Chapter 13: Certification

Xie Gewen opened the Adjudicator’s message channel. However, his running body suddenly crashed violently against a Gel Barrier.

Xie Gewen was knocked back several steps before he realized he had already run to the boundary of District 12. Barriers separated district from district; one couldn’t pass without extraordinary measures.

He could only watch as the Flying Sedan in the sky flew further and further away, like a shooting star flying in reverse.

Xie Gewen glanced at the Adjudicator’s message channel, suddenly feeling lost. In what capacity was he going to ask the Adjudicator about Ming Ruan’s affairs?

Xie Gewen, who had always been decisive and straightforward, turned his head, looking toward the direction of that little house that would glow with warm light. For the first time in a long while, he felt doubt and hesitation toward himself.

Was leaving without a proper goodbye really the right thing to do?

Now, the Flying Sedan carrying Ming Ruan was slowly descending.

Wow.

Ming Ruan’s small eyes held great shock.

Before him stood a massive, hemispherical building. Its exterior displayed a lush, verdant green, resembling moss-like plants. Around the building’s perimeter, pale golden flight paths slanted and spiraled around it. On these paths, countless densely packed tiny machines were diligently working.

The entire structure looked like a purely plant-based planet half-sunken into the ground.

The Flying Sedan stopped. Ming Ruan wanted to turn around and carry the little fox out, but Shi Huai flicked his tail and slipped out on his own, smoothly sliding through the gap in the sedan’s door.

Come on! Being carried by Ming Ruan in front of so many people—did Shi Huai not care about his reputation?

Afraid the little fox might run off again, Ming Ruan hurriedly followed him out of the sedan. Just as he crawled out, he heard someone shout to him from a distance: “Hey—Ming Ruan!”

For a moment, the bustling crowd in front of the spherical building all paused, turning to look in Ming Ruan’s direction.

As an introvert being stared at by everyone, Ming Ruan thought: “… Maybe I should just get back in the car.”

But the young man who had called out to him from afar had already jogged over. He patted his left chest area toward Ming Ruan and smiled brightly. “Hello! I’m Zhuo Yunqi, the Executor of District 11!”

“Ah, hello, hello.” Ming Ruan imitated his gesture and also patted his own left chest. Interstellar etiquette. He understood it! He definitely hadn’t made the wrong gesture this time!

Zhuo Yunqi found it a bit odd that Ming Ruan mimicked his little gesture, feeling slightly embarrassed. But he still casually approached Ming Ruan, throwing an arm around his shoulder. “You came quite early!” The Ming Ruan he actually met was indeed very well-behaved! Not at all like the online rumors suggested.

Ming Ruan tried hard to keep the conversation going. “Haha, yeah.”

“…”

“…”

Oh no! An awkward silence!

Although he didn’t understand why this Executor was inexplicably trying to get close to him, Ming Ruan definitely hadn’t intended to snub someone’s good intentions.

Just as Ming Ruan was about to start curling his toes in embarrassment, he heard a heavy, cold snort.

For a moment, he actually felt as if this cold snort had saved him.

Another Flying Sedan had arrived. A middle-aged man in a stiff, formal dress suit, holding a cane, stepped out of the vehicle. He strode straight toward the spherical building without looking sideways. Following him was a group of people, all middle-aged, with varying appearances. Only their attire was uniformly luxurious.

“The one at the very front is the Executor of District 7. Those behind are from the other districts,” Zhuo Yunqi whispered into Ming Ruan’s ear, making no effort to lower his voice. “Before you came, I was dying of boredom. Can’t gel with them at all. Sigh.”

The Executor of District 7 heard Zhuo Yunqi’s completely unfiltered voice. He stopped, tapped his cane on the ground, and glanced sideways slightly. “Wet-behind-the-ears whelp! No sense of propriety!”

“Throwing heavy punches on StarNet, but now you’re putting on a sanctimonious act,” Zhuo Yunqi fired back loudly, pulling Ming Ruan along.

The two sides looked about to start arguing when the Executor of District 7 shifted his target toward Ming Ruan. “You must be Ming Ruan?”

Ming Ruan was about to answer.

