Chapter 172: Since it’s an unwelcome guest, better not come knocking

Chapter 172 Since They're Ill-Intentioned Visitors, It's Better They Don't Show Up

"When they're this eager, how can we refuse? It’d be a shame not to capture them!"

"Anyway, it’s like scaring up rabbits while beating the grass—the Treants just scooped up these adult half-demons along the way."

The staff were at a loss for words.

They'd never see this coming in a million years.

If it were full-blooded demons, it’d be one thing—many spirits only recently gained sentience, even with pre-awakening memories, hadn’t personally experienced human society and were just observers, so their naivety was understandable.

But these adult half-demons—you grew up in the melting pot of society! How could you still be this gullible?

Sheng Qingquan was equally puzzled—until he took a closer look.

"They’re all youngsters. Some are even still in school, and the older ones have only worked a few years."

The staff sighed.

"Seems like fraud prevention efforts still aren’t thorough enough." The public's awareness is just too low. This area needs more attention in the future.

"However, Treants are different from the Wanlan Empire. Since it’s a misunderstanding," one staff member couldn’t help but speak up, "can’t we just clarify it?"

That way, Blue Star wouldn’t have to fight on two fronts and could focus solely on the Wanlan Empire.

Despite the Treants’ actions may seem vicious, everyone knew the real enemy was the Wanlan Empire.

"In the original work, Blue Star’s authorities finally traced the incidents to the Treants. Before they could resolve the misunderstanding, more races got dragged into the mix."

"And it wasn’t just one or two races."

"Treants maintain close alliances with Elves. Their relationship with Beastfolk isn’t as intimate, but it’s still decent."

"So after ‘rescuing’ the victims, they quickly leaked the information to these races, preparing to jointly condemn Blue Star and demand accountability."

"Elves, being deeply connected to nature, have been lifelong allies with the Treants. Upon hearing the news, they initially planned to just show solidarity with the Treants."

"But soon, they learned about the method to strengthen plants—even if it was the ‘Treants’ who benefited. After all, Treants are a type of plant."

"The Elves couldn’t help but begin to scheme."

"Elves aren’t born from mothers—their race depends on the Mother Tree. Every young Elf is born from her. But in recent years, newborns have dwindled."

"The Mother Tree’s life force was waning. If this continues, she might wither away."

"Facing the threat of extinction, how could the Elves not be deeply troubled?"

"Now that they see a glimmer of hope, they won’t let it slip."

"Maybe this method could revive the Mother Tree’s vitality! The thought alone made the Elves eager to see the results."

"As for the Beastfolk, they rushed to the scene upon hearing their kin had been taken as test subjects."

"Normally, no race would abandon their own."

"On top of that, the Treants also reached out to another star system."

"The inhabitants there, females all sport beautiful fishtails—and on Blue Star, they'd discovered similar human-fish hybrids."

"Who can say this isn't a case of mermaids being trapped on the Azure Star planet? There's definitely that possibility!"

"From the Tree People's perspective, if the Azure Star could target one race, they could target more. They have that suspicion!"

"If there's suspicion, then it must be reported to other potential targets."

"Everyone uniting to seek justice means more allies and greater momentum—the louder the outcry, the stronger their position."

"And regardless of whether the mermaids on the Azure Star are the same as the extraterrestrial mermaid females, the latter would surely send envoys to investigate upon receiving the news."

"After all, their females, though not as scarce as in the Wanlan Empire, are still highly valued."

"They absolutely cannot tolerate any harm coming to mermaids."

*One, two, three!* The crowd was stunned.

Just now, three different races had already been summoned by the Tree People's mass summoning ritual.

Who knew how many more would follow?

This wasn't just the Azure Star being caught between two enemies—it was outright besieged on all sides.

"And then came the Angel race, the Demon race, and the Medusa race..."

"Like a rolling snowball, gaining size and momentum as more star systems and factions got dragged in."

"The crisis snowballed out of control."

"The Azure Star had to wage war, pacify domestic unrest, negotiate with these races for the return of abducted Azure Starians, clear their name, and prove their innocence."

"They were already overextended at every turn. To avoid greater trouble, they also had to carefully conceal the planet's mineral wealth."

"For a short while, it was manageable. But over time, even major star systems couldn't withstand such intense scrutiny from so many parties—let alone a newly emerged planet like the Azure Star."

"Soon, the vulnerabilities of the Azure Star were laid bare."

"All the world's bustle is for profit; all the world's clamor is for gain. Quickly, many star systems, like sharks smelling blood, swarmed in—each wanting to monopolize the benefits or at least grab their piece of the pie."

"Against just one or two enemy nations, the Azure Star might have held their ground."

"But with enemies encircling them..."

"How long had it been since the Spiritual Resurgence on the Azure Star? They were hopelessly outmatched."

"The outcome was inevitable."

