Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Hua Deli felt that his sister truly deserved the honor the family bestowed upon her, and it was ultimately a delightful thing for the family to express this publicly in front of others.

The chief steward personally came to welcome them, beaming as he called out, “Young Master Thirteen, Young Lady!”

Ruo Manni smiled and smiled again, and hearing these two different titles made her feel much more distinguished than Hua Deli.

On the night Ruo Manni returned to the Capital Star, she had to go back to the Hua De family with Lixi Amber, who personally came to the space station to pick her up.

When they arrived at the Hua De Manor, it was late at night. It would have been inappropriate to disturb others regardless of whether they were resting. Therefore, apart from Hua Deyu and his wife and those around them, Ruo Manni didn’t see many people.

In the morning, it was a rush. Under Hua Deyu’s lead, they briefly met the current head of the Hua De family.

Since she had tasks to attend to and Hebrew Adam was already waiting for her outside, she had to get going to the national sports venue, leaving no time for more conversation. However, at that time, Ruo Manni still remembered the old chief steward who stood beside the head of the family.

Thus, following Hua Deli, Ruo Manni politely bowed to him as a junior. No matter what his status was, he was a seventh-level martial artist and a senior whom she, as a junior, should respect.

The old chief steward looked at these two rising stars of the family with affectionate eyes, as if he could see the future prosperity of the family. He cheerfully said, “You’ve achieved such great victories; a celebration banquet has already been prepared at home for you. Let everyone see how outstanding our Young Lady is.”

“The old steward is flattering me,” Ruo Manni said, feeling a bit shy.

She wasn’t so arrogant as to think that all her achievements were earned solely by her own efforts.

If she once believed that she could change her fate solely through her own strength, she now understood that an individual’s ability is quite limited.

Even if her cultivation potential was exceptional, if she hadn’t been discovered by the first prince and Hua Deqi early on in her journey, she would never have received so many top-tier cultivation resources, nor could she have grown without worries or obstacles.

Not to mention anything else, the path Ruo Manni walked today was also planned by the first prince and Hua Deqi based on her abilities. Had she followed her original plan without that support, she would have at most become a late-stage fifth-level telekinesis master and a fifth-level armorer.

Three years ago, she was still so naive, believing that she didn’t need to rely on the Hua De family at all. She wouldn’t think that way now; at least 40% of her current achievements were because she was a member of the Hua De family.

The chief steward personally came to pick them up. Without hesitation, Ruo Manni and Hua Deli boarded the flying car. Before getting in, Hua Deli turned around to look at Mina-Olli and, seeing that the Olli family’s flying car had arrived, he then felt relieved to get on.

Ruo Manni was much more carefree, not even looking back once. She didn’t notice Hebrew Adam frowning as he watched her figure, but Sheila did see this scene.

The Capital Star’s capital city was vast, about ten times the area of a capital city from the Earth era.

Although the National Sports Pavilion was located within the capital city, it was on the Eighth Ring Road, while the Hua De Manor was on the Second Ring Road, diagonally across the city. With speed limits in place, it took a full hour for the flying car to reach the Hua De Manor.

Under the sunlight, looking at the Hua De Manor, which had been inhabited by the Hua De family for generations, Ruo Manni felt the rich connotation of a traditional, large family. The kind of depth that time had crystallized was not something that could be accomplished in a short period.

In her past life, when Ruo Manni saw those sci-fi films depicting future worlds, they were all gray, without a hint of greenery, resembling steel and mechanical cities.

However, the aesthetic standards of humanity in this interstellar world greatly favor nature, so the living environments are primarily designed in a pastoral style.

The problem is that the capital city is notoriously crowded and small. It is said that the average living space per person is only one hundred square meters, which is half of the two hundred square meters per person in other cities of the Gus Empire.

Therefore, to have a pastoral-style residence in the capital city, one must possess a certain economic status. Especially on the expensive Second Ring Road, owning such a large manor is not just about being wealthy.

This reflects the heritage of the Hua De family, which has resided in the capital city for generations. Ruo Manni estimated that other noble families were probably in a similar situation; they wouldn’t miss the opportunity to claim land for themselves.

The Hua De Manor truly lived up to its name, with layers of green trees partially concealing white buildings scattered throughout.

Looking at this somewhat pastoral manor, Ruo Manni couldn’t help but think of the phrase “paradise on earth.” If not considering other issues, she would very much enjoy living here.

The manor was also quite large, and Ruo Manni couldn’t accurately estimate how big the manor actually was; it exceeded the limits of her “vision.”

The flying car came to a stop in the main courtyard of the Hua De Manor, and Ruo Manni and Hua Deli got out.

“The direct descendants of the Hua De family live in the main courtyard of the manor, while the collateral branches reside in the back courtyards,” Hua Deli briefly introduced to Ruo Manni.

There was a significant difference in the number of direct descendants and collateral relatives.

“Our Hua De family is different from other families. Regardless of whether they are direct descendants or collateral relatives, as long as they have the ability, the family will fully support their training. Those who achieve success can become direct descendants, so the boundary between direct and collateral branches is not very strict,” Hua Deli added, as if sensing Ruo Manni’s thoughts.

In short, it means that the capable rise to the top. If this principle could be purely implemented, not to mention anything else, the family’s cohesion would surely be very strong.

Because people are inherently self-interested, everyone wants to gain more benefits for their own. For the sake of interests, those in power cannot let go of their authority. Ultimately, excessive self-interest and a heavy sense of power will inevitably lead to numerous problems, causing people’s hearts to scatter. Many families collapse because of this issue.

No wonder the Hua De family has managed to thrive for over a thousand years without decline.

In the banquet hall of the main courtyard, there was a rare liveliness today. Not only were most of the direct descendants of the Hua De family and their partners present, but the male and female heads of the collateral branches were also in attendance.

Everyone knows that the celebration is ostensibly to honor the two younger generation members for bringing glory to the empire, but in reality, it is a feast to celebrate the return of the genius girl, Ruo Manni.

Under the guidance of the chief steward, Ruo Manni and Hua Deli first paid their respects to the great-grandfather of the Hua De family.

This great-grandfather, who appeared to be quite youthful, was said to be over five hundred years old, far exceeding the average lifespan of humans in the Gumera Star Region. However, eighth-level martial artists typically live over four hundred years, so he did not appear as the old monster in everyone’s eyes.

In his youth, this great-grandfather was a famous warrior of the Gus Empire. Although he has been retired for seventy to eighty years, his legend still persists in the world.

Even the legendary love story between him and the great-grandmother is widely known, inspiring many cultural works; it can be regarded as a classic of love.

Ruo Manni had secretly browsed through the vast majority of gossip online and gained a lot of insight, but unfortunately, the great-grandmother had passed away one hundred and fifty years ago, so she missed the chance to meet her.