Chapter 77

"You wouldn't just say that, would you?" Chén Chén wore a grin that begged for a beating.

Luofeng was both speechless and helpless; this guy really had him wrapped around his finger.

Although Chén Chén had done many things—affecting himself, his family, and the course of his own life—even when he secretly planned his own future, and even when he realized it was Chén Chén pulling the strings, it was all Chén Chén deliberately feeding him information.

But even so, Luofeng couldn't muster hatred or even anger toward Chén Chén; if he had to name an unhappy feeling, it was more just a hint of resentment and suppression.

He let out a long sigh, then Luofeng sighed softly and said:

"Do you have nothing you want to tell me? All the doubts in my heart right now are your doing."

Since Chén Chén had no intention of explaining himself, Luofeng had no choice but to ask question after question.

First of all, it's your identity: five years ago, you, Chén Chén, entered the Inkfall Star alone and negotiated terms with Babata, and the Chén Chén who has only just reached the planetary level now—surely it's not as simple as the outside world rumors.

Chén Chén's widely known identity is the position of Foreign Affairs Minister of the World Tree, a post that within the World Tree has already been announced internally and externally as the highest rank; there are three others of equal rank: the leader of the Nature Spirit, Divine Tree Jian Mu; the city lord of Dragon Gate, Dongjun; and the World Tree's strongest, "Qian".

Moreover, in higher realms, Chén Chén's true identity is the human chosen by the "World Spirit", and also the genuine opportunity for humanity and the Nature Spirit to achieve cooperation; the World Tree has already recognized him as its future leader.

If it weren't for learning from Babata that Chén Chén had gone to the Inkfall Star five years ago and personally reached an agreement with Babata, Luofeng would only think that Chén Chén, like himself, is a pawn chosen by some great hand to bear a certain role.

But Chén Chén had already been directing all of this five years ago, thus overturning it all, and the clues he deliberately left were also pointing himself to the answer—that Chén Chén is the so-called great hand behind the scenes.

Today, hearing the news of "Qian"'s death further confirmed Luofeng's speculation.

"Qian"'s position in the World Tree has always been that of an enforcer rather than a leader.

Even though in outside reputation Qian is given the title of the World Tree's strongest human, no one has ever said Qian is the leader of the World Tree, not even a human leader or any more legitimate position.

Luofeng was thinking, and Chén Chén continued to explain:

"Actually, it's not that hard to understand. Six years ago, I and Jiāng Jiāng picked up a small life from the ruins of Jianghai City, and I obtained a life-changing encounter."

Such encounters, when summed up, involve many secrets, and Luofeng also lacks the confidence to ask in such detail.

"After that, I established the World Tree and formulated the unification plan for the following six years."

Luofeng understood this in his heart, just as Babata had guessed: the World Tree's true establishment time was only six years.

"Then why did you specially run to Yangzhou City to live a life of poverty?"

Luofeng is a person so calm as to be cold-blooded, yet also a very sentimental person who values the feelings he cherishes greatly.

Many of the things involving Chén Chén, to Luofeng, seem like control or perhaps gratitude? These are actually not the reasons for Luofeng's great anger.

Because Chén Chén's influence on his own life from beginning to end has been entirely positive.

But precisely because of this, Luofeng cannot completely discard his past feelings for Chén Chén, yet he dares not believe everything he has experienced with Chén Chén all the way here.

"Many reasons, after all, the actual power the World Tree wields is not as strong as it appears on the surface, and reaching this point in five years is not that simple."

"And if I relied only on "Qian"'s identity, I couldn't achieve the influence Chén Chén has now."

"Qian is like the sun in the sky; no matter how dazzling, he cannot stand together with the people."

This also counts as an explanation to Luofeng for why he hides his identity—using facts to cover lies is this man's most habitual method.

Even Babata, who bears great ill will toward Chén Chén, cannot find any loophole in this answer, after all, this is indeed the main reason Chén Chén has maintained this identity to this day.

Luofeng also found a reason that can dispel his inner displeasure.

"So the inheritance of the Inkfall Star wasn't arranged especially for me?"

What was originally just a confirming question, but Chén Chén again and again gave an illogical, different answer.

"Hmm, of course, after all, on the whole Earth you are the more suitable one."

Luofeng: ……

Chén Chén spread his hands again and said.

