ABRIWMTHM Chapter 100

On the communicator, Shi Ran was still entangled, “Xing Xing, you gave me so many red ores, won’t you run out?”

Shi Xing: “No way.”

Shi Xing: “I told you, Your Highness bought me a mine star, you know, this kind of crystal you have in your hand, there are plenty, just that I was in a hurry to return to the Nest and didn’t bring much. If you need more, contact me next time.”

Shi Ran was momentarily stunned.

After a while, he let out a long sigh, “Ah—?”

His partner’s voice came from behind, “I told you, since Shi Xing can give it to you, don’t worry.”

“His level is so much higher than yours; what seems good to him may just be everyday consumables.”

Shi Ran: “Alright, I’m on the call with Xing Xing, you go out!”

Shi Ran had argued with his partner Ying Yucheng about this matter for the past few days. Now that he realized his partner was right, Shi Ran felt a bit embarrassed and angry, driving him out of the room.

When Shi Ran returned, Shi Xing laughed at him, “Major Ying is right, relax.”

Shi Ran was unhappy, muttering, “Even if he is right, it’s still your stuff; you should always ask clearly before taking.”

Shi Xing: “Now that it’s clear, are you at ease?”

Shi Ran replied with an “Mm.”

Not wanting to mention the partner who annoyed him, he turned back to Shi Xing to chat about other topics.

They hadn’t communicated for a few months, and Shi Ran, just like in his previous life, had recently been to the boundary line; the signal was poor on the barren star, so before departing, Shi Xing could only rely on his memory to advise him on places to avoid.

Fortunately, Shi Xing now had an army under him and was also Chi Yao’s partner. With some fabricated excuses, he could still intimidate others. Moreover, even though Shi Ran’s partner was young, he was naturally cautious. After Shi Xing marked the key areas, even if there were one or two fewer star beasts, Ying Yucheng would resolutely not take Shi Ran there, preventing the previous tragic events from reoccurring.

But it was ironic…

Probably born from a branch, Shi Xing thought of it, and at the same time, Shi Ran also thought of it, whispering, “Xing Xing, did you know? It’s said that Yu Cai didn’t even leave behind a body; the search and rescue only found living supplies and the remains of other team members.”

Shi Xing nodded.

Regarding Yu Cai’s incident, the Nest had summarized the events and sent out notifications to all mature Blue Star humans, warning them to be cautious during hunting processes.

Shi Ran: “Yu Huai left last year, and this year Yu Cai again… I’ve noticed Yu Man has changed a lot, without the arrogance of wanting to compare with us.”

Shi Xing: “People always change.”

That’s the price of growth, some big, some small; what Yu Man experienced was not insignificant.

However, Shi Xing felt no sympathy.

Shi Ran: “I’m okay with them, I’ve been to the boundary line too. Xing Xing, you’re going far this time; I’m worried about you. You must be careful.”

Realizing that after such a long circle, Shi Ran’s concern still centered around himself, Shi Xing smiled and repeatedly agreed.

After closing the communication, a young Major General saluted Shi Xing and confirmed matters regarding his command of the army.

The Major General’s name was Ying Geng, and coincidentally, he had some blood relation with Shi Ran’s partner, being from the Ying family’s distant branch. Their lineage often resided in the Imperial Capital, while Shi Ran’s partner belonged to the Fourth Legion, similar to the Seventh Legion, which also had a high degree of independence.

Ying Geng had been assigned under Shi Xing two months ago, thus he now had three teams, including the first legion led by its chief officer.

The main team led by Fei Chu emphasized “precision” and “versatility.”

The team led by Qin Jue had strong defense and was equipped with the best defensive warships of the first legion.

Ying Geng’s team made up the final piece, focusing on offense.

Shi Xing was gradually managing the army. He had interacted with Fei Chu’s subordinate officers to understand them before dealing with Qin Jue’s team. When Chi Yao assigned Ying Geng’s team to him, it was clear that he had already gelled well with the other two main teams and could continue taking on new ones.

Ying Geng held the rank of Major General, level 3S, and had strong personal combat capability due to his long-time position at the forefront of the legion.

After taking over this unit, Shi Xing spent these past two months arranging new formations and practicing combined operations.

As for the effectiveness, it could only be judged when at the boundary line.

After reviewing reports and signing off, Ying Geng took the documents and left.

Shi Xing stood up from the sofa, stretched, and asked, “Where’s His Highness?”

Xu Hui answered from the side, “He’s inspecting the mothership at the back and will return shortly.”

