Author: 易修罗 / Yi Xiu Luo

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

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Chapter 89

This blood draw lasted longer than any previous ones. By the time it was over, Ling Xiao wasn’t just groggy as he had been before; he was completely unconscious and unresponsive.

When Ying Feng entered, he took one look and immediately turned to leave, without Heng He even getting a chance to say a word.

In the military’s highest command center, a drawn-out debate had been going on for nearly two hours. The separatist forces on the Huoxiu Star showed signs of resurgence, and the military’s annual expenditure on stabilization efforts had exceeded the planet’s output. The pro-expedition and abandonment factions argued fiercely, with the crux of the disagreement centered on the undeniable effects of the soul traction during long-range warfare, which posed significant challenges.

Long Yin was growing increasingly impatient when a communication signal came through. He initially wanted to dismiss it, but upon seeing it was from Ying Feng, he left the meeting room.

“What is it?” He asked directly.

Ying Feng got straight to the point. “Our original agreement guaranteed the safety of my Qizi. If you breach that, we have no choice but to terminate the experiment unilaterally.”

The biggest bargaining chip the pro-expedition faction had was their claim to solve the soul traction problem within six months. Ying Feng’s threat to terminate the experiment now was like adding insult to injury.

Long Yin said gravely, “I don’t want to threaten you in the name of the military. Remember, you’re a military student and a future soldier. Prioritize the nation over personal interests. You have no idea about the current situation on Huoxiu Star…”

“Huoxiu Star is 32,000 EAU away,” Ying Feng interrupted. “But my Qizi is right here with me. Even if you obtain enough blood, the experimental subjects might not awaken, and even if they do, they might not break the soul traction. For a minuscule chance of success and a planet so distant you can’t even see it with a telescope, you’re asking me to watch my Qizi repeatedly put in danger. If it were you, could you accept that?”

Suppressing his anger, Long Yin said, “Two-thirds, no less.”

“Half,” Ying Feng countered firmly.

Long Yin frowned. “Don’t push your luck. Remember, if your Qizi reincarnates, we can still use his blood.”

Ying Feng replied calmly, “I misjudged that before, which is why you could threaten me. But now I realize people who can’t even wait a year definitely can’t wait twenty.”

There was silence on the other end, clearly angered by Ying Feng’s words. After a long pause, an annoyed voice said, “Fine, as you say,” and quickly hung up.

After ending the call, Ying Feng turned to Ling Xiao. Seeing him, Heng He was always nervous, unsure of what Ying Feng had discussed outside.

“Xiao Hui.”

With that, Heng He carefully handed the little wolf to Ling Xiao’s embrace. Holding Ling Xiao, the weight of Xiao Hui was almost negligible to Ying Feng.

“I’ve given it an injection. Just make sure it takes its medication, and it’ll be fine. Wolves have a strong natural healing ability. You don’t have to worry.”

As Ying Feng left, Heng He, concerned, quickly added, “But you must be careful with Ling Xiao. He can’t afford to lose any more blood.”

“Does he even have any blood left to lose?” Ying Feng replied coldly, leaving Heng He speechless.

Waiting on the airstrip were the military’s sealed aircraft. To this day, Ying Feng still had no idea where this genetic center was located. After settling Ling Xiao into the cabin, the aircraft accelerated down the runway for takeoff. By Ying Feng’s estimation, it would take about half an hour to reach the transfer station. He had tried to pinpoint this location on a map before, but the vast area made it impossible to narrow down.

Ying Feng casually turned on a mobile TV. The news was covering the very issue Long Yin had mentioned.

“The separatist forces of Huoxiu Star have teamed up with the ‘Interstellar Peacekeeping Force’ intending to launch an armed action. Our mining station, set up in the Huoxiu N8202 asteroid belt, was violently attacked a few days ago. Several unmanned mining drones were destroyed. The military has yet to give a clear response about deploying troops…”

Suddenly, there was a loud bang from the front of the aircraft, followed by severe shaking. The entire plane tilted at a 45-degree angle.

“What’s happening?!” Ying Feng pounded on the sealed door. Then an even louder noise sounded, and the aircraft started spiraling uncontrollably from the sky. Thrown to the rear of the plane, they crashed hard onto the ground, causing even Ying Feng to black out briefly.

Regaining consciousness, Ying Feng found his right arm trapped under some deformed equipment. The cabin was a total mess. Given the state of the back, the cockpit’s situation must be even grimmer.

“Ling Xiao!”

Ying Feng called out, but there was no reply.

He used his mental power, and suddenly there was another person in his arms. However, Ling Xiao remained unconscious; even such a massive impact didn’t wake him.

Ying Feng supported Ling Xiao’s neck, originally just wanting to protect him and try to leave the place. Yet, the moment he touched him, he felt a slippery, sticky sensation in his palm. Startled, he lifted his hand and found it covered in alarming fresh blood.

He couldn’t afford to lose any more blood. Ying Feng struggled to pull out his trapped right arm, which was causing him agonizing pain. But he couldn’t care about that now. He activated a healing soul crystal and placed the glowing white hand back onto the back of Ling Xiao’s head.

Ling Xiao had a dream where he felt weightless, almost as if he could fly to the sky.

He revisited all the events he had experienced. He didn’t know that this was the near-death experience of the Tianxiu people. He watched the past ten years with the mindset of watching a movie—the exciting and thrilling university life, the pitch-black coming-of-age ceremony, and the carefree time when he was young…

Until he was almost finished rewatching his life, a voice kept calling his name from afar. This voice made him nostalgic and unwilling to let go, so he gave up on the story’s ending and fell back to the ground.

Ying Feng watched as the shimmering blue spots around Ling Xiao gradually converged back into his body and let out a long sigh of relief. He had only seen such a phenomenon once before, when Ping Zong left.

