"He didn't tell you, did he? He's a Star Source Guardian."
Mrs. Salcher pulled the person close, introducing him with a chuckle.
Lu Mingming recalled her first visit to the Royal Academy, when she coincidentally saw Cheng Shiqin embracing the dean in nostalgia, which led her to misunderstand for a long time.
"I always thought he was a retired teacher from the school."
"He's sort of a teacher, yes. He won first place in the保育师 competition before."
Mrs. Salcher patted Cheng Shiqin's robust shoulder.
The dark-skinned, burly man scratched his head, pulling up a shy smile.
He won first place?!
According to the Star Network, wasn't he always hiding his strength and unwilling to compete on the main planet?
Lu Mingming's eyes darted.
Everyone had their own secrets, so she wouldn't pry further.
"Little Cheng, take Mingming over there."
"Okay!"
Cheng Shiqin replied loudly and somewhat bashfully. He walked to the wall with the most portraits and pressed his large palm onto Mrs. Salcher's portrait.
Under the forceful press, Mrs. Salcher's portrait sank into the wall. With a rumbling sound, the entire wall slowly rotated 180 degrees, revealing a passage hidden behind it.
"Wow..."
Lu Mingming covered her mouth in surprise.
Secret passages in the interstellar world.
"If you're going, follow me!"
Cheng Shiqin called out and was the first to squeeze into the passage.
Lu Mingming followed closely behind Cheng Shiqin, walking into it.
The entire tunnel was quite small and narrow, only wide enough for one person to pass through, so the two couldn't walk side-by-side.
Fortunately, there were pull-chain lights on the walls, which could slightly illuminate the surrounding space, making the path ahead barely discernible.
However, the cramped conditions invisibly added a layer of pressure.
"I'm sorry for hiding this from you for so long."
Cheng Shiqin's apology echoed in the tunnel.
"It's alright."
Lu Mingming didn't mind much.
"Speaking of which, as a Star Source Guardian, you must have gone through rigorous selection. You're truly amazing! It must have been very hard."
Lu Mingming quietly waited for his reply.
"Yes."
Cheng Shiqin's voice was filled with regret.
At this moment, only the two of them were in the tunnel. After a moment of silence, Cheng Shiqin opened up a little to explain:
"My real name is Cheng Qing. I participated in the childcare competition a few years ago. However, I was eliminated after reaching the main planet."
"I'm sorry for bringing up your wound."
Lu Mingming said guiltily.
Cheng Shiqin laughed it off carelessly, "We're friends, so don't mention that. I'm very open about it! But I need to tell you..."
His tone suddenly became much more serious:
"For the first competition you enter, remember not to sign any loyalty contracts with assistants.
I didn't understand before and made such a mistake. I rashly signed a contract with an official's assistant and ended up being bound to Count Goodfin, who was waiting for votes. I haven't been arranged for any competition until today."
Lu Mingming thought, like a shell company?
She then somewhat understood the whole situation.
"So you never returned to the main planet and lived incognito on Xingfu Planet?"
"Yes, the Dean found and took me in... If they find me, I'll die miserably."
As soon as he said this, the tunnel fell silent, so quiet that even the sound of their shoes rubbing against the ground could be heard.
It was so quiet, as if no one had spoken just now.
Understanding that Cheng Shiqin was warning her with his personal experience, Lu Mingming kept it in mind.
After walking for about two minutes, the tunnel ahead became increasingly brighter, as if they had finally reached their destination.
The light source widened considerably, and in the center stood a monument inlaid with crystal stones.
The blue crystal stone was crystal clear, with a triangular keyhole in the middle.
Cheng Shiqin moved aside to let Lu Mingming pass.
Lu Mingming quickly took out her necklace and tried it. It fit perfectly into the keyhole.
When the blue crystal stone monument came into contact with the necklace, it began to emit a dazzling white light that permeated the surroundings, filling the entire tunnel as if they were in a special space.
The uneven tunnel walls, starting from the monument, gradually turned into a sea of stars, with tens of thousands of shining stars dotted across the dark expanse.
Under the illumination of the brilliant starlight, a faint beam of light shone down from above the monument.
