Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

Translator: Kinky || https://kinkytranslations.com/

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Chapter 74

The escort ship that Bing Can “borrowed” automatically joined the military communication channel. After listening for a while, Red Head realized something was wrong.

“They are heading in a different direction than us.”

The directions of both parties’ advancements had at least a 30-degree angle difference. The military had radar and anti-stealth technology; there shouldn’t have been such a large error.

However, the only radar on Ying Feng’s garbage truck was broken, but he was moving very determinedly in one direction without any hesitation, at least from what Bing Can could see trailing behind him.

“What should we do?” Red Head asked.

“Follow Ying Feng.” Bing Can made a provisional decision. “Use your terminal to keep in communication with Ying Feng. If the other party is still using magnetic field interference, we should be able to detect it immediately.”

Ying Feng’s terminal was connected.

“How’s it going on your end?”

“I can’t detect with spiritual probing.” No matter how his consciousness spread out, he couldn’t capture any trace of Ling Xiao. It was as if he had disappeared from this universe.

“Is the direction incorrect?”

Bing Can was about to report the military coordinates to him, but heard him say, “No, they should choose this route, and they will arrive soon.”

This was the shortest line from the incident location to the space station; they should be able to guess where the fledgling was sent.

Ying Feng held the Shared Five Senses soul crystal by Fu Yao tightly in his hand. This was his umpteenth attempt today, but no matter how he infused his mental power, he couldn’t activate it.

Despite having trained very hard, Ling Xiao’s trust in him never reached one hundred percent.

The sense of powerless frustration made him furious, and his mental power turned into attack power that transmitted to the palm of his hand, crushing the extremely hard soul crystal into powder, which slowly flowed down between his fingers.

This awakened Ying Feng.

The cabin shells on both sides of the scavenger opened, and the vacuum cleaner used for cleaning small matter extended outside the body. Ying Feng issued the opposite order, and the dust particles mixed with metal fragments absorbed earlier flew out in reverse. In zero gravity, they collided and scattered everywhere. Ying Feng manipulated the scavenger and drew a circle, weaving a dust net in space.

Bing Can and Red Head in the escort ship were dumbfounded. “If there were environmentalists here, he would definitely be fined a huge amount.”

The voice from the terminal suddenly distorted, emitting a harsh metallic sound.

“They’re here!”

It seemed like the celestial net had been torn open. “There!”

Without hesitation, Bing Can manipulated the escort ship to go up and fire in the direction of the loophole.

For a spaceship of that scale, their bullets were like tickles. Bing Can’s goal was just to harass them as much as possible. Once they got annoyed and retaliated, the stealth system would automatically deactivate.

“Still can’t summon Ling Xiao?” They were already so close.

“I guess the place he’s in might have blocked mental power… Wait!”

An escape pod popped out from the enemy spaceship. This escape pod seemed to be controlled by someone who purposefully drove towards the scavenger. Soon, someone jumped out from it.

“Ling Xiao?” Ying Feng quickly opened the cabin door and let Ling Xiao in. “How did you…?”

“I escaped.” Ling Xiao appeared before him, unharmed. “I was hit by a gun. When I woke up, there was no one around. It seems like they didn’t want my life and didn’t care about my whereabouts. They probably found out that even keeping me couldn’t be used for hostage exchange, thinking I have no value.”

Ying Feng stared at him unblinkingly, making Ling Xiao a bit uncomfortable. “What’s wrong?”

“…Nothing.” Ying Feng probably experienced the first urgency since he woke up, but there was no due joy in seeing Ling Xiao return unharmed.

“By the way.” Ling Xiao’s expression was grave. “Did you send that fledgling to the space station? We must get there as soon as possible.”

“Why?”

“Because I heard that’s their destination too; they must want to reclaim the fledgling. If we move fast, we might be able to transfer the fledgling while they’re not paying attention.”

Without waiting for Ying Feng to make a decision, he proficiently chose the space station as the endpoint for the navigator, and the scavenger turned around and drove towards the destination.

“Ling Xiao, are you back? Are you alright?” Bing Can’s voice came from the terminal.

“I’m fine.” Ling Xiao’s gaze was fixed straight ahead at the retreating meteorites and debris. “Can you help us buy some time? We have to transfer the fledgling to a safe place before they do.”

