Chapter 54 - Deeply In Love With You [Quick Transmigration]

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Chapter 54: Mutual Direction (1)

 

 

Among the stars, the galaxy appeared even more dazzling than from land.

The spaceship's course avoided all known celestial bodies, but now and then, enormous planets would streak past, gone in a flash.

 

Three days later, the ship's windows closed again. Luo Xin and Liu Chao were already buzzing, happily packing their belongings.

 

When the windows opened once more, Zong Que saw it—an enormous planet, woven in blues and greens. Forests and oceans visibly patterned its surface. It looked remarkably like their homeworld… Only far, far larger.

 

The Alliance had counted several billion citizens—already more than enough to populate their mother planet comfortably. But the goal had never been just survival. The vision had always been outward expansion: to explore more worlds, to claim more homes beneath the stars. The universe was boundless, and several billion souls were a mere drop in the ocean. Birth rates, already barely sustainable, continued to decline year after year.

 

The spaceship slowly approached, brushing past a natural satellite that orbited Planet A. Its rocky surface bristled with machinery—relay towers and transmission arrays packed so tightly together that the entire surface seemed armored in cold steel. Yet there was no life to be found, and the satellite drifted silently on as the ship pulled away.

 

Breaking through the planet's atmosphere, the spaceship engaged its thrusters again, descending slowly under the pull of gravity. Below, the landscape unfolded in breathtaking hues—rugged mountains and winding rivers, dotted with lights, but still wrapped in verdant forest and crystalline waters.

 

"Doctor! We're here!" Luo Xin called out, gazing through the viewport. "We've finally returned to Planet A!"

 

The hatch opened. Aside from the designated landing pad, the surrounding area was lush with greenery. From the high platform, one could see only a handful of skyscrapers—everything else was cloaked beneath dense forest.

 

Planet A was both the fastest-developing colony in the Alliance and its most livable world. Lessons hard-learned from the ravaging of their homeworld, combined with the discovery of more habitable planets, had led to a renewed emphasis on preservation. Here, the air was exceptionally fresh.

 

Zong Que had countless memories of Planet A, yet none could compare to witnessing it with his own eyes.

 

One after another, people began disembarking from the ship. Standing by the hatch, Zong Que caught sight of armed guards below. Under their escort, someone was striding purposefully toward the ship.

 

"Doctor, the military has sent someone to receive you," one of the accompanying guards informed him.

 

Luo Xin and Liu Chao quieted at once, stepping aside. Calm and composed, Zong Que ascended the long, extended platform and was conveyed down from the ship's upper deck.

 

The armed escort quickly attracted attention.

 

"Who's that for? Must be someone important," a passenger muttered.

 

"That looks like Major General Ye."

 

"Then it is someone important."

 

"Welcome to Planet A," the orderly staff member greeted the arriving crowd with a warm smile, guiding the passengers down a different route from Zong Que's, ensuring distance and privacy.

 

Even before his feet touched the ground, Zong Que had already noticed the insignia gleaming on the young man waiting for him—a major general's rank.

 

The deep blue uniform outlined his tall, athletic frame, sharp and upright like a drawn blade. A young prodigy, no doubt.

 

In the Alliance, military rank was earned, not inherited. Family background meant nothing in the face of service and merit.

 

Ye Zhi—youngest Major General in the Alliance, heir to one of the three great families, the Ye clan. Even with the blood of deep-sea merfolk running through his lineage, every single honor pinned to his chest had been fought for with his own hands.

 

With such pedigree, appearance, and future prospects, he had naturally become one of the potential candidates for bonding with a deep-sea merfolk.

 

The moment Zong Que stepped onto solid ground, the young general saluted crisply and spoke with cool formality. "Greetings, Dr. Zong. I'm Ye Zhi, Commander of the Third Corps. I'm here to escort you safely."

 

"Mm. Thank you." Zong Que nodded slightly in acknowledgment and stepped through the pathway that had been cleared for him.

 

Ye Zhi watched the man's upright posture disappear into the distance, his gaze briefly dimming before he followed.

