Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 2 | Ambush in Transit | Novela.app

At this moment, Lei Ting didn't have the energy for any nonsense. After all, even his admission notice had sensed he was entering the Superpower Awakening period; he certainly wasn't unaware of it himself. Regardless of gender, an Orion human in the Awakening period was extremely fragile and unstable. There were even precedents where external stimuli caused abnormal shifts in the manifestation of their abilities. The handsome, polite-looking youth sighed. There was no trace of impatience in his grey-black eyes as he suddenly reached out and tapped the armrest of Luo Xi’an’s seat. A gentle, synthesized female voice, remarkably human-like, rang out: [Identity verification failed. Seat automatically locked.] "Whoa, whoa, whoa?!" Luo Mu nearly jumped out of his skin. He yanked his legs back just before the seat’s built-in limited repulsion isolation system could plaster him against the ceiling. He pointed at Lei Ting, momentarily speechless. Finally, he ground his teeth and hissed, "You’ve got some nerve, Raytine!" Hearing that name, Lei Ting glanced at him. Because the Orion race had achieved planetary unification before leaving their home world, every Orion human possessed at least two written names: a 'Formal Name' and a 'Phonetic Name.' These scripts belonged to the two largest languages of ancient Earth, and the two names were always phonetically similar. For example, Lei Ting’s Phonetic Name was 'Raytine,' Luo Mu’s was 'Rome,' and Luo Xi’an’s was 'Rocien.' In daily life, an Orion’s formal written signature required both names to be signed simultaneously after identity verification, followed by a mental wave recording via a professional psychic scanner. Which of these two names was used in daily life depended on the individual. For instance, Lei Ting chose his Formal Name for everyday use. In the current social etiquette of the Orion Federation, his 'Phonetic Name' was therefore automatically regarded as a more formal, specialized designation. In a situation like this, addressing someone directly by their Phonetic Name was a clear act of provocation. The surrounding students immediately perked up, heads turning as they prepared to enjoy the drama. To this, Lei Ting’s response was... "Thank you for the compliment." He calmly deflected the hostility and reached out to hoist Luo Xi’an up, stuffing him back into his seat. The repulsion field dissipated naturally upon contact with the seat's rightful owner. Then, he sat back in his own place, removed his somewhat stifling uniform cap, and set it on the tray table. He tapped the ear-mounted optical computer on his left ear, which emitted a soft 'beep' as a mechanical structure deployed, unfolding a gentle, eye-friendly light screen before him. The screen locked onto the user's iris and pupil positions; only he could see the content displayed. To outsiders, the screen appeared as a blank glow with a warning bar reading 'Accessing Network,' signaling others not to disturb him. Luo Mu, who had been about to reach out and shove him, pulled his hand back with a dark expression. Experience told him that while calling the guy by his Phonetic Name was one thing, interrupting him while he was using his optical computer was a one-way ticket to a beating. The onlookers let out a collective sigh of disappointment. Luo Mu glared at them fiercely. Meanwhile, a semi-virtual space that had nothing to do with a 'screen' unfolded before Lei Ting’s eyes. This was the default login scene for the optical computer—a silver-white sci-fi cockpit overlaid onto the real world, which he had adjusted to 30% opacity. Once inside, his right index finger on the armrest twitched slightly. Through a combination of hand gestures and eye-tracking confirmation, a new screen popped up in the cockpit, displaying a list of contacts. [Orion First Military Academy (Note: AI)] [Avatar: Cutest in the Universe (Note: Dean - Lei Wenbo)] [Peaceful Mind (Note: Hunter - Instructor - Kingsley)] ... Lei Ting didn't scroll down. He clicked directly on the dialogue box for 'Peaceful Mind' and quickly typed: [I’ve entered the Awakening period. What should I do?] A reply came almost instantly: [Do nothing. Stay where you are and try to cut off all external interference. I’ll be there soon.] [Understood,] Lei Ting replied. With that done, he activated the repulsion barrier on his seat and closed his eyes to rest. Instructors were, after all, the managers and coordinators appointed by the military academy; they would naturally know the exact location of their students. Lei Ting wasn't worried about whether Kingsley would show up. In his gradually integrating memories, the concept of 'Double S-rank' was terrifying. If it weren't for the fact that some of the academy's ships had been temporarily diverted for diplomatic affairs, he should have had his own private transport. Lei Ting did his best to restrain the chaotic thoughts in his mind, forcing himself into a deliberate state of drowsiness. But in the next moment, a massive roar thundered from the distance ahead. Terrifyingly intense light, heat, and an explosive shockwave forced almost everyone in the cabin to instinctively clutch their heads and huddle down. Shrapnel from the alloy airtight door whistled over the seats, pockmarking the cabin interior with a rhythmic clatter. More than half of the students' luggage, which was uniformly secured to the edges of the cabin, failed to escape the carnage, meeting its end in the deafening blast. "What’s happening... what’s going on?!" someone screamed. *BANG!!