Chapter 18: Can Such an Absurd Thing Be True?

Chapter 18: Can Such an Absurd Thing Be True?

You didn't say it out loud, but I already know what you're thinking.

After handing over everything and explaining the precautions and usage, Liu Qing quickly grabbed the kitten by the scruff of its neck and tossed it back.

The kitten landed steadily on his back, and Liu Qing, who was eager to flee, didn’t rush to leave.

The items Liu Qing gave to Sheng Qingquan were all packed in a small box.

He opened the box and took out a tube of light orange liquid.

"Drink the Gene Serum first."

"Why?"

"I'm not afraid you'd poison me. From the story, it's clear that the big cat, though quick to anger, is straightforward and wouldn't resort to such underhanded tactics."

"Plus, he's very clear about what he likes and dislikes. He's the kind of guy who loves fiercely and hates just as fiercely. So, for the kitten's sake, these gifts are completely safe."

"It's no surprise he'd give something as valuable as the Gene Serum for the kitten."

"But something as rare as the Gene Serum, he obviously wouldn't hand out a second dose, not even to the authorities. I wanted to save it for..."

That's exactly what I'm afraid of.

Sheng Qingquan's thoughts came flooding in, and Liu Qing cut him off before he could finish.

He was worried that if he didn't cut Sheng Qingquan off, spending more time with him might actually tempt him to poison the guy.

"Other items are fine, but this tube of Gene Serum, even though it's low-grade, is still way too advanced for a Level 1 civilization."

"I get where you're coming from, and I really admire your patriotism. But no."

Worried Sheng Qingquan might push further, Liu Qing said firmly, "No means no."

"You can have the Gene Serum, but you'll drink it under my watch, and I'll take the empty tube back."

"Keeping you from researching the Gene Serum now is for your own good. Researching across levels is one thing, but leaping too far ahead would be a disaster for Tianlanxing, not a blessing."

Liu Qing's words were directed not only at Sheng Qingquan but also at those in the shadows.

So that's how it is, Sheng Qingquan realized.

"Relax, this Gene Serum is pretty mild. I wouldn't risk giving you a higher-grade Gene Serum on Blue Star. Higher-grade Gene Serums are more effective but also more intense. They need to be administered in a fully-equipped hospital under professional supervision."

"This dose is safe even for a weak human body—no side effects."

After all, it won't mess with Sheng Qingquan's prophetic abilities. This is why Liu Qing chose to give it to him.

"After you drink it, you'll start feeling sleepy in about two hours. When you wake up, you won't notice a thing."

"The Gene Serum will gradually change your body. It'll boost your health, strength, and lifespan. I checked, and currently, the average human lifespan is 78 years, with a maximum of 120 years. You will live to at least 300 years."

"By the way," Liu Qing reminded, "don't think about drawing blood after drinking it. It's useless."

"The Gene Serum starts to take effect as soon as you drink it, and its properties begin to change. Whether you draw blood or take a tissue sample, it's futile. You won't be able to analyze anything."

"Don't try to find loopholes," Liu Qing warned. These words were more for the ears of the covert official personnel than for Sheng Qingquan.

"Drink it!" Having said all that needed to be said, Liu Qing handed the Gene Serum to Sheng Qingquan.

Under Liu Qing's intense gaze, Sheng Qingquan took the Gene Serum and downed it in one gulp.

When the last drop of the orange liquid vanished from Sheng Qingquan's lips, the staff also breathed a sigh of relief.

It's good that it's finished; once it's drunk, there won't be any power-hungry schemers thinking about researching it.

Otherwise, instead of researching the Gene Serum, they might unleash a zombie virus.

Isn't that how it's always written in Doomsday novels? Knowing that the world they live in might be stitched together from countless Doomsday novels, the staff dared not take any chances.

In novels, the wildest, most unbelievable things can happen.

Now it's good, the Gene Serum has been consumed, and there's no way to draw blood for testing, directly eliminating all those chaotic what-ifs.

Moreover, after drinking the Gene Serum, Sheng Qingquan won't be plagued by illnesses, his life is safeguarded, and he can continuously provide prophecies, continuing to contribute to Tianlan Star.

In short, with this drink, everyone wins, and all problems are solved.

Liu Qing collected the empty tube, dropped a line, and then disappeared without a trace.

"I'll go reach out to the authorities."

This was originally proposed by Sheng Qingquan, so he was all for it.

Taking advantage of the fact that he wasn't sleepy yet, Sheng Qingquan focused on tinkering with the box in his hand.

Sheng Qingquan took out the eco-protective suit.

