Chapter 10: The Eerie “Shi Yan”; The Seed Named Jealousy Takes Root
The next morning, Zhuang He woke up to the frantic beep-beep of the butler-cat. He was used to a regular sleep schedule, but because he had to set out early for the mission, he had to rely on the kitten at times like this.
Zhuang He squinted his eyes and stroked the kittenās soft fur, sitting up while rubbing his somewhat messy hair.
Normally, he would feel uncomfortable after waking up due to the Soothing Agents, and being forced to wake up early only added insult to injury. He felt a splitting headache.
He got up, changed into his black combat suit, buckled his belt, and firmly attached the nameplate engraved with his name.
After he finished a quick wash and opened a bottle of nutrient solution for himself, the headache eased slightly. He then threw his academy uniform over himself, grabbed his light-brain, and headed out.
He didn’t enter through the Academyās main gate but walked to the side entrance to take a high-altitude elevator. He then walked along the one-way glass corridor. Through the glass, Zhuang He could see the students training outside. Among them, he could see Lu Yin from afar. Due to his height and build, he was exceptionally prominent among the Sentinels. Zhuang He only glanced once at the swarming students and precisely spotted Lu Yin, who seemed to be talking to another Sentinel. Zhuang He didn’t look again and walked straight ahead.
Soon, after passing the long glass walkway, he arrived at the assembly point.
The Academy and the military were interconnected, though few people knew of it. This path was off-limits to anyone but Academy teachers.
Upon reaching the assembly point, Shi Yan and Du Yu were already waiting. Hearing the sound of the mechanical doors opening, they turned to look, and Zhuang Heās cold face and exquisite physique struck their eyes.
Watching Zhuang He stride over, Du Yu couldn’t help but marvel: How can someone grow up to be so beautiful yet train their body to be so perfect?
Reasonably, a Sentinelās physique should generally be much better than a Guideās, both in terms of build and physical fitness. However, Zhuang He, with his powerful body that was not inferior to any Sentinelās, had slapped the faces of all those who questioned him.
No one doubted Zhuang Heās ability anymore.
It was just that some people, who couldn’t achieve it themselves, ended up letting that seed named jealousy take root and sprout.
Zhuang He placed his light-brain on the verification stand. As the beep-beep sounded, a mechanical, non-human voice rang out: “Verification successful.”
Then Shi Yan also stepped forward, placing his light-brain on the stand as well. Another “Verification successful” followed. To their side, a massive aluminum alloy door slowly opened with a rumbling sound, revealing a sleek and sharp combat-style spacecraft before them.
Shi Yan took the lead and walked up the stairs lowered by the spacecraft, with Zhuang He following close behind.
Du Yu watched as both of them boarded the spacecraft and the hatch slowly closed. She then verified her iris against a small black-box-like instrument on the wall.
Once Du Yuās verification ended, the spacecraft emitted a rumbling sound. Following the pilotās operation inside, the floor panels below opened, and the spacecraft dropped through as if into a vacuum, successfully taking off a moment later.
Du Yu observed the control console for a while. It showed that everything on the spacecraft was normal, so she left with peace of mind.
Just as she reached the one-way glass, the light-brain on her wrist began to beep-beep-beep incessantly. She answered the callā
“Dean! That 3S Sentinel is fighting with another Sentinel! Heās almost crippled the otherās mental body! Weāve locked him in the solitary confinement room according to academy rules! Do you want to come take a look?”
ļ¼
Under Shi Yanās control, the spacecraft traveled smoothly along its set trajectory. After jumping through two wormholes, they arrived at the destination marked by the mission.
This was an abandoned small planet, drifting in the sea of stars. No life forms existed on it; the entire planet presented a gray and white appearance of decay.
The spacecraft landed steadily on the planet’s surface, kicking up clouds of dust. Once it was settled, the main door slowly opened, and Zhuang He, clad in his black combat suit, stepped out. Behind him, Shi Yan, wearing a combat suit of the same style, walked out with long strides.
“No traces of Zerg activity detected.”
Zhuang He surveyed the surroundings. Shi Yan jumped off the spacecraft, crouched down, and grabbed a handful of yellow soil. “Letās look around first.”
The two had already devised a plan while on the spacecraft; splitting up was the most efficient. Moreover, with their combined strength, they could contend with high-level Zerg even if they encountered them, at least until the other could arrive.
Zhuang He looked around, lifted his foot, and walked toward the left, while Shi Yan naturally headed toward the right to investigate.
After parting ways with Shi Yan, he walked straight for about ten minutes, yet he still found no traces. The detector he carried didn’t trigger any alarms either.
Zhuang He felt something was wrong. Reasonably, mission postings were verified. Since it was said there were traces of Zerg activity here, it couldn’t be false.
But the fact was that nothing had been detected. Zhuang He picked up the detector and glanced at it; all functions were normal, and no issues had occurred.
This made it even more eerie. Zhuang He didn’t grow lax because of the lack of traces; instead, his nerves grew even more tense.
After walking for another five minutes or so, Zhuang He spotted a figure in the distance.
The only two living beings on this abandoned planet were he and Shi Yan. The figure and attire of the person in the distance looked like Shi Yan.
Approaching closer, it was indeed Shi Yan, but he seemed focused on investigating something and hadn’t noticed Zhuang He, who was already very close.
“Find anything?”
Zhuang He asked, holding the detector as he approached, but he startled the crouching Shi Yan. The man immediately stood up, his gaze shifting from wary to relaxed in just a second.
“Found some traces.”
Shi Yan leaned down again and pinched a bit of yellow soil. When he placed it on the detector, a piercing red light alarm sounded.
