Chapter 8
Xia Anran was baffled by the question. Thinking it over, she realized she hadn’t really considered whether these so-called future interstellar humans were descendants of her own Hua nation.
The other leaders and professors in the room, however, all seemed to exchange a knowing, tacit glance and then broke into smiles.
Only Xia Anran was left scratching her head. To make matters worse, the top leader noticed she was still in a fog and deliberately prodded her, “Little Xia, tell us your thoughts.”
Xia Anran’s eyes darted around. She scratched her head for a good while before finally replying, “If they’re humans from over ten thousand years in the future, as they claim, then the distinctions between nations and races have probably been blurred by now.”
After all, so much time had passed, and they had migrated from Earth to the stars. The people of the world would have surely integrated by now.
“Well then, since they are the descendants of all humanity, should we announce this livestream to the entire world?”
The top leader continued to ask with a gentle smile. Xia Anran noted his relaxed demeanor and the harmonious atmosphere, which was completely at odds with such a pointed question. Her intuition told her this couldn’t be a serious query; they were most likely just teasing her.
But the question itself sounded so legitimate that she couldn’t help but ponder it. If the interstellar humans were descendants of all humankind as she’d just suggested, then it did seem like it should be made public.
But… everyone has their own biases, especially an ordinary citizen like her. Who didn’t want their own country to prosper? Given the current global situation, even someone like her, who paid little attention to politics, knew that international relations were anything but friendly. A pack of wolves and tigers were all eyeing the Hua nation hungrily.
That cryo-freezer alone was proof. By connecting with this interstellar civilization, they could acquire technology far beyond their own era. And that was just the most obvious benefit she could see so far.
The top leader saw Xia Anran’s conflicted expression, the look of someone wanting to speak but not daring to, and burst out laughing. The other leaders beside him chuckled as well.
Professor Gong gave her a hint. “Little Xia, think about the names of the interstellar people who appeared in the stream.”
It dawned on Xia Anran. There were clearly two factions in the livestream: one group who called themselves the United Star System and claimed to be their descendants, and another group, likely the native inhabitants of the star system, known as the Interstellar Empire.
And the names of the United Star System people revealed in the comments had a distinctly Hua nation style.
So that was it. Everyone else had already figured out that these were very likely their own descendants, and she was the only one still scratching her head in confusion.
“Sixteen thousand years is a very long time, and the duration of our communication has been too short. We can only make a rough judgment for now. We will need to continue exploring to understand the specific situation,” the top leader said, concluding the evening’s discussion. The other leaders all agreed, especially the professors from the Academy of Sciences, who were practically rubbing their hands together in anticipation of future interstellar exploration.
…
Meanwhile, the United Star System was also in a meeting. The Consul General, the supreme leader of the United Star System, had watched the entire livestream and had already noticed something different about the information Xia Anran had revealed this time.
“At one minute and twenty seconds, and again at five minutes and eighteen seconds, her eyes shifted noticeably to the left. At three minutes and fifteen seconds, her tone was stiff yet fluent.” Ye Yuxing adjusted the screen and quickly came to a conclusion. “Based on an analysis of Host Anran’s speech patterns and expressions, it’s clear there were other people present in her blind spot, and they were influencing the host.”
The consul of the Ninth Planet sat with Director Li Sheng of the Science Academy, whispering, “So that’s the famous Little Ye? I heard his psychic power implantation project is already showing promise?”
“It’s too early to say for sure, but he is indeed a once-in-a-few-centuries genius for our United Star System. He was born for scientific research,” Director Li Sheng said, his face beaming with pride at the mention of his star pupil.
The Consul General leaned back in his chair, lost in thought for a moment, then spoke slowly. “It doesn’t seem like she’s being monitored or coerced. Host Anran is cooperating with them voluntarily.”
“We’ll observe for now. Our most important task is to establish contact with Host Anran as soon as possible and to keep a close watch on the Empire.”
The words had barely left his mouth when a young man in a military uniform burst through the hall doors. The consuls and academy experts in the room paled when they saw the deep red energy transmission sphere he was holding.
“Reporting to the Consul General! Beastman starships number three and four have begun approaching the Fourth Planet’s star sector. Estimated time of arrival at the border is one hour.”
….
Back in the Hua nation’s Great Hall, the atmosphere was still cheerful. The top leader had even arranged for a late-night supper as a final touch.
Xia Anran rubbed her hands together, incredibly excited. Does this count as having a state banquet?
Even though it was just a late-night meal, the refinement and quantity of the dishes were not lacking. The group ate and talked for over an hour. Xia Anran was thoroughly delighted by the food, and in the end, she contentedly held a plate of a newly developed watermelon variety, giving it a thumbs-up as she ate.
“From this moment on, the interstellar livestream is officially designated a Top-Secret National Project. The temporary codename will be [Project Liuhe]. What do you think?” the top leader said after a moment of contemplation.
“‘Liuhe’… heaven, earth, and the four cardinal directions—the universe. Interconnected. A very fitting name,” Professor Lin said, clearly pleased with the choice.
The top leader looked at Xia Anran. “Furthermore, Little Xia will be the person in charge of [Project Liuhe]. Your compensation and benefits will be the same as those for other heads of top-secret projects.”