But suddenly, he saw the complexions of the entire group before him change abruptly. One by one, they bowed their heads and inclined their bodies.

It wasn’t just those Executors. Even the crowds of people moving around them all turned toward this direction and performed the salute.

Zhuo Yunqi quickly withdrew the arm he’d had slung over Ming Ruan. Turning around, he also became serious and respectful.

Shi Huai, who was merely a little fox at the moment, also lowered his head, his large ears pressing tightly back against his skull.

In an instant, the entire bustling, lively grand plaza seemed as if a pause button had been pressed.

Left behind, Ming Ruan thought: “…”

Where on earth did the interstellar era get all these feudal customs?

Why did important figures always like to appear silently?

Haha, he was late to salute again.

He was doomed.

Ming Ruan closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and turned around with a deep bow!

His forehead suddenly touched something warm and hot, only to be steadied by a force immediately after.

From directly above him came a deep, emotionless voice, calm as a bottomless pool: “A superfluous courtesy. Please rise.”

Ming Ruan opened his eyes.

The man before him was dressed in a stiff, formal black military uniform. A short half-shoulder cape fluttered lightly. The golden totems and metallic embellishments on the uniform gleamed like stars sunken into a night sky—dazzling and brilliant.

The man was just withdrawing one hand, using his other to tug at his black gloves. At the same time, his gaze had just left Ming Ruan.

“His Excellency, the Adjudicator! The Research Institute is fully prepared. The examination can begin at any time,” a capable-looking woman stepped forward from the crowd.

The Adjudicator brushed past Ming Ruan, walking toward the hemispherical Research Institute. He didn’t look at anyone else, nor did he make any extraneous movements. He merely said: “I invite the Executors to accompany for the certification. Mr. Shi Huai, Executor of District 7, Executor of District 12, please step forward.”

Two sentences, three uses of the word “please,” yet when spoken from his mouth, they carried not the slightest feeling of “please.” Instead, they accentuated the aloof arrogance of a high-ranking superior.

So this was… the Adjudicator?

That “Boss” lying in his contact list?

Ming Ruan had originally thought that seeing his boss in person today might give him a chance to ask about Gray Wolf, but now he felt an immense distance between them.

Of course, maybe that distance had never been close in the first place.

Perhaps he really did need to make more friends in this interstellar era. Ming Ruan felt his mood was a bit strange. He called over the little fox and walked forward.

No one spoke the entire way. The little fox was also unexpectedly well-behaved beyond his expectations. After entering the Research Institute, researchers clad in special form-fitting work uniforms guided him, moving him through various machines.

The Adjudicator and the assembled Executors silently watched the examination progress.

The Executor of District 7 stood beside the Adjudicator, repeatedly opening his mouth as if wanting to say something, but ultimately failed to strike up a conversation.

Soon, the lead researcher directing the examination stood up, breaking the silence. “The examination has been completed, Your Excellency, the Adjudicator.”

The Adjudicator manipulated his Light Brain slightly, and the inspection report was synced to everyone present.

“I invite the Executors to certify,” he said.

Ming Ruan flipped through it. The inspection report was extremely detailed, with data spanning the past fifteen days listed one by one. Before yesterday, multiple data points had been flagged red. However, after Ming Ruan picked up the little fox, the situation had steadily climbed back up. Moreover, no traces of other Forbidden Drugs were detected.

The Executor of District 7 couldn’t maintain his composure.

He knew that not every beastman was suited for outdoor life. Shi Huai, a pretty boy from the entertainment industry, had been out in the wilderness for so long—it was inevitable his data would look bad. He just hadn’t expected… how could the data have shown such a change after encountering Ming Ruan?

This made the arguments he had prepared difficult to voice.

The Executor of District 7 gripped his cane with a hand trembling slightly from tension. “Your Excellency, the Adjudicator, the data holds no issues. But… might we also consider Mr. Shi Huai’s wishes?”

Just at that moment, Shi Huai flicked his large tail and leaped down from the examination machine, padding slowly over to stop right between the two of them.

The Adjudicator nodded, signaling that Shi Huai could now express his stance.