Xyrin Empire
Chapter 521: I love you

Chapter 521: I love you

"Wow! Dingdang’s in big trouble!"

The three-inch Ding Little Goddess finally realized and began to scream, obviously having just realized a minute ago that the world she managed had encountered serious problems.

To be honest, I didn’t expect the situation to be this bad either.

Initially, I thought Mercury Lamp had simply, by a fortunate coincidence, been struck by lightning and transmigrated to this world. I hoped that by relying on the World Tree, this ultimate server, to look into the historical records of spatial fluctuations, I could send her back. Unexpectedly, Dingdang had found a malfunction right in her own temple.

A malfunction in the world management terminal is definitely not something one or two transmigrators could cause. Mercury Lamp couldn’t do it, and neither could Long Aotian.

But if it was an enhanced version of Long Aotian, then it might be possible.

"What to do, what to do? If we have a large-scale space-time imbalance, it’s a big deal! If the World Tree’s fault expands, Dingdang won’t be able to fix it at all! Then Dingdang will definitely become a laughing stock..." Little One got so scared by her own terrible deduction that she was at her wits’ end. Always the runt of the litter since childhood and with no merit in her tenure, the foolish Goddess faced this tricky situation, which could even stump elite Heavenly Gods, without a clue. She could only fly around my head over and over, scratching her head and making me see stars.

"Stop buzzing around, stop buzzing around!" I took the chance to grab Dingdang’s wings, "Calm down first, the impact caused by the space-time imbalance is still minor. We have only seen Mercury Lamp transmigrate over, of course, there might be even more people who have transmigrated, but they probably haven’t had the chance to take action yet. The priority right now is to quickly fix the World Tree’s existing fault, and then I will have the Space-Time Management Center’s people help you clear the residual effects of the space-time turbulence—at least you should have some theoretical knowledge about that, right?"

Held in my hands, Dingdang finally calmed down. She frowned, deep in thought for a long while, before huffing and puffing, "If the world itself had problems first, just fixing the World Tree is useless! We must send back the root cause of these problems, the invading alien objects. Because what truly endangers the World Tree is not space-time turbulence, but the invasion of alien objects... However, before that, we can use some temporary measures to strengthen the World Tree, and stop the problems from spreading for the time being."

"Then what are we waiting for?" I let go of Dingdang, "Use your method to strengthen this big tree."

"Oh, right, right," Little One suddenly recalled her duties. She casually swiped in the air to open her Personal Space and then began to pour things out in heaps, "To temporarily restore the vitality of the World Tree’s withered branches, Dingdang did prepare a lot of stuff... um, should be right here..."

"I say," in just a moment, I was already buried to my thighs under the "mountain of trash" Dingdang had pulled out, my expression very subtly surveying the little tyke as she continued to dig about, weakly protesting, "Little Thing, couldn’t you keep your bag in order on regular days?"

"I do organize them," Dingdang said while continuing to mindlessly toss out all kinds of messy stuff, some bits and pieces even accidentally sticking to my face because she wasn’t being careful, "Dingdang tidies them up every thousand years... Wow-a-a-a-aah!!!"

Dingdang’s sentence broke off mid-way. She glanced back and then immediately screamed in horror, leaving me completely confused: "Little Thing, what’s up?"

Dingdang didn’t respond to my query and instead pounced on me like a hungry tiger, snatching a small, white object the size of a peanut from my nose, then blushing profusely as she hugged it and looked this way: "Ah Jun, don’t... don’t think anything weird, okay? Dingdang is also a girl, you know..."

I looked at Dingdang, now turned into a bashful kitten, utterly baffled. Half a minute later, I finally figured out through my sharp eyes what Dingdang was holding: a white lace panty so tiny it could be mistaken for a collector’s art piece.

I almost burst out laughing.

This silly kid actually cared about these things, but the question was: Do you think a pair of panties that seem made for an evil doll would inspire lascivious thoughts? Just how twisted must a guy be to fantasize about that, c’mon!

