Chapter 421: Protector

Translator: Nyoi-Bo Studio  Editor: Nyoi-Bo Studio

She appeared after 12:00 A.M.

Woosh…clack… The silver door opened automatically.

Dragging her tired body, Mu Yunhua entered the small bedroom with its minimal layout. She fell directly onto the big, soft bed.

She closed her eyes. It seemed that she would fall asleep in just a few seconds, and relax her body and mind.

But…

But even though she really wanted to, she could not simply fall asleep like this. Because she was covered in sweat after a busy day, she had to take a long shower and tidy up her appearance. She strove to face her subordinates and the masses the next day with a healthier and more well-rested posture and attitude.

So she spent at least half an hour every day on her personal image.

It took one entire morning to handle official duties.

Guiding the population training and military construction took up the afternoon.

She had to free up four or five hours in the evening to participate in some major scientific research projects.

Her daily schedule was full. There were actually only 8 hours left for her to sleep and rest.

In addition, she had to groom, dress up, organize herself, and make arrangements for the next day. The actual time she spent sleeping was only six hours.

It was as if she was filled with the spiral springs used to power clockwork—she had become a complete workaholic.

Even though the people around her repeatedly advised her to take a good rest, she still did not dare to let go.

After all, she carried the fate of the entire human race on her shoulders. It was the heaviest burden there could be. Even a single minute spent on rest and relaxation was a luxury to her.

…

After her bath.

With her long hair damp, she fell down onto the big bed, unconcerned about her image. She turned over, pulled the blanket over her body with one hand and closed her eyes. She emptied her thoughts. One could only get the best quality of sleep by not thinking about anything. Conversely, it was easy to become worried and suffer from insomnia if one thought too much.

Even so, some past memories would still emerge from the depths of one’s mind, just like a movie clip.

There was joy, sorrow, beauty, and despair.

Of course, most memories were rather flat and dull, having been worn away by time. No matter how severe the pain, the erosion of time caused the actual feeling of pain to no longer be palpable.

She even missed the ten-plus years where she had lost her physical freedom, Although imprisoned, she could sleep like the laziest person each day and did not have to worry about her responsibilities. She had existed in the most free and relaxed state every day.

It had been an unprecedented freedom for her mind and soul.

And now she had shouldered her responsibilities again.

Often, she couldn’t help but sigh, “Freedom—it causes everyone to yearn for it and it’s placed above everything else. Duty—it’s heavier than Mount Tai and extremely sacred. I can only choose one of the two. As one who chose to bear my responsibilities, I’m afraid that I’ll never enjoy the slightest sense of freedom ever again.”

Even though her body was in a state of imprisonment during those ten odd years, she had felt more freedom within herself than she did now. It had been much better than her present state.

Her present self was just a working machine.

“Is there anyone who can help me?” she mumbled to herself. She could not help but utter some weak words.

In this dark universe, if you don’t rely on yourself, who else can help you?

She only used this kind of silly talk and fantasy to relieve her stress… As a woman who occasionally got into an emotional state, she would think of some unrealistic things to escape a cruel reality.

However…

In the next second.

A glaring white light suddenly appeared before her eyes.

She couldn’t help open her eyes in a squint, and was immediately astonished.

A small ball that emitted white light all over was floating thirty centimeters in front of her. It seemed as if she could touch it with her fingertips.

Mu Yunhua subconsciously stretched out her hand; the glowing ball did not avoid her touch, and fell into her palm.

“What’s this?”

The marble-sized ball had a smooth and round surface. Moreover, it seemed that there was no friction or obvious feel to the touch. It felt like it would slide out of her hand any time.

“Is it a glass ball, a glowing ball, or some other toy?”

There were many children in the immigration bases. Mu Yunhua, who often went to educate and guide them, had seen many toys. Marbles were a fairly popular type.

She subconsciously believed that this small ball might be a kind of toy that had a luminous effect.

Suddenly.

The light-emitting ball in the palm of her hand dimmed, and it grew darker and darker until it gradually became the equivalent of the weak lighting in the bedroom. Suddenly, its surface underwent a burst of fluctuations, and it actually disappeared.

In other words, it had integrated with the environment.

Mu Yunhua’s face changed. She knew that the small ball was still in her hands, but her eyes could not see its existence. She immediately knew that this was a high-tech monitoring device.

After a while.

The color of the ball in her hand continued to change as it absorbed the surrounding light. Its surface got darker until it was like a tiny black hole.

Mu Yunhua did not understand the purpose behind this kind of performance.

