Chapter 1716: [Fire Seeds] (Part 1)

Old Lady Xu said: "I don't have too great ambition and aspiration; my initial thought was merely to scrape by in this world, letting these fire seeds grow healthily, preserving some hope for humanity. I never thought of using them to conquer the world. When a person has advanced ideas and consciousness, achieving success in this world becomes relatively much easier." She gazed meaningfully at Hu Xiaotian. In just a few decades she created wealth rivaling a nation, while Hu Xiaotian became a regional hegemon in less than ten years; their success undoubtedly proves this point.

Hu Xiaotian, however, did not believe her words. If she had no ambition, how could the Xu family's descendants produce figures like Hu Buwei, Xu Fengmei, and Xu Mubai?

Old Lady Xu said: "I originally thought these fire seeds could be passed down through generations on this continent, but later I discovered that these selected fertilized eggs underwent changes during the process of crossing time and space."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "What changes?"

Old Lady Xu said: "They have no ability to reproduce!"

Hu Xiaotian sucked in a breath of cold air, and immediately thought of himself. Over these years he has painstakingly cultivated with several beauties, yet reaped nothing. Could it also be because of the time‑space crossing? No! He himself only had his consciousness cross time and space— … He suddenly realized that the inability to reproduce mentioned by Old Lady Xu naturally includes Hu Buwei and Xu Fengyi; they have no reproductive capacity, so where did he come from? Could it be… could it also be Old Lady Xu's doing? His own body might be one of those twenty thousand fertilized eggs from Earth.

Old Lady Xu said: "Fengyi carried you for nine months and gave birth to you."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Did you implant a fertilized egg into her body?"

Old Lady Xu nodded: "Otherwise, how could Buwei's cleverness fail to deceive him?"

Hu Xiaotian was utterly speechless at this point. After all this fuss, he, Buwei, and Fengyi are all the same—test‑tube babies—but are Old Lady Xu's methods contrary to morality and ethics?

Old Lady Xu said: "Don't worry; these twenty thousand fertilized eggs have all been screened and checked, ensuring no blood relations within five generations. But some things are ultimately beyond control. After I discovered this secret, I tried every possible remedy, yet could find no solution. However, when Chu Yuanhai got married, I discovered that his wife had conceived naturally."

Hu Xiaotian knew that the wife Old Lady Xu found for Chu Yuanhai also came from one of those twenty thousand fertilized eggs, just like Buwei and Fengyi. Thus, while he and the people of this world cannot have children, he can still have offspring with those who possess the Mandate of Heaven bloodline, such as Ji Feihua and Qiqi. Hu Xiaotian quickly realized he was pondering a utterly boring question. He whispered: "In other words, your so‑called fire‑seed propagation, branching out and multiplying, is simply impossible."

Old Lady Xu slowly nodded and said: "What's even more troublesome is not this matter. Initially we selected those twenty thousand fertilized eggs, believing they would possess the perfect genes upon adulthood, but…" She turned her gaze toward Hu Xiaotian.

Hu Xiaotian couldn't help but feel a twinge of guilt, wondering if he himself was that slip‑through‑the‑net fish. If it weren't for his consciousness being forcibly implanted, he would still be an idiot. It seems their genetic selection technology isn't as perfect as thought; there is still some margin of error.

Old Lady Xu said: "Our genetic selection method is already highly advanced; it can even predict personality in advance."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Is this based on judging their biological parents?"

Old Lady Xu nodded: "Exactly. To avoid any possible external interference, we protected these twenty thousand fire seeds with extreme rigor, yet we still failed to achieve absolute perfection. They have lost the ability to reproduce, and during the crossing of space‑time, their genes should have undergone subtle changes."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Did the changes in space‑time cause gene mutations?"

Old Lady Xu smiled faintly: "With the equipment and technology I currently possess, I cannot yet give a reasonable explanation; however, subsequent developments have already begun to gradually slip beyond my control." Speaking thus, she felt a little thirsty and pointed to the teapot on the table: "Could you please pour me a cup of tea?"

Hu Xiaotian smiled and said: "This meeting with Old Lady Xu has been extremely beneficial, clearing up many of his questions." He poured her a cup of tea and brought it forward, speaking softly: "This tea is a bit warm; perhaps I should have someone replace it for you."

Old Lady Xu shook her head: "No need to change it; I never like hot tea." After sipping, she asked: "Do you know what I miss the most?"

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "I can't guess an old lady's thoughts." To be frank, aside from her white hair and slightly hoarse voice, Old Lady Xu shows no signs of aging at all.

Old Lady Xu said: "The taste of coffee."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Is there really no coffee in this world?"

