After Waking Up I Inherited the Earth [Interstellar] – CH120

Chapter 120

“Wait—am I seeing this right? The one walking in the middle of the Mechanical Commerce group, surrounded by all those mechanical lifeforms… is that the planet lord of Earth?”

“Holy crap, it really is! What is up with this planet lord?”

“Didn’t he come by hitching a ride? And he still ended up in the center spot? If I weren’t seeing it with my own eyes, I’d swear this was some ridiculous clout-chasing stunt.”

It wasn’t only the entertainment industry that obsessed over “center position.” Real life was full of unspoken center-position rules too.

Generally speaking, only the most favored person—or the one with the highest status—got pushed into the center.

Xie Xingchen wasn’t even a mechanical lifeform. No matter how you looked at it, he shouldn’t be the highest-status one. So… was he the most favored?

“Heh. No way. You don’t understand, so stop talking nonsense.”

“Exactly. It’s not like you don’t know about that weird relationship between humans and mechanical lifeforms.”

“Right. If you said someone from Plant Civilization was favored among mechanical lifeforms, I could believe it. But a human? Dream on.”

“So maybe he accidentally walked into the middle? It’s not impossible to end up there without noticing. And he’s young—maybe the mechanical lifeforms didn’t feel like nitpicking something so small.”

Most of the people present were planet lords. Even those who weren’t were trusted aides of planet lords.

Toward this planet lord—who had burst onto the scene, poked a hole in the sky on day one, and then kept growing stronger and stronger despite everyone trying to suppress him—people’s feelings were complicated.

Many refused to admit Xie Xingchen had anything exceptional about him. They preferred to blame it on this:

He was shameless. He competed with low prices. That’s why he succeeded. If we did the same, we could succeed too.

In other words: “If I did it, I’d be just as good.”

But the truth was, they couldn’t—and they didn’t dare.

Because while Xie Xingchen’s approach benefited the masses, it harmed the interests of planet lords. Copying him meant offending the majority of planet lords.

Some people argued: “There are so many planets in the Alliance. He’s just making greenery affordable. Why would other planet lords care if they aren’t from cultivation planets?”

It sounded reasonable at first glance, but reality didn’t work that way.

Planet lords had to eat. To eat, they had to make money. And building a planet cost a fortune—so of course everyone scrambled to run side businesses.

As one of the fastest money-making industries, as long as a planet’s environment wasn’t so bad that nothing could grow, planet lords would build huge estates during development and hire cultivators to plant for them.

For cultivation planets, those estates were like ants—too insignificant to matter, not worth making enemies over. But for other planet lords, they were low-cost, high-return projects.

Most importantly, they were easy to operate.

After all, as planet lords, even if you couldn’t recruit a ton of cultivators, recruiting two or three wasn’t hard.

This was an unspoken rule everyone had followed for years.

And then one day, a newcomer charged in and started “disrupting the market” without warning. Of course people’s feelings got complicated.

Xie Xingchen had long prepared himself for being unpopular.

When faced with those strange stares, he could keep his eyes forward like nothing was happening.

He and his robots ignored everyone and looked around—until he spotted a tall, handsome guy in a military uniform. Only then did he wave enthusiastically.

It was a young male soldier from the Insect Civilization.

He was tall, lean, and strikingly handsome. His face was set, expression cold, and he carried that unmistakable aura of a powerhouse.

Job saw Xie Xingchen.

To be precise, he saw him the moment Xie Xingchen stepped off the boarding stairs.

Because the Mechanical Commerce ship was simply too eye-catching.

It made every other ship look like a toy. And its gear-and-mechanism exterior was coated with a special silvery material that gleamed under the lights—dazzling and impossible to miss.

Job strode over on long legs wrapped in military boots and stopped in front of Xie Xingchen.

With a serious expression, he introduced himself. “Hello, Mr. Xie. I’m Job. I’m the one assigned to receive you today. On behalf of the Insect Civilization, welcome.”

Xie Xingchen studied him with curiosity, then beamed. “Thank you for receiving me. I’m really happy to have the chance to visit the Insect Civilization.”

Hearing the sincerity and excitement in his voice, Job’s mouth lifted slightly, and his attitude softened.

“The hovercar is outside. Shall we go to the hotel and check in?”

Xie Xingchen nodded reflexively. “Sure.”

After saying that, he turned and looked at the mechanical lifeforms traveling with him and asked naturally, “Deren, has the person picking you up not arrived yet?”

His genuine confusion instantly made the atmosphere awkward.

A pickup?

What pickup?

This was Insect Civilization territory. The Insects.

You thought it was like other civilizations?

Pickup and hospitality?

They wouldn’t even arrange hotels.

Job was standing right there. The mechanical lifeforms—fully aware of how petty the Insects could be—collectively went silent, eyes down, pretending nothing existed.

