Chapter 6
Xia Anran never imagined that she would walk into the municipal government building in the morning and be sitting on a plane to the capital by the afternoon.
Professor Gong was an academician of the Academy of Sciences and a leading authority in the field of biomedicine, renowned both at home and abroad. He had a state-provided private jet for his travels. He sat next to Xia Anran, chatting with her, while his two doctoral students sat a short distance away, tapping away at their laptops.
The cryo-freezer sat on the table in front of Professor Gong. He examined it carefully once more, then asked for more details about the livestream.
Xia Anran was eager to show Professor Gong the app, but no one else could see it. Besides, she had only streamed twice and wasn’t very familiar with the system herself.
Professor Gong was very kind. He smiled and said, “I’m not a specialist in physics or materials, so I’ll have to take this treasure back to the academy and let those old experts take a look.”
Xia Anran nodded. After a moment of hesitation, she asked cautiously, “Professor, I’m not going to be… dissected, am I?”
Professor Gong was taken aback for a second, then burst out laughing, assuring her she was overthinking things. Their academy was very humane, he said, and the state did not permit human experimentation.
Xia Anran scratched her head, embarrassed. Seeing how nervous she was, Professor Gong steered the conversation away from the livestream and began making small talk about her life and family.
The flight to the capital wasn’t long, just over an hour. Chatting with Professor Gong, Xia Anran began to relax, and before she knew it, the plane had landed.
A car was already waiting for them outside the airport. The students bid farewell to Professor Gong and returned to their university, while Xia Anran and the professor were driven directly to the Capital Academy of Sciences.
The capital was a bustling metropolis, but their route became increasingly remote, finally passing through a long tunnel into a forested mountain area.
Xia Anran had never been to the capital, let alone the Academy of Sciences, which was guarded by layers of soldiers. The car passed through several gates, and the further in they went, the more soldiers were on duty. At the final few gates, the guards were even armed with rifles.
“This is our country’s classified research institute. Ordinary people don’t even know its location,” Professor Gong explained. “Everything inside is cutting-edge technology. Bringing you here is a clear sign of our trust in you.”
Xia Anran was suddenly a little overwhelmed. Weren’t they worried she might be a spy or something? Bringing her directly to a top-secret national facility…
As they got out of the car and walked towards the academy, Professor Gong seemed to read her mind. He chuckled and said, “We’ve already run a full background check on you. Otherwise, do you think it would be this easy to bring you in?”
Xia Anran touched her head sheepishly.
Professor Gong scanned his fingerprint at the entrance. The guards only let them pass after Xia Anran presented her ID card. They walked all the way to the central building, where three old professors were already waiting at the door.
Having been notified in advance, they were all waiting with eager anticipation. One of them, an old professor in a striped shirt, rushed over as they approached. “You’re finally back! Where’s the item?”
Professor Gong said, “The young lady is holding it.”
The old professor’s eyes lit up as he looked at the box in Xia Anran’s hands, and he immediately reached for it.
Professor Gong stopped him. “Old Lin, what’s the rush? Let’s talk inside.”
Professor Lin finally came to his senses and rubbed his head, chuckling like a child. “Young lady, I didn’t scare you, did I? My apologies, this old man got a little carried away.”
Xia Anran quickly waved her hands, saying it was fine. She didn’t dare say much of anything right now.
The professors led her into the building. It appeared to be a laboratory facility. Researchers in white lab coats hurried back and forth, clutching notes and test tubes. Each of them was in a rush, politely greeting the professors before hurrying off to their work.
Xia Anran was taken to a small conference room. After settling her in, the professors eagerly carried the machine off to a lab. Xia Anran sat bolt upright in her chair for a while, as if she were in class, but eventually couldn’t resist the urge to check her phone. The moment she pulled it out, she realized there was no signal.
“All signals are blocked. If you want to get online, you can connect to our internal Wi-Fi.”
The sudden voice startled Xia Anran so much she nearly dropped her phone. Looking up, she saw a short-haired girl with a round face, dressed in a lab coat, smiling at her. She handed her a bottle of water.
Xia Anran took it and noticed that the water was likely produced by the academy itself. The label simply had the words “Capital Academy of Sciences” written in a very stylish calligraphy script, probably by one of the professors.
“Hi, my name is Yue Ning. I’m Professor Gong’s assistant. He was worried you’d be nervous, so he asked me to come keep you company.”
Yue Ning looked to be about the same age as Xia Anran. Her round face was friendly and approachable, and she was a warm and lively girl. As soon as she sat down, she helped Xia Anran connect to the academy’s Wi-Fi.
Xia Anran stared at the Wi-Fi name—”Fandou Garden Grandpa Horn”—and fell silent.
The sheer silliness of it was completely at odds with the solemn atmosphere of the National Academy of Sciences.
“There are a lot of young people in our institute, and the professors are all very nice, so they let us pick the name,” Yue Ning said, scratching her head with a smile.
She then asked Xia Anran’s age. Having just graduated from university, Xia Anran was exactly 21. Hearing this, Yue Ning sweetly started calling her “Sister Anran.” Xia Anran was a bit shocked. Yue Ning was younger than her and already working at the National Academy of Sciences?
When asked, Yue Ning said shyly, “I was selected to study at the academy’s affiliated school when I was 15. I just graduated this year at 19. So, I’ve never actually been to a regular university.”
Xia Anran: …
Good heavens, what kind of child prodigies are these?
Yue Ning chattered on, telling her all about life at the school. This group of kids had been managed in a closed environment since they were young, hand-picked as promising scientific talents. Although they weren’t cut off from the outside world—they had internet access and holidays—they were very curious about normal school life, especially university.
