Chapter 11
A war?
Xia Anran caught the keyword and immediately looked toward Minister Qiao, who had been with them all day. As the only government official present, he instantly became the focus of everyone’s attention.
Minister Qiao gestured for Xia Anran to continue the stream, then stepped aside to make a phone call.
Seeing the audience’s interest in small animals, Director Huang directed the camera to focus on the flowerbeds. The weather was perfect today. Under the warm sun, butterflies danced among the flowers, and with the cameraman’s professional handling, the livestream comments were soon buried under a flood of “wows.”
The Beastman warships were only approaching the border of the United Star System’s territory and had not yet launched an attack. Furthermore, the United Star System’s government had adopted a policy of minimizing the war’s impact on the public. As a result, the citizens’ morale was still stable. Most people were watching Xia Anran’s livestream without too much worry.
Since it wasn’t their homes being attacked, the citizens of the Interstellar Empire were even more relaxed, mostly just watching the drama unfold. The atmosphere in the comments quickly returned to one of cheerful viewing.
“Are there no animals where you all live?” Adhering to their previously discussed strategy of learning as much as possible about the interstellar humans, Xia Anran posed a timely question.
[Animals? You probably mean Beastmen. Their cubs aren’t so annoying, but they’re not as pretty and cute as butterflies!]
[I hope one day the interstellar community can have butterflies too! Just watching them fly around would make me happy.]
[Suddenly I feel like we live in such a barren world. I want butterflies too! I’m gonna throw a fit!]
[The cubs of the Fur-tail tribe among the Beastmen are okay. They’re pretty cute.]
[The person above me is from the Empire, right? I’ve heard for a long time that the Empire has a black market for smuggled Fur-tail cubs.]
[Even though they look fluffy when they’re little, they turn into Beastmen after they pass their juvenile stage. I don’t get why Imperials are so twisted as to keep them.]
[His Majesty, the Emperor of the Interstellar Empire]: Ahem, the Interstellar Empire does not permit the smuggling and sale of Beastman cubs. Citizens who discover smugglers are requested to report them in a timely manner. We will provide a reward.
The moment Phileas saw the comments mentioning the Empire keeping Beastman cubs, he immediately jumped in and sent his first bullet comment. This kind of anti-humanitarian behavior was seriously damaging his Empire’s image!
In truth, Phileas had long known about the private industry for selling Beastman cubs. For the sake of appearances, the Empire officially strictly forbade it, but the traffickers were usually very careful, and some Imperials, especially those from noble houses, were very interested in keeping Beastman cubs as pets. So, most of the time, Phileas just turned a blind eye.
For example, one of the decorated old generals present was famous for his love of Fur-tail cubs. He kept several at home, and once they entered their adult stage and developed human-like features, he would dispose of them and purchase new cubs.
As Phileas’s gaze swept over, this particular general’s back immediately straightened. “Rest assured, Your Majesty. We will strictly control this.”
Phileas turned a blind eye to this matter because the practice of keeping Beastman cubs had existed for hundreds of years, almost becoming an unspoken hobby among the nobility. He personally did not support this preference, but based on a balance of various interests, he could only choose to handle it with a light touch.
…
Minister Qiao made a brief phone call, then spoke through the Bluetooth earpiece Xia Anran had put on before the stream. “Little Xia, the Chief’s instruction is not to discuss the war for now. The topic is too heavy, and given our current level of familiarity with each other, it’s best not to bring it up.”
Having received her instructions, Xia Anran followed the original broadcast plan. She waved at the screen and, lifting the hem of her skirt, walked toward the peach grove. The cameraman showed off a fancy move; with a turn of the lens, a grove of peach trees laden with fruit came into view. Green leaves and dappled light scattered across the bluestone path. From the side, Director Huang was frantically directing camera positions and reflector boards through his walkie-talkie.
“Ta-da! This is the fruit I promised to show everyone last time. This is a very beautiful and delicious type of fruit we have here called a peach. This variety is a honey peach.”
Xia Anran picked a plump honey peach and showed it to the camera. The proportion of Imperials in the comments immediately shot up as they began to absorb the fruit’s psychic power-healing properties.
Director Hukeni, a man of action, had already brought in several soldiers with severe psychic damage and was monitoring their recovery in real time.
“His Level 2 psychic damage is almost completely repaired,” Director Hukeni gasped. He was referring to a soldier with relatively minor damage. The psychic power monitoring device showed his power visibly recovering, and the man’s own complexion grew rosier as his breathing steadied.
According to his records, the appearance of the green plants had also repaired their psychic power to a certain extent, but it was no match for the effect of the fruit. The moment the honey peaches appeared, everyone’s recovery rate shot up. And this was just through an image. If they could obtain the real thing and eat it, the healing effect would be unimaginable.
“Is there even a trend of a breakthrough?” Phileas also leaned in to look at the instrument, then was surprised to find that it showed the soldier’s psychic power had a tendency to increase after being repaired.
“Hahahahahaha! My psychic damage has dropped to Level 6!” General Navie, who had been immersed in the livestream, suddenly burst out laughing, feeling as if he had become several years younger in an instant. His psychic damage had been at the highest level, Level 7, for many years, rendering him basically unable to use his powers. He never thought he would see hope for a cure in his lifetime.
