Evolution - Chapter 78
Chapter 78
For a sister who felt she’d been mocked, acting cute was useless.
Gu Changge’s older sister tried to save face. “Excellent people always appear in groups. Look, one was the only person to be directly admitted to the Academy of Sciences, and the other was the only one to test into the Fourth Military. Since they’re both so outstanding, maybe they know each other?”
The two younger siblings, feigning obedience, nodded meekly in agreement.
Bowing down to the boss.JPG. You’re in charge, you call the shots.
After forcefully salvaging the situation, Gu Changge’s sister probably realized how unreliable her own suggestion was and didn’t bring up asking them to inquire about Ji Changqing again.
Nevertheless, Gu Changge was still packed off to their ninth grand-uncle—the one with the blackest heart and most ruthless methods—for “remedial lessons.”
He was only graciously let out for some air when the time came for his planned outing with Ji Changqing.
The group met up at eight in the morning. The First let out a yawn and wailed, “Why do we have to get up so early to hang out during a holiday?”
“Is this early?” a chorus of military academy students asked in confusion. They were all used to waking up well before six for cultivation or training and didn’t find this time early at all.
The First covered her face, deeply regretting her decision to go out with a group of energetic military students whose routines were appallingly regular.
My weakness for a pretty face will be the death of me!
The energetic military students, a veritable army, hit up two spots in one day. The first stop was an exhibition hall, which was currently featuring the Academy of Sciences’ latest mecha designs, perfectly suiting everyone’s interests.
This was especially true for The First, Cheng Jian, and Weisman. One was a huge fan of the Academy of Sciences, while the other two were avid mecha enthusiasts.
As for the other nine, no soldier could dislike equipment that made them stronger, regardless of whether they could own or use it themselves.
After admiring the heroic forms of the new mecha models, The First, Cheng Jian, and Weisman took a serious look at the design parameters. A strange expression appeared on their faces.
“It lowers the physique requirement but raises the mental power requirement?” Cheng Jian noted, looking at the final new model, which seemed a size smaller. “Has the Academy of Sciences made some new breakthrough?”
Mechas could significantly enhance an individual’s combat capabilities, but the operator had to withstand immense pressure. Those with insufficient physique levels simply couldn’t endure the pervasive stress generated when the machine was in motion.
However, physique level was just a basic requirement. Everyone knew that the terror of a mecha wasn’t just its powerful weaponry. As a walking miniature arsenal, its rapid response was even more astonishing—the ability to capture fragmented, high-speed information and images during fast maneuvers and react correctly in an instant.
It was like playing a game against an opponent with ridiculously high defense, super-fast movement, and attacks that were both swift and varied, with maxed-out sustained damage output. Utterly infuriating.
To adapt to such high speeds, a mecha operator also needed extremely high mental power.
Weisman ventured a guess, “Perhaps they have a new approach.”
The First looked up, bewildered, and pointed at the long string of technical terms. “No, it’s just that the main alloy material for the mecha has seen new progress. While ensuring no performance indicators were lowered, they reduced its weight and improved its resonance and extension with mental power.”
This was merely a material innovation, not a breakthrough in mecha research and design.
“Wow,” Cheng Jian and Weisman exclaimed, their eyes shining as they looked at The First. “Are you studying mecha R&D and design?”
Mecha R&D and design was the most difficult major to get into in the entire Alliance, bar none.
“No,” The First shook her head. “But I’m considering minoring in it.”
The First faced the same problem as Ji Changqing: she had started too late, and the competition was too fierce. She could only settle for the next best thing, get in first, and then consider a minor when she had the capacity.
More than the special mecha exhibition, it was the history of technology exhibit that truly stunned The First and the others.
They had already witnessed the Alliance’s smart homes on Blue Star during their differentiation period. But there were still countless other breathtaking technological inventions.
Butler robots that freed people from tedious and trivial housework; artificial wombs and nanny robots that liberated them from the heavy burden of childbirth and child-rearing; flying skateboards, hovercars, aircraft, and starships that made travel convenient and infinitely weakened the sense of distance…
Much of this technology had yet to be introduced to Blue Star, and even if it had, it was far from widespread application. But the thought of being able to own and use it in the future was a godsend.
The second event was a trip to the most famous amusement park on the Capital Star.
The park was divided into children’s and adult sections. If one wanted to try everything, three days might not be enough. Their purpose this time was clear: to open the eyes of the country bumpkins from Blue Star. They headed straight for the adult area.
Flying skateboards, a hovercar racing zone, mecha simulators…
They tried them one by one, experiencing the extreme thrill brought by the Alliance’s top-tier civilian technology.
It wasn’t until night fell and the city lights began to glow.
Instead of heading home, the group booked a small aircraft to take them overnight to a resort destination over three thousand kilometers away.
Upon boarding the small aircraft, the first thing the famished group did was open the insulated meal boxes that had been delivered. As they laid out a full table of dishes, there were still a dozen or so meal boxes left in the large insulated container.
