Chapter 123

Pirated Tianshen Seven

With Yīn's help, Zhang Zheng uploaded the sub-system of the Tianwang network into the Tianshen system.

"Yīn, shall we go for a spin?" Zhang Zheng couldn't contain his excitement, eager to pilot the Tianshen out for a test flight.

"Zhang Zheng."

"Hmm, what's up, Yīn?" Zhang Zheng looked at Angel Yīn, puzzled by her sudden call.

"Queen Kaisa wants us to return and explain how this Tianshen battleship came to be," Yīn said awkwardly. She hadn't expected Zhang Zheng to manage to clone a Tianshen Seven out of thin air.

"Oh! In that case, let's head back first." Zhang Zheng's tone carried a hint of disappointment, but when it came to meeting his mother-in-law, he had to prioritize.

Yes, Zhang Zheng now understood Yīn's relationship with Kaisa. If Kaisa were just the Angel Queen, Zhang Zheng might not have cared much. But now that she was Yīn's mentor, things were a bit awkward, and Zhang Zheng felt he had to show respect.

Angel City, Royal Palace

With Kaisa and Hèxī staring at him, Zhìxīn felt a bit embarrassed.

"Queen, Zhang Zheng also has his own celestial battleship. We came to Angel City mainly to learn about the space-time shield technology," Zhìxīn said, her face flushed red.

Zhìxīn hadn't expected Zhang Zheng to actually use the Infinity Stones to clone a Tianshen Seven.

"No, Zhìxīn. I remember that the manufacturing technology for the Tianshen is in your database. Why did Zhang Zheng still need to come to Angel City for it?" Hèxī was confused. Given that Zhìxīn's database already contained the information, it didn't make sense for Zhang Zheng to come all this way for it.

"Well, I didn't dare teach him without Queen Kaisa's permission, so Zhang Zheng didn't press me, and we came to Angel City," Zhìxīn explained.

"Oh, in that case, it's fine. Anyway, he's managed to clone the Tianshen," Hèxī said, showing sympathy for Zhìxīn and choosing not to blame her too harshly.

While Hèxī didn't make a fuss about Zhang Zheng's cloning of the Tianshen, Kaisa was fuming.

Kaisa didn't mind Zhang Zheng cloning the Tianshen Seven per se, but seeing the three eights on the Tianshen Eight was disheartening. The Tianshen series was a symbol of the Angels, and while Kaisa didn't mind Zhang Zheng using it, it was a bit much to see it modified so drastically. If Zhang Zheng flew around with a Tianshen branded with three eights, people would associate the ship with her rather than with Zhang Zheng, the Earth's deity.

As Kaisa pondered this, Zhang Zheng and Yīn entered the palace.

"Queen Kaisa, Hèxī, Zhìxīn."

Upon entering the main hall, Angel Yīn released Zhang Zheng's hand and greeted the three.

"Kaisa," Zhang Zheng greeted the two Angel Sovereigns politely, not minding their murderous glares. He then stood between Zhìxīn and Yīn, one hand holding each of them.

"Kid, aren't you going to explain?" Kaisa asked sternly, clearly annoyed.

"Explain? What's there to explain? I didn't steal the Tianshen technology, I just cloned one," Zhang Zheng said defiantly, refusing to admit any wrongdoing.

"Zhang Zheng..." Zhìxīn nudged him gently, looking uncomfortable.

"Alright, Queen Kaisa, I've cloned the Tianshen Eight. If you feel it's a loss, just think of it as Zhìxīn's flagship. Her original Tianshen hasn't been built yet!" Zhang Zheng, after being nudged, reluctantly softened his stance, not wanting to upset Zhìxīn further.

Hearing Zhang Zheng's explanation, Kaisa and Hèxī remained silent, but Zhìxīn spoke up.

"I don't want it."

Zhìxīn's response was decisive, and Zhang Zheng was puzzled. "Why not? Isn't the Tianshen great?"

"It's too ugly." Zhìxīn found the three eights on the Tianshen's blade rather embarrassing.

"No, why? I think the Tianshen battleship's design is quite impressive," Zhang Zheng didn't understand Zhìxīn's issue. The Tianshen was pretty good, and Zhìxīn had initially not rejected the Tianshen Eight, so why the sudden dislike?

"The Tianshen is certainly beautiful, but 888 is just too unattractive, so I don't want it."

Zhìxīn's comment struck Zhang Zheng hard. He didn't see anything wrong with 888. Zhang Zheng preferred using numbers to label items, just like he had for the steel battle suits he sent to Huaxia, numbering them from one to a thousand.

As a reborn Huaxia, Zhang Zheng felt that only 888 suited him—so auspicious! Of course, 95 would work too, but Zhang Zheng liked 888 better.

"How about this, Zhìxīn? I'll make you another one," Zhang Zheng offered. Even though he liked 888, he was willing to make another one for Zhìxīn, considering that the hardest part—the scanning—was already done.

"No need. Since you like the Tianshen series, you keep it. However, I want the Sanctuary you're making," Zhìxīn said, a little smug. The Sanctuary was something Zhang Zheng had prepared for himself, and exchanging it meant a significant gesture of commitment.

As for how Zhìxīn knew about these things, there was plenty of relevant content available online.

"Man, we came here to address responsibility, not to eat dog food," Hèxī commented, feeling exasperated by Zhang Zheng and Zhìxīn. She asked Kaisa privately through their dark communication.

"Humph, who can we blame? It's all Zhìxīn's fault for ruining the mood," Kaisa was even more frustrated than Hèxī. The Tianshen was her signature, and now Zhang Zheng had altered it—she was the most annoyed.

"Ugh, I really don't understand what these young people are thinking," Hèxī sighed, losing hope for addressing Zhang Zheng's actions.

Zhìxīn was her student, and she couldn't bring herself to reprimand her. Yīn was Kaisa's student, so Kaisa would probably be the same. The only one left to deal with was Zhang Zheng, but after seeing Zhang Zheng's abilities, Hèxī realized he had more hidden cards than she did.

"I'll use this opportunity to test Zhang Zheng's strength. Hèxī, you'll help me," Kaisa decided, wanting to test Zhang Zheng's limits.

It wasn't just about the Tianshen; Zhang Zheng's hidden capabilities and the potential for him to go rogue were what Kaisa was really concerned about.

"Do you need me to take action, Queen Kaisa?" Hèxī asked in the dark communication.

"No, but I need you to merge the Tian-based computation cloud with my Tianshen computation cloud and maximize the computational capacity." Kaisa remained rational, preferring not to act personally. She needed a valid excuse to test Zhang Zheng's strength, and teaming up with Hèxī would complicate things.

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