The first small meeting.
Marshal Medusa looked at the leaders of three countries before her, the representatives of three countries in the Upper House.
They were also the three countries closest to the Fierce Dragon civilization at present.
In the earlier negotiations they had even asked of their own accord for the Fierce Dragon civilization to station troops on their planet, and even proposed setting up a unified government led directly by the Fierce Dragon civilization, and so on.
They could be called lapdogs, every one.
Lapdogs like these the Fierce Dragon civilization was naturally glad to see,
and gave them the greatest support.
"We've seen your attitude toward the Fierce Dragon civilization. The Fierce Dragon Emperor knows what you've done too. On this trip, the Fierce Dragon civilization specially had me bring some gifts; when you leave later, I'll have them sent to you. What our Fierce Dragon civilization wants isn't much; we only want a safe and orderly environment for development. If anyone breaks this order, our Fierce Dragon civilization will be very unhappy," Marshal Medusa said, her gaze sweeping over the three.
"Rest assured, Marshal; here we'll absolutely uphold the Fierce Dragon civilization's interests."
"If any country dares defy the Fierce Dragon civilization, we'll deal with them ourselves."
"I never imagined the Fierce Dragon Emperor would remember us amid his many affairs; I'd truly like to kiss the Fierce Dragon Emperor's insteps, to express my supreme reverence."
A dozen-odd minutes later,
these three lapdogs left.
The second small meeting.
Those Marshal Medusa saw now were several business magnates.
"This is the technology we're providing you. It can keep you leading in your respective industries, holding at least ninety percent or more of the market." Marshal Medusa pushed several data disks in front of these men.
"Thank you, Marshal. Our enterprises will follow the Fierce Dragon civilization's lead in everything!"
"We'll absolutely uphold the Fierce Dragon civilization's rule here."
"As you've required, we'll promote the Fierce Dragon civilization's positive image in every respect."
Marshal Medusa looked at these merchants' fawning airs, smiled and said nothing.
Only after all the small meetings were over
did Marshal Medusa put away her smile and rub her somewhat numb cheeks.
"Today has nearly smiled me to death. I never thought this kind of event could be so tiring too. I feel I've used up half a year's smiles. Sure enough, this kind of thing isn't for me. I'm still better suited to fighting." Medusa slumped limp in her seat.
"But for a long time to come you'll need to stay here and hold things down. After all, the territory here has only just been retaken; to restore productivity as soon as possible, it still needs close supervision," the secretary officer beside her said.
Marshal Medusa sighed: "I'd still rather fight. I hope the Dax Empire's third expedition comes quickly next time. Then I can fight a battle again. Besides, I can't go back to see…"
At this point
Marshal Medusa's words broke off.
"Go back to see what?" The secretary officer beside her looked at Medusa, puzzled.
"Nothing, nothing." Marshal Medusa laughed awkwardly and waved her hand.
This matter she had promised Chu Xuan she would keep secret.
But so many years had passed; just how long did Chu Xuan mean to keep hiding it?
That child must be nearly five by now.
Still, Nannan truly was adorable,
above all that adorable little face.
——————
Chu Xuan had been somewhat out of sorts lately.
For she was responsible for a great many affairs.
She worked it out: by now it had been nearly a year since she had gone back to see her adorable daughter.
Before, it had been preparing for the Dax Empire's second attack.
Now it was postwar reorganization, and the expansion and training of the interstellar fleet.
Every kind of matter needed handling by her own hand, which left her no time at all to go back to Dragon Star and see her child.
Now even the minimum of ten minutes of video chat a day had begun to fall through.
"Nannan. How have you been at kindergarten lately? Have you quarreled with the other children?"
"Mommy's rather busy this while. Once I'm past this busy stretch, I'll come and find you, and then take you to the amusement park, all right? Mommy promises you."
In a few minutes of chat, some work to be handled had already piled up on Marshal Chu Xuan's side.
She could only end the call with her precious daughter, reluctant to let go.
