Even though He Qing’s lotus seed was right there at home, he couldn’t get his hands on it, leaving him feeling powerless. So, he diverted his focus to the StarNet, where he soon caught the attention of everyone. It was as if He Qing, the “dark horse,” had been injected with adrenaline. His rapid rise in the rankings was astonishing, and he quickly reached the top 1,000, holding his position firmly. The viewers in his live stream were in awe.

[Ding! Jasmine has sent you Rocket Launcher x100.]

[Ding! Chen has sent you Deep Space Torpedo x1000.]

[Jasmine: Wahh, Xiao He, I’ll try harder next time! I really like you so much!]

[Angel: I like you too! Can we meet in person? I’m a cute Omega!]

[Ding! Chen has sent you Deep Space Torpedo x1000.]

[Angel & Jasmine: ………]

[Hahaha, the screen is being flooded! I’m telling you, this “Chen” seems to have a lot of pent-up frustration!]

He Qing glanced at the leaderboard. The user “Chen” had been sitting comfortably in first place for a while. It was probably Duan Chenhui…

He Qing responded to the outpouring of support: [Thank you all for the gifts! I’ll be hosting a giveaway after the stream.]

He Qing did a quick mental calculation and added: [Oh, and by the way, I’m actually an Omega~]

[!!!!!!] The chat went silent for a moment, followed by a chorus of chicken clucks.

[But still! So cute!!]

[He-classmate! I’m an Alpha! I admire you deeply!]

[He-classmate, I feel like we’re definitely kindred spirits!]

He Qing hadn’t expected his revelation to backfire. He paused briefly before a line of glowing golden text took over the screen.

[Chen: If possible, I’d like to meet you too.]

[Everyone: !!! The biggest spender has spoken!]

He Qing facepalmed just as Zhang Yi popped by to tease him: [Hahaha, that has to be the general, right? He Qing, you little enchantress, you’ve got everyone wrapped around your finger!]

[I’m dealing with something,] He Qing replied. [And you’re laughing at me?]

The others were shocked. He Qing, who was usually so calm and composed—even during competitions—was actually admitting to being troubled!

Shi Lei rubbed his hands together, showing a gossip-hungry grin: [As your good classmate, I’m happy to help take some of that burden off your shoulders!]

He Qing replied: [You can’t help me with this.]

Zhang Yi and Shi Lei were cut from the same cloth. Laughing, Zhang Yi added: [There’s nothing we can’t do!]

He Qing thought for a moment before confessing: [I want to steal the lotus seed from the Holy Grail.]

[Pfft, cough…] Shi Lei was so shocked his jaw nearly hit the floor. [Well, um… I definitely can’t help you with that. The general would throw me into a dark cell.]

He Qing replied: [I know.]

The group fell silent: […Never mind, we can’t help.]

Bidding them farewell, He Qing logged off the StarNet and found himself pacing back and forth outside Duan Chenhui’s door. Should he just go up to the general and ask if he could touch the lotus seed?

While he was still contemplating, the door suddenly opened, and He Qing found himself in a staring contest with Duan Chenhui. “General, are you heading out?”

“I was going to ask you,” Duan replied, looking at him. “What are you doing, pacing outside my door?”

“Just taking a walk…” He Qing quickly improvised, offering a smile. “It’s too hot outside.”

“Well, I’m actually heading out,” Duan Chenhui said, glancing down at his terminal. “I need to stop by the research institute. I might be back late, so you should eat without me.”

“Got it.” He Qing nodded, watching Duan leave with the key to the Holy Grail in hand. He sighed with regret just as his terminal chimed with a message.

It was from Jing Yi: [He Qing, I found a stone that matches what you’re looking for at an underground auction. Do you want to check it out? There’s also word of a mysterious map being sold, and some people are planning to form a team for an adventure to that place.]

He Qing opened the image and inspected it. The stone’s texture and color certainly looked promising, but he’d need to see it in person to confirm: [It looks similar. I’ll go check it out.]

Jing Yi: [Do you have a spaceship?]

[I’ll borrow one.] He Qing thought for a moment. He could refine one himself using some materials. After replying to Jing Yi, he returned to his room and took out the palace artifact he had obtained earlier. Then, he tapped on Sun Tu.

