Chapter 22
This news was undoubtedly a huge blow to everyone present. Ever since Xia Anran’s livestream had appeared and they had learned that humans would migrate to the stars in the future, the leaders had mentally prepared themselves—something must have happened to Earth. Otherwise, humanity would never abandon its home to drift through the universe. But they never expected this “something” to arrive so soon.
Seeing the leaders’ faces fall in an instant, Xia Anran didn’t know what to say. In the few seconds she hesitated, another message arrived from the United Star System.
[United Star System Consulate]: As descendants of the Hua nation, the United Star System is willing to provide any assistance to the Hua nation and to Earth to overcome this difficulty. Please do not hesitate to inform us of any needs you may have.
The Consul General of the United Star System dictated the above message and breathed a small sigh of relief after seeing it sent. Perhaps the appearance of this livestream was not only a salvation for the United Star System in the interstellar era but also for a precarious Earth. If they could truly succeed in saving their mother planet after ten thousand years, most of the citizens of the United Star System would likely weep with joy.
Back on Earth, the top leader’s expression softened slightly upon seeing the United Star System’s sincere reply. He said, “Little Xia, tell them we need more information about the planetary explosion in 2100. We must ask the United Star System to provide as much as they can. Also, ask what kind of help we can provide to the interstellar era.”
Xia Anran nodded and immediately sent a slightly polished version of the top leader’s words.
At this point, the communication timer had counted down to two minutes.
Their reply was very fast, a long string of text arriving in just a few seconds.
[United Star System Consulate]: Understood. We will do our best to search for relevant information, but please be mentally prepared, as our historical records have been severely lost.
[United Star System Consulate]: Additionally, we would like to request that our mother planet provide us with fruit and green plants. In the interstellar era, the native inhabitants, the Interstellar Empire, possess psychic power. Fruit and green plants can alleviate psychic instability and also enhance psychic power. Our United Star System has also been researching how to activate our own psychic power for many years, and thus we require a very large quantity of fruit and green plants. At the same time, we hope to learn the methods of cultivation.
[United Star System Consulate]: Most importantly, we hope that Host Anran can stream more often. We are extremely eager to learn about the history and culture of our mother planet and our homeland. Even though we have been away from our homeland for ten thousand years, ancient history and culture are still an important part of our education system. All citizens of the United Star System hold an extreme love and longing for the Hua nation. Thank you very much!
After migrating from Earth to the stars, the people of the United Star System initially felt a strong sense of being outsiders living under someone else’s roof. Many citizens lived in constant fear. To stabilize public morale and avoid being assimilated by the Interstellar Empire through cultural and ideological infiltration, the United Star System vigorously promoted ancient history and cultural education, even with severely damaged historical records. The goal was that no matter how many years passed, they must never forget that they came from Earth and that they had their own brilliant and glorious civilization.
Xia Anran, however, was a bit troubled by the reply. It was no problem to talk more about history and culture during the streams, but transporting a large quantity of fruit to the interstellar era was a real challenge for her. The livestream system currently had no channels for transferring items, except for the lottery during the broadcast and the link she had posted during her first stream.
That’s right, I can post a purchase link! Xia Anran’s eyes lit up. How could her brain have forgotten about that?
But with limited time, she couldn’t explain it now. After briefly indicating to the leaders that she had a way to transfer supplies, she quickly replied.
[Host Anran]: Understood. I will provide a purchase link in the livestream during the next broadcast. You can place your orders then.
[Host Anran]: The private message function can currently only be activated once a month for five minutes. We will initiate a private message again at the same time next month. We look forward to our next contact!
As Xia Anran finished typing these words, the countdown was about to hit zero. In the final second, a short message came back from the other side.
[United Star System Consulate]: Goodbye! We sincerely wish that our mother planet, our Hua nation, can overcome this disaster and that we may meet again in a beautiful future!
The five-minute private message contact finally ended.
This exchange, spanning ten thousand years, left everyone with mixed feelings.
“At least we’re not flying blind anymore,” the top leader finally said, breaking the silence in the room with a smile. “Say something, all of you. It’s not the end of the world yet. Why the long faces?”
One leader said helplessly, “The time is so close, and it’s a disaster on the scale of a planetary explosion. It will be very difficult to avoid.”
“Perhaps we should start preparing a plan to travel to the stars in advance. The choice of our descendants may be the only way.”
The top leader didn’t respond, but Marshal Yue disagreed with this view. “Since we have this opportunity to know in advance, and with help from our descendants, how can we not try to protect the Earth?”
“Look at how much those people of Earth in the interstellar era miss Earth, miss our own country. This is our home. How can we just abandon it?”
The kind-faced female leader also spoke up. “Marshal Yue has a point. It would be best if we could spare Earth from this disaster. But the United Star System’s message implies it will be difficult for them to provide us with accurate information.”
Without detailed information about this disaster, it would indeed be very difficult to prepare a defense.