However, the danger hadn’t passed. Ying Feng wondered what had happened. Could it be that Long Yin really wanted to put them in mortal danger without considering the consequences?

There was a sound of metal cutting from outside. Ying Feng noticed it but discreetly gripped a few soul crystals, not acting rashly. If it was the military outside, escape would be nearly impossible.

The obstacle above them was cleared, and more than a dozen unfamiliar weapons were pointed at them. He then saw the faces of the attackers—their skin was a strange dark red. Although they looked human, they appeared quite different from the Tianxiu people.

In this galaxy, every planet had many different intelligent species. Even on the Wolf Star, where 80% of the population was the Wolf people, the remaining 20% consisted of other races.

However, Tianxiu was an extreme exception. No alien race would choose to migrate here. Even tourists were rare. In the past ten years, Ying Feng had never seen an alien on Tianxiu.

Suppressing his surprise, Ying Feng calmly asked, “Who are you?”

There was no answer. From their actions and demeanor, it was evident that their captors were well-trained soldiers, leaving no vulnerabilities exposed. The pain from his right arm reminded Ying Feng that his bone was probably broken. He gently touched the back of Ling Xiao’s head. While the bleeding had stopped, Ling Xiao’s breath and heartbeat were faint, and his vital signs were gradually fading.

Due to this movement, the enemy uttered several unfamiliar monosyllabic warnings. From their tone, Ying Feng understood that they were warning him not to move.

He realized that they didn’t want to kill him, or they would have done so already.

He scanned their faces one by one. “Does anyone understand the Tianxiu language? My Qizi needs medical attention.”

It was unclear if they understood, but one of them gestured, and immediately a person in a white uniform carrying a medical kit approached to check on Ling Xiao.

Ying Feng stopped him. “Your medical technology won’t help. He needs to go to a local medical station.”

The person who had gestured spoke some words, but the communication between them was incomprehensible. Ying Feng’s concern deepened as Ling Xiao’s condition worsened.

As Ying Feng discreetly played with the soul crystal in his left thumb, planning an escape with Ling Xiao, a small two-seater aircraft landed nearby. Seeing the calm reactions of the aliens, Ying Feng’s heart sank, realizing the newcomers were also their enemies.

The aircraft’s door opened, and a tall man stepped out. Upon seeing him, Ying Feng hesitated, realizing any chance of escape had now diminished to none.

The aliens made way for Tai Yin, who looked down condescendingly. “We meet again.”

Although at a disadvantage, Ying Feng retorted with equal vigor, “First you colluded with pirates, and now these unknown aliens? When you refused the pirates’ proposal, I thought you had some principles. But what you’re doing now, isn’t it akin to treason?”

Treason and the murder of the young were considered the two most unforgivable sins in the Tianxiu culture. Any Tianxiu with a shred of morality would see this as the utmost disgrace, especially for someone as proud as Tai Yin.

Sure enough, Tai Yin’s face darkened at the accusation. “Who do you think forced me into this situation? If you hadn’t taken Shang Yang from me, I wouldn’t have needed to cooperate with these aliens.”

The so-called “aliens” around Tai Yin clearly didn’t understand the conversation, so they continued to focus on Ying Feng.

“If you truly missed Shang Yang, when he was reincarnated, you should have reincarnated with him, just like your student Yao Tai did. Perhaps you made some contributions in your research, but compared to your students in other aspects, you’re sadly lacking.”

Tai Yin squatted down in front of him and said, “Who was it that, at any cost, wanted to break into my lab just to find their past life partner? Do I need to remind you that you almost drove your current Qizi to a dead end for him?”

As expected, Tai Yin saw the anticipated expression on Ying Feng’s face and stood up, satisfied. “Will you leave on your own, or do I ask our interstellar friends to help you?”

Ying Feng struggled to sit up. “I need to take Ling Xiao to the medical station. And the driver over there, I need to make sure he’s still alive.”

“Of course,” Tai Yin agreed readily, making Ying Feng doubt his sincerity.

“You don’t need to look at me with suspicion. I don’t want his life right now. I promise he will be safely taken there.” Tai Yin took a step back, giving Ying Feng room to get up.

With his broken arm, Ying Feng barely held onto Ling Xiao and, under the escort of the aliens, step by step entered their spacecraft. Tai Yin followed, watching them being locked in a chamber.

He switched his language chip and commanded the red-skinned alien in fluent Huoxiu Star language, “Set a course for the next medical station. We only need one hostage.”

The other quickly questioned, “Why not take all three? Isn’t three safer?”

“I said one.” Tai Yin’s expression darkened. “Unless you don’t want any.”

The alien from Huoxiu Star was already familiar with his temperament and didn’t argue further. Following the given destination, Tai Yin went alone to another room and connected to Xing Lou through a private communicator.

“We’ve left. In ten minutes, you can disable the signal interference.”

“What about the person I asked for?”

“He’s alive. I’ll take him to the medical station soon.”

Xing Lou smiled. “Last time you wanted him dead. You know I need him, and you know I can’t wait too long.”

Tai Yin felt stifled. Xing Lou was the only one in the world who dared to speak to him like this without him retaliating. While Xing Lou was just a fledgling, he was much more than that. Tai Yin knew his capabilities better than anyone and needed his power. After falling out with Fei Jing and losing contact with Zhen He, Xing Lou was his last powerful ally. Until he reached his goal, he could only give in.

He suppressed his displeasure. “It won’t happen again.”

“That’s good.” Xing Lou received a satisfactory response. “No matter what, I need to ensure Ling Xiao’s safety. Apart from reviving Yue Ying, he has a greater purpose.”

“A greater purpose? What is it?”

Xing Lou brushed off the question with a smile. “That’s not for you to be concerned about.”

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