Chapter 12
News that they could now contact the interstellar civilization was reported upwards immediately. Before Xia Anran could even fully figure out the system’s newly upgraded functions, a call came in from the top leader.
“Little Xia, I heard from Yuxian that the system upgraded and developed a new function?”
Minister Qiao’s full name was Qiao Yuxian.
Xia Anran briefly described the changes to the system. As expected, the top leader’s attention was immediately drawn to the newly unlocked private messaging feature. He made a snap decision on the spot: Xia Anran was to come over right away. This matter had to be discussed in person.
“Uh, Chief, I might not be able to come over right now. Would an hour from now be okay?”
The moment the livestream ended, she had started the lottery for the 200 peaches she’d promised her viewers. Just like before, as soon as the results were out, 200 black boxes materialized on the ground. After the initial shock, everyone was now incredibly curious and had crowded around to look. Plus, she had to verify and pack the peaches one by one. She really couldn’t get away for a while.
The top leader was clearly curious about what was holding her up. When he heard it was about the objects that could transfer items to the interstellar civilization, he immediately decided that Xia Anran should bring them along.
Who wouldn’t be curious about something that could traverse space and time?
“Don’t touch them, Little Yan! If something goes wrong, we could be taken to the Meridian Gate for beheading.”
“Brother Zhang, this is the new era. Firing squad at most.”
Xia Anran: “…”
Can’t you say something more auspicious?!
Xia Anran pushed through the crowd of onlookers, pulled Minister Qiao aside, and relayed the top leader’s message. Minister Qiao immediately switched back into work mode. He coughed twice, told everyone to disperse, and found several large crates to carefully pack the black boxes into. He didn’t forget to bring along several large baskets of freshly picked peaches.
The production team was still itching for more. They wanted to see how the peaches were packed and how they were teleported to space. One by one, they eagerly volunteered to escort the items.
Minister Qiao put on a stern face and had Director Huang shoo them away. “You think we need you for an escort? The special forces are already on their way.”
Sure enough, a few minutes later, two black SUVs appeared. Several fully armed soldiers jumped out, saluted Minister Qiao, and began to methodically load the crates.
While they were loading, Minister Qiao chatted with the only man present who was in civilian clothes and wearing a black cap.
“Marshal Yue, I never expected that when they said they were sending someone, they’d be sending you.”
Marshal Yue laughed heartily. “I just got back to the capital yesterday. I was idle at home with nothing to do. When I heard about this strange affair from Old Xue, I volunteered myself.”
He then looked over the nearby Xia Anran and said with a smile, “This must be Little Xia. Not bad. Looks sharp and has good spirit.”
Lately, the phrase Xia Anran had heard most was “This must be Little Xia.” She still hadn’t fully adapted to the fact that she was suddenly a household name among the nation’s top leaders.
So, she could only nod and offer a greeting.
As her personal bodyguards, Yu Xue and Wu Sicheng also stood by her side and gave Marshal Yue a military salute.
“So it’s you two. The last time we met was during the special military operation in the Syria region, wasn’t it? I remember you were the vanguard,” Marshal Yue said, looking at Xia Anran with a smile. “These two are our Cheetah Commando Team’s finest soldiers. You could take them for a stroll through the Middle East without any problems.”
Yu Xue and Wu Sicheng exchanged a glance. “Marshal, you’re exaggerating.”
Marshal Yue roared with laughter, clapping them on the shoulders and saying a few more words. They were clearly his favored subordinates.
Xia Anran stood by, dumbfounded. She knew the two people assigned to her must be highly skilled, but she never imagined they were at this level…
As they spoke, the loading was completed. They all got into the cars and headed for the center of the capital. Minister Qiao also arranged for Director Huang and his team to be taken to a temporary lodging.
…
At this moment, the atmosphere in the interstellar era was tense and on the verge of conflict. The United Star System’s Fourth Planet’s star sector was surrounded by several small planetoids, all of which had now entered a state of full combat readiness.
“Has the Fifth Fleet departed yet?” the United Star System’s Consul General asked in a deep voice.
The United Star System was holding its highest-level meeting. The Consul General, all the consuls from the other planets, several of the system’s commanders, and the military district commandants were all present.
Due to the military emergency, these individuals hadn’t even had time to watch Xia Anran’s livestream. They had been engaged in urgent military deployment since early morning.
Hong Yu, the current head of the United Star System’s military and supreme wartime commander, nodded. “The Fifth Fleet set out for the Fourth Planet at dawn yesterday. Major General Guo Shangtong is serving as commander.”
“The temporary command posts on the four planetoids surrounding the Fourth Planet have also been prepared and can enter a state of war at any time.”
The planetoids near that star sector were not suitable for human habitation, lacking both water and oxygen. Although current technology could create survival systems for soldiers to simulate an oxygenated environment, if a war were to actually break out on those planets, it would undoubtedly be a burden on the soldiers. This was because the interstellar Beastman race could survive for short periods without oxygen, making them better adapted to that battlefield environment.
Thus, a general soon proposed that, as a last resort, they could abandon these planetoids and detonate them, which would significantly hinder the Beastmen’s advance.
“If we lose these planetoids, the Fourth Planet will be completely exposed to the enemy’s sight with no buffer zone left,” the Consul General said slowly. Even if they could withstand this attack, what about the next one? They wouldn’t have any more planets to blow up.
General Hong Yu agreed with the Consul General’s assessment. “The Consul General is right. We cannot abandon our territory. Even though they are not suitable for life, they are still a part of our United Star System’s domain.”
The war had not officially started yet, after all. Since the top leader and the supreme commander had spoken, the others could only nod in agreement.
