Chapter 146: I’ll Stay with the Mountains and Rivers

Chapter 146 – I’ll Stay with the Mountains and Rivers

Boom!

With a falling velocity of 52.3 meters per second, the Life Sphere spent a full 15 minutes to cross the 50,000-meter distance. And upon colliding with the plain beneath Phoenix Mountain, the sphere rebound over 100 meters into the air.

“Aiyo!”

The old man got startled awake by the sudden impact, and he scurried around to secure a foothold.

Boom.

Boom.

Boom, boom, boom…

After another two minutes passed by, the Life Sphere eventually stopped bouncing.

“Ah, my old bones.”

While supporting his lower back, the old man bared his teeth as he struggled to sit upright. And after steadying himself, he immediately tried to climb out of the sphere.

“Wait a moment, old man.”

Chen Yu, who had been silently keeping watch around the Life Sphere all this time, quickly stopped the old man from climbing out. He then picked up the sphere and flew back to the top of Phoenix Mountain.

Had he let the old man out now, it would’ve been difficult to transport the old man back to the top.

“Young man, is that a rocket booster on your back?” the old man asked curiously while lying inside the ball. “How much is it? Help me buy one as well.”

“…This can’t be bought.”

“How strange. Aside from nuclear bombs, what else can’t be bought?”

“Seeing as you can still talk non-stop, you seem to be fine, old man.”

“If I don’t speak, doesn’t that mean I’m dead?” The old man said, snorting. “Look, I can still move.”

“…”

Chen Yu suddenly discovered that his thought process surprisingly matched with this elderly man!

And this discovery caused him to grow worried.

He worried whether he would behave in such a manner once he grew old as well…

Very quickly, the two arrived back at the mountain top. Chen Yu first established a spatial link to the old man’s address. Only afterward did he open the Life Sphere’s entrance and let the old man out.

After Chen Yu helped the old man up from the snowy ground, the old man turned around to look down at the foot of the mountain. His expression suddenly turned serious in the next moment, and his body straightened as he carried out a standard military salute to Chen Yu.

“Uh?” Taken aback, Chen Yu took a step backward. “Old man, what are you…”

Ending his salute, the old man tightly grasped Chen Yu’s hands and earnestly said, “You, are a good kid. An outstanding kid. The future of the country depends on aspiring people like you.”

“Y-Your change is quite abrupt.”

“Truthfully, the things I said before are mostly nonsense. Only the part where the bridges I cross collapse, and the roads I walk break is true.” Smiling, the old man announced, “Because I’m a retired veteran.”

“Is that so?” Scanning the old man, Chen Yu said, “I really couldn’t tell just now.”

Releasing his grip on Chen Yu’s hands, the old man’s back turned crooked once more, and the stalwart aura he exuded disappeared. He then bent down to pick up the photograph on the ground and triumphantly showed it to Chen Yu, asking, “Isn’t she pretty?”

“Not bad.”

“Is it so difficult to acknowledge the excellence of others?”

“Fine, fine, fine. She’s pretty.”

“Hehe. Of course, she’s pretty. This is my wife.”

“You might as well take out her baby photos,” Chen Yu said wryly.

“I don’t have any new ones…” Smiling faintly, the old man said, “I only have this one picture of her, because she’s dead already.”

Chen Yu’s brows raised in surprise as he apologized, “Sorry.”

Waving his hand, Chen Yu said, “There’s nothing to feel sorry for. Shortly after we got married, she got killed by a stray bullet. I tried rubbing away the blood with my sleeves, but no matter how I rubbed, I couldn’t rub away the blood. The brigade I was in back then was poor. Everyone was poor. To let her depart beautifully, the whole brigade used up what little fabric we had left to make her a new dress.”

While saying so, the old man’s eyes blurred once more. As he caressed the photo, he couldn’t help but choke as he said, “We truly were goddamned poor. Even after using all the white fabric we had, we were still missing half a sleeve. A few of my comrades even had to remove their bandages to complete the dress.”

For a moment, the atmosphere at the mountain top grew heavy.

The crazy barrage of bullet comments in the livestream rooms also gradually thinned out.

“But everything was worth it.” Taking a deep breath, the old man stored away the photo and turned to look at the beautiful scenery below Phoenix Mountain. “Look at this snow and this scenery. Can you say that it isn’t beautiful?”

