TCPUAAV Chapter 88

 

 

After a long discussion with Mr. Rong, Ruan Shiqing ultimately decided to publish the paper.

 

Scientific discoveries in themselves were neither good nor bad—it all depended on the hands that wielded them.

 

The Metis forum was open to all members of the Mechanics Association, whether they were apprentices just starting out or master engineers with decades of experience. It provided a platform for free and equal discussion, and for that reason, the forum allowed anonymous submissions.

 

In the end, Ruan Shiqing chose the alias “Blue Star” and published the paper without a name, along with all of his experimental data.

 

Not only that, but he also made public the wormhole coordinates where he had discovered the antimatter source and waived all patent rights.

 

This meant that anyone could use this technology for profit.

 

It wasn’t that Ruan Shiqing was indifferent to wealth. Rather, he believed that this discovery was made while standing on the shoulders of those before him. Since he couldn’t tell the world that this technology wasn’t solely his own achievement, he simply chose to forgo any personal gains from it altogether.

 

*

 

The moment the paper was published, it set off a massive debate on the forum.

 

The concept of antimatter had been proposed long ago, but since its existence had never been confirmed, most considered it nothing more than baseless speculation. Some even went as far as to dismiss it as nonsense.

 

This was why, after the theory was first introduced, it gradually faded into obscurity, ignored by the scientific community.

 

Over the years, many scholars had dedicated themselves to the search for new energy sources, but no significant breakthroughs had been made.

 

Yet now, in Ruan Shiqing’s paper, the data claimed that antimatter had an energy conversion rate of nearly 100%.

 

That was utterly ridiculous.

 

Everyone who read the paper couldn’t help but scoff at first.

 

But as they continued reading, the rigorous experimental data left them stunned.

 

The numbers… looked terrifyingly real.

 

In an instant, the Metis forum erupted in fierce debate—not just among scholars but also in the news media, which quickly caught the scent of a sensational story and splashed the academic controversy across public headlines.

 

The discussions about antimatter became endless. Doubts and skepticism poured in relentlessly.

 

As the person at the center of it all, Ruan Shiqing followed the discourse for a few days but remained unfazed.

 

Every groundbreaking discovery faced immense skepticism at first.

 

This was simply an inevitable stage in the process of scientific advancement. Doubt and debate often sparked new ideas, and if his work could serve as the first domino, it would only encourage more researchers to explore the field.

 

Just as he had stood on the shoulders of those before him, future scientists would build upon his theories to develop even greater technologies.

 

This was a good thing.

 

Feeling quite satisfied, Ruan Shiqing closed the forum, left his workspace, and headed for the backyard—only to spot Snowball lounging lazily on a wicker chair.

 

The little cubs had gone with 09 to the Underground Market to buy supplies.

 

Only Snowball, too lazy to tag along, had stayed behind—sprawled across the large chair, basking in the sunlight without a care in the world.

 

Now, whenever Ruan Shiqing looked at him, his heart was filled with doubt.

 

Walking over, he scooped up the lethargic cub and tapped his nose.

 

“Why are you slacking off alone again?”

 

Rong Heng half-lidded his eyes, brushing his nose against Ruan Shiqing’s fingertips with a soft whimper—his expression affectionate and close.

 

He had no interest in playing with a bunch of little cubs.

 

He had stayed behind on purpose—To wait for Ruan Shiqing.

 

Now that Ruan Shiqing was finally free from work, and with no one else at home to get in the way, the Crown Prince’s mind started to stir.

 

Without hesitation, he shamelessly rubbed against Ruan Shiqing’s chest, acting spoiled—A little cub, trying to coax some affection.

 

Ruan Shiqing’s lingering doubts wavered once again.

 

He ruffled the little cub’s head before settling onto the lounge chair with Snowball still in his arms. Taking out his smart brain, he continued browsing the forum responses and answering each question with precise and open explanations, withholding nothing.

 

Rong Heng nestled comfortably against his chest, resting his chin on his front paws, half-lidded eyes watching him.

 

The longer he looked, the more pleased he felt.

 

It was an overwhelming sense of joy, bubbling up like air pockets rising from the depths of water, swelling in his chest until it was full to the brim.

 

Ruan Shiqing glanced at him briefly, pondering something. After a moment’s thought, he placed another call to Mr. Rong.