Everyone fell silent.

What outcome could there possibly be?!

Like a piece of meat fought over by a pack of hyenas—torn apart into many pieces, greedily devoured.

"Who could have guessed that it all started with tourists visiting, and yet things spiraled this far out of control?"

"Even the Wanlan Empire emerged battered, but the hardest hit was still the Azure Star."

"In the end, the Wanlan Empire fell as well."

But to Sheng Qingquan,

"They had it coming!"

"That troublemaker's gone? Good riddance."

"Everyone pays for their greed eventually."

"The Wanlan Empire paid the price for its avarice."

"Unlike them, Tianlanxing's loss is truly unjust."

Just thinking about it, Sheng Qingquan wished he could grind the Wanlan Empire, especially that first alien, to dust.

Reading about Tianlanxing's miserable fate in the novel put Sheng Qingquan in a terrible mood.

Luckily, there was still time.

With this thought, Sheng Qingquan perked up.

"While it gets messy later, with the advantage, handling this won’t be difficult."

The others, previously lost in anger and sorrow, were jolted out of it.

Indeed, if things reached the mid-to-late stages, changing Tianlanxing’s fate would be nearly impossible—like trying to change fate itself.

No matter the effort, the chance of reversing the situation would be next to nothing.

But now, that alien hasn’t even arrived yet!

There'd been no news of alien visitors lately.

"Since we know it’s an unwelcome visitor, we shouldn't even let it land."

"We can stop this at the source."

"Since this alien was just sightseeing, it wasn’t hiding its trail through space."

"So finding it won't be tough."

"As for when it will arrive—"

Sheng Qingquan was about to check the book again for clues when, before he could turn two pages, his phone rang—the Liaison was calling.

After finishing the novel for the first time, Sheng Qingquan had filled the Liaison in on the situation.

Receiving a call now came as a surprise. Was something happening?

"A spacecraft has been detected approaching?" Sheng Qingquan stiffened, then quickly put two and two together.

At this time, who else could it be?

"No prizes for guessing—it must be that culprit!"

With that, Sheng Qingquan pressed, "Where is it now?"

"Almost in our solar system?" At this point, Sheng Qingquan didn't have time for plot analysis now.

No point now.

"Right on time!"

After getting the lay of the land, Sheng Qingquan sprang into action.

Anyone listening in might think he was chomping at the bits for the aliens to show up and discover Tianlan Star already.

In truth, everyone knew anticipation was there, but what exactly they were hoping for varied from person to person.

Sheng wasted no time, immediately piloting his mech out of the atmosphere.

Behind him, government forces also deployed a ship to follow, ready to back him up at a moment's notice.

But fearing detection by the aliens, the ship kept its distance, not daring to get too close.

Sheng wasn't worried about that.

The Wanlan Empire's tech was more advanced than Tianlan Star's, but not by a huge margin.

While the alien ship posed some risk, a medium-grade mech had nothing to fear. Especially since the alien vessel wasn't military-grade—just your average civilian model.

For a mid-tier mech to stay hidden? Piece of cake.

Soon, Sheng made out the alien ship in the distance.

"No idea how high-end this thing is, but judging by its looks, it's sharper than our previous captures."

"But now ain't the time to geek out over it."

"Once this is done, the authorities will have all the time in the world to pick it apart."

With that thought, Sheng made his move.

Hitting Foundation Establishment, while he still couldn't spacewalk in his original body, he'd gotten several times stronger.

His plant control? Next-level precise.

The vines and mushroom spores within him? Leveled up big time.

Even with the opposing ship still cruising along, its hatch sealed tight as a drum, Sheng slipped the mushroom spores inside without breaking a sweat.

Inside the ship, the Broad-ear was nursing a drink in the dining area. The crystal-clear glass held a galaxy-purple cocktail that swirled gently.

It looked magical, and tasted even better.

The Broad-ear raised the glass, took a small sip, and shut his eyes savoring it.

As the sweet liquid hit his throat, a buzz hit him.

"Am I getting lightweight? Been too long since my last drink?"

The Broad-ear shook his head, feeling like he'd just seen his crush's face.

The reason for his trip? Another failed confession. He knew the ladies were tough nuts to crack, but this was ridiculous.

Repeated failures had left him pretty bummed out.

Couldn't help but want to get away and clear his head, then decide if he should keep trying or call it quits.

Or perhaps, just change the target altogether.

Maybe pursuing a female with lower fertility would be easier?

Was aiming for her too high of a reach?

The broad-eared man wallowed in self-doubt when he suddenly caught a glimpse of her figure. He knew she couldn’t possibly be on his ship.

Must be the booze messing with his vision.

But still...

"Am I really missing her this much?"

"Was I really this hung up on her?"

He murmured to himself.

He put down his drink, realizing that this whole trip was probably just a waste.

His heart had already made the decision for him.

