ABRIWMTHM Chapter 85

Returning from the bathroom to the conference room, Shi Xing glanced at the structure of the hospital’s hallway, leading his attendant to a corner bench where it was impossible for anyone to “coincidentally encounter” him. He opened his star network, spread out the projection screen, and activated the anti-surveillance security settings, ensuring that the content on the screen was displayed only for him.

Entering the Empire’s star network library, he searched for “Blue Star” and, as expected, a document titled “Research Literature on the History of Blue Star” popped up. Pulling the book cover into a holographic projection in front of him, Shi Xing noticed a line of small text in the lower right corner indicating that the book was sourced from the Empire’s recorded literature.

Not surprising—the star network’s external network covers all life planets in their Twin Star Galaxy. Some remote and backward planets have all their educational materials sourced from the libraries of the Empire and the Alliance.

In the external network, to distinguish sources, related literature is marked with the source.

But not everyone can access a planet’s library through the external network. At least as far as Shi Xing knew, he couldn’t access the Alliance’s library, and logically, one wouldn’t be able to open the Empire’s library on the Alliance’s external network, only seeing a small portion of promotional literature.

When Li Yu returned, Shi Xing had just closed all projections.

Not paying attention to the diplomats’ whereabouts, Shi Xing stood up, thought for a moment, and called out, “Chang Yue, Major General Fei and Fu Qing, come with me. Uncle Xu and the others can stay here to wait for His Majesty.”

Xu Jin: “What’s going on?”

Shi Xing stated honestly, “While it’s still light out, I want to take a look at the remains of the first star beast. I’m a bit puzzled and want to see if I can discover anything.”

Hearing this, Yan Changyue also recalled the strange scene he saw the night before and kept silent.

Shi Xing wanted to leave, and Xu Jin naturally wouldn’t stop him. Considering Shi Xing’s species characteristics, he added a few guards to the team before nodding in agreement, indicating he would relay the message to Chi Yao later.

After a moment of thought, Shi Xing asked, “Does Er Ya have anything else to do in the Empire?”

Xu Jin shook his head, “She is only here to treat His Majesty.”

Due to certain historical reasons, Er Ya couldn’t treat other people from the Empire.

Shi Xing asked, “Can she come with me? I have some questions I want to ask her.”

Xu Jin replied, “I’ll ask her for you.”

Before long, news from within the palace returned, indicating that Er Ya could accompany them.

After a brief discussion, it was decided that the two parties would head to the location where the star beast remains were stored from different directions and meet at the destination.

Confirming the arrangements, Shi Xing left the hospital without looking back.

The appearance of the star beast had disrupted the celebration; since they needed to investigate and worried that the beast might leave behind important evidence, the Empire, currently engaged in diplomatic exchanges with the Alliance, had taken precautions by keeping a star beast and a star beast remains within the First Legion, guarded by the military.

The first star beast was stored in a cold storage unit, already confirmed dead, and the remains could not be taken out for too long.

As a Blue Star human and Chi Yao’s partner, Shi Xing had successfully treated many high-ranking officers of the First Legion during his time in the Northern Territory, so he easily gained access to the military quarters. The officer assistant who received him was very accommodating, covering him with a blanket before entering the cold storage to prevent him from catching a chill.

Shi Xing found the blanket quite useful and had the assistant fetch another one for Er Ya.

In the cold storage, the two Blue Star humans watched as Fu Qing worked alongside the military forensic expert to examine the star beast remains.

A report had already been prepared, but to be cautious, since they were there, they decided to look through it themselves.

Fu Qing said, “The fatal injury was caused by a few blasts of mental power from the commander, severing the star beast into four pieces horizontally and vertically. The energy within the beast core is gone, leaving only some core residue.”

Shi Xing asked, “Can I take a look at the residue?”

Fu Qing replied, “Just a moment, let me clean it up for you.”

He washed away the beast’s blood and fragments from the residue.

