Zheng Hongsheng and his team left the Taoist Research Institute, thoroughly satisfied.
The two parties had reached an agreement: the Aerospace Science Academy would first handle the design, planning, and engineering construction of the Moon Base.
Once everything was ready, they only needed to notify the Institute. The old Taoist stationed there would then bring the Storage Gourd to the designated location, transporting the equipment and personnel to the moon.
In the future, whether they needed to send supplies up or bring people down, a simple phone call to the Institute would suffice.
Strictly speaking, the old Taoist stationed at the Institute was essentially acting as a truck driver who also handled the loading and unloading of cargo.
“It feels like there’s zero technical skill involved!” Yunyang said, scratching his head.
“But in reality, it requires the highest level of technical skill!” Yun Wenbin said with certainty.
After seeing off Zheng Hongsheng and the others, Yunyang grabbed Gu Zhao. “All our martial uncles are out there—either exterminating demons in Jiangbei, slaying monsters in the Southern Border, or upholding righteousness and heroism in Shanzhou and Yuezhou. Yet I’m the only one stuck here on a business trip! The moon landing is still a long way off. When are you taking me back?”
“What’s the rush? The uncles are all busy. You’re always wandering around outside anyway, so just stay behind and hold down the fort for a few more days this time,” Gu Zhao said faintly. “Are you in such a hurry to get back because you’re eager to go out for Cultivation, or because you’re anxious to see Hu Yufei?”
Yunyang’s eyes widened. “Don’t ruin my reputation! Yufei and I are pure, platonic friends!”
“Relax, relax!” Gu Zhao patted Yunyang’s shoulder. “If that’s the case, then there’s even less of a rush. Absence makes the heart grow fonder, and time breeds longing. Just wait a bit longer.”
Yunyang was speechless. “If you’re so tough, don’t go looking for Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi when you return to Blue Star!”
Right then, Gu Zhao received a call from Jiang Shishi. “We’re going out for roast duck at noon. Do you want to come?”
“I’m coming! Of course I am!” Gu Zhao immediately nodded. He hung up the phone, and with a flash of his figure, he vanished into thin air.
“Motherf—” Yunyang cursed.
Just as Gu Zhao and the two women, Xiao Ya and Jiang Shishi, were eating roast duck, Erin was awakened from her drowsy sleep by a ringing phone.
“Hello?”
“You guys actually ate hotpot on the moon?!”
Lawrence’s voice blasted from the phone, laced with a twisted mix of envy and disbelief.
“Huh?” Erin sobered up slightly. “Yeah!”
Silence hung on the other end for a moment before Lawrence spoke, exasperated. “How can you act like that’s completely normal?”
“How else should I act?” Erin shot back. “Didn’t I tell you yesterday?”
After returning home last night and getting over her initial shock and excitement, Erin had called Lawrence to tell him about Gu Zhao taking her to the moon.
However, Lawrence was no aerospace expert, and since there had already been news of Taoist Extraordinary Beings going to the moon to collect Moon Rock and Moon Soil, he hadn’t paid it much mind. At most, he was just pleased that Erin and Gu Zhao were getting closer. This meant the Lawrence clan would hold higher strategic value in Huaqi Country, or at the very least, have a safer fallback option in Celestial Xia Country.
Not to mention, he was busy fooling around with a supermodel at the time, so he had hastily hung up.
He never expected that after an intense session and falling into a deep sleep, he would be urgently woken up by a phone call to attend a Superpower Bureau meeting via video feed, where he saw the video Zhang Hang had posted.
Even if Lawrence wasn’t an expert, he still had basic common sense.
“Why weren’t you wearing spacesuits?
“How did you withstand the cosmic radiation and extreme temperatures?
“How did you breathe?
“How did you ignite the portable stove for the hotpot?
“How did you…” Lawrence fired off a rapid barrage of questions.
Erin checked the time. Her drowsiness had mostly dissipated. Carrying her phone into the bathroom, she put it on speaker and began to wash up as she spoke.
“Because Gu Zhao protected us. If he has the ability to fly to the moon, shouldn’t he also be able to protect us from cosmic radiation and extreme temperatures?”
“Something similar to Superman’s bio-force field?”
“I wouldn’t know about that.” Erin took out her toothbrush, squeezed some toothpaste onto it, and started brushing, causing her words to come out a bit muffled.
“What are you doing?” Lawrence’s eyes lit up. “Could it be that Gu… Mr. Gu is with you?”
“What are you thinking?!” Erin snapped. “I’m brushing my teeth!”
“Alright.” Lawrence’s tone instantly deflated, sounding incredibly disappointed. “But can a bio-force field even produce oxygen?”
“Not exactly,” Erin shook her head. “Gu Zhao just gave each of us a piece of spatial equipment. It contained an entire large plaza’s worth of air, which was more than enough for our breathing needs during the lunar trip.”
Erin was very clear about her boundaries. Whatever Gu Zhao chose to show her was what she was allowed to speak about. If they encountered something truly confidential, he would warn her.
Lawrence’s eyes lit up again. “He gave it to you?”
“I returned it to him,” Erin replied crossly. “How dare you covet such a treasure?”
After returning to Earth, without Gu Zhao even needing to ask, everyone had handed their small storage bottles back to him. None of them practiced Cultivation for Taoist True Qi, so they couldn’t actually use the Storage Magical Treasures. Keeping them would only leak information and attract the greedy eyes of those with ulterior motives.
“Heh heh…” Lawrence laughed awkwardly, quickly changing the subject. “What else did you guys do on the moon? What other extraordinary abilities does Gu Zhao have?”
“He built a Taoism Temple in barely three hours,” Erin said casually.
“I saw that. How did he do it?” Lawrence asked.
“He manipulated objects through thin air,” Erin replied.
Lawrence understood instantly. “Telekinesis!”
Erin was speechless.
“Close enough,” she sighed.
After studying traditional Celestial Xia culture these past few days, Erin knew this was actually Inner Breath True Qi. Using a concept Westerners could understand, it should be what was known as “Qi.” But from a Western perspective, the Eastern concept of Qi obviously couldn’t achieve such precise manipulation, so the first thing they thought of was Telekinesis.
Erin couldn’t be bothered to explain it.
Even her own brother still harbored a deep-seated Western superiority complex—a superiority born from the West’s continuous dominance over the past three to four hundred years. Unless one lived on this land for an extended period, merely reading about its changes on the internet wasn’t enough to dispel that innate arrogance.
But the transformations happening here far exceeded an ordinary person’s imagination.
Even without those Taoist Extraordinary Beings, this nation had already evolved. The abundant material and spiritual wealth had awakened the pride of a great power that had lain dormant in their bloodlines for thousands of years.
On one side was an arrogance born from three or four centuries of modern dominance. On the other was the reawakened pride of a millennia-old great power.
With neither side willing to back down, a clash was inevitable.
Erin only hoped her clan wouldn’t be smashed to pieces in the collision.
Therefore…
“When is our family moving all our industries and wealth to Celestial Xia?” Erin asked.
Lawrence: “???”