“It’s beautiful,” Chen Yu answered.

“Good. Make sure to hold tightly onto the things you find beautiful. Aside from yourself, don’t let anybody else touch them. Old-timers like myself have already done everything we can. From now on, the country’s development, economy, military, and that high-tech stuff of yours will depend on you youngsters. I really like you. You’ve built an island and even landed on the moon. Good job!”

After patting Chen Yu’s shoulders, the old man fiercely glared at Nintendo’s representative. He then picked up his walking stick and wobbled his way toward the portal.

“You youngsters should focus on space development. I, on the other hand, will stay with the mountains and rivers here.”

After saying so, the old man’s figure disappeared into the portal…

Meanwhile, after falling silent for a long time, Chen Yu returned a salute to the old man.

[Crap, my eyes went blind.]

[Me too.]

[Must this old man make me feel guilty?]

[Those that spouted nonsense before, hang yourselves.]

[Sorry, sand got into my eyes.]

[Sorry, sand got into my eyes.]

[Sorry, my eyes fell into an excavator.]

[Salute to veterans!]

[True veterans never die.]

After the silence at the mountain top continued for another half a minute, Chen Yu lowered his hand and turned toward Nintendo’s representative. “Friend, it’s your turn.”

“…”

Noticing the slight change in Chen Yu’s tone, the representative hurriedly fell to the ground and shouted, “Sumimasen!”

“Stop that. Hurry up and tell me how you want to play.”

“I…”

Although the representative had plenty of things he wanted to say, he found himself unable to say any of them.

He had come participating in Transdimensional Review’s interactive event while bearing many tasks. However, looking at the current atmosphere, it was apparent he couldn’t say much. Otherwise, he would simply earn the disgust of Transdimensional Review’s UP.

“Hah…” Quietly sighing, the representative got into the wet ball. Doing his best to maintain a respectful and courteous attitude as he said, “Sir, please send me to Mount Fuji. I wish to roll off of Mount Fuji.”

“No problem.”

Chen Yu nodded and established the spatial link. He then promptly sent the Life Sphere flying into the portal with a roundhouse kick.

Afterward, he activated the plasma engine, and, with the thrust of two tail flames, he chased after the falling Life Sphere.

After Chen Yu left, aside from Little Peach, only the two astronauts remained on the empty mountain top. Seeing this, the two astronauts exchanged glances with each other.

“Shall we start preparing?”

“Okay.”

The two astronauts promptly opened their respective boxes, took out an insulated oxygen tank, and connected the tanks to the back of their simple spacesuit. Afterward, they each took out a fully enclosed helmet and put it on each other’s heads.

The set of spacesuit they currently wore was specially made, and it focused on temperature isolation and being lightweight. However, in exchange for these advantages, these spacesuits lacked most of the mounted accessories found on normal spacesuits. It was impossible for these spacesuits to operate in extraterrestrial environments devoid of an atmosphere for long periods.

After struggling for four minutes, the astronauts were finally done gearing up. They then shut their boxes and waited for Chen Yu’s return.

However, after another four minutes had gone by, instead of seeing Chen Yu’s return, the astronauts ended up witnessing the arrival of a group of local villagers.

Meanwhile, the person leading the group was none other than the tourist Chen Yu had scared away before.

“It’s real! It’s real!”

“Unbelievable! They actually look like us?”

“I wonder what their faces look like…”

“The glass of the helmets they’re wearing is too dark. I can’t see through it.”

“Is that woman there an alien as well?”

“I wonder if there is reproductive isolation or not…”

“This discovery is going to shock the world! We’re going to become famous!”

The villagers clad in thick jackets immediately grew excited when they saw the two astronauts. They hurriedly pulled out their phones and took pictures, and their mouths blabbered away without stopping.

“Everyone, stop moving forward. Son, hurry up and call the police with your phone!”

The village chief standing at the head of the group hurriedly stopped the crowd from moving forward. He then turned to face the two astronauts and respectfully said, “Welcome to Earth (in Chinese).”

The astronauts: “…”

“W-Welcome to…Earth? (in English)”

The astronauts: “…”

Source: Webnovel.com, updated by NovelKeep