“What is the status of the 115th Squadron?” The Consul General’s gaze shifted to Director Li Sheng of the Science Academy, who had been engrossed in something on his own terminal since the meeting began.
The reason Director Li was able to attend this military operations meeting was because of the 115th Squadron. This was a team secretly trained by the United Star System, composed of pure-strain System humans whose psychic powers had been awakened by meteorite energy developed by the Science Academy.
This was the United Star System’s most significant breakthrough to date. Ever since the people of Earth had migrated to this star system, they had been at a disadvantage. The reason they had always adopted a roundabout strategy when dealing with the Interstellar Empire and the Beastman race was because they had no psychic power!
This ability, which could be described as a superpower, had far exceeded their expectations. A top-tier 3S-level psychic could sink a battleship from several kilometers away. This level of force could no longer be stopped by thermal weapons, not to mention the fact that the enemy had an entire army of psychic power users.
Fortunately, as the people of Earth settled in the star system, over thousands of years of integration, the Science Academy discovered that a certain energy contained within the system could awaken psychic power. However, this technology was not yet mature, and the success rate was very low.
The first batch to undergo the experiment were the best of the best, selected from the military—each a steel-willed warrior with exceptional physical prowess. In the end, out of one hundred individuals, only forty-three survived the experiment, and their psychic powers were mostly at the B-C level, far from being combat-ready.
This team was named “115” after the founding date of the United Star System and was its most vital secret.
When his name was called, Director Li didn’t react at first. It wasn’t until the secretary next to him coughed twice that he looked up at the Consul General with a dazed expression. “My apologies. There was an important data transmission. What did you just ask?”
Director Li had a common flaw among science fanatics: he was constantly immersed in data and research. Even during meetings, as long as it wasn’t related to the Science Academy, he would have his head buried in his photon-computer, openly “slacking off.”
Everyone knew about this habit of his. But since Director Li’s research capabilities were top-notch, and many of the United Star System’s major scientific breakthroughs had been achieved under his leadership, the Consul General didn’t get angry, even when he slacked off in a meeting of this level. He simply repeated his earlier question good-naturedly.
“The 115th Squadron currently has 315 members on record. Among them, thirty-two soldiers have reached A-level psychic power, and three have reached S-level. The strongest psychic is still Major General Qin Feng, who is showing signs of breaking through S-level with the help of the fruit obtained from Host Anran.”
As Director Li reported, he projected the personnel information of the 115th Squadron onto the conference screen. After obtaining the fruit from Xia Anran, aside from what was necessary for research, the rest had been provided to the 115th Squadron. Fortunately, the effect of strengthening their psychic powers after consumption was significant. Otherwise, Director Li would have been too heartbroken to sleep at night.
The Consul General looked at the personnel information, calculating that, as a last resort, he would have to expose the 115th Squadron on the battlefield. The Beastmen’s advance seemed truly formidable this time.
“Consul General, there’s an incoming communication from the Interstellar Empire. The Emperor wishes to speak with you,” the Consul General’s secretary hurried in from outside and said, leaning down.
The others present also heard this news and looked over in unison. Only Director Li suddenly slammed his hand on the table and said loudly, “Host Anran just held a lottery for 200 more honey peaches in her stream! Consul General, we must gather the information and retrieve these fruits as soon as possible!”
“…”
He really was slacking off and watching the livestream.
“Also, there is some other important information…” Director Li was about to continue when the Consul General held up a hand to stop him.
“Let’s put matters regarding the livestream aside for now. Handle the fruit retrieval according to the previous plan,” the Consul General said, opening the communication device in front of him with a smile. “Let’s first hear what our old friend wants to talk about.”
A call between the two supreme leaders, especially during this tense wartime situation, was indeed very important. Director Li could only temporarily hold back what he was about to say.
Once the communication was connected, Phileas’s face appeared on the large screen in the conference room. He was wearing the most formal royal robes, a crown, and holding a scepter, sitting upright in front of the camera. After confirming the connection, he offered a greeting with standard imperial etiquette.
The Consul General returned the courtesy. “Your Majesty, please forgive our lack of ceremony for this sudden communication.”
According to the United Star System’s usual customs, if the other party initiated contact, their level of etiquette should be slightly higher. Since the other side was being so formal, they should reciprocate with equal or slightly higher treatment. But today’s events were truly sudden. The United Star System’s high command had been in an emergency meeting all morning, and compared to Phileas’s solemnity, they appeared somewhat simple.
“It was I who initiated the communication abruptly. Please don’t mind these formalities,” Phileas said with a very friendly attitude. Before the United Star System could even speak, he proactively stated his purpose.
“The Empire has heard that the Beastman race is advancing towards your esteemed nation’s Fourth Planet. In the face of such unreasonable and barbaric aggression, we, as fellow humans, also find it despicable. The Empire is willing to provide your esteemed nation with all necessary support, including military forces, to jointly resist the Beastman race.”
The moment he said this, the high command of the United Star System was somewhat stunned by this combination of moves. The Interstellar Empire wanted to help them fight the Beastmen? They would be burning incense if the Empire didn’t take advantage of the situation!
The Consul General, however, seemed completely unsurprised. He smiled and thanked them for their aid. Phileas then went on an indignant tirade against the Beastmen for a good ten minutes, as if they had invaded the Interstellar Empire itself.
Finally, with great sincerity, he stated that the Interstellar Empire’s fleet had already been dispatched towards the United Star System’s Fourth Planet but would not approach without permission. If war broke out, the Empire’s forces could be directly commanded by the United Star System’s commanders.
The sincerity was practically overflowing.
After the communication ended, the other high-ranking officials were still in a daze. Only the Consul General looked at Director Li with a sigh.
“Tell us about today’s livestream. Host Anran is now truly a benefactor to our entire United Star System.”