Stardate June 1, 1451, Planet F31.
Xia Ze yawned as he got out of bed.
Another day of school, how dreadful.
He never thought that even in the interstellar era, he’d still have to attend school.
At least tomorrow was the weekend, so he could finally rest!
As soon as he opened his bedroom door, the scent of maple syrup greeted him. Sitting down at the dining table, he realized Butler Qi had made maple syrup cake today!
It smelled heavenly.
Butler Qi looked at Xia Ze with growing satisfaction.
After all these days, he could clearly see how good-natured Xia Ze was gentle yet principled, skilled at growing plants, and always polite in his interactions.
Though logistics here were inconvenient, the simplicity of social life made him want to retire here.
But with June arriving, their return to the capital planet was officially on the countdown.
They had to return by June 20, leaving only about ten days for fitting wedding attire, visiting the ceremony venue, and other preparations.
Despite the upcoming wedding, today was Children’s Day, and Butler Qi couldn’t resist making a sweet cake for the young master.
“I heard that on ancient Earth, today was Children’s Day. Though our young master is already eighteen, let’s consider this cake a make-up for the past, alright?” Butler Qi said warmly.
Xia Ze felt a little embarrassed, he was eighteen, yet still celebrating Children’s Day?
But Butler Qi’s maple syrup cake was truly delicious!
“Thank you, Butler Qi,” Xia Ze said, taking another bite. Noticing General Qi entering in his military uniform, he smiled and added, “General Qi, come have some cake!”
Still calling him “General Qi”?
Butler Qi glanced worriedly between the young master and Xia Ze. Why hadn’t the address changed yet?
As Qi Jing sat down, he slipped a lollipop into Xia Ze’s pocket, a little treat he’d picked up after finishing official business.
Children should celebrate their day.
Between bites of cake and the unexpected candy, Xia Ze’s ears turned even redder.
The flush didn’t fade until he left for class.
Butler Qi waited until the young master returned from seeing Xia Ze off before approaching. “Young Master, I noticed Xia Ze still calls you ‘General Qi.’ If the media catches wind of this, they’ll surely make trouble.”
Qi Jing paused he’d actually forgotten about that.
But when Xia Ze called him “General Qi,” his voice was soft, unconsciously drawing out the last syllable in a way that felt different from anyone else.
Still, a change in address.
Might not be so bad?
“Understood. Thank you for the reminder, Butler Qi.”
Seeing his response, Butler Qi knew the young master had taken it to heart. He added earnestly, “Xia Ze has been studying hard lately. You should spoil him a little more wives need to be pampered.”
Butler Qi spoke from experience his own marriage was thriving!
Indeed, the past days had been hectic, and Qi Jing had noticed Xia Ze’s efforts. Since tomorrow was the weekend, maybe they could go out together.
Having made up his mind, Qi Jing thanked Butler Qi sincerely once more.
That night, alone in their room, Xia Ze was still diligently reviewing royal etiquette. He had a feeling he’d need it often after arriving on the capital planet.
Remembering Butler Qi’s words, Qi Jing set aside his work and said, “You’ve been working too hard. How about we skip studying tomorrow and go out instead?”
Go out?
Xia Ze blinked in confusion. Where to?
He usually spent his time at the flower shop and rarely went out otherwise.
Qi Jing, too, was either at military headquarters or buried in work, with little time for leisure.
Neither had expected that planning a simple outing would stump them both.
Xia Ze racked his brain but couldn’t think of anything interesting about the garbage planet.
Qi Jing said straightforwardly, “Or if there’s any place you’d like to visit or anything you’d like to do, I’ll accompany you.”
At this, Xia Ze’s eyes lit up.
He did have something in mind!
“General Qi, come mining with me,” Xia Ze said before trotting over to the console to retrieve several soil samples.
As before, what was called soil was actually various organic materials.
“We don’t need the peat-like material anymore you dug up so much last time.”
“But we’re out of this fine sand. I’ve searched online forever and couldn’t find any, so we’ll have to dig it ourselves.”
“And we need to collect some of this sandy soil too.”
Mining on the garbage planet was extremely risky. Professional miners wouldn’t take small orders like Xia Ze’s, and the ores they dug up usually weren’t what he needed anyway.
With the small greenhouse being renovated, it was a good opportunity to readjust the soil composition.
Xia Ze estimated needing over a dozen types of minerals and had been worrying about how to obtain them recently.
Once properly mixed, he could even bring some to the main planet that would surely speed up his plant cultivation.
In the past, he would have braved the sandstorms to collect them himself.
But with General Qi here, he felt hesitant to go alone.
When he’d gone digging for the peat-like material years ago, General Qi had been furious.
Qi Jing clearly remembered that incident too.
Back then, the scrawny kid had bundled up tightly and headed out with just a small shovel and backpack. When Qi Jing finally found him, the boy was hiding behind a sand dune, clinging desperately to a utility pole half-buried in the sandstorm.
Had he arrived any later, the boy might have been completely buried.
Yet even then, Xia Ze was still obsessing over collecting that peat-like material, nearly making Qi Jing lose his temper.
After bringing the kid back, Qi Jing had personally hauled over a dozen cartloads of the material.
No one would have believed that Qi Jing, already a lieutenant general at the time, would go mining himself.
And now the kid dared bring it up again.
Xia Ze immediately regretted mentioning it, recalling General Qi’s terrifying glare that had made him shrink like a quail.
Though not a single word of reprimand was spoken, that icy stare had been enough.