Ling Xiao’s politeness made Bing Can pause, but he quickly responded, “As long as you’re fine, I’ll do my best.”

He pulled the joystick, and the escort ship flew vertically, maneuvering flexibly around the starship, occasionally firing a missile or two, trying to buy time for Ling Xiao and the others.

“What’s the situation inside?” Ying Feng asked during this gap.

“I only saw one person; the one who hit me with the gun must be another person, but I didn’t see his face. Apart from this, I didn’t see any living people. They might all be elsewhere.”

His description matched what Ying Feng saw with his mind vision.

“It’s my poor planning.”

Ling Xiao turned his head slightly. “I’m sorry. I made you worry.”

Ying Feng was stunned. The scavenger had already docked, and Ling Xiao jumped out of the cabin proficiently.

“Where’s the fledgling that was just brought here?” he asked.

“He’s undergoing treatment,” a staff member replied. “The military ordered you to return to the ground immediately.”

“The enemy warship will appear in three minutes, and that’s a naval-grade starship. Do you have enough manpower?”

The staff member was startled. “But we received a message that the enemy had fled towards the stargate.”

“I don’t know about the accuracy of your information, but I just escaped from that starship.” He stepped aside, revealing Ying Feng behind him. “My Qizhu can attest to this.”

Ying Feng remained silent for a moment before saying, “It’s true.”

The staff member was a bit panicked. “We also dispatched many warships and personnel; only a few medical and research staff are left here. It’s already too late to notify them to return.”

“Why not send the fledgling back to the ground?” Ying Feng asked.

“We can’t,” Ling Xiao firmly rebutted him. “The fledgling’s body is fragile. He can’t use the teleportation device.”

After saying this, he turned his head to ask the staff member, “Right?”

The staffer wanted to speak but was preempted by him and now quickly nodded in confirmation. “Yes, he can only be transported back by flight after he recovers.”

“But we can’t wait now,” Ling Xiao said. “Lend us a ship. We’ll take responsibility for delivering him to the nearest space station.”

Seeing their hesitation, his tone was firm. “We are students of Royal Sky, future soldiers of Tianxiu. We swear on our souls to ensure the fledgling’s safety. There will be no mishaps.”

Pressed by time and seeing their young ages not only saving the fledgling safely but also escaping from the enemy, the staff member somewhat trusted them and agreed to his proposal.

The fledgling was transferred to the spaceship. Besides Ying Feng and Ling Xiao, there was also a medical staff member from the space station with them.

The spaceship quickly left the space station, heading to another space station seven jumps away, even crossing a stargate in between.

The light in the universe distorted, and the spaceship entered a warp state. Ling Xiao stood in the cockpit with his hands behind his back, the corner of his mouth subtly curving up.

“Ling Xiao.” Ying Feng called his name.

“Hm?” He turned around with a smile, but the smile froze on his face. In Ying Feng’s hand was a weapon identical to the one used on Ling Xiao, and now the muzzle of the gun was pointed at his chest.

“What are you doing?” Ling Xiao’s gaze moved from the weapon to his face.

Ying Feng was also staring at him with probing eyes. “You are not Ling Xiao. Who are you?”

……

Ling Xiao woke up from a coma and found himself in a strange space, surrounded by a transparent medium forming an octagon, and he was trapped in the middle of this octagon.

He pushed against the glass-like objects. If this was the cage to confine him, this material obviously wouldn’t be as fragile as glass. It could be even more solid than the walls of the training hall.

“You’re awake?”

A voice made Ling Xiao realize that he wasn’t the only one here. When the speaker turned around, Ling Xiao incredulously widened his eyes.

“Ying Feng?”

The one called Ying Feng raised an eyebrow. “Who’s that?”

Ling Xiao, shocked, stared at this “Ying Feng” before him, certain that he wasn’t the person he thought. Standing here was a younger version of Ying Feng, exactly like he was in his fledgling state. More precisely, he looked like Ying Feng just after his coming-of-age ceremony. Even the color of his eyes was pitch-black.

Seeing Ling Xiao unable to speak, “Ying Feng” thought it was due to fear of being captured.

“Don’t worry, we won’t harm you. You’ll be free once we reach our destination, but for now, you must stay here.”

