Little Gray kept laughing until Yu Lian could barely maintain his poker face. Only then did she slowly get to her feet, hands on her hips. "So, you finally understand? Yu Lian, oh, Yu Lian. She was actually flipping you off from three astronomical units away. Do you know how dumb it made you look when you ordered your subordinates to solemnly analyze the informational elements of a middle finger?"
Yu Lian thought the scene over carefully, then had to admit that Little Gray had a point.
He turned around and sighed to everyone. "Go ahead and laugh as loud as you like. At least we can be sure that Edelweiss's great-grandmother means us no harm. The friendship between humanity and the Skywhales is shining across the universe. Comrades, we're making diplomatic history between humanity and the cosmic Leviathans."
Feifei patted Yu Lian on the back, apparently commending him for how much his ability to say the opposite of what he meant—and vice versa—had improved. He was starting to look more and more like a great man.
So, except for a few solemn, seasoned officers, everyone burst into cheerful laughter, and the whole place was filled with a lively atmosphere.
Of course, setting aside all those profanities, the old Skywhale's message contained plenty of material worth analyzing.
"So, she was actually complaining that we were taking too long to make the jump?"
"She saw everything we did while sneaking through the Tiyangkai Cluster?"
"Now that you mention it, I really do feel a little embarrassed! No wonder she cursed us..."
"Exactly, exactly. What could Edelweiss's great-grandmother possibly have against us?"
Well, even though they'd been cursed out, nobody felt insulted. If anything, they were all rather proud of it. They were practically ready to say things like, "She cursed me,