Her face became stern and grave as she said to the black ball in her hand, “Who are you? What are you planning to do?” Her inner alarm bell was ringing loudly. Who dare to play such a prank on her?

Upon hearing her question, the ball changed again. It emitted a green light throughout its entire form, and a few beams of light flickered in the air where a text about the size of a broad bean shone.

The text changed again, showing one character at a time. It was like a carousel, changing the symbol every second.

Mu Yunhua relaxed her hand and read the words. Coincidentally, these were just like the H text with which she was highly familiar.

“I can help you.”

Bam.

Mu Yunhua was taken aback.

She could not help but throw the small ball away and scramble backward. Her expression became very ugly. “What kind of joke is this? Don’t play this lame prank on me!”

Someone was watching her private life with this disgusting thing. If she ever discovered who it was, she would never let them off easily!

But the ball floated up into the air again and slowly flew closer. A green light flickered at its top and one by one, the characters were displayed.

“I…am…a…monitoring…device…from…an…advanced….civilization….”

“Who are you?!” Mu Yunhua’s expression changed dramatically. Was it a Selain after all?

“You don’t have to ask about my identity, but I can really help you.”

“Do you think I will fall for your tricks, Selain? Am I a target for your conspiracy now?”

“You can guess whatever you like. Of course, to show my sincerity, I’ll send you a gift.”

The ball floated to the metal table opposite the bed, and a yellow laser beam shot from its bottom. A series of imprints were engraved on the metal table.

After the etching was completed, the ball floated back to Mu Yunhua and displayed a line of words: “Don’t expose my existence to anyone, or I will disappear forever.”

Immediately, the surface of the ball gradually became transparent and it disappeared.

But Mu Yunhua knew that the ball was still in her room.

Climbing up from the bed, she walked over to the table across from her and turned on the light. She looked at the marks left on it by the monitoring device.

“Numbers, letters, a constant… This is a formula, and it’s related to the four basic types of applied forces.”

Suddenly, her expression changed drastically. “The formula for the Grand Unification of Forces! A complete one, too—the ultimate physics formula that we have not yet derived!”

As a genius top scientist, she knew at a glance what this formula was and almost screamed.

But she still had doubts. Was this really a formula for the Grand Unification of Forces?

Or was it… a trap?

However… the formula in front of her was so simple, beautiful, and elegant, that her subconscious mind told her that this could really be it.

She took out her electronic notebook and copied the formula carved on the table. “Whether it is true or not, I’ll check it tomorrow!”

…

The next day.

Inside the Blue Space.

A large particle collider had actually been built more than a decade ago and put into the service of experiments in the sphere of the fundamental sciences.

However, no significant results had been achieved.

That afternoon.

After more than 30,000 particle collision experiments.

Looking at the results that were getting more and more consistent with the curve of the formula, some scientists in the laboratory become so excited that they were already cheering in advance.

“Although the constants given are not necessarily 100% accurate, the main portion of the formula is 300% accurate! We have derived the formula for the Grand Unification of Forces!”

“From the perspective of science and strict regulation, there may be some mistakes in this formula, but it is so neat and elegant; it must not be too different from the real one.”

“No! I can say with certainty that this is the Grand Unification formula! We have basically verified all the other equations. Only this formula has given me the feeling that it is the truth even before we started the verification process.”

“Yes, I had the same feeling at first glance.”

“Captain!”

Team leader Zheng spoke to the screen where Mu Yunhua’s image was. “Where did you get this formula? If it is still correct after millions of experimental verifications, our technology will be able to advance at least 50 years. This will save us a lot of time.”

“It’s a…uhh, it was from a dream I had last night. I saw it in my dreams and copied it down immediately.”

Mu Yunhua thought for a moment. Last night, the monitor device had warned her not to reveal its existence, or it would disappear completely.

She saw it in her dreams?

Upon hearing this explanation, Team Leader Zheng and other scientists became pensive. They did not necessarily think that it was strange.

“This is probably a teaching imparted by the will of the universe.”

“Maybe because the captain obsessed about this formula all day long, the god of science was moved by her sincerity and gave her this gift.”

“God? Indeed, it can only be explained as a dream from the gods. How difficult would it be for us, with the wisdom of mortals, to decipher such truth? Hence, the gods took the initiative to announce the answer.”

Mu Yunhua’s face felt a little hot. Isn’t this getting more and more ridiculous?

“Everyone, continue to run verifications. I am a little tired, so I will retire early today.”

“OK. Please take a break.”

