Faced with Chen Yi's pressing questions and observing her parents' expressions, she knew they wouldn't drop the matter today, so she nodded.

"What's her name?" As the elder sister, she felt a responsibility akin to a mother's. When Chen Yi and her brother were young, their parents were often away on business, leaving the two siblings in the care of their grandparents. Their father had many siblings, each of whom pushed their own children onto the elders while they went out to make their way in the world.

The two siblings grew up living with seven or eight cousins, and the two elderly people couldn't possibly look after every single child. Chen Yi and her brother had always been exceptionally close since childhood; as the older sister, Chen Yi started taking care of her brother, who was three years younger, from a very early age.

Because of this, she was deeply concerned about her brother's marriage, appearing even more anxious than their mother.

"Sis, don't ask anymore. In less than a month, you'll see her," Zhong Yun said with a look of resignation.

"Alright, alright, we won't press," Mother Chen said with a smile. Chen Yi had wanted to ask more, but seeing her mother acquiesce, she could only let it drop.

The matter of the arranged meeting was thus concluded for the time being.

After their parents retired for the night, Zhong Yun retrieved a CD from his room and handed it to Chen Yi.

"What is this?" Chen Yi looked quizzically at the disc in her hand. Written on it in thick red marker were the characters "C1."

"Take this to your brother-in-law and see if it can offer him any help," Zhong Yun said, walking to the refrigerator and pulling out a can of beer.

"Drink less," Chen Yi advised immediately, then asked, "What's inside?"

"A piece of software." Zhong Yun sharply pulled the tab. He tilted his head back and took a long drink. "Your brother-in-law will know when he sees it. There's a text description inside."

"Where did you get this?" Chen Yi placed the disc on the table, her expression turning serious.

Zhong Yun's face instantly fell. He managed a wry smile. "Sister, are you interrogating me like a criminal? Rest assured, I didn't steal it or rob anyone."

The next morning, Chen Yi felt uneasy. After quickly finishing breakfast, she drove herself to the provincial capital, the CD Zhong Yun had given her tucked safely in her purse.

She went directly to her husband's office at the company and found the door locked.

"Why are you back, where's your brother?" Chen Xiang looked somewhat surprised to see his wife. He had been having a very difficult time lately; he looked visibly worn out. Shareholders were pressuring him severely, and rumors had begun circulating within the company, causing instability among the staff, leaving him constantly on the defensive.

"Look at this," Chen Yi carefully took out the disc labeled "C1" from her bag.

Seeing his wife's solemn expression, Chen Xiang swiftly opened the CD drive, inserted the disc, and his face shifted from confusion to gravity, and then to sheer ecstasy as he opened the file within.

"Where did this come from?" Having finished reading, Chen Xiang asked, unable to contain his delight.

"Is this thing useful?" Chen Yi countered, not answering the question directly.

Chen Xiang nodded heavily, beaming with excitement. "With this, our company is saved. No, Jinghui Company will become a truly first-rate online gaming company."

Seeing her usually composed husband radiating such energy, Chen Yi let out a breath of relief. "That's good then."

"You still haven't told me where this came from?" Chen Xiang asked urgently.

"Little brother gave it to me last night, said it might help you."

"Little brother is truly my lucky star!" Chen Xiang laughed heartily, the gloom of recent days instantly vanishing.

"It won't help Jinghui Company much in the short term, will it?" Chen Yi still harbored some worries. Through years of osmosis, she understood a fair bit about the company's affairs.

Chen Xiang was full of confidence. "With this, even if Jinghui Company fails, we could create a company much larger than Jinghui in just a few years."

"However," he tapped his chin, "we still need to conduct a comprehensive check of its functionality to avoid premature celebration."

"Where did you get this disc?" Without lingering at the company, Chen Yi immediately drove back to their hometown, finding Zhong Yun in a state of agitation, her face extremely stern.

Zhong Yun felt she was making a mountain out of a molehill. It was just a piece of software.

He wasn't interested in the specific operations of business, nor did he understand the running of an online gaming company. But, having seen how things were done, even if he hadn't personally managed one, he knew the basics. While he couldn't help with the monetization of online games, he could offer assistance on the technical side.

Little Zero had sent over a patch a few days ago, adding a conversion program to his personal portable computer. This program could translate transmission signals from Earth's internet, finally making his device useful.

Zhong Yun used his portable computer to create a 3D engine, one far more advanced than the current cutting-edge 3D engines. It was incredibly powerful. Its only drawback was a high demand on hardware, though it wouldn't exceed current mainstream specifications.

Creating this engine was quite troublesome because a slight misstep could result in something that surpassed the current era—software that couldn't be run on existing hardware was merely an impractical, theoretical marvel.

Seeing her brother's indifferent expression, Chen Yi grew even more serious. "Don't tell me you built this yourself. I've been in the software industry; a program this massive would take one person decades, if not centuries, to complete."

