Ch 126: The Cannon Fodder Won’t Play Along Anymore [QT]

Mu Xing widened his eyes.

He watched as those little Iya slowly flew over, their bodies glowing under the moonlight, like little stars falling from the sky.

They began to dance around Mai Mai.

Leaning on the railing, Mu Xing’s eyes sparkled as he watched the group of little Iya people—there seemed to be dozens of them!

Mai Mai seemed to say something. A few of the Iya people glanced this way and spotted Mu Xing watching them.

Startled, their gathered glow scattered in a rush.

But soon, it reformed again.

Some of the braver ones, hesitant and curious, slowly flew closer, wanting to see this human that Mai Mai and Mao Mao had praised so much.

Even Mu Xing himself didn’t know that what Mai Mai and Mao Mao once said—that he carried a scent especially pleasant to Iya people—wasn’t just their imagination.

Unlike ordinary humans, his scent resembled the plants they loved so much—natural, tranquil, and full of life. It made Iya people feel at ease.

Mu Xing couldn’t be sure what kind of temperament these newcomers had, so he dared not move recklessly. He only stood there, smiling at them.

A few bold little ones came closer, their big round eyes staring at him as they chirped:

“He’s such a beautiful human.”

“He doesn’t seem to have any complicated desires. Duo Duo likes that.”

“There really aren’t many humans on this planet.”

“Mai Mai said this park is called Mai Mai Park, and you built it just for us. Is that true?”

“And this planet too—Mai Mai said you’ll cover it with flowers, not let humans live here, and leave it for us?”

Mu Xing nodded. “That’s right. I’ll build more parks in the future. I bought this planet, and there won’t be any residential areas.”

The little Iya people looked at him curiously, as if assessing something.

Those still dancing around Mai Mai also flew over, whispering among themselves:

“He doesn’t seem to be lying.”

“He’s so good-looking. If only he weren’t human.”

“Why would he help us like this?”

“Maybe because he’s a good person?”

“Anyway, the moment I saw him, I liked him. I feel close to him. I don’t think he could be a bad person.”

“……”

Mu Xing could hear part of it. The rest was so faint and scattered that, even with his sharp senses, he couldn’t catch it clearly.

After a while, it seemed the Iya people reached a conclusion.

One with a tiny flower crown on its head stepped forward as the representative. With great dignity, it said to Mu Xing, “Human, after careful discussion, we have decided to trust you for now. Starting today, we will live in Mai Mai Park. We hope you will not deceive us.”

The tiny figure, holding itself so seriously while speaking, was indescribably adorable.

Mu Xing’s eyes curved into crescent moons. He softly replied, “Thank you for your trust and kindness. I won’t let you down. Welcome to Red Moon.”

The little Iya who spoke hesitated for a moment, then fluttered over and gently brushed against Mu Xing’s cheek.

For the Iya people, this was a gesture of trust and closeness.

“Human,” that little Iya said, “Mai Mai told us you love flowers, and that Mai Mai Park was built with the money earned from planting them. As a sign of friendship, we have decided to give you a gift.”

Before Mu Xing could respond, that faint cool touch vanished.

He looked on as the little cluster of starlight was carried by the wind, scattering down onto the lake below, settling among the lotus leaves.

Wherever the starlight landed, a lotus bloomed.

The air filling his nose suddenly became intoxicating. Under the moonlight, countless elegant pink lotuses gently unfurled, swaying gracefully in the night breeze.

“This is truly the miracle of creation.” Mu Xing gazed in awe at the sight.

To come to this world, to meet these Iya people—this was the greatest blessing of his life.

And it wasn’t just this lake of lotuses. The entire Mai Mai Park’s slumbering flowers felt the familiar presence of their dear Iya friends.

Tentatively, joyfully, one bud after another pushed out from the leaves and stems, quickly stretching open and blooming into their most beautiful forms.

If at this moment a camera had captured Mai Mai Park from the sky, it would have revealed a godlike vision—millions of flowers blooming in unison, welcoming their long-lost companions.

Mu Xing was almost drunk on the beauty before him, until his communicator on his wrist rang.

It was his worried family.

Mu Xing had nearly decided to rest in the park itself, but thinking of his fragile health, he reluctantly gave up.

He had been in this world for some time now. His body, after careful care, was much better than before—when he often fell ill and had to rely on money to stay alive.

But compared to ordinary people, he was still far too weak.

If he spent the night outdoors, he really might fall ill tomorrow.

He lingered for a long while, then reluctantly said goodbye to the Iya people.

*

The next morning, Mu Xing entered the livestream room and turned on the shared view mode.

The viewers immediately sensed something:

[Is the park finished?]

[It’s been more than half a month since we saw the park. Has my favorite gardenia already withered?]

[Our park should be the very first in the entire interstellar world to be extravagant enough to use flowers as decoration, right? I remember from the last stream there were roses, Chinese roses, evening primrose… okay, I know I’m being greedy, but I can’t help wondering if we’ll get to see other flowers too.]

[I just feel like there’s going to be a surprise. I’m so nervous!]

It wasn’t only the viewers. Even the rest of the Mu family who came along with Mu Xing hadn’t seen what the park looked like these days. They were just as expectant.

