Chapter 76
Kaelen, who had just discovered that the three Yaxun people were missing, was already at his wit’s end.
“What do you mean, ‘suddenly disappeared’?”
When he received the news, he felt the veins on his forehead were about to burst. The personnel reporting the news were also at a loss, tearfully showing him the surveillance footage from the room. The three people had indeed vanished in an instant.
Kaelen took a deep breath. “And the two from the Hua nation?”
“The man is still in the room. The… uh, monster is gone.”
Kaelen waved his hand in frustration. “Forget it. Send a message to the Hua nation first.”
With great power comes great responsibility. In just this past month, the once globally arrogant Kaelen was starting to feel like just giving up. Compete? He couldn’t compete at all.
…
The leaders who received the surveillance video from Country A also had grave expressions. Xia Anran poked the system. “Can you make anything of this?” The system should be more familiar with these electronic matters.
[100 Activation Coins per attempt.]
“…” This thing, really.
She had no choice but to transfer the funds. The system replied with a “received” sticker, and then went silent.
Oh no, she thought. This little bastard isn’t going to take the money and run, is it?
The several leaders were also discussing the subsequent arrangements. The top leader, after thinking for a long time, said, “We may have to prepare for the final outcome now. It’s highly likely that the Yaxun star has already received the news from Earth. We must now race against time to prepare for war.”
“Yes. From the data the United Star System gave us, this Yaxun star is not easy to deal with. There’s an eighty percent chance they will attack directly.”
“This is really a bit of a headache. We don’t have enough manpower right now,” Marshal Yue said, scratching his head.
According to the information brought back by Ren Yi and Chu Yan, it was relatively easy for those who had awakened their psychic power to deal with the Yaxun people, but for ordinary soldiers, there was basically no possibility of resistance. Now, the entire Hua nation had fewer than ten ability users, which was definitely not enough.
“We have to find a way to quickly screen for enough psychics,” Xia Anran also said after some thought. How could they quickly select the candidates?
[I’m back, I’m back!]
The system suddenly popped up.
Her eyes lit up. “How did it go?”
[Of course, it’s done! I’m not the kind of system that takes money and doesn’t do the work!]
The system sent over a file. It had just gone into Country A’s internal network and had figured out how the Yaxun people had left through the surveillance video. Before they had left, they had received a message from the Yaxun star. The system had even intercepted the content of this message. It clearly stated that two Yaxun people had died on Earth, and that Earth might now possess a strange power, so they were to return to the Yaxun star as soon as possible.
“So they did get the news,” the top leader said with an expression of “as expected” after reading it.
Ren Yi was a little surprised. Those two Yaxun people had actually died?
“Get ready. The difficult times are coming soon.”
…
Xia Anran and Ren Yi returned to their base in the capital. The production team was still in a flurry, editing videos and preparing for the next livestream. Seeing the two of them looking downcast, Ji Minghui brought over two glasses of freshly squeezed juice.
“What’s wrong? Weren’t you going to discuss the technological exchange?”
She lay down on the sofa and briefly explained the situation.
“So we have to speed up our money-making pace even more now!” she said, suddenly thinking of something and shooting up from the sofa. “Let’s upload more videos! What we can do now is earn more Activation Coins and buy more things from the shop!”
Director Huang thought it made sense and quickly went upstairs to select films.
The remaining people looked at each other and suddenly felt a great deal of pressure. Their mission was now too great.
“Alright, everyone, don’t worry too much. We still have the Chiefs holding the fort in front,” Ren Yi said with a smile, comforting everyone.
They also knew they couldn’t be of much other help, so they quickly dispersed to help Director Huang.
“What else do you think we can do?” she asked, looking at Ren Yi, who had sat down beside her.
He thought for a moment and said, “The biggest problem now is how to find more psychic power users.” After all, for them to go around the country with the detector was just too slow. There was no time. If only there was a way to quickly conduct a large-scale test.
Xia Anran and Ren Yi looked at each other, and their gazes, by tacit agreement, focused on the phone she had tossed aside.
[Hey, hey! Why are you all staring at me?]
[I’m not omnipotent, you know.]
[Stop looking, stop looking!]
“Don’t you do things for money?” she said with a smile.
The system mumbled under its breath.
[But you don’t have enough money.]
[With this little money, it’s very difficult for me to help you.jpg]
Hey, there’s a chance!
She resorted to moral blackmail. “Don’t forget, I took out a loan without a second thought to buy you a house before. Isn’t it time for you to repay us now?”
[I almost forgot if you hadn’t mentioned it! You still have a loan on your back, so you have even less money!]
“…”
She was heartbroken. “How did we help you back then? To be a person—no, to be a system, you can’t be like this!”
