The enhancement was complete. Chu Feng came to the control room at the front of the spacecraft.
Cloaking consumed quite a lot of energy, and the ship also had to stay airborne.
"Dream Weaver, connect to this world's network and take over Origin Accelerator's data."
"Yes, Captain... Connecting to the network... Receiving data..."
Xiao Meng was only Chu Feng's personal processing terminal. Having her take over the entire network had merely been a last resort. Now that there was a ready-made option, there was no reason not to use it.
"Captain, reception complete. Origin Accelerator has 380 million clients. Data takeover complete."
"Mm. Deploy the spacecraft's Engineering Robots. Have them infiltrate beneath Jiangxin Islet and excavate a docking base for the spacecraft."
There was no other choice. The spacecraft needed a place to dock first. When he had the chance later, he could find an uninhabited island outside and establish a proper base there.
The Engineering Robots came with the spacecraft. They were meant to help the captain establish an initial shelter under harsh external conditions. They could operate in environments as hostile as Mars, so using them here was a bit of overkill.
There were also manufacturing robots, sentry robots, and every other kind imaginable. They were the foundation that allowed Chu Feng to turn all that black technology into real products.
More importantly, they were what guaranteed his survival. He no longer had to fear being captured and dissected for research.
He had the intelligent computer modify his phone so it could connect to the spacecraft's communications equipment. Then he disembarked and had the ship hide near Jiangxin Islet. It could also repair its damaged equipment while it was there. In any case, Chu Feng had stuffed the spacecraft's storage space full of raw materials and valuable items—enough to last for a long time.
It was nearly one in the morning. There were no cars left, so the helpless rich man Chu Feng could only walk down the street and find an inexpensive hotel for the night. At this hour, how could he possibly dare go home?
The next day, he slept until late morning, ordered takeout, and did not head back until around ten, after receiving a call from his mother.
But his mother did not tell him to come home. Instead, she told him to go to Yipin Fresh Hotel near their residential complex. She would not say why, leaving Chu Feng utterly confused.
Under his mother's urging, Chu Feng arrived quickly.
Led by a server, he entered Peony Hall. Quite a few people were already seated inside. His parents and aunt were there, along with three others.
An elderly woman, a slightly older middle-aged woman, and a young woman.
But one of the young women made Chu Feng's mind go blank for a moment.
Huang Ying, the girl he had once secretly loved.
Middle school was the age when young love first blossomed. When he had just started his first year, he had fallen for Huang Ying at first sight.
After that, he could not stop himself. Thinking back now, it was pretty ridiculous. He had racked his brains writing love letters for her, yet he had not dared deliver them himself. Instead, he had asked his friend Li Jun—who was also Huang Ying's cousin—to deliver them.
Yet he had never received a response. Still, he had not been discouraged. He kept sending letters until they graduated from middle school, but never got a definite answer.
After they entered high school, they attended different schools. Chu Feng went to City Third High School, while Huang Ying went elsewhere, and they lost contact.
After graduating high school, they went their separate ways. Chu Feng went to college, while he heard that Huang Ying had not continued her education.
When Chu Feng began working and heard news of Huang Ying again, she had already moved away. No one knew where she had gone, and they lost contact completely.
Upon hearing that news, Chu Feng drank himself senseless that night. The next day, his boss caught him reeking of alcohol, berated him harshly, and docked half a month's pay. After that, he never heard anything about Huang Ying again, until he accidentally traveled through time and space to Planet Taibo.
Looking at the situation before him, Chu Feng could more or less guess what was going on. His mother had probably taken it upon herself to arrange a blind date for him.
When his mother saw Chu Feng enter, she hurriedly had him sit down, then introduced everyone to him one by one.
The two people he did not know were Grandma Zhang, said to be a famous matchmaker throughout the surrounding villages, and Huang Ying's aunt.
His mother had been worried about Chu Feng's marriage. Seeing that her son's career now showed promise, and since his aunt happened to know Grandma Zhang, she had asked Grandma Zhang to arrange something.
She just had not expected his blind date to be the girl he had once considered a goddess.
Huang Ying smiled at Chu Feng without saying anything. He did not know whether she had recognized the man who had once relentlessly pursued her.
She probably doesn't even remember me.
Chu Feng gave a self-deprecating smile and began introducing himself.
"Hello, my name is Chu Feng."
"We were middle school classmates. What, you don't recognize me?" Huang Ying replied with a smile.
Huang Ying's answer stunned everyone. An indescribable emotion flowed through Chu Feng's heart.
Excitement? A little. Embarrassment? Some of that too.
In any case, he felt a jumble of emotions.
"Oh my, you two know each other? That's wonderful. It'll make things much easier, won't it?"
Grandma Zhang said happily with a laugh.
She had heard that Chu Feng had struck it rich. His whole family was preparing to move into one of the city's famous villa districts. The girl she had introduced did not come from a particularly well-off family, but she was beautiful, and many people had proposed to her. If these two worked out, her red envelope would certainly be generous.
The atmosphere at the table immediately became lively.
Chu Feng did not even know how he finished the meal. Looking at Huang Ying beside him, he still felt dazed.
After the meal, everyone urged the two of them to go out for a walk. Chu Feng, still somewhat absent-minded, took Huang Ying out to stroll the streets.
"What's wrong, old classmate? Aren't you going to say anything?"
Huang Ying was the first to start a conversation.
"Hehe, I just didn't expect it. Meeting you under these circumstances was a little surprising."
Chu Feng rubbed his nose. Thinking about how he had been back then, he felt he had been rather childish.
But who did not have a beautiful youthful memory?
Looking at the girl in the white dress before him—the girl who had once made him lose his head—Chu Feng could not help sighing at how unpredictable life was.
"You still remember me?"
"Of course. You wrote me love letters for so many years. How could I forget?"
Huang Ying's answer made Chu Feng blush furiously. This was far too embarrassing!
So she remembered me!
That was the only thought that flashed through Chu Feng's mind. But she had never responded to him back then, and that had always been a question in his heart.
"Then..." Chu Feng did not ask why she had never responded to him.
Huang Ying's expression also dimmed slightly.
"How could I have dared date back then? I would've been beaten to death."
Huang Ying had actually liked Chu Feng back then too. But she knew her family situation better than anyone. She simply had no right to think about romance!
"Uh, I'm sorry..." Hearing that she had not disliked him made Chu Feng somewhat happy.
"What are you apologizing for? You're still so shy. You didn't even dare hand them to me yourself." Huang Ying covered her mouth and chuckled.
Back then, Chu Feng had not dared deliver his love letters to her personally and had asked someone else to bring them over. Thinking about the way he had been, he really had been rather cute.
"I thought I'd never see you again, hehe." Chu Feng looked ahead with a faint smile, speaking with a hint of emotion.
Chu Feng's words carried two meanings, but Huang Ying thought he meant that she had not accepted him and that they had later lost contact.
Huang Ying had liked Chu Feng too, but her family truly had no energy to spare for dealing with her feelings.
She simply had not expected that this unexpected blind date would be with Chu Feng. When he had entered earlier, Huang Ying had been stunned as well, and had recognized him at a glance.
That once-green, awkward boy had now grown up.
Although she did not know what Chu Feng had experienced, it was clear that he was completely different now.
By evening, Chu Feng had treated Huang Ying to dinner. After receiving a call from home, Huang Ying prepared to leave.
But Chu Feng, caught up in his happiness, failed to notice the trace of sadness that flashed through Huang Ying's eyes.