This beam of light allowed Lu Mingming to clearly see a diamond-like, transparent, and shimmering energy sphere suspended by chains within the crystal, radiating a holy glow.
Seeing this peculiar sight, the silver-purple energy orb floating in Lu Mingming's spiritual sea let out a "gurgle," as if it were hungry.
Lu Mingming inexplicably felt a sense of unease.
She felt like her little orb saw the Star Source and became extremely hungry?
Recalling the time it absorbed electricity from the main control machine, Lu Mingming's heart tightened.
"This necklace is now engraved with your information, and no one can take it away. At the same time, the Star Source of Xingfu Planet is now in your hands."
Cheng Shiqin turned around and earnestly advised.
"Go and sign a contract with the Star Source. I'll protect you here. You will receive a gift from the Star Source. Remember to protect the Star Source and don't let its energy weaken further."
As soon as he said this, the little orb in Lu Mingming's spiritual sea became even more excited, bouncing around and casting a covetous glance at the "fellow" not far away.
Help, it can't devour this!
Fearing that the mischievous little orb in her spiritual sea would cause trouble, Lu Mingming slowly moved her steps out of the tunnel.
As if knowing Lu Mingming's next move.
In the seemingly bottomless space, scattered star fragments condensed together to form a transparent staircase, spiraling upwards from the starlit bridge built in the sea of stars.
The star bridge led directly upwards, and the closer she got, the clearer the appearance of the Star Source became.
A blurry, diffused white light source floated in the air, emitting tiny, sesame-seed-sized pale glowing lights all around.
Lu Mingming hesitantly reached out, closed her eyes, and gently touched it with her fingertips.
The Star Source blazed with light.
Myriad stars moved around the star bridge, and sacred, obscure incantations echoed in Lu Mingming's ears.
The next second, a scene appeared before Lu Mingming's eyes.
A meeting was being held inside a magnificent star battleship.
On seats crafted from countless jewels and rare metals, a golden-haired general was casually tapping his fingers on the table, producing crisp sounds.
To his left sat a handsome man with silver-white hair, who was calmly introducing the plan for this operation.
Beside the silver-white haired man, someone with small fangs smiled happily.
The remaining two on the other side had blurred faces, only their basic forms discernible as male.
One was taller, exuding an air of banditry.
The other had black curly hair tied into a small European-style braid, looking as perfect as a statue in an art museum at first glance.
Everyone clearly regarded the short-haired golden general in the highest seat as their leader.
Lu Mingming rubbed her eyes and looked again with suspicion.
She recognized three of them – Orlannal, Morian, and Yi Fu.
Although their faces were all the same, Lu Mingming felt completely different about them.
Who were the other two? I don't think I know them, she thought.
Lu Mingming blinked.
She wasn't sure what the meeting was discussing, and the voices were indistinct, as if from a great distance.
"Parallel universes?"
She stared at Orlannal's face in the image, guessing wildly.
"Who's peeking?!"
Orlannal suddenly looked up, his deep ice-blue eyes shooting out two sharp beams of light, fixing on Lu Mingming's direction, giving her the illusion of being caught red-handed.
Lu Mingming quickly covered her mouth and held her breath, not daring to make a sound.
The surrounding members stopped what they were doing upon hearing the sound and directed their gazes in the direction Orlannal was staring.
During the long five-second stare-down, Morian was the first to break the silence.
He raised an eyebrow, a hint of amusement flashing in his eyes:
"It's the wind. Don't be overly nervous. Perhaps a little butterfly came to see how we're planning to rebel?"
"I hope so."
Orlannal's handsome face was cold and expressionless, exuding a strong sense of danger.
The corner of his lips curled into a chilling smile, and a bone-chilling coldness spread from him towards Lu Mingming's vantage point, as if the air had frozen still.
The scene before her shattered.
Lu Mingming suddenly opened her eyes, leaning against the star bridge, breathing heavily to calm her emotions.
If she hadn't dodged that attack, she really would have died.
Lu Mingming waved her hand to signal she was fine, but her mind was racing:
... Was all that a parallel universe, or something that would happen in the future?