158: Chapter 158: This super telescope seems to be able to see through the entire universe.

At dusk, Jiang Zhe and Xiao Yu stood in the courtyard of their new home.

Looking at this Chinese-style courtyard with white walls and black tiles, it truly lived up to its name, being so quiet it felt isolated from the world.

Over twenty Chinese-style courtyards were scattered among the gentle slopes and bamboo forests, with at least fifty meters between each household, ensuring excellent privacy.

Occasionally, black, dark gray, and red luxury sedans and sports cars could be seen gliding lightly over the smooth asphalt road, disappearing behind another courtyard gate.

The residents here seemed to be wealthy merchants and cultural figures who valued privacy, and even some actors.

Overall, everyone maintained a sense of polite distance from one another.

Just as Jiang Zhe and Xiao Yu were putting away the few boxes of personal items they had brought, a soft knock came from the courtyard gate.

A middle-aged man in his early fifties, wearing a high-quality dark Chinese-style jacket, stood outside with a smile. Behind him stood a man who looked like an assistant, carrying an exquisite gift box.

"Hello, I'm your neighbor from Courtyard Number Seven to the east. My surname is Zhou, Zhou Wenyuan," the man introduced himself in a very gentle tone. "Welcome to Jingshan Manor. This is a small token of my regard, a housewarming gift."

The assistant handed over the gift box, which contained high-quality tea leaves and a set of celadon tea ware.

Xiao Yu looked at Jiang Zhe, feeling a bit at a loss.

Jiang Zhe stepped forward, took the gift box, and nodded slightly. "Thank you, Mr. Zhou, that's very thoughtful. My surname is Jiang, and this is my younger sister. We just moved in and haven't had the chance to visit the neighbors yet."

"No rush, no rush." Zhou Wenyuan's smile was warm. His gaze lingered on Jiang Zhe's face for a moment, noticing that Jiang Zhe's temperament was somewhat unusual—he actually exuded the aura of someone who had long held a high position. He didn't know if it was just an illusion.

"Jingshan Courtyard is quiet, suitable for recuperation and reflection. Seeing Mr. Jiang's extraordinary temperament, you must be someone who likes peace and quiet as well. If you need any help in the future, don't hesitate to ask. I'll leave you to your business now; I won't disturb you any longer."

After a few pleasantries, Zhou Wenyuan left with his assistant.

The whole process took no more than three to five minutes; the other party was polite and thoughtful, yet maintained a safe distance.

"Big brother, why aren't you nervous? He looks like a big shot in the business world at first glance."

Xiao Yu said somewhat flusteredly. After all, half a month ago, she was still a poor student, but things were different now.

Jiang Zhe only gave a slight smile. He naturally wouldn't say that in his past life, people like that didn't even meet the threshold to see him.

Later, two other neighbors sent people over with simple potted plants or fruit baskets. They didn't show up in person, only sending their regards through housekeepers or drivers.

While fiddling with the delivered Phalaenopsis orchid, Xiao Yu whispered, "The people here really have such a sense of distance!"

"This is for the best," Jiang Zhe replied calmly as he began moving boxes. "When you have time later, go and return the favors one by one. Regardless of the value, it's the thought that counts."

"Okay."

They entered the house.

He chose the massive master bedroom on the first floor. The room was airy and bright; opening the door led to a small bamboo forest in the side yard, making it private and quiet.

Xiao Yu, on the other hand, excitedly claimed the large room on the second floor with the best view. It had a curved balcony overlooking the distant bamboo forest and mountain scenery.

What satisfied Jiang Zhe the most was the study. It was spacious, with one wall being a floor-to-ceiling bookshelf and the other being an almost floor-to-ceiling viewing window, facing the courtyard and a portion of the unobstructed sky.

He manifested the Super Telescope and placed it in front of the windowsill.

The telescope had a high-tech design. Upon closer inspection, it wasn't an ordinary telescope; it looked more like an observation instrument from a cutting-edge laboratory.

A simple birthday dinner was held in the living room of the new home. Wang Shulin and a younger associate helped with the move today, and they brought a massive birthday cake with a full 24 layers.

The meal consisted of several home-cooked dishes Jiang Zhe made himself, and the taste was unexpectedly delicious!

The meal ended in a relaxed atmosphere. Wang Shulin tactfully did not reveal any more information, only emphasizing again that the front entertainment company would not interfere with Xiao Yu's future, before taking his leave.

Later, Xiao Yu's treatment was upgraded to S-rank, with her benefits skyrocketing!

...

Time passed, and the lights in the manor became sparse.

The ink-blue night sky appeared very deep. He walked to the telescope and stroked the cold barrel.

This Super Telescope also featured touch-screen controls, with the starry sky displayed in real-time on the screen.

When he leaned down close to the eyepiece, his field of vision suddenly changed.

Within his vision—

The universe was not a scene of ink-black emptiness.

Instead, it was a completely vast and brilliant starry sky. He knew this was the universe as seen through the machine's vision, not the human eye.

The stars across the sky were no longer blurry spots of light, but clear and beautiful scenes.

As he gradually increased the distance—blazing blue-white young stars, stable yellow-white middle-aged stars, and the outlines of massive yet dim red giants...