In a moment, a clean piece of the beast core was presented in a white plate in front of Shi Xing, who touched it with his hand to validate what his talent revealed.

“The energy composition is very similar to that of the mutated star beast we encountered in the Northern Territory.”

“It’s one rank lower; it is indeed SS rank.”

Fu Qing added, “When we battled it, it was heavily injured. The attack using our mental power wasn’t very strong; it had its own spatial mutation ability and was always looking for opportunities to use its teleportation ability to come to you.”

Fei Chu nodded, supplementing Fu Qing’s statement, “Yes, it was clever. Though it looked weak and had many injuries, this made us initially misjudge its condition, and it took the chance to teleport to you.”

Er Ya added, “In cases where star beasts have companions, the rank difference won’t be too great; they’re usually only one level apart. If you say that, it’s quite possible that this star beast is a companion of the one you encountered in the Northern Territory.”

Shi Xing looked at the beast core fragment in his hand; he unintentionally absorbed its energy, and just holding it for a short while had already dulled the core fragment’s luster.

Er Ya remarked, “In such a short time, this truly proves it deserves its 3S rank.”

The higher the rank of a Blue Star human, the greater their energy requirements during the maturity period.

Shi Xing set down the fragment and voiced what had been on his mind in recent days, “So how did it get injured? Did it encounter the Legion while entering the Empire?”

Fei Chu, who had been investigating, clarified, “No, I’ve asked all seven legions. The royal guards have never seen this star beast, and none of the other six legions knew of its existence. Given its spatial teleportation ability, I don’t think it fled from a legion encirclement to get to the imperial capital.”

Fu Qing concurred, “Indeed not, Commander. Take a look at this wound.”

Discovering something, Fu Qing called Fei Chu over.

Shi Xing and Er Ya also gathered around. Most of the investigators in the imperial capital were not military personnel; the chances of forensic experts going into battle were quite rare, so this kind of familiar wound could only be discerned by soldiers who had spent a long time at the border and participated in combat.

Er Ya and Fei Chu simultaneously exclaimed, “Energy turbulence.”

Shi Xing was confused and didn’t understand.

Fu Qing explained, “Outer space isn’t entirely a vacuum. Some areas are affected by energy turbulence, and all these wounds on the star beast were caused by energy. A soldier trained in mental power would not create such injury patterns; only energy turbulence could explain such irregular injuries.”

The wounds were neither neat nor regular, varying in size and depth; some parts deep and some shallow. They were not inflicted by humans and were imbued with energy, indicating they could only have been caused by traversing through turbulent energy.

Er Ya suddenly thought of something and spoke up, “Before Blue Star disappeared, all existing records across the planets indicated it was located deep within a vast area of energy turbulence in the galaxy.”

Without waiting for Shi Xing to ask questions, Er Ya continued, “I just suddenly remembered; there’s no connection, after all, since Blue Star is no longer in its original zone. There are plenty of energy turbulence regions in outer space, so it’s probable it got injured while on its way to the Empire.”

Changing the topic, Er Ya furrowed her brow, “However…”

Shi Xing inquired, “What is it?”

Fei Chu interjected and highlighted a point of confusion, “If all these injuries were caused this way, then that’s quite a lot.”

Er Ya nodded, “Right, I don’t recall any energy turbulence regions near the Empire capable of causing such injuries.”

Fei Chu proposed another possibility, “What if it was dragged into an energy turbulence zone while fighting other star beasts?”

Shi Xing was surprised, “Ah, can star beasts fight each other?”

What he had seen was always cooperation.

Fei Chu replied, “Yes, if there’s someone present, they will first attack people together, but without anyone there, disputes over resource sharing or previous grudges mean they often fight one another.”

Shi Xing learned a lot.

Fu Qing stood up and removed his gloves, “That should be about it; everything else aligns with the report.”

