Liu Hui quietly interred Wei Chao in a prime burial plot within "Star City," conducting only a simple memorial service and making no public announcement. The entire world remained oblivious that the once dazzling "Financial Prodigy" had met his end silently atop "Star City."

Those with keen interest continued their tireless search for Wei Chao, hoping to glean some advantage from him.

Liu Hui felt a surge of emotion; with Wei Chao gone, the era belonging to him had completely passed. Although Wei Chao, the temporal interloper, had vanished, the impact he wrought upon this world endured, and would continue to do so forever. History had entirely diverted its course; no one now knew how the future would unfold.

Liu Hui deliberately kept the news of Wei Chao’s passing from Liu Lin and Mei Peng. Although Liu Lin had complex entanglements with Wei Chao in the future timeline, the present-day Liu Lin did not know him. Her tragic fate had been altered; she now possessed her own love and family, living a life filled with happiness. Liu Hui did not wish to trouble her over Wei Chao, who was now merely a matter of the past.

Regarding Wei Chao’s affairs, Liu Hui chose a benevolent deception toward Liu Lin. It was the same as when he hadn't revealed the truth—that Chen Lang and Ouyang Shafei had been murdered—to his own mother, because he knew the truth would only cause her greater sorrow and pain. Chen Lang was already dead; regardless of the cause, there was no need to mourn the departed further, as his mother still had to live on.

However, what troubled Liu Hui was that by the time he found Wei Chao, the man was already in the throes of his final moments, a faint echo of life. Though Liu Hui had many questions he wished to ask, Wei Chao’s time was almost up. Wei Chao only managed to reveal his origins and his guilt towards Liu Lin before passing away. Other secrets he held, including classified intelligence he possessed, were taken with him to the grave.

Later, Liu Hui meticulously examined the white jade disc. Alas, no matter what method he employed, he could not activate it. He had also covertly subjected the disc to material analysis, only to find that Earth's instruments were incapable of detecting the substance from which it was composed. Furthermore, the disc was incredibly hard, proving utterly impervious to any damage.

Unable to activate it and unable to analyze its composition, Liu Hui eventually lost faith in the jade disc and stored it away in his personal spatial repository.

After ascending to the Moon at the start of 2016 and commencing the construction of the lunar base, An Qi, having been away from Earth for a year and a half, finally returned to "Star City" aboard an interstellar transport vessel. Liu Hui, heart pounding with excitement, rushed to the secret airfield to welcome her. The two then proceeded to a hotel for a passionate reunion.

They had been separated for far too long; their longing for each other was immense. In the privacy of their room, they embraced and kissed feverishly, seeking to vent the entirety of their mutual yearning. For an entire day, neither left the room, remaining locked in their fervor. Even Liu Hui, possessing robust health, began to feel the strain of such frantic activity, a dull ache settling in his lower back.

When Liu Hui returned home the next day, he found Hu Xian’er had gone back to her parents’ home. From the note she left in their room, Liu Hui understood that Hu Xian’er missed her father and intended to stay with her family for a while, urging him not to worry.

Although Hu Xian’er offered this explanation for her visit home, Liu Hui knew it was a flimsy excuse fabricated because she was aware An Qi had just returned from the lunar base, deliberately creating an opportunity for him and An Qi to spend time together.

In truth, by now, Liu Hui fully understood Hu Xian’er’s inner feelings. They had been together for many years; despite intervening turbulence, their bond remained steadfast. However, because Hu Xian’er had been unable to conceive, she faced considerable pressure. After all, Hu Xian’er was a woman from ancient times, where the continuation of the family line held paramount importance in her mindset. Her later tacit approval of Liu Hui’s relationship with An Qi stemmed from the hope that An Qi might bear a child for Liu Hui, one who could inherit the vast Star Group empire.