Bringing up old grievances probably wasn’t wise?
Xia Ze blinked but didn’t retract his request.
He genuinely needed those soils otherwise, he wouldn’t be able to grow his plants.
“Fine,” Qi Jing said. “I’ll go alone.”
No way!
Xia Ze held up the soil samples: “Could you even tell them apart?”
Many minerals looked nearly identical careful inspection wasn’t enough, you needed specialized knowledge.
Qi Jing raised an eyebrow, glancing at the neatly categorized and labeled samples.
“I can tell them apart.”
He then covered the labels: “Want to test me?”
Impossible.
He’d memorized them all from just one glance?
Xia Ze was skeptical: “What about this one? What is it?”
“Vermiculite-like material.”
“And this?”
“Fine sand, for drainage.”
Over a dozen minerals later, Qi Jing answered effortlessly, clearly remembering every single one, even the most easily confused specimens.
Incredible.
Xia Ze prided himself on having good memory, but General Qi’s seemed even better?
With him remembering everything perfectly, maybe Xia Ze didn’t need to go after all.
He felt a pang of disappointment, he’d hoped to collect more varieties with General Qi’s protection.
No matter. He could always sneak out to gather more when General Qi wasn’t around.
He was already quite familiar with the harsh weather conditions on the garbage planet and knew the safest times to go.
Xia Ze secretly made up his mind, unaware that Qi Jing had already noticed.
Qi Jing sighed helplessly and spoke again, “Even though you’ve memorized everything, having you there would definitely make things more efficient. Right?”
“Right!”
The moment Xia Ze said the word, his whole face lit up.
When it came to anything related to plants, nothing could stop him.
Early the next morning, Xia Ze was already prepared. This wasn’t his first time mining, so he had all the necessary tools and specialized clothing ready.
Qi Jing watched with an amused glint in his eyes.
The kid was always like this no matter the challenge, he always found a way to handle it.
In contrast, Qi Jing kept it simple, wearing his training gear. The military-green pants looked sharp, paired with his usual jacket.
Xia Ze, bundled up tightly with only his eyes visible, reminded him, “The wind and sand outside are brutal, and there’s this weird mist too. Are you sure you’ll be okay like that?”
He didn’t dare expose even a sliver of skin and would soon put on goggles to protect himself from the abrasive sand.
Qi Jing chuckled. “I’ll be fine, don’t worry.”
Compared to the climates he’d faced in battle, this was downright mild.
Unable to persuade him, Xia Ze gave up though he secretly packed an extra set of clothes in his bag, just in case General Qi needed to change later!
Most F-grade planets were like this: human settlements occupied only a fifth of the land, while the rest was plagued by violent sandstorms, toxic mist, and occasional acid rain.
The outskirts were filled with convicts mining ores, all of which were supplied to a few major corporations in the empire.
Ordinary people weren’t restricted from mining after all, no matter how skilled they were, they couldn’t extract much. The ores here weren’t valuable, just a small side income for locals.
Of course, the earnings were meager.
And the outskirts were dangerous not just because of the harsh environment, but also the shady drifters lurking around.
It was only in recent years, with increased patrols by the inspection teams, that the chaos had somewhat subsided.
These were the very reasons Xia Ze had decisively chosen to live as a Beta.
With such terrible conditions, it was no surprise that higher-grade planets looked down on F-grade planets, turning them into dumping grounds.
Xia Ze rarely went mining with others his goals were different, and keeping his identity hidden meant he couldn’t interact too much.
This time, going with General Qi was actually more convenient.
After all, someone else could carry his stuff!
The moment they stepped off the aircraft, Qi Jing took the bag of mining tools from Xia Ze. He also put on goggles, but strangely, the sand seemed to avoid him slightly.
Xia Ze stared in shock.
Why?!
Why was the sand avoiding him?!
Even though Xia Ze was fully covered, the occasional large grains of sand still stung painfully.
His skin was delicate, and he’d definitely end up bruised later.
General Qi was just too incredible!
Qi Jing smiled, wrapping an arm around Xia Ze’s shoulders as he leaned down. “Want to try it?”
He could do that too?
Xia Ze nodded eagerly then suddenly felt a strange energy enveloping them, as if an invisible barrier had formed, keeping all wind and sand at bay.
Xia Ze moved closer and noticed that the fine sand and dust were being subtly repelled not even a single strand of hair could touch them, let alone make contact.
“That’s incredible.”
If he had this ability, mining and soil cultivation would be so much easier.
Though manipulating psychic energy was fascinating, Xia Ze hadn’t forgotten his main task it was time to start digging for ore!
With these materials, he could cultivate new greenery!
Meanwhile, the patrol team stationed at the perimeter suddenly sensed an overwhelming surge of psychic energy, causing the entire squad to halt in their tracks.
Such formidable psychic power.
What… what is this?!
Squad Leader Gao Zhou exchanged glances with his subordinates, all tightening their grips on their weapons.
Let’s check it out!
How could such a terrifying level of psychic energy appear in a place like this?
Gao Zhou vaguely felt that this energy signature was familiar, though he couldn’t quite place it. One thing was clear their squad stood no chance against it.
His hand hovered over the emergency signal device, ready to call for reinforcements at the slightest sign of danger!
As the patrol team approached, they saw the psychic energy so dense it was almost tangible shielding two figures in protective suits, both holding shovels.
Wait were they mining?
Using this level of psychic power to dig for low-grade ore?!
Do you just have an excess of psychic energy with nowhere else to spend it?!