Summarizing, Fu Qing stated, “Therefore, before coming here, it passed through a patch of energy turbulence that caused over 80% of its surface injuries. The fatal injuries were jointly inflicted by Er Ya and the Commander. Its age is likely still in middle age, and its mental power composition has similarities with the mutated star beast in the Northern Territory, as well as possessing a similar variant ability.”

Suddenly recalling something, Fu Qing asked, “Did it exhibit any frenzied mental power in its attacks?”

Fei Chu replied, “I didn’t see it use it.”

Er Ya added, “It was so heavily injured that it might not have been able to use it.”

Fu Qing disagreed, “But all the injuries were surface injuries, with the fatal ones only caused in those two places. Star beasts are quite resilient.”

In other words, even though it seems heavily injured and weak, it could have reserved strength during the fight, and given Er Ya’s sudden arrival, they might not have undergone a prolonged confrontation; it was uncertain if this star beast was genuinely exhausted or just appeared that way.

Bringing this up, Er Ya reflected and finally said, “I forgot to check if its energy was replenished while absorbing its mental power.”

After listening to the three’s analysis, Shi Xing suddenly remarked, “Perhaps it was injured but isn’t as severe as it looks.”

“The use of its talent ability also consumes mental power, especially spatial variation abilities…”

Like a sudden revelation, Shi Xing murmured, “It wanted to conserve mental power to take me away.”

If it took Shi Xing using its spatial variation ability to carry him away from the Empire’s surface, it would certainly require a lot of mental power, which explained Fei Chu and Fu Qing’s choice to evade confrontation.

Its intention was not to consume him.

Shi Xing spoke with determination, and Fu Qing, Fei Chu, and Er Ya exchanged glances. Yan Changyue recalled that bizarre scene, swallowing hard and lowering his head.

However, Shi Xing was not prepared to enlighten everyone, only stating, “Since it’s used up, then return the remains to the military for further investigation.”

Fu Qing answered, “Oh, alright.”

Fei Chu added, “Then let’s clean up.”

Shi Xing nodded and then addressed Er Ya, “Let’s go out.”

Yan Changyue felt he shouldn’t follow and remained in the cold storage to see if he could be of use.

His intuition was correct; Shi Xing indeed had a few words to say to Er Ya.

Checking around to ensure no one was present, Shi Xing directly asked, “On your way here the night before last, did you notice anything unusual?”

Er Ya responded, “?”

Shi Xing continued, “Around this star beast, was there anything strange in the energy flow in your perception?”

Er Ya shook her head.

Just as she was about to ask something, Shi Xing thought for a moment and laid everything on the table, “I… seem to have heard it speak.”

Er Ya’s eyes widened.

Shi Xing felt a bit disappointed, yet he had anticipated this outcome. If Er Ya had heard it that day, she would have confirmed it with him that evening since they were the only ones of their kind present.

Shi Xing didn’t hide it from Er Ya: “It wasn’t speaking with vocal cords, but conveying messages through energy fluctuations.”

“I don’t know why I understood, but I… I just could.”

Er Ya, having more experience than Shi Xing, quickly accepted this for other reasons and asked him, “What did it say to you?”

Shi Xing conveyed the two sentences to Er Ya and mentioned how he could emit the same energy fluctuations.

Er Ya contemplated with her head bowed and said, “I’ll look for relevant Blue Star materials when I return, perhaps tomorrow or the day after. After I review, we can discuss this matter further.”

Er Ya pointed out, “Racial talents are rooted in genes. If you say you can do that, you might actually be able to use it.”

Shi Xing wasn’t very convinced, but too many incredible things had happened to him lately, so he couldn’t rebut at that moment.

After a brief silence, realizing they were alone together, Shi Xing asked another question he had been concerned about but hadn’t found an opportunity to ask, “How is His Highness’s mental sea?”

Er Ya responded earnestly, “The contract is still in effect. Whether there has been any repair or not, the cracks haven’t changed compared to my last observation. I can provide a specific answer only after the turbulent period.”