Shi Xing acknowledged.

Glancing at the time, it was just the start of the afternoon after the lunch break.

Just as he was about to turn to the energy shielding room to practice the talent usage method His Highness taught him, he received a communication from Er Ya, “Are you busy?”

“I just became free.”

“Good, come to the cockpit.”

Thinking there might be something important, when Shi Xing entered the cockpit, Er Ya said through a transparent high-strength molecular barrier, “Look outside; what do you see?”

Shi Xing looked out; in the darkness, their warship was the only source of continuous light.

“Isn’t it just a common debris field along the flight route?”

Er Ya slapped her forehead, “I forgot to say, use your ability to see, first talent.”

Shi Xing: “Wait a moment, coming right up.”

Closing his eyes for a moment and reopening them, Shi Xing was stunned, “Is… is it an energy turbulence field?”

“Can you see it?”

“I can.”

Not only could he see it, but under Shi Xing’s talent, the various energy combinations appeared extremely fantastical, colorful, like a bizarre dream.

Realizing something, Shi Xing’s eyelashes fluttered lightly.

Er Ya asked, “Can you discern which areas do not have turbulence and are safe vacuum zones?”

Shi Xing hesitated but nodded, “I should be able to, but it’s too far away now. I can only discern the nearby areas; in the distance, the energy in my view is all stacked, making it impossible to discern the layers.”

Er Ya looked at the dark side of the warship, nodded, and suddenly said, “Where Blue Star once existed outside was just like this, all wrapped in energy turbulence. Even with the best detection instruments, one cannot enter.”

Shi Xing looked at Er Ya, and before he could speak, Er Ya added, “To ask why I know, I’ve tried it with drones; it doesn’t work, one cannot enter.”

“Of course, before your maturity period, it was impossible to go. I just mentioned it. If there’s a possibility after your maturity period, I want to see what happened at the place where Blue Star once existed. With your talent, you might even discern something more.”

The disappearance of such a large planet would surely be accompanied by energy fluctuations. Observing the residual energy in the vacuum might unravel the mystery of Blue Star’s disappearance.

Shi Xing: “Do you want to go back to Blue Star?” he added, “If it still exists.”

Er Ya looked at Shi Xing; her light brown eyes resembled amber that bore the traces of time, mysterious yet luminous, “Don’t you want to know about Blue Star?”

Shi Xing was speechless.

Er Ya turned back towards where Shi Xing was probing, affirming, “Every Blue Star human wants to know. It seems to be engraved in our bones. The Empire has not disclosed this research, but I know it exists.”

In the years away from the Empire, as one of the galaxy’s most top-tier therapists, Er Ya knew secrets no less than those at the upper echelons of the Empire.

Er Ya… spoke accurately; Shi Xing indeed wanted to know, and he was also clearly aware of an indescribable desire within him about Blue Star, a yearning to explore, but it was hard to articulate whether this was indeed his subjective wish.

That night, Shi Xing told Chi Yao about what he saw in the afternoon and the things he didn’t tell Er Ya.

Chi Yao was surprised, “Do you think it’s like that dream of yours?”

Shi Xing nodded heavily, “The energy turbulence fields look very much like the dream I had about Blue Star.”

Shi Xing had absorbed energy from Chi Yao’s rift and had a dream about Blue Star during a few days of unconsciousness.

Chi Yao didn’t ask earlier, and after confirming that Shi Xing was physically fine, he brought it up again.

Shi Xing remembered everything he could from that dream and had already told Chi Yao all of it.

Shi Xing felt frustrated, “I only remember coming out from a Mother Tree growth area. After that, I seem to have seen some people, but I can’t remember what was said or done.”

Chi Yao: “It was just a dream.”

“And besides, there have been no reports of a priest existing on Blue Star.”

After a pause, Chi Yao left some leeway, saying, “Of course, regarding their native information, therapists rarely mention it outside. Even in casual conversation with the royal high-ups, they usually do not discuss such everyday matters. Conversations with planet residents are not recorded, so this part of the account is very minimal, lost in the river of stars.”

Shi Xing sighed, nodded, and somewhat dejectedly acknowledged, “Yeah, maybe it’s just a dream.”

Chi Yao suddenly said, “Do you want to search for Blue Star like Er Ya?”

Looking up, Chi Yao appeared casual, but Shi Xing, not being with him for the first day, perceptively sensed something was off with Chi Yao’s mood.