 

Had he not read in his orders that this man was a researcher, Ye Zhi might have assumed he came from a military background.

 

Planet A had progressed far faster than the homeworld. Aerial transports—still rare back home—had become standard here. Zong Que ducked into one of them, its flight path gliding smoothly above the city, avoiding pedestrian areas below.

 

Ye Zhi sat silently beside him, refraining from idle conversation. He watched the man through the rearview mirror.

 

Zong Que wasn't wearing the white coat typical of researchers, yet the collar and cuffs of his attire were neatly fastened. His tall frame sat with precise posture and quiet strength—traits clearly honed through combat training.

 

A man who, rumor had it, had once been exiled to the homeworld for plagiarism. Shouldn't he feel at least a little pleased to be returning now?

 

Yet Ye Zhi found his expression unreadable.

 

The artificial womb project was of immense importance to the Alliance. Should it succeed, it would drive colonization and expansion forward in leaps and bounds. Why bring it up now—and why choose to cooperate with the Alliance? For the sake of that merfolk?

 

But artificial wombs would, in truth, diminish only the status of engineered merfolk. It would likely reduce or even eliminate the need for their modification altogether. Natural merfolk—especially deep-sea ones—would remain untouched in prestige and necessity.

 

Zong Que turned his gaze from the window. "What are the Alliance's plans for me upon my return?"

 

Snapping out of his thoughts, Ye Zhi responded, "Your accommodations have been prepared. After that, you're expected to attend the Three Families conference."

 

That was, after all, the real reason he had come to greet him personally.

 

"What time does the conference start?" Zong Que glanced at his watch.

 

"Three o'clock," Ye Zhi replied, noting the motion. "You still have time to rest if you'd like."

 

"Mm," Zong Que answered quietly.

 

Their conversation ended there. The aircraft entered a restricted zone, scanned layer by layer, and descended into a wooded area.

 

The villa was nestled beneath the tree canopy, its presence betrayed only by a few glimmering windows. Zong Que stood before it—he didn't have to lift a finger. Everything had already been delivered inside.

 

"I'll return for you at two-thirty, Doctor," Ye Zhi said.

 

"Mm. Thank you." Zong Que accepted the keycard and entered the villa, the two young assistants trailing after him, still somewhat at a loss.

 

…

 

In a bright and spotless laboratory elsewhere, a man in a white coat rushed in, frowning as he approached someone operating a piece of equipment. "Dr. You, Zong Que has returned to Planet A."

 

At his words, the others in the lab perked up instantly. The man being addressed paused in his work and said calmly, "I heard about that days ago. What of it?"

 

"What of it?" the assistant snapped. "He plagiarized your work and even tried to throw the blame back on you. Someone like that should've been locked up at the very least, but instead, the Alliance just sent him to the Moon-Jade Sea—that was already letting him off easy. And now they've called him back? Are they just pretending the whole thing never happened?"

 

"It's all because of that so-called artificial womb technology," another researcher added, scowling. "No one even knows if it's real. That was never Zong Que's research field. For all we know, he made it up."

 

"If the Alliance recalled him, then he must have solved some real technical hurdle," said You Chu placidly. He smiled faintly. "And if he truly managed to develop the artificial womb, then he's solving one of the Alliance's greatest problems."

 

"But a man like that—talent or no—has no integrity," the assistant muttered.

 

"Alas, no one is perfect. Who among us is without fault?" You Chu said mildly. "For the sake of the Alliance's future, we should let go of our grudges."

 

"…Understood."

 

Despite his calm words, the discussion in the lab didn't stop. News of Zong Que's return spread like wildfire.

 

"Dr. You is just too kind. I wouldn't want to work with someone like Zong Que. Who knows when he'll turn again, steal more research, and stomp on others on his way up?"

 

"True. But the Alliance clearly values him…"

 

"Talent without ethics—who cares if he can solve some tech problem? No one will respect him."

 

"I can't stand people who plagiarize. Makes my skin crawl."