It seemed their appetites had been fully considered when the food was ordered.
“Let’s just have a bite for now. The journey is over an hour. Once we get there and settle in, we can have a late-night snack.”
The big eaters devoured the food like a whirlwind sweeping away clouds. In less than fifteen minutes, they had completed “operation clean plate.” Even the dozen or so meal boxes that hadn’t made it to the table did not escape the fate of being cleared out.
After appeasing their rebellious stomachs, The First, who had been playing wildly for twelve hours, sat drowsily in her seat. The others were also resting with their eyes closed. After all, they were staying at the resort for three or four days and would surely want to have some fun after arriving that night.
He Qingping moved to the seat next to Ji Changqing and whispered, “You guessed right. The Alliance is preparing for war.”
Ji Changqing was even more shocked than he was. “They’re really going to war?”
Her expression didn’t seem fake, and He Qingping couldn’t help but feel his heart sink.
When the instructors had suddenly departed ahead of schedule, everyone had been lamenting their inability to get revenge. But they also understood there had to be a reason and were extremely curious about what had happened that was so urgent they couldn’t even stay for another three to five days before being recalled to their units.
The speculations were varied. Some said it was a troop rotation in a nearby starfield, others guessed it was an emergency rescue mission, and some thought the problems that had erupted during the entrance exam were reaching a conclusion, and someone involved needed to return to assist with the investigation…
As the group with the most inside information, He Qingping and his friends’ guesses were bolder. It was highly likely that a planet in a border starfield had defected. That was why the instructors from the expeditionary forces had all been urgently recalled—to carry out a mission to retake control of the planet, for instance, by bringing the treasonous high-ranking officials to justice. If that proved impossible, they would at least have to rescue the ordinary civilians.
Ji Changqing had originally just been listening quietly to their heated discussions and speculations. After being baptized by all sorts of wild ideas and absorbing a great deal of knowledge about the military and political systems and factions from her companions’ intense debates, her guess was: “The Alliance and the Empire are going to war.”
At the very least, a regional conflict.
This guess was as if she feared the world wasn’t chaotic enough.
No one was interested in pulling her into their debate.
In their view, the Alliance had lost a little face, but the Imperial warship had not returned, so one could argue the Alliance hadn’t lost out. But the internal problems exposed were severe. They were too busy with internal purges and rearranging patrols to have the leisure to start a war.
Once a war started, it all came down to cash power.
But now that they were back home, their group naturally had access to better information. They only needed to observe what their relatives and friends were busy with recently. Those serving in the expeditionary forces who were planning to come home for a visit this year had their trips canceled at the last minute; people in the general staff department were having more and more frequent meetings; military logistics personnel were working overtime more often… Once they pooled their information, they could vaguely deduce the truth.
That was why He Qingping was particularly curious as to how Ji Changqing had guessed it.
Ji Changqing looked completely innocent. “I was just guessing for fun. If you’re going to guess, guess big!”
He Qingping wanted to spit in her face, but a flicker of doubt and suspicion remained in his heart.
Was she really just guessing randomly? But that doesn’t seem right. She doesn’t seem like the type to talk nonsense.
Just as he thought this, the image of Ji Changqing calmly stating that her clothes were a gift from Major General Xie'er ten days ago surfaced in his mind.
He sobered up instantly and looked at Ji Changqing with a deeply regretful gaze. She seemed like such an upright and serious person, so why on earth did she have to go and major in acting?
A baffling insistence on relying on her looks when she could clearly rely on her strength?!
Ji Changqing felt a chill run down her spine from his stare. “What’s wrong with you?”
His gaze was unnervingly strange.
He Qingping said thoughtfully, “I remember you didn’t participate in the conversation at all at first. You only made your guess much later. So, what was the basis for your judgment?”
“You think I guessed right, so I must be incredibly profound?” Ji Changqing couldn’t help but laugh, but seeing He Qingping’s persistent, knowledge-seeking expression, she racked her brain to recall. “Hmm, it was probably because you all said that high-ranking officials on the planet must have been involved for the Imperial warship to penetrate the Alliance so directly.”
“Often, there’s no turning back for people. The higher their position, the less they can tolerate a fall from grace. As long as the Alliance wants to conduct a thorough investigation, those who feel they can’t clear their names will make a desperate, all-or-nothing gamble.”
He Qingping looked at her with a mixture of belief and doubt, feeling that no matter how she explained it, she was just reinforcing the idea that she had spoken carelessly.
When they arrived at the resort and were checking in, the program playing on the large screen in the reception hall was suddenly interrupted by a breaking news bulletin:
Three planets had defected, announcing their secession from the Alliance.
He Qingping’s vision went black. He immediately whipped his head around to stare at Ji Changqing, the “holy hell” in his mind breaking through the heavens.
Has Ji Changqing’s mouth been blessed or something?
He completely forgot that he was the one who had guessed a planet would defect.
At the Capital Star branch of the Academy of Sciences, about six thousand kilometers from the resort, a group of researchers was also watching the same news bulletin.
