Chapter 10

"Apu, wake up, it's time for breakfast."

Li Pu felt himself being gently shaken, and he勉强 opened his eyes, seeing Chen Xian squatting beside him with a smile.

"There are tea eggs for breakfast! The uncle across the street gave them to me!" she said happily.

She was such a well-behaved and adorable little girl that being fed by uncles, aunts, and grandmas was a common occurrence. Unlike the rabbit-like Li Pu, who never had such luck, but fortunately, Xiao Xian always shared half with him.

Yesterday, Chen Xian had a bit of a tantrum because she was too shy, but these childhood sweethearts never held grudges overnight. There was no need for apologies or communication; things just naturally got better.

The boy was a bit dazed, probably because he had been woken up, and his memory was a bit fragmented. But he vaguely remembered one thing.

He lifted his fractured arm, clenched his fingers, and lightly swung his fist. Finally, he punched his own hard skull.

"Damn..." Li Pu's forehead turned red, and he drew in a sharp breath, "Is this unlucky paw really healed?"

Oh my! Was that ridiculous dream from last night actually real?

"Wow! I have to tell you something incredibly unbelievable!" Li Pu suddenly became fully awake, jumping up like a centipede and grabbing the girl's shoulders, shaking her, "You won't believe it! No, no, you have to believe me!"

The refugee tent area was crowded and noisy, so he dragged his childhood sweetheart to a quiet place and, like beans spilling out of a bamboo tube, told Chen Xian everything from finding the silver symbol to the "communication" in his dream.

But the story was so bizarre and exaggerated that even Chen Xian, who always trusted him, looked skeptical.

"Look, it's this symbol." Finally, Li Pu took off his vest and showed the girl the mark on his chest.

Xiao Xian's eyelashes trembled, and her clear, violet-gem-like eyes observed the boy's chest very seriously. In the end, she even leaned close to his chest like a puppy, wrinkled her nose, and sniffed lightly.

"Hmm... There's no special smell, and it doesn't look like it's painted on. Is this the 'Star Hunter Covenant' mark?"

The girl's breath brushed against Li Pu's chest, making him feel ticklish and strange. His heart rate suddenly quickened, and he took a half-step back, a bit unnaturally, "Yeah, it's cooler than the 'S' on Superman's chest. Ha, ha, ha, ha."

"Superman's 'S' is embroidered on the clothes, and it means 'super,'" Chen Xian wagged her finger, smiling, "But your covenant mark, based on what you told me, should be a 'trademark.'"

"Uh..." Li Pu thought about it and agreed. The "Divine Warrior Armament Module" was a best-selling product under the "Pan-Civilization Commercial Union." If he had to compare it to something on Earth, it was more like a portable fitness device rather than a high-end, accidentally dropped "super battle weapon."

So, this "mark," regardless of performance differences, logically, should be similar to brand trademarks like "Li Ning" or "NIKE" in the eyes of aliens.

Thinking about it this way, it felt a bit disappointing, which slightly dampened Li Pu's previous excitement.

"Your skepticism is hurting me; I'll put my clothes back on." The boy was about to put on his vest, but the girl held his hand.

Chen Xian carefully touched Li Pu's left elbow with her fingers. Seeing no reaction from Li Pu, she applied a bit more force. After repeated confirmation, she asked with concern, "Does it really not hurt? Is it completely healed?"

You see, Li Pu's left arm was severely injured, with a comminuted fracture, when he was protecting her. Even with a young person's fast recovery, it shouldn't have healed completely in just a few days.

Li Pu smiled, suddenly squatted down, and did a push-up with his left hand. Then he jumped up and swung his fist a few times. He said proudly, "Completely healed! It seems even stronger than before. Don't believe me? Let's arm wrestle."

The boy challenging a girl, and a younger one at that, was quite unfair! But for childhood sweethearts, it was a different matter. Hearing Li Pu's suggestion, Chen Xian happily opened her arms to the boy, "Okay, okay, I'll use both hands."

They found a stone stool and squatted down. Li Pu extended his left hand, and Xiao Xian held it with her left hand, while her right hand added force on top.

"One, two, three... Start!" At the start of the match, Chen Xian, with the advantage of using both hands, took the lead. But after a long stalemate, her little face turned red, and she changed positions several times, but still couldn't push Li Pu's left arm down.