Shi Xing asked, “How many days until the turbulent period ends?”

“According to convention, it’s about half a month. However, there’s been a trend of stabilization in the last couple of days, which might relate to your mental power intervention; overall, it’s a positive change.”

Shi Xing nodded.

Er Ya continued, “Even though I shouldn’t say this, I want to remind you of something.”

Shi Xing looked up, noticing Er Ya’s serious demeanor, particularly earnest.

Shi Xing’s heart sank slightly.

Er Ya explained, “Chi Yao’s mental sea condition isn’t good. According to my repeated diagnoses, the number of cracks has been increasing each year, and beneath these cracks lies residual mental power from a star beast close to king rank. The contract cannot extract this mental power…”

Shi Xing felt his breath halt for a moment, a sense of disorientation washing over him, but he didn’t show it on his face. “Get to the point.”

Er Ya continued, “The chances of a complete cure are very small. If the mental sea is completely torn by the cracks, it could affect his lifespan.”

Shi Xing took a deep breath.

Just when Er Ya thought he would be upset and sought to comfort him.

Shi Xing’s expression grew resolute, as if speaking to Er Ya but also convincing himself.

“It’s alright, I’m still growing…”

He still had immeasurable potential.

“I will heal His Highness.”

That night after returning to the palace, Chi Yao held a meeting with Ren Yan Yong and Wei Zhen, while Shi Xing went to the library.

The two crossed paths before washing up, and when Chi Yao came out of the bathroom, Shi Xing, who had already tidied up, was deeply asleep in bed.

The next day, both woke up simultaneously. Chi Yao was still dealing with the reparations from Tianyu Star, while Shi Xing woke up early, pushing all his classes aside and heading to the library.

On the third day, both followed nearly the same itinerary as the previous day.

The difference was that Chi Yao finally settled the reparations in the afternoon, handing it over to the Senate for follow-up processing.

Meanwhile, Shi Xing, who had spent two days in the palace library, still hadn’t found any extra Blue Star materials.

Li Yu was right; the Empire’s records on Blue Star were incomplete and had been deliberately purged.

Before dinner, gathering the electronic book pages, Shi Xing felt he wouldn’t need to return anymore after leaving the library.

After dinner, Yan Changyue was finally called aside by Shi Xing to inquire about that night’s events.

Yan Changyue felt strangely unsettled, saying, “I sensed the mental power you emitted, so how it fluctuated was very similar to that of the star beast, which shocked me; that’s all.”

In this context.

Yan Changyue wasn’t a Blue Star human; it was normal that he wouldn’t understand.

Shi Xing nodded and then turned to take Yan Changyue to find Chi Yao.

Upon seeing Chi Yao in the study, the first thing Shi Xing asked startled Yan Changyue.

Shi Xing inquired, “Your Highness, has the government imposed any restrictions on records regarding Blue Star in the Empire?”

Chi Yao paused with the marker in his hand, turned off the projection screen, and glanced at Shi Xing without obstruction.

“Why do you ask?”

Shi Xing replied, “Just answer me yes or no.”

Chi Yao responded, “Yes, it was a joint decision by several agencies. Aside from a compiled literature available on the market, the rest are encrypted files that require meeting specific criteria to access.”

Shi Xing nodded.

In the next moment, Yan Changyue’s eyes widened in astonishment.

Shi Xing didn’t rush to mention Blue Star but shifted topics, stating, “Your Highness, I… heard the star beast speak to me.”

“It was the first star beast that appeared during the celebration.”

“It wanted me to go with it.”

“Chang Yue can attest to this.”

Yan Changyue was astonished, “I only felt that you both emitted the same special mental power fluctuations?!”

Shi Xing nodded, “Yes, the information was transmitted through energy fluctuations.”

Chi Yao’s gaze lowered for a moment as if pondering something, then he stood up to turn off the projection screen.

“We should go upstairs to talk.”