Chapter 59
This meeting was exceptionally swift and smooth. The United Star System had prepared several backup plans in case the Beastman race tried to haggle, but in the end, they didn’t have to use a single one. Whatever demands they made, Jeqi agreed to them all in one go.
Of course, part of the reason was that the United Star System hadn’t been too excessive when drafting the cooperation agreement. Their diplomatic stance had always been one of hoping for mutual progress and peaceful development. They didn’t like to take advantage of others.
Now that the United Star System held the trump card of Earth, the Beastman race naturally wanted to build a good relationship with them.
The final result of the negotiations was that the Beastman race and the United Star System would enter into a deep strategic cooperative relationship. The Beastman race would provide assistance to the United Star System in star sector defense and also assist them in their psychic power research.
Since the two sides were going to cooperate deeply, the Consul General no longer concealed the fact that some people in the United Star System had already begun to awaken their psychic power. However, he did keep the fact that the Wasteland Energy on the Aler System could trigger psychic power a secret. The art of negotiation: tell some of the truth, but not all of it.
Sure enough, the moment the Beastman race heard that the United Star System had told them such a major secret, they were immediately moved by their sincerity. See, this is what a genuine desire for cooperation looks like! Jeqi was just short of patting his chest and guaranteeing that from now on, you are my brother, and our Beastman race will have your back!
The moment Xuan Mo heard this news, his gaze fell on Qin Feng, who was sitting next to him. Qin Feng felt his probing gaze, calmly turned his head to meet his eyes, and, without the slightest fear of this 2S-class powerhouse, gave a slight nod. The two of them had a tacit understanding. Qin Feng quickly withdrew his gaze, his hands clasped, and calmly continued to listen to the negotiations in front of them. Xuan Mo’s lips curled into a thoughtful smile. Interesting. This Qin Feng’s psychic power level seems to be quite high.
Since this kind of cooperative relationship couldn’t be carried out in private, the Interstellar Empire would surely notice within a few days. So, if the Empire were to launch a desperate attack on the United Star System, the Beastman race would have to fight alongside them. In other words, the Beastman race would be the United Star System’s hired muscle.
In return, the United Star System would provide the Beastman race with the specialty products from Earth that could enhance their Horn Power.
The two sides hit it off immediately. Jeqi agreed on the spot. The United Star System was indeed more sincere than that black-hearted Interstellar Empire. The conditions they offered were not too excessive and were mostly for mutual benefit. He had no reason not to agree. Moreover, to show their sincerity, the United Star System had gifted all the honey they had received from Earth to the Beastman race, which almost moved Jeqi to tears. No wonder the United Star System people also evolved from animals! The bond between family is truly strong!
Jeqi and his entourage, who had arrived with trepidation, left in high spirits. The first thing they did when they returned was to store the honey in the Beastman race’s top-secret vault. Jeqi added a full five layers of protection before coming out, licking his lips with satisfaction.
Ruoya and Xuan Mo, sitting outside, saw him come out humming a little tune, and they both rolled their eyes in unison. This swaggering street loafer… how does he look like the emperor of our Beastman race?
“That guy Phileas sent me a communication when I was in the United Star System,” Jeqi said, sitting down beside them. He only just remembered it and pulled up the message. “Let’s see what kind of crap he’s spouting this time.”
“Vulgar! Can’t you be a little more mindful?!” Ruoya stomped on his foot.
Jeqi let out a yelp and looked at his sister with a wronged expression. We Beastmen should be this bold and unrestrained! What’s with all that elegant nonsense!
Xuan Mo, on the side, waved his fist at him and gave him a look, telling him to behave and not to anger his sister.
Jeqi: “…” He’s been chasing her for twenty years and still hasn’t caught her. What’s he so smug about?
Outnumbered and suppressed, Jeqi miserably opened the communication. Phileas had already sent many messages.
[Brother, did you see Anran’s livestream? It turns out we’re one family!]
[I knew I felt a connection with you the moment I saw you! We were one family tens of thousands of years ago.]
[A couple of days ago, the Empire discovered a new small planet suitable for the Beastman race. It’s not far from you. I went to see it myself. The environment and resources are very good, and the temperature is very suitable for you.]
[Are you free lately? Come over to my place and hang out for a couple of days?]
And at the end, there was a disgustingly cutesy hug emoji.
“Tsk,” Ruoya said with disgust. “Has he changed his style? From an overbearing emperor to a caring big brother?”