* A sharp crack echoed through the cabin, followed by a gruff voice roaring, "Everyone shut the hell up!" A wave of screams erupted from the students. Hiding under his tray table, Lei Ting’s heart sank. That sound was unmistakably a gunshot, but who used gunpowder weapons these days? Small-scale wars had been raging along the galactic borders for years, causing the technology trees of the major internal civilizations to grow skewed. Military technology outpaced civilian tech by at least a generation. The Orion Federation was a prime example: they had superpowers, mecha, bio-armor, exoskeletons, power armor, warships, electromagnetic weapons, laser weapons, force field weapons... the list went on. Yet, most civilian technology wasn't nearly as advanced; only communications and industry had been dragged forward by military necessity. But now, Lei Ting was hearing the sound of a gunpowder weapon... He quickly eliminated several possibilities in his mind, locking onto the only one that seemed logically consistent. *BANG!!!* "Listen up—I’m a space pirate!" the voice roared again. "Sit up and be quiet, or I’ll kill the lot of you and find a new batch!" ...Inside the cabin, nearly a hundred students fell silent, obediently crawling out from hiding to sit in their seats. Lei Ting did the same. Upon sitting up, he saw two rows of masked gunmen dressed as pirates standing before the damaged, burning airtight door, along with a few strange individuals. The leader stood nearly three meters tall, so massive and sturdy he hardly looked like an Orion human. He held a small, cigar-like object that looked almost dainty in his hand. That was a 'Command Whistle' used by space pirates; the previous roar had been projected through it. Then, several people beside the leader opened the waist-high gates to the cabin aisles and led the gunmen inside. As they entered, they looked at the students in the front rows with mocking wonder. "As expected of First Academy pre-cadets—you actually knew to hit the deck. Though the form is hideous. Why is someone sticking their ass up like that?" The students in the front were furious but dared not speak, not even daring to activate their repulsion barriers. These pirates were clearly here for the students. Lei Ting even knew exactly why. In the news he had seen, there were occasional reports of pirate groups kidnapping teenagers in their Awakening period. Because the initial assessment of a superpower awakening wasn't set in stone, specific physiological stimuli applied during the awakening could use the individual's self-preservation instincts to force a 'specialization' of their abilities. Once the awakened ability stabilized, the weaker teenagers would be killed, and their 'Celestial Eye'—the superpower organ in the brain—would be harvested for other uses. Those who weren't as weak would be fitted with superpower suppressors and hormone-regulating implants to be used as expendable combat assets. "To think you’d dare target pre-cadets of the First Academy..." The person sitting next to Lei Ting hissed through gritted teeth. "Pirates, aren't you afraid of death?!" The comment was so naive that Lei Ting couldn't help but glance at his neighbor. It was a beautiful blonde youth, currently glaring at the nearby pirates with his striking green eyes. The pirates burst into laughter. "Death? You little brat, you’re talking to us about death?" That laughter sent a chill through Lei Ting. A second later, as the nearest pirate strode over and swung his rifle butt at the boy, and the boy instinctively covered his head, Lei Ting suddenly reached out and slammed the neighbor's armrest. The gentle, mechanical female voice spoke again: [Identity verification failed. Seat automatically locked.] The repulsion barrier deployed even faster due to the force of the impact. *CLANG!* It deflected the pirate’s gun. But the man was clearly a battle-hardened veteran; he absorbed the recoil, spun the gun back into position, and turned his gaze toward Lei Ting. ...Tsk. This is bad. Lei Ting withdrew his hand, which was throbbing with pain from the massive feedback force, and clasped his hands steadily within his own barrier. He looked up, meeting the eyes behind the pirate's mask with a polite gaze, while internally calculating which way to roll to minimize the beating once the barrier was breached. In the next moment, a massive shadow loomed over him. "Interesting..." The hulking leader had reached Lei Ting’s side without him noticing. He looked down at the black-haired, black-eyed youth, sizing him up with a predatory grin. "Little brat, are you afraid of death?" 'Little brat'... The address made Lei Ting feel a bit numb. "Yes," he answered honestly. "Then why did you step in to help him?" The giant’s grin grew more menacing. "Because you might kill him, but you probably won't kill me," Lei Ting’s answer was even more honest. The giant’s smile was now the kind that would make Satan look like a saint. "And why is that?" "Oh, that," Lei Ting’s face was a mask of flat sincerity. "Because I’m the only 'Double S' in recent years. If you need a good tool, you won't kill me, right?" "Oh, is that so..." The giant stood up and suddenly let out a cold laugh. He raised his right fist high, and as a pitch-black hue rapidly spread across it, he brought it crashing down!! *BOOM!!!* The punch shattered the barrier instantly. Even the repulsion generator on the seat sparked and hissed as it exploded—the force had completely exceeded its load limit. Then, he grabbed Lei Ting by the collar of his crisp uniform and hoisted him out of his seat. "How rare, to find one who knows what we do..." He grinned, his demonic face slowly approaching Lei Ting’s. "...Then, brat. Do you know what kind of ability specialization we’re looking for?"