Chapter 94

The girl, feeling down, sat at the head of her neatly made bed, her fingers caressing the soft bedding, gazing out the window at the setting sun. From as far back as she could remember, her life seemed to be one of constant relocation. The only exception was the time she spent in this ancient Eastern country, from the mid-summer of 1994 to the Grain Rain season of 2000—those nearly six years of childhood.

In this country, she met her first friend. Despite their stark differences, a wild boy and a well-behaved girl, they unexpectedly clicked. Gradually, he influenced her, and she changed him.

It was like her favorite classic cartoon, "Lady and the Tramp." Perhaps the only difference was that they were childhood sweethearts, going to school together, playing pranks, reading comics, playing games, and roaming the fields and alleys, talking about everything until the sun set and the stars rose. Time passed without end, and the carefree two never thought such days would come to an end.

Even the unprecedented super disaster of the starship's crash did not separate them; instead, it deepened their bond, turning them from best friends into inseparable family. The girl shared her mother with the boy, and he shared with her unimaginable alien products. They started as best friends, then classmates, and then siblings. Perhaps in the not-too-distant future, they would naturally become a couple.

Until her father's sudden appearance disrupted everything. He intended to use her relationship with the boy for his own goals.

If it weren't for her father's words a few hours earlier, she might have eagerly searched the entire campus for the person she had most wanted to see in recent years.

But everything was part of her father's plan. Her mother, herself, and Li Pu were all pawns in his scheme.

China, which had hit a bottleneck in the research of alien heritage, would soon ask her to assist in the decryption and development of the alien artifacts. Whether she chose not to cooperate or asked Li Pu for help, the information about the alien heritage and their relationship would leak out.

Option one: If she refused to cooperate or only translated the language without any real action, then Di Tianxia, who already knew the symbol of the Battle God's Armament on Li Pu's chest, might directly reveal this information, making Li Pu a target for all major powers—her father had already hinted at this.

In that case, Li Pu, without any background, might be "imprisoned" by the Chinese authorities. Her father's main opponents, upon learning this, would likely come to China to seize the only boy who could potentially activate the alien heritage, dragging the Qianlong faction into a war.

Result: Di Tianxia, win.

Option two: If she cooperated but only translated the language, the activation of the alien heritage might still leak, just a bit later.

If she were in the open and Li Pu in the shadows, with her family background, she might have a slight advantage. But once her father's main opponents learned this, they would still likely come to China to seize the only boy who could activate the "alien heritage," dragging the Qianlong faction into a war.

Result: Di Tianxia, win.

The most frustrating part was that once this information was out, there would be no place on Earth where Li Pu could truly be safe. The boy with the Battle God's Armament, the key to unlocking the alien heritage, would be a target for all nations. Even if "killing" him wouldn't transfer the Battle God's Armament to others, any nation seeking alien technology would try every means to achieve their goal.

Her father didn't choose this path, perhaps not out of moral considerations, but because of her.

—Through her, he could better utilize and control Li Pu.

This made the girl particularly sad and angry.

"Aili, you're a smart girl, and you'll make the best choice," her father said confidently, still gently patting her head as she glared at him.

Chen Xian took a deep breath, her delicate chest rising and falling. Yes, she was a smart girl, and even though she was angry, she knew what was right.

She picked up a few photos scattered on the bed, her amethyst eyes scanning the sealed objects in the photos. These photos showed part of the alien heritage successfully salvaged by China, information that the Wisdom of the Serpent had obtained with great effort.

Chen Xian could read the alien script on the sealed objects. When her father asked her to translate, she had deliberately thrown a tantrum and remained silent, but her eyes had already memorized the contents of the photos, understanding what the various boxes represented.

The alien spacecraft that crashed into the Pacific four years ago seemed to be a cargo ship. The sealed boxes salvaged from the sea clearly labeled the brands, production planets, and model numbers of the products. Civilizations that had joined the Pan-Civilization Commercial Alliance, most of which had adopted the personal terminal modules provided by Wan Zong Mo (for fitness, medical, internet, finance, transactions, personal information records, and even weapons), allowed any legal user with such a terminal to access authorized Alliance products through the terminal system.

