All the heavens, starting as the ruler of the universe

The conditions in the isolation room were much better than Liu Ming had imagined.

It wasn't a cold, impersonal prison cell, but a suite—a bedroom, a living room, a bathroom, and even a small balcony. Although the balcony overlooked a simulated screen, at least you could see the "sky."

The furniture was brand new, the bed was soft, there was fresh fruit on the table, and the refrigerator in the corner was full of food.

When he first came in, Liu Ming stood in the middle of the living room for a long time, stunned.

This treatment is much better than his own shabby dormitory.

Liu Ming didn't know how to react.

He thought he would be locked in a dark room, interrogated, and studied, but instead he was put into a five-star suite and treated to good food and drink every day.

The only problem is—we can't go out.

He can move around freely in this suite, watch TV, read books, and even has a computer to access the internet—but all internet requests need to be approved, and the messages sent out will be monitored.

On the fifth day, someone knocked on the door.

Liu Ming opened the door, and standing outside was a middle-aged man in a white coat, wearing glasses, with his hair neatly combed. Behind him were two young men carrying instruments.

"Hello, Mr. Liu Ming." The middle-aged man smiled. "I'm Dr. Li from the Joint Government's Science and Technology Department, responsible for your health monitoring. May I come in?"

Liu Ming stepped aside.

Dr. Li brought people in, and his attitude was so polite that it didn't seem like he was treating someone in quarantine.

The two young men began setting up the equipment, moving very quietly, afraid of making any noise.

"We need to collect some data regularly," Dr. Li explained, "such as blood tests, heart rate, and muscle density. It won't be too much trouble; you just need to cooperate."

Liu Ming stretched out his arm.

While he was having his blood drawn, Dr. Li chatted with him: "Have you been settling in well these past few days? If you need anything, just let us know, and we'll try our best to accommodate you."

"Can we go out?" Liu Ming asked.

Dr. Li's smile froze for a moment, but he quickly recovered: "Well... it will take some time. Your situation is rather special, so we need to proceed slowly."

"There's one more thing." Dr. Li took a document out of his bag.

"Our tests show that the metal used in your gun is an alloy we've never seen before, and it maintains excellent performance even in extremely cold weather."

Dr. Li paused for a moment, then said, "If you knew its formula, it would be of great help to us."

"I really don't know. I just borrowed it. Don't break it. I'll return it later." Liu Ming wasn't exactly lying. You Lingfeng only sold him so many source points for such a powerful gun, so it was practically the same as borrowing it.

"Borrowed?" Dr. Li was taken aback. From whom did he borrow it?

In fact, this was the result of Liu Ming's discussion in the chat group. He wanted to create a powerful background for himself so that the coalition government would not easily touch him.

"Anything else?" Liu Ming asked unhurriedly.

"What else?" Dr. Li didn't react.

"You haven't only analyzed this gun all this time, have you?" Liu Ming's look at him like he was an idiot made Dr. Li blush, and he coughed to cover his embarrassment.

"Uh, there's more..." Dr. Li took out another test report from his bag.

"This is your DNA test report." His tone became more cautious. "It's 99.9% consistent with the average person, but the remaining 0.1%... we don't understand what role it plays yet."

"So?" He looked up. "What are you planning to do with me?"

Dr. Li shook his head, his face even showing a hint of respect.

"No, you misunderstand." He closed the file. "The coalition government has no intention of 'dealing with' you. On the contrary, we hope to establish a good relationship with you."

He took another document out of his briefcase and handed it to him with both hands.

It was an agreement, a thick stack of documents, stamped with the official seal of the coalition government.

Liu Ming took it and flipped through it.

The agreement was complicated, but he understood the core meaning—the coalition government wanted him to become a "special advisor," enjoying a high degree of freedom, being able to leave the quarantine area, move within a limited area, and even being assigned a dedicated liaison and life assistant.

In exchange, he is required to regularly cooperate with some research, provide small blood samples, and receive "consultation" on major events.

He could only be considered a "prisoner" who could walk freely.

Liu Ming put the agreement down and came to this conclusion.

