Although he was about to be crushed in succession by two powerhouses with SS-rank mental power, he still asked seriously why Yu Nianqing had withdrawn from school.
Yu Nianqing told him the truth. “Dad wants me to take a leave of absence and get married, and he’s cut off my financial support.”
“Get married? To whom?” Only now did Yu Ninghuai realize what his younger sister had been through while he had been burying himself in his studies these past few days.
Yu Nianqing shook her head. She hadn’t even returned to the Yu family home, so how would she know whom Yu Tiancheng wanted her to marry? She muttered under her breath, “I wonder if bigamy is still illegal nowadays.”
“What did you say?” Yu Ninghuai asked in confusion.
Yu Nianqing quickly put on a smile. “Nothing.”
Meanwhile, Bo Chen had been summoned to the conference hall of the Military Research Institute.
The enormous holographic screen in the conference room displayed a video conference taking place on Gemini Star. Of particular note, two people in the video were very familiar to Bo Chen: one was Yu Nianqing’s second older brother, Yu Ningsui, and the other was the deputy commander of Gemini Star.
After the video conference ended, the holographic screen flickered briefly before displaying Yu Ningsui seated at a table.
“The negotiations with Gemini Star have gone very smoothly. I’ll be returning to Kloss Star shortly.”
After finishing his report on the situation on Gemini Star, Yu Ningsui requested permission to return. Everyone turned to look at Bo Chen. After a long moment, Bo Chen gave a faint nod. “Mm.”
Once the video connection was cut off, Yu Ningsui finally breathed a sigh of relief on Gemini Star.
Although the Regent wore a mask, the powerful aura of oppression he exuded always made people uneasy. After half a year of diplomatic engagements, Yu Ningsui could finally return home.
Due to limitations in information transmission, ordinary communication devices could not establish contact between the two planets. Only military-grade communication equipment could do so. As a result, he had been unable to contact his younger sister, and he couldn’t help feeling vaguely worried about her.
In the Conference Room
Director Cheng of the Military Research Institute reminded Bo Chen, “The annual Pre-Military Selection is fast approaching. Before the selection, the academy will hold its customary social dance, and His Excellency the Regent is expected to lead the opening dance. Will we cancel it again this year?”
“There’s no need. I’ll attend on time this year.”
Originally, everyone had assumed that this year’s social dance would be just like those in previous years, with the Regent declining to appear. No one had expected him to give a different answer this time.
“The Pre-Military forces are Kloss Star’s hope for the future. I trust all those in charge will give this matter the attention it deserves.”
As Bo Chen rose to his feet, everyone stood to see him off. Only after he had left did they begin discussing the Regent.
After the meeting, Bo Chen opened his smart terminal to check Yu Nianqing’s location.
The biology building?
Bo Chen had a bad feeling about this.
Sure enough, when he arrived, Yu Nianqing was reaching out her slender hand toward a pot of artificially cultivated eggplants.
Her hand was just about to touch one when someone grabbed her wrist. Yu Nianqing’s heart lurched.
Oh no… Had she been caught?
“This is the Federation First Academy, not your garden at home,” Bo Chen said, looking at her guilty hand.
Yu Nianqing withdrew her hand and said awkwardly, “I just thought these eggplants looked pretty good.”
“These aren’t purebred eggplants. They’re being cultivated by a student, and they contain not only mutagenic factors but other elements as well.” After explaining why the eggplants were inedible, Bo Chen went on to describe the consequences of her actions.
“This is a student’s assignment. What you’re doing could prevent them from completing it.”
“…”
Ah, well. After hearing that, Yu Nianqing completely lost interest. After parting ways with her third older brother, she had come to this cultivation room. Besides seeing all sorts of strange and unusual plants, she had also come across quite a few familiar ones.
She had originally planned to make fish-fragrant eggplant for dinner that very evening, but now that was out of the question.
To prevent a student’s hard work from going to waste, Bo Chen wasted no time in taking Yu Nianqing out of the building.