Soon, they reached the entrance of the park.

At the entrance was a fountain, with a massive white base in the center.

This was part of an unfinished design. Mu Xing had asked Mai Mai about it, and when Mai Mai heard that Xing Xing wanted to make a sculpture of her likeness to stand at the entrance of the park, her eyes lit up and she immediately agreed.

But they hadn’t yet found a suitable sculptor, so it remained empty for now.

Mu Xing stood at the gate, smiling as he said, “Welcome everyone, to the first flower park on Red Moon Star — Mai Mai Park.”

[Mai Mai Park? That name is kind of cute. Does it have a special meaning?]

[Wait, is Xing Xing’s nickname Mai Mai? Hahaha.]

[Doesn’t the name sound a bit too informal? Wouldn’t ‘Red Moon Star First Park’ sound grander?]

Mu Xing said, “Mm, the special meaning is… to commemorate a little fairy named Mai Mai from my dream.”

He couldn’t say Iya people directly, so he had to call them fairies.

“Alright, today I’ll play the tour guide. Everyone, follow me as we take a tour of the most beautiful park in the entire interstellar world.”

“…”

The StarNet crashed.

This was something Mu Xing never anticipated.

Nor did StarNet.

Rewind.

From the moment Mu Xing entered the live room and switched on the shared-perspective mode to bring viewers into the park, his stream’s popularity shot straight to number one on StarNet.

This wasn’t surprising. Even when he didn’t personally show up, his 24-hour holographic live stream rarely dropped out of the top five on StarNet.

And whenever he did go live, he usually brought viewers a completely new experience. Topping the charts was normal.

But this time, after the park had been closed from streaming for nearly half a month, as soon as word spread that he had turned the camera back on, countless viewers rushed in.

The first thing they noticed was a familiar fragrance of gardenias.

[These gardenias still haven’t withered? Their blooming season is so long!]

[They’ve faded a bit, though. Not as lush as last month.]

[I see so many fallen blossoms on the ground. Every time I see this, it breaks my heart. Can’t the fallen ones be sold? I can’t afford the ones still blooming on the branch, and I can’t even keep the faded ones? So pitiful.]

[Help, I’m getting drunk on this scent, it’s too good.]

Mu Yue picked up a gardenia blossom from the ground that was still fairly intact, held it to her nose and sniffed, then smiled. “I really like this smell. If you pick up a couple and put them in a vase at home, the whole room will be fragrant.”

[Sis, you’re so pretty!]

[Xingxing, do you still need a brother-in-law?]

[For a moment, I don’t know whether to envy your sister or that flower.]

[The whole Mu family really has god-tier looks. Such a feast for the eyes, truly a feast for the eyes.]

After walking down the avenue and turning a corner, the view suddenly opened up.

[Holy—!]

[Holy—!]

[What is this? What am I seeing?]

[Is this… a fairyland?]

It was a vast lake, stretching so far you couldn’t see the end. A bridge spanned across it.

But nobody was looking at the bridge. They were all staring, stunned, at the great pink lotuses blooming all across the surface of the lake.

Pure but not dull, vivid yet not gaudy. The beauty of lotuses had always been unique and breathtaking.

The Mu family also froze in place. It was their first time seeing this too.

Mu Rongrong stared blankly for a long while before finally snapping out of it. She turned to Mu Xing. “Xingxing, this… this is too beautiful.”

The shock was too overwhelming, she couldn’t think of fancier words.

Just beautiful. Beautiful beyond words.

Mu Xing thought to himself, it’s a pity you didn’t see what happened last night.

That was beauty so stunning it left one truly speechless.

He smiled and said, “These are lotuses. I planted them more than a month ago, and now they’ve finally bloomed. Everyone—”

He stopped mid-sentence.

At the same time, Mu Xing saw the figures of his family suddenly distort.

“What… is happening…”

He only managed to say that much before everything went black.

The next moment, his perspective shifted.

He was still by the lake, and his family was still there, but he was out of StarNet’s live mode.

Did it malfunction?

Mu Xing tried to reopen StarNet—

[Data Error]

StarNet had crashed.

Almost immediately, his communicator on his wrist buzzed with an incoming call from Fang Yu.

The man’s voice was brimming with excitement. “Mu Xing! I saw your stream. The lotuses were unbelievably beautiful! My god, can I apply to see them in person?”

Ever since the renovation of Red Moon Star began, Fang Yu, head of the StarNet Red Moon branch, had moved house.

He now lived on the outskirts of Red Moon Star, right next door to the Third Legion.

Mu Xing asked, “What happened to StarNet? My stream suddenly cut off.”

Fang Yu: “…”

Great, the one who caused all this mess had no idea what kind of chaos he’d stirred up.

He gave a helpless laugh, though pride colored his tone. “Because your stream’s data spiked into insane overloads several times in a row in an extremely short time, our intelligent system couldn’t withstand it. The internal data scrambled. Right now the staff is working emergency repairs. It’ll probably take half an hour to an hour to recover.” He was genuinely thrilled. Even if StarNet had crashed, it was because the heat was too overwhelming.

As for Red Moon Star, now with just one Iya livestream’s worth of traffic, he had more than enough to boast over all his colleagues from other branches.

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