Consumer Treatment

After sending the kid off, Han Sen held Ji Yanran and spoke with her for a while.

"There's a new aircraft in-store today. Would you like to go give it a try?" Ji Yanran said, as she drew invisible circles on Han Sen's arm.

"An aircraft, huh? Is it better than my beetle?" Han Sen said.

"Ouch!" Han Sen exclaimed, after being bitten on the arm following his boast.

"Why are you biting me?" Han Sen asked.

"Are you going? Yes or no?" Ji Yanran asked, simply.

"Yes, of course I'll go," Han Sen confirmed.

The next morning, Han Sen brought Bao'er with him to the store Ji Yanran owned and operated. Her store was the biggest of its kind on Planet Roca. There were many high-class aircraft on display in it.

The salesmen were all robots, though, and not a single human actually worked there.

"Wait for me here; the new aircraft is still in the warehouse. Let me go get it out." Ji Yanran passed Han Sen her bag and coat. Then, she went towards the control room.

Han Sen brought Bao'er to walk around with him, so they could check out their own store in full.

Very rarely did Han Sen make use of aircraft, and if he did, he'd usually used one that would take him to his destination without any effort on his part. As such, he wasn't very interested in them.

But most men loved good, old-fashioned machines, and just seeing them there before him, Han Sen wanted to bring some home. Bao'er, by comparison, was flat-out uninterested. The only interest she had was in the employee-robots of the store.

"Hello, young man. Could you help us, please?" As Han Sen observed an aircraft, an old couple approached them. They looked to be in slight distress and confusion.

"How can I help?" Han Sen didn't mind lending a hand.

The man said, "We would like to purchase an aircraft, but we haven't a clue what to choose. Could you help us in deciding, and perhaps provide us a few recommendations?"

Han Sen looked at them strangely, and he told them, "For information like that, you'd best ask the robots. They are more informed than I am on such a subject."

The man, however, looked embarrassed upon being given that answer. He said, "But we've never interacted with robots before; I have zero education on what to do with them. I would just like to see if there is a simple aircraft I can purchase for casual enjoyment. I just have no clue where to start."

Han Sen was surprised to learn there were still people in the Alliance who did not have a clue about this sort of stuff. They had to be very old; otherwise, they'd have received the necessary education in school.

"If you two aren't in a rush, I can consult my wife. She's the owner, and thus, she knows a lot more. She can answer all your questions and then some," Han Sen proposed.

"That sounds delightful. Thank you so much!" The couple were very happy, and until Ji Yanran showed up, they began to chat about other things.

The old couple seemed very polite, and subjects of conversation came easy to them.

Han Sen was able to learn they were both nearly three hundred years old, and they were natives to Planet Roca. They had never before left the planet.

There were more and more old people like them in the Alliance. They hadn't been to the sanctuaries, but their lifespans were long. They owned a garden, and in their younger years, managed a pet store. They were very good at taming pets, apparently.

When people discovered the sanctuary, though, average pets were rarely wanted. Due to this, they had to shut down and keep all the pets for themselves.

The old man even told Han Sen he had trained creatures for people in the sanctuaries, though. Han Sen asked quite a few questions on this subject, and he was able to learn a lot.

When Ji Yanran returned, Han Sen introduced the old couple before handing them over. She then told them everything they needed to know and helped them in their decision-making.

When she figured out what the old couple were looking for, Ji Yanran picked out a few aircraft for them to try out.

They ended up selecting a model of aircraft called Cloud Crane. They thanked Han Sen and Ji Yanran a lot, telling them they were free to come and visit them whenever they wanted to.

"Do you know who they were?" Ji Yanran asked.

"No, I just met them today. Why? What is the problem?" Han Sen asked.

"You were born on Planet Roca; how could you not know them?" Ji Yanran looked at Han Sen queerly.

"Are they famous, then?" Han Sen truly did not recognize the couple.

Ji Yanran shook her head, telling him, "Well, the old couple themselves are not famous. Their son, however, is."

"Who's their son?" Han Sen asked.

"Have you learned about the Battle of Rekno?" Ji Yanran asked Han Sen.

"Yeah. It was the most important battle humanity ever fought upon entering the space age. It laid the foundation for all we have managed to accomplish." The battle was indeed very important, so much so, Han Sen still knew much about it.

"Do you remember there was a general who ran out of ammo? So he drove his ship into a ship belonging to the shura?" Ji Yanran asked.

"Wait... They cannot be Xu Henian's parents!" Han Sen was shocked.

In the Rekno system, Xu Henian controlled the ship called Phoenix. He selflessly rammed his ship into the shura's command ship and changed the entire tide of the battle. When the shura lost their primary battleship, their command was lost. It swiftly led to their fall. Humans were then able to take the system, and ever since, the Alliance had been strong and able to grow freely.

Xu Henian and the Phoenix, with its ten thousand soldiers, had been written as a tale of paramount importance for the development and future expansion of humanity.

By most of humanity, it was regarded as a great triumph. But for the families of Xu Henian and the ten thousand families caught in grief and mourning, it was a disaster.

Now, Han Sen was able to understand why they chose the ship Cloud Crane.