ABRIWMTHM Chapter 111

As soon as he woke up, the momentary drowsiness vanished, and Chi Yao immediately called for Er Ya and the medical staff.

The thermometer was placed at the bedside; after taking Shi Xing’s temperature, the digits on it perfectly confirmed Chi Yao’s feeling.

High fever.

“Your Highness…” Shi Xing called out instinctively, only to realize that his throat was completely hoarse.

He touched his forehead; it wasn’t the first time he had experienced this. In this second life, during his maturity period, his body seemed particularly delicate, and there were many issues.

After closing his eyes for a moment, he joked half-heartedly, “Looks like I’m going to worry everyone again.”

“But it should be fine. Isn’t it always a fever? It should just be my mental sea developing, and it’ll be over once this period passes.”

The last few words were forced out in a hoarse whisper.

Noticing the hidden comfort in Shi Xing’s words, and looking at him like this, Chi Yao’s expression became complex: “If you don’t want to talk, don’t.”

Before Shi Xing could reply, Chi Yao asked him, “Do you want some water?”

Shi Xing sensed it and really felt thirsty.

But since he was conscious, Shi Xing, carrying his image burden, asked, “Can I wash up before the doctor arrives?”

“…”

By the time Er Ya and the medical staff, as well as everyone else on the mothership, arrived, Chi Yao had already changed into a new set of clothes. Shi Xing sat quietly, waiting for the examination.

He had thought the results of Shi Xing’s examination would be just like the countless times of fever before; however, they were not.

“Your Highness, the Young Highness’s mental sea doesn’t seem right.”

When the doctor said this, everyone in the room looked at him. The doctor, feeling the chilling gazes, swallowed hard and then heard Chi Yao’s cold voice, “What’s wrong with it?”

Perhaps it was an inner anxiety or maybe the danger of Shi Xing’s current phase, but Chi Yao rarely lost his composure and added, “Is it too active?”

After he asked, he immediately realized that he was leading the doctor to answer in a certain way.

He was… imagining a scenario he could accept…

In the time where people hadn’t yet reacted, Chi Yao closed his eyes and quickly corrected himself, “Don’t mind me; just tell the situation directly.”

The fast series of questions left the doctor a bit bewildered.

Er Ya was anxious as well; after a couple of unproductive sentences, she impatiently snatched the report from the doctor.

Her voice and the doctor’s almost sounded at the same time.

Doctor: “The Young Highness’s mental sea appears unstable.”

Er Ya: “The energy is disordered.”

Er Ya looked up decisively: “Step aside; I’ll check the Young Highness’s mental sea.”

With space made, Er Ya’s mental power probed into Shi Xing’s mental sea. After several attempts, Er Ya’s brows furrowed, as if trying to discern something.

“What’s wrong?”

Fei Chu couldn’t hold his impatience and asked.

He received a short-tempered reply from the therapist, “Shh! Don’t talk.”

Fei Chu could only shut up.

“What exactly is your situation?” Er Ya asked, confused. “What do you feel?”

She was asking Shi Xing.

Shi Xing: “I feel weak and very tired.”

“I’m asking about your mental sea. Without specifically checking, do you have any special feelings?”

Shi Xing sensed it, hesitated, and then shook his head.

“Why don’t you take a look too?” Er Ya said to Chi Yao.

Chi Yao stepped forward; Er Ya said, “The mental sea is relatively active, but it hasn’t exceeded the normal limit.”

Chi Yao nodded, “Yes.”

“How do I feel? It’s okay?”

Er Ya: “Then wait a bit longer.”

Sure enough, a moment later, Chi Yao also let out a gasp of surprise, “Oh.”

“It’s rhythmic; the subtle iterative process of the mental sea is occurring twice, and this kind of fluctuation appears once.”

Before long, Chi Yao confirmed, “Indeed.”

Er Ya said in a deep voice, “Moreover, the intensity is different each time.”

Chi Yao sensed it again, exhaled, and nodded once more, “Yes.”