Even more distant deep-space nebulae were like smeared gauze, hanging against the vast, boundless deep-blue background.

Even across dozens or hundreds of light-years, this Super Telescope could still lock on clearly...

Even Jiang Zhe himself was so shocked his mouth hung open. Looking further and further, he even saw two black holes of different sizes in the depths of space slowly merging. During the merger, planets and stars from all directions were being torn apart into threads of flashing light, slowly sinking into the two black holes.

Zooming out even further, the massive black hole at the center of the Milky Way, which was almost unobservable to the naked eye, occupied the entire screen.

In the electronic vision, that black hole was so large it took up Jiang Zhe's entire field of view.

He quickly adjusted the scale to a suitable range, only then clearly observing the Galactic Black Hole.

Surrounding the Galactic Black Hole were hundreds of secondary and multi-level black holes, maintaining a relatively safe distance from the Milky Way's central black hole while slowly devouring dust and nebulae within several light-years.

It was like a family of black holes holding light-year-long straws, sucking up the brilliant, glowing streams in the vacuum of space.

Occasionally, a few 'pearl' planets—like the pearls in bubble tea—were sucked into the mouths of the black holes.

Continuing to zoom out and then changing direction.

He saw a binary star system. Within the system, several planets with stable structures orbited irregularly without being pulled apart by gravity.

One of the stars in the binary system—a star that was originally emitting brilliant white light—suddenly dimmed the moment Jiang Zhe observed it with his naked eye, as if it had been extinguished.

He looked further and further... further and further...

The more he looked, the more he felt his mind shaken and found it inconceivable.

If it weren't for the fact that the speed of light cannot catch up with the speed of the universe's expansion, Jiang Zhe felt he could see into the unobservable universe.

He slowly stood up and looked at the Super Telescope with an expression of disbelief. "This... if this Super Telescope were dismantled... it would at least cause this world's astronomical landscape to leap forward by several centuries."

"Just now, a star in a binary system stopped emitting light the moment I observed it... Could it be a dyson sphere? Interesting, though it's very far away."

After composing himself for a while, he finally emerged from the 'sage state' of observing the universe.

...

Meanwhile, at the other end of the city, in the old residential area where Jiang Zhe had previously rented.

In the building opposite, the pair of monitors disguised as a newlywed couple were looking through a high-powered telescope at the familiar sixth-floor window for the last time.

Inside the window, the room was dark, silent, and empty.

The man in the black trench coat put down the telescope and rubbed the back of his head, his tone somewhat helpless:

"Well, on the first day of the stakeout mission, the target upgraded directly to a luxury mansion. This trip was a waste of effort for the two of us."

The woman beside him also sighed and began packing the equipment. "A place like Jingshan Manor has tight security; the residents are either rich or noble, and privacy is extremely strong. It's no longer possible for us to quietly set up nearby; instead, it would be easy to get exposed and cause unnecessary trouble."

"The secret protection plan, it seems, can only end here."

The man nodded and began dismantling the miniature camera hidden in the flower vase.

Just then, the encrypted communicator they carried vibrated, and a short text message arrived.

[Target has moved to Jingshan Manor, which has its own high-level security. Your mission is over. Withdraw immediately and erase all traces.]

The two looked at each other and quickly replied.

[Received. Executing immediately.]

They efficiently packed all the equipment into boxes and wiped away all traces of their stay in the room.

In less than ten minutes, the two of them carried their light suitcases and quietly disappeared from the residential area, as if they had never been there.

Tonight, countless internet friends waiting in the livestream room were hungering for content.

"What happened?"

"Where's my big brother? Why didn't he show up tonight?"

"I invited my professor to watch. Why is the livestream screen black?"

"He's moving! He's moving! I have an uncle who sent him a housewarming gift earlier; I know where our big brother's home is, hehe~"

"Person above, tell us quickly!"

"Sorry, I can't say~~"

"Then when exactly will he appear?"

"Tomorrow, probably!"

"Waaa~ I've waited all day, my heart is tired."

"..."

The next day, the winter sun shone brightly.

Time passed quietly in the peaceful life of the new residence.

Jiang Zhe went out and purchased a multi-speed bicycle costing as much as 200,000 yuan for Xiao Yu, and also bought the same model for himself.

Wang Shulin drove Xiao Yu over again, and bags upon bags of packages arrived—these were all the clothes for all four seasons for the next five years that Xiao Yu had bought for Jiang Zhe, as well as shoes.

Watching Xiao Yu busy herself moving things back and forth, especially having prepared all his clothes for the next five years in advance, Jiang Zhe couldn't help but feel a headache. He reached out to stop Xiao Yu at the door.

"What is it, big brother? I, Steel Rain, have selected all the clothes, pants, socks, underwear, sneakers, leather shoes, casual shoes, and undershirts you'll need until you're 30..."

"It's too much!" The corner of Jiang Zhe's mouth curled into a slight smile. He didn't say anything more and let go of her.

"It's not too much, not too much!"

Tonight, Jiang Zhe again kept Wang Shulin and the other two younger associates for a home-cooked meal.

The meal ended quickly, and time soon arrived for the tutoring session.