As the sun set, the last crimson glow of the sunset faded away, and the sky gradually darkened.
Yao Manrou stood in the back garden, admiring the beautiful scenery above Blue Pole Star City. Unfortunately, beautiful things were short-lived. After a while, night fell.
She turned around and walked into the research institute, but the hall on the first floor was still brightly lit. There was a person busy shuttling back and forth among piles of auxiliary materials. She wasn't very old, about thirty-five years old, but her entire body exuded a calmness that didn't match her age.
This person had been in Yao Manrou's research institute for almost seven years. Starting from an apprentice, she had come into contact with mechanical knowledge bit by bit, then advanced into a professional field, manually operated, simulated experiments, and made armor … Until today, she could completely take charge of everything on her own. However, looking at her focused appearance, it seemed that she wasn't satisfied with her current achievements. She was racing against time to learn, and learning seemed to be endless.
"Wenhe!" Yao Manrou softly called out.
Only then did Ding Wenhe wake up from her sleep. She raised her head and revealed a gentle smile. "Madam, have you not rested yet?"
Yao Manrou walked over and looked at her with the same gentle gaze. "You haven't rested since the first day you came to my place, have you?"
Ding Wenhe smiled slightly. "I'm not tired, Madam!"
Yao Manrou reached out and straightened her sleeves, her eyes filled with pity. "From what I remember, you haven't been to the city many times, have you?"
The clothes Ding Wenhe was wearing were a very old-fashioned shirt with a standing collar. It had been washed until it was white, but Ding Wenhe still couldn't bear to throw it away. Other than this, she only had her work clothes, and rarely went shopping in Blue Pole Star City.
The few times she went there were limited, and she went to the Rainbow Gold Group in the city to appraise materials. After all, it was Eirinn's company, and Eirinn and Dai Yi were good friends. Other than that, Ding Wenhe didn't ask about anything else and focused on learning and cultivation.
Of course, the research institute did not have anything like a sensor cabin. Therefore, Ding Wenhe's remuneration from the research institute was usually spent on the cultivation hall in the nearby suburbs. He studied during the day and cultivated at night. Day after day, year after year, there was almost no interruption.
Logically speaking, girls of her age loved to be beautiful the most. For example, Dai Yi, Eirinn, Xu Qianqian, and the others often went shopping, attended parties, and went out together. However, Ding Wenhe was not like that. In Yao Manrou's eyes, Ding Wenhe was diligent, persistent, and thrifty, which was very different from girls of the same age.
"Madam, do you need me to go to the Rainbow Gold Company to appraise the materials again?" Ding Wenhe obviously didn't understand what Yao ManRou meant.
"No!"
Yao ManRou's tone was somewhat emotional, "You've learned enough from me. I really don't have anything else to teach you."
In the past seven years, Yao Manrou wasn't very clear about Ding Wenhe's cultivation situation, but Ding Wenhe's talent in the field of machinery and manufacturing could be said to be quite astonishing. Ding Wenhe only used seven years to completely grasp the professional knowledge that Yao Manrou had learned in fifty years.
"Madam, I feel that my ability is far from enough."
Ding Wenhe appeared to be very modest, "Compared to the top machinists and statisticians of the Federation, I'm still too far away."
Yao ManRou smiled, "You must know that those masters at your age probably weren't even half as good as you. Something like talent can't be learned, it's something you're born with …"
When the word 'talent' was mentioned, she seemed to have thought of something, and her expression was somewhat emotional, "Speaking of talent, there was once a young man with extraordinary talent who stayed here with me. However, he was different from you. He had a talent for cultivation. That was a matter of many years ago. At that time, you just came here."
Ding Wenhe's eyes flashed with a strange light, "Ding Meng?"
Yao ManRou was somewhat surprised, "You know him?"
Ding Wenhe smiled, "I also heard Miss Dai mention him before."
Yao ManRou couldn't help but sigh, "Little Yi, this child, sigh …"
Ding Wenhe knew what she was sighing about. Seven years ago, Ding Meng piloted the Expedition Starship and forcefully opened a wormhole to perform a space jump, sending the water droplet and himself into the depths of the sea of stars. Even now, no one knew whether he was alive or dead, and his whereabouts were unknown.
In fact, in the hearts of many people, Ding Meng was dead. After all, the chances of him surviving in that kind of situation could be said to be next to nothing. Ding Wenhe himself also had the same thought.
Back then, she had gone through untold hardships to reach the Holy Grail Federation. She knew nothing about interstellar travel. After these years of learning, she finally understood how dangerous Ding Meng's space jump was. It was also because of the passing of these years that she understood that Ding Meng basically wouldn't be able to return.
Then, the mission that her elder brother and the princess had given to Ding Meng naturally fell on her shoulders. She thought about it carefully. What did the Great Wei Dynasty need the most?
It was precisely the advanced technology of the Holy Grail Federation. That was why she had followed Ding Meng's footsteps and came to Yao Manrou to report. She had studied there for seven years.
During these seven years, the invasion of the water droplet had gradually been forgotten. However, there was one person who didn't believe that Ding Meng was dead. This person was Dai Yi.
Dai Yi was deeply in love with Ding Meng. This was something that everyone knew. Moreover, Dai Yi had once appeared as Ding Meng's official girlfriend. However, no matter how deep her love was or what name she used to appear, there had been no news of Ding Meng for the past seven years. After all, the matters of the past were already in the past.
In fact, Ding Meng's departure didn't have the greatest impact on Dai Yi. Instead, it had a far-reaching impact on the entire Dai family.