 

He made no attempt to hide it from Rong Heng. In fact, when the call once again went unanswered, he frowned and lightly tapped the cub’s forehead, muttering, “Your brother is way too busy—I can never get ahold of him.”

 

Saying this, he lowered his head and began composing a message instead.

 

Rong Heng blinked innocently, as if he didn’t understand a thing.

 

But as he continued rubbing against Ruan Shiqing’s chest, his little head subtly shifted closer to the smart brain, trying to sneak a peek at the message.

 

Noticing this, Ruan Shiqing casually withdrew his smart brain. Standing up, he set the cub down on the lounge chair. “Daddy’s going back to work now.”

 

With that, he turned and walked toward the workspace.

 

Rong Heng stretched his neck, watching him leave.

 

Once he was certain Ruan Shiqing wouldn’t suddenly return, he hurriedly opened the message that had just arrived.

 

Seeing Ruan Shiqing’s earlier frown, he had assumed the man had encountered some new difficulty.

 

But upon opening the message—It was simply a note of thanks for the previous advice, along with a question about when he would return to B3024 Star.

 

A completely ordinary message.

 

Yet, when the crown prince read the final sentence—

 

“When will you return to B3024?”

 

He couldn’t help but flick his tail in delight.

 

This was concern.

 

And more importantly, he had used the word “return”, which meant Ruan Shiqing no longer considered him an outsider.

 

Rong Heng narrowed his eyes in satisfaction and slowly typed out his response.

 

*

 

At that moment, Ruan Shiqing wasn’t actually back in his workspace.

 

Instead, he leaned casually against the staircase on the first floor, silently counting the seconds.

 

One minute.

 

Two minutes.

 

Three minutes.

 

His smart brain’s notification light flickered, signaling an incoming message.

 

He tapped to open it—sure enough, it was Mr. Rong’s reply.

 

Narrowing his eyes at the screen for a moment, he stepped out from his spot at the staircase and headed straight back to the backyard.

 

Hearing footsteps, Rong Heng swiftly shut his smart brain, lifting his head just in time to meet Ruan Shiqing’s gaze.

 

His brown eyes were dewy and endearing, practically radiating innocence.

 

Even the soft sound he made was sweet and gentle.

 

With a cub this irresistibly adorable, it was almost impossible to associate him with a stern and battle-hardened soldier.

 

Ruan Shiqing studied him with a smile, then reached out and scratched his chin.

 

The cub squinted in pleasure, tilting his head back cooperatively, emitting a low, contented purr from his throat.

 

Ruan Shiqing never looked away, continuing to observe him closely.

 

After a moment, he lightly pinched one of his incredibly soft ears, his smile deepening with meaning.

 

Only after playing with the cub for a while longer did Ruan Shiqing finally head to his workspace.

 

Rong Heng, watching his retreating figure, frowned slightly.

 

What exactly made him so happy?

 

*

 

With the overwhelming success of the antimatter engine, Ruan Shiqing now had even greater confidence in his plans.

 

One of Mr. Rong’s previous proposals—to establish a military base on the neighboring unnamed planet—was now officially in motion.

 

B3024 Star was merely a small asteroid, with most of its land mass occupied by metal junkyards and vast expanses of the Lost Marshes. Aside from the inner and outer cities, there was little usable space.

 

Thus, Rong Heng had set his sights on the adjacent unnamed planet.

 

That planet was close to B3024, perpetually covered in ice and snow, and completely devoid of life. Setting up a military base there would allow them to operate in secret, away from prying eyes.

 

The only issue was the harsh climate.

 

If a military base were to be built there, environmental modifications would be necessary.

 

But now, this was no longer a problem.

 

Not only did they have the weapons factory on B3024, but they also had the full support of the entire Balham Star system.

 

As the chief engineer, Ruan Shiqing was currently discussing base modifications with Dares and the others.

 

To alter the planet’s climate, artificial satellites were a necessity.

 

However, Ruan Shiqing was exploring an even more efficient alternative— The Ion Ring System.

 

The Ion Ring was an advanced evolution of artificial satellites, offering more intelligent and precise weather control. It could perfectly simulate an Earth-like climate for human habitation.

 

However, it required immense energy to function.

