KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK!
A familiar yet strange knocking sound echoed. Jing Chengpeng felt a wave of daze.
Then, feeling both nervous and expectant, he looked toward the circular window facing Blue Star, only to see six smiling faces outside.
"Holy shit!"
At the Yandu Aerospace Base’s main hall.
The large screen displayed the real-time surveillance video transmitted from the space station.
In the video, two men and four women were touring the space station under Wang Qingping’s guidance. They asked questions back and forth, full of enthusiasm. Not far away, Ye Yunfu and Jing Chengpeng were each holding a chicken leg, happily feasting.
The base’s hall was dead silent; you could hear a pin drop.
"I want to go up too," a young woman said aggrievedly, her eyes full of envy.
"Do they not even need prior training?" Another young man scratched his head.
"Forget training, they aren’t even wearing spacesuits." A chubby young man nearby sighed. "So Extraordinary Beings can not only roam space themselves, but they can also bring others along."
Through the monitors, they could see clearly that Gu Zhao hadn’t stuffed the people into a gourd to bring them up; he was directly taking his friends to roam through space.
Among the researchers in the base’s hall, who wouldn’t be envious?
Take Academician Li, the chief director of the aerospace base, for example. Standing in front of the console, his eyes flickered with unsettled thoughts.
"Although we can’t rely on Extraordinary Beings for everything, and we definitely need to achieve a lunar landing step by step through our own independent scientific and technological breakthroughs, as well as establish a lunar space station and a Moon Base...
"But!
"Then again, if we could go up there early to conduct some scientific experiments, it wouldn’t hurt, right?" Academician Li rubbed his chin, pondering with a serious expression. "For instance, me..."
At the Taoist Office in Yandu.
The content displayed on the large screen was exactly the same as at the aerospace base.
"Good heavens, he’s really not hiding it at all anymore. He even brought his friends up there," someone said, looking speechless.
"He’s young, it’s understandable. What’s the point of success if you can’t flaunt it to your friends?" A middle-aged man with a dignified face revealed a faint smile.
"He’s hidden it well enough already. Neither his parents nor his two girlfriends know about the Otherworld," the ordinary-looking middle-aged man said, shaking his head.
Chen Yao nodded and joked, "Otherwise, how could he be the New Grotto Heaven Master?"
Everyone laughed upon hearing this.
Aside from the few young people he had brought along on a whim, Gu Zhao was surrounded by old Daoists in their fifties, sixties, seventies, and eighties. Their mentalities were bound to be rock-solid, so there was absolutely no need to worry about them.
"Is there any issue with that Erin?" Someone pointed to the blonde woman on the surveillance screen.
"The functions and layout of the space station’s public areas were made public globally through aerospace open lectures long ago. There are no secrets there," the middle-aged man who wore glasses and looked like a scientist said. "Besides, the Middle Eastern astronauts are going up in a couple of years too."
A relatively younger man couldn’t help but laugh. "I heard we almost made back all of our aerospace research funding from these past few years through that deal."
The few who knew the inside story couldn’t help but smile, evidently very satisfied with the Middle East’s offer.
"That Erin is an open card," Chen Yao said. "The Lawrence Clan is of Gaul Descent and actually represents quite a few non-Jewish and non-Anglo-Saxon interest groups in Huaqi Country.
"Although they reside in Europe and America, they don’t share the same goals as the Jewish and Anglo-Saxon factions. They are a demographic we can win over. After all, it’s always better to have more friends.
"Having Erin continuously convey to them the patriotism and invincibility of Celestial Xia Extraordinary Beings can serve both to awe and to win those people over."
"So, letting Erin stay by Mr. Gu’s side is also an open card of ours," the plain-looking middle-aged man stated.
Everyone nodded in unison.
Looking at the tall, exquisitely beautiful Erin on the large screen, the group wasn’t worried about Gu Zhao being bewitched.
Setting aside the fact that Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi were also top-tier beauties, if Gu Zhao was someone so easily bewitched, how could he possibly have achieved such a high level of Cultivation?
Having cooperated with the Taoist Research Institute for some time now, their analysis reports on the Otherworld and the various old Daoists had almost filled up an entire office.
They understood very clearly that cultivating Dao meant cultivating the heart. The Mental Realm and Dao Practice were the absolute foundation, while Magic was merely an accompanying means to protect one’s Dao.
Taoist Sect cultivation seemed difficult, and in truth, it was not simple at all.
If one’s mind was cluttered and they lacked an extraordinary Mental Realm, they wouldn’t even be able to cultivate Inner Breath True Qi, let alone those dazzling and radiant types of Magic.
"Actually, if Mr. Gu were to take Erin in, things would be much simpler," Chen Yao laughed.
If Erin climbed into Gu Zhao’s bed, it would mean that Celestial Xia’s Taoist Sect Extraordinary Beings were willing to accept—or at least didn’t reject—foreigners.
This would actually be great news for those of Gaul, Germanic, and Latin descent who were treated as second-class citizens in Europe and America.
"It’s a pity," someone sighed emotionally.
"Not a pity at all," Zheng Hongsheng said flatly.
Chen Yao chuckled. "If the Taoist Masters were interested in ruling, they wouldn’t have been able to cultivate Inner Breath True Qi. And since they have successfully cultivated Inner Breath True Qi, they won’t be interested in ruling."
Everyone thought about it, and it seemed to make perfect sense.
"But the Lingxiao Celestial Court rules over ten thousand worlds—how do you explain that?" a young man suddenly asked.
Everyone fell silent.
Chen Yao pointed at the large screen. "Just keep watching."
At the Celestial Palace Space Station.
The group gifted vacuum-sealed braised meat, fruits, chocolate cookies, and other treats to the three astronauts. Then, guided by Wang Qingping, they toured the public areas of the space station, thoroughly satisfying their curiosity.
After taking photos as souvenirs, the group waved goodbye.
Jing Chengpeng and the others had thought Gu Zhao was merely taking his friends for a spin around the space station. After all, Moon Rock and Moon Soil had already been brought back to Blue Star. What was there to see on that barren Moon?
Then, they watched as Gu Zhao and the rest turned into a streak of light, darting toward the Moon once again.
"They’re going there too?" Jing Chengpeng asked in surprise.
"It’s just a barren Moon, what’s so great about it?" Ye Yunfu was puzzled.
Wang Qingping shot Ye Yunfu a sidelong glance. "If you had the chance to go to the Moon, would you go or not?"
"I’d go!" For Ye Yunfu, hesitating for even a second would be a blatant disrespect to his profession and ideals.
"There you have it," Wang Qingping laughed. "They’re young. If given the chance, who wouldn’t want to step onto the Moon!"
Ye Yunfu was so envious that his mouth twitched. "Putting Mr. Gu aside, I never thought the first ones to land on the Moon would turn out to be a few ordinary people."
Jing Chengpeng and Wang Qingping also fell into silence.
Although the actions of Zhang Hang and the others wouldn’t be widely publicized, they were still incredibly envious.
Because according to the domestic timeline for the lunar landing, they might not necessarily be the ones chosen to walk on the Moon.
And right while the three astronauts were feeling envious, expectant, and slightly regretful, Gu Zhao had already brought the group close to the Moon.