Reborn in 2014: A One-Man Tycoon

As soon as he finished speaking, the light outside the porthole disappeared.

At the same time, the indicator light above the control panel suddenly beeped.

The console screen, which had been flashing with static, lit up green again.

Almost at the same second, Zhan Qi's shout, crackling with electricity, exploded out:

"Master! Master, are you still there?! The signal is finally back—"

Zhan Qi's voice trembled violently, with a sob escaping his lips at the end.

Meng Chuan could even picture him clutching his headset in the command center, his eyes red-rimmed.

Yingdie raised an eyebrow and reached out to gather the ring-shaped controller that was floating in mid-air into her palm.

The thing was icy to the touch, and its surface shimmered with a faint silvery sheen, like a handful of starlight.

"What's the rush? I'm perfectly fine."

Meng Chuan leaned back in his chair, deliberately making his tone more relaxed.

"The starship just passed through a geomagnetic storm cloud, causing a temporary outage of the communication module. It's nothing serious."

Although Meng Chuan is not a professional, he at least has a doctoral degree.

They have that much common sense.

"Geoma clouds?"

Zhan Qi paused, then became even more anxious:

"But the monitoring station didn't detect any geomagnetic storm in that area! And the signal was down for a whole hour! We all thought..."

He didn't continue, because that would be too unlucky.

Meng Chuan glanced at Ying Die and saw a smile in her eyes.

Meng Chuan cleared his throat and said without batting an eye:

"How can you possibly monitor all geomagnetic storms in space? It just happened to happen to be one of them. Shadow Butterfly is with me, so we're both safe. Don't overthink it."

This statement is partly true and partly false; geomagnetic storm clouds are one of the most common things encountered during interstellar travel.

Zhan Qi wasn't formally trained in acting, after all.

He had a blind trust in Meng Chuan.

Moreover, he is currently gripped by the emotion of "losing and getting back", so he may not be able to investigate further.

Sure enough, a few rapid gasps came from the other end of the channel, followed by the sound of a chair being dragged, presumably Zhan Qi had slumped back into the chair.

"As long as it's okay...it's okay as long as it's okay..."

Zhan Qi muttered, his voice still carrying the dazed feeling of surviving a disaster:

"I'll go and inform the others right away, and tell them not to worry—"

"and many more."

A steady but noticeably tense voice suddenly broke in.

Meng Chuan could tell it was Bi Wang.

Meng Chuan was taken aback; Bi Wang had always been a loner.

Under normal circumstances, he would not show himself.

When Meng Chuan dealt with the Rothschild family, such a major event, he only exerted his influence quietly behind the scenes.

It's difficult for Meng Chuan to even see him.

I didn't expect him to come too.

"Boss."

Bi Wang's voice was lower than usual, and one could hear a tremor that he was deliberately suppressing:

"I'm glad you're alright. Return to Earth as soon as possible..."

He paused, as if catching his breath:

"From now on, before the technology is fully mature, we will not be allowed to leave the Earth's range."

Bi Wang spoke almost as if giving a command.

Although he was a hairdresser, he was somewhat disrespectful to his superiors.

But only he knew how worried and nervous he was when he received the call from Prince Fu.

If Meng Chuan hadn't made contact with him, he would have loved to fly to Mars too.

Although Bi Wang's words were very harsh, they even had the feeling of a father scolding his son in a fit of anger.

But Meng Chuan wasn't angry; he was even a little touched.

King Bi was always taciturn and very disciplined.

This time, his tone was inappropriate; it seems he's truly desperate.

"I understand, Uncle Bi."

Meng Chuan softened his tone, which was unusual for him:

"I'm currently on my way back, and I'll be back next month."

"Okay, I'll wait for you here. I won't leave until you come back."

"I am Bi," said Bi in a deep voice.

His heart is still trembling.

He was determined not to leave the command center until he saw Meng Chuan.

Meng Chuan responded with a wry smile, and was about to hang up when Zhan Qi suddenly raised his voice again:

"Oh no! Master, contact Zhan Yi immediately!"

"What happened to Zhan Yi?"

Meng Chuan's heart tightened.

"He just heard that your signal was lost, and he's going to come find you in a starship!"

Zhan Qi speaks at lightning speed:

"I just contacted him, but he didn't answer. He's probably already filling up the fuel tank! Judging by the timeline, it might be taking off any minute!"

Meng Chuan's expression changed slightly.

Given Zhan Yi's personality, once he's convinced something's wrong with him, he'll probably rush headlong to the area where Zhan Yi went missing, regardless of the consequences.

Even if he came, he would be like a headless fly, unable to find Meng Chuan at all.

"I'll contact him right away."

Meng Chuan then hung up the call.

Yingdie had already switched to a private communication channel, her fingertips rapidly tapping on the screen.

After three rings, the communication was answered.

Zhan Yi's voice was filled with disbelief:

"Tour guide? Is that you?"

Battle One is actually in a greater hurry than Battle Seven.

He strongly suspected that Meng Chuan might have been abducted by aliens.

"it's me."

Meng Chuan breathed a sigh of relief:

"I'm fine, communication has just been restored, don't be impulsive. If I lost signal, would you have been able to find me?"

Meng Chuan felt somewhat helpless.

Of course, I was also very touched.

Even though they know it's useless, people will still do these futile efforts for him when he gets into trouble.

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the channel before someone spoke:

"I see."

Zhan Yi paused:

"The fuel is only half-filled, and it hasn't been ignited yet."

Meng Chuan was finally relieved.

But then Zhan Yi's voice became somewhat deep:

"Has...that thing reappeared?"

Meng Chuan paused.

The phrase "that thing" had become a code word among the three of them.

Currently, only Meng Chuan, Ying Die, and Zhan Yi are certain that extraterrestrials exist.

He glanced at the ring-shaped spaceship controller in Yingdie's hand.

In the end, Meng Chuan shook his head:

"No. It's just about geomagnetic storm clouds. Don't overthink it. Go do what you need to do. You don't need to worry about me."

The existence of extraterrestrials is too significant. Communication has only just been restored, and no one can guarantee the absolute security of the channel.

Meng Chuan would not reveal the existence of aliens unless they were face-to-face.

Especially for spacecraft.

Because once this thing is exposed, the sensation it will cause is absolutely unimaginable.

Although it's only the lowest level, the speed of light, 0.1c.

But this technology already surpasses all spacecraft on Earth.

If other countries found out about this, it might even trigger a world war.

Even if Meng Chuan had extraordinary abilities, he couldn't protect her.

Zhan Yi didn't press further, only saying:

"Okay. Be careful, and don't lose signal again before you get back to Earth."

"understood."

After hanging up the call, Meng Chuan leaned back in his chair and let out a long sigh.

Yingdie handed the controller to Meng Chuan, raising an eyebrow and saying:

"This must be kept safe and absolutely no one should know about it."

"I know."

Meng Chuan took the controller; it felt cold to the touch and heavy.

It's also impossible to tell what material it's made of.

Meng Chuan studied it for a while, then handed the ring back to Ying Die:

You should keep this!

Meng Chuan struggles even to drive a car, let alone pilot a spaceship.

According to the aliens, this thing can be used to avoid meteors if piloted skillfully.

When traveling in space, the biggest fear is actually meteorites.

This thing can sometimes travel faster than the speed of light.

One careless touch and it could be destroyed.

"Give me?"

Yingdie looked at Meng Chuan in surprise.

"You at least have some basic flying skills, so find some time to study them properly. From now on, you'll be my personal space pilot..."