CHAPTER 5

The next day was the Huaqi Empire's festival day, and the whole nation had a one-week holiday.

The teachers at the Qimingxing Nursery sent Shu Yanyan a list of holiday guidelines and a few homework assignments. After reading through the homework requirements, Shu Yanyan discovered that most of them were focused on fun activities, which made her secretly relieved for her daughter.

On this morning, as usual, she got up to prepare breakfast. But unlike usual, there was a curious little chubby bird poking its head into the kitchen along with her 一 Little chubby bird.

The little chubby bird couldn't stay quiet for a moment. "Where did you learn these dishes from?"

Shu Yanyan tasted the saltiness of the porridge and casually replied, "From recipes."

The little bird spread its wings and complained, "I hate recipes. They always use terms like 'a little' or 'moderate.'" It mimicked the pose of someone with their hands on their hips. "I couldn't cook in the first place, so how am I supposed to know what 'moderate' means in terms of quantity?"

Shu Yanyan chuckled at its antics and suddenly remembered something. She asked, "By the way, can you join us for a meal?"

The little chubby bird stared at the pot of fragrant lean pork and preserved egg congee. "Hmm... I'm a robot, so I don't need to eat. But I can taste it and help analyze the nutritional elements for you humans."

Shu Yanyan nodded and said, "That's good."

She turned off the stove and winked at the little Jiujiu, saying, "Could you go wake up Yunmiao and let her know that breakfast is ready?"

The little chubby bird nodded gracefully and fluttered its wings as it left.

It dutifully woke up Yunmiao, supervised her dressing and grooming, and then brought the little girl back to the living room.

Shu Yanyan crouched down, smoothed out the wrinkles on Yunmiao's collar, and kissed her daughter's cheek. "Good morning."

Yunmiao rubbed her eyes and returned the kiss to Shu Yanyan, sweetly saying, "Mommy, good morning~"

The little chubby bird turned its head and secretly muttered to itself, "Strange humans!"

But in the next moment, Shu Yanyan raised her hand, signaling the little bird to land on her finger. The little bird, puzzled, landed and felt Shu Yanyan gently stroking the down on its head. "Good morning to you too, Guan Guan."

Yunmiao raised her hand and imitated Shu Yanyan's gesture, caressing the little bird. "Guan Guan, good morning!"

The little chubby bird squirmed uncomfortably and managed to say, "Uh, good, good morning." It proudly raised its tail feathers.

The two of them, along with the little bird, arrived at the restaurant. The little bird noticed that there were three meals arranged on the table, with varying quantities. Shu Yanyan lifted Yunmiao onto a child's chair and looked at the little bird. "I don't know if the lean pork and preserved egg congee and shrimp dumplings we made today suit your taste. Give it a try."

The little bird raised its head proudly. "We robots don't care about taste like you humans do!" It stared intently at its breakfast in front of it and licked its lips. "I-I'll just taste it to analyze the food components and determine if it's suitable for children to consume."

Shu Yanyan nodded with a smile, indicating that everyone could start.

And so, the honest little bird devoured its food, leaving nothing behind, and even licked the plate as if it wanted more.

After breakfast, Shu Yanyan announced their day's schedule.

"I have an appointment in the morning, so I need to go to Xincheng Avenue. After lunch, we have to go to the designated stores for inspection." She asked her little daughter, "Yunmiao, do you want to stay at home and do homework with Guan Guan or come with Mommy?"

Yunmiao looked up with eager eyes. "I can do homework later. Can I go with Mommy?"

Shu Yanyan nodded. "Of course, you can come with me."

The two of them, along with the little bird, quickly packed up and called for a hover car to take them to Xincheng Avenue.

However, today was an unusual day. As they approached Xincheng Avenue, they encountered heavy traffic on the road. It's important to note that as the capital of the technologically advanced Empire, the transportation network was known to be unparalleled in the universe. Even on holidays, traffic congestion was unheard of. But today, the spacious sky roads were filled with vehicles, which was astonishing.

Just as Shu Yanyan was expressing her confusion, the little bird immediately connected to the internet to search for relevant information. Soon, it said, "These past few days are the Empire's celebration, and yesterday the palace announced the resumption of the Emperor's parade." It perched on the car window. "These people are here to see the Emperor."

"A parade?" Shu Yanyan was somewhat surprised.

The little bird covered its small head with its wings, appearing pensive. "The Emperor doesn't like to interact with outsiders. The parade has been suspended for nearly thirty years. I don't know what happened this year."

"But the parade route doesn't include Xincheng Avenue. We should arrive at our destination in about twenty minutes."

Shu Yanyan couldn't help but feel that she had recently heard the phrase "doesn't like to interact with outsiders."

She took out her smart brain device, intending to search for keywords. But as soon as she opened the web page, she realized that the related news had already dominated the trending searches. Every single one of the top ten was about this event.

#Emperor#

#Emperor's Parade#

#Emperor's Celebration Day#

#Emperor's Zhelin Planet Incident#

#Demon Tyrant#

.....

Subconsciously, Shu Yanyan clicked on the #Demon Tyrant# tag.

Unlike the other trending search terms, this tag had become a battlefield where netizens fiercely debated.

[How evil must someone be to bring up this tag on the celebration day? Do these shameless paid internet trolls have any conscience? Disgusting!]

[The ones who stick to you every day are your parents, and the Emperor should always be high and mighty. Besides this, can you guys criticize anything else?]

[The previous Emperor was criticized for being weak for not taking action, and now the current Emperor is criticized for being cruel and ruthless. You people always have something to say about.]

