Chapter 21: The Astonishing Discovery of an S-Class Weeping Begonia!

"What? Zero contamination? An S-rank plant?" Chen Xuyang stared at the test results, his head filled with confusion. Could the machine be malfunctioning?

An S-rank plant? In the interstellar era, such things were practically unheard of; their mere appearance would trigger a scramble among the Alliance. How could Hua Yun, an orphan, possibly possess one?

"Big Brother, is the detector broken? Should we... try another one?" Although she trusted Hua Yun, this was simply too outrageous!

Chen Xuyang said nothing and reached for another machine to run the test again. The result remained identical. It was truly incredible.

"Jiaojiao, are you certain Hua Yun gave this to you?" The test results left him no choice but to be suspicious.

"Yes," Chen Jiaojiao paused. "She sent it along with that dried meat."

Chen Jiaojiao’s voice grew quieter. This matter seemed to be turning into a problem. Beyond its own safety, an S-rank plant had profound effects on the interstellar environment. The Alliance had once encountered a plant capable of stabilizing mental power and soothing the riots of the mind.

That plant had been treated as a priceless treasure by the Alliance; the first-generation Marshal had relied on it to fight the Zerg for years. Generally, plants reached A-rank at best; it was impossible for one to reach S-rank!

"Big Brother, you must have misread it!" Chen Jiaojiao said, scooping up the plant, ready to bolt. She knew the gravity of the situation; this could not get out. She could not let Yunyun be put in danger.

"Jiaojiao!" Chen Xuyang grabbed her by the collar. "Can you not even trust your own brother?"

He was certainly envious of such a plant, but Hua Yun was Jiaojiao's friend, and he could not bring himself to harm her. Furthermore, what if Hua Yun had just stumbled upon it by accident? Perhaps she didn't even realize the plant's significance. Even if Hua Yun had a direct connection to it, her future would be limitless, and he was not so short-sighted as to make an enemy of her.

Perhaps this was the source of confidence behind Hua Yun’s development of the barren star!

"If your friend encounters any difficulties during the development process, you can let me know," Chen Xuyang said. "You can keep this plant, but you must be careful. Otherwise, it might bring trouble to your friend. I suggest you keep it within the family estate for safekeeping."

Chen Jiaojiao was silent for a moment. "I am only keeping it for Yunyun temporarily." This item was far too precious; it was not something that could be bought with mere star credits.

"That... is also fine," Chen Xuyang said with difficulty. Sometimes, he truly hated his own moral compass—being able to return something he had already gotten his hands on. If this person weren't Jiaojiao's friend... After all, if this plant could indeed nurture mental power like the one from the past, the Chen family’s status would be even more secure.

"Right, let me ask Yunyun what kind of plant this is." The test results only identified it as a type of arbor and provided a suspected species, but the final result remained unconfirmed.

With that thought, Chen Jiaojiao immediately sent a message to Hua Yun. Before long, a video call from Hua Yun came through.

"Jiaojiao, you seem quite anxious. What's wrong?" Hua Yun knew Chen Jiaojiao well and sensed something was amiss just from her message.

"Yunyun, did you send this to me?" Chen Jiaojiao pointed to the plant beside her.

"Yes, what's wrong?" Chen Jiaojiao had helped her so much, and she had been wanting to find a suitable gift for her. Unfortunately, the original host had been penniless; buying a gift with star credits was a pipe dream. Since credits couldn't solve it, she had to put in more effort.

Hua Yun had seen a picture of this plant on the StarNet. At first, it looked familiar, but later it seemed very strange—a bit like the flowering crabapple from her previous life. She had bought it without hesitation. However, since it came from the wild and had a high risk factor, she hadn't dared to give it to Chen Jiaojiao directly.

It just so happened that during her time on the barren star, her supernatural abilities had experienced a breakthrough. She had extracted the harmful energy, nurtured it for several days, and persisted in channeling her energy into it daily, which was how it had reached its current state. It could be said that it looked completely different from when she had first obtained it. If she hadn't been watching it the whole time, she wouldn't have believed it was the same plant.

"Yunyun, did you test it?" Chen Jiaojiao couldn't help but swallow hard.

"I did," Hua Yun replied. In the interstellar environment, how could she dare to give a gift without ensuring its safety? "I thought of you as soon as I saw this crabapple. Since I was sending you some food anyway, I just included it."

"Is there a problem?" Hua Yun frowned. That shouldn't be.

"No, there isn't," Chen Jiaojiao said, waving her hands quickly. "Well, that's not right... never mind, just take a look for yourself!"

Chen Jiaojiao transmitted the latest test results. Hua Yun took a few glances; other than the addition of an 'S' compared to her own test results, there wasn't much difference.

So... the problem was this 'S'?

"S?" Hua Yun asked.

"Yes, yes, yes! Yunyun, let me tell you, for this 'S', I even used two separate machines to test it, and the result never changed," Chen Jiaojiao said hurriedly.

Hua Yun knew that the interstellar society loved ratings, and in her plant academy studies, plants were classified, but those courses never mentioned 'S'—only 'A'.

"The Alliance curriculum doesn't have S-rank plants," Hua Yun stated.

"Ms. Hua, let me explain," Chen Xuyang said, seeing his sister failing to get to the point. He took over the conversation. "Only a few noble families know about the existence of S-rank plants, and the number of S-rank plants that have appeared in the galaxy to date can be counted on one hand. If others were to find out that the Chen family possesses an S-rank plant, and that this plant originated from you... I don't think I need to elaborate on what that would mean," Chen Xuyang said.

"I understand. Thank you for the reminder. I bought this plant from a wild mercenary on the StarNet, and it was not rated 'S' when I tested it." She had used the testing equipment provided by the Alliance Academy, which was the standard, universal equipment used across the galaxy.

In other words, ordinary testing machines wouldn't actually detect an S-rank plant. So... "Mr. Chen surely wouldn't want to bring trouble upon himself, would you?"

Although it was phrased as a question, Hua Yun's tone left no room for doubt. Hearing this, Chen Xuyang immediately deleted the relevant report. "Ms. Hua is very clever."

"Mr. Chen is also quite decisive," Hua Yun replied.

Chen Jiaojiao looked left and right, not quite understanding.

"Right, Yunyun, I'll send this back to you in a couple of days," Chen Jiaojiao said quickly. She knew her friend had it hard, and with this, things would be much easier for Hua Yun.

Chen Xuyang longed to say, "Jiaojiao, don't be so generous; the Chen family could offer compensation." But unfortunately, Hua Yun didn't give him the chance.

"Jiaojiao, I gave this to you. If you consider me a friend, you are not allowed to return it!" Hua Yun said. Regardless of what the Chen family was like, she and the original host both considered Jiaojiao a true friend.

"But..." How could Yunyun be so good to her? To give away such a treasure so casually—what kind of luck did she, Chen Jiaojiao, have?

"No 'buts.' I have a live stream to prepare for!" Immediately after, Hua Yun briskly ended the video call.