“It’s generated by the outer layer of his mental sea,” Er Ya frowned, confused, “But the outer layer has always been inert, and there has never been any fluctuation affecting the iteration frequency of the mental sea.”

Yes, because of the change in the outer layer of energy, the entire iteration frequency of Shi Xing’s mental sea was affected, and that energy seemed to lack a forming rhythm, so…

Realizing something, Er Ya told the doctor to take the instrument and come back; between the two outer energy fluctuations, the measured data was the same as before.

Looking at the data, Fei Chu said, “So, has the outer layer come alive?”

At this, both Chi Yao and Er Ya couldn’t help but look up at Fei Chu, and seeing their expressions, he felt puzzled, “What’s wrong? If I described it incorrectly, I can change it?”

There was no need to look at him suddenly like that; being stared at by two pairs of eyes was quite frightening.

Er Ya ignored Fei Chu, murmured, “Come alive…”

Suddenly, she asked the doctor, “I remember that for children, the mental sea doesn’t have an iteration frequency before the age of three, right?”

The doctor nodded, “Children in the Empire don’t have their mental sea fully developed at this age.”

In other words…

Er Ya thought of something, muttering, “Previously, there were few contacts with mutated star beasts; the last time was two months ago, and recently, it was a rare D-level mutation…”

Fei Chu exchanged glances with Fu Qing. Fu Qing: “Sister Er Ya, then what?”

Er Ya ignored them, but Chi Yao understood; he reached out and pressed a hand on Shi Xing’s forehead. Shi Xing obediently lowered his head to facilitate his action.

It was still burning hot.

“What she means is, perhaps this is not abnormal; since the growth of the outer layer of Shi Xing’s mental sea, he might need to go through the same process as the inner layer, first forming, and then showing its own iteration frequency.”

That is to say, what Fei Chu called “coming alive.”

Er Ya shook her head again, “But he feels uncomfortable, and the iteration frequency is unstable; there must still be something wrong.”

Fei Chu: “Could it be due to going overboard in this maturity stage?”

Fei Chu remembered that Er Ya had mentioned Shi Xing could possibly leap over two stages of his maturity period at once.

Er Ya: “So why didn’t he feel unwell on the first day? The low fever has been going on for several days already. Why is it just today? He hasn’t absorbed any other energy lately.”

These were questions Fei Chu had no answers to.

The Empire only produced such a high-level Blue Star human as Shi Xing, with two talents at that.

No one had the answers.

All they could do for now was observe.

Around noon, the temperature kept rising, and the iteration frequency of Shi Xing’s mental sea not only hadn’t stabilized but had become even more chaotic.

Everyone’s hearts were lifted.

Shi Xing still engaged in normal activities, but he could hardly do anything; his brain wasn’t functioning well, and he unconsciously wanted to stick close to Chi Yao, becoming inexplicably clingy.

Chi Yao didn’t go out to handle military affairs today; in the morning, he had a meeting with the officers on the mothership, and all afternoon he stayed with Shi Xing.

In the afternoon, during the regular energy absorption period, Er Ya watched as Shi Xing held a piece of red ore in his hand.

At first, she didn’t pay much attention, but when she looked up from her communicator, Er Ya realized something.

She approached him and swapped the half piece of red ore in Shi Xing’s hand for a brand new one.

Soon, she had changed two or three pieces, confirming, “Star, you’ve slowed down your absorption speed of the red ore.”

But it was very subtle; aside from Er Ya, Chi Yao, and Shi Xing, hardly anyone else could notice.

After a lunch break, the medical staff visited again. Shi Xing leaned against Chi Yao, watching the star network for entertainment.

Strangely, this time his temperature didn’t rise; it remained stable.

Er Ya felt she had discovered a clue; she couldn’t quite figure out the key point but had a sense that she was very close.

Lu Lu had been trying to find a way to approach the royal mothership for the past two days, but… he hadn’t succeeded.