And on the other side,
in a villa,
a little girl who looked five or six hung up the call, and the sad look that had been on her face suddenly vanished.
"If Mommy won't come to see Nannan, then Nannan will go and find Mommy herself." Nannan raised her head, her eyes holding the same resolve as her mother's.
Nannan first checked the time.
Every night at eight, Auntie would come to see her and get her to sleep.
Then at midnight she would come once more.
That was the time she could sneak out.
Nannan tidied her bed at top speed, then set up a whole series of contraptions in her room.
At the same time she checked the things she meant to take:
a little pink backpack, and a card.
At this point a sound came from outside the door.
Nannan at once burrowed under the covers and put on her nightcap.
The door was quietly pushed open.
A woman's face appeared in the crack of the door.
"Aunt Song." Nannan yawned, looking ready for sleep.
"Nannan's going to sleep now," Aunt Song said with a kindly smile.
"Mm. Aunt Song, tomorrow I'm staying in my room to do homework. Just leave breakfast and lunch at the door. Don't disturb me. This homework is very important; it's a present for Mother. Nannan wants to do it as well as she can, so when Mommy comes, Nannan can give Mommy a great big surprise."
Hearing this, Aunt Song could not help looking touched.
"Mm, no one will disturb Nannan tomorrow. Nannan, get to sleep early." With that, Aunt Song closed the door.
Listening to the footsteps outside the door fade away,
Nannan opened her eyes sharply and threw off her covers.
And where she had just been lying was something like a deflated skin.
Nannan pressed on it once, and this skin began to inflate by itself.
Very soon it took a human shape.
Without coming close and looking carefully, no one could have told it was an inflatable doll.
Nannan put her nightcap on this doll,
then checked everything in the room again.
Finally she pushed open the window of her balcony, and before going out
she raised her hand and showed her handheld terminal.
"Xiao Yi, cut the villa's surveillance for ten minutes. But don't let anyone notice!"
【Xiao Yi understands】
This Xiao Yi was an artificial-intelligence program Chu Xuan had specially had made for Nannan at Nannan's request before, with extremely powerful functions.
It could be said that in the Fierce Dragon civilization now, anything more advanced than it was not as small, and anything smaller than it was not as advanced.
In the villa's monitoring room, the staff responsible for monitoring glanced over all the camera feeds; nothing was any different from before.
And little did they know that at this moment a little girl had already quietly slipped out of the villa.
She looked at the mountain road winding round, then at the villa behind her.
From her backpack she took a pair of holo-glasses, then a skateboard.
The skateboard could unfold itself too.
Nannan stepped onto the skateboard, kicked off the ground once, and the skateboard slid down the road toward the foot of the mountain.
Though Nannan was only five or six, her form on the skateboard was exactly right in every way, better than some professional riders.
And with Xiao Yi's artificial-intelligence help besides,
Nannan was like a tiger given wings.
Xiao Yi could tell Nannan how many vehicles and how many people were on this road at the moment, and plan her route in advance.
And this skateboard had a built-in battery; in fact Nannan did not need to put in any strength herself at all; it could glide on its own for a long distance.
In the daytime it could also recharge from the sun.
Portable and efficient.
This was Nannan's favorite toy.
Time passed little by little.
In the blink of an eye it was midnight.
Everyone in the villa had no idea at all that their little princess had already left without a sound.
Aunt Song, as usual, came to the outside of Nannan's room and quietly pushed open a corner of the door.
She glanced at the young miss still fast asleep in the bed.
Having confirmed she was still there, she closed the door.
And at this moment, in the room, a monitor had been watching this scene all along,
relaying the picture here to Nannan.
"Perfect; not exposed." Nannan let out a breath of relief; she knew that once she was found out, Aunt Song and the others would surely find a way to come looking for her.
Then this plan she had so carefully prepared to go find Mommy would fail.
"The next step is to get to the nearest airport before daybreak. Then take a plane to the Fierce Dragon Continent. Then from the Fierce Dragon Continent take the space elevator to the Dragon Palace Starport, and there I can find Mommy." This was the whole of her plan for this time in Nannan's head.