"Ugh... Phew." Chen Xian was very flexible in PE class, having climbed up and down with Li Pu since childhood, making her one of the best in physical fitness among the girls in school. Unfortunately, her wrist strength was not outstanding, and even with two hands, she couldn't win against Li Pu. Initially, the advantage of using both hands was significant, but gradually, she lost strength. Looking pitiful, she watched as Li Pu slowly pushed her hands back and pressed them against the cement.

"You didn't even let me win," Chen Xian complained, shaking her wrist.

"Marx said—'A lion uses all its strength to catch a rabbit,'" Li Pu replied confidently.

"You're making it up; Mr. Marx never said that." The little girl giggled, playfully punching the boy's shoulder, "Okay, even though what you told me sounds—super—unbelievable, I believe you."

"Uh, you really believe me?" Li Pu thought he would need to provide more evidence, as he himself found it too unbelievable. If someone told him the same thing, he would definitely have replied, "Are you kidding me?"

"Yes, I do." Chen Xian nodded, explaining, "The speed at which your arm healed is too unbelievable. And this mark, along with the history of the 'Pan-Civilization Commercial Union' and the 'Star Hunter Covenant,' especially Shar-Sago's famous quote about universal values... It doesn't seem like something you could make up in one night. Even if it's a lie, being fooled once is fine."

"The most important thing is..."

The girl suddenly took a deep breath, as if to embrace the sun, and opened her arms, turning around. A pair of dimples appeared on her delicate face, and her clear, violet-gem-like eyes shone with joy as she smiled at Li Pu:

"I really like this—so interesting!"

Li Pu looked at his childhood sweetheart, who was bathed in the morning light, radiating an indescribable glow. She had always been that interesting, somewhat eccentric girl. He remembered the summer nights of their childhood, when they caught insects and crayfish in the fields. He held a wooden stick, staring at the ditches and grass, imagining himself as Hal Rogers, the animal catcher. The girl, on the other hand, preferred to tilt her head back, gazing at the stars and fantasizing about everything a million light-years away.

"Xiao Xian, do you want to learn the alien common language?" Li Pu scratched his head and suddenly asked, "The Divine Warrior Armament Module can already translate between Earth languages and the alien common language. I can try to copy the original phonetic letters and grammar structure."

In fact, besides the main loading module, which was similar to a "personal enhancement system," the Divine Warrior Armament had several useful additional modules. Li Pu himself hadn't had time to read them carefully, and he wasn't very interested in this area. But Chen Xian was different.

"Really?" Xiao Xian was very excited, hopping up to Li Pu like a little rabbit, her eyes shining as she held his hand, "I want to learn. Can we copy it out today? Definitely, definitely!"

Normal girls would only act this way if they were given gemstone jewelry or designer handbags, but Xiao Xian wanted to learn a very complex and possibly useless language. Li Pu sighed inwardly: She's such a bookworm!

Li Pu naturally agreed on the spot. But he soon regretted it—this alien common language was so complex! It was an analytic language similar to Chinese, but with many more phonetic and tonal variations, including sounds that human vocal cords couldn't produce. For a while, Li Pu filled several thick notebooks with data sheets, translating from Chinese.

It was a hundred times more difficult than doing summer homework! Li Pu felt like he had dug a big hole for himself... but seeing Xiao Xian's expectant expression, he couldn't bring himself to say no.

Not only language translation, but the additional systems of the Divine Warrior Armament also included a simplified basic education module, introducing the main hunting targets of the Star Hunter Covenant, some history of the Union Era, and various bits of alien technology and art.

Unfortunately, the alien art was not very useful, but the practical technology was mostly like popular science reading materials—of course, this popular science was like comparing the information age to a primitive tribe compared to Earth. Li Pu guessed these were the previous owner's casual reading materials, casually stored in the module's built-in database.

These things, unrelated to the basic functions of the loading module, were less attractive to the current Li Pu than the main functions of the Divine Warrior Armament. For example, he could summon a basic interface that only he could see, which recorded his specific conditions in great detail. From his physical data to hidden genetic defects and advantages, to a detailed analysis of his life blueprint.

All the data was summarized on a basic blueprint, with so many items that it made Li Pu's eyes spin. Fortunately, the "Divine Warrior Armament" was indeed a commercial product, emphasizing convenience and usability. The "Life Blueprint" could even be customized to display based on the current user's habits, preferences, and understanding.

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PS: Regarding Superman's 'S,' the setting of the first volume of this book is the mid to late 1990s, so it uses the early Superman worldview, not the revised explanations after the various DC reboots in the 21st century, such as in the movie "Man of Steel."

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