Dr. Li met his gaze and smiled somewhat awkwardly: "Please feel free to make any requests. We will try our best to accommodate them."

Liu Ming remained silent for a few seconds.

"I need time to think about it."

Dr. Li nodded immediately: "Of course, of course. Please take your time to consider it. Contact me anytime if you need anything."

After saying this, Dr. Li left without looking back, and the two people behind him closed the door.

Liu Ming stared at the agreement in silence for a long time before opening the chat group.

"You were right. The coalition government still doesn't intend to really release me; they've only granted me a certain degree of freedom."

"I told you long ago, they covet your power, yet fear the forces behind you." Ao Qing's message popped up incredibly fast, as always, getting to the forefront.

"The problem is, what power do I have?" Liu Ming gave a wry smile.

"Why not? Don't we count those of us in the chat group?"

Looking at the messages in the chat group, Liu Ming suddenly felt his eyes getting hot. Since transmigrating to this world, he had never felt a sense of belonging and always felt like a wanderer far from home.

But now, Ao Qing's words made him truly feel the joy of seeing a fellow villager when he was working hard away from home.

"Yes, Ao Qing is absolutely right." Peter Parker's message had a strong Northeastern accent, making it hard to believe that it came from a good neighbor in New York.

"Go ahead and do it. We're all your supporters," You Lingfeng replied.

"But I'm not strong enough to turn against the United Government right now. Maybe I should just sign this contract. It won't affect me much anyway."

Liu Ming felt that signing this contract wouldn't have much of an impact; once he gained more power, his status would naturally change.

"Perhaps you could increase your bet," Lin Yan suggested.

"What do you mean, Brother Lin?" Liu Ming didn't quite understand.

"You can tell them that you can solve the problem of the wandering Earth."

"Brother Lin, what did you say???" Ao Qing opened his mouth wide.

"If I remember correctly, the predicament of The Wandering Earth is that the sun goes out, right? Brother Lin, is the solution you mentioned sending them to a new home?" Peter Parker guessed.

"It's a bit simpler than that." Lin Yan didn't elaborate.

"So how should I talk to them?"

"It's your decision."

Liu Ming stared at the message and suddenly understood what Lin Yan meant.

Lin Yan can help, but how to negotiate and how to exchange for freedom is his own business.

He turned off the panel and looked at the agreement on the table.

Then he pushed it aside and lay back down on the bed.

Tomorrow, he will have new bargaining chips.

—————— Divider

The next day, Liu Ming took the initiative to contact Dr. Li.

Dr. Li arrived quickly, followed by several people—a few people in civilian clothes who didn't look like soldiers, but whose demeanor was definitely not that of ordinary people.

"Mr. Liu Ming," the leader began, his tone polite, "I heard you have something to discuss?"

Liu Ming nodded, gesturing for them to sit down.

Several people sat down on the sofa, their postures upright, but without any aggressive airs.

Liu Ming looked at them and got straight to the point.

"I understand that you want me to cooperate with the research, to figure out why I'm so strong, and to understand what's going on with that gun."

The leader nodded without saying a word.

"But have you ever thought about this," Liu Ming said, "even if you study me thoroughly, what then? Earth will still be wandering, humanity will still be crammed into underground cities, and it will take you 2,500 years to reach the next planet."

The group exchanged glances.

"What do you want to say?" one of them asked.

Liu Ming looked at him and said, word by word:

"I can save the Earth from having to wander."

The room fell silent.

The leader leaned forward, staring at Liu Ming: "What did you say?"

"I said, I can save Earth from wandering," Liu Ming said, leaning back on the sofa. "I can solve Earth's current crisis."

"you……"

"I know you don't believe me," Liu Ming interrupted him. "You've studied that gun; it's not from Earth. You've also analyzed my DNA; it's been tampered with. You should understand that I'm not an ordinary person."

The leader was silent for a few seconds, then lowered his voice: "Who...is behind you?"

Liu Ming shook his head: "You wouldn't know even if I told you."

"What are the conditions?" another person asked.