Unfortunately, even though Liu Hui had been with An Qi for some time, her womb also remained stubbornly quiet, showing no signs of pregnancy. Liu Hui was already in his mid-thirties; even Mei Peng’s child was three years old. Not only were Liu Hui’s parents and subordinates anxious about his lack of offspring, but Liu Hui himself was growing concerned.

Liu Hui had once provided Zerg with detailed medical reports for himself, Hu Xian’er, and An Qi. After thoroughly analyzing the data for the three of them, Zerg concluded that Liu Hui and Hu Xian’er were perfectly capable of procreation, and their current lack of conception was likely a matter of simple chance. An Qi’s body had initially been without fault, but the continuous secretion of that strange substance within her might be inhibiting pregnancy.

Zerg, however, quickly informed Liu Hui that based on their analysis, the secretion of this peculiar substance in An Qi was diminishing and might cease entirely within a few years. At that point, free from the influence of this strange matter, An Qi’s intellect and mental power would evolve to an unimaginable peak. Once the interference from that substance was gone, An Qi would be able to conceive naturally.

Seeing Hu Xian’er constantly troubled by the issue of having a child, Liu Hui considered using artificial insemination to help her conceive. Yet, after analyzing human artificial insemination technology, Zerg found the technique incomplete, harboring certain hidden risks that could potentially lead to side effects in the offspring. He thus advised Liu Hui to wait for natural conception, letting things take their natural course.

The Zerg race possessed advanced genetic technology and could certainly have assisted Liu Hui and Hu Xian’er with artificial insemination. Regrettably, when engaging in planar trade, they discovered that sperm and ova could not be exchanged via the planar trading device, as this violated the rule prohibiting the exchange of living organisms. Seeing that leveraging Zerg's power was not an option, Liu Hui had to shelve the matter for the time being, suppressing the desire for a child; after all, with a lifespan extending well over two hundred years, having children in his fifties or sixties would not be too late.

Liu Hui often wondered why An Qi had chosen to personally go to the Moon and remain at the lunar base for a year and a half, given that she could direct the base’s construction and Mars terraforming efforts from "Star City." It was only later that he understood: An Qi felt a degree of guilt toward Hu Xian’er. Her true intention was never to dismantle Liu Hui’s marriage with Hu Xian’er, but unable to relinquish Liu Hui entirely, she chose to flee to the Moon, hoping to grant Liu Hui and Hu Xian’er more time together.

Hu Xian’er, being an astute woman, quickly perceived An Qi’s intention. This is why, now that An Qi had returned to "Star City," she chose to retreat to her parents' home, providing Liu Hui and An Qi the chance to be alone.

Liu Hui found himself entangled between two women, keenly feeling the profound affection they held for him. Yet, twists of fate and unforeseen circumstances had bound them so tightly that separation was impossible. Thus, unable to choose between them or offer either complete happiness, he was deeply distressed.

Though Liu Hui wrestled with his romantic quandaries, the world did not pause for his troubles. Time marched rapidly forward, and "Star City," undergoing continuous development, grew ever more powerful.

Starting in the latter half of 2017, Liu Hui exchanged a vast quantity of medicines for treating human diseases from Zerg, releasing them all onto the market. These medications were equally effective, entirely free of toxic side effects, and highly favored by consumers. Their production cost was comparable to products like the "Star City Myopia Eliminator," but their selling price was significantly lower, precluding the kind of exorbitant profits seen with the myopia product. However, the sheer volume of different medications offset this, and following extensive market promotion, "Star City," armed with these gene-based drugs, completely dominated the global pharmaceutical market, driving every terrestrial drug manufacturer into bankruptcy and closure.

Liu Hui was so ruthless toward Earth’s pharmaceutical enterprises because his independent genetics laboratory, after years of dedicated research into Zerg genetic technology, had finally achieved a breakthrough in the field. Their significant accomplishments in gene research now enabled them to independently develop drugs for treating human illnesses, although these human gene medicines were not as dramatically effective as those provided by the Zerg, and they still carried some side effects.

