going back to textbooks she hadn’t looked at in years, for fear of any omissions in today’s stream.
After the introduction to strawberry cultivation, the interstellar scientists had gained a lot. Director Li Sheng sighed with emotion. “To think that such a small plant contains so much knowledge. It’s truly marvelous.”
“Yes, it’s a pity Professor Zhao said that strawberries need to be grown from seedlings, and we don’t have any right now,” a professor beside him said regretfully. He was already rubbing his hands together, eager to try. He felt that if he were given a strawberry seedling, he could grow a whole greenhouse of them!
“Hmm… this greenhouse is used to regulate temperature and humidity,” Director Li said, stroking his chin and taking notes. “Such a simple and ancient method… tsk, it’s definitely impossible to control the temperature precisely.” I’ll make a note of this. When I have a scientific exchange with the Hua nation’s scientists, I’ll introduce them to our mature temperature control technology. These lovely fruits must receive the best treatment!
“Strawberry seedlings, note it down, note it down. I’ll have Host Anran send some over next time,” he added another item to his little supply notebook.
Professor Zhao hadn’t originally planned to introduce too much about strawberry cultivation. According to the information she had been given, there were no strawberry seedlings in the interstellar era, so teaching them would be pointless. But unable to resist the viewers’ thirst for knowledge, she had talked for nearly an hour before leading them through the strawberry greenhouse and into a planting research lab behind it.
This was a cherry cultivation center that she had specially tailored for the interstellar audience.
The moment they entered the lab, they were faced with a row of cherry trees of various sizes, from seed to fruit-bearing, a dozen pots in total. Various planting tools, fertilizers, and pesticides were also placed beside them.
This display left even Xia Anran, who had grown up with a cherry orchard at home, a little dumbfounded.
The interstellar scientists were dancing with joy, their eyes shining. So this was how a seed could grow, step by step! They turned to look at the progress in their own labs… uh, still stuck at the first step.
The comments immediately became active again. Not just the scientists, but the ordinary viewers were also quite interested in how fruit was grown. With such an engaged audience, Professor Zhao’s lecture became more and more enthusiastic.
“Wow, Professor Zhao is so well-prepared,” Xia Anran said, watching her start from the beginning to introduce how a cherry tree was cultivated. She whispered to Ren Yi.
He was looking down at his phone, seemingly chatting with someone. Hearing her words, he looked up and grunted. “Teaching interstellar humans from ten thousand years in the future how to grow cherries… I bet when she first got the assignment, she thought she was still dreaming.”
Xia Anran chuckled and leaned over to look at his phone. “Who are you chatting with?”
Ren Yi’s long fingers tapped the screen a few times, and then he very generously turned it over for her to see. “With Chu Yan and the others.”
Currently, a total of eight special ability users had been awakened in the Hua nation. They had a small private group chat for mutual exchange. Of course, it was mainly for communicating with him, because besides him, the others were all currently gathered together for training.
She glanced at it and saw that their little group was quite active. These were all young people in their twenties and thirties who had suddenly awakened powers that had only ever appeared in sci-fi novels. They were all very excited.
“Do you want to join? I can add you,” he asked.
She waved her hands repeatedly. “What would I do in there? I don’t have psychic power.”
“The Qilin is also in there.”
Xia Anran: “…?” “Where did it get a WeChat account?”
He put away his phone, leaned against the wall with his hands in his pockets, and said with a smile, “With its current status in the Hua nation, what’s so difficult about getting a phone?”
“What I mean is, how did it get real-name verification?”
He stroked his chin and smiled. “You don’t know that it even has an ID card now, do you? It just got its picture taken a few days ago.”
“…” Holy crap! That must have scared the staff half to death!
“Speaking of which, it’s now considered an official civil servant of the Hua nation… hmm, a beast servant,” he said, holding back a laugh. He thought for a moment and added, “It should be on a mission right now.”
She let out an “Ah.” “On a mission?”
…
“Achoo!”
The Qilin lifted a front hoof and scratched its nose, wrinkling it. “Strange. Who’s talking about this divine beast?”
“Mr. Qilin, are you alright?” the staff member in a plaid shirt and glasses beside him asked timidly.
The Qilin shook its head and clapped him on the shoulder like a good brother. “Human, no need to be so polite with this divine beast. Aren’t we… what’s it called… colleagues now?”
The young man silently wiped his sweat. He was a staff member of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Going abroad was a common occurrence, and meeting with the heads of state of various countries was not unusual. But going on a business trip to Country A with a Qilin was truly a first for him.
And at this moment, the expression of the president of Country A, Kaelen, who was sitting across from them, was also very colorful. Could someone please tell him what this giant beast, glowing red and not yet speaking, sitting across from him was?
Five minutes ago, he had received a call from the Hua nation. The top leader had told him that considering the danger of the Yaxun people, they could send an assistant to help Country A control the situation, free of charge. Although there was a hint of “assistance” being a euphemism for “surveillance,” these three aliens were indeed a bit difficult to handle. Who knew what strange abilities they had? For safety, he had agreed.
But… the one you sent is not a person at all!
The Qilin, having crammed human diplomatic etiquette before coming, sat gracefully on the chair, facing Kaelen across the long table.
He cleared his throat. “May I ask, this… uh, sir is?”