After all, his own garden was a cautionary example.
As they were leaving, Bo Chen noticed the reluctant look in Yu Nianqing’s eyes. He said nothing and silently contacted Butler Lin.
Butler Lin, who was updating Xiao Jiu’s system at home, received a message from his master.
Bo Chen: Develop the land in the backyard.
After restarting Xiao Jiu, Butler Lin said, “Xiao Jiu, we have work to do.”
Yu Nianqing sat inside the starship, watching the scenery below pass by one stretch at a time. A vast expanse of greenery came into view, and the starship’s holographic screen displayed information about it.
West Cold Black Tea Trees.
“Bo Chen, is this a tea plantation?”
Bo Chen’s gaze shifted briefly from the documents he was reading before returning to them. “These are the most common plants on Kloss Star. This land has too many mutagenic factors, so no one has developed it.”
No wonder so many tea trees had been left untouched.
“Are they wild? Then can I pick some?”
Bo Chen rubbed his brow and didn’t answer Yu Nianqing. Instead, he simply issued an order for the starship to make an unscheduled landing.
Only after Yu Nianqing stepped out of the cabin did Bo Chen remind her, “It’s best to test anything contaminated by mutagenic factors before eating it.”
“How do I test it?”
Mutagenic factor detectors weren’t commonly used in the New Era, so Bo Chen suggested that Yu Nianqing take the tea leaves back and have them tested.
And so, Yu Nianqing plucked a large handful of tender leaf tips and took them home.
She had no idea how to test for mutagenic factors, so she could only ask Butler Lin for help.
Sitting in Bo Chen’s home, Yu Nianqing felt rather ill at ease. She didn’t relax until Butler Lin finished testing the leaves and returned them to her.
“Madam, there’s nothing wrong with these tea leaves.”
Yu Nianqing took the plate of tea leaves, thanked him, and returned to her own home next door.
Butler Lin also relayed the results to Bo Chen. After hearing them, Bo Chen raised his eyes slightly.
“The mutagenic factor contamination is practically zero?”
“Sir, according to the usual understanding, the Fallen Harbor is the place most severely contaminated by mutagenic factors.”
“Take the detector to the Fallen Harbor. She dares to eat just about anything. I don’t want her making herself sick.”
After returning home, Yu Nianqing placed an order for snake-belly cow’s milk on the Star Shopping platform.
Once she turned on the camera, she waved at the lens as usual. “Hello, everyone! Today, I’m going to introduce a drink that ancient humans were very fond of.”
On the table in front of Yu Nianqing sat the snake-belly cow’s milk and a small plate of tea leaves she had roasted in advance. The once-vibrant green leaves had now curled up completely and dried out.
“This is West Cold Black Tea, also known as Ceylon black tea.”
She poured the milk into a pot and brought it to a boil. The overwhelming stench assaulted her nostrils. Pinching her nose, she explained, “The milk people used to boil in the past came from ordinary cows. It didn’t have such a strong, fishy smell.”
The number of people on the Star Network who cursed her gradually dwindled. After all, who would want to spend every single day waiting around just to insult her? Most people simply threw out a few insults whenever they happened to come across her.
Those who remained were genuinely curious about ancient human food culture.
“West Cold Black Tea trees? Those look way too familiar!”
“They’re everywhere along the roadside. How could they not look familiar?”
“You can eat those, too?”
“I’d heard long ago that ancient humans had a habit of drinking milk. I used to wonder why people back then liked drinking something with such a strong smell. Turns out the milk wasn’t even the same kind!”
As the temperature rose, the smell of the snake-belly cow’s milk gradually faded. By the time it reached a boil, there was almost no smell left.
At that point, Yu Nianqing added the tea leaves and stirred slowly. The pure white milk gradually turned a khaki color, and only then did she strain out the tea leaves.
“Add a little sugar. Ancient humans also liked adding taro balls, Oreos, tapioca pearls, konjac jelly, and other toppings… But given the limitations of our current conditions, this simple cup of milk tea is now ready!”