Consequently, even if Liu Hui were suddenly cut off from the gene-based drugs supplied by Zerg, humanity would not be left helpless against disease, as "Star City" now possessed medications capable of treating every known human ailment.

After studying existing market drugs, Liu Hui’s genetics lab found their efficacy subpar and their associated toxic side effects severe. Even traditional Chinese medicine, touted as absolutely safe and free of adverse reactions, inflicted substantial damage upon the human body.

This led Liu Hui to seek the complete ousting of these inferior drugs from the market to halt the harm they inflicted. His genetics lab was fully capable of producing substitute pharmaceuticals. While these substitutes were also imperfect, they offered superior therapeutic effects compared to existing medications and inflicted far less systemic damage. With the superior Zerg gene drugs available, Liu Hui's lab could now thoroughly study them to incrementally perfect its own genetic techniques. Ultimately, they aimed to manufacture flawless gene drugs, thus achieving self-sufficiency in safe medicine and breaking dependence on Zerg supplies.

Alexander from the magic plane once again brought Liu Hui a pleasant surprise, presenting him with a delectable beverage frequently consumed by Elven nobility. Upon sampling it, Liu Hui discovered it was not only delicious but also richly nutritious, offering immense long-term health benefits with sustained consumption. He immediately recognized a colossal business opportunity and began acquiring raw materials for this drink from Alexander in massive quantities.

After subjecting these beverages and their ingredients to careful analysis, their data was fed into the supercomputer. Following trillions upon trillions of complex calculations, the system finally derived fifteen perfect beverage formulas. Following practical production and analysis, researchers selected the four most perfect formulas, from which they crafted four distinct beverages, suitable for consumption across all age groups.

Promoted by "Star City’s" formidable marketing capabilities, these new drinks—exceptionally flavorful, extremely nutritious, and profoundly beneficial to health—swept the globe, rapidly seizing market share and becoming a brand-new profit engine for "Star City."

From the latter half of 2017 onward, the banking system "Star City" had long been incubating finally matured and was formally launched to the market. Star Bank was elevated to the central bank of "Star City," vested with the authority to issue currency, and four commercial banks were established beneath it.

Upon learning that "Star City" was preparing to issue its own currency, the US government grew exceedingly nervous. It was precisely "Star City’s" heavy reliance on the US dollar for international settlements that had prevented the collapse of America's financial system, which had seen its national strength significantly eroded, thereby allowing the dollar to remain robust and unquestionably the world’s premier currency. Once "Star City" officially rolled out its own bills, the international standing of the dollar would be severely impacted, and a massive repatriation of dollars would inevitably cause significant turmoil in the US economy.

As national interests were at stake, the US government resumed its covert machinations. Under their quiet sponsorship, major American rating agencies began collectively issuing negative outlooks on "Star City’s" forthcoming currency system. They argued that while "Star City’s" economic power was formidable, its sole weakness was an inadequate gold reserve. Issuing a massive amount of currency without sufficient gold backing, they claimed, would inevitably lead to the collapse of that nation’s monetary system, spelling not only a catastrophe for "Star City" but also jeopardizing the healthy development of the global economy.

Following the lead of these US rating agencies, other financial institutions spoke up, urging "Star City" to refrain from issuing its own banknotes, fearing that a collapse of their monetary system would inflict immense negative consequences upon the already precarious international financial situation.

Faced with worldwide condemnation, "Star City" was not to be intimidated. Star Bank immediately convened a press conference, publicly displaying a gold reserve amounting to 8,000 tons. The revelation of "Star City’s" eight thousand tons of gold stunned the world. Considering that the combined gold reserves of all nations currently totaled only 20,000 tons, and no reports of massive gold transactions had recently surfaced on the open market, where had "Star City" acquired these 8,000 tons?