Jeqi’s eyelid twitched. He closed the communication with a blank face and also gave Phileas the full treatment: block and blacklist. If he didn’t, by the time the Beastman troops arrived in the United Star System in a few days, he would be bombarded with messages.
…
On the prairie, the sky darkened quickly. By the time they finished dinner at a little after five, it was completely dark. The moon had risen halfway up the sky, and the stars dotted the night like diamonds. The small river in front of their lodging flowed quietly like a silver ribbon. The lake shimmered with starlight as a few water birds flew by. The prairie under the moonlight was calm and peaceful, with the long, drawn-out calls of animals occasionally coming from the distance.
But today, Xia Anran was in no mood to appreciate such beautiful scenery. For a rare change, she was eating the meal Master Guo had made with an absent mind. There was no kitchen here, so he had built an earthen stove and was stir-frying in the courtyard with great enthusiasm. This rare experience had also made him incredibly happy. Returning to the basics and using the most primitive cooking methods in this completely natural environment made him feel that his culinary skills had been elevated.
Little Yan and Sister Wang had packed their things for them early on, bringing some self-defense weapons and lighting equipment. After some discussion, although the lion king had only specified for Xia Anran and Professor Qi to go, they had decided to have Ren Yi go with them as well. With him there, their safety would be greatly guaranteed.
“How about we have the higher-ups send some more people to follow you secretly?” Director Huang said, worried sick. After all, they were lions.
“It’s alright. The Chief has already agreed, so don’t you worry, Director. Besides, we have Senior Colonel Ren with us,” Xia Anran said, comforting him with a smile.
Director Huang muttered under his breath, wondering how the Chief could have agreed to let her do such a dangerous thing. But complaining was one thing. After packing their things, the three of them waved goodbye to the others and set off.
Director Huang was still shouting from behind, telling them to contact them immediately if there were any problems. Xia Anran waved from a distance, telling him not to worry.
After crossing the small stream in front of the house, the half-person-high water grass obscured the little house with its twinkling lights. Ren Yi, in a gray storm jacket, led the way with a flashlight. Xia Anran and Professor Qi followed side-by-side behind him.
Walking in a wildlife reserve so late at night, Xia Anran was still a little scared. Professor Qi, on the other hand, was carrying a backpack and looked full of spirit. Along the way, she was constantly collecting and filming some plants and animals. She even dared to venture into the pitch-black areas. It was only when Ren Yi saw her and pulled her back that she didn’t step into the water.
“Sorry, occupational hazard,” she said, smiling apologetically at them. “Even we researchers can’t just enter this nature reserve as we please. It’s a rare opportunity to be out at night, so I want to record more data.”
Xia Anran was curious. “Even researchers can’t come in? I thought you would bring more people, take safety precautions, and then come for a field investigation.” Through her in-depth exchanges with the professors from the Academy of Sciences, she had come to fully understand their personalities. They were all research fanatics who didn’t care about danger at all. As long as there was a breakthrough in their research, not to mention wild animals, even demons and monsters couldn’t stop them.
“This nature reserve is the largest in the Hua nation, and it also has the most national-level protected animals. Many animals can’t tolerate crowded and noisy environments. These creatures are precious and fragile. If they are harmed because of our research activities, we really wouldn’t be able to sleep for the rest of our lives.” As she spoke, she carefully broke off a small branch of a plant that was glowing with a faint blue light and put it into a sealed bag she was carrying. “And if a large group of us came here for an investigation, it would be inevitable that we would have some conflicts with the wild animals. At that time, would we choose the people or the animals?”
Xia Anran nodded thoughtfully. That was indeed a big problem.
Professor Qi had many years of field exploration experience and could completely keep up with Ren Yi’s pace. Xia Anran, on the other hand, was a little behind. After walking for more than half an hour, she was a little tired.
“You’re doing very well. The road here is very difficult,” Ren Yi said, handing her water from his bag and praising her. “Your recent physical training has been quite good.”
At the compliment, Xia Anran’s tail immediately went up. “Of course! I’ve been running five kilometers every day!”
After walking and stopping for an hour, the three of them finally arrived at the hill where they had met the lion king during the day.
She shone her flashlight on it. The hill looked to be three or four meters high, covered in weeds, with some rubble around it. It was climbable but a bit dangerous. This level of climbing was as easy as drinking water for a special forces soldier like Ren Yi. Even without his awakened psychic power, it would have been a breeze. Professor Qi had worked in the wild for many years, so it wasn’t a big problem for her either. So, they were both more worried about Xia Anran.