In truth she did not know just who her mother was.
But she knew her mother worked for the Fierce Dragon Kingdom, and was a very important person at the top.
In short, very important.
For at the kindergarten she attended, some had bullied her before,
just because her parents had never come to pick her up.
And those children who bullied her all had terrifying family backgrounds.
It was said they were the children of royals and nobles, or of business tycoons.
For that kindergarten was the best kindergarten in the area.
But Nannan was formidable too, and had not let them get the better of her.
And the next day,
every one of those children who had bullied Nannan came to apologize to her.
After that, no one ever dared bully Nannan again.
But because of this too, Nannan had hardly any friends at kindergarten.
Nannan was very lonely, so Nannan wanted to go and find Mommy.
The sky gradually grew light.
The airport in the distance gradually came into view too.
The villa she lived in was in fact not far from the airport.
This airport was a new one built a few years before, not far from her home, right at the foot of the mountain.
But the next flight to the Fierce Dragon Continent was not until eight in the morning.
It was only four in the morning now.
Nannan put away her skateboard and walked to the airport with her backpack on.
But she did not go straight in through the main doors.
For a child as small as she, walking into an airport all alone, was bound to arouse suspicion.
She needed someone to cover who she was.
She put on a pair of sunglasses
and waited at the entrance.
Before long,
a university student appeared at the entrance and stood there looking around.
Not long before, she had taken a part-time job online.
The job required going along as a companion on a trip,
from this airport to the Fierce Dragon Airport.
The round-trip tickets were all paid for by the other side, and the offer was a high price of ten thousand a day.
At first glance it truly seemed like a scam.
But after the other side had made contact with her, perhaps sensing her doubt,
the ten thousand had actually been transferred to her outright.
Such a lavish hand had shaken this university student outright.
In the end she had decided to come after all; she had taken the money, after all.
"Hello, are you Jiang Yumeng?"
At this moment a little girl with a backpack on and children's sunglasses appeared before her, raising her hand and waving it in front of her.
"Ah… I am. Little one, is there something you want from me?" Jiang Yumeng looked at the little girl before her, somewhat puzzled.
"I'm your employer for this trip. You're five minutes late." Nannan glanced at her watch and said with some displeasure.
The employer?
Jiang Yumeng stared foolishly at this little girl of five or six before her.
This little girl was her employer?
"You don't believe it? Then look at your handheld terminal." Nannan sent her a message using an online app.
Jiang Yumeng's handheld terminal received the message at once.
At this moment she believed it completely.
This little girl before her was the one who had spent ten thousand to hire her as a companion.
"You're far too young. Where are your parents? At your age, running off by yourself; I don't dare take this job. I'd better give you back your money," Jiang Yumeng said, wanting to back out at once.
But Nannan raised her head and said, "I'll raise your fee to a hundred thousand. I can transfer fifty thousand to you right now. When I reach my destination, I'll give you another fifty thousand. Aren't you badly short of money? Your mother is gravely ill and needs a large sum. And I can also help you get in touch with a very good doctor. So long as you agree, I can have it arranged for you within half an hour."
Jiang Yumeng stared blankly at the little girl before her.
This little girl spoke in a very grown-up tone, not at all like a little girl of five or six.
Rather, she was more businesslike than her teachers.
Before her, it was Jiang Yumeng herself who seemed like a little girl.
A hundred thousand, plus a professional doctor.
With both laid before her, Jiang Yumeng truly could not raise the least thought of refusing.
It was simply far too much!
"All right. I agree. What do you need me to do!" Jiang Yumeng at last made her decision.
"From now on you're my big sister. You're going with me on a trip. Our destination is the Fierce Dragon Continent. This is my secondary bank card; when we book the plane tickets in a bit, use yours." Nannan handed her a bank card that looked very ordinary.
Jiang Yumeng did not think much of it either, and took the bank card.