480 2112 (1)
Earth, Redmond Group branch office.
In a building that towered into the clouds, two red-skinned men were drinking as they watched spaceships taking off and landing through the windows.
“We’re a planetary branch of the Redmond Group at the end of the day, but we actually chose such a backward planet.” One of the young men shook his head gently. “Such a small planet has billions of people living on it, and there are very few places for us to enjoy ourselves. Even if the other branches don’t occupy a beautiful habitable planet, they should occupy at least half of it, right? We’re limited to less than 100 square kilometers?”
“This is Lord Tejano’s arrangement. Do you have a problem with that?” Another stocky red-skinned man held a wine glass and smiled.
“The group’s defense system protects our privacy very well. Nobody will know about our private complaints.” The young man curled his lips and said, “In any case, I think Lord Tejano’s arrangements are a little willful.”
The stocky red-skinned man smiled and didn’t retort or agree.
“Yellow-Shirted Envoy—that’s a Civilization-level AI robot with strategic combat strength!” the young man said. “It’s actually used to protect an emerging civilization’s Lv. 7 cosmic lifeform? Isn’t this a joke? It definitely won’t clear the group’s audit.”
“That’s well within Lord Tejano’s rights. The group has no business asking,” the stocky man said with a smile. “So what if you’re unhappy?”
“Yeah, what can I do?” the young man murmured. “I’m just thinking, how long do I have to stay here? A hundred years, a thousand years? Aren’t you sad that we might have to stay on this weak planet for half our lives?”
“So what? We’re already very lucky to get this position,” the stocky man remarked. “We have to do a good job. Perhaps there’s a chance of promotion.”
“Yeah.” The young man was very down.
“Actually, our branch is set up here because the Yellow-Shirted Envoy is stationed here.” The stocky man looked out and said softly, “Lord Tejano has just started his business, so he doesn’t use many Yellow-Shirted Envoys. With time, he will feel the manpower shortage. It’s impossible… to use a Civilization-level smart bot to protect a friend for extended periods.”
The young man’s eyes lit up. “What do you mean?”
“There’s ultimately a limit to helping friends,” the stocky man commented. “Perhaps a result of fading friendship, or perhaps enough help has been given, sufficient to intimidate all factions. In short, the Yellow-Shirted Envoy will eventually be transferred.”
“Once it’s transferred away, the branch office will close down. In fact, it’s not suitable to establish a branch office in the galaxy where Earth is located,” the stocky man said. “The location choice of a branch office is either because of the transportation convenience and the relatively short distance to various places or because this civilization is especially powerful, giving it reason for being a branch office. However, Earth’s civilization… clearly doesn’t meet the requirements. It’s solely because of Tejano.”
“I hope it’s transferred out as soon as possible. I can’t picture myself spending half my life here in this small place,” the young man said in anticipation. “Moreover, we can’t enter the virtual world most of the time while working.”
“This is work.” The stocky man was very calm. “There are plenty of people who will want the job you despise.”
…
At home, in the courtyard.
Xu Jingming used the Primordial Battle Armor’s AI surveillance to understand the situation in the Redmond Group’s branch, so he naturally heard the conversation between the two red-skinned men.
Even the Redmond Group has objections to Tejano’s help, Xu Jingming thought. I can’t repay this favor for the time being. I’ll keep it in mind and deal with it in the future.
Ever since the Yellow-Shirted Envoy guarded Earth, too many people and factions wanted to befriend Tejano through him. However, Xu Jingming rejected all of them! He didn’t bother with anyone!
He had even told his family not to trouble Tejano no matter what. This was because the other party had helped him too much! He didn’t want to make things difficult for him anymore.
With my current strength, I should be able to enter the universe’s top ten, but it’s not enough to be number one. Xu Jingming read the information on the projection. He was accumulating deeper knowledge every day.
******
The Ancient River Civilization, one of the cosmic human race’s three advanced civilizations.
On an habitable planet.
“Sir, this native planet has a population of about 1.5 billion. Due to diseases and war, their average lifespan is 33 years. The meteorological cycle of this native planet… has made the entire planet colder. If we don’t terraform the planet, many people will freeze to death during winter. It will only get worse every year in the future.” A lanky man followed by his master’s side respectfully.
The young Qu Fang wore a thick robe just like the natives.
He looked at such a world and sighed. “As an advanced cosmic civilization, our Ancient River Civilization still has a large number of native planets.”
“After all, the entire cosmic sector is too vast,” the lanky man said. “Even the universe is constantly evolving, producing new planets one after another. Life will be born on some planets. Over endless time, human bloodlines have long been scattered across the universe. There are even small pockets of humans outside the 34 cosmic sectors.”
“Mom, Mom.” A cry sounded.
Beside the frozen path, a girl kneeled beside her mother. Her mother had already frozen to death.
The girl was terrified and in despair as she shouted.