Part 2
Rui Hu bit her lip and shook her head slowly. “Not yet.”
Ning Yunyi patted her shoulder. “No rush. Let’s get all the shifters out first. I’ll help you ask those who have been here the longest.” He couldn’t be sure of Rui Mother’s status. After all, she had arrived even before Lady Zong, and when Rui Hu escaped years ago, she did so with a group. He couldn’t be certain of the fate of those left behind.
Therefore, he couldn’t give Rui Hu any guarantees; it would only lead to false hope followed by despair.
Before long, all the shifters were brought out. Most were in a weakened state, having just had their mental power extracted. Ning Yunyi took Rui Hu through the crowd, inspecting them one by one. Even the last cell yielded no sign of Rui Mother.
Because their mental power was being harvested, these shifters all wore monitoring collars around their necks. They were all in their beast forms. Among them, there was not a single variegated tiger, which meant none could be Rui Hu’s biological mother.
Still, until the very last moment, no one wanted to give up.
Since the shifters here were kept in solitary confinement, none of them knew who lived in the neighboring cells. Ning Yunyi and Rui Hu questioned several of them, but learned nothing.
Ning Yunyi decided to go straight to the Base Commander. He had seen the blueprints, but the facility was massive with countless rooms, many of which had had their uses changed over the years. Ning Yunyi wasn’t sure if there were other prison sections.
He didn’t know, but someone didāthe man who had been in charge the longest.
Ning Yunyi found the Commander locked in a storage room, bound by shackles on his wrists, ankles, and neck. He didn’t dare look at Ning Yunyi, keeping his head low in silence.
Ning Yunyi stood before him. “Aside from the main shifter prison area, where are the shifters who can no longer produce mental power kept?”
He asked because he remembered that Lady Zong, due to her immense power, had been the most heavily harvested. When they had arrived previously, she was about to be executed because the Crown Prince had sensed something was wrong, and because her mental power was nearly depleted. Ning Yunyi suspected Rui Mother might still be alive but kept elsewhere because her mental power had been over-extracted over the decades.
Such “useless” shifters were either executed or… perhaps kept in isolation.
The Commander’s emotions clearly shifted upon hearing the question, but his head remained bowed. He shook his head. “There are no other shifters. Only that one section.”
“Is that so?” Ning Yunyi let out a cold laugh. “You’re only alive right now because you were following the Crown Prince’s orders. But if you hide information, that is an act of continued disobedience. I have very little patience for such people. Tell me… how would you feel if I locked you up just like these shifters, using you for research day after day? Don’t worry, I’ll find a Healer to keep you alive just as you’re on the verge of death. I’ll count to three. If you don’t answer, I’ll go ask someone else.”
The Commander shuddered. As Ning Yunyi reached “three,” he blurted out, “I’ll talk! I’ll talk!”
Rui Hu was so enraged she ground her teeth. She slammed a heavy palm onto the Commander’s shoulder, the force enough to cause a hairline fracture. Only after hearing the man’s cry of pain did she feel a sense of catharsis. Desperate to find her mother, she hurried out of the room.
Ning Yunyi followed close behind.
The Commander revealed one more locationāa massive chamber near the very bottom of the Base, filled with cages. Inside were the shifters who had lost all utility value.
Ning Yunyi stopped at the entrance. He leaned against the wall, listening to Rui Hu’s sobs coming from within. He could only imagine the misery of the scene inside. Once her emotions had stabilized somewhat, he stepped inside.
The light was dim. Several shifters were caged there, all of them having turned completely white-furred. Even the variegated tiger Rui Hu was currently cradling was entirely white, a sign that its mental power was exhausted and its life was fading.
He walked over to Rui Hu, who was holding the semi-conscious, delirious tiger with bloodshot eyes. He patted her shoulder comfortingly. “It’s alright. Let me take a look.”
Rui Hu hurriedly stepped aside, wiping her tears as she watched Ning Yunyi with worry.
Ning Yunyi channeled spiritual energy into the tiger’s body. Soon, the aura surrounding the beast stabilized significantly. Though it remained in a deep slumber, there was no longer any immediate danger to its life. The tiger’s poor condition was simply a result of old age and the exhaustion of its mental power.
After explaining this to Rui Hu and telling her to care for the tiger, Ning Yunyi went to check on the others.
These shifters had all been selected by the Late Emperor for their immense mental power, meaning their basic physical constitutions were quite strong. Though they were weak from the loss of their power, they had no major ailments. However, the lack of mental power meant their mental seas were withered. He funneled a bit of spiritual energy into each of them to preserve their lives.
With that done, he notified Zong Hao and asked him to bring Ichi over to personally care for these specific shifters.
The other shifters still had some mental power left and were in no danger, but these few required specialized care.
When Zong Hao arrived with his men, the atmosphere around him grew even heavier at the sight. After a long silence, he said to Ning Yunyi with deep guilt, “Thank you for your hard work.” This was supposed to be their mission, yet Ning Yunyi was the one exhausting himself to save lives.
Ning Yunyi shook his head. “I’m not doing it for you. I’m doing it for them.”
Zong Hao gave a bitter smile, knowing Ning Yunyi was indirectly comforting him. He said nothing more. After making proper arrangements for the shifters, they prepared to stay at the Base for the next few days. The shifters needed medical attention; they couldn’t be handed over to Rui Hu’s management until they were stable.
Over the following period, Ning Yunyi continued treating the shifters. Simultaneously, under the guise of using high-tech equipment, he re-extracted the excess mental power from those who had stolen it.
Using the Base’s data, he systematically returned the mental power to its original shifter owners.
Due to the sheer number of victims, Ning Yunyi’s group stayed for half a month before the work was finally complete. Finally, Zong Hao left Ichi and half the troops behind to guard the facility while he took the rest of the men and the Base prisoners back to the Capital Star for sentencing.
After leaving the Base, Ning Yunyi took a moment to bring Bevin to Harlo and his family. He also handed over a custom mecha-leg for Harlo’s fatherāa top-tier military-grade customization that wasn’t available on the open market. It was an extra compensation for the father’s help.
Additionally, Zong Hao arranged for all four of them to receive new identities and sent them to a C-rank planet to start their new lives.
Because the blueprints involved the Base and it wasn’t yet certain if the Crown Prince’s network had been completely uprooted, they couldn’t expose the father’s involvement. For now, they had to live under pseudonyms. Once everything was resolved, the father’s original rank and identity would be restored.
Harlo’s family had no objections. Simply surviving was once a luxury; now that everything was heading in a positive direction, they were more than satisfied.
By the time Ning Yunyi’s group returned to the Capital Star, nearly a month had passed since their departure.
Ning Yunyi returned to the Ning family home, while Zong Hao headed to the palace to report. The two groups parted ways.
It was the first time the little kitten had been separated from his father for so long. He was playing with a vine ball with Professor Ning when he heard a sound and looked up. The smile on his face vanished, and he suddenly burst into a loud wail at the sight of Ning Yunyi.
Heartbroken, Ning Yunyi dropped his luggage and rushed forward to scoop the little guy into his arms. “Don’t cry, baby. It’s Father’s fault. I shouldn’t have been gone for so long.” He had expected the trip to only take a few days, but the medical treatments had delayed them. Seeing the child cry so pitifully made his heart ache.
Professor Ning and Ning Mother’s eyes were also red as they let out sighs of relief. It was good to have the child back. They truly hadn’t been able to sleep well, terrified that something might have gone wrong.
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