Chapter 52: Usage Traces? Part 1
The moment Ning Yunyi saw Marshal Zong, he quietly slipped the energy stone back into his spatial storage.
With Marshal Zong here, there was no need for him to expose his strength or fight these people to the death. Marshal Zong had already displayed his power at the Crown Prince’s engagement banquet; the dozen or so people in front of them were certainly no match for him.
Not to mention, Commander Ichi was there as well.
Visibly, there were countless soldiers surrounding them; these interceptors could be crushed in minutes.
The expressions of the group shifted the instant Ichi appeared. However, thinking that they had two 3S-rank users and the rest were Double-S experts, they assumed escaping would still be relatively easy.
But as the hatch doors of the surrounding fleet opened in unison, revealing countless soldiers boxing them in completely, the faces beneath the masks changed drastically.
Ichi then cupped his hands toward the front and called out, “Marshal,” causing the group to collectively take a step back.
Ichi smiled. “What are you retreating for? Weren’t you acting quite arrogant when you were surrounding Mr. White just now?”
The two leaders lowered their voices. “This is all a misunderstanding. We invited Mr. White to come with us simply because our master wished to inquire about his secret barbecue recipe. We absolutely would not harm Mr. White.”
The words sounded nice, but everyone present was sharp; no one believed a word of it.
Ichi sneered. “I don’t care if your reason is legitimate or not. Within the jurisdiction of the Capital Star, over a dozen high-level users cornering a single S-class spiritual power user is a crime.”
The two leaders assumed defensive postures while stepping back, their tone still trying to negotiate. “Lord Ichi, given our levels, you should be able to tell we are also from official channels. Could you give our master some face?”
Ichi asked, “Oh? And who is your master?”
The two clearly said this only as a distraction. There was no way they would leak their master’s identity. They stepped forward as if to continue negotiating, but in reality, they quickly retreated. “Retreat!”
Spinning around first, they unleashed their spiritual power, launching an attack toward Ichi and Marshal Zong before attempting to flee.
But they were immediately hemmed in. A net, shaped like a human cage, enveloped them, leaving them nowhere to run.
At the same time, a wave of spiritual power, far more terrifying than a 3S-rank, came crashing down like a tidal wave.
The dozen men exchanged glances, realizing escape was impossible.
Ichi hadn’t been bluffing. The man standing in front of him, who hadn’t spoken a word, really was Marshal Zong.
Without hesitation, the group quickly clustered together. Giving no one a chance to react, they all simultaneously pressed a button on their armor. Instantly—boom—flames shot up to the sky, engulfing their entire bodies.
The fire, fueled by high-tech materials, consumed them rapidly. Within three seconds, the flames extinguished, leaving behind nothing but a pile of ash.
They had committed collective suicide?
When the flames had flared up, Ichi had instinctively used his spiritual power to shield the Marshal. Only when he snapped back to reality did he realize these people hadn’t been attacking. Knowing they couldn’t escape or win, they had chosen a method even faster than self-detonation.
Ichi had never imagined these dozen men would go to such lengths.
After all, two of them were 3S-rank spiritual power users.
There weren’t many people in the entire Capital Star who reached that level.
A deathly silence filled the area. Everyone was shocked by the scene.
Ning Yunyi hadn’t expected this either. It was too sudden, too unexpected.
Even if they had chosen spiritual self-detonation, there would have been a chance to stop them. But this method of turning to ash within three seconds gave no one time to react.
Or perhaps, from the very beginning, these people held the conviction that if caught, they would rather die than expose their master.
These men were death soldiers cultivated by the mastermind.
And two of them were 3S-rank.
It wasn’t just two; Ning Yunyi had already dealt with two others previously.
This meant the mastermind had death soldiers who were, at a minimum, Double-S rank, and an unknown number of 3S-ranks.
This absolutely contradicted the recorded data of the Capital Star and the entire Interstellar Federation. The discrepancy was massive.
If someone was secretly cultivating a large number of high-level spiritual power users, this was an extremely dangerous matter.