Ling Xiao fixated on his face, feeling a sense of time reversal, ignoring the reason why they kept him here.

“Who are you? Why are you with Tai Yin?”

“It’s rare to see young people who still recognize him. I thought he was only a hero to our generation.” The fake Ying Feng played with a virtual universe sandbox in front of him. “You can call me Fei Jing.”

“Unfortunately, in our eyes, he’s not a hero,” Ling Xiao said earnestly. “He’s a wanted criminal.”

Fei Jing glanced at him disdainfully. “How old are you? Perhaps in your past life, you were his fervent admirer. When he left Tianxiu, you were probably still crying under your blanket.”

“Whatever happened in past lives has nothing to do with me.” Ling Xiao looked around. “Besides, this isn’t really leaving Tianxiu. It’s more like eking out a living on the periphery of this planet.”

A dangerous light flashed in Fei Jing’s eyes. “Has anyone ever told you that you are very good at irritating people?”

“I guess Tai Yin just thought the same thing.”

“You managing to irritate him means you have some skills. Apart from Shang Yang, I have never seen anyone else affect his emotions. A man who has lived for over four hundred years hardly has any nerves left to be touched by people or things.”

Fei Jing flicked his index finger, and a planet in mid-air began to spin rapidly. “35,200 EAU.”

“What?” Ling Xiao didn’t understand.

“Starting from the core of Tianxiu, it’s the furthest distance Tianxiu people can reach. Once we surpass this distance, we will lose all ability to act, like lambs to the slaughter. Even an alien child could easily kill us. This is the so-called soul traction.”

Ling Xiao had heard a bit about what Fei Jing was talking about but chose to listen quietly.

“The last planet conquered by the Tianxiu people is Huangxiu, 32,000 EAU from here. This is already very close to our limit. If it weren’t for the sparse population, the primitive military of that planet, and the service of a Lone Star to the military, it would have been absolutely impossible to succeed.”

“Owning seven conquered planets wasn’t enough for Tianxiu. A hundred years later, which is seven hundred years ago, the military launched an invasion towards the eighth planet, here.” Fei Jing pointed to a beautiful red planet with a halo. “Huoxiu, 36,000 EAU away from us.”

Ling Xiao had crammed some history; naturally, he knew about the Huoxiu Battle seven hundred years ago—a nightmare a thousand times worse than the Ash Event for this planet.

“The accuracy of this critical value was measured by the lives of the soldiers who went on the expedition. On one side, the invaders who couldn’t fight back, and on the other, there were the defenders who were fully prepared. There were no lone stars in that era, so the outcome was predictable.”

“Due to the distant location, the souls of the deceased soldiers couldn’t return and dissipated in the vast universe. Tianxiu lost tens of thousands of its elite soldiers overnight—not just their bodies, but their souls as well.”

“That battle severely weakened Tianxiu. It took nearly a hundred years to recover. Some conquered planets seized this opportunity to gain independence. We dispatched troops to suppress them, going back and forth for several hundred years. Although the situation has stabilized now, no one dares to cross this limit again.”

Ling Xiao waited for a moment. “Why are you telling me this?”

“Do you think 35,200 EAU is a long distance? On this sandbox, it’s not even as long as my arm. I can embrace all the accessible planets with my arms open.”

He did just that, seeming to embrace the entire universe.

“Since my youth, I have longed to visit other planets and experience different landscapes. Sadly, when I left Tianxiu, I discovered that 17,000 is the furthest distance I can reach. Not even half of my arm, here.”

He pointed between the third and fourth planets. “I can only visit the third planet and can’t even go to the fourth one. It’s ridiculous.”

“Why?”

“Probably because I’m not fully developed, my soul traction is much more severe than others’. When I reach the third planet, I am already so weak that I can hardly walk independently.”

Only now did he look at Ling Xiao, responding to the earlier taunt. “Do you think I want to live here in such a miserable way? The space I yearn for is so vast, yet the land under my feet is so limited. I was born imprisoned here. Even if you can go a bit further, you still can’t escape beyond an arm’s length. You, who have a slightly larger cage, what right do you have to mock me who can’t leave here?”

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The author has something to say:

AU is the astronomical unit on the earth, which represents the distance from the earth to the sun. EAU is the derived astronomical unit, but who knows how much this unit of length represents.

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