Chapter 45: Spaceship Explosion
Xu Huazhang quietly stared at Mu Lantu, trying to tell whether he was in the livestream or not.
Mu Lantu was also silently watching him. Based on Xu Huazhang’s personality, if he knew Mu Lantu was a streamer, there’s no way he wouldn’t drop by his stream at least once. But Mu Lantu didn’t know which viewer was him.
If he made a point to explain it, it would seem like he cared too much about Xu Huazhang—and knowing Xu Huazhang, he’d definitely get smug about it. But if he didn’t explain, he was afraid it might hurt Xu’s feelings. Even without ever having dated, Mu Lantu knew misunderstandings in relationships should be cleared up.
[Little Five, dating is such a hassle.]
005 grinned. Is it really that much of a hassle? If the corners of the host’s mouth weren’t curling up that high, it might’ve believed him.
Mu Lantu touched the watch on his wrist, then held it up in front of the camera for two seconds, making sure all his fans saw it clearly, before picking up some LEGO bricks.
Xu Huazhang also lowered his head to study the pile of bricks Mu Lantu had given him.
The flurry of on-screen comments couldn’t affect them for now.
[That watch the streamer’s wearing…]
[What about it?]
[Holy—! Couple’s watch!!]
[Wait, what?! Couple’s watch? The streamer’s taken?]
[Chintaly-Fey Sports Series Couple Watch, Star-Moon edition—if I’m not mistaken, that one’s over 2 million.]
[Gasp!]
[Important point: it’s specifically designed for same-sex couples!]
[Oh my god!]
Mu Lantu was deeply immersed in building LEGO roads. The more roads he assembled, the smoother and faster his hands became. Even the background music in the livestream sped up accordingly.
Click. A brick fell to the ground and slid to Mu Lantu’s foot.
Mu Lantu shot a suspicious glance at Xu Huazhang. Did he do that on purpose?
Xu Huazhang whispered, “Baby, can you pick that up for me?”
After the debate in the chat about whether the streamer had a same-sex partner died down, viewers had relaxed—watching him build LEGO, listening to the music, maybe working on their own stuff—until that clearly audible yet softly spoken line dropped into the stream:
“Baby, can you pick that up for me?”
That one sentence caused an uproar!
[OMG! Tell me I didn’t just hear that!]
[You didn’t mishear—he said baby!]
[You didn’t mishear—he said baby, help me!]
[Gaaah! That hit me so hard I pulled my back!]
[You didn’t mishear—he said baby, help me pick it up!]
[That voice… that voice is SO DAMN SEXY!]
[Streamer, spill it! Who are you with?!]
[Let us see who you’re with—we’ll vet him for you!]
“…”
Mu Lantu, staying out of the camera’s view, picked up the brick and tossed it to Xu Huazhang.
The viewers held their breath, hoping his face would be revealed when he bent down—but when it didn’t happen, a collective groan of disappointment echoed through the chat.
“No more fooling around. If you keep it up, I won’t bring you next time,” Mu Lantu quietly warned Xu Huazhang.
Xu Huazhang nodded obediently like a well-trained puppy, feeling secretly thrilled. Since Mu Lantu didn’t mute the mic when speaking, that meant he was admitting their relationship publicly!
That afternoon, Mu Lantu had two major classes. Xu Huazhang accompanied him.
When people at school saw the two walking together again, this time both wearing couple’s watches, all the guys and girls who had crushes on Mu Lantu finally gave up hope—and instead joined the crowd hotly debating the upcoming manned rocket launch from the A-Country to Dream Home.
Everyone had an opinion, voices growing heated:
“A-Country grabbed first place again! I guarantee the second they land on Dream Home, they’ll declare it theirs!”
“Well… to be fair, they are leading the world in technology.”
“Bull! Who says we can’t compete? We’re just keeping a low profile!”
“We have no idea what’s really on Dream Home—let them scout it out for us first.”
“…”
“Baby, want to watch A-Country’s livestream together tomorrow?” Xu Huazhang never missed a chance to set up a date.
Mu Lantu was puzzled. “They’re livestreaming it?”
“They are. If they succeed, they’ll brag about their power. If they fail, they’ve got hundreds of ways to explain it away,” Xu said.
Mu Lantu was certain A-Country would fail—whether he watched or not didn’t matter. Still, he agreed.
The next day, he postponed dinner on purpose and ordered a feast of takeout. He, Xu Huazhang, Ge Tao, and Zhou Ye watched the livestream at home.
The manned launch to Dream Home was a world-historic event, followed globally. A-Country generously authorized rebroadcasting worldwide.
That night, barely anyone in Jasmine Nation was out. Almost every household was tuned in.
Even bars, KTVs, and food stalls had customers quietly gathered around TVs—not for partying, but to watch.