“It seems there really are Zerg here. But on such a barren planet, what are they trying to do?”
Shi Yan was somewhat puzzled, while Zhuang He remained expressionless, his tone cold: “Doesn’t matter. Just wipe them out.”
“True. Letās go. Follow these traces and see. Did you find anything on your side?”
Zhuang He shook his head. Shi Yan looked disappointed, though it was within expectations.
Shi Yan led the way, using the detector to search bit by bit, while Zhuang He followed behind him, occasionally looking left and right.
After walking for about ten minutes, Shi Yanās face lit up with joy. He looked at a bottomless pit not far ahead and said, “Found it!”
“Yes, found it.”
The corners of Zhuang Heās mouth curved up, revealing a very rare smile. Shi Yan hadn’t noticed anything unusual yet, but when he turned back, he was dazed by Zhuang Heās smiling face.
Then came the sound of breaking air. A fist had already struck out before him. Shi Yanās expression changed, and he dodged to the side.
“Zhuang He! What are you doing!”
Shi Yan shouted with a mixture of surprise and anger, but Zhuang He said nothing. He leaped forward with lightning speed. Shi Yan suddenly panicked and turned to run toward the pitch-black pit, but his back collar was grabbed.
He felt a sudden whirl of heaven and earth, and he was thrown onto his back on the ground. Zhuang He pinned his neck with one hand while kneeling on his lower body with his legs to ensure Shi Yan wouldn’t resist further.
Shi Yanās vision went dark. Before he could say anything, he felt a sting in his neck as if some liquid were being injected. The next second, he fell into a deep, dreamless sleep.
Only after confirming that Shi Yan had fallen completely unconscious did Zhuang He release his hold. He tapped a few times on his light-brain, and the rumbling sound of the spacecraft floating over could be heard from the distance.
He hoisted up Shi Yan, who was heavier and taller than him, and walked up the steps lowered by the spacecraft. He tossed the man into a separate cabin and didn’t forget to lock the door.
Once the series of tasks was completed, Zhuang He gazed at the scattered stars in the distance. He set several programs on the control panel in the operation room, and finally, he took his equipment and weapons and returned to the edge of that pit.
The pit was bottomless, silent and still inside, though it faintly exuded an aura of danger.
Zhuang He stood by the pit and took a deep breath. The various resource packs slung around his waist would bring him a chance at life should he fall into a desperate situation.
Then he leaned forward and jumped directly into the pit. With the wind whistling past his ears, the night-vision goggles Zhuang He wore allowed him to see the situation inside the pit clearly.
Inside were only some ruins and broken walls; no obvious Zerg traces were found.
As the mechanical wings on his back deployed, Zhuang He landed steadily on the soft soil. When he opened the detector, he injected his spiritual power into it. The fiery-red phoenix spread its wings behind him, illuminating a portion of the pit.
The phoenix let out a high cry and led the way under Zhuang Heās guidance, while the detection range of the detector increased after being infused with spiritual power.
Yet no alarm sounded. Was it possible there were no Zerg inside? Then why did someone just trick him into coming here?
Regarding the situation with “Shi Yan” just now, Zhuang He was actually somewhat bewildered. This was his first time encountering such a thing. If “Shi Yan” hadn’t been riddled with loopholes, it would have been extremely difficult for him to detect the anomaly. But that “Shi Yan” was indeed the man himself, which was very strange.
The matter of “Shi Yan” would be discussed later; for now, he had to find where the so-called Zerg traces were.
But Zhuang He found not a single trace from start to finish. He stood in the spacecraftās operation room, using radar and the phoenix to observe this planet. It was indeed an abandoned planet, and no life forms existed.
Left with no choice, Zhuang He could only try to contact Du Yu first, but she seemed busy on her end, and the communication request never connected.
Everything was shrouded in eerie mystery, making Zhuang He feel uneasy.
However, the fact that the mission couldn’t be completed was set in stone. He couldn’t forcibly drag a Zerg here to finish the task, so he could only pilot the spacecraft back.
After setting the jump route for the spacecraft, Zhuang He arrived at the room where “Shi Yan” was held.
With a clack, the door lock was opened. Zhuang He cautiously gripped the weapon at his waist, while his other hand slowly pushed open the door.
The room was dark, with not a sliver of light. He felt for the switch on the side and pressed it. Immediately, the white incandescent light illuminated the room. The person lying on the bed was still in a deep coma, showing no reaction.
Something was wrong. Zhuang He put away his weapon and stepped forward quickly. Before he could get close to Shi Yan, a massive lion appeared out of thin air by the bed, staring warily at Zhuang He in a protective stance.
Not good. Shi Yanās spiritual power was out of control.
Zhuang He realized something was wrong. The fire phoenix immediately separated from his body, its eyes spitting fire as it faced off against the lion.
The lion was completely drawn to the phoenix. Zhuang He took the opportunity to approach Shi Yan on the bed. Golden spiritual power flowed from his chest, turning into streaks of light that drilled into Shi Yanās body.
As soon as he entered, Zhuang He knew Shi Yan was in a very bad state. They had to return to the Empire immediately for professional medical treatment. For now, he could only use his spiritual power to temporarily stabilize him.
With the continuous infusion of spiritual power, the lion clearly calmed down significantly, which meant Shi Yan himself was returning to stability.
Following the spacecraftās jump, they finally returned to the Empire.
The very next second after the spacecraft landed steadily, Zhuang Heās light-brain beep-beeped. After answering, Du Yuās somewhat serious voice came through: “Zhuang He, are you back?”
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