Ch 117: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Mu Xing quickly came to an agreement with Fang Yu: once StarNet helped him secure ownership of Red Moon, he would then partner with StarNet to host a livestream, formally introducing this rose to the public eye.

Mu Xing had his own considerations.

He had already thought about buying Red Moon, to revive the barren planet together with the Iya people and give those lovely little Iyas a true home.

If the rose was exposed first, his every move would inevitably be watched, and at that point, trying to buy Red Moon would be far more difficult.

Mu Xing never liked unnecessary trouble.

StarNet handled the matter swiftly—because Mu Xing had frankly stated that he could grow more flowers. If StarNet was willing to cooperate with him, he would sign an exclusive agreement, prioritizing StarNet for all future events.

For StarNet, this was a guaranteed win: by offering a relatively trivial loan (they even said Mu Xing wouldn’t need to pay interest), they could secure ties with a future master of horticulture.

The ownership contract for Red Moon quickly landed in Mu Xing’s hands—the original owner had long since lost hope for the planet. Now that someone was willing to take it off his hands, he was overjoyed.

The contract was soon signed.

On the day of the signing, several large hovercraft arrived outside Mu Xing’s villa complex.

From them descended a security force of more than a hundred people.

The Mu family: ?

Fang Yu asked Mu Xing if StarNet could purchase a nearby plot of land to establish a base.

Meeting Mu Xing’s blank look, Fang Yu gave a wry smile: “I don’t have your kind of big heart. To just let such a treasure bloom in the yard with no protective measures at all…”

At least until Mu Xing repaid the loan, the rose was technically mortgaged to StarNet.

Once it was publicly revealed to the entire interstellar network, under such temptation, it was hard to guarantee no one would develop other ideas.

Hearing this, Mu Rongrong sighed in relief: “I had thought of this problem earlier. Mr. Fang has considered it thoroughly.”

Mu Xing, on the other hand, felt a little awkward: after all, he wasn’t a native of this world. The rose was beautiful, and he certainly cherished it, but he didn’t regard it quite like they did—a priceless treasure.

It was true he had been careless.

The StarNet guards disembarking from the hovercraft were stunned.

This was what they were to protect?

A flower they could see for free every day?

A complete windfall!

Fang Yu solemnly handed the contract to Mu Xing, rubbing his hands, and asked eagerly: “Young Master Mu, when do you think we should start the livestream?”

He had been waiting a long time for this!

As a massive conglomerate spanning the stars, StarNet had branches on every planet, and those branches competed fiercely.

Every year at the end-of-year headquarters meeting, Fang Yu had to watch the main star managers bask in glory—bitterness and envy gnawed at him.

But now things were different!

The desolate, barren Red Moon had produced a priceless treasure!

This miraculous rose would absolutely make him the center of admiration at the year-end meeting.

And that wasn’t all. When Mu Xing had mentioned buying Red Moon, he had hinted that he wanted to grow other flowers too.

If that succeeded…

Fang Yu had been waking up laughing from his own dreams every morning.

Once Mu Xing gave his ready consent, Fang Yu rushed to make arrangements.

He didn’t just contact StarNet, but also several major media accounts with massive traffic.

So, almost at the same time, StarNet’s homepage and many media accounts released the same news.

#MiracleRoseFoundonRedMoonintheIce-BlueSystem!#

The headline wasn’t flashy—that was exactly how Fang Yu wanted it. These words alone were more than enough to draw attention; no need for gimmicks.

Sure enough, almost everyone who saw it clicked in.

What they saw in the pictures and videos shocked them.

[My god! That… that many flowers?]

[This came from a single rose? I’m a college graduate, you can’t fool me!]

[Impossible. Sure, roses have sprawling vines, but this scale is way too exaggerated.]

[I saw it posted by StarNet’s official account and major media outlets—it can’t be fake, right?]

[The livestream is up! Go see for yourself if it’s real!]

The livestream link quickly appeared, and viewers swarmed in.

This time it was set in holographic tour mode: viewers couldn’t interact directly with the host but could leave comments in a dedicated audience channel.

That was Fang Yu’s idea—he had anticipated the overwhelming turnout.

He even arranged for a StarNet host to interview Mu Xing during the stream; random audience interruptions weren’t an option.

Not that the audience cared—once inside, they were dazzled by the vast sea of blossoms.

[Is this a real place? It’s breathtaking!]

[My god, where is this? Can I go see it with my own eyes? I’d give a year’s salary for just one look!]

[It’s too beautiful, too beautiful, too beautiful. All the livestreams I’ve watched before were just small pots of flowers. I’ve never seen such a vast bloom. Now, for the first time, I understand why so many people love flowers.]