This was indeed a troublesome matter. Zhong Yun tugged at his earlobe. "You run a game company; you must know all the excellent 3D engines out there. Anyway, it doesn't belong to any company, so don't pursue any legal disputes."

Chen Yi stared at him for a moment, then, seeing his casual air, finally conceded defeat, forcing a bitter smile. "It's easy for you to say. Do you have any idea how much this thing is worth?"

Zhong Yun smiled faintly. "We're siblings, why worry about such things?"

"You," Chen Yi poked his forehead with her index finger, sighing, "I really don't know what kind of experiences you've had all these years."

"Do you think I've just been wasting time all these years?"

Looking at the easygoing expression on her little brother's face, as if nothing could faze him, she suddenly became curious: what kind of life had he truly been living these past years?

However, she knew her brother didn't want to talk about it, and she couldn't force him. She shook her head. "How about this: I'll convert this software into shares and register them in your name. That's your brother-in-law's idea too."

"Register them under Dad's name. I still haven't gotten my ID card replaced." He then asked, "Can Brother-in-law really make this decision?"

Chen Yi laughed. "Not for Jinghui Company."

Chen Xiang, more than his wife, understood the value of this 3D engine. Since it wasn't developed by company employees, it didn't legally belong to the company. He wasn't foolish enough to dump it into the corporate structure, as the company wasn't solely his.

Thus, using his wife's name, he established a separate company and registered the patent.

However, Chen Xiang's immediate crisis remained unresolved. The latest game release was still at least a month away. He poured all his energy into it; its success or failure would determine whether he could continue to lead the company.

Speaking of games, virtual reality technology had yet to emerge on Earth. If developed, wouldn't it bring immense profit? He just wondered if the hardware was ready.

Zhong Yun didn't worry too much about these matters, leaving them to the professionals. Accompanying him this time were the first group of youths who had followed him from Yunqi Star. Nominally their students, their loyalty was absolute.

Previously, the most direct approach for an intermediate civilization discovering a nascent one was to blast open the gates with force and integrate it into the universal civilization system. The discoverer would receive generous rewards from the Great Cosmic Federation.

This nascent civilization would then exist as a vassal state to the intermediate civilization, trading raw materials for technology. With national unity and intense effort, they might, after a few centuries of hard work, manage to squeeze into the circle of intermediate civilizations, gaining significant freedom and autonomy upon entering the independent development stage.

But the Great Cosmic Federation now existed in name only; the era was ruled entirely by advanced civilizations. Nascent civilizations had lost their protection and faced dire circumstances. Due to the rampant growth of piracy ravaging the civilized cosmos, many nascent civilizations had been massacred, their planets occupied and turned into pirate strongholds.

By classification, Earth was a nascent civilization. Zhong Yun had no intention of openly engaging with the powers that be, as that would certainly cause massive societal upheaval, possibly even war.

This was his home, and he did not want unrest here.

The arrival of the Mercury was two days earlier than Zhong Yun had anticipated. Twenty-seven days after Zhong Yun returned home, the Mercury had already docked near Jupiter.

"Mom, Dad, I need to pick up your daughter-in-law tomorrow," Zhong Yun stated casually over dinner that evening.

The whole family was momentarily stunned. The quickest to react was Chen Yijia. "I'll go with Uncle!" Spring Festival was approaching, and the winter break had already begun. She was still in her second year of high school and didn't have extra tutoring sessions.

Zhong Yun glanced at her. "You stay home and behave."

Chen Yijia pouted. "Hmph, stingy old man."

"Little brother, is your fiancée not from Earth?" Chen Yi asked. She was actually voicing the unspoken concern of their parents, who were from the 1960s generation and held more traditional views.

"Don't worry, she's not some blonde, blue-eyed foreigner," Zhong Yun chuckled. He paused, a thought crossing his mind that he suppressed. He wondered how they would react upon seeing Yun Qi—that scene might be quite entertaining.

"Auntie must be beautiful," the young girl quickly forgot her earlier displeasure. The thought of two new relatives joining the family made her exuberant.

"You go ahead tomorrow. Just remember to be back early," Mother Chen was already beaming, unable to close her mouth. Her son's marriage had always been a worry; hearing he already had a wife naturally made her happy.

Father Chen, usually quiet, didn't speak upon hearing the news, but his eyes showed deep satisfaction.

The next morning, since Zhong Yun did not possess a driver's license, Chen Yi drove them, taking Zhong Yun to the provincial capital. Chen Yijia used the excuse of visiting her father to join them in the car. As for her real motive, Zhong Yun couldn't be bothered to expose her.

Sure enough, once they reached the provincial capital, Chen Yijia wheedled and persisted until she was allowed to go with them to meet her future aunt. Zhong Yun, thoroughly bothered but resigned, finally agreed.

"Long live Uncle!" Chen Yijia’s face bloomed into a smile.

Yun Qi's flight was scheduled for the afternoon. An hour before the plane was due, Chen Xiang's driver took Zhong Yun and Chen Yijia to the airport.