Due to his own limited time, plus the unusually tight defenses around the mothership, he felt that the number of guards exceeded the normal range.

His feeling was correct.

There were two reasons: one was that Shi Xing’s condition wasn’t good, and the other was based on Lu Li’s reminder. Given Shi Xing’s recent unusually keen perception of mental power, Fei Chu and Fu Qing decided to implement strict measures prohibiting beasts carrying beast cores from approaching the mothership, which meant increasing the guards.

That day, Lu Lu finally found an opportunity, not telling anyone, and snuck out from the training squad.

As he approached the mothership, once again, his mental power unconsciously spread out, and Shi Xing suddenly opened his eyes.

Before Shi Xing could say anything, Chi Yao spoke first, “Something entered the area; Fu Qing, go check it out.”

Fu Qing replied and hadn’t left yet when he immediately received a communication from General Lu Li, who reported that there had been movements in the surrounding forest and traces of beasts had been detected at the stationed point. He informed them to strengthen the search efforts so that native animals wouldn’t sneak into the mothership and cause damage.

Upon receiving such communication, Fu Qing had to thoroughly inspect the surroundings.

So, within ten minutes, Fu Qing crossed paths with the sneaky Lu Lu.

Fu Qing felt the other party looked familiar but couldn’t recall where he had seen him.

Lu Lu’s pupils trembled.

Fu Qing didn’t remember him, but he remembered the other party—he was the royal guard officer who had taught him a lesson in the Star Tree Nest.

Something clicked in his mind—royal guard, major general, Shi Xing… Your Majesty…

Lu Lu’s emotions instantly surged uncontrollably, and he opened his mouth to ask where Shi Xing was.

But before he could speak, Fu Qing’s mental power descended faster, pressing him down to kneel.

Just like it had been in the Star Tree Nest.

Fu Qing pressed his eyebrows together: “Which squad are you from? Didn’t anyone tell you not to let anyone unauthorized near the Young Masters’ mothership?”

Fu Qing left, and Shi Xing promptly took his temperature again; this time, the increase was still relatively small.

Er Ya pondered deeply while holding the half piece of red ore Shi Xing had absorbed when she suddenly saw the hands of Shi Xing and Chi Yao intertwined and felt like something had clicked, completing the last puzzle piece in her mind.

Releasing her mental power to sense it, she confirmed it and let out a sigh of relief.

Er Ya said solemnly, “It’s not a perversion; there’s just one serious issue.”

Chi Yao: “Speak.”

Er Ya: “Neither of you has a habit of sleeping in nothing, right? You both wear pajamas to sleep, as a rule?”

Chi Yao: “…”

Shi Xing: “…”

Fei Chu couldn’t help but chime in, “Are you sure this isn’t a perverse question?”

Er Ya shot Fei Chu an annoyed glance.

Chi Yao still answered her, “Yes, we both wear pajamas; we don’t have that habit.”

Er Ya sighed, pointed to the clasped hands of Chi Yao and Shi Xing, and then placed the red ore in Chi Yao’s hands.

“Alright, mystery solved.”

“Crossing stages, Shi Xing needs high-grade, easily dispersible energy; the lower grade should be sufficient.”

“Actually, Shi Xing should have started experiencing fever on the second day of being on the battleship; the wait stretched several days because that day they were being chased by star beasts. Even though their levels weren’t high, there were six of them, which delayed things.”

“The slowdown in red ore absorption speed is because he has enough similar energy; he needs something else.”

“As for the afternoon’s temperature rise slowing down, well, his body is absorbing your mental power as a remedy.”

Before everyone could digest this, Er Ya instructed, “Come on, try actively absorbing the Young Master’s mental power.”

Shi Xing tried and found the absorption speed was faster than usual; as soon as he entered his mental sea, it disappeared without a trace.

Looking at his hand, after a moment, he confirmed, “It feels pretty good.”

Everyone looked at Er Ya.

Chi Yao, cautious: “But this is just a speculation.”

