445: Xiaoxiao returns

Bai Yiming scratched his head awkwardly, "Xiao Xiao, that matter happened so long ago. I'm a Level One Military Officer in Space City now."

Bai Yiming had been unable to get promoted due to his past record. Although his father was the head of the Space Administration's military, the oversight he faced was pervasive. His ability to reach Level One Military Officer was due to Bai Yiming's own hard work.

The Solar System was vast. Over the past decade, he had actively participated in every resource exploration mission in space, earning multiple commendations, which led to his exceptional promotion to Level One Military Officer.

Seeing the awkwardness on Bai Yiming's face, Xiao Xiao smiled mischievously, "I was just teasing you. Let's go. The things I brought back are very important, and I can't show them to you yet."

"Very important?"

Xiao Xiao smiled and nodded, "Yes, very important. You'll understand when we get to Uncle Meng's place."

"Alright, I'll take you there now."

Led by Bai Yiming, they arrived at Meng Xian's office. Ten years had passed, and Meng Xian's hair had turned mostly white, but his eyes were still bright and his spirit was excellent.

Xiao Xiao's appearance brought a hint of surprise to Meng Xian's face. The moment he saw Xiao Xiao, he excitedly stood up.

"Xiao Xiao, you're finally back!"

"Uncle Meng, why have you gotten so old?" Xiao Xiao asked with a hint of surprise.

Biological technology in Space City was advanced; delaying aging was a minor feat, and even eternal life had been conquered, though not everyone could enjoy it. Most management chose to let nature take its course, which was also a rule.

Meng Xian laughed heartily and waved his hand, "Old, old, time spares no one. But seeing you back, my heart is truly happy."

He looked Xiao Xiao up and down, nodding with satisfaction, "You haven't changed at all in these ten years you've been away. So, are your parents not coming back?"

"They're not coming back. They sent me back to take over his position. I can contact my dad anytime, anywhere. My dad said he wouldn't come back unless humanity faced an extinction-level crisis."

As Xiao Xiao spoke, she placed the backpack she was holding on the table.

Meng Xian's eyes paused, his gaze falling on the backpack, and a serious expression appeared on his face. He knew that Xiao Xiao's return this time must have brought back technology of great significance to human civilization.

"Xiao Xiao, what exactly did you bring back this time?" Meng Xian asked curiously, lowering his voice.

Xiao Xiao smiled and glanced at Bai Yiming, who immediately understood and turned to close the door.

"Uncle Meng, I brought back some important things this time," Xiao Xiao said.

"I think these things might be helpful for the development of Space City."

Upon hearing this, Meng Xian's spirits immediately lifted. He eagerly asked, "Oh? What is it? Hurry and show me."

Xiao Xiao smiled slightly and took out the device containing the super-dense matter from her backpack. She carefully placed it on Meng Xian's desk.

It looked ordinary, with a translucent white substance suspended within a transparent crystal.

"What... what is this?" Meng Xian asked.

"A neutron star, just a small piece. A gift from a galactic civilization to my dad. My dad asked me to bring it back. The leader of that civilization heard that we haven't even left our home star system yet, so he specifically packaged some academic materials for basic scientific research. However, you'll need to figure out how to translate them yourselves."

Meng Xian and Bai Yiming were both too stunned by Xiao Xiao's words to speak. A neutron star—that was an extreme celestial body in the universe, its matter density and energy levels were simply unimaginable. And now, such a piece of matter from a neutron star lay quietly on their desk.

Seeing Meng Xian's apprehension, Xiao Xiao reassured him, "Don't worry, it's force-field encapsulated. There's an instruction manual. How to research it specifically is up to the scientists of Space City."

Bai Yiming scratched his head and asked, "Xiao Xiao, you mean that alien not only gave you gifts but also packaged scientific knowledge for us to learn?"

"Yes, why? Is there a problem?"

"Uh, why?" Bai Yiming was greatly puzzled.

Xiao Xiao looked at Bai Yiming and said, "My dad is the head of this universe, didn't you know? The previous head abdicated to my dad, and he's someone all civilizations have to curry favor with."

Meng Xian took a deep breath, trying to calm his excited emotions. He looked at Xiao Xiao, his voice filled with gratitude and respect, "Xiao Xiao, what you've brought back this time is priceless for Space City and for human civilization. On behalf of everyone, I express my deepest gratitude to you."

"Uncle Meng, when I came back this time, I noticed Space City has expanded a lot. Have you overcome the problem of artificial gravity?"

Meng Xian nodded and said, "Yes, it has been overcome. It's just that the speed of our spacecraft isn't very fast yet. Currently, the dyson sphere project has stalled. We need to dismantle other planets for heavy element fusion, and the residue from the fusion will be used to build the dyson sphere. Once the spaceship speed increases further, we'll go outside the Solar System to mine resources."

Xiao Xiao nodded slightly and said, "Alright, Uncle Meng, I'll leave these things to you. Oh, there's an elf in the knowledge storage device, which is equivalent to our intelligent AI. For the alien language translation work, you can connect it to Tianquan or Number Three."

"Can't you do it?" Meng Xian asked.

"Of course, I can't. Their language is different from ours. The people of that galactic civilization have incredibly long necks, and the sounds they make exceed twenty thousand hertz. Their ears are like antennas. Anyway, after this trip, my sense of aesthetics has completely collapsed. It's better to be back on Blue Star; I can't appreciate the outside world."

Meng Xian laughed heartily after hearing this and waved his hand, saying, "Your dad sent you back to take over. Perfect, I'm getting old too. You can help manage Space City."

"Uncle Meng, I still want to play for a few more years. Don't get any ideas about me. If I'm going to take over, it'll have to wait until your backup consciousness is activated."

Meng Xian smiled, "Alright, as you wish!"

"My mission is complete, so I'll be going now. Time to play!"

Meng Xian watched Xiao Xiao's retreating figure, a relieved smile on his face. He knew that what Xiao Xiao had brought back would undoubtedly bring a huge impetus to the development of Space City.

Meng Xian turned to Bai Yiming and said, "Yiming, I'm giving you a long vacation. Go play with Xiao Xiao."

"Uncle Meng, are you joking with me?"

"Joking? Your peers have seven or eight children already, and you're still a single dog. If it weren't for your dad's sake, I wouldn't have specially approved this vacation for you."