AGTCTCC Chapter 12
by Volare“Three hundred and fifty-four years ago, Yan Zhou Ping entered the Main Star, settling there as a refugee from Planet C079. This is quite interesting…”
Although Chu Qi said it was interesting, the corners of his mouth were pressed into a straight line, his expression solemn. The pale light cast a thin layer of coldness on his brow and the corners of his eyes.
“Three…three hundred and fifty-four years ago? Is there a mistake? Are you sure it’s the same person?”
Sang Quan Shi Li was puzzled, his brows furrowing at the number.
Chu Qi immediately pulled up another image, displaying Yan Zhou Ping’s information. The photos were of the same person, and the date at the top read… Interstellar Calendar year 4617.
Three hundred and fifty-four years ago.
“That’s right, Yan Zhou Ping, it’s him. This records his Spiritual Power level and his activity logs on the Main Star, activity logs from three hundred and fifty-four years ago.”
Chu Qi repeatedly emphasized the name “Yan Zhou Ping,” not only reminding them but also himself.
Thinking of the beautiful child who came to him every night with a pillow, Chu Qi’s frown deepened as he looked at Yan Zhou Ping’s file.
Perhaps Xiang Li was forced to do it. Chu Qi had considered that a nineteen-year-old couldn’t have malicious intentions.
But Chu Qi also warned himself not to let his personal feelings affect his duty.
“No…no way.”
Sang Quan Shi Li was so shocked that he stuttered, instinctively looking at the others.
Xing Zi Mu remained quiet, his gaze fixed on the light panel. Shen Gui, who was usually glued to him, also sat up straight, his eyes downcast, shifting and then returning his gaze.
Chu Qi lowered his eyes, the screen of the communicator on his wrist emitting a faint light. The information was too bizarre, and he hoped there was a mistake.
But whether it was a system error or the fact that Yan Zhou Ping had existed for three hundred and fifty years, no one dared to delve into the reasons behind it.
“Chu Qi, is it possible that the Polluted Entity virus has evolved?”
Sang Quan Shi Li took a deep breath, lowering his head and breathing shallowly. His messy bangs covered half his face, his features hidden in the darkness, making it impossible to see his expression.
Sang Quan Shi Li’s parents were researchers involved in Polluted Entity virus experiments. During one experiment, the Polluted Entity virus mutated, and all the researchers were infected.
His parents were among them, none surviving. The planet where the researchers were located was directly excluded from the Star Abyss’s jurisdiction.
This was essentially a death sentence.
“It’s not excluded, but Xiang Li’s Spiritual Power and blood tests are temporarily normal.”
Chu Qi paused for two seconds before slowly stating, “Yan Zhou Ping passed the Main Star’s tests over three hundred years ago, indicating that his Spiritual Power and blood were also normal at that time.”
Shen Gui: “Yan Zhou Ping has been on the Main Star for three hundred and fifty-four years. If it were a viral infection, it would have broken out long ago.”
“What’s the deal with Yan Zhou Ping? Doesn’t he have any activity logs on the Main Star? Has no one suspected him for three hundred and fifty-four years?” Xing Zi Mu asked, frowning.
What are the people in Star Abyss doing?
Chu Qi shook his head. “No, it’s been too long. The previous records only show a few times he was near the headquarters, but there hasn’t been any activity for a long time.”
Chu Qi pulled up the videos of Yan Zhou Ping and Xiang Li meeting, but the time when they separated was still blank.
“He almost never goes out, and recently he’s only been going out because of Xiang Li.”
“Apart from that, there’s no footage of him going out. A reasonable guess is that his house has other ways to access the outside world.”
Chu Qi presented evidence—the hospital’s star map surveillance.
“On the same day that Xiang Li came to the Main Star, Yan Zhou Ping also came to the hospital, but the hospital has no record of him seeking treatment.
The star map near Yan Zhou Ping that day also didn’t capture any record of him entering or leaving.”
Shen Gui leaned back in his chair, turning his neck. He raised a hand to his neck, the back of his neck feeling slightly hot. His voice was a little deep.
“So, he and Xiang Li most likely met that day.”
They dared to meet under their noses. Did they really think they were laughing stocks with no temper?
“What are they trying to do?”
On the other side, Xiang Li quietly listened to the voice coming from his earpiece.
He was alone in his dormitory, tapping his fingers on the table absentmindedly, a meaningful smile on his lips.
He looked up, his dark pupils shifting slightly to the side until his peripheral vision caught sight of a familiar Spiritual Power.
Chu Qi’s silver-white Spiritual Power was now almost transparent, the sparse Spiritual Power scattered in the air enveloping Xiang Li.
Chu Qi thought the surveillance cameras were too conspicuous, so he replaced them with his own Spiritual Power. That way, he could detect any situation at the same time. After all, a Colonel couldn’t just stare at Xiang Li all day.
Xiang Li had long guessed that Chu Qi would monitor him. After all, he was a Colonel selected from the Main Star through solid achievements, without any nepotism.
If he was really fooled, Xiang Li would have to worry about the Main Star’s safety.
His hand, hanging below the table, curled slightly. Under his deliberate guidance, the surrounding Spiritual Power that Chu Qi had scattered slowly gathered and solidified into a small ball.
Xiang Li beckoned, and the little ball gently nudged him.
The other person’s index finger gently poked it, teasingly. Long eyelashes shielded the light, casting a shadow, his eyes deep.
Officer Chu, is this all you could deduce?
At that moment, Chu Qi in the office frowned instantly, his eyes darting around, a strange feeling rising in his heart, very uncomfortable.
“Oh, right, Chu Qi, I found the reason why the Source Stone magnetic field of [Silver] disappeared during your last mission.”