"The conditions are simple." Liu Ming looked at them. "I want true freedom, not the kind of nominal freedom, but real freedom. You can no longer send people to follow me, you can no longer draw my blood, you can no longer lock me up anywhere. I can go wherever I want and do whatever I want."

The leader frowned: "This..."

"I know you're worried," Liu Ming interrupted him, "but think about it. If the being behind me could truly solve Earth's wandering problem, what kind of being would they be? What do you think they would need from Earth?"

"We cherish Earth, but others don't care about it at all."

The room fell silent again.

The leader remained silent for a long time.

Finally, he stood up and bowed slightly to Liu Ming.

After the group left, Liu Ming leaned back on the sofa and let out a long sigh.

He opened the chat group.

"It feels so good to have someone backing you up, thank you, Brother Lin."

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

Three days later, Liu Ming was asked to leave the quarantine area.

He wasn't released secretly; he walked out openly and honestly—several uniformed men were standing at the door, and they all saluted him when they saw him come out.

The man in the lead stepped forward and handed over a document with both hands.

"Mr. Liu Ming, this is your pass. With this pass, you may move freely and without restriction within any area under your jurisdiction."

"In addition, we have prepared accommodation for you in the Beijing Underground City and arranged a living assistant. If you have any other needs, please feel free to ask."

Liu Ming took the pass and looked at it.

His photo, name, and a line of small print were printed on it: "Special Advisor, enjoying all civil rights and additional privileges."

"Are we just going to let him go like that?"

Inside a secret base that propels the engine, a group of people are watching Liu Ming's real-time monitoring footage on a large screen.

In the video, Liu Ming takes the pass, nods to the uniformed men, and then strides out without looking back.

The room was silent for a few seconds.

A middle-aged man in military uniform spoke first, his voice deep: "Otherwise what? You want to detain him?"

"That's not what I meant." The person who had asked the question earlier was a bespectacled office worker who adjusted his glasses.

"I mean, we still know too little about him. He said he could solve the problem of Earth's wandering, and we just believed him?"

"You've studied that gun," another elderly man in a white coat said. He was a senior expert from the Ministry of Science and Technology.

"Those materials, those patterns, that energy principle—these cannot be created by Earth's technology. Your Ministry of Science and Technology has already confirmed this."

The civilian official nodded: "I admit that. But a gun is a gun, and a person is a person. He didn't manufacture the gun; he just 'borrowed' it. The entity behind him..."

"Are you worried he's a fraudster?" the soldier asked.

"I'm worried we've been scammed," the civilian official said. "What he said was too...too grandiose. Solve the problem of Earth's wandering? How? Create another sun? Or send us to a new planet? Is that even possible?"

"And all these things can be obtained in exchange for one person's freedom?"

The room fell silent again.

"Then let's take a gamble," the soldier said. "Anyway, we have no other choice. The Fire Seed Project has failed, and 3.5 billion people will still have to wait 2500 years. There are too many things that could happen in between."

"What if he can't deliver on what he says?" the civilian official pressed.

The soldier looked at him and suddenly smiled: "So we've lost a special advisor? We've already lost too much; losing one advisor is still bearable."

Then the person who hadn't spoken until now spoke.

The man sat in the corner, dressed plainly, but everyone subconsciously gave him space.

He said something very interesting. "The man spoke in a calm voice, "'We cherish Earth, but others don't care about it at all.'"

He looked at the surveillance footage on the screen; Liu Ming was walking out the door.

"If what he said is true, if that being can really send a new sun, then what does he care about? Our technology? Our resources? Our territory?"

He shook his head.

"We don't care about anything, just like we don't care how much food is in an anthill."

"Starting today, Liu Ming's file will be upgraded to the highest level. All personnel who come into contact with him must undergo strict screening. Anything he needs, as long as it's not excessive, will be provided to him as much as possible."

"Understood," several people responded simultaneously.

The man took one last look at the screen.

In the scene, Liu Ming has already walked onto the street, where Han Ziang, along with Liu Qi and Han Duoduo, are waiting for him. The group is laughing and talking.

On the screen, Liu Ming's figure gradually disappeared into the crowd.

In the monitoring room, the group of people dispersed.