Stars See Me [Interstellar] | Chapter 50 | Identity Revealed | Novela.app

“Oh my, goodbye then! The ‘Double-S’ Angye told her to keep a close eye on... You said there’s a controller in my head?” Lina laughed with pure delight. “How is that possible? It seems even a ‘Double-S’ can make mistakes...” ...Angye? And who was ‘she’? Was Lina one of Angye’s people? That would explain her previous attempts to probe Lei Ting’s thoughts... but if that were the case, her current behavior made no sense at all. Furthermore, she seemed incredibly confident that nothing was wrong with her brain. This confidence was entirely baseless, much like her sudden erratic behavior and nonsensical surrender. She... ... When facing a target who was almost certainly an enemy, a soldier owed them no respect for their privacy. Without a word, Lei Ting extended his mental strength and swept it over her. “Ugh...!!” As the surrounding crowd staggered, clutching their heads or eyes in pain, Lei Ting’s heart jolted. He apologetically retracted his mental strength, focusing it directly on the target as a flash of realization struck him. —Her mental activity was too high. This level of activity was abnormal. A person’s optimal mental state was actually ‘calm and perceptive.’ Extreme emotions and mental reactions—such as great joy, profound sorrow, tension, or lethargy—were detrimental. Anyone capable of mobilizing mental strength usually understood instinctively what kind of psychological state was best for them... this was especially true for Awakened Supers. But ‘Lina’ was different. Lei Ting could feel that beneath her ordinary, cheerful emotional response, a peculiar sense of elation made her act as if she feared nothing in heaven or on earth. But... even an ordinary person wouldn't have such a pathologically optimistic reaction in this situation, let alone a military academy student—or someone with mental strength powerful enough to harbor the delusion of ‘interfering with a Double-S.’ ...No, that wasn't right. Lei Ting frowned deeply. He watched as Lina was led away by an officer he had met... well, he had only briefly crossed paths with him this time. As his mental strength—still restrained but enough to severely impact most Supers below A-rank—brushed past the man, he felt a strange sense of familiarity. It was as if he had encountered this person before, in some situation where he had released his own power. But the impression was too faint; it might not even count as a single meeting... ... This was a major problem. The *Crater 303* was a vessel of the First Legion, and it had been patrolling the Federation’s borders for three years. Theoretically, Lei Ting should have met this person for the first time only upon boarding the ship... so why did he feel this subtle sense of familiarity?! A golden, fragmented radiance suddenly flared in his eyes, and Lei Ting’s form shifted from stillness to extreme motion. He lunged forward, crossing dozens of meters in an instant amidst a thunderous boom. He vaulted over the heads of ‘Lina’ and the head-bowed officer. By the time he landed, he was already armored, hovering regally about thirty centimeters off the ground. He looked down at the smiling girl and the officer with the lowered head. He reached out with a grasping motion, and the two of them flew toward him simultaneously. Spasming muscles instantly rendered them incapable of action. After a series of mechanical clicks, the two stopped twitching. Aside from their internal implants—which would destroy their limbs if removed—and the standard pheromone suppressors on their necks that might be useful, their external light-computers and all their armaments were stripped away and discarded on the ground nearby. Furthermore, the shield buffers that should have existed simply vanished. The standard shield generators, secured to their tactical vests by straps and armor, had automatically shut down in Lei Ting’s presence. —How could a creation that relied on metal to function ever defy the God of Metal? “In a closed environment, no one can escape me,” Lei Ting said softly. “Do you want to try making a run for the escape pods?” “...” The man dressed as an officer gave a bitter smile and pressed the brim of his light-armored cap before looking up. “...No, there’s no need... I think,” he said. As his light-computer had been removed, his appearance-altering camouflage failed, revealing a handsome, refined, and youthful face. “Allow me to introduce myself: Falin Valentine. One of Lord Angye’s aides.” His expression was tinged with bitterness and sorrow. “Thank you very much for not killing us outright...” “That was for before,” Lei Ting replied calmly. “As for what happens next, give me proof that you belong to Angye.” As they spoke, no one nearby dared to approach. Almost everyone was instinctively trying to distance themselves from Lei Ting. —The intensity of a ‘Double-S’ mental strength falling into their own was like a block of lead... no, a block of chromium being dropped into water, even if he harbored no ill will. No matter what kind of water it was or how much there was, the metal itself remained unmoved, while the water was forced to endure and accept it. “...” Falin silently glanced at his light-computer floating nearby. Lei Ting also glanced at the device. At first glance, it looked like standard-issue equipment, but a closer look revealed it had been modified. He gestured, pulling it toward him. Under Falin’s