[...]

Amidst the praises, there were a few negative comments that Shu Yanyan couldn't quite understand.

[Resist the Demon Tyrant, remember the Zhelin Planet Incident.]

[With someone like her ruling the Empire, the people will eventually become her prey.]

Shu Yanyan felt a bit puzzled. She was about to turn around and ask the little bird, but she noticed that the little bird had a vacant look in its eyes, and its wings were trembling strangely.

She lightly tapped it. "Guan Guan?"

The little bird jumped out. "Don't disturb me!"

Shu Yanyan asked, "...What's wrong with you?"

The little bird continued to be absent-minded. "I'm determined to expose the IPs of these paid internet trolls today, so that these pests have nowhere to hide! Ha, these filthy creatures are quite good at hiding!"

Shu Yanyan smiled helplessly and had to abandon her previous thoughts, engaging in a casual conversation with little Yunmiao.

Twenty minutes later, the hover car stopped in front of a private employment agency.

On celebration days, most people were on holiday, but certain industries were actually busier, such as tourism and catering. Although this employment agency was not directly related to those industries, it claimed to operate year-round without closing. Shu Yanyan had made a long-awaited appointment for this particular time today.

The two of them, along with the little bird, entered the agency. Since they had made a prior reservation, once their identities were confirmed, the staff led Shu Yanyan into an office. Shu Yanyan didn't want little Yunmiao to know about the upcoming discussion, so she asked the little bird to take care of Yunmiao before entering the room.

The little bird responded with a "Okay" and stayed with little Yunmiao in the lobby.

The appointed staff was already waiting inside the room. Shu Yanyan sat down in front of him and began discussing her request.

After a moment, the staff member rubbed his chin. "Your case is quite difficult to handle. An Alpha without formal identification, missing for nearly two years in the chaotic federation." He looked at Shu Yanyan. "We can almost declare her dead."

Shu Yanyan clenched her fist. "She's not dead."

She took a deep breath, calming herself before continuing, "At the scene of the incident, no DNA evidence related to her was found. My wife must have been taken away by the people from Planet T under certain circumstances."

The staff member continued recording the information on his smart brain device while saying, "If you had come to us right after her disappearance, there might have been some hope. But it has been two years..."

Shu Yanyan also felt helpless. "My daughter was still young at that time, and I couldn't leave. In the past two years, I've been relying on the mercenary groups commissioned by the Federation to help with the search. They found some leads, which I have already submitted to your company."

The staff member nodded. "I can only submit the task for you. Whether there is a team willing to take it depends on the situation." He sized up Shu Yanyan and asked, "How much are you prepared to pay as the hiring fee?"

Shu Yanyan inquired, "Generally... how much is required?"

The staff member leaned back in his chair and explained, "We are a premium employment agency, and we generally have three tiers of services."

"The lowest tier requires one million Imperial coins, the middle tier is five million, and the high tier is ten million. If you have a lot of money to spare, you can even choose to hire our exclusive Special Grade team, which is the only one available in our company. So far, their mission success rate has been ninety-five percent, but their charges are very high. Just the down payment alone is five million."

He glanced at the screen and asked with a smile, "The Special Grade team will return to the capital next month, and they happen to have an opening. How about it? Would you like me to make a reservation for you?" He enthusiastically recommended, "You must have heard about the previous Emperor's disappearance, right? Later, when the Emperor returned safely, the captain of our Special Grade team, Miss Ge Meng, played a crucial role."

Shu Yanyan clenched her fist in embarrassment. "I... I need some more time to consider."

She did indeed have a sum of money in her hands.

When Yunmiao's other mother disappeared years ago, three bodies of notorious star thieves on the wanted list were found at the scene. As a result, Shu Yanyan received a generous reward. It was with this money that she was able to raise Yunmiao and hire local help in the search.

But now, she had only about one million left from that sum of money.

If she used it all, she could indeed proceed with the commission, but both her and Yunmiao's lives could become problematic afterward.

The staff member observed her expression, somewhat puzzled. "Are you concerned about the price? You don't seem like that kind of person."

Shu Yanyan forced a smile. "Do I look rich?"

The staff member pointed outside the door. "The robotic bird just now, it belongs to you, right?"

Shu Yanyan nodded, and he continued, "There are many robotic simulations nowadays, but very few are designed as birds. You see, flying consumes much more energy than walking or running. And that bird, so small in size, yet with such advanced AI... Only someone who can afford such a children's robotic bird wouldn't be short on money, right?"

It was precisely based on this judgment that the staff member had tried to persuade Shu Yanyan to consider the Special Grade team earlier.

Shu Yanyan felt guilty. "You might have guessed wrong."

The staff member pondered for a moment. "There are people within our company who are currently looking to purchase bird-like robotic simulations. Would you be willing to have that robotic bird appraised? Based on my rough estimate, it should be worth at least two million, if not more."

Shu Yanyan's mind went blank for a moment.

She had a vague idea that Guan Guan was valuable, but she never expected someone to offer a minimum of two million for it right away. How many pastries would she have to give to repay the favor of Guan Guan's previous owner?!

After regaining her composure, she shook her head and declined, "I'm sorry, I'm not selling it."

The staff member didn't insist any further, but his attitude visibly cooled down. "Please consider it in the main hall. I have another appointment in half an hour, so I may not be able to continue assisting you."

Shu Yanyan gathered her belongings, nodded, and left the room.

But when she arrived outside, eager to hug little Yunmiao and gather some courage, she was surprised to find that both her daughter and Guan Guan were missing!

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