After listening to everyone’s opinions, the top leader turned to Xia Anran and asked, “Little Xia, what do you think?”
Xia Anran thought for a moment and said, “I don’t want to leave Earth like the interstellar humans, to drift through the universe and land in an unfamiliar place.”
“Through these few streams, I’ve also felt the strong sense of longing for Earth from many citizens of the United Star System. And life in the interstellar era doesn’t seem to be particularly smooth, being suppressed by the Interstellar Empire and the Beastman race. You could almost say they are surviving in the cracks.”
From the comments alone, Xia Anran could sense that the people of the Interstellar Empire looked down on the United Star System. And this was after the people of Earth had been in the interstellar era for over ten thousand years. One could only imagine how difficult life must have been when they first arrived. Moreover, an interstellar era without a sun, without animals and plants, held very little appeal for her. Their Earth was still the best.
“This isn’t really a conflicting issue. We can proceed on two tracks,” the second-in-command said. “We’ll prepare for both possibilities. On one hand, we’ll use the information the United Star System gives us to do our best to avoid that explosion. On the other hand, we also have to prepare for the worst. If we can’t stop it, we’ll have no choice but to leave Earth.”
He turned to the top leader. “If we are to evacuate the more than one billion citizens of the Hua nation, that will be quite difficult. It might not be achievable even in a few decades.”
The top leader lit a cigarette and leaned back on the sofa, speaking slowly. “Yes. We know decades in advance and we still think it’s a massive undertaking. When it happened suddenly back then, how many could they have taken with them?”
Everyone knew in their hearts that the vast majority of the population must have perished in that disaster. The Hua nation had a large population, and such a sudden, massive catastrophe required evacuation to another planet via spaceships. The energy, food, weapons, and countless other things the government would have had to prepare would have been overwhelming. One could only imagine how tragic the situation must have been.
“Chengyue, let’s prepare as you suggested,” the top leader made the final decision. “We’ll tackle this on two fronts, and we can’t relax on either one. This disaster is not too far away, nor is it too close. We old bones probably won’t live to see that day. But we must do today what can be done today and not leave it for future generations.”
“Additionally, this information is to be temporarily sealed. For one, to avoid panic among the public. And two, to prevent some people from thinking the end of the world is coming and doing whatever they want, which could cause social unrest.”
The second-in-command turned and asked quietly, “Then… do we need to inform the international community? After all, this isn’t just a matter for our country.”
It concerned the life and death of the entire Earth. It was indeed not just a matter for the Hua nation.
“I think that’s unnecessary,” Marshal Yue was the first to object. “Weren’t we just in a meeting this morning because those people from country M found out about absolute zero and came to pressure us?”
“We’ve dealt with them for so many years; don’t we know what they’re like? Let’s not even talk about whether they’d believe us. Even if they did, they would surely start plundering resources on a massive scale. It’s not out of the question that a new world war would be triggered.”
The top leader nodded. “Old Yue has a point this time. As the old saying goes, you can be a thief for a thousand days, but you can’t guard against a thief for a thousand days. Until we have the absolute strength to deal with any situation, my opinion is also not to announce it for now.”
“Our next direction is to have the United Star System provide us with some technological support. On one hand, to overcome the disaster, and on the other, to enhance the strength of our Hua nation. Only when you have a big stick will people listen when you speak.”
Xia Anran nodded in agreement. Her perspective might not be as broad as these leaders’, but Marshal Yue was right. If this news were made public, it would be basically impossible to expect the whole world to unite and overcome the difficulty together. It was hard to say how chaotic things would become. In the current situation, it was already a great challenge to preserve the Hua nation itself.
After the private message ended, the leaders chatted for another hour before dispersing. Each of them left with numerous tasks, rushing off to get busy. Xia Anran was probably the most idle one, with her only assigned tasks being to talk more about the Hua nation’s history, culture, and customs as requested by the United Star System, and to do her livestream well. She also took on the role of a courier, transferring items between the two sides.
Just as the meeting was about to end, Xia Anran put away her phone and, in a sidelong glance, saw that her earnings tab seemed to be faintly glowing gold. She tapped it open and was stunned.
Her earnings, at some point, had reached over one hundred million, approaching two hundred million. This was mostly from the gifts sent by interstellar viewers during her streams, converted to cash. It was because she had received over twenty million in gifts that the bank had discovered the abnormal transactions and she had been contacted by the state.
After getting in touch with the government, she hadn’t looked at her earnings tab again. This sum, perhaps because it was too large, hadn’t been automatically withdrawn. There was a button next to it for manual withdrawal. Next to it, a small circle was flashing, with the number 2 on it.
Xia Anran tapped it, and an explanation popped up.
[Earnings Level 2 (Greater than 20 million and less than 200 million): Unlocks Private Messaging and automatic Gift switch.]
[Unlocking Earnings Level 3 (Greater than 200 million and less than 2 billion) will unlock the Shop function.]