[Not trying to pick a fight, but everyone knows how hard it is to raise flowers. This yard doesn’t even have basic equipment. How did such a huge rose bloom here? And it was raised by a thirteen-year-old kid?]

[Someone next door dug it up, this Mu Xing is from the Mu family of Ice Blue Star. Everyone should’ve heard of the Mu family, right? Emmm, feels like a publicity stunt.]

[To the skeptic upstairs, I’m dying of laughter. If you knew who’s head of the Mu family now, you wouldn’t be saying that. Do you think a direct heir of a top noble house on the main star would just go live on a rundown planet like Red Moon for no reason?]

[If anyone can show off with a flower like this, I just want to say: show off however you like! I’ll bow out! Please show off more!]

[This… this really can be called a miracle!]

…

The carefully prepared interview by Fang Yu didn’t get many viewers, but he wasn’t worried. Once he edited it into a video and released it, people would naturally go watch it after they calmed down from their shock.

Red Moon made a strong impression through this livestream.

In fact, many viewers learned about the planet Red Moon for the first time here. When they looked it up, they were even more shocked: on a world buried under endless yellow sand, someone had grown a rose covered with thousands of blossoms. The miracle became even more dazzling.

With such a stir, there was no way the Mu family on Ice Blue’s main star wouldn’t know.

Mu Qingqing happened to be in an academy art class when her teacher showed the entire class the holo-stream, praising in an exaggerated, excited tone this miracle gifted by nature.

Many classmates, knowing her identity but not the Mu family’s current situation, flattered her, envying that her family had such a treasure, envying that she could see such beauty in person.

Those who knew a bit more looked at her with mocking eyes.

Mu Qingqing went home pale-faced, only to find her parents just as grim-faced.

Most importantly, it couldn’t be hidden from the old master of the Mu family anymore.

The old man, long frustrated with his eldest daughter and frail in health, was recuperating on another planet. He had deliberately distanced himself from Mu Rongrong, encouraged by Mu Lin concealing matters, thinking it might teach her some lessons.

The elder lived on a famous retirement world, costly and exclusive, where residents were wealthy and often acquainted.

One morning, while being pushed out for a walk by his robot attendant, he ran into another old man walking his dog.

The man looked at him with a sour tone: “Old Mu, your grandkid’s amazing.”

The old master: ?

The man went on, confused: “Your grandson grew such a sea of flowers. Isn’t that better than this shabby place? Why are you living here?”

The old master felt dazed. But outwardly, he only smiled politely and walked to a quiet corner before opening StarNet, which he rarely used lately.

He had planned to ask Mu Lin what was going on, but the homepage news and pictures immediately caught his eye.

Clicking in…

The old master’s expression grew complicated. He finally understood what that man had been mocking.

He sent a comm to Mu Rongrong.

When she saw her father’s ID, she froze.

She answered.

The holo-screen lit up, showing her tear-reddened eyes, pitiful.

He frowned: “I’m still alive, why are you crying?”

Sniffling, she muttered, “You blocked me for so long, I applied for contact so many times and got rejected. I thought you didn’t want me as your daughter anymore.”

Blocked?

The old master narrowed his eyes. He had indeed blocked her StarNet channel, but father and daughter had other ways to communicate.

Suppressing suspicion, he said, “I saw the news on StarNet.”

Mu Rongrong’s eyes lit up: “You saw it? Isn’t the rose beautiful? My little Xing grew it, isn’t he amazing?”

Beaming, she added, “Your daughter may be useless, but your daughter’s son is accomplished.”

The old master: “…”

Seeing her proud of being useless only made him angrier.

He snorted: “I’m going to Red Moon tomorrow.”

*

Mu Lin only heard about the old man’s trip when he was nearly there.

His face darkened as he sat at his desk. After a long pause, he smashed his cup onto the ground.

When the old master stepped onto Red Moon, he looked at the chaos before him, silent for a while, then said softly, “No one told me Red Moon was in such a poor state.”

His assistant quickly bowed, nervously explaining, “Sir, you said you wanted the eldest miss to suffer a little, so we chose a harsher place.”

The old master gave an ambiguous laugh, then turned his eyes to Mu Rongrong’s family.

Mu Xing had already heard his grandfather was coming. Mu Rongrong still held feelings for her father—both respectful and fearful.

She led her family early to wait at the starport.

Starships were rare here, but the old master’s iconic private vessel stood out immediately.

“Dad.” Mu Rongrong greeted with a smile. “You look well.”

The old master replied with a hum: “Knowing you haven’t starved after all, I feel relieved.”

❣╰(⸝⸝⸝꒳⸝⸝⸝)╯❣