Rather than switching targets, he clearly wanted to persist.

With this thought, the broad-eared man started pacing.

"Turn back! Turn back!" he barked at the ship’s AI. The AI wasted no time swinging the ship around.

Squirming in his chair, he began regretting this impulsive journey.

After all, his crush was such an outstanding female.

Not only was she easy on the eyes with a voice like honey, but most importantly, her fertility score was as high as 60 points.

60 points wasn’t anything special in the Wanlan Empire—word was the top-tier females hit a crazy 98 points, damn near perfect.

But those perfect tens were way out of his league.

Only royalty stood a chance with them.

For a guy like him, a 60-point female was already the best he could hope for.

Anything higher, and he could lick boots all day and still strike out.

Let alone getting the girl.

The broad-eared man knew his place all too well.

Yet, his crush had far too many suitors—many who had him beat.

Despite four years of chasing, he still hadn’t gotten anywhere with her.

Even though she occasionally let him take her out to eat and had him foot the bill, he was just another face in the crowd.

In fact, he was the one who dined with her the least—and their dates never lasted long.

A meal never lasted more than an hour, unlike some people who dragged meals out so long that by the time one ended, it was already time for the next. So they’d end up eating back-to-back meals before saying goodbye.

The difference was so obvious it drove home just how hopeless his chances were.

He was already the underdog, and now he had left at this critical moment.

Thinking about how he had gone off traveling, during this time away, the other guys were probably falling all over themselves to impress her.

Some new guy could’ve swooped in.

Or perhaps the most favored suitor before had already won her heart by now.

Jealousy and regret ate at him.

The broad-eared man had already turned back, so by all rights, Sheng Qingquan should’ve backed off.

But considering the chain of disasters the man had caused, the fate of Tianlan Star in the plot, and what if he got back only to find his crush already taken? He might spiral into despair, set off traveling again, and rediscover Tianlan Star—

The risk was too damn high.

Sheng Qingquan wasn’t about to roll those dice.

While tracking the ship earlier, he had already coordinated with the authorities on how to act.

The broad-eared man was now a bundle of nerves.

In his misery, he not only finished the wine in his glass but also polished off the whole bottle.

He was practically begging to black out.

Sheng Qingquan nudged things along, making sure the guy looked wasted.

Noticing his condition, the ship’s bot floated over to ask if he wanted to sober up.

But under the influence of the mushroom spores, the scene twisted into the robot asking if he wanted to exercise.

“No,” the broad-eared man slurred. Who the hell works out when they’re trashed?

His legs were jelly. Forget exercising—he could barely stand.

What he needed now wasn’t exercise but rest.

Sleep was the right choice.

He lurched toward what he thought was the bedroom. Turns out he was way off course.

He believed he was entering the bedroom, but instead, he stumbled into the cockpit.

Thanks to the hallucination, the broad-eared man reached out and hit the big red button—the one that’d blow the ship to hell.

In his mind, he was just switching his bedroom’s ceiling backdrop.

Before sleeping, he liked to switch the ceiling image to a photo of his beloved—that way, it’d be like sleeping beside her, and when he woke, the first thing he’d see was her.

Real smooth.

Maybe he could tell her about this when he returned. She’d probably melt.

The guy got lost in his little fantasy, even half-remembering the junk he’d picked up along the way.

If he could find merchandise gifts to give his beloved, perhaps winning her favor would allow him to successfully spin this trip as a special journey to find a gift for her?

That way, not only would he avoid getting cut from the running, but he might even score some points.

"Ten seconds until the ship's self-destruct sequence begins. Countdown initiated: 10, 9, 8..."

The ship's AI announced.

If it was an accidental trigger or if he changed his mind midway, the self-destruct could still be canceled before the countdown ended.

But to the broad-eared man, this warning sounded like the AI's warm blessing.

"Pleasant dreams, Master. Tomorrow is a new day!"

"3, 2, 1."

"Boom!" A spectacular explosion lit up the cosmos.

Sheng Qingquan had already distanced himself from the ship as soon as the countdown began.

After the broad-eared man and the ship were reduced to ashes, Sheng Qingquan saw the story successfully resolve. The merch gifts appeared.

It was all over.

Most importantly, even if the video of the broad-eared man's final moments was automatically sent back to the Wanlan Empire, and even if someone there suspected foul play, they'd never uncover the truth.

No matter how they investigated, the conclusion would be the same: the broad-eared man had left on a trip to get over his heartbreak, only to regret it halfway and try to go back and make amends.

But he knew all too well that there was no fixing things now.

If he hadn't left in the first place, it might have been different, but this impulsive departure sealed his fate. His pursuit was hopeless.

So, depressed and drinking his pain away—only to find it deepening—he grew increasingly despondent in his drunken state. Unable to bear the thought of seeing his beloved with someone else, he got stuck in a dark place mentally and ended it all.

