Chapter Sixteen: The Situation and Proving Oneself

The White Deer Republic, which spans more than half a star domain and appears to us as a giant, is, in truth, merely a regional power. In the Leger Domain, there are two main forces: the White Deer Republic and the Fili Empire. Economically, the White Deer Republic holds the advantage, but in military strength, the Fili Empire is far superior. The specific analysis is much like what Xu Xingxing described.

“All under heaven hustle for profit; all under heaven bustle for gain.”

The Huaya Pact and the Western Pact are the two largest alliances. Combined, they are the United Nations of the Daoran Universe. The Huaya Pact is led by the Great Xia Empire, with the White Deer Republic, Lingyuan Federation, Chongming Republic, Chide Republic, and other nations closely united as its body. According to the course on international affairs, the countries of the Huaya Pact all originated from the Great Xia Empire, developing into states with certain shared characteristics.

Interestingly, while the Great Xia Empire leads the Huaya Pact, most of its member states are republics or federations. In contrast, the Western Pact is led by the Bald Eagle Federation, along with the Fili Empire, East Han Empire, West Bear Empire, and the Oupai Empire. All these nations, derived from the Bald Eagle Federation, are monarchies—a curious phenomenon indeed, though it has little to do with you. You are not yet at leisure to study history or culture.

There is no right or wrong between nations, only positions. At present, your position is with the White Deer Republic, which is fortunate.

The Western Pact practices a form of racial hierarchy. While the specifics may differ among its nations, the general environment tends toward dividing people into classes, somewhat akin to the caste system of the White Elephant. Personally, I lean toward the Huaya Pact, as the so-called universal values of the Western Pact fail to persuade me.

Of course, that’s only my personal stance. There’s enough noise outside; just pretend I never said this.

The Daoran World may seem, in terms of technology and so on, far ahead of Earth, but appearances can be deceiving. The Daoran World is truly blessed compared to Azure Blue Star. They possess a unique resource—you must have seen it—energy blocks. Pure, unpolluted, they are the perfect energy source.

They can be used in large or small amounts. Though finite, they will last Daoran World another thousand years at least. But, like oil, though sufficient for now, one day it will run out. That, too, is a root cause of war.

The age of expansion is over. The Daoran World has consumed its dividends, and redistribution of interests is inevitable. War cannot be avoided—do not hold out hope. Conflict may erupt at any moment. No one knows exactly when, but we must be ready.

Another enviable aspect of the Daoran World is the Fold Points. You may have heard of wormholes, time travel, and the like, but in the Daoran World, these actually exist. The shortest path between two points in space is a fold. They call these Fold Points. By releasing a special energy fluctuation from an energy block at a Fold Point, one can reach another Fold Mat directly. Miraculous, isn’t it? This is why the Daoran World can wage wars spanning the entire universe. Without Fold Points, even at the maximum speed of Daoran starships, it would take three to five years to cross a single star domain—assuming they don’t get lost.

Thus, all of Daoran World’s technology is built on two foundations that Azure Blue Star lacks: first, the perfect energy block; second, the Fold Points for interspatial travel. When it comes to specific technologies, there isn’t enough information for comparison, but with those two prerequisites, I believe we could easily reach the White Deer Republic’s level of advancement.

I’m telling you all this merely to give you a foundation, since these are probably common knowledge over there, and you should know them. There are many details and differences, but none of that matters much to you. Such things might be treasures to some on Azure Blue Star, but for you, they are of little use.

For now, you still have to deal with the basics—like whether you can finish your push-ups when you go back.

Chen Ming looked at Li Daoran, half-smiling. “Seven hundred push-ups? If I could finish them the first time, I can do it the second. What, you think I can’t? As long as you have hands, anyone can do it,” Li Daoran said, sitting up and trying to sound steady.

Chen Ming nodded, “True, I’m worrying for nothing. But don’t forget, the first time you only had to do five hundred. Today it’s seven hundred. What about tomorrow? The day after? You don’t think they’ll just stick to seven hundred forever, do you?”

Li Daoran curled up on the sofa, head buried under a pillow, and shouted, “I’m not sleeping. I’m not going back. I refuse to do push-ups!”

Chen Ming just watched him act out his antics, smiling. He knew Li Daoran was just venting. Li Daoran’s performance had already earned the recognition of Chen Ming and many others.

Both sides were learning to test and accommodate each other. For example, this time, the Azure Blue Star authorities no longer forced Li Daoran to do anything. If he didn’t want to attend meetings, he didn’t have to. Chen Ming was sent just to chat and inform him of the results, trying to make Li Daoran as comfortable as possible, rather than resorting to coercion or moral blackmail as before.

After a while, Li Daoran peeked at Chen Ming and, seeing he was ignored, sat up and said, “Since you’ve already thought this through, just tell me how you’re going to handle it. If you want me to go beyond eight hundred, I can’t do it. You figure it out.”

“Don’t underestimate yourself. Didn’t you think seven hundred was impossible? I think anything under a thousand is doable for anyone with hands. Keep at it.” Chen Ming gave him a thumbs-up.

Li Daoran rolled his eyes and said nothing.

“You really can’t see the forest for the trees,” Chen Ming said. “You’re special not only on Azure Blue Star, but even in the Daoran World your status is extraordinary.”

“What do you mean?” Li Daoran asked.

“Clues, clues everywhere—every frame has been scrutinized countless times. First, your identity in the White Deer Republic is top secret, so secret even you can’t access it. Second, at first, Liu Meng said she put you in Xiongshan’s class because you were the tenth person to tease her. But what if she was lying? Have you ever seen her exchange more than three words with anyone else? You must know by now that Liu Meng’s identity is not simple. She shouldn’t be assigned to such a trivial grouping task. We believe she was at the door that day specifically to meet you. Didn’t you notice that after you left, for a brief moment in a corner you didn’t see, Liu Meng was there? This has been confirmed after numerous checks. We have reason to believe that when you fainted, she appeared and personally took you away.”

“Really?” Li Daoran struggled to recall.

“That’s not all. The greatest pity is your conversation with Liu Meng in the infirmary yesterday. It made me want to wring your neck—are you a pig?”

“Huh?”

“If you’re not, why couldn’t you catch such obvious hints? Now we have to worry about this so-called merit and have no choice but to make you act conspicuously. Don’t you know that playing dumb is the most effective strategy?”

“Young and foolish, mistaking the value of youth for something else. Couldn’t you tell how frustrated Liu Meng was? Was she upset over the genetic serum? She was afraid you’d become useless. If you’d understood even a little, we wouldn’t have to worry about the serum.”

“Did you sleep through class? What did we teach you about interacting with Liu Meng one-on-one? There was even a special session! You forgot? You had a perfect opening, and you managed to flip the table. It’s exasperating. If you hadn’t finished those seven hundred push-ups, we’d be even more frustrated. But Liu Meng did have a point—we can’t let you become spoiled.”

“So, study hard from now on. Things might get tough, so prepare yourself. This is the path you chose, just as you told Liu Meng—you must prove yourself.”