The eco-protective suit is eco-protective gear; it's called a suit, but it's not made of fabric like clothes. Instead, it's a bracelet with a crystal-clear gemstone in the middle.

At first glance, it looks a bit like the popular fitness trackers on the market, but it's more refined and elegant.

Following what Liu Qing had taught him before, Sheng Qingquan tapped the gemstone on the bracelet.

In the next moment, a layer of translucent material spread from the bracelet like liquid, covering his body.

Then this layer of material disappeared, and Sheng Qingquan moved his body, his limbs moving freely. He raised his hand to observe it in front of him, and his hand looked exactly the same.

There was no feeling of constriction or discomfort like wearing a tight suit or gloves.

It was very breathable, as if he weren't wearing anything at all. It felt like his own skin.

Wait, there was a difference.

Sheng Qingquan noticed his breathing felt easier.

It must be because the harmful substances in the air were filtered out.

This eco-protective suit is very effective. Besides filtering the air, it offers top-notch protection against physical attacks.

Sheng Qingquan didn't dare to go into the kitchen to test it by slicing his hand with a kitchen knife, but out of curiosity, he still put his hand to his mouth and bit down hard.

The protective suit was surprisingly intelligent; this paradoxical move did not result in the protective suit clashing with itself to see who would win.

Sheng Qingquan's teeth really bit into something, but it was the protective suit.

The bitten hand was unharmed.

There was no pain from being bitten, nor even the sensation of being touched at all.

The wrist was spotlessly white, with no tooth marks or even a faint red mark left.

The effect was amazing, and the clothes even had a self-cleaning feature, so no extra washing was needed.

Liu Qing had provided a full ten pieces of protective clothing.

Apart from the protective clothing, the remaining items were also very practical. Sheng Qingquan didn’t dare to fool around with the weapons. According to Liu Qing, even the weakest ray gun could blast through a ten-meter-thick reinforced concrete wall.

These things, barely a step up from toy water guns on Cat Star, shouldn’t be used on Tianlan Star unless you’re in real danger.

There were also ten kinds of weapons, one of each. The last thing in the box was a medical device about the size of a smartphone.

It could handle common illnesses and was great for treating injuries too.

Say Sheng Qingquan had been gutsy enough to cut himself with a knife, and without the protective suit, the kitchen knife had lopped off his finger. As long as he cleaned the wound with the device and handled the finger right, reattaching it would be a piece of cake.

There was no need to go to the hospital; the entire process was easy as pie, allowing successful reattachment of the severed finger at home without even leaving a scar.

It was incredibly powerful.

What’s more, Liu Qing had picked all these items to run on air power.

As long as there was air, these gadgets would recharge on their own, so Sheng Qingquan didn’t have to sweat about power.

In a way, this wasn’t just a gift box; it was a combat survival pack.

Before taking the Gene Serum, Sheng Qingquan could haul this box to the battlefield and take on a whole group of enemies solo, without a scratch.

The war finally ended because Sheng Qingquan got tired and hungry, so he stepped off the battlefield to grab a bite, letting the rest of the enemy troops slip away.

But now, after the Gene Serum had fully kicked in, if Sheng Qingquan hit the battlefield again, the enemy wouldn’t stand a chance—they’d be wiped out.

Liu Qing had thought of everything when giving the gifts. Even if all-out war broke out on Tianlan Star right now, Sheng Qingquan would make it through. If only one person could make it on Tianlan Star, it’d definitely be Sheng Qingquan.

"The big-ticket item’s gotta be the Gene Serum. As for the rest, I’ll check if the officials got them. If not, I’ll keep one of each and hand over the rest."

After messing around with these items, Sheng Qingquan ate something, and as soon as he finished, drowsiness overwhelmed him.

Sheng Qingquan didn’t fight the drowsiness and just lay down on the bed, following Liu Qing’s instructions.

While Sheng Qingquan was out cold, Liu Qing had already gotten in touch with the officials.

When Sheng Qingquan woke up the next day, the world had changed.

"What’s going on?"

"Did I time-travel again?"

Sheng Qingquan was bewildered, Sheng Qingquan was shocked.

"If I didn’t time-travel, why is this in the news feed?"

"Or did I sleep for more than ten days?"

Sheng Qingquan couldn’t help but check the time again.

"That’s right, only a dozen hours have passed, and it’s indeed the next day."

Sheng Qingquan, feeling skeptical, clicked on the notification to check the details.

"The interstellar era has officially begun, and Tianlan Star welcomes its first extraterrestrial visitors!"

"A giant leap for our nation, a small step for Tianlan Star."

