One Outing That Shook the World

"Old friend, you've really gotten me into trouble!"

Xiao You called Huang Sheng right in front of Dr. Ma.

"What happened? I told you information classified as S-rank, and you still have the nerve to come crying to me?"

"Forget the classification. Dr. Ma doesn't believe it at all."

"If he doesn't believe it, just have him call the Ministry of State Security and ask."

"Right! Why didn't I think of that?" Xiao You's eyes lit up. He turned to Dr. Ma and said, "Dr. Ma, you heard that, didn't you? I really didn't make this up."

Dr. Ma ignored Xiao You and took his phone instead.

"Are you really Huang Sheng? Huang Sheng, the mayor of Xinzhou City?"

"Hello, Dr. Ma. This is Huang Sheng. If you don't believe me, you can come to Xinzhou to see me, or call the mayor's office directly through the internal line. I happen to be there right now."

"Is what you told Xiao You true?"

"Yes. We haven't had time to report this up the chain yet, but Zhang Hongxing's classification is indeed S-rank. You can call to confirm that."

"If it's an S-rank secret, how could you tell Xiao You so casually?"

"Both you and Xiao You have clearance at that level."

"I..."

"All right, Dr. Ma. I know this is hard to accept all at once, but it is the truth. I told you so you would stop tracking and investigating this matter and avoid wasting your efforts."

Even after the call ended, Dr. Ma still hadn't recovered from the shock. The more deeply rooted a worldview was, the harder it was to shatter.

That held true for any veteran scientific researcher.

By contrast, people like Xiao You, who had only a limited grounding in science and still found all sorts of theories fascinating, could more easily accept things like superhumans.

"Dr. Ma, what should we do next?"

"Stop observing it."

Those words were painfully difficult for Dr. Ma to say, but he said them in the end.

Though he remained skeptical, that didn't stop him from returning to his original research focus.

There were simply too many things in this world worth studying.

What did giving up one avenue matter?

Unlike the Xia Kingdom Aerospace Agency, which abandoned its investigation into Zhang Hongxing, people in other countries all focused their attention on him. The mere fact that this thing had flown out of the Xia Kingdom was enough to put them on alert.

America, Goddess Country, Cherry Blossom Country, Malaysia, the Romantic Kingdom, and Artisan Country were particularly active.

At America's Aegis Research Center, a staff member responsible for observing Zhang Hongxing's group of three hurried over to Director Will Alex.

"Sir, the suspected aircraft that took off from the Xia Kingdom has begun slowing down. Its destination appears to be the moon."

The moon?

Hadn't their spacecraft already landed there long ago?

What on earth were these people from the Xia Kingdom up to?

Will Alex took a small sip of coffee, unable to make any sense of the report that its destination was the moon.

"Locke, how is the investigation into its internal structure going? And the propulsion system simulations?"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Will. We've made no progress on either front."

"Damn it, what the hell have you been doing? Have all those satellites we launched become useless?"

"Please calm down, Mr. Will. We're doing our best."

"Enough. Get out."

"Yes, sir."

Even America's Aegis Research Center couldn't make heads or tails of it, let alone the research institutions of other countries. In aerospace technology, America remained the undisputed world leader.

Up in space, Zhang Hongxing had no idea so many people were observing them.

Fortunately, not wanting anyone to spy on them, he had used the Immortal Qi Shield and a small piece of mulberry wood essence to set up a small, single-use concealment formation.

"Lele, Wenwen, how are your drawings coming along?"

"Grandpa, mine's almost finished. Look! Does it look right?"

"Grandpa, I'm done too."

Lele and Wenwen handed their little drawing boards to Zhang Hongxing at the same time. Having watched beside them all along, he naturally knew they were finished. Otherwise, he wouldn't have asked.

"Well, you two have really impressed me. Especially you, Wenwen. You've been learning to draw for years, haven't you?"

"No, I haven't! I've only been learning for less than a year."

Having finally beaten Lele at something, Wenwen didn't want to admit that he had studied drawing for a long time. In fact, he had formally enrolled in art classes at the age of three.

"Oh? Then our Wenwen really has a talent for drawing."

"What's so great about that? Give me a year, and I'll definitely be better than you."

Seeing that the two were about to start another verbal contest, Zhang Hongxing immediately cut them off. "Lele, Wenwen, would you like to stand on the moon and take a look?"

"Yes!"

"All right. Grandpa will take you there now."

Whoosh...

After remaining stationary for more than two hours, the grandfather and his two grandchildren set off again, hurtling toward the moon.

Once they actually set foot on the moon, Zhang Hongxing shrank the Immortal Qi Shield to a tiny area and let them experience walking on the lunar surface.

"Grandpa, Grandpa, can I take a handful of sand from the ground back home?"

"Of course. But you can't touch it until we're back on Earth."

"Why?"

"Because the universe is filled with all sorts of unknown radiation, and your bodies simply can't withstand exposure to it."

"I get it! Those astronauts wear thick spacesuits to keep that radiation from hurting them too."

"That's right. Well done, Lele."

"But Grandpa, if we can't touch the sand, how are we supposed to pack it up and take it home?"

"That's easy. Watch Grandpa."

As he spoke, Zhang Hongxing conjured a bag out of immortal essence power and swept it over the ground, scooping up half a bag of lunar sand. Then he placed it in a corner of the Immortal Qi Shield.

After more than an hour of flying around and stopping here and there on the lunar surface, Lele and Wenwen finally tired of playing.

The three of them then started back.

By the time they returned to Earth, they were a day earlier than expected.

But just as Zhang Hongxing and the children returned to their old home in Shimen, an uproar erupted at the Aegis Research Center.

Bang! Crash, clatter...

Will Alex had smashed who knew how many cups, yet his anger hadn't diminished in the slightest.

"Damn it, you idiots! How could you lose track of something that big? Do you think I'm as stupid as you?

"Investigate it! Investigate every last detail! I want to know exactly what happened from beginning to end. If I find out who betrayed the Aegis Research Center and America, I'll personally blow his head off!"

"Director Will, this really wasn't our fault. Perhaps the Xia Kingdom has truly mastered some more advanced technology, making our equipment unable to detect—"

Smack!

Will delivered a vicious slap that sent the researcher, who had kept trying to explain, flying.

"I told you to investigate, not stand here making excuses. Do I have to repeat myself?"

"N-no, sir."

"Then get the hell out there and investigate!"

"Yes, sir."

"Get out!"