 

Thus, Ruan Shiqing proposed that they first build an antimatter reactor on the unnamed planet, establishing it as the core power source for the entire base.

 

The task of constructing the reactor was entrusted to Mo Li and his team.

 

Watching Mo Li’s departing figure, Ruan Shiqing half-lidded his eyes and casually remarked,

 

“After spending so much time around you guys, Marlin’s behavior is starting to resemble that of a soldier. I almost forgot how he used to throw his weight around.”

 

He paused, reminiscing.

 

“Back when I first worked with him, we actually crossed blades.”

 

Dares’ brow twitched sharply.

 

Was Master Ruan onto something?

 

Originally, Mo Li had been chosen to replace Marlin because it was more convenient for their plans. But now that B3024 Star was firmly under their control, there was no longer a need for secrecy.

 

The only problem was that Mo Li had been impersonating Marlin for so long—shedding that disguise now would be troublesome, not to mention the potential risk of exposing the Crown Prince.

 

Thus, they had simply continued the deception.

 

The issue was…

 

Mo Li had gotten way too comfortable.

 

He had dropped his guard, and his impersonation was getting sloppier.

 

It was no surprise that Master Ruan had picked up on the inconsistencies.

 

Dares cautiously observed Ruan Shiqing’s expression and carefully probed,

 

“Master Ruan… have you discovered something?”

 

Ruan Shiqing gazed at him with a cryptic smile, saying nothing.

 

“……”

 

Damn it.

 

So, he had figured it out after all.

 

Dares carefully considered his options. Since Master Ruan was already one of them, there was no real need to keep hiding the truth. Besides, if he kept lying now that Ruan Shiqing had noticed something, it might end up damaging their already strong relationship.

 

So, without the slightest hesitation, he threw Mo Li under the bus.

 

Of course, he conveniently left out any mention of Rong Heng’s involvement.

 

Ruan Shiqing raised his eyebrows in surprise.

 

“Disguise capsules?”

 

Although he had started suspecting Marlin because of Mr. Rong, he hadn’t expected to actually dig something up.

 

Seeing his interest, Dares had someone bring over a few capsules and handed them to him.

 

“This is it,” he said, closely watching Ruan Shiqing’s reaction. “Back then, we kept it from you just to be safe. You’re not upset, are you, Master Ruan?”

 

Ruan Shiqing curiously examined the disguise capsules, a bright smile playing on his lips.

 

“In extraordinary times, extraordinary measures are necessary. There’s nothing to be upset about.”

 

He casually tucked the capsules away, looking eager to study them, and bid farewell to Dares.

 

*

 

Once he returned home, he secured the capsules and went straight to check on Snowball.

 

As expected, Snowball was fighting with the little dragon cub again.

 

Heli, the dragon cub, loved picking fights whenever he had nothing better to do. But since he couldn’t actually win against Snowball, he often ended up getting thrashed.

 

Right now, Snowball had him pinned down with one paw, while Heli flailed helplessly like an overturned turtle, unable to get up.

 

The moment he saw his father, Heli immediately switched tactics—

 

“Daddy, save me!”

 

His large golden eyes shimmered with tears, putting on a truly pitiful act.

 

Rong Heng scoffed internally.

 

This big cub still runs off to tattle?

 

Still, he let go and looked up at Ruan Shiqing with an innocent, well-behaved expression.

 

Ruan Shiqing patted Heli’s head before turning to Snowball.

 

“Why are you two fighting again?”

 

Rong Heng slowly typed out a response:

 

[We were seeing who was stronger. Heli lost.]

 

Heli’s eyes instantly widened.

 

“That doesn’t count!” he protested, puffing up in frustration.

 

Rong Heng ignored him.

 

Instead, he leaned forward and rubbed his head against Ruan Shiqing’s arm.

 

—Whenever he did this, Ruan Shiqing always picked him up.

 

Sure enough, Ruan Shiqing scooped him into his arms without hesitation.

 

Looking at the adorably well-behaved cub in his embrace, he couldn’t resist giving his ears a gentle tug.

 

Mo Li had used a disguise capsule.

 

But you…

 

What’s your excuse?

 

 

---

 

Yup, it’s over for Rong Rong I fear lmao

 

Thanks for reading!

For every three ko-fis, I will upload a bonus chapter~