Er Ya clapped her hands, stood up, feeling light and free, “It’s a speculation, but it can be tested. Don’t we have a star beast with us, an SS-level one?”

There was also another S-level one, although it was not of the higher rank.

Realizing something, Chi Yao sat up straight, “Are you saying…?”

“To test it, we should go see immediately and absorb its mental power to observe any changes in Shi Xing’s condition.”

Chi Yao agreed.

The person in charge of the First Legion quickly mobilized.

Shi Xing initially wanted to take it easy, but perhaps due to the cross-stage situation, his mental power wasn’t that controllable.

In an instant, while reaching out to absorb it, the star beast collapsed into flesh and blood.

Shi Xing’s physical condition wasn’t good, and he felt fuzzy, needing some time to feel the changes.

Everyone remained on the battleship where the star beast was detained. Fei Chu raised a mental barrier.

With Fu Qing absent, Bi Shu set up a second layer of protection.

During this time, Fei Chu wondered, “Why hasn’t Fu Qing returned? Could he really have come across native beasts?”

In less than half an hour, Shi Xing’s mental sea, under the perception of Er Ya and Chi Yao, had stabilized its iteration frequency significantly.

This was a good thing but also a headache for Er Ya.

If Shi Xing maintained this state during cross-staging—normal body temperature comes with a low fever, and issues manifest as high fevers… Er Ya feared that in the next reaction from Shi Xing, it would be challenging to determine the cause…

But that was a concern for later; for now, they needed to address Shi Xing’s needs.

“How is it?” Everyone looked at Shi Xing.

Feeling a bit embarrassed, Shi Xing still replied honestly, “Pretty good, and then…”

“And then?” Chi Yao raised an eyebrow.

Shi Xing: “Can we get a few more?”

The changes in his mental sea allowed Shi Xing to fully experience the immense mental power contained within fresh star beasts and beast cores.

This type of energy was absent in the crystal ore.

Before he was unaware, it was fine; now that he knew, Shi Xing always felt his mental sea stirring, crying out for more, urging him to absorb again.

To absorb that fresh energy supply.

Er Ya’s speculation had been confirmed, and finally, Chi Yao’s worries eased.

This wasn’t the first time he had heard Shi Xing say this, so Chi Yao didn’t feel surprised. Star beasts were not an issue either.

“It’s late today; we’ll set things up for tomorrow and let the Third Legion release some lower-ranked ones first.”

Before Shi Xing could respond, the previously absent Fu Qing finally appeared.

Fei Chu’s sharp eyes caught sight of him entering the hatch, and he immediately asked, “Why were you gone so long? Did something really happen around here?”

He was responsible for the mothership’s defenses, naturally needing to clarify.

With this loud shout, everyone’s attention shifted to Fu Qing.

Fu Qing waved his hand, “Ah, it’s nothing; there were no wild beasts, just a curious little soldier we caught.”

Shi Xing instantly realized who Fu Qing was talking about.

“Probably never seen the First Legion deployed before, wanted to come over to take a look.”

“There were plenty of such incidents in the Imperial Capital; our mothership employs the latest technology—what soldier wouldn’t want to take a closer look?”

Fei Chu nodded; such things indeed happened often.

“How was it dealt with?” Fei Chu asked.

“Old methods, we just sent him back to the Third Legion,” Fu Qing replied casually.

Shi Xing couldn’t hold back a comment, “What’s the old method?”

Fu Qing waved his hand dismissively, “Little brat, just beat him up and send him back.”

Beat him up…

Fu Qing suddenly recalled something and laughed, “He probably joined the army not long ago and doesn’t know the rules; he even tried to beg for mercy midway.”

“But I couldn’t be bothered to listen, just wanted to solve things quickly.”

“Funny enough, he’s not low-ranking; I was going to scare him a bit, but he struggled too much, and I had to knock him down.”

Shi Xing hesitated to say anything.

Finally, under Fei Chu’s cheer of “Little brats in the army need proper handling!” he completely fell silent.