Old Lady Xu said: "The Xu family's merchant ships sail all over the world, yet they have never discovered such a thing as coffee. Whenever I think of my homeland, I involuntarily recall the aroma of coffee." The old lady closed her eyes.

Hu Xiaotian said: "There should be some; it's just that it hasn't been discovered yet."

Old Lady Xu opened her eyes again and asked: "Where was I?" "Gene mutation!"

Old Lady Xu gave a wry smile: "Indeed, I'm getting old—I forget what I just said right away. I came this time to tell you the truth while I still remember some things."

Hu Xiaotian took her empty teacup and placed it on the side table, then returned to sit beside her. Old Lady Xu once again grasped his hand and said: "I gave them the opportunity to grow, doing my utmost to teach them everything, letting them learn the principles of being human, but I never expected that most of them would possess such great ambition."

"It is human nature to have one's own consciousness, to possess one's own judgment, ideals, and outlook on life—nothing that any biological genetic engineering can change!"

Old Lady Xu said: "The person who first betrayed me was actually the first individual I brought into this world; he was clever and quick-witted, I regarded him as my own younger brother, and it was he who helped me eliminate Chu Fufeng!"

Hu Xiaotian's heart jolted; from Old Lady Xu's description he thought of someone, and he instinctively tightened his grip on her hand, lowering his voice: "Could it be Hong Beimo?"

Old Lady Xu slowly nodded: "Exactly, it's him!"

Hu Xiaotian felt his scalp tighten; he originally thought Hong Beimo was a descendant of the Mandate of Heaven, but he never expected that this fellow was actually raised by Old Lady Xu herself, making them of the same lineage. Yet Hong Beimo knows the secret of the imperial mausoleum, is currently repairing the airship, which belongs to extraterrestrial visitors—how could he know that?

Old Lady Xu said: "He is exceptionally wise and skilled at concealing himself; recommended by Xu Lingkong, he became a disciple of Chu Fufeng. Because he is adept at reading expressions and tones, he gained Chu Fufeng's favor, and within just five years he mastered most of Chu Fufeng's abilities."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Later, did he break away from you?"

Old Lady Xu said: "He is an extremely shrewd person; he must have noticed something amiss."

"Do you know whether he knows the secret of his birth?"

Old Lady Xu said: "He is not aware of it; probably only I know this secret in the world."

"Don't forget, Guiyi Fuzhu is still alive in this world."

Old Lady Xu said: "Although he is alive, he had never known of my existence until over ten years ago, when he finally realized that besides himself, others had also escaped disaster."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Did he ever come looking for you to recognize each other?"

Old Lady Xu said: "He feared I would strike at him, so he sought death."

Hu Xiaotian said: "It was merely a feigned death."

Old Lady Xu said: "Whether he is dead or alive is irrelevant to me; I need only avoid meeting him, and he won't know my affairs. My troubles have also been increasing. After Chu Yuanhai's death, Hong Beimo grew wary of me, or perhaps he discovered something in the Chu Yuanhai incident and began to gradually slip from my control. Later, when Buwei rose to power, I found his ambition even greater. Although I have many children, each of them is preoccupied with his own affairs."

Hu Xiaotian laughed: "With such a vast family and enterprise, you couldn't possibly control everything."

Old Lady Xu chuckled: "Control? Do you think the behind‑the‑scenes operator of this family is still me? As early as over a decade ago, these unworthy descendants began scheming for my property. I am merely an old lady, a completely sidelined old woman; my survival to this day relies entirely on feigning ignorance." She fixed her gaze on Hu Xiaotian and said: "Whether you believe it or not, I never thought of changing the world's rules; I only want to protect myself and live well. If I can let these fire seeds grow healthily and reproduce, that would be my way of living up to everyone's expectations, but these fire seeds are destined not to belong to this world; they will eventually depart."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "You didn't say that Chu Yuanhai already had descendants?"

Old Lady Xu said: "What worries me is precisely this. I originally thought that after eliminating Chu Fufeng and his son, there would be no one else, but their power turned out to be far greater than I imagined. From a biological standpoint, survival of the fittest—Chu Yuanhai's genes are nearly perfect. I don't know where they came from; later, although some facts were uncovered, that was merely the tip of the iceberg."

Hu Xiaotian asked: "Weren't Hong Beimo and Buwei initially entering the court just to investigate these matters?"

I don't know what's going on; it took three hours to get into the author's special zone. Old Zhangyu is about to vomit blood. On the last day of May, if anyone still has monthly tickets, please vote for the Medical Union. (To be continued~^~)