Since Li Chen appeared at the banquet, he beca the center of attention.
All the famous ladies, princesses, and misses were sneaking glances at him.
If Li Chen happened to glance their way, these pampered girls would get excited and their hearts would flutter.
All the noblen, princes, and ministers were also discussing him in groups.
If Li Chen happened to give them a casual look, these big shots who controlled the life and death of thousands and handled billions in funds would unconsciously shut their mouths. They feared that a careless word might lead them to the sa fate as Duke Aisi.
The atmosphere of the banquet was very awkward until the Queen appeared, surrounded by Prince Qiao’an and Princess Aisling, which sowhat eased the tension.
After the Queen personally took the stage to make a speech, the guests at the banquet began to present their birthday gifts.
Li Chen had Lin Xuanfei give on her behalf a jade pendant carved with a phoenix to express his sentints.
When Prince Qiao’an saw Lin Xuanfei, he couldn’t help but light up; he finally understood why his brother Duke Boge was so infatuated with her.
The Queen particularly liked the jade pendant Li Chen sent, and since she greatly admired Huaxia culture, she even gently held up the jade pendant and recited a clear and lodious poem: "A gentleman without equal under heaven, passersby as pure as jade," which elicited applause from the entire hall.
When the banquet was about to end, the Queen very tactfully expressed the desire to raise funds for charity and, on behalf of the Royal Family, donated 100 million British Pounds.
Newport’s richest man, Li Mingcheng, also ca to celebrate the Queen’s birthday and donated 300 million US Dollars.
Seeing the Queen taking the lead with her donation, other financial giants also began to dig deep into their pockets to donate. And, to save face, most of them were very generous. In only half an hour, the total funds raised had already exceeded 10 billion US Dollars.
"Our Rock Family donates 10 billion US Dollars!"
David Rock’s statent was like a bolt from the blue, instantly silencing the entire venue.
The Rock Family ranked among the top ten families in the United States, controlling trillions of dollars and involved in various industries.
After he shouted out his statent, he gave Li Chen a challenging look.
Li Chen simply smiled lightly and said with a calm deanor: "I, personally, will donate 100 billion US Dollars to establish an astronomical research base for global astrophysics and biotechnology research. I hope to make scientific and technological advances better serve humanity!"
Instantly, the whole place went silent!
Many people wore expressions of disbelief on their faces.
That was 100 billion - and in US Dollars!
"100 billion US Dollars? Mr. Li, you’re not joking, are you?"
The Minister of Finance thought he had misheard and approached with quivering lips to inquire.
Li Chen shrugged and said, "Do I look like I’m joking?"
Once the Minister of Finance confird that he hadn’t heard incorrectly, he couldn’t contain himself and let out an exclamation, regardless of the setting.
"Oh, my God, humanity thanks you!"
Li Chen rolled his eyes inwardly, 100 billion US Dollars ca out of my pocket, what does that have to do with God, why are you thanking Him?
This 100 billion US Dollars represented a century’s worth of accumulated wealth by the Overseas Hongn. To Li Chen, it was ill-gotten gains.
Besides, having so much cash was of no real use to him. He planned to single-handedly push forward the scientific and technological progress of all humanity, especially in the fields of astrophysics and biotechnology.
It’s well known that the technological level of the Ancient Maya was far above that of Earth. Once their armies ca pressing down, relying on the current level of human technology, there would be no resistance whatsoever.
Now with the Queen leading the way, he simply went with the flow and donated this 100 billion US Dollars. If possible, he intended to start building an interstellar warship for humanity within the next twenty years.
Li Chen raised an eyebrow, and using David Rock’s own provocative tone, he threw the challenge back at him.
"Young Master Rock, since the Rock Family is so rich and powerful, would you consider adding a bit more?"
David Rock’s face turned extrely ugly. His original plan was to use this 10 billion US Dollars to control the charity foundation and use it to curry favor with the UK and other European countries to nd relationships.
But he never expected that Immortal Master Li would co out of nowhere, directly contributing ten tis his donation in a dominant checkmate, leaving him losing both his wife and soldiers.
Not wishing for relations to sour too much between the Rock Family and their backers in the United States, the Queen stepped in to smooth things over, announcing the start of the ball.
Out of respect for the Queen, Li Chen did not press further.
i Ruohua, who had never learned to dance, seed sowhat restrained by her inability to dance.
Lin Xuanfei, on the other hand, boldly approached Li Chen with a giggle, "Sir, may I have the honor of dancing with you?"