Furthermore, Little Thing probably hasn’t realized that in her past public junk pile digging episodes, she’s thrown out lingerie more than once, even though it seems like she has no memory of it now.

Forget it, it’s better not to remind Little Thing, otherwise, I’d surely end up bound to death by the vines conjured by this bashful little creature.

"Huff—huff—anyway, Dingdang has been seen naked by that dummy Ah Jun before, so it’s not a big deal, not a big deal..." As if hypnotizing herself, Dingdang with flushed cheeks rigidly put her underwear back into her Personal Space, then continued digging around in a daze. This time, she finally found what she was looking for.

"Ah! This is the one!" Little One excitedly held up a crystal bottle almost as tall as herself, her face still flushed with excitement but already shining with pride, "Ah Jun, this is the good stuff that will restore the World Tree’s vitality! A tiny bottle of concentrated fertilizer worth more than two thousand, just use this to nourish the World Tree, and it’s sure to come back to life!"

I, "...Forget it, I’m too lazy to criticize the headache-inducing gimmicks you Divine Race come up with, but, this tiny bottle of stuff... Is its main ingredient Gold Kela by any chance?"

I casually took the three-inch-tall little bottle from Dingdang’s hands, the green liquid inside slightly wobbling with my movements, reflecting dazzle of light, while she maintained her pose with arms raised, blinking at me, "Is there anything wrong with it?"

I looked at the small bottle in my hand, then looked up at the World Tree that was at least ten kilometers high and spread dozens of kilometers wide, a single leaf large enough for Dingdang to joyfully fly around for a whole day, and suddenly felt a profound sadness.

Moreover, the aforementioned was just the part of the World Tree in the Main Material Plane.

The entire body of the World Tree, if planted on Earth, would make Earth-kun look like it had been whacked with a green lump when viewed from the Moon—its immensity was obvious.

And now, what Dingdang meant was, to use the little half a bottle of green water in this three-inch-tall bottle in my hand to water such a gigantic tree with a trunk radius of a half-kilometer (a conservative estimate)... You’re in for a tough job, Mr. Fertilizer.

And also, a little half-bottle, why is it just a little half-bottle?

"Has this been used already?" I curiously looked at the "Fertilizer Extraction Liquid" in the little bottle that was clearly already mostly gone, "This is the first time the World Tree has had a problem, isn’t it? Does your Divine Realm’s Agricultural Department sell things by the half-bottle?"

Unexpectedly, my casual inquiry immediately caused Dingdang to show a very embarrassed expression, and her small face, which had just lost some of its flush, turned red again: Little One changed her expression several times in a short span.

"This... there are many reasons for the consumption, haha," Dingdang remarked rather evasively; the usually honest and simple Little One, when her words didn’t match her heart, really seemed like she was desperate to hang a "I am lying" sign on her chest, "It’s just normal evaporation, really."

I was just asking casually, but Dingdang’s reaction clearly indicated that there was more to the story. Even someone without curiosity would be tempted to find out more, right?

So, I started to gaze intently at Little One, this girl, she definitely had a little secret!

Under my scrutiny, Dingdang awkwardly lowered her head, her body floating and swaying in the air, her index fingers poking aimlessly at nothing, then she said very quietly, "Because... because it’s really sweet..."

"Huh?"

Her response left me stunned for half a second.

Then came, "What?!"

An earth-shattering exclamation echoed to the heavens, but it was nowhere near enough to express the shock in my heart: Did the little one just say it was sweet? She said this thing was sweet, right?

This foolish Goddess, she, she, she... she meant the more than half a bottle of "Fertilizer Extraction Liquid" that could be used to water the World Tree, was drunk by her!?

Dingdang, what in the world goes through your mind to make you drink plant fertilizer like it’s sugar water?!

"Mmm, it’s sweet and tastes good!" Seeing my bewildered face, Dingdang hurriedly explained, "And it has the aroma of Shadow Grass, Dingdang secretly drank a lot of it~!"