Unknown to the nations, "Star City" had long been mining gold from the deep sea, and later, directly from the Moon. The gold extracted from these two sources initially amounted to just under 6,000 tons. However, during the second phase of "Star City’s" Mars terraforming project, when interstellar freighters were fitting propulsion engines onto ice-rich asteroids in the asteroid belt, they stumbled upon an asteroid containing vast quantities of gold.

The freighter mined 2,000 tons of gold from that asteroid and transported it back to "Star City." Excavation of the remaining gold on that celestial body was ongoing; instruments indicated at least another 10,000 tons could be extracted. Therefore, "Star City" was in no danger of lacking gold reserves. If Liu Hui hadn't feared terrifying the world and triggering a catastrophic drop in the gold price, he might have displayed a reserve of 10,000 tons.

With the international financial community resigned, "Star City," backed by 8,000 tons of gold, proceeded with confidence, issuing one trillion Star Coins. These coins were initially restricted to circulation within "Star City" only, excluding international exchange, with the exchange rate pegged one-to-one against the US dollar.

The true shock came when "Star City" unveiled the appearance of the Star Coin. What astonished observers was not that Liu Hui’s portrait was printed on the front of the currency, but the banknotes themselves. These Star Coins were incredibly durable, virtually impossible to tear, impervious to fire, water immersion, and insect infestation, designed to last for at least fifty years. Furthermore, they were exquisitely printed, vibrant in color, with images rendered with stunning realism, possessing extremely high collector value. What astounded them most was that these Star Coins emitted a faint white glow in the absence of external light.

This novel currency from "Star City" immediately captured global attention. After carefully analyzing the exquisite Star Coins, those nations and organizations preparing to deploy counterfeit currency to attack "Star City’s" financial system were profoundly disappointed and reluctantly abandoned their planned assault. They understood clearly that virtually no entity in the world could mass-produce currency as intricate as the Star Coin, as the cost of forging such a note would be prohibitively high, rendering any attack utterly unprofitable.

Not just the inherent artistry of the Star Coins, but their intrinsic value as well, thrilled potential collectors. Comparing reserves: with 8,000 tons of gold, the US issued tens of trillions of dollars in notes, whereas "Star City" issued only one trillion Star Coins. This stark comparison immediately illustrated the extraordinary intrinsic value of the Star Coin.

Moreover, since "Star City" had become a major international power, its global influence was now equal to that of the United States, backed by formidable military strength. Consequently, there was universal acceptance regarding the capacity of the Star Coin to retain value.

Thus, events unfolded beyond Liu Hui’s expectations. Shortly after the one trillion Star Coins were released, they vanished from the market entirely, having all been hoarded by passionate collectors. Liu Hui was forced to have Star Bank issue another trillion Star Coins before the currency began to circulate visibly on the market, preventing his entire monetary issuance from becoming mere collectibles.

Starting in 2017, "Star City" projected an ever-increasing dominance, its international influence swelling. This was evident in the accounts of those fortunate enough to visit "Star City." They were astonished to find it a stunning metropolis, boasting scenery unparalleled anywhere else in the world, complete with the planet's most regulated casinos and red-light districts—the ultimate destination for travelers.

Although these tourists could not fully grasp why they had to sit in a small booth during customs to listen to recordings of the Star City Citizen Conduct Code in various languages, the actual clearance efficiency was quite rapid, usually taking under ten minutes to enter and explore "Star City." Occasionally, a few individuals from a tour group would be escorted by a customs official for a private discussion; upon concluding this meeting, these individuals would voluntarily request to return the way they came, declining entry into "Star City."

These travelers did not realize that their admittance was granted only after passing inspection by "Star City’s" proprietary mind-reading artifacts, which confirmed they posed no threat. Those who voluntarily renounced entry had their true identities exposed by security personnel during the conversation, who also disclosed their specific infiltration mission. Startled by this accurate exposure, these spies promptly requested immediate repatriation.