“Your Highness, why do you ask that?”

“The Blue Star humans nurtured by the Empire are very obsessed with Blue Star, and some have reached a level of obsession.”

With his eyelashes slightly lowered, Chi Yao spoke.

Even without speaking it out loud, Shi Xing realized, His Highness is afraid of him distancing from the Empire? Distancing from him?

Upon understanding this, Shi Xing asked.

Chi Yao fell silent.

Just as Shi Xing thought he might have misinterpreted the situation, Chi Yao spoke up.

“Though rationally I should say no, it should be that I fear your obsession with Blue Star is harmful to you. But…”

Chi Yao raised his eyes, the ashes of gray in his gaze shining with light, “But inwardly, yes.”

“You may think I’m selfish; for the next hundred years from today, I don’t want you to leave me too far or for too long.”

“Let alone such dangerous matters; if I can’t spare time to accompany you, I won’t let you follow Er Ya alone either.”

“Even if taking the army along, that won’t be allowable.”

His words did not sound particularly resolute, but upon careful discernment, they held a strong intent.

Shi Xing didn’t dislike it. Instead, feeling wanted, he smiled and mustered the courage to ask, “Are you unable to leave me, Your Highness?”

In response to Shi Xing’s question, Chi Yao pinched his face lightly, which felt painful.

After a bit of playful banter, Shi Xing hugged Chi Yao, knowing his partner couldn’t express such mushy words. He proactively said, “I won’t go searching for Blue Star alone; I can’t leave you.”

Chi Yao’s long fingers resting on his back paused momentarily, his throat rolled, nodding, “Mm.”

Shi Xing leaned in to kiss Chi Yao, sensing his partner’s intent, and as Chi Yao complied and opened his mouth, things went a bit out of hand, leading to them staying up late after some mischief.

A few days later, several motherships arrived at the farthest outskirts where the Fourth Legion was stationed.

It took two to three days to set up and tidy up. Layer upon layer of energy shields were opened to resist sudden attacks as time passed.

After everything was arranged, Fei Chu looked at the recently collected energy fluctuations, scratching his head, “There haven’t been any star beasts lately; do we have to wait?”

Er Ya replied, “No need.”

In the afternoon, Er Ya took Shi Xing to a barren star some distance from their stationed point.

The barren star was mostly swampy land with a harsh environment, and they didn’t even step onto the ground.

In mid-air, while standing on the shield supported by Fei Chu, Er Ya’s mental power circled around Shi Xing and sent her outside the atmosphere of the barren star.

Fei Chu was astonished, “Aren’t you afraid of attracting star beasts!”

Before Er Ya could respond, Chi Yao, who could see through everything, spoke, “She’s attracting star beasts. Haven’t you been complaining about not having any? Once this is done, they’re probably going to start appearing one by one.”

Fei Chu: “?”

Fei Chu: “!”

He was indeed shallow!

Without star beasts, it turned out they could still forcibly create an opportunity to encounter star beasts!!

Er Ya: “Only a very small part of his dissipated mental power was involved. If we still haven’t detected the energy fluctuations from the star beasts by tomorrow, we’ll change to another barren star and increase the amount of mental power used.”

Chi Yao nodded, simply stating, “Next time we do this, bring more people.”

Recalling the ambush faced in the Northern Territory, even if the possibility is low, they were preparing thoroughly.

Er Ya made an “OK” gesture, and the two reached an agreement.

However, Er Ya was truly overthinking.

During lunch the next day, reconnaissance news came back. The soldier who delivered the message rushed all the way from the outermost area to their mothership.

Er Ya sipped her drink and asked leisurely, “Is there news of star beasts approaching?”

“There are.”

“Your Highness, little highness, Major Fei, Major Fu…” After respectfully calling out everyone, the communications officer finally stated the found information, “High-level star beasts are coming this way; General Qin ordered me to report immediately, asking if we should activate defenses to resist the star beasts’ ambush.”

Er Ya was taken aback, “What’s the specific level?”

Was it too early to prepare defenses just based on energy fluctuations? What level are we talking about?

The communications officer responded promptly, “Mental power confirmed, level 3S. The mutation level is still under further investigation due to distance; suspected to be…”

Fei Chu: “Level C?”

The star beast that had previously injured Fei Chu’s mental sea was at this mutation level.

The communications officer forced himself to remain calm, “Level D.”

One of the highest mutation levels.

Er Ya was stunned for a moment, then, “Pfft—” and sprayed out a mouthful of water.