Job glanced at the group, paused, then said, “This is Mechanical Commerce—the one you hitched a ride with? If you don’t mind, they can come along too.”

They can come along?

The mechanical lifeforms nodded rapidly.

“We don’t mind, we don’t mind, of course we don’t mind.”

“We’re all hitchhikers here. All hitchhikers.”

A robot that could awaken into a mechanical lifeform wasn’t stupid. At most, they were inexperienced and therefore a bit naïve.

No one understood why only Boss Xie got a pickup, but… who cared?

If he was getting special treatment, then this Insect soldier would probably take him to the best hotel in Insect Civilization, right?

Maybe it was the kind of hotel you couldn’t get into even with money.

If they could tag along, that was a huge win.

A chance to see something money couldn’t buy.

So the group happily climbed into Job’s hovercar.

“Wait—why do they get picked up and we don’t?”

“Is it just because they’re with Mechanical Commerce?”

“This isn’t fair!”

People complained loudly, grumbling all over the place.

Some even muttered that the Insects had terrible service and that the Alliance shouldn’t have let them host Trade Day at all.

But insults like that were only whispered—and even then, people watched their mouths in case someone reported them.

A patrol unit heard the noise and came over.

Seeing the planet lords and Trade Day attendees with faces that said, “Give us a proper explanation or we’ll make a scene,” the patrol frowned.

A scolding was on the tip of their tongue, but remembering their superior’s instructions to be civilized and polite, they forced the irritation down and explained stiffly, “We’re not here for Mechanical Commerce. We’re here for Mr. Xie Xingchen.”

That only made everyone angrier.

If they were picking up Mechanical Commerce, people could accept it. Fine—status difference. Unequal treatment makes sense.

But they were picking up Xie Xingchen?

How was that acceptable?

Earth was a planet that might not even be one percent developed. And Xie Xingchen hadn’t even been a planet lord for long—yet he had more face than they did?

The patrol didn’t care to listen. In the end, with a half-smile, they said, “If you possess an Insect Crest, you can enjoy special treatment too.”

Then they stopped engaging and moved on to continue patrolling.

The big planet lords didn’t usually join scenes like this. The ones protesting were mostly small planet lords and aides.

But once the words “Insect Crest” came out, silence fell.

An Insect Crest?

Xie Xingchen had an Insect Crest?

Not only the small planet lords—when the big ones received the news from their subordinates, they sat up straight.

Especially certain people with ulterior motives: no matter how furious or dissatisfied they were, they could only swallow it and undo every arrangement they’d made.

Anyone who could attend Trade Day wasn’t truly stupid.

Trying to harm someone with an Insect Crest on Insect territory was basically impossible. And even if you somehow succeeded, you’d never get away—because that would be slapping the Insect Civilization’s pride in the face. They would chase you to the ends of the universe.

News that Xie Xingchen possessed an Insect Crest spread fast. What happened online could wait—everyone on-site was already sour.

Already inside the hovercar, Xie Xingchen suddenly felt a chill down his back and an itch in his nose, like he was about to sneeze.

Job drove with pure Insect style: fast, fierce, and straight to the point.

He never even considered slowing down to let them admire the city from above.

From spaceport to hotel, it took only eight minutes.

So fast it felt like they’d barely sat down before it was time to get out.

The hotel Job brought them to was huge, but not luxurious. It was cold, hard, and military—so blunt it hurt. Even the name was plain: “Insect Hotel.”

Job said, “Mr. Xie, this is the most suitable hotel for you. It’s the closest to the Trade Day venue, and it has the strongest security in Insect territory. I think you’ll need that.”

He clearly knew Xie Xingchen was being targeted.

So he didn’t take him to the fanciest hotel—he took him to the safest.

Xie Xingchen gave an awkward laugh.

Job really spoke plainly… but he wasn’t wrong.

Xie Xingchen did need serious security.

He followed Job to the front desk and checked in with a human clerk—no, not a human clerk. An Insect soldier in uniform, sharp and intimidating.

It was bizarre.

These days, hotels used self-service machines. Yet “Insect Hotel” still had a staffed front desk—and the front desk looked like someone guarding a restricted military zone.

Xie Xingchen began paying attention to the surroundings.

And then he noticed:

Armed guards patrolled with energy rifles. Surveillance eyes were everywhere. Weapons were tucked into corners. And the guests moving through the lobby were all burly and carried the vibe of trained fighters.

Xie Xingchen froze.

He felt like he’d stumbled into something terrifying.

He checked in with a straight face.

When he turned around, he saw the mechanical lifeforms hadn’t checked in yet.

He was about to say something when Job, noticing where he was looking, said calmly to the front desk, “Process check-in for Mechanical Commerce as well.”

