Chapter 36: Luxury Mansion [Requesting monthly tickets, recommendations, and follow-up reads; just keep reading]

35. Luxury Mansion

Tang Xiao arrived at the Dawn City City Hall, where Graham was leading an administrative team in managing the entire city's operations.

Graham's team worked in cooperation with Daphne Clement's team; the former was responsible for the details and specific tasks, while the latter handled macro-level planning. Furthermore, Clement's side needed to coordinate and plan construction projects in outer space, as resources produced by interstellar collection stations occasionally needed to be sent to support Dawn City.

Tang Xiao's visit to Graham was primarily regarding the matter of that master-level aerospace engineer. The field in which the engineer operated was incredibly broad, with deep research spanning everything from aircraft engines and energy supply to aerodynamics and materials science.

However, his requirements were quite extravagant: a luxurious detached residence, a large-scale testing site containing at least one wind tunnel laboratory, and a mature research team.

Tang Xiao needed to satisfy these conditions as quickly as possible to awaken him, so that he could lead Feng Yongwang's team to accelerate the development of the Ghost Fighter. However, several days had passed, and there had been no progress, which left him feeling very anxious.

The recent attack by the bounty hunters had served as a wake-up call for Tang Xiao. The *Homeworld* technology currently available on the Mothership—especially the basic technologies—was indeed generations ahead of the *Star Wars* world, and it could absolutely not hold its own against the spaceships of this universe.

To ensure the safety of the Mothership and the planet Dawn, the Ghost Fighter had to be equipped as soon as possible!

"Administrator, I am truly sorry. We have already arranged for engineering teams to work overtime to construct the large-scale testing site, and the manufacturing plants on the Mothership have dedicated their main production lines to producing relevant experimental equipment. But the problem is... that master expert's requirement for a luxury residence... we truly cannot find anything like that..." Graham explained to Tang Xiao, sweating profusely.

"Is a luxury mansion more difficult to provide than a laboratory filled with precision instruments?" Tang Xiao frowned, dissatisfied with the answer.

"The furniture, decorations, even the carpets, crystal chandeliers, and antiques required for a luxury mansion—we simply have nowhere to find them!" an administrative staff member said, wiping cold sweat from his forehead.

Tang Xiao froze for a moment, and then blurted out, "Are you guys S—" He swallowed the two-word profanity halfway through, took a breath, and sighed, "It's already the year 1202, why do you still think a luxury mansion must consist of those things?"

He almost immediately understood the reason and the solution.

"That... we cannot hope to match even a fraction of your wisdom and knowledge, Administrator. Please guide us," the administrative staff member said, quickly bowing his head.

"Come on, let's go see this mansion you prepared for him," Tang Xiao said with a wave of his hand.

Graham quickly led several administrative staff members to follow Tang Xiao and show him the way.

They arrived at an empty plot on the outskirts of Dawn City. This place bordered a lakeside and was adjacent to open farms, making it a truly beautiful location. A two-story villa had been built here with a unique and elegant design; it appeared the architect had put in significant effort.

However, the villa was completely empty inside. Several rooms were hollow, and in the backyard, a swimming pool seemed to be under construction but remained unfinished.

"Administrator, this..."

"Enough, I know," Tang Xiao interrupted Graham with a wave of his hand, pointing to the surrounding space. "Everyone here came from a jungle of reinforced concrete. Who told you that 'luxury' must mean velvet carpets and crystal chandeliers? Nowadays, the trend is to return to nature. Look at those corrupt officials... ah, I mean, look at those wealthy people—aren't they all buying estates out in the countryside?"

The nearby administrative staff members quickly pulled out notebooks and began scribbling furiously.

Tang Xiao walked to the window and pointed at the pristine, natural scenery outside. "If you want a luxury mansion, of course, you must return to nature! See those wildflowers over there? Find someone to transport them here. What? Just a single pot? That's only enough to decorate a toilet! I want a ring of them planted around every single room!"

"...And then look at this exterior wall. No tiles, no paint, right? See those vines on the trees over there? Pull them over and wrap the entire house in them. If one layer isn't enough, do two! Also, find some bird nests and place them in the windows. Waking up to the sound of birds and the scent of flowers—isn't that much more luxurious than your crystal chandeliers?"

"And another thing! The swimming pool! Yes, go into the lake, scoop up some aquatic plants and throw them in, then find some fishermen and get some brightly colored fish! Arrange the aquatic plants in a heart shape—that's called romance!"

"Furniture? That's even easier! Isn't solid wood furniture the most popular thing right now? Go into the forest, saw down a few trees, and isn't that solid wood? No Phoebe zhennan? This is the planet Dawn, not Earth! If there's no Phoebe zhennan, use that! See that tree over there? Isn't it reddish? Saw it down, saw it down!"

"Who told you to strip the bark and branches off that tree? Leave them! Leave them all! It has to be organic! Just saw a section of the tree down, split it in half, attach some legs, and it's a table! How eco-friendly and green is that?"

"Floors? You don't know how to make wooden floors? Well, you do have to remove the bark and branches for that, and lay it flat. Then put a few carpets down. Where do we get carpets? Didn't I see someone shearing Ewoks yesterday? Take some chocolate and trade with them. Get a huge pile of wool and glue it together, and there you go!"

"A bed is no big deal! Return to nature, return to nature—do you understand? Weren't the people from the Department of Agriculture weeding yesterday? Go get some green grass, circle it around here, and then cover it entirely with wheat stalks. Hey, watch your mouth! Who told you this was a pigsty? Graham, remember this—dock this person's salary for half a month. *Ahem*, if you think wheat stalks aren't high-class enough, then use fur! Fur is high-class enough, right?"

"That... fur, ah, right, fur! What about the fur... hey, didn't I see the Marines hunting those dangerous animals a few days ago? Yes! Have them hunt a few more! Find a sharpshooter to go in—shoot them in the eyes or the mouth, just don't ruin the hide! Then skin the whole thing, and yes, spread it on the bed! Don't cut off the head! That's the essence! Keep the skull for me too!"

"See? Every night, surrounded by the fragrance of plants, smelling the scent of grain, and sleeping on a beast—how prestigious is that! What is luxury? This is luxury! If you don't believe me, go look in the city center. How much would a house like this sell for? 100,000 per square meter? That's just the starting bid! What? You want one for me too? No need, I'll just live a bit more simply and make do on the Mothership."