"Getting on good terms in advance with the future inheritor of the Inkfall Star is also quite normal, and my identity isn't ordinary, right? Calling me Chen-ge, you won't lose out."

Looking at Chén Chén's grinning expression, Luofeng's fists clenched again.

Indeed, not giving this slacker a beating really makes it hard to dispel the hatred in his heart.

(Babata: Calm down, Luofeng, this guy is currently an existence that can break through the stellar stage at any moment, and for some unknown reason seems to be deliberately suppressing his realm; rest assured, once we leave Earth, relying on the inheritor left by the master and my assistance as Babata the Great, surpassing him is a foregone conclusion!)

Don't give me a chance!

Neither Luofeng nor Babata noticed that, in just a few words, Chén Chén had actually dispelled most of Luofeng's resentment.

……

In the kitchen, Jiāng Jiāng and Xuxin were also chatting.

"Jiāng Jiāng, you're amazing, your cooking skills are amazing."

He has already surpassed the cooks that Xuxin has seen from childhood to adulthood given the Xu family's conditions.

"Cleaning is also impressive."

Not only is the speed fast, but it's also very clean, although Xuxin doesn't quite understand why skin flakes and fingerprints and such would be the focus of Jiāng Jiāng's cleaning.

Even after finishing cooking and cleaning the kitchen, he must also dispose of fingerprints, hair, and any residual bodily fluids; originally Xuxin thought Jiāng Jiāng was doing this to create an environment for Chén Chén and Luofeng to talk alone, but since he's not a fool, of course he should have higher emotional intelligence.

But seeing Jiāng Jiāng's serious and professional demeanor, Xuxin has begun to doubt.

Could it be…… that this is how the martial world cleans?

"Or still a formidable martial artist……"

The more Xuxin thought about it, the more discouraged he became; aside from being slightly better born, in every other aspect he is far inferior to Jiāng Jiāng, and moreover, the Xu family's birth has now become a considerable burden for Xuxin, adding a strange flavor to his romance with Luofeng.

After all, although the Xu family hasn't become street rats since the HR Alliance collapsed, their situation is still quite bad.

Using Luofeng, the most influential hero of the new generation, to slightly improve the family's dire situation is something the family expects, and also something Xuxin expects.

Although the Xu family also has some things Xuxin himself doesn't like, being born into this family, Xuxin still has feelings for the Xu family.

Although mixing such feelings and continuing this romance with Luofeng makes Xuxin himself feel uncomfortable, this is the burden brought by birth, just like the hardships Jiāng Jiāng endured before being born an orphan; some things must be borne.

That is precisely why Xuxin wants to possibly play the role of a good lover better.

"Xuxin, you also have enviable qualities."

"Hehe, Jiāng Jiāng, you don't need to comfort me; I'm just sighing, and I will also strive to do my best……"

Xuxin said with a bitter smile, but the more she explained, the more it revealed her inner panic.

"I don't mean to comfort you; I'm not good at comforting people. You indeed have enviable qualities, and I know you're good at managing finances."

Gathering identity information of Chu Chen's close contacts is one of Jiang Jiang's top passive abilities, named 【Investigation】.

During the period when the HR Alliance's power in China collapsed, the Xu family was one of the few families not completely purged, and the price was that the Xu family severed all past ties with the HR Alliance, even nominal ones.

Although they had escaped the purge, the Xu family's reputation and financial chain still suffered a huge impact; at the height of the crisis, the two most important people controlling the situation publicly were not the older generation of the Xu family, but the siblings Xuxin and Xu Gang.

Although Xu Gang had once had an unpleasant encounter with Luofeng, as the main heir cultivated by this generation of the Xu family, his business ability and tactics are not bad, while Xuxin's demonstrated ability far exceeds the imagination of most people, including the Xu family.

Introducing a new generation to lead the Xu family is also a way for the Xu family to break free from its past shadow, but the abilities of the siblings Xu Gang and Xuxin should not be underestimated.

Even though Xuxin now comes over to learn cooking from Jiang Jiang, in reality she has always been in control of a large part of the Xu family's business.

Hearing Jiang Jiang mention these things, Xuxin regained some confidence in her heart, and she sighed openly:

"What good would that do? One of Luofeng's airplanes could offset ten of the current Xu families."