"Tianlan Star and the Liu Clan from Cat Star have officially established diplomatic relations, with the ceremony date set."

"Aliens really do exist, and not all of them are humanoid."

"Movies turning into reality, a real-life version of 'My Love from the Star'?"

"Cat Star actually exists, click to see visitors from the Cat Planet!"

...

There's a mix of seriousness and liveliness.

"What is all this? I just took a nap, and it feels like I missed a whole season of a drama."

"I knew Liu Qing went to meet with officials, but I thought it would be private. How did it get so big? Aside from the gossipy tone, the rest seems quite serious."

"And it's posted by official media. Are we really establishing diplomatic relations?"

"Even the time is set, just two days from now?"

"The news is already trending?"

Sheng Qingquan checked the trending topics, and the comment section was already exploding.

Even though it's just text, it feels overwhelmingly noisy.

Every time you refresh, new comments flood in so fast it's overwhelming.

"Damn, can anything be posted on official accounts now? What are the people behind this doing? What kind of connections do they have to get such obviously fake news on a serious platform?"

"Is there no one in charge? If you love attention, go to entertainment accounts. Why come to a serious news channel?"

"Go to entertainment accounts; even if you post that you're an alien, I'd just laugh it off. Coming to a news account, what, feeling there's no news lately, so you make one up for everyone to see?"

"How is there no news? The person who came up with this is a bizarre creature; isn't that the biggest news?"

"It's like insulting my intelligence, taking my brain out and smearing it on the ground. How could they think I'd believe such outrageous content?"

...

"Could this be true?"

"True my foot. Believing this is like believing I'm Qin Shi Huang—come on, send money!"

"It scared me into checking several times, only to find that, aside from some obviously entertainment accounts, most of the rest are actually official accounts posting this."

"What era is this? We're not ignorant peasants from hundreds of years ago. How many years have we been enlightening the people, and now the higher-ups still treat us like fools?"

"What are they doing? Is self-deception fun? Everyone knows we've only just started exploring space."

"We've never heard of discovering a planet with alien life before, and suddenly they say not only does such a planet exist, but the aliens have already arrived at Tianlan Star, ready to establish diplomatic relations with us."

"Just say you believe it—oh, you do, and you're trying to fool us into believing it too. Don't even think about how to wrap this up when it gets this big."

"With all this going on, will the government still have any credibility left?"

"Up to now, there's been no official debunking; it seems they're determined to go through with this. Will someone play an alien in two days, faking an alien ceremony?"

"I'm just here for the laughs."

"Is this just hype for an upcoming sci-fi movie? What kind of big shot could get official accounts to play along like this? Don’t come out in two days apologizing and claiming it was all just a publicity stunt."

"It’s not April Fool’s Day, so this kind of joke isn’t funny!"

"Cat planet? My cat went there ten years ago, and it hasn’t even sent me a dream to say it’s coming back!"

"Could all the official accounts have been hacked at once?"

...

As Sheng Qingquan scrolled through the comments, they were overwhelmingly skeptical. Occasionally, one or two semi-believing comments were drowned out.

Though no one knew what the officials were thinking, two days flew by in a flash.

Over those two days, even taking out the trash, Sheng Qingquan overheard people talking about it.

Even when more news emerged, announcing the ceremony would be live-streamed, it didn’t convince anyone.

Right up until the broadcast began, Sheng Qingquan could still hear neighbors loudly criticizing the officials for being irresponsible.

"Using tax money for such nonsense—why not invest in scientific research and technology instead? Maybe we could fast-track our alien diplomacy by a couple of decades!"

Despite the complaints, everyone was curious. When the time came, Sheng Qingquan, sitting in his room, felt the whole neighborhood go quiet.

Clearly, everyone was on edge, waiting to see what this ceremony was really about.

The ceremony was simple, held outdoors in a large square instead of a formal hall.

Though not in a hall, holding it in the large square underscored its significance. This only fueled more public outrage.

This is the square where the flag is raised every year—a sacred place for many, where the national anthem is sung and the flag is hoisted.

And now they’re using it for *this*?

Despite the protests, the ceremony began.

The flag bearers led the honor guard, marching in perfect unison.

The military band played, the familiar strains of the national anthem filled the air, and the flag was raised.

As the music reached its crescendo and ended, the flag reached the top of the pole.

"The anthem’s been played, the flag’s been raised—with all this fanfare, it almost feels real."

No way they’d joke about something like this.

The crowd was dumbfounded, and after a while, a trembling comment slid across the live broadcast screen.

Before others could react, the camera cut back to the square, where a squad of uniformed cats, heads held high, marched forward with purpose.