For a rare moment, the system stuttered. It hemmed and hawed for a long time before finally saying,
[It’s not that I don’t want to help you, I really don’t have the money!]
[This isn’t something that can be done with a loan. A huge sum, you understand?]
“How huge? Tell me first.”
[Fifty million.]
…That was indeed a huge sum. Since the beginning of the livestream, had her total transaction volume even reached fifty million? A few tens of thousands was already a huge amount for the things they bought from the system.
[Actually, from a cost-effectiveness perspective, this price isn’t too expensive. That detector with a diameter of only a few meters cost five million. The range of this one can cover almost half the Earth, and it’s only ten times more expensive. When you think of it that way, isn’t it a great deal?]
Half the Earth!
She pursed her lips. It was a good deal, but where would the fifty million come from? How much money did she have in her account now?
[Don’t even think about it. You only have thirty thousand yuan in your pocket now.]
The system ruthlessly revealed this cold reality. This was the money she had saved up from the last livestream at the agricultural university.
Thirty thousand per stream. Then she would only need to stream another sixteen hundred times to be able to afford it!
She was on the verge of tears. She had pleaded and pestered the system for over an hour to no avail. The system said it was really powerless this time. For a sum of this magnitude, it didn’t have the authority to grant a loan. The five million last time had been the absolute limit.
After thinking it over, the only way was to ask the interstellar side for help. After all, the money in her system was also converted from the gifts the interstellar audience had given her. Although this act of asking for money was indeed a bit embarrassing, in this critical moment, she couldn’t be bothered with that and could only contact Ye Yuxing.
…
At this moment, Ye Yuxing and Qin Feng were together at the consulate, reporting on their work. Ever since Professor Zhao Yun’s livestream, the interstellar plant cultivation cause had made great progress. Today, the first watermelon seedling had finally broken through the ground, which almost made the researchers at the Academy of Sciences hug each other and cry.
According to Professor Zhao’s introduction, they had learned that the interstellar soil was lacking some trace elements, which was why the plants had been unable to grow. After extracting the corresponding elements from the fruit, they had successfully prepared them artificially. After adding them to the soil and following Professor Zhao’s guidance, the fruit cultivation cause was becoming more and more prosperous.
“I suggest that in the next technological exchange with the Hua nation, we request that their scientists share more cultivation techniques,” Director Li Sheng said, after finishing his report, eagerly expressing the urgent needs of many researchers.
The Consul General nodded. “Alright. How are the preparations for the next exchange at the Academy of Sciences?”
Director Li was just short of patting his chest and guaranteeing that they had made the most complete preparations with all their hearts and minds, and would surely arrange everything properly for their ancestors.
Ye Yuxing and Qin Feng were sitting in the back. Ye Yuxing was flipping through the recent psychic awakening situation in the United Star System. With the stable supply of ore energy, the number of psychic power users had achieved an exponential explosion. Although the quality was uneven, at least the quantity was up.
“I heard that Astaroth has recently led the Alpha System to the edge of the star system?” Ye Yuxing suddenly said.
“Hmm?”
Qin Feng was startled from his slacking and turned to look at him. “How did you know? I haven’t received any news from him since he told me about the unidentified creatures approaching the star system.”
Ye Yuxing: “News from the Beastman race. As you know, they have been keeping a close eye on the Alpha System.”
“But… the unidentified creatures that Astaroth mentioned last time, we still haven’t found them.” At the mention of this, Qin Feng felt a little uneasy. He trusted Astaroth’s character. He would definitely not make something up.
Ye Yuxing closed the book in his hand. “It is beyond doubt that there is also life outside the star system. We will surely discover new life sooner or later.”
“That’s true,” Qin Feng said with a smile.
“Hmm?” Ye Yuxing suddenly paused. “A message came from Anran.”
He opened the chat box with her, and his expression gradually turned serious. “Earth is in imminent danger. They need our help.”
…
After sending the message, Xia Anran waited anxiously. This seemed to be the only way for now.
Ren Yi comforted her. “What I just said to everyone applies to you too. Don’t be too nervous. You’ve already done the best you can. Leave the rest to us. It’s our duty to protect our home and country.”
“How can I not be nervous?” she said, leaning her head back on the sofa and tilting her head to ask, “Next, will we need to announce this to all the citizens?” It couldn’t be hidden now. By the time the Yaxun army was at their doorstep, it would be too late. After making it public, it would also be more convenient to screen for ability users.
Ren Yi nodded. “It’s inevitable. But the time and method still need to be decided by the Chiefs.”
Just as she was about to say something, her phone suddenly lit up.
[United Star System Science Academy, Ye Yuxing]: Message received. Please rest assured.
[United Star System Science Academy, Ye Yuxing]: The entire interstellar era is prepared and can provide any assistance at any time.