Chapter 226: Summer, Is This Your Sister?

"Pioneer One" was like a silver shuttle cast into the cosmic deep, steadily cruising toward its target KT-735 half a light-year away, in the silent void. Its journey was long and solitary, yet inside, precise instruments continued working, constantly collecting data on interstellar dust, cosmic rays, and gravitational fields around its route, periodically transmitting compressed data packets back to the "New Era" via faster-than-light quantum communication.

This data held vital value for refining star charts and understanding the interstellar environment; under Evans's leadership, the Deep Space Exploration Department's team analyzed and processed it day and night without pause.

Meanwhile, at the New Era headquarters, research into the two items brought by Mu Bai — Mu Zhaoxue's encrypted storage device and the Watchers Honor and Responsibility Badge — was underway at the highest level of secrecy.

After multiple layers of complex decryption, the storage device finally revealed a fraction of its contents. It contained Mu Zhaoxue's extensive observation data, theoretical derivations, and notes on the periodicity, energy characteristics, and possible origins of the Star Ring — depth and foresight far exceeding New Era's current research capabilities. Especially startling were her hypotheses that the Star Ring was not a purely natural phenomenon, but might conceal some kind of "guiding consciousness" or "filtering mechanism," and her suspicions of a hidden "Sanctuary" organization colluding with Earth's interior — all of which left the participating scientists stunned and weighed down.

The ancient Honor and Responsibility Badge, after joint efforts by materials scientists and semioticians, also revealed preliminary clues. Its metallic composition was not any known Earth alloy; within it lay an extremely faint, peculiar energy field that seemed to resonate subtly with some unknown cosmic background radiation. The "Eye and Gear" pattern on its surface, when cross-referenced with symbols from ancient lost civilizations, showed its prototype could be traced to several vanished prehistoric cultures — as if it were an Imprint passed down secretly across vast stretches of time.

All these discoveries pointed toward a grander, more dangerous truth. The pressure on Qin Feng's shoulders increased imperceptibly.

Amid this tense yet orderly research atmosphere, a relatively light but equally striking piece of news spread quietly within New Era — Xia Tian, chief engineer of the Civilization Ark sea-floor city, had finally been approved, after rigorous review and long waiting, to bring his family into New Era as official residents.

Xia Tian was an elder-level technical backbone of New Era, known for his diligence and outstanding contributions to extreme-environment construction. Everyone was glad he could reunite with his family.

On this day, after inspecting the latest progress of the sea-floor city with Su Wenqian, Qin Feng stopped by Xia Tian's temporary residence — a gesture of care toward a core member.

Xia Tian's residence was in a well-located apartment building in the living zone. When he opened the door and saw Qin Feng himself visiting, his face lit up with startled delight.

"Sir! What brings you here? Please come in!"

Qin Feng nodded and stepped into the living room. The apartment was simply but warmly furnished, full of domestic warmth.

A little girl, about five or six years old, with two pigtails and bright eyes, sat on the living room rug, assembling a sophisticated engineering block model. Hearing the noise, she looked up, curious at the strangers entering.

Xia Tian quickly called out: "Nannan, say hello to Uncle Qin! This is... the most important uncle from Dad's workplace."

The little girl blinked her big eyes, slightly shy, but obediently called out in a soft, childish voice: "Uncle Qin, hello."

Qin Feng's face softened slightly as he gave the girl a slight nod.

At that moment, the bedroom door opened and a girl of about sixteen or seventeen stepped out. She wore a simple white T-shirt and jeans, slender and delicate-featured, her eyes and brows resembling Xia Tian's, yet with added quietness and... an inexplicable, almost detached serenity that set her apart from her surroundings.

Seeing Qin Feng and Su Wenqian in the living room, she paused slightly, then offered a perfectly measured, slightly shy smile, standing quietly by the door.

Xia Tian smiled and introduced: "Sir, Assistant Su, this is my daughter, Xia Wan. Xiao Wan, this is Mr. Qin and Assistant Su."

The girl named Xia Wan took half a step forward, bowed slightly, her voice clear and pleasant: "Mr. Qin, Assistant Su."

Her manners were poised and graceful, yet for some reason, Qin Feng's gaze lingered on her a moment longer. Not because of her appearance, but... an extremely faint, elusive intuition. There was something about this girl — a stillness that didn't match her age or upbringing. Deep in her eyes lay a clarity and detachment reminiscent of Mu Bai's, as if she had experienced something extraordinary.

Su Wenqian also noticed this uniquely composed girl and smiled warmly at her.

Qin Feng turned his gaze back to Xia Tian and asked, with a hint of teasing:

"Xia Tian, is this your sister?"

The living room fell silent for an instant.

Xia Tian first blinked in surprise, then laughed: "Sir, you're joking! This is my daughter — my own flesh and blood! How could I have a sister this young?" He scratched his head, embarrassed. "Maybe I aged too fast — my daughter takes after her mother, looks young."

On the rug, little Nannan giggled: "Daddy's silly — big sister is big sister!"

Standing nearby, Xia Wan's cheeks flushed faintly, as if embarrassed, and she lowered her head slightly.

Su Wenqian couldn't help smiling.

Seeing this, Qin Feng let it go, offering only a faint smile to brush aside the small incident. He chatted with Xia Tian briefly about work and life, then rose to leave with Su Wenqian.

Leaving Xia Tian's apartment, they walked along the clean, bright community path.

Su Wenqian recalled the scene and chuckled softly: "Sir, you were truly amusing — Xia Gong was completely caught off guard. But your daughter, Xia Wan — her aura is truly unusual. So calm. Nothing like a child her age."

Qin Feng kept walking, his gaze fixed ahead, responding casually:

"Hmm, she is a bit unusual."

His tone was calm, revealing no emotion.

But only he knew that his seemingly playful question had not been entirely a joke.

That girl, Xia Wan, truly carried something that made even him feel a faint prickle on his neck — something out of the ordinary.

Was it an illusion?

Or was it possible that in this New Era, where elites and secrets converged, extraordinary individuals were not limited to Mu Bai alone?

He said nothing more, but quietly committed the name to memory.

Xia Wan.