“I’m fine. You guys go ahead, and I’ll follow you,” she said. Although she was a little scared, she still said it was no problem. They had come this far; she certainly couldn’t hold them back. It’s just a small hill. I’ll give it my all!
Ren Yi hesitated for a moment and was about to take out the rope from his backpack to test the length when he suddenly heard a rustling sound. “Something is approaching,” he said in a deep voice.
Xia Anran and Professor Qi fell silent and quickly moved closer to him. After awakening his psychic power, his five senses were much more sensitive than a normal person’s. He could hear minute sounds that others couldn’t. He shone his flashlight on a patch of grass to their right. Soon, the rustling sound grew louder, accompanied by the creaking of wild grass being stepped on. A large lion’s head appeared before them.
Xia Anran couldn’t help but laugh. This scene… was so sneaky. And it had even known to wait for them at the foot of the mountain, saving her the trouble of climbing. What a good big cat!
The lion king poked its head out, looked at them, and then walked out gracefully. Up close, Xia Anran finally realized that its body was exceptionally large, almost twice the size of the male lions they had seen during the day.
Professor Qi frowned and said softly, “Something’s not right. This lion’s size is a bit too big.”
The lion king walked towards them, flicking its tail. The three of them could clearly feel that it had no ill intentions towards them, so they weren’t afraid. Ren Yi still discreetly moved them behind him to prevent any accidents.
There were some scratches and bite marks on the lion king’s body, which were still oozing a little blood. There was even a small cut near its eye. Professor Qi said these were all superficial wounds and not serious. There were different factions among lions, and fights for the position of lion king were common. These were its badges of honor.
The lion king came up to Xia Anran and sniffed her. Its large head was almost at her chest. Feeling its warm breath, she couldn’t help but reach out and stroke its head. “Hello,” she said. This was a very spiritual animal; she could feel it.
The lion king rubbed against her hand and then turned to Professor Qi. She also reached out and stroked it. The lion king lifted its head, looked her in the eye, and then licked her hand.
At that moment, she felt the warm current that Ren Yi had described before flow through her veins.
The lion king let out a low growl. Professor Qi’s eyes suddenly widened, her hands trembling slightly. She seemed to have understood what it was saying.
“Human chosen by the beasts, I like you very much.”
The lion king showed even more affection, directly lying down at her feet.
Ren Yi pouted. Out of the three of them, it had rubbed against two but wouldn’t come near him. Did animals have gender discrimination?
Professor Qi sucked in a sharp breath and squatted down. “Are you the one talking to me?”
The lion king lazily flicked its tail and growled again.
“What happened?” Xia Anran asked, coming closer.
Professor Qi told them what had just happened. They were both very surprised. Ren Yi circled her. “The way you described it, you should have awakened your psychic power. But why didn’t you fall unconscious?”
She said honestly, “I don’t know either.”
Xia Anran thought for a moment. “Could it be that what Professor Qi awakened wasn’t psychic power, but Horn Power?” Like the interstellar Beastman race, which was why her activation method was different from Ren Yi’s. And she could suddenly understand animal speech. Putting it all together, it was very much like she had awakened a power related to the Beastman race.
She leaned down. “What did you mean just now by ‘chosen by the beasts’?”
The lion king stared at her with its big eyes and blinked. “It means you’ve been chosen. Human, you have become a partner of our beast race.”
“You will possess the power of the beasts, a power you cannot imagine.”
Through their conversation with the lion king, they learned a great and important matter. It turned out that among the animals, there had always been some who were born with spirituality and mysterious powers. But most of them would not come into contact with humans and would hide in the deep mountains and old forests. It was a warning passed down from their ancestors. Even if they possessed power, they should not provoke humans. The final result would surely be a heavy loss for the beast race. But if a human who could communicate with them appeared, then their chance to appear openly might have arrived.
Finally, before leaving, the lion king told them that it would still be here waiting for them tomorrow. They could bring more people, and it would take them to see the elders of the beast race.
On the way back, the three of them were still in a daze. Xia Anran had always thought that these strange and bizarre things would only happen in the interstellar era, but she never thought they would also exist on Earth!
She turned and looked at the retreating back of the lion king. Could this be the origin of the interstellar Beastman race? Then their connection was not just with the United Star System; the entire interstellar era seemed to be inextricably linked with Earth.
As she was lost in thought, she suddenly heard a high-pitched cry and the sound of a vehicle starting.
“That’s the cry of a deer.”
Professor Qi quickly understood the meaning of the cry, and her face immediately darkened.
“It’s poachers.”