The clear spy photos showed smaller boxes containing luxury space syrup "Algol Handmade Specialty Ice Burst Liquid." The largest box contained a self-governing micro-engineering unit produced by the Zelians. Another box contained the "Five-Faced Venerable Triangular Star Gate System" from the planet Kuntessa (with a small advertisement: a portable star gate system developed and improved by the Kuntessa technology master "Five-Faced Venerable," Pan-Civilization Commercial Alliance quality certified, popular in the Lyra Star Cluster, suitable for carbon-based, silicon-based, and even etheric life forms, with adjustable gate sizes. Five-Faced Venerable Star Gate System, safely connecting you, me, and everyone!). There were also several boxes of various medical products, such as anti-aging agents and gene stabilizers.

Her father had said it was "comparable to another industrial revolution," but Chen Xian thought he was underestimating the alien technology.

This was an opportunity for the human race, still in the late stages of the Enlightenment Civilization, to advance significantly into the Expansion Civilization, having only just begun deep space exploration to the nearest satellite, the moon.

Without the need for painstaking research, they could directly use the advanced technologies of these space civilizations that had dominated the stars for countless millennia—whether it was China, the United States, Russia, Japan, or the European countries, they would all be driven to madness once they understood the true value of the heritage.

Because of this obvious conclusion, she fully understood why her father chose China.

It wasn't just because of her or "trust in China." Only by choosing China did her father, the opportunist, have a chance.

The Wisdom of the Serpent, no matter how powerful, was still a profit-driven transcontinental organization with fewer than a hundred core members. They could meddle in the shadows, but they couldn't openly challenge the military might of powerful entities like China, the United States, or the European Union. Even with the alien heritage, they might be quickly eliminated by a joint effort of the nations.

So, even the Wisdom of the Serpent had to choose a country to rely on.

On this planet, the countries with the capability and resources to develop the "alien heritage" were, in order, the United States, the European Union, Russia, and China.

The problem was that the location of the alien spacecraft's crash a few years ago was too delicate. The European Union and Russia were too far away, only able to watch helplessly from afar. As for Japan and South Korea, they had mostly given the salvaged alien heritage to the United States. This left only China and the United States as the countries with the potential to develop the heritage.

If it were the powerful United States, and they made significant progress in the research of the alien heritage, the other countries could only envy and resent them. In the face of the strongest empire in Earth's history, her father would have no room to maneuver. The United States might monopolize all the benefits, securing their position as the dominant power in the solar system for the next millennium.

As for China, if they didn't make any significant progress, it would be one thing. But if they did, the immense pressure from the United States and its allies would suddenly appear. However, countries that had been eager to get involved in the alien heritage but had no chance before would likely offer support to China in exchange for a share of the research.

At that point, China might use other countries to counter the United States. When the entire world was arguing over these artifacts, her father, as part of this interest vortex, would have more opportunities to speculate.

China couldn't refuse because, even in the worst-case scenario, it would still be better than letting the Americans have the heritage. Other countries, besides the United States and Raven King, would also be happy to see this. Only in this way would they have a chance to get a piece of the pie.

This was her father's strategy, satisfying both sides and even considering the interests of potential neutral parties, with only the United States and Raven King losing out. As for why her father was targeting Raven King and the United States, that was another question.

The fifteen-year-old girl suddenly clenched her fists, her beautiful face with cherry lips tightly pursed, her starry eyes flashing, as if she had made a decision.

She pushed open the door and walked out. The tall, young soldier with a cold and elegant appearance immediately approached.

Chen Xian remembered his name, Ji Wangyue, who was responsible for her safety at school.

"Where do you want to go?" Ji Wangyue asked the girl gently with a somewhat neutral, clear voice.

"I want to find someone. He should be a new student here. His name is Li Pu," Chen Xian said, her hands clasped in front of her chest, poorly hiding her excitement.

"Xian, no matter what, our reunion is the best thing," Li Pu shrugged nonchalantly, sincerely saying, "As for any schemes or strategies, I can handle them as they come. Xian really doesn't need to worry."