Sun Tu, groggy from being woken up, grumbled, [This palace is indeed a spaceship from the cultivation world, but it was damaged when it crossed into this dimension.]

He Qing asked: [Can you lend me some materials? I’ll return them once I’m back in the cultivation world.]

Sun Tu snorted derisively: [You’ll probably never give them back. But fine, use whatever you want.]

[I swear on the heavens.] He Qing raised his hand solemnly. Once the vow was made, he rummaged through Sun Tu’s spatial ring, pulling out the materials. There were just enough, and after gathering them, He Qing headed to a nearby volcano.

Sun Tu taunted him, [Are you going to mess with another volcano?]

He Qing silently recited a Buddhist prayer: [I don’t have a proper furnace.] So, the volcano would have to do.

At the research institute, Dr. Qin handed Duan Chenhui the results of their study. “We used special methods to analyze the stone you brought back. It does contain energy, but it’s quite unusual…”

Another researcher chimed in, eyes gleaming. “We believe the energy inside can be directly absorbed.”

Duan Chenhui placed his hand on the stone and frowned. “But I can’t sense anything. The person carrying the Zerg egg—who are they?”

Dr. Qin pondered for a moment. “Maybe they don’t even know? Otherwise, they wouldn’t have used it to disguise the egg.”

Dr. Li added, “We’ve asked Central Intelligence to investigate further. If we can find the source of these energy stones, it could help advance our research.”

“Let me know if you find anything,” Duan Chenhui said, nodding as he left the institute. Upon returning home, he found that He Qing wasn’t there.

The butler informed him, “Mr. He said he was going out and might not be back for a while.”

“He’s busier than I am, it seems,” Duan Chenhui sat down, a smile on his face, though his tone was heavy.

Sensing the tension, the butler quickly excused himself. “I’ll have dinner prepared for you, General.” Lately, the general’s mood had been rather unstable.

Duan Chenhui watched the news for a while, pressing his fingers to his temple. He had no idea what He Qing was up to now. He Qing had no contact with the He family and very few close friends. The group he hung around with, like Zhang Yi, had just come together by chance.

He Qing seemed like someone who could disappear at any moment.

The thought made Duan Chenhui furrow his brow. He got up, opened his terminal, and contacted Central Intelligence: “Prepare some things for me.”

After some time, He Qing finally managed to repair the spaceship artifact. He even engraved some invisibility runes onto it. With time running short, He Qing quickly activated the ship and set off.

The underground auction was located in the chaotic borderlands, where governance was unstable, and the ruling authority changed frequently.

Wearing a mask, He Qing consulted his map as he made his way through the area. Suddenly, someone called out to him from behind.

“…” He Qing turned around and found himself locking eyes with Duan Chenhui. Wait, what was the general doing here?

“So it really is you. I thought I had mistaken someone else for a second.” Duan Chenhui’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. He hadn’t expected He Qing to show up in the borderlands just like that.

He Qing silently removed his mask and smiled. “What a coincidence, Mr. Duan.” He had to admit, even though Duan Chenhui had disguised himself, He Qing could still recognize him.

“Indeed, quite the coincidence,” Duan replied, enunciating each word slowly. “Mr. He, are you here on business?”

“…” He Qing felt something was off and took a small step back. “Yes, I heard people were forming a team for an expedition. What about you?”

“Well, since we’ve crossed paths, Mr. He, would you mind teaming up with me?” Duan Chenhui’s tone shifted, his offer leaving little room for refusal.

He Qing fingered his prayer beads, mentally chanting Amitabha before replying, “I don’t mind. It seems like we could be of mutual benefit.”

Duan Chenhui stepped closer. “And where are your companions?”

“…” He Qing forced a smile. “They’re taking some time off, back home.” He sighed and started walking. “Are you here for the auction as well, Mr. Duan?”

“Yes, there’s something I want to buy,” Duan said as he walked alongside him.

He Qing didn’t need to guess what Duan was after, but he couldn’t let on that he knew. “And what might that be?”

“An energy stone. It could be a new energy source,” Duan answered without hesitation.

“I see.” He Qing nodded lightly. “I wish you luck.” Even if it turned out to be a spirit stone, he couldn’t afford to compete with the general this time.

A faint sadness tugged at He Qing. Perhaps his luck had run out lately.

Before long, they arrived at the entrance of the auction, entering the underground venue together.