 

…

 

The villa Zong Que had been assigned covered a vast area, equipped with everything a top-level researcher might need. As they entered, small robots had already begun sorting the boxes and brought over glasses of water.

 

"Welcome home, Master. Please have some water," one of them said.

 

"This is the Central Research Institute?" Luo Xin asked, closing the door and finally letting out a breath. "The setup is incredible."

 

"This must be the kind of place reserved for elite researchers," Liu Chao remarked, inspecting the furnishings. "Feels like the furniture and everything else were already set up. Doesn't really match the Doctor's taste though—was this a model home or something?"

 

"This was where I lived before," Zong Que replied, accepting a glass of water as he unhesitatingly opened the private lab attached to the villa.

 

The two assistants exchanged glances and suddenly understood. "Then welcome home, Doctor."

 

"Start sorting the experimental materials," Zong Que said, eyeing the boxes already brought in. "We have a presentation coming up. If we pass the assessment, we stay."

 

Luo Xin stiffened. "There's an assessment?"

 

"Of course. You think the Alliance brought us back just to give us free room and board?" Liu Chao said, clapping his shoulder. "But don't worry. The Doctor brought us here—he won't let us get sent back."

 

"Exactly!" Luo Xin agreed fervently.

 

Zong Que continued setting up the lab and arranging the Petri dishes with a steady hand. "Staying isn't hard. What's hard is withstanding the pressure."

 

"Pressure from the experiments? That we can take," Liu Chao replied confidently.

 

"Not the experiments." Zong Que shut the protective cover and turned to face them. "I was sent to the Moon-Jade Sea for plagiarism. The slander won't stop. When you hear it, pretend you didn't."

 

The two men froze, stunned. A quiet clink of glass echoed as Luo Xin muttered, "Honestly, Doctor… you really don't seem like that kind of person."

 

Though the birth-pod technology had been developed with their help, their roles were limited to minor assistance. The breakthroughs had all come from Zong Que alone. In the isolated Moon-Jade Sea, there was no one to consult. They had no expertise to offer. It was the Doctor who, even while eating or drinking, continued analyzing data and refining hypotheses, abandoning countless failed prototypes before achieving success.

 

Others might not understand, but they did. They had seen it with their own eyes. A man with that kind of brilliance didn't need to stoop to theft to succeed.

 

"Doctor, is it possible someone framed you back then?" Liu Chao asked carefully.

 

"Steady yourselves," Zong Que said, meeting the wide eyes of his two assistants.

 

The original Zong Que truly hadn't committed plagiarism—but the evidence had been damning. Even the detour his ship took into the fog-shrouded waters of the Moon-Jade Sea seemed suspiciously deliberate.

 

Someone had wanted him silenced—permanently. Dead men could offer no defense. His return would undoubtedly stir unease among those people. For now, what he needed most was composure.

 

"Yes, Doctor." The two exchanged glances, visibly relieved, and went back to sorting the experimental equipment.

 

...

 

The Three Family Conference was the highest-level assembly within the Alliance. Despite its name, it included more than the three great families, and was divided into public and classified sessions.

 

Ye Zhi arrived punctually. As he stepped out of the vehicle, the villa doors opened precisely on cue.

 

Their eyes met. Seeing Zong Que now clad in a white lab coat, Ye Zhi opened the car door and stood aside respectfully. "Dr. Zong, please."

 

"Thank you." Zong Que climbed into the vehicle.

 

Though his living quarters were relatively modest in height, the central research facility soared above, its towering structures clustered together like peaks. People bustled about, and the sheer concentration of cutting-edge science lent the place a certain tension—an atmosphere of pressure and brilliance.

 

Yet even with Ye Zhi leading the way, the gazes from passing staff were unmistakably strange.

 

Following behind, Luo Xin grew uneasy. Those stares weren't just curious—they brimmed with hostility. But watching Zong Que step calmly into the elevator, his expression unshaken, Luo Xin found his own heart quieting.

 

"Steady," Liu Chao murmured, giving his shoulder a nudge.

 

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