Jiang Jiang shook her head while carefully cleaning and said:

"You couldn't possibly figure out this account as clearly as I can."

"Luofeng is someone deeply focused on the martial path, so he actually needs someone like you to handle such important matters for him; functional complementarity is the key to building a family relationship."

"Being willing to put in effort to make up for what your spouse lacks is what we call giving."

Xuxin's eyes lit up upon hearing that; she hadn't expected Jiang Jiang to be so knowledgeable.

"Jiang Jiang, thank you."

"Of course, besides that, there is one more very important point."

Xuxin nodded as if she were listening to a lecture.

"We must grasp the main theme of this world."

"Just as martial arts are the focus in martial arts stories, money in urban stories, and science in sci-fi stories, if you can't catch the world's theme, then in this story you'd be a supporting character who couldn't even merit a side story."

Xuxin was dazed; Jiang Jiang seemed to have just said something significant, but this kind of thinking logic still seemed unacceptable to her.

"Cough, cough, simply put, if you don't practice martial arts, then over time you'll drift further from Luofeng, and your lifestyle, the world you see, and even your most intuitive lifespan will be like that."

"Huh? You're asking why I have to tell Xuxin all this?"

"This is naturally a mission assigned by Chu Chen."

"Although we never said it beforehand, the understanding between me and Chu Chen has long reached the point where a single glance is enough to know exactly what the other is thinking."

"Chu Chen deliberately sent Luofeng away just for this, right?"

"Xuxin has also long been aware of this issue, and that's also why she has often felt discouraged."

"But I don't have any talent for martial arts."

"This is also what Xuxin envies most about Jiang Jiang."

"Don't worry, Luofeng definitely has a way to solve it."

"After all, this nominal senior brother of mine inherited ninety-nine point nine nine nine percent of the legacy from his nominal master, an immortal powerhouse, so this small matter is naturally easy to handle."

"But even if I tried to help that way, I couldn't possibly assist Luofeng, and moreover..."

"This not only fails to help, but also adds burden to Luofeng, which is why Xuxin has never brought up martial arts practice with him."

"Because practicing martial arts is not a help to Luofeng, but rather a demand on him."

"So I'm the same." Jiang Jiang suddenly stopped moving her hands.

"But this isn't something shameful to the point of having nowhere to hide; it's called reliance. Perhaps I'll never see the day he relies on me, but I will strive to improve myself and will always stand behind, waiting for that day to arrive."

"This is... family."

————

In the courtyard, Luofeng smashed the sandpot to ask for the bottom line, and simply went on to ask many questions about the World Tree; as for whether Chu Chen would answer or not, whether there was a conspiracy, that would be considered later.

After all, such an opportunity to interrogate Chu Chen doesn't come often.

First, the reason for the retreat of the alias "Gan" is that Chu Chen had long ago created an advanced version for Luofeng, Hong, and Leishen.

This explanation also happened to be guessed correctly by Barbata; it is not a real person, but rather something similar to a "robot" that Chu Chen encountered, which is not commonly seen in the vast universe.

After all, "Gan" has rarely shown his true face, his whereabouts are extremely unpredictable, and there truly are no friends outside the World Tree; this only serves to confirm that statement.

Next comes the true structure of the World Tree.

The current true core consists of Chu Chen, Jian Mu, and Dong Jun three people; the next level is the head of the Medical Department, Cang Yue Er, the three legion commanders of the World Tree, the heads of the Research Department and the Civil Affairs Department, and so on, the supervisors of lower-level management organs.

(There are also many positions held concurrently by A Yun, awaiting promotion.)

Finally, there are plans for the future.

Chu Chen's script that he crafted for himself hopes to go into space exploration, and as the executor of such a core plan, Luofeng naturally also has the right to know about the future plans for Earth and the World Tree.

"The future..."

"Actually, I only just figured it out recently."

"I don't plan to join the so-called cosmic human civilization; I want our civilization to blossom with the brightest light in this dark universe."

Luofeng looked at Chu Chen, at this man he had never been able to understand; past events seemed not too important, as long as he gave his own answer that he wanted, that would be enough.

"Hey Luofeng, before leaving Earth, there's still a gift to give you, also considered a return present for what you gave to Xiu Bi; as for whether you want it or not..."

Chu Chen smiled and said:

"The right to choose remains in your own hands."