Chapter 120: When Elves Arrive: The Federation Stirs

“So, what do you think? Are the elves as beautiful as they say?”

Mu Qingxue asked with a teasing smile.

Her smile looked natural, but Lin Yu still felt a hint of danger beneath it.

His survival instincts kicked in at full throttle.

“Honestly, they’re alright. Most of them are good-looking, but if we’re talking about the top tier? Forget it. They can’t even compare to you, and they’re a step behind Ling Wei too.”

“Oh? That’s funny. I didn’t realize you had your eye on Ling Wei.”

……

……

Lin Yu stared, dumbfounded.

Wait, how did you even come up with that?

He was just trying to say that Mu Qingxue was more beautiful than Ye Lingwei, who in turn was prettier than the elves. Two steps above the rest.

How did she twist that into him having feelings for Ye Lingwei?

He really, honestly didn’t…

“Pfft… Relax, I’m just messing with you. So, how long until you reach Mars?”

“Around six months.”

“That lines up with the twins’ second birthday. You wouldn’t believe how much trouble those two have gotten into lately…”

It had been over a year since they’d seen each other—not even a single call was possible.

No wonder this phone call lasted a full three hours.

Meanwhile, on the Qiongxiao, both Ye Lingwei and Serena shot envious looks at Mu Qingxue.

But soon enough, Serena’s mood brightened again.

She might not be married yet, but she had Andrei—and he’d finally come back.

Six months from now, she wasn’t planning to let him off easy.

Only Ye Lingwei, now over thirty and still single, sat there deep in thought…

With looks and curves that could stop traffic, and a rank of Federation Fleet Commodore at age thirty-three—

Why couldn’t she find someone who truly matched her?

Rumor had it the entire command staff on the Zhulong were handpicked by Lin Yu himself. Maybe…

Maybe she should take a stroll down there someday. Who knows, maybe she’d meet someone worth her time.

Ye Lingwei drifted off into thought.

As her closest friend, Mu Qingxue saw right through her.

“Ling Wei, once Lin Yu gets back, come with me to Zhulong for a visit, okay?”

“Ah? Sure, no problem.”

Ye Lingwei nodded.

Some wishes really do come true, huh?

Qingxue, you’re the best friend a girl could ask for.

But then, she noticed Mu Qingxue looking at her with a sly grin and immediately sensed something was up.

“Qingxue, you…”

“Enough. If you spot anyone you like, just tell me—I’ll have Lin Yu set you up!”

At that moment,

Ye Lingwei realized Mu Qingxue had seen right through her wishful thinking.

Her cheeks turned bright red on the spot.

——

The next day.

The Federation Presidential Office had already started a massive publicity push about the elves.

Especially President Friedrich, who was paying close attention to every detail.

After all, this was a momentous event for all of humanity.

Any President who pulled this off would leave a major mark in the history books. Their names would even get a dedicated page in textbooks covering this milestone.

With only five years left in his final term, Friedrich was throwing himself into the effort.

And the moment the news was made public and verified by the Presidential Office, humanity went absolutely wild.

Elves—real, living elves!

It didn’t matter which old-world nation you came from.

Or which cultural group you belonged to, everyone knew the stories of elves…

They were legendary across the globe.

For centuries, humanity poured all its dreams of beauty into two fantasy races.

Elves were one, and angels were the other.

And now you’re telling me elves are real, they’re sending an embassy to Earth, and they want to join the Human Federation as the thirteenth species?

But here’s the kicker…

Authorities confirmed that elves and humans can produce children with no complications.

Honestly, that little detail was what sent everyone into a frenzy.

Of course, not everyone was thrilled—women across the Federation had opinions.

And most of those fell into two main categories.

First: Why are all the elves female? It’s not fair! We want male elves too!

Second: Why did the Federation only announce that men will be allowed to marry elves in the future? What about us? We’re citizens too!

This won’t do. We want a shot at marrying elf girls as well!

As for whether letting elves marry into the Federation would hurt women’s chances at finding a partner…

Some people brought it up, but it barely made a ripple.

After all, men now outnumber women in the Federation by ten percent with more than fifty-five percent of the population.

And the elves? All their tribes combined numbered only a few hundred thousand at best.

That doesn’t even make a dent in a Federation of thirty billion.

Nobody had much reason to worry about it.

Still, bringing an alien species into humanity’s fold wasn’t something President Friedrich could decide alone.

To prepare for situations like this in the future, Congress quickly drafted and passed a new law.

Since the Federation had never really faced this kind of situation, there were no established procedures or legal groundwork. That had to change, or negotiations wouldn’t go anywhere.

And so, the first edition of the Human Federation Expansion Law made a few things clear.

If a non-Solar System civilization wants to join the Federation, not only must their genes be highly compatible with those of humanity,

but there must also be a high level of integration.

In plain English: the two species need to be able to have children together without issue.

The Presidential Office only leads the negotiations. In the end, accepting a new member requires a public referendum—the President can’t just make the call solo.

And during talks, everything must be made public, start to finish. Once the initial talks conclude, the applicant civilization gets a year-long, Federation-backed PR campaign.

After that year, the Federation will hold a vote. Only if at least seventy percent agree will the newcomers be allowed in.

There’s one more thing to note.

Qualified civilizations can only apply once every one hundred years.

With a legal framework in place,

The Presidential Office sprang into action, quickly setting up the first round of talks with the elves and announcing a full live broadcast to the entire Federation.

Of course, since they’re still so far away, it would all happen via remote communication.

But that’s hardly a problem.

Within the Solar System, remote comms paired with holographic projection makes virtual meetings almost indistinguishable from being face-to-face—except for the lack of a physical presence.

And so…

Three days later.

The talks that captured the attention of the whole Federation—

finally began.