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Chapter 297: The Map to Eden

Xia Fei woke up early in the morning as usual. He started doing the first task of the day after he was done washing his face and brushing his teeth to get his breakfast.

However, he completely forgot about his empty stomach after receiving a few sudden calls. Every call was telling him to connect to Starlink Corporation’s interplanetary internet immediately. Something serious, which was going to influence the whole Alliance, was about to happen.

Xia Fei opened his microcomputer puzzledly. He immediately saw the news of Eden filling the headlines again. More than ten pages of news were popping out every second.

“Holy crap! This is insane, and it’s still so early in the morning!” Phantom exclaimed.

Xia Fei frowned. He quickly tapped a few times on the screen to open a few articles that were pinned to the top.

“It’s a route to Eden!” Phantom exclaimed after swallowing. “We’ll be able to follow the map to the legendary Eden, the warless, peaceful space.”

Xia Fei remained silent. He read a dozen articles thoroughly to check every detail they had, then he closed the screen and went to grab his breakfast afterward, but since it was already close to noon, it should be called his lunch.

“Why don’t you seem excited at all? The map is the way to a brand new space, where humans like us live. Aren’t you curious at all?” Phantom asked.

Xia Fei replied, “I’m curious, but I still don’t believe everything. My instinct is telling me that something doesn’t feel right.”

Phantom twisted his lips. “I know that you’ve always been suspicious of everything, and your instincts have been on point most of the time, but the experts are all vouching for the authenticity of the map by ninety percent.”

Xia Fei shrugged. “Ninety percent is still not hundred percent. Besides, experts aren’t always right. It’s only their speculations by comparing the position of the stars on the map with the stars they saw with a super telescope. It doesn’t really prove it’s where Eden is located. Besides, I’ve been wondering if Eden really exists in the first place. A place without war and violence? It’s definitely the biggest joke I’ve heard in my life.”

There were not many people in the cafeteria. Even the number of staff was a lot lesser.

Xia Fei brewed some coffee after having his breakfast. He sat on a chair and lit a cigarette before telling Phantom, “I’ll analyze the situation from the start for you, so you will understand where I’m coming from.”

Phantom agreed. Many people enjoyed listening to Xia Fei when he was assessing a situation. The way he viewed things was rather unique, and he would occasionally come up with shocking ideas.

“I’ve already explained my view on the warship from Eden and its crew members. There’s no evidence to prove that they’re from Eden apart from the strange appearance of the warship.”

“However, many claim that the people on the warship are from a different place other than the Alliance. The ancient facilities and the books on the ship also prove Eden’s existence,” Phantom countered, feeling puzzled.

Xia Fei smiled. “Have you seen them in person?”

Phantom shook his head.

Xia Fei said, “So far, the information we have is all from rumors, which we should never believe easily. The Admiralty has never revealed any evidence to the public. The government’s representative only said that they had found an unidentified ship outside the Alliance. It clearly indicates the government doesn’t have any solid evidence to prove those people’s origin. Don’t you think that it’s too sloppy to arrive at a conclusion this early?

“On top of that, I seriously don’t believe a place with humans has no violence and war. Those people might be from outside the Alliance and are related to the ancient humans, but I won’t dare to believe the Eden they mentioned. A place like that only exists in a fairy tale or a movie, not the reality.

“That’s why there’s no way I’ll believe it if someone simply takes out a map and tells me I can find the legendary paradise, Eden, just by following it. That being said, I won’t deny the possibility that the map might bring us to where the ancient humans lived, yet it definitely won’t be a utopia.”

Phantom considered Xia Fei’s explanation seriously. The man was very rational with his analysis, but Phantom was leaning more toward the fantasy side of things—a scene out or a movie—just like everyone else instead of admitting the wicked nature of humans.

Xia Fei added, “Besides, it’s weird how the map appeared out of nowhere. Those people are still under the Admiralty’s surveillance and are being escorted from outside the Alliance. Those humans who claimed to have come from Eden haven’t officially interacted with us, yet someone already has the map. Isn’t it strange?

“I checked the internet; almost everyone got hold of a copy of the map to Eden in just a single night, but where did it first come from and who was it that distributed the map? How can I believe in a map when I don’t know its source? The people distributing it are reluctant to reveal their identity, too. Are they afraid of being held responsible if anything happens, or do they have some ulterior motives?”

Phantom fell silent. He said with a self-mocking smile, “I’m not a qualified assassin, indeed. I shouldn’t believe in things that I don’t understand easily. You’re right; I’m too naïve.”

Someone suddenly ran into the cafeteria and yelled, “Turn on the TV! A representative of the Alliance is delivering an official statement about Eden.”

A few seconds later, every screen in the cafeteria was turned on. Eden was currently the hottest topic, so everyone could not wait to watch the latest news about it.

An old man with thoughtful eyes stood on the podium of the Alliance’s news center. He cleared his throat and said in a deep voice, “Citizens of the Pan-Human Alliance, greetings; I’m Nie Peiyuan, the minister of news. The government, council, and military have appointed me to explain everything that happened a few hours ago regarding the incident related to Eden.”

The whole cafeteria fell silent. Everyone’s eyes had widened while they gathered their focus on listening to the announcement. They wanted to know if the man could really guide them to the legendary Eden, the idealistic and warfree region.

Nie Peiyuan paused briefly before he said, “According to the outcome of the investigation conducted by the military and the Admiralty, the map was originally in the possession of the Admiralty’s special ops fleet, but due to some technical difficulties, the map was sent to a few commoners’ computers when it was meant to be sent to the Admiralty’s headquarters. These people then uploaded the map to the interplanetary internet, resulting in the chaos from morning to noon, Venal time today.”

“What did he mean by that?” Phantom asked after failing to understand the government official’s cliché speech.

Xia Fei explained, “He’s saying that the map was from the people who claimed that they’re from Eden.”

“Which means the map is legit!” Phantom exclaimed.