Sang Quan waited for them to quiet down and spoke.
Xiang Li’s fingers, poking the little ball, paused in mid-air, his black eyelashes trembling slightly.
What did that mean? Was the time he saved Chu Qi actually a deliberate setup?
Seeing the three pairs of eyes on him, Sang Quan Shi Li coughed twice and stood up. Chu Qi suppressed the strange feeling, giving up his seat to Sang Quan Shi Li, and sitting down at his station.
“The disappearance of the magnetic field has nothing to do with the Star Abyss Control Department…” He had only just said the first sentence when Xing Zi Mu couldn’t help but retort, his breathing becoming slightly heavier, his speech quick.
“The disappearance of the magnetic field is unprecedented. Even if the energy is exhausted, the Source Stone would only crack and slowly weaken.”
Xing Zi Mu took a deep breath and continued.
“That day, the magnetic field that [Silver] deployed closed instantaneously. If it wasn’t the old fogeys from Star Abyss closing the control panel, what else could it be?”
“Oh~”
After listening, Shen Gui made a long “Oh~” sound, nudging Xing Zi Mu with his elbow, his face saying he understood everything.
“I was wondering why you’ve been giving those old guys the cold shoulder these past two months. So, you suspected them.”
Xing Zi Mu ignored him, giving a heavy humph.
“The reason for the rapid disappearance of the magnetic field is most likely because there was a stronger magnetic field around Silver.”
Sang Quan Shi Li deliberately suppressed his voice, taking out a few Source Stones from his pocket and injecting his own Spiritual Power to deploy a magnetic field, simulating it for them on the spot.
“A stronger magnetic field…” Chu Qi murmured.
Xiang Li’s fingertip stopped moving, the white little ball actively stepped forward and bounced, touching and rubbing.
Feeling the touch, Xiang Li pursed his lips, his fingertip renewing Spiritual Power, and a black Spiritual Power was dotted on the white ball.
One dot.
Two dots.
The white ball had eyes.
He stared at the white ball, his mind wandering.
If he hadn’t appeared there that day, wouldn’t Chu Qi have avoided the danger…
Xiang Li curled his fingertip, the confusion in his eyes disappearing, replaced by determination. He pursed his thin lips, his eyes dark and unclear, and reached out to draw another upward stroke on the little ball.
Xiang Li looked at the white ball in his hand, waved his hand to disperse the Spiritual Power, and the white ball scattered again, hidden in the air.
In a good mood, he tidied himself up, looked in the mirror to fix his hair, and then happily called Chu Qi for a video chat.
“Then why did other people’s magnetic fields disappear slowly, without being as caught off guard as Chu Qi?”
Sang Quan Shi Li propped his chin with one hand, thinking, “I haven’t figured this out yet, but it’s certain that it’s not the control panel’s fault.”
“I checked [Silver]’s Source Stone power and found that there wasn’t a trace of Source Power inside, which means that the Source Stone itself lost its magnetic field force.”
“The reason for the sudden disappearance should be what I just said, that there was a stronger magnetic field around.”
Sang Quan Shi Li: “But I’m still thinking about why Chu Qi’s mech was affected so severely, possibly because [Silver]’s structure is different from other mechs.”
Chu Qi’s habits were different from others. He was more accustomed to using his left hand. Plus, to accommodate Chu Qi’s body and make it easier for him to operate, the current [Silver] was the final version after several revisions.
“Ding ding ding ding ding!”
Chu Qi saw the caller on the video, his handsome brows furrowing, and signaled the other three to turn off the light panel before answering the video.
“Officer Chu.”
Xiang Li’s voice, full of obvious smiles, came over. He had firmly established his sunny persona, quiet and obedient.
“Yeah.” Chu Qi responded blandly, his expression not fluctuating much, but his eyes were still suppressed, revealing a calm and imposing aura.
The other three: “…”
Shen Gui touched his nose. To be honest, he hadn’t come out of the previous atmosphere. The protagonist of the discussion suddenly appeared in front of him, a little uncomfortable and guilty.
Turning his head to meet Xing Zi Mu’s gaze, he suddenly realized and straightened up.
What was he being guilty about? It should be this kid who felt guilty, he hadn’t done anything.
Xing Zi Mu glared at him.
Useless thing.
“Today, Teacher Sang told us some things about Officer Chu’s past. He said that you went on a mission after only three months. Is that true?”
Xiang Li casually made up a reason, his eyes curved, bright, deliberately showing his admiration for Chu Qi.
“Sang Quan said that?” Chu Qi glanced at the person next to him.
Why are you looking at me?
Sang Quan Shi Li was ashamed. He was just talking nonsense. He didn’t go to anything but mechanics class when he was in school. How would he know what to talk about in the first class, so he could only wrong his brothers.
“Cough.” Sang Quan coughed, his expression a little unnatural.
“Yeah, is Teacher Sang also there?” Xiang Li acted as if he had just discovered it, a moment of surprise on his face, as if he really didn’t know at all.
“Yeah, we’re discussing something.” Chu Qi glanced at Sang Quan Shi Li.
“Officer.” Xiang Li didn’t ask what they were discussing. He just tilted his head slightly, acting well-behaved and harmless, his eyes narrowed slightly because of his smile.
But the more he acted like this, the easier it was to arouse suspicion.
After all, he was still a child on the list. The more obedient Xiang Li seemed to Chu Qi, the more bad intentions he felt he was holding back.
Xiang Li, the “good boy,” couldn’t help but find it funny when he saw the guarded look on the person in the video.
“If I perform well, can I be as amazing as the Officer?” Xiang Li tilted his head.