As long as he could reunite with the only family he cared about, he didn't care about Di Tianxia's schemes or the power struggles over the alien heritage. If they wanted to use him, let them. He wasn't a prude; from compromise to mutual exploitation, who was afraid of whom?

To cooperate with the government? No problem. To help Di Tianxia gain benefits? It could be negotiated. His bottom line was simple: he didn't want to live alone anymore. The warmth and intimacy of having a mother and sister, the feeling of being needed and needing, he didn't want to lose again.

"He says he's very capable, but Xian has grown up. You might feel a bit awkward rubbing her face when you see her," Chen Tianxin, who always liked Li Pu's openness, teased him. "Xian and I live in the teachers' apartment. By the way, I'm the temporary school nurse. If you ever want to skip class, come to the nurse's office to sleep."

"Uh, the nurse's office?" Li Pu's expression was strange. This special school had far more injuries than other schools. If Aunt Xin was in the nurse's office, it might be packed.

Following Chen Xin to the teachers' residential area, she stopped and looked at her room from a distance. "Xiao Wang isn't here. He must have gone to find you with Xian."

"Xiao Wang?" Li Pu blinked. Was it the physical training prodigy who was always out with the Qianlong commander, rarely at school?

"Yes, he's a rare combat genius, responsible for Xian's safety at school. Without you, he might have been the best of his generation in Asia. Your skill in using soft force to shatter leaves is on par with his in terms of technique, but you're younger," Chen Xin smiled at Li Pu, clearly pleased with the child she had watched grow.

They walked back to the student dormitory and saw a crowd of people chattering and watching something in the distance.

Among them were Yan Xiaoyan and Tang Youyou. Tang Youyou seemed a bit down, and when she saw Li Pu, she didn't come over to greet him, just giving a weak smile.

Tang Youyou, however, ran over excitedly and gossiped, "Wow! Bad news, Xiao Wang has a new girlfriend!"

"Uh?" Li Pu's facial muscles twitched in annoyance.

"She's a beautiful foreign girl, like she stepped out of an anime," the young Tang Youyou, who was not very good at Chinese, said with enthusiasm, clearly excited about the prospect of monopolizing her sister. "She's so perfect for Big Brother Xiao Wang. Sister Xiaoyan is so dejected, she doesn't dare to talk to him—wow!"

The little girl hugged her head, tears welling up in her eyes, pouting innocently, "Why did you hit my head again..."

Li Pu ignored the unfortunate百合小萝莉 (yuri little girl) and looked toward the distant building. About a hundred meters away, a beautiful girl in a British summer dress, with a cool, minimalist style that perfectly matched her classical hairstyle, and wearing white Greek sandals, stood next to a tall, handsome young man in a military uniform.

They noticed each other at the same time.

Seeing Li Pu from a distance, the handsome young man raised an eyebrow, his eyes flickering as if he had recognized something. The girl's eyes widened, and she began to run faster.

The girl ran up to Li Pu, stopping very close to him.

If they hadn't grown up together; if they didn't share the same comic book interests; if he hadn't protected her during the disaster; if they hadn't shared the most wonderful secrets; if they hadn't been siblings under the same roof; if they hadn't been inseparable friends...

All these "ifs" intertwined into an unbreakable bond. All the worries that had been swirling in her mind vanished. Chen Xian took a deep breath, just like in the past, and playfully punched Li Pu's chest, saying, "Brother... long time no see."

—Long time no see, my only star.

The girl didn't say these words, but she looked at the boy with eyes full of affection. Inheriting the best traits of her parents, she combined the delicate beauty of an Eastern girl with the more defined features of a Western girl. Though she was still a bit smaller than Class President Xia'er in some aspects, she was just right. The beauty that had been evident in her childhood was now beginning to bloom.

Li Pu's heart skipped a beat, his nose twitching. With his heightened senses, he could clearly smell the unique, gentle fragrance of Chen Xian, similar to the scent in his memory but with a new, slightly disconcerting quality.

He raised his hand, then lowered it imperceptibly.

Aunt Xin was right; he was a bit embarrassed to naturally rub the delicate face of the girl in front of him, as he used to when they were younger.