suddenly terrified gaze, Lei Ting directly operated his own standard light-computer, which was connected to the ‘Wangshu’ AI system, and said, “Wangshu, open it.” “No!! Don’t—” Falin cried out, reaching out his hand—he wanted to take back his computer and activate emergency mode to contact Angye and prove his identity! The things in that computer... even if the most classified parts were hidden, the rest of the files were still subject to non-disclosure agreements! His hands glowed with a red light as he tried to lung forward, but Lei Ting didn't even move; he simply forced the man back to his original spot and rendered him immobile once more. But it didn't matter. Amidst that despairing gaze, Wangshu gave its answer. [Private ‘SS399642011947’, your permissions are insufficient. Service is restricted. Unable to access the Alliance’s high-level encryption system.] At least it was confirmed that the computer was indeed Federation property. Lei Ting raised an eyebrow. “What is the encryption level?” [Querying... Deeply sorry, service restricted.] “Can you query the encryption authorizer?” [Querying... Query complete. The encryption authorizer for this system is: [Upton Angye].] “Who is the legal owner of the system?” [Querying... Query complete. The legal owner of this system is: [Falin Valentine].] “This guy,” Lei Ting used his power-armor’s head-aiming system to lock onto Falin, “can you query his identity?” [Deeply sorry, service restricted. Personal identity queries involve relevant clauses of the Federation’s ‘Personal Privacy Protection Act.’ You cannot perform this operation in a private capacity.] “He disguised himself as a shipboard military officer of the *Crater 303* and performed an unauthorized arrest, which violates Federation law,” Lei Ting said. “I am a Private and a candidate NCO of the Academy. Under the current circumstances, I have the right to query a suspect’s personal identity.” [New report received. Fact-checking in progress... Check complete. Report is detailed. Performing logical judgment...] [Logic is sound. Service restriction lifted. ‘Private 399642011947,’ the information you requested is being queried... Query complete. The target suspect’s information is as follows: [Name: ‘Falin Valentine’.] [Race: Orion Human.] [Gender: Male.] [Age: 36 years old.] [Place of Origin...] Lei Ting: “...” Well, I’ll be. He really is one of Angye’s people!! “Alright, that’s enough. Thank you very much, Wangshu.” His lip twitched. He silently withdrew his overly ‘polite’ mental strength and ended the connection with Wangshu. He gave Falin a complicated look before returning the light-computer and the equipment he had just stripped. “My apologies,” he said stiffly. Falin was overwhelmed by the favor. “No, no, no need...” “Don’t do this again next time,” Lei Ting finished his thought. “You publicly violated numerous legal regulations and military codes, and committed acts suspected of being harmful to the Federation. By rights, I had the authority to shoot you on the spot.” If he hadn't wanted to avoid making a scene, and if he hadn't wanted this potentially information-rich source to disappear, the single reason of ‘a hostile target meant for custody being taken away by an unknown person’ would have been enough for Lei Ting to follow regulations. He would have used his own methods to dismantle her brain’s memory organs and other relevant tissue structures. And for him, the simplest way to do that was... To directly rip out the controller inside her brain. A physical extraction that had nothing to do with finesse. But now, having confirmed that Falin was one of Angye’s men, Lei Ting’s hostility dissipated. He watched a speechless Falin endure the activation of Wangshu’s alarms to link his light-computer to the Star Net. Falin then displayed Angye’s crest and communication account interface, confirming the ID was the familiar one. The man even sent a text request to the busy Vice Speaker to verify his identity... Finally, after Angye placed a direct video call to confirm everything was correct, Lei Ting silently handed Lina over to Falin. Afterward, he deactivated his armor and returned to his normal appearance. Falin looked incredibly embarrassed—it wasn't that he and Lina hadn't tried to resist earlier, but the sensation of having both physical movements and thought processes severely interfered with had caused him to lose most of his combat effectiveness. Floating in mid-air, he had looked like a salted fish... Though he wasn't a professional combatant, the scene had been truly pathetic. Lei Ting was also somewhat embarrassed—setting aside regulations and rules, nearly killing a colleague he had never met before upon their first meeting... Not good, not good at all. To dispel the awkwardness, he looked around the bridge, where the loud alarm was still blaring, and at the lethal weapon systems protruding from all sides of the vast internal hangar ahead. “...” “Please rest assured, I will explain everything to the First Legion Commander,” Falin’s expression became even more awkward. “...” Lei Ting clicked his tongue. Then, he decided to ignore the immediate problems. Listening to the infinite, boundless metallic echoes from the giant ship currently docking with the *Crater 303*, he turned to Falin and asked, “Did you know there’s a controller on her ‘Third Eye’?” “...” Falin froze. “...There really is one?” “Of course there is.” Lei Ting frowned. “What... you didn't know?”