The two chatted for over an hour before Professor Gong and the other professors she had met earlier returned, their faces flushed with excitement. Professor Lin was still talking nonstop, eagerly discussing things with the professor beside him.
“Teacher,” Yue Ning said, standing up to greet them.
Xia Anran also stood up nervously. Professor Gong waved his hand, telling Yue Ning to head back first. Then he patted Xia Anran’s shoulder and said, his voice thick with excitement, “We’ve done some preliminary tests. This cryo-freezer should indeed have the functions it claims. Good, very good.”
The words had barely left his mouth when Professor Lin grabbed her. His eyes were gleaming. “You must be Little Xia! Quick, tell me how you got this machine!”
Xia Anran looked at Professor Gong, bewildered. Professor Gong coughed and pulled him away. The moment these old-timers saw the device, they had buried their heads in the lab. He hadn’t even had a chance to explain.
“We’ll talk about that later. There’s something more important right now.”
Professor Lin was displeased. “What could be more important than this? This is an epoch-making breakthrough!”
“The top leader wants to meet Little Xia.”
As Professor Gong’s words fell, everyone in the conference room was stunned. The old professors were the first to react. Professor Lin straightened his jacket, which had become messy in his excitement, and immediately changed his tune. “I was just wondering what you were so busy with outside the lab. You really are quick on your feet.”
Xia Anran didn’t know what to do with her hands and feet. She stammered, “Professor Gong, are you talking about…”
Professor Gong chuckled. “It’s exactly who you think it is. We’ll have to trouble you to make one more trip with us.”
Five minutes later, Xia Anran was bundled into a car again, heading directly for the center of the capital with the four old academicians. The academy was in a somewhat remote location, and the drive took a full hour. Xia Anran’s nervousness gradually turned into carsickness. Finally, just before her head became completely muddled, they drove into the Great Hall, a place she had only ever seen on television.
…Never in her wildest dreams did she imagine she would one day enter through this gate to meet the top leader.
Although it was a last-minute meeting, the proper etiquette and protocol were all in place. Xia Anran saw the honor guards standing in neat rows on either side, ramrod straight with handsome features, and nearly lost her composure and asked for their contact information.
The meeting was held in a medium-sized conference hall. Seated inside were a row of high-level national leaders, every one of them a familiar face from television. The top leader was the first to step forward and shake Xia Anran’s hand. He was in his sixties and had a very kind smile. “You must be Comrade Xia. It’s a pleasure to finally meet you. The few of us have been waiting for you all day.”
Xia Anran was overwhelmed. “You’re too kind.”
Seeing her looking so apprehensive, the second-in-command stepped forward with a smile. “Let’s not all stand. There are no outsiders here. Let’s all sit down and chat.”
They took their seats at a round table, with the four academicians sitting directly across from the top leader. The moment they sat, Professor Lin launched into a rapid-fire report on the tests of the cryo-freezer. The string of professional jargon left Xia Anran completely lost. The leaders listened patiently to Professor Lin’s half-hour report before the top leader nodded. “Good, we have a general understanding of the situation now. Let’s set the machine aside for a moment. I’m more interested in the… ah, yes, the livestream. Little Xia, could you tell us old folks a bit about what you young people are up to?”
The atmosphere relaxed instantly. The other leaders chuckled, and the professors were practically bursting with eagerness to learn about the interstellar livestream, all looking at Xia Anran with expectant eyes.
Xia Anran organized her thoughts. “This livestream app just suddenly appeared on my phone. I was originally planning to promote my hometown’s fruit, but I never expected to connect to this strange broadcast…”
As Xia Anran spoke, the expressions of everyone in the room grew serious, silently processing the incredible, almost unbelievable information she was revealing.
“…and that’s basically it. A few days ago, I streamed again, and the viewers in the comments told me they were from an interstellar civilization. The cryo-freezer was also a gift from a viewer.”
Finished, Xia Anran let out a breath and nervously watched everyone’s expressions.
The top leader’s hands were clasped on the table. He lowered his gaze in thought for a moment, then finally chuckled. “If it weren’t for the very real, epoch-making technology of that machine, this story would be very hard to believe. It is truly… extraordinary.”
“Indeed, it’s utterly shocking,” the second-in-command agreed, shaking his head with a smile.
Professor Gong frowned. “Aliens? How far away from us are they?”
Professor Lin chimed in, “And their technological level far exceeds that of present-day Earth. It’s hard to say if this is a good thing.”
Xia Anran had only streamed twice and knew very little about the interstellar era she was broadcasting to, so she couldn’t answer most of their questions.
“There’s no point in discussing this now. The truth comes from practice,” the top leader said, making the final decision. “Little Xia, is it possible to start another stream right now?”
Xia Anran thought for a moment and nodded. “I should be able to, but I’m not sure if anyone besides me can see the interface.”
After all, on the way to the capital, Professor Gong hadn’t been able to see the app on her phone.
But given the current situation, the only way to answer these questions was to stream again. So, Xia Anran set up her equipment, took a deep breath, and opened her ten-minute livestream for the day.
The leaders and academicians all crowded around her, just out of the camera’s view. The moment she opened the app, the screen, which should have gone directly to the livestream interface, suddenly went black for a moment as a line of text flashed across it: Multiple individuals detected near host. Activating broadcast viewing mode.
Xia Anran froze, and before she could react, the stream suddenly went live.
The viewer count in the top left corner began to skyrocket. In the blink of an eye, it had surpassed one hundred million.
“AHHHH SHE’S FINALLY LIVE!”
“I thought I’d have to wait until the planet exploded to see the host again!”
“Wait, where is this background?! It’s gorgeous! So majestic!”