At these words, everyone in the room looked over. Xia Anran didn’t understand what level the head of a top-secret project was, but the idea of her being the overall person in charge made her nervous. She wasn’t sure she could do it well.
Just as she was about to decline, the top leader seemed to sense her hesitation and spoke first. “This livestream belongs to you. You chose to be honest with the country, and the country will certainly not mistreat a citizen who has the nation’s interests at heart. So, don’t refuse, and don’t be afraid. Specific matters will be handled by dedicated personnel. You only need to be responsible for the livestream.”
This was as good as saying her role as “person in charge” was just a title.
“That’s right, Little Xia, don’t refuse. You deserve this,” Professor Gong said.
“Alright, then. I’ll do my best to cooperate.”
I’ll start thinking about tomorrow’s stream right away. I have to make use of every one of those ten minutes!
Just before they dispersed, the top leader suddenly remembered something. “Little Xia, besides the livestream, is there any way to contact them directly?”
Xia Anran thought for a moment. “I can post a product link in the stream. If someone buys it, some delivery boxes appear to take the items over there. Also, the cryo-freezer was a gift from a viewer, but I’m not sure how that’s triggered yet.”
Other than that, there seemed to be no other way to make contact.
The top leader nodded after listening. “No rush. We’ll take it one step at a time.”
The leaders chatted a bit more, roughly finalizing the framework, and by then it was nearly dawn. Xia Anran was arranged to stay in a dormitory at the Academy of Sciences for the night, so she got back into the car with Professor Gong and the others.
“Professor, it’s not really appropriate for me to stay at the academy long-term. If I’m going to be staying in the capital, should I discuss applying for housing with the leaders?” Xia Anran mused in the car. It seemed she wouldn’t be returning to Yanshan Village anytime soon, but staying in a place as secret as the academy didn’t feel right either.
“At your current level, the state will naturally assign you housing. You don’t need to worry about it,” Professor Gong and Professor Lin said, exchanging a smile.
Huh?
Xia Anran was completely lost. What level did she have? To be honest, she wasn’t even a Party member, let alone a government employee.
Seeing her confused expression, Professor Gong reminded her, “Didn’t the leader just say you would be the person in charge of Project Liuhe?”
Xia Anran nodded, then continued to look at Professor Gong with a “so what?” expression.
Professor Gong: “…Liuhe is a Top-Secret National Project. To date, our entire Hua nation has no more than this many top-secret projects.” He held up one hand and wiggled his fingers.
Xia Anran kind of understood, but not completely. She started scratching her head.
Professor Lin, watching from the side, couldn’t take it anymore. “Little Xia, do you know what the last thing to be designated a Top-Secret National Project was?”
Xia Anran shook her head honestly. “I don’t know.”
“The launch codes for the nuclear missiles.”
Xia Anran: “…!”
She sucked in a sharp breath.
“Now do you understand what level a top-secret project is?” Professor Lin said with a smile. “As the head of Project Liuhe, although you don’t have an official rank yet, your benefits are roughly equivalent to that of a vice-chairman.”
Xia Anran: !!
By the time she got out of the car, she was numb. Had she just suddenly become second to only one person?
Although Professor Gong and Professor Lin were old, when it came to research, they had more energy than people in their twenties. The moment they got out of the car, they headed straight for the lab. At one in the morning, the R&D building was still brightly lit. As Xia Anran was led to her prepared single dormitory, she saw just as many researchers clutching notebooks and chemicals as she had during the day. This level of cutthroat dedication left her in complete awe.
She took a shower and went to sleep, waking up after eight in the morning. She fumbled for her phone, opened the livestream app, and saw that, as expected, she still had an unchangeable ten minutes of broadcast time for the day. This made her worry. If she did an outdoor stream of the capital, ten minutes wasn’t even enough for an introduction.
After thinking for a while with no clear ideas, she got up to wash. The moment she opened her door to find something to eat, she was startled by two ramrod-straight soldiers standing guard, who were even carrying guns.
“Good morning, Chief!”
The synchronized salute and greeting thoroughly woke Xia Anran up. “…Are you talking to me?”
“We are the security personnel assigned by our superiors to be responsible for your safety,” one of them, a woman who looked younger than her male counterpart, explained. “From today onwards, we report directly to you and are official members of Project Liuhe.”
They even assigned me security personnel. Xia Anran suddenly felt that she must have been the only one who had slept soundly last night…
The two were not old. Their names were Yu Xue and Wu Sicheng, and they introduced themselves as special forces members from a unit called the “Cheetah Commando Team,” selected through a rigorous process to be assigned to her.
After the introductions, Yu Xue informed her that the higher-ups had arranged for her to go to the first-floor conference room after she woke up, as there were other members of Project Liuhe to be introduced.
Xia Anran glanced at her watch. It was almost eight o’clock, so she felt too embarrassed to go eat first. She hurried to the conference room, with Yu Xue and Wu Sicheng dutifully following behind her.
The moment she entered, she saw nearly ten people sitting inside. The one at the very front was someone even Xia Anran, who paid almost no attention to the entertainment industry, could name.
The Hua nation’s national treasure of a director, the man who had helmed the last three Olympic Games, the annual Spring Festival Gala, and numerous national documentaries—the top-tier, famous director, Huang Yong.