By this time, there was a massive influx of people wanting to immigrate to the "City of Starlight," driven by the knowledge of the exceptional benefits offered there. Simply becoming a citizen meant that even if they never secured employment, they would receive a robust living stipend, enough to live comfortably for the rest of their lives. The absolute prerequisite, of course, was complete adherence to the laws and regulations of the City of Starlight; fulfill that, and one was a happy Starlight resident.

At this juncture, those former employees and their families who had initially refused to join the City of Starlight because of its stance against dual nationality were deeply regretting their choices. However, rejoining the ranks of the citizenry was no longer a straightforward matter.

The City of Starlight hadn't completely sealed off immigration pathways, but its selection criteria were vastly different from those of other nations. They weren't basing decisions on how much employment an applicant could generate or how much development capital they could inject, nor were they prioritizing only those with highly sought-after professional skills.

Liu Hui’s minimum requirement for any aspiring immigrant was rigorous: they must first pass the Mandarin Level Eight examination, the Chinese History examination, and the Chinese Culture examination, alongside demonstrating flawless fluency in the spoken Chinese language and the ability to write beautiful characters. Only upon meeting all these stringent standards did they qualify to apply for residency in the City of Starlight.

Naturally, the Mandarin Level Eight, Chinese History, and Chinese Culture exams referred to here were not the chaotic, profit-driven vocational tests found within the mainland. These were formalized examinations orchestrated by the City of Starlight itself, designed to reflect the true trajectory of Huaxia civilization. The test questions were scientifically curated and selected; anyone who managed to pass these examinations inherently possessed a profound understanding of Huaxia culture, having subconsciously embraced it and begun to view themselves as authentically Chinese.

When the City of Starlight publicized these immigration standards, it sent shockwaves across the globe. Critics widely believed the city was committing institutional suicide; not only were they rejecting investment capital, they were actively bypassing top-tier talent, instead choosing to vet individuals based on their mastery of Chinese culture—a pursuit deemed largely impractical by outsiders.

Yet, the City of Starlight remained unshaken by the criticism and promptly administered its first immigration examination. Over ten thousand hopefuls participated, and to everyone's astonishment, the top-scoring candidate was a Black man from Africa.

Upon seeing the results, Mei Peng voiced strong reservations about the new policy to Liu Hui. "Boss," he argued, "if your immigration policy continues this way, citizens from underdeveloped regions will be incentivized to master Chinese culture. Eventually, they might constitute the largest contingent of immigrants, while our true Huaxia people might fail to meet the standards you've established."

Hearing Mei Peng, Liu Hui chuckled. "I view Huaxia civilization as just that—a civilization. It does not delineate based on race. If authentic Huaxia people cease to care for their own culture, then they are no longer truly Huaxia. Conversely, if foreigners dedicate themselves to Huaxia culture and can pass our rigorous assessments, it proves they have wholly assimilated our values and internally accepted themselves as Huaxia. In my view, they are authentic Huaxia people. Could you honestly claim that a Black man who embodies every cultural trait of Huaxia is somehow not a Huaxia person?"

Mei Peng countered, "But I still feel that Black people and we are not of the same race..."

Liu Hui’s eyes drifted toward the deep, infinite expanse of the starry sky. "Second brother," he said, "when facing the immensity of the cosmos, we all share one defining trait: we are Earthlings—Earthlings bound by a shared Huaxia culture. I understand your worry, but rest assured, the core of Huaxia civilization will always belong to the true Huaxia people. Those from other origins are merely beneficial supplements to our Huaxia lineage. Just wait and see..."

This book is entering its final phase. Due to the author, Qian Yu Chu Hai (), having a less-than-perfect memory, some earlier plot points have been slightly forgotten.

Therefore, readers are kindly asked to help search for any unresolved plot threads or 'pits' that have been dug but not yet filled, so that Qian Yu Chu Hai can address them in the upcoming narrative sequences!

Thank you all! RO