Back then, Ding Meng had been ranked first in the Starlight examination. He could be considered a genius in the history of the Starlight examination and was publicly acknowledged as a rising star. However, just like many other geniuses, Ding Meng had also fallen in an accident.
The future son-in-law of the Dai family had naturally been lost. Dai Ranjun had originally wanted to take advantage of the situation to advance further in his official career, but because of that accident, the Dai family's influence had instead weakened.
With the clan's influence weakened, all kinds of troubles naturally followed. Yao Manrou's face carried a trace of worry. "Sometimes, I also think that it would be great if that child Ding Meng was still here."
Ding Wenhe's eyes flashed. "Perhaps one day, he will return."
Yao Manrou sighed. "I hope so. However, Little Yi can't wait any longer."
Ding Wenhe also understood the meaning of these words. The Holy Grail Federation was different from the Great Wei Dynasty. Dai Yi was currently in her thirties. In the Federation, this was the best age for a woman to talk about marriage. This was because the Federation also paid particular attention to bloodlines. After all, the genes of an Origin Ability expert would greatly affect the next generation.
Three years ago, Dai Yi had passed the examination at Starlight University as an intermediate War Elder. From the perspective of an Origin Ability expert, Dai Yi was in the best years of her life. If she were to marry a genius from a certain clan, it would truly be a perfect match.
However, unfortunately, Dai Yi's obsession was too deep. In these seven years, apart from Du Mo and the others, Dai Yi had almost never come into contact with anyone of the opposite sex.
In fact, she could wait, but Dai Ranjun couldn't. In these few years, a large clan from Saint Splendor City had already put this matter on the agenda. If the Dai family could establish a relationship with this clan, it would undoubtedly be of great help to the entire Dai family.
Ding Wenhe said, "Madam, I think it's better for Miss Dai to make this decision herself."
Yao Manrou nodded. "I think so too, but Ranjun's side is very anxious. The pressure from Saint Splendor City is very great …"
At this moment, the roar of an aircraft could be heard from the front yard. It was obvious that a shuttle car had landed. Ding Wenhe sensed for a moment and couldn't help but reveal a smile. "Madam, you were just talking about Miss Dai. Isn't Miss Dai back now?"
A few minutes later, a slender figure appeared at the entrance. The person who had come was indeed Dai Yi, who hadn't returned for several months.
The current Dai Yi had changed a lot. When she was still a student, she was always dressed gorgeously, sexy and moving. However, now that her strength had increased, her entire person had become low-key. Her entire body was covered in black light armor, and her every movement was more confident and steady. She was no longer brimming with youthfulness and beauty.
"Mom!
Sister Wenhe! "Dai Yi quickly jogged in.
Ding Wenhe noticed that Dai Yi's footsteps were very light. He couldn't help but smile and ask, "Miss Dai, did you encounter something good?
You're in a hurry to come back and report the good news to Madam. "
Yao Manrou also smiled. "Xiao Yi, I heard that you went to outer space with Du Mo and the others."
Dai Yi's face was full of smiles. "Yes, we went to planet KV303. I went to visit Captain and the others."
Nowadays, planet KV303 was an important material transit center for the Starry Rainbow Corporation's southern division. Sileman and the others had been working hard to build the port, and they hadn't stopped all these years. Of course, the development of planet KV303 was also due to Ding Meng's favor. In order to rope in Ding Meng, the Transit String didn't hesitate to cater to his liking.
Yao Manrou was a little surprised. "Oh?
Why did you go so far? "
Actually, it wasn't Dai Yi who wanted to go, but Four-Eyes and Maozie who had asked her to go. If it were any other man, she would definitely refuse, but Four-Eyes, Maozie, and Ding Meng were friends. As long as they were Ding Meng's friends, she would gladly go. Besides, there were many people she cared about on planet KV303.
In the end, when she arrived at the Starry Rainbow Corporation's transit port, the person she saw wasn't Four-Eyes, but Sileman.
Sileman gave her a long-distance crystal photo with a somewhat blurry image. This kind of photo was sent back by a fleet or satellite deep in the sea of stars.
"Look at how you're smiling … What's there to be happy about in a photo?" Yao Manrou was a little puzzled.
Dai Yi immediately took out the photo and said with a mysterious smile, "Mom, look carefully. Who is this person?"
Yao Manrou took the photo and looked at it. The scene in the photo seemed to be inside the command hall of a large starship. Beside the control panel, a young and valiant female officer was shaking hands with a short man. The female officer had a very sweet smile on her face, and it seemed that the two had just reunited. The man's back was facing the camera, so his face couldn't be seen.
"Let me take a look too!" Ding Wenhe moved closer.
When she lowered her head to take a closer look, the blood in her entire body seemed to boil. The back of the short and somewhat thin man in the photo was shockingly Ding Meng!
Other people might not be able to recognize it in a short time, but Ding Wenhe could recognize that it was Ding Meng with a single glance. She and Ding Meng had grown up together, and they were all too familiar with each other. If this back wasn't Ding Meng, who else could it be?
"When was this taken?" Ding Wenhe asked without batting an eyelid.
Dai Yi smiled. "Four years ago, the Norse Empire's special operations fleet inadvertently took this photo in outer space. It was sent by Captain Sileman's friend in the Empire …"
Speaking up to this point, her entire body seemed to emit a dazzling brilliance, sweeping away the coldness of the past few years. She once again returned to the time when she was passionately in love with Ding Meng. Her entire person became bright and moving. "Mom, seven years ago, I said that Ding Meng wouldn't die so easily. Now, it seems that my prediction was truly godly. Ding Meng is indeed still alive!"