Keep your distance! In an instant, I decided to keep my distance from this fool. They say stupidity is contagious, and though I’d like to think my IQ is at a mortal level, being with Dingdang seems to offer vast potential for infection, and moreover, it’s quite embarrassing to be around this Goddess who drinks plant fertilizer like sugar water for too long.

I handed over the small half-bottle of "Fertilizer Extraction Liquid" to Dingdang in one go, instructing her to continue holding it. Then I took several steps back, immediately prompting a soft protest from the other side, "Uhm, Ah Jun is bullying people!"

Okay, that’s the end of the interaction with the dumb pet.

Although it might look suspicious, the Divine Race’s products are definitely of high quality. Even if it sounds absolutely ludicrous, like using ten milliliters of some nameless liquid to water a super-massive tree with a trunk radius of half a kilometer is no joking matter. After Dingdang sprinkled the small half-bottle of green liquid onto the World Tree’s trunk, I could clearly feel the immense "plant" in front of me suddenly bursting with even more powerful energy.

A heartening fragrance filled the air.

With that, whatever caused Mercury Lamp to travel through time won’t get any worse.

But what I worry about is that aside from Mercury Lamp, more smugglers have come to this world - I swear in the name of Tragic Halo, the possibility is quite high.

However, before I dwell on these great concerns for the country, the people, and the world, I should first pay attention to a certain shame-inducing Lady Goddess.

Watching Dingdang gaze regretfully at the now empty Crystal Bottle, she sneaks up to lick it when she thinks I’m "not paying attention," making me feel life is as pale as snow and dim without light.

"Uhm, I just secretly drank some plant fertilizer, that’s all. It shouldn’t be done, but a lot of Life Goddesses like drinking it," Dingdang muttered in a wronged tone after sneaking a glance at me.

Me: "Eh? So this stuff is actually a beverage in the Divine Realm?"

I knew it! Dingdang might be scatterbrained, but she wouldn’t stoop to the level of a supreme God who isn’t picky due to hunger. So in the Divine Realm, this liquid isn’t just for watering the Tree of Life; it can also serve as a drink for Life Goddesses?

Thinking this made me feel much better; this moron beside me wasn’t too embarrassing.

"It’s just fertilizer," Dingdang shook her head, "but because it’s quite sweet, some Life Goddesses will sneak a sip of it. They’d get a talking-to if Father God saw them."

I was speechless and stared off into the distance.

Dear Lord Father God in Heaven, you have worked hard. Today, Dingdang is still energetically playing the role of acting spoiled, feigning ignorance, and charming people; moreover, she’s been eating random things again.

Since the World Tree had developed unexpected problems, Dingdang had to stay in the temple to carry out subsequent system checks, while I was on my way to the Space-Time Management Center in Shadow City.

The colossal coffin-shaped building was coated in a floating halo of ghostly blue light. The faint resonance caused by the massive energy flow created a layer of indissoluble black and blue fog for hundreds of meters around the building. Both the thin fog and the bright blue-white light from the three Energy Crystal Towers near the Space-Time Management Center indicated one thing: this miraculous building was operating at full power.

"Group Seven has completed sniffing; spatial curvature is normal, gravity distribution is even, no signs of weak points in space-time found, authority transferred to the next group."

"Group Eight has completed sniffing; spatial curvature is normal, gravity distribution deviation is 0.13%, no space-time fissures discovered, suspecting minor spatial turbulence within the past 72 hours, relevant data has vanished and cannot be analyzed!"

"Group Five reports back - space-time tremor has ended, feed wave corrected to negative two point five five, no abnormal data found, space-time models near Earth still cannot match reality, exo-galactic scanning data received... comparison complete, discrepancy still present!"

"Report, Commander! Kuiper Belt Base’s Seventy-seventh Observation Station has sent back recorded information, confirming transient confusion in space-time near Earth occurred, ED-165 and EK155 constellations showed similar reactions, but there is insufficient data for analysis!"

As I stepped into the main hall of the Space-Time Management Center, I was greeted by such a tense and bustling scene.