The two front desk staff immediately complied.

Job then apologized to Xie Xingchen. “Mr. Xie, I hope you enjoy your stay. The military has matters to handle, so I’ll have to excuse myself.”

Xie Xingchen completely understood.

This guy looked busy enough to be buried alive.

The fact he made time to pick him up was already generous. Expecting him to babysit all day?

Yeah, no. Not happening.

Before Job left, Xie Xingchen thanked him seriously. “Alright. I can manage on my own. Thank you, Job.”

Then he pulled out three gift boxes from his storage button—one medium and two small.

He handed the medium one to Job. “This is a small gift for you. Thank you so much for today.”

Before Job could refuse, Xie Xingchen stuffed it into his hands.

Then he carried the two smaller boxes to the front desk and smiled brightly. “These are for you two as well. Everyone who meets me gets one.”

The medium box was about the size of a shoebox, and the small ones were about half that.

Since he called them small gifts and everyone received one, the three Insects hesitated, then accepted.

Xie Xingchen wasn’t sure if it was his imagination, but after taking the gifts, their attitudes seemed to soften again.

The mechanical lifeforms checked in after Xie Xingchen, but in Insect eyes, their status wasn’t the same.

As Xie Xingchen himself said, he had hitched a ride on Mechanical Commerce’s ship to get here.

Now, the Mechanical Commerce crew were “hitching a ride” on Xie Xingchen’s status to stay at “Insect Hotel.”

When you’re riding someone else’s light, your treatment is naturally average.

So Xie Xingchen got the top-floor luxury mega-suite.

The mechanical lifeforms got standard rooms—and had to pay.

Only then did Xie Xingchen realize how valuable that Insect Crest truly was.

Not in money—status.

Everyone here was a planet lord. He was even a small one.

Yet only he got picked up. And his receiver was military. And he could stay at “Insect Hotel” for free.

Everyone else?

No pickup. They had to find their own hotel.

Because the Insects had provided only a venue. Nothing more.

No wonder those people had a meltdown.

They separated at the elevator. Xie Xingchen took Get-Rich, Prosperity, and Long-Life to the top floor.

When he opened the door to Room 2333, he paused to look around, then led them inside.

The suite layout was similar to the “presidential suite” he’d stayed in on the ship: one master bedroom, three guest rooms, a children’s room, plus a living room, a meeting room, and a training room.

Notably, the rooms were simple, but the meeting room was huge—and the training room was even more shocking.

There was a high-end medical pod inside the training room.

So… train until you drop, then heal and train again?

Xie Xingchen clicked his tongue. No wonder people said Insect Civilization was strong.

Even their hotels came with training rooms and medical pods. A civilization that wasted not one second in pursuit of strength—of course they’d be terrifying.

He shut the training room door with a loud click.

Nope.

He did not want to see a medical pod anytime soon. Seriously. Not at all.

Xie Xingchen didn’t have much luggage, and everything was in his storage button.

So instead of unpacking right away, he first took out his own bedsheets and pillowcases and replaced the hotel set.

Not because he thought it was dirty—at this point in time, hotel bedding wasn’t going to be dirty. Cleaning robots ran daily, and disinfection was standard.

He just slept best with his own things.

After changing everything, he organized his personal items.

Meanwhile, Get-Rich pulled out a huge bunch of fresh flowers and started placing them throughout the suite—every room, even the living room—finding a big vase and filling it generously.

Within half an hour, the once cold, hard suite felt warm and lived-in.

Xie Xingchen finished unpacking and strolled out of the bedroom.

The air carried a faint jasmine fragrance, and the tension in his mind loosened.

Food came first. Luckily, the cooler still had one last meal.

He took it out, then pulled out a crystal pitcher, passion fruit, lemons, a sugar jar, and more.

Prosperity had already made ice in the living room freezer while they were tidying up.

Lemon slices. Open the passion fruit. Add sugar, a lot of ice, and then cool water brewed with jasmine flowers. Stir.

Soon, condensation beaded on the crystal pitcher.

Xie Xingchen poured himself a glass of fruit tea, then took out the last two meat buns and ate them like this—one bite of bun, one sip of lemon-passionfruit jasmine tea.

After finishing with pure satisfaction, he suddenly said, “Ugh. I’m stupid. We can have them send food in the shipment along with the fresh flowers and fruit.”

Way better than living on nutrient drinks, right?

Yes. Exactly. That’s what they would do.

So after eating, Xie Xingchen went to the office area and contacted the robots still on Earth, instructing them to include cooked food when shipping tomorrow’s package.

Then he opened the design team group chat and told them he’d arrived on Insect territory.

Recently, Xie Xingchen had been so busy he’d forgotten to assign the design team tasks.

