Chapter 148 : Chapter 148
148. Don’t Litter
“I’m back.”
After putting the toilet paper back in its place, Yi Ning strolled leisurely back into the reception room, stretched out her right hand, and casually sat back down on the sofa.
When she saw the envelope in Lu Zheng’s hand, her eyes lit up. She pointed at it and nodded repeatedly.
“Yes, yes, that’s the one I actually wanted your help with.”
Lu Zheng gave her a glance, then shifted his gaze back to the envelope.
This time, there was only a single sheet of paper inside.
The title read—
Notice from the Cosmic Civilization Protection Committee Regarding a Crisis in the Survival of Civilization on Planet No. 9611451469.
The opening was already a bombshell.
Lu Zheng couldn’t help but swallow a mouthful of saliva.
A crisis threatening the survival of civilization?
Why did this feel like it was heading toward a “final chapter” scenario?
Suppressing the ten thousand questions swirling in his mind, he kept reading.
The notice stated that the Cosmic Civilization Protection Committee’s civilization-survival monitoring instruments had detected that part of the massive amount of garbage Dr. Alien had dumped on Planet No. 9611451469 had undergone abnormal mutations. If these mutated wastes were left unchecked, the civilization on that planet might be destroyed.
The committee hoped Dr. Alien would go clean up the mess she’d left, in order to preserve that civilization.
The notice wasn’t long—reading the whole thing took less than a minute—but the amount of information in it left Lu Zheng dizzy.
Was this really a civilization-ending crisis?
The task Yi Ning wanted him to help with… wasn’t it a bit too much?
Lu Zheng steadied his emotions and adjusted his expression. Looking at Yi Ning, he found himself not even sure which question to ask first.
After some hesitation, he decided to start by asking if she was joking.
Holding the notice up in front of her, he pointed at the line “Regarding a Crisis in the Survival of Civilization on Planet No. 9611451469” and asked, “Is this thing real?”
“It’s real.”
Yi Ning nodded.
Hearing that, Lu Zheng sucked in a cold breath, his chest feeling tight.
He pointed at himself.
“I’m supposed to go deal with a crisis that could destroy a world?”
“Really?”
“Really.”
Yi Ning nodded again.
Perhaps realizing her request was a bit excessive—or worried he might refuse—she patted her chest and added that she would go along with him.
“This is just too over the top!”
Lu Zheng felt his liver ache.
He forced himself to accept the premise for now, going over the clues he had so far, and then pressed her for more details.
The notice from the Cosmic Civilization Protection Committee hadn’t given any specifics about the civilization-ending crisis, only that some of her dumped garbage had mutated.
“Do you have more detailed intel on this crisis?”
He set the paper down on the coffee table, crossed his hands in front of his face like Commander Ikari, and waited.
Beside him, Yi Ning’s eyes darted away. She shifted uncomfortably, leaning back against the sofa.
“…No.”
Her irresponsible answer made Lu Zheng’s heart lurch.
A civilization was on the verge of destruction, and she was still acting so nonchalant?!
He abandoned his “commander pose,” straightened his back, and gave her a look filled with helplessness.
“Then what do you know?”
The question couldn’t have been simpler, yet her answer still disappointed him.
“Not much… I basically just throw unwanted stuff there. Aside from going there once—before life appeared on that planet—to avoid paying other worlds’ garbage transfer fees, I’ve never been back and never interacted with that civilization.”
Lu Zheng: “…”
He rubbed his temples, trying to ease the headache her words were causing.
Then something clicked.
From the birth of life to the rise of civilization was a very long process. How did Yi Ning get there before life appeared?
“You went there before the planet had life? How exactly did you get there?”
“Time machine, of course.”
Yi Ning scratched her head, as if puzzled why he’d even ask.
Time machine.
So sci-fi, yet somehow it made sense.
But if she had a time machine, couldn’t she just go back to the day she dumped the garbage and stop herself?
Her sheer, blood-pressure-spiking way of doing things made Lu Zheng’s fists clench.
Slamming a hand on the table, he growled, “Right now, I really want to use your time machine to go back to the day you dumped trash on someone’s planet and beat you up! Can’t you just not litter? Would it kill you to deal with your own garbage?!”
In the end, this entire situation was caused by Yi Ning’s utter lack of morals—dumping her trash on someone else’s planet.
If she’d had even a shred of civic sense, none of this would’ve happened.
If not for their current good relationship, the moment he’d heard this news, his fist would already have been flying toward her face.
Yi Ning awkwardly put her index fingers together, tips touching.
“It costs money, okay~”
“It. Costs. Money…”
Lu Zheng repeated her words, enunciating each syllable, his anger close to erupting.
But Yi Ning, oblivious to the storm building in him, just kept smiling.
She even shrugged, dismissing his idea of going back to hit her.
“Besides, years ago I sealed off the other end of the time tunnel. Now, if you want to time travel, you can only get a one-way ticket to the future.”
Seeing her show no guilt whatsoever, Lu Zheng finally couldn’t hold it in.
He picked up his Pixel Screen helmet, put it on, the top half showing an angry emoji, the bottom half a sweating yellow bean.
“That’s enough.”
He clenched his fist and held it in front of her.
“People like you… I’m going to fix you!”
Without giving her time to react, he swung and punched her, then stood up, stepped beside her, and tightened his fist in front of her face.
The tense knuckles popped audibly.
Yi Ning, face in her hands, looked up at him with mild confusion.
“Uh… wait. You can’t hit the past me, so you hit the present me instead? Isn’t that a bit wrong?”
She clearly had no idea why he was hitting her, and even sounded a little aggrieved.
Seeing that, Lu Zheng tightened his fist again—but in the end, he could only sigh helplessly and drop back into his seat.
He slumped against the sofa, feeling mentally exhausted.
After a while, he sat up again.
Looking at Yi Ning, he said, “That planet’s civilization is about to be destroyed because of your irresponsible behavior. Don’t you have anything to say about that?”