Xia Anran had no idea the honey peaches were having such a massive impact. She sweetly cut one open to show everyone. After eating two bites, she once again triggered a tsunami of sorrowful cries in the comments.
According to the original plan, she was only supposed to take one bite. But she didn’t know how the peaches in this mansion were grown; they were so juicy, sweet, and crisp that she couldn’t resist eating a few more pieces. This made Director Huang jump up and down on the sidelines, terrified she would smudge her makeup.
[AHHHH I WANT TO EAT IT TOO, STUFF IT IN MY MOUTH, STUFF IT IN MY MOUTH!]
[Will I ever get to taste what fruit is like in this lifetime?]
[I want to kick the Science Academy again. Do something useful!!!]
[@ImperialAcademyDirectorHukeni DON’T PLAY DEAD!]
[I want to eat it so bad… Just watching has already soothed my psychic power so much. I can’t imagine what it would be like to actually eat it.]
[AHHHH GIVE IT TO ME! GIVE IT TO ME!]
[My psychic power is about to go haywire! Host, save me!]
[Can we have a lottery? Can we? Host, look at my pitiful expression.]
[LOTTERY! LOTTERY!]
“After the stream ends, I’ll prepare two hundred honey peaches as gifts for everyone. The method will be just as you all suggested, the same lottery format as before. You can all look forward to it!”
After satisfying her craving with a few slices and showcasing the fruit, there was only one last segment left: introducing their capital city!
As the already-prepared camera rose, the ancient Imperial Palace and the Capital Square, seen through the red bricks and glazed tiles of the Princess’s Mansion, gradually filled the frame.
With the camera so high up, Xia Anran couldn’t be in the shot. She could only serve as the narrator through her earpiece.
The unique, classical, and profound beauty of the Hua nation unfolded like a painted scroll. As several of the capital’s most iconic buildings appeared, the United Star System viewers in the comments suddenly grew excited.
[What am I seeing! Is that the ancient Imperial Palace?!]
[Holy crap, the Capital Square! And the monument!]
[I’m seeing a photo from my history textbook with my own eyes!]
[It’s alive and moving!]
[So many ancient humans on the street. I kind of want to cry. This is our hometown.]
[So Anran is from our country!!! My god, so our country was originally called the Hua nation?]
[Sob, I’m from the Hua nation too!]
[So everyone is only just now realizing that Anran and we are from the same country? Aren’t we all from Earth?]
[The person above me clearly slipped through the cracks of the System’s education! There were many countries on Earth. It’s just that so much time has passed that the name of our country wasn’t recorded.]
[So Anran and we are fellow countrymen of the highest order!]
[My hometown from ten thousand years ago π_π]
Watching the rapidly scrolling comments, Xia Anran was surprised that the idea proposed just yesterday had already been confirmed. They really were all from the Hua nation!
Minister Qiao, watching from the side, was also beaming with joy. They really are the descendants of our Hua nation! I have to report this to the Chief immediately!
Minister Qiao happily ran off to make another phone call. Xia Anran’s heart was filled with a mix of emotions—she was touched, yet it was bittersweet. These were their descendants. They had been forced to wander, to leave their mother planet, and after all these years, they still remembered the Hua nation!
“Yes, this is the capital of our Hua nation. Our ancient Imperial Palace and our Capital Square,” Xia Anran said, her eyes shining. “This history and these memories are what we share, because we are all children of the Hua nation.”
Director Huang reminded her through the earpiece that the broadcast time was almost up. The camera circled high in the air, capturing the beautiful scenery of the capital city, before gradually descending. Xia Anran returned to the frame and gave a simple farewell.
“Alright, today’s stream is ending for now. From now on, I will meet you all at this time every day. I’ll see you all tomorrow!”
Xia Anran smiled and waved at the camera. The lens slowly pulled back, ending on a final shot of the garden’s lake, mountains, and clustered flowers.
…
The stream ended. Xia Anran took a deep breath. The rest of the production team gathered around. Director Huang was still reviewing the recording with the cameraman. They had discovered that while they couldn’t directly film the projection in the air, they could record the screen. So, during the broadcast, one camera had been recording the entire process.
“Hey? Little Xia, come quickly! Why did your phone just flash?” Director Huang suddenly asked.
Xia Anran was taking off her jewelry. The pile of antiques on her head had made her sweat profusely, and she couldn’t wait to take them off.
The moment she exited the livestream, the app on her phone became invisible to others again. So, Director Huang and the others had only seen her phone flash with a bright light.
Xia Anran hurried over and opened it to find that the app had automatically updated. Her level had reached Lv. 2, and with it, her daily broadcast time had finally increased to half an hour!
She eagerly tapped her profile picture and discovered another newly unlocked function: she could now send private messages to her followers in the interstellar era!
However, this function also had limitations. She could only initiate the conversation, and she could only do it once a month.
But this was a huge breakthrough. Finally, they could have closer, private contact!
…
While Xia Anran was excitedly exploring the upgraded system, in the Interstellar Empire, Emperor Phileas also made an important decision after the livestream ended.
“Teacher, I have decided that our Empire will also participate in this war between the United Star System and the Beastman race.”
Director Hukeni’s eyebrows shot up. “Your Majesty means…?”
“The warriors of the Interstellar Empire will join the battle and fight together to resist the Beastman race!”