The usually two-thirds empty workstations were now all filled, with numerous Xyrin Technicians in silver-white robes analyzing the massive data coming from various nodes. Besides the intermittent reports echoing through the hall, I could sense through spiritual connection that they were engaged in more complex direct spiritual communication. This combined use of conventional communication and spiritual sharing enabled each Xyrin Technician to operate at three hundred percent efficiency, yet a tense atmosphere still lingered.

The low rumble echoing in the hall due to the simultaneous operation of many high-power consumption devices further intensified this tense atmosphere.

I had simply tasked them with retrieving the residual traces of space-time fluctuations from the past 72 hours, but I had not expected the entire Space-Time Management Center to be in full power operation mode. This meant that not only had Dingdang’s World Tree Temple experienced anomalies, but the Space-Time Management Center had also encountered significant trouble.

Had I merely thought that a transmigrator (albeit a bad-tempered doll) had intruded, could it have been the tip of a major event that was prematurely surfacing?

I wondered if Lin Xue had seen anything... but it seemed unlikely. In pursuit of the secrets of the "Magic Cube," she had nearly ruined her eyes. No matter what, this inexplicable chaos must have been beyond her expectation. Even a prophet is not omnipotent.

"My liege, I did not expect you to come personally," a steady voice interrupted my thoughts. Taville, dressed in a researcher’s white robe, was standing before me. "I’m very sorry that we are unable to receive you as usual. As you can see, the Empire’s researchers are extremely busy."

"That’s alright," I waved my hand to reassure Taville, "I can see you’ve encountered a big problem. Is the situation very bad?"

To my surprise, Taville showed a rare expression of confusion: "Your Majesty, the situation may be tricky, but I am not sure whether I should describe it as bad—please look at the big screen."

I was taken aback: Why don’t you just say ’wait for the next question’?

Alright, I knew that now was not the best time for snark, but Taville’s words just invited it!

"Following your command, Commander Sivis issued directives to activate the Space-time Prism and to scan the entire Earth’s space-time field. The scan confirmed that space-time around Earth did indeed undergo oscillations in the past three days. However, due to the short duration of the oscillations and the fact that they were significantly lower than the theoretical strength of a space attack, the low-alert Space-Time Management Center failed to record the detailed data at that time. This was a dereliction of my duty."

"Nobody has been derelict in their duty—you are not Lin Xue, you cannot pre-calculate everything. Where are Asida and Asidora?"

If my memory serves me correctly, besides being famous as the impoverished sister flowers on the west side of the street, they also hold another title as commanders of the Imperial Space Assault Team, right? Why aren’t they out on a mission right now?

"They’ve been ordered to deploy. The special agents of the Space Assault Team have spread out across the entire Earth," Sivis entered and saluted militarily before me, her long black hair and imposing air radiating the essence of militarism, "Your Majesty, Commander Visca submitted a military motion for a comprehensive counterattack through spiritual connection five minutes ago. Do you approve?"

I raised an eyebrow, "Counterattack? Against whom?"

Sivis replied with a serious expression, "She told us to take care of it and just let her go to war!"

"Send that girl two boxes of chocolates later to keep her from causing trouble," I devised a suppressive policy for Visca almost reflexively, then turned to Taville, "Continue your report. If it’s merely confirmation of space-time disruption on Earth, which we anticipated, there’s no need for such a commotion. What else have you found?"

"This is the crux of my report," Taville took a deep breath and then slowly stepped aside so that I could see the massive holographic projection behind her—although, to me, it was no easier to understand than a college entrance exam paper, "The data shows that at that moment, the entire universe was flickering—at an intensity and frequency that we might just have overlooked."

"So, you’re suggesting that the flickering could have sent transmigrators to this world without causing chaos— a disturbance that spread throughout the universe?" I shrugged, my face showing no additional surprise, "How amusing."

"Your Majesty?" Taville looked at me strangely, not understanding why I was so nonchalant.

"Let me tell you something," I replied with a helpless smile, shrugging as I explained my calm demeanor, "Before I came here, I already knew that the World Tree had partially withered." (To be continued. For what happens next, please visit www.qidian.com; the Chapters there are numerous, support the author, support genuine reading!)