Chapter 24 Report: Alien Space Contact Incident

August 12, at 4:15 a.m.

In a rental room near a certain university town, inside Li Siming's place.

"What are you doing, hurry up and turn off the barrage!"

The live broadcast had entered the "junk time", and Li Xu and the old eunuch returned to the Cat and Dog Room, busily directing a group of people performing miscellaneous duties in their tense preparations.

A large iron cage was wheeled out, with four or five little eunuchs exerting all their strength to move it onto a flatbed cart.

The old eunuch went back to his own room, and after a while, he sneakily brought out a package wrapped in oil paper containing some medicinal powder. The little eunuchs were shooed far away, leaving only Li Xu beside him. The two whispered for a while and then entered the house where the lynx was kept.

The camera constantly followed behind Li Xu, from a fixed position, at a fixed angle.

By this time, the live broadcast had reached its halfway point. Sleepless through the night, and add to that emotions like a roller coaster – rising and falling dramatically – not only Professor Hu but even Li Siming felt deeply exhausted.

Seeing that the real drama would take a while to start, someone turned on the live broadcast's barrage to see what the reactions of the other viewers watching the broadcast were like!

Unexpectedly, once the barrage was opened, nothing could be seen. Countless symbols and texts were piled up densely, like a surging flood, completely occupying the entire live broadcast screen.

Visitor count: 13,296.

This number was always changing, with no drops seen, only growth.

Professor Hu was deeply worried about this, to the point where even the coffee that reached his mouth seemed tasteless.

At this moment, on the live broadcast screen, a basin of bloody animal innards appeared. The old eunuch poured out half the pack of medicinal powder, mixed it into the innards, and while stirring, he spoke to Li Xu about something. Due to the angle, it was impossible to see their mouth movements clearly, rendering the lip-reading man in glasses without a role.

"Okay, everyone, put aside the work in your hands for now. Let's take this time to relax and debate how to write this report," Professor Hu called out to his students. However, the living room was too cramped to accommodate the twenty-some people. Li Siming wanted to go back to his bedroom to zone out for a while, but as soon as he stood up, he was pulled back by Professor Hu, "Little Li, this report includes your section too, as you experienced it firsthand." Li Siming had no choice but to muster up the energy to stay.

After experiencing such intense release and venting of emotions, anyone would be exceptionally weary, just like the ebb and flow of the tide – it isn't possible to always maintain a very high level, to keep the spirit in a highly tense and excited state.

If at that time, Li Xu had the chance to see the live broadcast interface behind him, he would have discovered that while the number of visitors had increased, the efficiency of spiritual power collection had actually slipped slightly, dropping to 4.8nt/minute.

"Find a spot and sit down, and if there's no space, just sit on the floor," but Professor Hu was as excited as ever. A fervor and restlessness sustained him, endowing him with an endurance even greater than that of young people. Li Siming was quite worried, but he didn't have any way to help.

"Everyone needs to perk up. Today we must compile a detailed report, and the sooner the better," Professor Hu motivated the group. Indeed, the quick get it while the slow miss out. They weren't the only ones who had experienced and discovered; to soar high on this rising trend, they needed to act swiftly and devote their fullest effort and focus.

The heated discussion thus began.

First up was the nature of the report.

"I think we shouldn't rush to conclusions, but instead should neatly list the information and data we've gathered, topped with reasonable speculation, and submit it to... right, boss, are we submitting this report to the university, or?"

Professor Hu waved his hand dismissively, "You don't need to worry about that, I have my own channels, which can reach higher levels."

"Alright, then we need to be all the more cautious!"

"On the contrary, my opinion is that to draw the attention and concern of the higher authorities, we can't be conservative. We have to clearly express our views in detail, rather than being ambiguous!"

"Wait, what is our opinion on this matter? What kind of event is this?"

The chatter stopped, and everyone looked toward Professor Hu, who sat in the center of the sofa.

Professor Hu hesitated for a moment, then clenched his teeth and said, "I believe this is a genuine, scientifically unexplained contact with Alien Space. Its significance is no less than the discovery of extraterrestrial life and civilization. As firsthand witnesses, we should be bold enough to relay, in detail, what we have seen, collected, and even conjectured, to the higher authorities... Furthermore, we should strive to strictly control the spread of knowledge before its influence expands!"

At this point, Professor Hu became extremely serious, "It's very important, perhaps more important than we can imagine. Therefore, we must act quickly; we must bravely bear the corresponding responsibility, or it would be a crime against the nation and our people!"

Li Siming was dumbfounded. Is it really that serious, that serious? He asked himself this in his heart.

With Professor Hu's definitive statement, the incident was given a preliminary characterization, and everyone became excited, feeling the thrill and pride of being part of a significant historical turning point.

And perhaps there was even more than that.

The enthusiasm of the crowd was ignited, awakening their sense of historical mission. The subsequent discussion was extraordinarily eager and intense. No conjecture, no matter how wild, could stifle the passion of these people. In no time, they had listed hundreds of items. In the end, a key question that could not be ignored or guessed at stood before everyone.

Who is this live streamer?

"I think he must be an Earthling, a modern human, and moreover, a Chinese. It isn't difficult to observe this; from his behavior and the few instances of communication, it's quite clear that he possesses the typical mindset of a modern person, with the imprint of Chinese culture very evident on him..."

"I object. If he is from Earth, a modern human, and moreover, a Chinese, then what about the display of superhuman abilities earlier? What did he do to the consort and to the old eunuch? Was it hypnosis? No, no, what we have clearly seen should be considered some kind of magical ability..."

"Is it strange for him to exhibit some differences from ordinary people after being involved in such a bizarre and inconceivable event?"

"..."

"Alright, those who incline toward believing he is an Earthling and moreover a Chinese, raise your hands!" Once in working mode, Professor Hu was efficient and meticulous. His extensive experience in managing project teams meant no dragging of feet, and, seeing that 80% of the hands were raised, he made neither approval nor disapproval—only writing a long note in his notebook.

"So, regarding his account of the incident, that is the Different World he's in, his exact words were, 'It was created from the collective will of beings, existing in a place that you currently cannot touch or reach...' Any thoughts?" Professor Hu asked.

There was silence for a while.

"I believe this statement should be credible. Otherwise, many things cannot be explained... For instance, the imperial palace, also known as the Forbidden City, is largely similar but details are up for debate. Like the 'natives' that appeared in the live stream, we found several faces that were almost right in the original TV series. Take that consort, for example, with her high resemblance..."

"A world born from the collective will of all beings... that's simply too incredible. I've also seen that TV series; could it be that I also played a part in it?"

"Science has not yet explained or discovered too many phenomena and principles, so I think it's acceptable..."

"Of course, we can accept it because we've experienced it first-hand, but I suspect this report would be instantly disregarded as the rambling of a madman if presented as is!"

"..."

"Alright, the preliminary conclusions have been drawn. Next, we need to organize our findings, what we've seen, all of the data and evidence, to fill and substantiate it, creating a persuasive document..."

"Professor Hu, we're about to start, the Court banquet is commencing!"

On the projector screen, the lynx that had fallen asleep was now locked inside a cage on the carriage. Li Xu and the old eunuch sat atop the carriage, surrounded by a large group of palace maids and eunuchs, as they grandly proceeded in the direction of the Imperial Garden.