It could even shake the very foundation of the Empire.
Zong Hao evidently thought of this as well. Under his mask, his brows furrowed, and his voice went deep. “Investigate immediately. Where did these people come from? They claimed to be official, but since when are 3S-rank spiritual power experts in the military found everywhere like common grass?”
He knew Ning Yunyi had previously saved the Shifter Alliance and dealt with two 3S-ranks.
Before coming here, he had found Ichi and checked the records; not a single active 3S-rank in the military had gone missing in the last two days.
And now, here were two more 3S-ranks.
Looking at the pile of ash, Ichi’s face was also grim. “Yes, this subordinate will investigate immediately. Now that this…” He looked up and saw Ning Yunyi disembarking from his spaceship. “Mr. White.”
Ning Yunyi cupped his hands politely toward the two. “I owe my thanks to the Marshal and Lord Ichi for the rescue. Otherwise, I don’t know what would have happened if I were taken away.”
Only Ichi believed his claim about being an “official.”
Under his mask, the corner of Zong Hao’s mouth stiffened. Although he knew the other party could have resolved this without him, he was indeed worried that if Ning Yunyi exposed his true strength, it would attract more prying eyes and trouble.
Now, it was proven that he was right. The situation was even more serious than he had imagined.
Ichi said politely, “Mr. White need not be so formal. After all, Mr. White has helped us greatly before.”
This wasn’t the place to talk, so Ichi didn’t use the energy stones as an excuse.
Ning Yunyi acknowledged the situation. “What is the background of these people? Why would they suddenly come to block me?”
Ichi looked solemn. “I will investigate. I will notify Mr. White if there is news. However, in the meantime, Mr. White had best be more careful and pay attention to safety. Shall I send two men to protect you?”
After all, this was someone the Marshal cared about; he had to show some concern.
Hadn’t he seen how the Marshal, upon sensing danger, immediately rushed over, even using the fastest spaceship?
Ning Yunyi declined. “That won’t be necessary.”
Ichi didn’t insist, turning instead to Marshal Zong. “Marshal, shall we head back now?”
Zong Hao said, “Since we are escorting, we might as well go all the way. Mr. White doesn’t mind if we escort you back, does he?”
Ning Yunyi thought for a moment. He had already encountered one ambush; if another wave came, he really didn’t want to expose his strength. “Then I will trouble the Marshal. I will send a thank-you gift later.”
Ichi’s eyes lit up. He didn’t mean to be greedy, but Mr. White’s energy stones were truly incredibly effective. Although the Marshal’s injuries had improved significantly, he would naturally be happy for him to recover sooner.
Ichi touched his nose. “Haha, Mr. White is truly too polite. Would you like to use our spaceship? It’s exceptionally fast!”
Ning Yunyi looked back. “What about my ship?”
Ichi: “It can be stored in the rear cargo hold of the spaceship.”
Ning Yunyi fell silent. Indeed, the gap between spaceships was vast.
The speed was truly impressive. It had taken him two hours to return to District F previously. This time, switching to the high-tech spaceship, they arrived in less than half an hour.
Standing outside the underground city watching the ships leave, Ning Yunyi sighed with emotion: Marshal Zong looks like a cold person, but he has a kind heart and knows how to repay favors.
Having accepted his thank-you gift of energy stones, the man really showed up personally to repay the debt when trouble struck.
On the other side, inside the spaceship, Ichi was piloting while stealing glances at Zong Hao. “Marshal, this situation seems wrong. We are on the battlefield all year round and rarely return. Why does the Capital Star seem… so strange now? Where did these high-level 3S mental power users come from? And the moment things went south, they directly…”
They knew all too well how hard it was to cultivate a single 3S user.
The military consumed a massive amount of energy crystals every year, and even that wasn’t enough.
Yet, in the Capital Star, 3S users were running around like it was nothing?
Zong Hao lowered his eyes. “Continue investigating privately. First, drop me off at the palace gate.”
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thank you for the chapter!