Having said that, she extended her fair, delicate hand to Li Chen.
Li Chen responded with an indifferent smile, one arm wrapping around Lin Xuanfei’s slender waist, the other resting on her delicate shoulder, and they began to dance gracefully to the lively music.
The handso man and the beautiful woman made a perfect match, drawing envy from everyone.
After the event had ended, Li Chen held a small eting with the Queen, the Finance Minister, and several financial tycoons, mainly to discuss the use of the 126.742 billion US Dollars.
Li Chen proposed establishing a charity organization where 5% of the funds would be allocated annually for unemploynt benefits and humanitarian aid for refugees affected by natural disasters or war, while the remaining 95% would go towards scientific and technological research.
Furthermore, he indicated he would continue to add to the amount in the future.
The proposal was carried unanimously, with no objections.
Since Li Chen’s donation of 100 billion US Dollars accounted for 78.9% of the total amount, giving him absolute control, the newly-established charity would be nad the "Starlight Foundation," with him serving as its first CEO, and its headquarters set in Northern Ireland.
This news shocked the whole world.
And naturally, the United States was the most astonished.
Houston in the United States had been brought to great prominence by the legendary achievents of the Rocket Team in the NBA.
However, while many could see the sweat of the Rocket Team’s players during training at the Toyota Center, they were oblivious to the existence of a staggering laboratory beneath their feet.
This laboratory, located 36,500 ters underground, exceeded the thickness of the continental crust and was technologically far beyond the level of current human advancent.
To put this into perspective, the deepest borehole ever drilled to date was the Kola Superdeep Borehole by the forr Soviet Union in the 1970s, with a depth of 12,262 ters, only a third of the depth of this research facility.
Logically, a few hundred ters underneath the surface, oxygen deprivation symptoms would appear, necessitating the use of oxygen masks for construction work. A few thousand ters down, not just humans, but even other life forms would find it difficult to survive. At a depth of 30,000 ters, it would certainly be a void of life.
Yet this laboratory continued to operate as normal. One could occasionally see figures dressed in specialized protective suits, busily moving about like worker ants.
To be precise, they were not humans, but Mayan Star people.
The original Mayan Star people were a completely different species from humans. Compared to humans, they were much larger, with an average height reaching three ters, and individuals of four or five ters were not uncommon. Giant n like Yao Ming were considered dwarfs among them.
Besides, they had another distinctive feature: long tails trailing behind them.
However, since their arrival on Earth 2,200 years ago and the nurous fierce battles with the cultivation experts of the ti, the Mayans suffered heavy casualties and their numbers greatly dwindled. In order to propagate their lineage, they began to use advanced technology to capture human won and even female gorillas for breeding.
Now, only ten pure-blood Mayans remained—all male and incapable of natural procreation. To slow down the deterioration of their bodily functions, they took turns hibernating, changing every fifty years, with only one overseeing everything each cycle.
However, the number of crossbreeds of Mayans with humans or chimpanzees was as high as thirty thousand.
The underground laboratory did not rely on surface resources but harnessed energy from crustal movents to sustain its operations.
At the core area of the laboratory was a huge electronic display.
In addition to various operational data, it also projected a starfield from outer space.
In front of the display stood a seven-ter-tall Mayan Star person with a triangular head and a long tail. He was Tara Guli, one of the ten Mayan leaders.
They had sent a ssage to the Mother Star using interstellar electromagnetic waves 240 years ago. According to their schedule, next year, 2012, the ssage from the Mother Star would arrive on Earth.
2012—the start of a new era for Earth was about to begin!
Just as Tara Guli was exhilarated about witnessing the birth of a new era, a Mayan hybrid entered to report.
"Leader, we’ve just received a ssage from the surface. In the Asian mainland of the Northern Hemisphere, there appears to be a demonic youth nad Immortal Master Li. He has survived a 40,000 yield nuclear bomb and is growing rapidly. He could pose a threat to us in the future. Should we dispatch the God Slaying Team to eliminate him?"
Hearing that even a nuclear bomb with a 40,000 yield could not kill a human youth, the joy on Tara Guli’s face vanished without a trace.
40,000 yield—that was a terrifying number!
Their latest protective gear could withstand an impact of only that magnitude.
"Deploy the God Slaying Team. Spare no expense to annihilate this demonic human and eliminate future threats. We absolutely cannot allow humans to possess such advanced technology. Otherwise, even if the Mother Star descends upon Earth, it would all be for naught!"
Tara Guli made the decision then and there, his jade-colored eyes filled with a chilling intent to kill.
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