It was nighttime in Jasmine Nation, daytime in A-Country.
Before launch, a male and a female host connected live to engineers at the launch site, asking professional, non-classified questions with solemn confidence.
At 8:11 PM Jasmine Time on May 16, the A-Country President gave the word—“Ignite”—and the manned spaceship soared into the sky!
The whole world watched in awe.
Xu Huazhang stared at the TV with a distant, unfocused expression. Ge Tao and Zhou Ye couldn’t take their eyes off the screen. Even the black-and-white furball sat between them solemnly—who knew if it could actually understand what it was watching.
Mu Lantu, busy eating, looked out of place.
Although Dream Home appeared close to Earth, it would still take several hours to reach.
Mu Lantu didn’t plan to stay up. After dinner, he told Xu Huazhang good night and went to bed.
When he woke up the next morning, daylight was streaming in.
The living room and kitchen were spotless. Xu Huazhang, Ge Tao, and Zhou Ye were all there, dressed in workout clothes.
After Mu Lantu finished washing up, Xu Huazhang put down his book, and the group headed to the park for a run.
“Did A-Country succeed?” Mu Lantu asked.
“No. Just as the manned spaceship was approaching Dream Home, a dome-like energy shield appeared, and the ship crashed into it—and exploded,” Xu Huazhang said with a mix of calm and heaviness.
Mu Lantu was shocked. “Really?”
“Really.”
Xu Huazhang was now worried that the Jasmine Nation’s upcoming spaceplane would also be blocked by that shield. If so, Dream Home’s existence would become meaningless to everyone on Earth, and the hundreds of billions invested by their country would go to waste.
Mu Lantu replied, “Don’t overthink it. Big stuff like that is the government’s problem. Regular folks like us should just live our lives.”
Xu Huazhang chuckled. His baby didn’t know—he was one of those “big shots.” What he cared about more, though, was this: the spaceship had gotten very close before the explosion. It should’ve captured some visual data. But of course, A-Country wouldn’t share any of it.
That was Jasmine Nation’s complaint—and the complaint of many other nations too.
If A-Country knew what they were thinking, they’d definitely cry injustice: we did get footage—but it was blurry and showed nothing!
Xu Huazhang stayed a few more days before being called away to attend an event.
He didn’t explain much, and Mu Lantu didn’t ask. Instead, he took the time to upload all the LEGO roads Xu Huazhang had helped him build into Dream Home.
To both his and 005’s shock—Xu Huazhang’s LEGO builds had a 100% upload success rate, just like Mu Lantu’s.
Mu Lantu figured it might be because Xu Huazhang was naturally skilled at LEGO, and secretly decided to gift him even more sets in the future!
At 7 PM, he turned on the news broadcast—something he’d gotten into after spending a few days with Xu Huazhang.
“According to the Manned Spaceflight Office, the SZW-1 spaceplane, led by the Third Institute, will launch on May 22 at 7:56 AM. Its destination: Dream Home. The spaceplane combines features of traditional shuttles with advanced capabilities for deep space travel…”
Outside, fireworks lit up the sky with deafening cheers.
Mu Lantu couldn’t help but admire the Third Institute. If not for Dream Home’s protective shield, Jasmine Nation’s spaceplane would’ve probably made a successful landing.
May 22, 7:50 AM.
Mu Lantu, left hand holding a fried dough stick, right hand holding soy milk, sat in front of the TV.
Jasmine Nation had launched their own livestream. The screen showed high-tech instruments and white-coated researchers pacing inside what looked like a lab—but none showed their full face. Either just a chin, or they had their back to the camera.
A reporter asked:
“Chief Engineer, A-Country’s manned launch to Dream Home on May 16 ended in failure. Does this mean our mission is also pointless?”
The chief engineer, shown only from the shoulder down and using a voice changer with adjusted speaking speed, replied:
“Of course not. At the very least, our spaceplane won’t crash straight into it.”
Laughter broke out across the neighborhood.
Mu Lantu chuckled too.
The spaceplane was about 200 meters long and 60 meters wide, perfectly white and rounded. At exactly 7:56 AM, it launched—vertically rather than along a runway, soaring like a tidal wave into the sky!
It was going to be a long journey.
The livestream showed footage of the crew inside and the surrounding space.
Mu Lantu went off to do other things and returned after 2 PM.
The spaceplane had reached the distance where the previous manned ship exploded. Still unable to get a clear view of Dream Home, and afraid to approach, it hovered nearby.
The crew tried launching objects of varying masses toward Dream Home. All were blocked by the protective shield…
There was no point in watching anymore. Mu Lantu shut off the TV.
Everything was finally ready. His landlord career was about to begin.
Time to deploy the teleport station and start renting!
[Little Five, help me build a Dream Home rental website, and set up a secure account.]
[005: Leave it to me, host!]