When you thought about it, it added up.

Even if someone from the Wanlan Empire came to investigate the scene, there wasn't much to worry about.

First, the ship's self-destruction would wipe out nearly all evidence.

More importantly, why had Sheng Qingquan waited so long to make his move?

Precisely to avoid getting Tianlanxing mixed up in this.

He deliberately waited until the ship had gotten far enough away from the solar system before acting, fearing that if it were too close to Tianlanxing, any investigators might stumble upon the planet by accident.

Fortunately, that never came to pass.

Though the ship he had originally hoped to salvage was now lost, it was a small price to pay.

At the very least, he had successfully squashed all potential problems before they started.

Sheng Qingquan flew his mech home. Seeing him return safely, everyone could finally relax.

Once back on Tianlanxing, Sheng Qingquan pulled out the merch gifts.

"Let's see what we got here!"

"Do the people of the Wanlan Empire have any special abilities?"

"From the original storyline, they seem pretty ordinary. Apart from their warped social structure, wait—"

At this thought, Sheng Qingquan suddenly grew concerned.

"Will I inherit their bizarre gender ideology?"

"God, don't let it be something so bizarre."

The staff, who hadn't even considered this possibility, stared in stunned silence.

"If that really happens, it wouldn't be a reward—it'd be a punishment!" someone exclaimed.

The comment immediately drew nods of agreement from those around.

"No way that's happening."

"It must be something else. Their advanced tech seems promising—maybe we'll gain some breakthroughs?"

That would be far more useful and normal than their bizarre gender ideology!

As if displeased with Sheng Qingquan's slander, the merchandise gift levitated and was absorbed into him.

"This is it?"

"I didn’t expect the merchandise gift not to come from the Broad-Ear folk."

"But from the Arborians."

Arborians?

Does this mean Sheng Qingquan gains the ability to turn into a tree?

Everyone looked at each other bewildered.

"But doesn’t he already have a similar skill? Isn’t this redundant?" someone couldn’t help but point out.

"Maybe the Arborians have other abilities we don’t know about. It wasn’t mentioned in the book. Or maybe it was, but his internal monologue never mentioned it?"

"This skill is so hard to summarize in words!"

After examining it for a while, Sheng Qingquan finally understood its effect.

"To put it simply, it’s like an ultimate silver tongue!"

"Say anything and I’ll believe it. Your word, I’ll believe. Even strangers instinctively trust me more than others and are more inclined to believe what I say."

"This skill…"

Sheng Qingquan mused.

"No wonder the Arborians could always effortlessly win over those races."

"That explains everything."

"I wonder if he had this skill naturally, or if it was derived from his behavior."

"Either way, this skill is mine now."

"If it were the latter, that'd be one thing. But if it's the former—knowing full well he has this skill yet failing to discern right from wrong, jumping to conclusions without evidence and spreading rumors everywhere..."

A staff member said bitterly, "What do you expect? He's an alien."

"If this were our Sky Blue Star, someone like him would’ve been locked up long ago, doing hard time behind bars."

"Don’t buy into or spread rumors. Sometimes I really wish legal education could extend to aliens too."

Having just gotten this skill, Sheng Qingquan initially wanted to test it on someone.

But ordinary people couldn’t be put in harm's way. As for the willing soldiers and staff members...

Sheng Qingquan hadn’t even used the skill yet. Looking at the soldiers and staff members who were looking at him like he hung the moon, he felt awkward and speechless.

Testing it was completely impossible.

In this situation, it seemed no matter what he said, they’d believe him.

They trusted him way too much.

He never would've guessed that having too much goodwill could also be a problem. Realizing they couldn’t help, the soldiers and staff members couldn’t help but slump in disappointment.

The trouble was, Sheng Qingquan was too much of a celebrity. Finding other soldiers or staff members who hadn’t interacted with him as volunteers wouldn’t work either.

Even the inmates serving time in prison...

"Well," a staff member said awkwardly, "the prisons on Sky Blue Star really aren’t that harsh."

"Locking people up is about rehabilitation, not torment. Sure, they have to work and eat plain food, but they still have leisure time."

"They can watch TV, read newspapers, and books."

Especially since the Spiritual Resurgence happened, when Immortal Cultivation became possible—to motivate inmates to earn points toward early release and strive for early release to cultivate, the authorities made sure every prisoner knew.

Sheng Qingquan’s tribulation livestream had been shown to them too.

The staff member hesitated to continue.

Being Sky Blue Star's top dog meant something.

And inmates were suckers for a strong leader.

Talk about awkward.

The staff member didn't need to spell it out, but Sheng Qingquan realized he couldn't test his skill. With no other options, he had to set the matter aside.

Before he even had time to think of a solution, another doomsday scenario popped up.

"So soon? No chance to catch my breath!"