Mu Yunhua decided to get off of work early. It was more than two hours before her normal time. She returned to her residence as fast as possible.

…

She closed the door and turned on the lights in her bedroom.

She placed her back to the door and took a deep breath.

After a long time, Mu Yunhua opened his eyes and said to the air in front of her, “Come out, I know you are still here.”

There was no reply after ten seconds.

“Don’t play hide and seek with me. Show yourself now.”

There was still no reply.

“OK, OK, I am begging you, hurry and come out!” Mu Yunhua’s attitude softened.

Sure enough, a dark gray ball presented itself to her after it freed its form from its transparent state.

The green light emitted from its top flashed, showing a text: “How is it that you have been able to rule out the idea that I am a monitoring device of the Selains?”

Mu Yunhua nodded and said, “I don’t know why you are doing this, but the Selains would not have the need or reason to do this, so…”

She paused, and then asked, “Can you tell me which civilization are you from?”

The green text in the air said, “Do you think I will tell you?”

Mu Yunhua thought for a moment. “Probably… not.”

“Bingo. Your response is correct.”

“Then can I ask some questions that you would answer?” Mu Yunhua looked up.

“Go ahead.”

“Why would you help me? The formula seems to be true.”

The green words showed, “Uh… this question is a bit difficult to answer. If I have to tell you, I can say that I am a kind partner. How about this—I am very kind, so I will help you.”

“Kind?”

Mu Yunhua smiled. This was the worst sort of reason. It was totally unconvincing.

The corners of her lips tilted in a slight smile, and she asked with a spirited and alert gaze, “Then I will ask you directly: what is your purpose? What do you hope to gain from me? What can I give you? If you have a need, I will try my best to satisfy it….. As long as you also provide appropriate help in return.”

A smart woman.

In front of his screen, Chen Jin sighed in lament. Mu Yunhua had roughly guessed his purpose with just a few words and taken control of the active role in this conversation.

Both her IQ and emotional intelligence were through the roof.

But…

Chen Jin did not want to fall into her plan and easily reveal his purpose in cooperating with her. This would lessen the mystery and weaken his working style.

After some thought, he said, “Actually, I just want to help you. There is no other motive behind this. If I have to say it, then, it’s this: I want to be your protector and serve you only.”

Bam.

Mu Yunhua’s heart seemed to have been hit by something.

The heart that had been beating normally for hundreds of years suddenly accelerated a little bit.

“Protector?”

But her face remained expressionless, and her tone became cold. “I take it that you are toying with me, right? You mysterious alien creature from an unknown race with unknown looks.”

“Can you be a little more romantic? Do you think I want to say these kind of mushy words? Do you know how much courage I had to gather? And yet you are questioning my message? But…”

The green text said, “My words are true. I will help you and become your protector.”

Mu Yunhua became silent.

She had asked so many questions and had not actually received any useful information.

There would be ample time for that later. Regardless of the other party’s purpose, there were two points that she had basically ascertained.

One, the other party was from a higher civilization. A civilization that was quite obviously more advanced, or it could not have easily given her the formula for the Grand Unification of Forces.

Two, the other party was not malicious. Or, to be more accurate, she had not noticed any maliciousness on his or her part for the time being. It also had a purpose that was temporarily unknown.

She had figured out these two points.

Mu Yunhua thought that she could make use of the other party to obtain some help for herself. No matter what remuneration the other party would ask for at the end, right now, the benefits far outweighed the disadvantages.

She even saw a hope of overcoming the next wave of crisis.

…

Three days later.

Mu Yunhua brought a necklace unit device. A flower bud-shaped filigree container hung at the bottom of the locket’s chain. It functioned as a signal conversion device.

She placed the monitoring device in the form of a large marble in the flower bud-shaped signal conversion device. Based on the on/off frequency of its changing light rays, the monitoring device could communicate at a maximum rate of 200 MB per second via optical coding.

Both voice and video could be easily transmitted.

In addition, she wore a miniature earpiece with a signal translation function so that they could speak to each other directly and conveniently.

She wore the necklace on her long white neck. Its curve along her upper body was steep due to the long chain.

The flower bud-shaped “decoration” was conveniently located just above a “deep trench.”

Soon after she put on the necklace, a surprised exclamation could be heard from Mu Yunhua’s earpiece. “Eh, this snow-white world with its porcelain-like luster and fantastic hollows… Woah, woah, haha… Is this heaven?”

Mu Yunhua’s face flushed red.

She quickly took the necklace off and gritted her teeth. “Damned lecherous alien!”

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