The Qilin poked its head out and asked the young man beside it, “What’s he babbling about?” As a pure-bred Hua nation beast that had never been abroad, it couldn’t understand foreign languages at all, which was why a dedicated translator had been assigned to it.
The young man said in a low voice, “He’s greeting you and asking who you are.”
The Qilin flicked its tail and said with its head held high, “This person is so stupid. Can’t he tell I’m a Qilin?” In the Hua nation, even a three-year-old child could recognize it.
The translator: “…” He sighed and diligently translated, of course, omitting the personal attacks.
The leaders had chosen to have the Qilin appear in Country A after much consideration. The main reason was indeed that the danger level of the three Yaxun people was difficult to control. Another reason was that given Country A’s consistent two-faced style, they felt it was necessary to intimidate them a little. The psychics in the Hua nation, besides Ren Yi, were still not very stable. The top leader was afraid that if he sent them over, there would be an accident, and they would lose more than they gained. Ren Yi now had the more important task of protecting Xia Anran. So, after much thought, they had finally set their sights on the mascot Qilin, who was wandering around the Academy of Sciences every day. As a divine beast, its own strength was formidable, and it could also represent the image of their Hua nation well. It couldn’t be more suitable. But since this was a secret visit, they had only had it take a translator to Country A through the portal.
Kaelen, who had rushed over after receiving the news, had completely lost control of his expression the moment he saw the Qilin. Where was he? Was this still Earth? First, three aliens, and now a divine beast? No, what on earth had happened in the Hua nation during this time? It felt like their version was three updates ahead of everyone else’s. Especially when this Qilin had even extended a paw to shake his hand.
The usually shrewd Kaelen was, for a rare change, dizzy and his mind was blank.
“Hey?” After shaking hands with him, the Qilin tilted its head. “He’s so young, but his body is already failing? It feels like I need to strengthen his fertility!”
The translator beside him, his eyes wide as saucers, almost wanted to cover its mouth. Fortunately, Kaelen couldn’t understand the Hua language and didn’t have a translator with him, so he was just looking at him with a puzzled expression.
The translator gave a sheepish smile and a thumbs-up. “Mr. Qilin is praising your excellent physical fitness.”
Kaelen had a sudden realization and said, stammering, in the Hua language, “Thank you.”
The Qilin waved its paw. “What’s there to thank for? I’ll give him a little boost later.”
The translator: “…” He could already feel how exhausting this business trip was going to be.
After a brief meeting, Kaelen also arranged for them to stay at the state guesthouse. Due to the Qilin’s special nature, he had hesitated for a long time about whether to just have it stay at the council building and try not to go out. But the Qilin had no interest in their white palace and, with a flash, entered the jade pendant, which could then be carried out by the translator.
Kaelen had specially arranged their room on the floor below the Yaxun people, to make it convenient to respond to any emergencies.
The Qilin entered the room, picked a spot by the bay window, and lay down. The glass in the room was one-way, so people outside couldn’t see in. That was why it dared to sunbathe so brazenly.
“I don’t like this place. Let’s finish our mission quickly and go back,” it said with a yawn. This place felt cold and the scenery wasn’t nice. It didn’t like it. Compared to this, it would rather be at the Academy of Sciences, being asked questions from morning till night. Hmm… it would be best if they only asked for half a day, leaving it the other half to watch TV.
The translator, on the side, tidied up the things they had brought. Hearing its words, he pushed up his glasses and said honestly, “Mr. Qilin, our mission this time has an indefinite duration, so I’m afraid you’ll have to bear with it for a while.”
The Qilin thought of the special instructions and praise the top leader had given it before they had left and could only flick its tail and say, “Alright. Who am I to break a promise to you humans?” It was very trustworthy.
After lying down for a while, just as it was about to command the translator to get its tablet so it could continue its drama, it heard a faint sound from upstairs. It immediately lifted its head. The translator saw its serious expression and also became nervous.
The Qilin listened for a while and then slowly reached out a paw to paw at its tablet. “It’s nothing. They seem to be sending some kind of signal upstairs. There’s a little energy fluctuation.”
The translator breathed a sigh of relief and continued to tidy up. “Oh. Sending a signal. I thought it was…”
“Wait, sending a signal!” He suddenly looked up and quickly contacted the capital to try and intercept it. This should be them contacting the Yaxun star. The content was very likely to involve their next plan of action.
“You humans are really strange. And these aliens are the same. Why do you all like to mess with these strange energies?” the Qilin said, wrinkling its nose in disgust. It could feel the energy fluctuations, but for them, this kind of power was very unpleasant. It made them feel very uncomfortable.
After reporting the situation, the translator finally relaxed. Taking this opportunity, he went over to the Qilin and started chatting with it. After all, what Chinese person would refuse a Qilin! He was very high in EQ, and the Qilin was very happy to chat with him, rambling on from the Tang Dynasty. The translator was overjoyed.
After chatting for over an hour, his phone suddenly rang. He took it out, glanced at it, and his expression instantly turned grave.
“Mr. Qilin, the capital has already deciphered the Yaxun people’s communication. It reveals that a batch of them secretly infiltrated Earth a few years ago, right on the border between the Hua nation and country Z.”
“We might have a temporary mission.”