They watched the news from a very peculiar angle.
“That planet is the largest producer of XX material. The supply is going to decrease. I should hurry and apply for a batch while there’s still stock.”
“That planet has high reserves of XX ore. The Alliance barely mined it before to avoid damaging the planet’s environment. Ai, what a shame.”
“Do you guys have some kind of misunderstanding about the Alliance’s military power?”
A planetary defection like this couldn’t possibly last long.
…
The group fell silent for a moment, feeling that this was a damn good point.
But they still tried to save face:
“Well, it still takes time to quell the incident. Scientific inspiration can’t wait.”
“Right, right, it’s better to be prepared!”
As the group was in the middle of a heated discussion, someone’s optical computer chimed with an incoming communication.
The lively discussion paused as if a button had been pressed, and all eyes turned to the source of the sound.
The person stood up apologetically and left her seat. “Academician Sith wants to see me. Please, continue.”
Academician Sith was one of the leading figures in the Academy of Sciences. He held the title of Vice Dean, but he couldn’t care less about it and was constantly thinking of ways to shed the position—after all, the Academy of Sciences valued research ability, not administrative rank, and he worried that administrative duties would delay his research.
She left at a steady pace. After the door closed behind her, faint voices could be heard from within.
“Did she really discover the new use for that material? Could Academician Sith have deliberately given her the credit?”
The words were dripping with sour grapes, and someone immediately retorted.
“That’s enough. If she didn’t have real ability, would Academician Sith have taken her on as a student?”
“Exactly, don’t forget she was directly admitted to the Academy of Sciences!”
…
She had heard such voices countless times on her journey here. Unmoved, she quickened her pace through the corridor, leaving the sounds behind. She passed through five security doors, took an elevator down to the fifth basement level, and then passed through seven more security doors before arriving at Sith’s currently dedicated laboratory.
Sith was observing an experimental reaction. Seeing her enter, he beckoned. “Zhiyao, come and have a look.”
Yu Zhiyao walked over silently. Sith looked her up and down carefully. “Saw the news?”
She nodded, then hesitated for a moment before speaking. “Teacher, why are Alliance planets defecting?”
This wasn’t what they had discussed.
“The military and political types are all black-hearted. Who knows what they’re up to.” Sith waved his hand dismissively. “Just you watch. In a year, maybe half a year at most, this will all be settled, and we can go back to the main headquarters.”
Ever since the new use for the material was discovered and the report submitted, their entire project team of researchers had been packed up and sent back to the Capital Star branch. One could say they were being closely protected, but it wouldn’t be wrong to say they were being closely monitored either.
In the entire Alliance, perhaps no more than ten people knew the true reason and purpose behind the frequent military movements of the past six months.
The sudden incident during the Fourth Military’s entrance exam was merely the public excuse.
The Academy of Sciences had made a new breakthrough in the main alloy material for mecha manufacturing. Subsequently, they discovered that a new, crucial material added to it was currently only produced on a few planets in the Empire’s border starfield.
Before its new use was discovered, this material was cheap and easy to obtain, and the Empire paid it no mind. But now it had transformed into an indispensable material for mecha manufacturing, which naturally changed everything.
A secret like this couldn’t be kept forever. Both the Alliance and the Empire had countless spies and agents scattered in each other’s territory. If this news got out and the Empire cut off the supply of this material, the impact on the Alliance would be immense.
Its scarcity and importance meant that the Alliance, having been the first to discover its use, would not be content to let it remain in the Empire’s hands.
Seeing his new student’s worried expression, Sith offered some comfort. “Zhiyao, don’t worry too much. No one can touch a student of mine. For now, just focus on your research. Once this is settled, you won’t be short on contribution points. Maybe we can even solve your genetic conflict issue ahead of schedule.”
The thought that Yu Zhiyao might only have a hundred years left to live if her genetic conflict wasn’t resolved made Sith’s heart bleed.
Such a promising research talent. Heaven was truly jealous of the gifted!
He wished he could transform into a rich benefactor and just buy everything for her—no, give her a huge sum of contribution points.
Unfortunately, while the research-obsessed Academician Sith was a master at earning contribution points, he was also a master at spending them. His pockets were truly empty, and he couldn’t just throw money at Yu Zhiyao’s problem.
Sith, his heart bleeding, silently condemned his past profligate and unrestrained spending. Then he suddenly remembered that his new student also seemed to be someone who spent contribution points like water.
Thinking about how Yu Zhiyao had spent a chunk of her initial reward points on something not even related to research, Sith felt a pain even sharper than if he had spent his own points.
“Zhiyao, you can’t waste contribution points anymore. Wait until your problem is solved.”
“Yes, Teacher,” Yu Zhiyao replied earnestly, her features softening. “Spending it on something worthwhile isn’t a waste.”
Sith’s face was stern. Not a waste? He knew everything. She had ordered fabric to make clothes for someone!
Was she spending contribution points? She was spending her life! So utterly worrying!
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