But Zhang Yu, Ivy, and the others hadn’t slacked off. They’d designed a ton of new merchandise on their own.

So much that Xie Xingchen felt guilty seeing it—so he decided to give everyone a week off.

He meant it as a real break.

But unexpectedly, a lot of them didn’t want time off. They wanted to come to Insect territory to help… and definitely not to sightsee.

Seeing how determined they were, Xie Xingchen tried to talk them out of it, failed, and gave up.

Still, he was considerate: since his staff wanted to come, he coordinated with the Insect side on the way and arranged lodging for them, so they wouldn’t arrive with nowhere to stay.

The only question was…

Would they be able to handle this place?

Turns out he worried for nothing.

These chaos gremlins not only could handle it—they were thrilled out of their minds the moment they learned they’d be staying at “Insect Hotel.”

After check-in, one and another took sneaky photos at the entrance as souvenirs.

Then they ran to the elevator, bent over catching their breath, and grinned at each other.

The bizarre posture gave Xie Xingchen a headache.

After a long pause, he gave them a thumbs-up. “You’re amazing.”

All ten girls laughed loudly and accepted the praise with pride.

Not every design-team employee was like this—these were just the ones who came this time.

The steady, mature ones were either busy, or inspired and going into seclusion, or simply taking the chance to rest.

Only the curious younger ones packed up eagerly and spent seven or eight days on a ship just to come see the spectacle.

Xie Xingchen escorted them to their doors, greeted them, and started to leave.

Then he turned back and warned, “Don’t stay up all night. Rest properly. Tomorrow morning we still have to set up the booth.”

“Okay! No problem!”

“Got it, boss!”

“Let’s show them what we’ve got!”

They had no idea why Trade Day would require booth setup, but they assumed it was an Insect rule and didn’t ask.

After all…

Insect rules were often weird. Most of the time, asking only made things more confusing. Better not to ask.

The next day.

At 8:00 a.m., Xie Xingchen messaged the group to come upstairs for breakfast.

Since people in this era were used to nutrient drinks, hotels didn’t have restaurants, and they definitely didn’t provide breakfast.

So Xie Xingchen provided it himself.

The selection wasn’t huge, but it was delicious—and hot and fresh.

Because it had just arrived by delivery.

Along with the food, the shipment also included lots of fresh flowers and fruit.

After a lively breakfast in the living room, everyone walked to the Trade Day venue together.

“Insect Hotel” really was close—close enough that it took only ten minutes on foot. Soldiers patrolled along the way, giving an unusually strong sense of safety.

When they arrived, Xie Xingchen gave a wide-eyed, small-town gasp.

It was enormous.

To walk through the whole place would take at least two hours.

The sheer scale stunned Xie Xingchen—and also shocked the employees behind him.

“Whoa… does the Alliance really have this many planet lords?”

“I thought there were only a few thousand!”

“Then why does it need to be this big?”

“This is insane. No wonder people who’ve attended Trade Day say it’s incredible!”

The girls clustered together, chatting nonstop as they walked.

Since they all had staff chips, they passed through smoothly.

Following the navigation, they reached the Earth Trading House booth.

The location was excellent—about 200 meters inside the main entrance. A true prime spot.

Technically, Xie Xingchen could have gotten an even better booth, but those were too large, so he declined.

A booth wasn’t “the bigger the better.” It had to fit.

And right at the entrance was too glaring—people constantly passing, dizzying to look at.

His goods never struggled to sell. He was here to broaden his horizons, not chase orders—so he said, in the most casually arrogant way possible, that he genuinely didn’t want something too prominent.

This spot was perfect: not too big, not too small, and slightly away from the main entrance.

Once they arrived, Xie Xingchen first took out a small energy shield, then adjusted it to one-way visibility mode so outsiders couldn’t see inside.

Then he began pulling materials from his storage button to “set up” the booth.

That was when a patrol unit noticed something off and walked over.

Why was there an energy shield here?

The patrol leader stepped up and knocked on the shield with a strange expression.

Xie Xingchen looked up, saw it was a patrol member, and stepped outside.

The patrol member greeted him politely, then asked, “Hello, Mr. Xie. May I ask what this is for?”

Xie Xingchen greeted him back and answered naturally, “Oh? This? I’m setting up the booth. I don’t want people watching while we do it, so I put up a shield to block the view.”

The patrol member blinked.

Setting up the booth?

Were booths supposed to be “set up”?

The patrol exchanged looks, each seeing confusion in the others’ eyes.

But… there didn’t seem to be a rule against it.

So… do we just ignore it?

When the patrol didn’t move for a while, Xie Xingchen couldn’t help asking, “Is there a problem?”

They shook their heads. “No problem. Do as you like.”

Huh?

Xie Xingchen watched them leave, and a giant question mark floated in his mind.

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