Yun Dequan opened his mouth, wanting to say something more, but Liu Chunhua pulled him away.
Even as they walked, she continued to chatter.
“Old man, walk faster. We still have half a kilogram of rice at home. Go ask Auntie Li next door to exchange it for some fresh vegetables.
Our girl loves those the most. Make sure they’re tender, especially the innermost leaves…”
“Yes, yes, I know, I know!”
The two chattering figures gradually disappeared from Yun Xingwan’s sight.
She gently brushed the filthy hem of her clothes aside and dragged the heavy stone coffin behind her.
“Cough, cough, cough… Let’s go!”
“Alright, alright…”
Inside the command center, complete silence reigned.
Even on the other side of the screen connecting them to the First Base, an old man stared with his eyes bulging slightly.
His voice was almost distant.
“Is this what just happened?”
His voice was soft, yet it struck the stunned people in the command center like a heavy hammer through the screen, jolting them back to their senses.
The monitoring officer was the first to react. His fingers flew across the keyboard, and within the span of a single breath, his forehead was already covered in sweat.
The screen was filled with chaotic red codes. He swallowed hard and spoke to the old man on the other side.
“Number One, Number One Commander, the energy detector has exceeded its maximum reading!”
“What’s the value?”
“There is no value!”
The monitoring officer did his best to calm himself as he pointed toward the broken blue curve on the screen.
“That energy burned out the probe directly within 0.1 seconds. Based on our estimates, the energy density released in that instant was equivalent to…”
He unconsciously paused, his throat making a difficult swallowing motion.
“Equivalent to detonating a hydrogen bomb on a scale of tens of billions.”
Silence.
Once again, the room became so quiet that even a needle dropping could be heard.
They had just witnessed everything clearly. That enormous burst of energy had not harmed a single person from Huaguo.
Only the demon beasts and zombies had been destroyed. Not even a single mutated plant on the ground had been killed.
This was a power humanity had never witnessed before.
It was a power that belonged in the world of myths.
This was nothing short of a miracle!
The commander on the other side of the screen took a deep breath, desperately trying to suppress his pounding heart.
They had originally thought Shen Xingchen had made the most ridiculous decision imaginable by bringing a frail beggar home.
Now it seemed that Heaven itself had dropped a nuclear weapon into their hands.
Number One Commander slammed his fist against his thigh, his eyes fierce and his gaze sharp.
“Seal all information. From this moment onward, everything concerning this divine auntie shall be classified as the highest SSS level secret!
Every survivor and ability user currently alive on the surface, without exception, must sign the highest level confidentiality agreement. Not even an ant is to be left out!
Anyone who dares leak even a single word will be dealt with under military law!
Also, have Shen Xingchen take good care of this divine auntie. If he fails to take proper care of her, he is to come see me with his head!”
“Yes, Commander!”
Everyone stood and gave the leader on the screen a standard military salute.
They all understood that as long as they took good care of this divine auntie, all of Huaguo, and perhaps even the entire Blue Star, could be saved.
No, it might be more than simply being saved.
They might even have a chance to touch that supreme power and witness a completely different world!
Underground Shelter, Medical Isolation Area.
Yun Xingwan sat on a hospital bed, with the stone coffin placed beside her looking completely out of place.
She allowed several top doctors and nurses to surround her.
One female nurse holding a blood collection needle inadvertently glanced at the stone coffin. Her hands began to tremble, and her voice shook uncontrollably.
“Miss Yun, we need to draw some of your blood for testing.”
Yun Xingwan looked at the familiar needle from her memories, then glanced at her own withered and cracked arm.
A warm smile appeared at the corners of her lips as she shook her head.
“Don’t waste your effort. It won’t go in.”
Seeing how approachable she was, the female nurse was no longer as frightened as before.
“Miss Yun, this is a specially made alloy needle. Even the hardest metal can be…”
Before the nurse could finish speaking, there was a clear metallic ding.
The needle, which was supposedly capable of piercing even the hardest metal, snapped into two pieces against Yun Xingwan’s skin.
Not even the slightest mark remained where the needle had struck.
All the medical staff stared at the broken needle and then at her cracked, peeling arm. Their mouths opened so wide that they could have swallowed a light bulb.
Yun Xingwan was helpless, her tone completely calm.
“I told you, don’t waste your effort, and don’t waste these precious medical resources.”
Although her Imperial body was on the verge of collapse, she had refined it with the laws of the Imperial Dao for three hundred million years.
Even a flake of skin that fell from her body was ten thousand times harder than the strongest alloy on Blue Star.
“But, but how is this possible?” Dr. Jiang asked anxiously, cold sweat pouring down his forehead.
Commander Shen had specifically instructed them to thoroughly examine this young woman’s body, yet they could not even perform something as basic as drawing blood!
“It’s fine. Cough, cough…”
As Yun Xingwan spoke, it felt as though something had lodged itself in her throat, and she began coughing violently.
The cracks across her body seemed to deepen once more, as though her ruined body might shatter into pieces at any moment.
She raised a hand to cover her mouth. As she coughed, a drop of golden liquid slipped through the gaps between her fingers.
Drip…
The moment the golden liquid fell onto the floor, there was a tremendous boom.
The solid floor was blasted open, leaving a small hole so deep that its bottom could not be seen.
The doctors and nurses stumbled backward in fright.
Yun Xingwan stared at the scene in disappointment, laughing bitterly inside.
The laws of the Great Dao on Blue Star were simply too fragile.
They could not accommodate her at all.
At this moment, she was like a Kunpeng forcibly stuffed into a glass bottle.
She had to desperately shrink her body so that she would not burst the container, while simultaneously enduring the rejection caused by the laws within it.
She weakly leaned against the hospital bed, breathing in the pungent smell of disinfectant.
It was a smell she had disliked since childhood, yet now it suddenly felt strangely familiar and comforting.
Looking at the troubled people around her, she slowly explained.
“I’m not sick. I’m simply old.”
She was three hundred million years old, and her lifespan was nearing its end.
Just then, the tightly closed door opened.
An elderly couple with graying hair hurried in carrying food containers.
Liu Chunhua strode forward as she opened the food container in her hands.
“Sweetheart, quick. The egg noodles were just made. Eat them while they’re still hot, or they’ll get soggy.”
“That’s right, that’s right. Don’t you love the spicy and sour shredded potatoes your dad makes? Come on, give them a try and see if my cooking has improved!”
Yun Dequan also hurried forward and proudly opened the food container he was carrying, eager to show off his cooking.
Yun Xingwan looked at the two people rushing toward her.
Twenty years had passed.
Her mother’s face was now covered in wrinkles, while her father’s once straight back had been bent by the weight of the years.
They carried the distinct earthy and musty smell of life underground.
Yet in Yun Xingwan’s eyes, they were the most beautiful things in the entire world.
“Dad, Mom! I’m hungry!”
She had once had her flesh and bones torn apart and had bled until not a drop remained, yet she had never frowned.
But now, she sounded like a child, her voice filled with endless grievance.
Liu Chunhua picked up her chopsticks and fished out the fried egg that had been nestled at the very bottom of the bowl before placing it in front of Yun Xingwan.
“Eat quickly. Don’t let your dad see, or he’ll say I’m playing favorites again!”