Regarding the matters of 'Awakening,' 'Ascension,' 'Boiling,' and the 'Devourer,' Lei Ting believed the Federation would not deceive him.
Firstly, there was no need for it. Secondly... an affair of this magnitude was something the Academy would certainly be aware of. If he wanted to verify it, he only needed to ask the Principal. As long as he still possessed the ability and the intent to protect the other students, the Principal would never lie to him—in fact, the man would likely provide even more information than requested if Lei Ting asked for intelligence support.
Of course, there was a third reason: he sensed no intent to deceive within Green’s mental fluctuations. At the very least, the man was not consciously lying.
"And what about Yolanda?" Lei Ting asked. "Her abilities are quite stable."
"But her power also stems from external influence, and her state of existence is unstable," Green answered, his head still lowered. "The planet she was born on was once swallowed and assimilated by a Star Beast. Although that beast was crushed by the First Legion shortly thereafter, she is no longer entirely human, nor is she a purely 'biological' entity. She is half-physical, half-energy.
"Many have suffered such encounters, but few survived. Some of them have left their names in history, while others died silently in obscure places. Without exception, however, they all share the same characteristic—the 'Heavenly Eye' mutation. Their irises turn purple, and they gain new, powerful Mutation-type abilities.
"Furthermore, every individual with the 'Heavenly Eye' mutation must be fitted with a specialized controller managed directly by the Federation’s Central AI. But please rest assured; under normal circumstances, it only serves to automatically suppress superpower fluctuations. Activating the system's other functions requires a vote from the Council."
No wonder Yolanda had seemed so interested in 'how to kill a Star Beast' during their internship...
And purple eyes? Mutation-type?
For some reason, Lei Ting instantly thought of Shane, the 'protagonist' who relied on luck to deal damage.
Come to think of it, he still didn't know why the boy idolized him. His information hadn't been declassified for very long, and 'idolatry' was an emotion that required either a major catalyst or a long period of cultivation. Could Shane have known about him or even seen him in action before this?
In his blurred memories of the 'original work,' there was no mention of such a thing...
Moreover, none of the missions he had executed during his previous internships met the criteria of 'witnessing a destroyed planet.'
Lei Ting pondered for a moment, vaguely recalling that Shane seemed to have an old-model AI he had scavenged from a trash mountain. Although its intelligence wasn't particularly high, its functions were incredibly diverse and powerful. It even seemed to hide something that remained a 'black box' even by the current average technological standards of the galaxy.
Shane had wandered the interstellar society for several years, depending on his AI for survival. Most of his intelligence and information had come from it.
So here was the question: who would discard a host machine housing such a powerful and useful program onto a trash mountain without even removing its core chip? And what exactly happened on the junk planet where Shane made his crash landing while fleeing with his relatives, such that the sole descendant and 'true orphan' of the entire planet 'just happened' to pick up that AI?
Lei Ting felt suspicious, but he didn't know the answer. His memories of the 'plot' were simply too fragmented and hazy, making it difficult to even find content regarding the future path of himself or 'Starlight.'
This starry sky was truly filled with mysteries, large and small...
But it didn't matter. One day, he would figure it all out.
As for the 'plot'... he didn't necessarily need to know its trajectory. After all, the person he was now was decidedly different from the version of himself in the 'plot.' Perhaps the future would undergo a gentle, curving change, just as he desired.
***
As the fleet neared the security perimeter of the logistics line at the edge of the war zone, the innermost spaceport of the sector could already be seen from a distance.
Now, it had been closed due to the onset of war, with entry and exit forbidden to all but regular Federation forces.
Spaceports were not temporary constructions; their building cycles generally exceeded thirty years. These magnificent structures, each with its own name, were scattered throughout the galaxy, sharing some of the responsibilities of the Star Net base stations.
In times of peace, spaceports served as temporary stops or trading hubs for commercial fleets. They were indispensable links for various factions, both internally and externally.
Even in regions beyond national borders, there were spaceports established and maintained by the Galactic Complex. Such ports often had chaotic environments and a mixed population, but their defensive forces were drawn from the security units of various nations within the Complex, making their military strength formidable.
Beyond that, the spaceports belonging to different races each had their own unique characteristics—from their external appearance and internal systems to environmental regulation and functional zoning. Strictly speaking, their only commonality was that they were all classified as 'spaceports.'
On the way here, the fleet had not docked at any port they passed due to their urgent schedule.
Now that the people on the ships finally saw the hope of no longer drifting through space, most of them began to feel relaxed at the sight of the port.
But Lei Ting... he frowned slightly.
Along the way, he had dealt with one wave of space pirates, three waves of mysterious espers attempting to infiltrate, and five small groups of abominations likely left behind after a Star Beast was hunted...
The Principal said there might be attacks on the road. Could He have been referring to these trivial little problems?
Unlikely. He certainly knew the extent of Lei Ting's power, and He surely knew those issues couldn't stop these forty thousand-plus 'good students' of His.
Yet the journey through deep space had reached its destination just like that. It was truly...
...Reason to stay alert.
Lei Ting, who had been resting in the lounge near the mission craft and deployment pods, closed the light-screen projection before him. With a serious expression, he rolled off his bed.
Because he frequently needed to stretch his limbs—or help others 'stretch' theirs—he wasn't required to stay in a seat for long periods like the others. When they needed sleep, they had to submit a request to the ship's AI before reclining their seats into the partition walls. The lounge provided wall-mounted bunks for people like him.
Of course, the Federation was never stingy where money needed to be spent. Even resting in the seats was quite comfortable; the only real difference was the number of people in the environment.
A few steps out of the lounge, Lei Ting ran into Sandro.
The other man seemed to have just come from the restroom. He blinked when he saw Lei Ting, then greeted him with a grin. "Yo, Brother Lei! You've really been stealing the spotlight these past few days!"
"...Hm?" Lei Ting paused, not quite understanding what he meant. Stealing the spotlight? Where had he done that?
Sandro saw his expression and knew the guy hadn't realized a thing. He laughed. "You took out a group of pirates earlier, right? When we saw that alloy cube—the one that was almost bigger than the whole fleet—and the pirate ships being hauled out of it through the portholes, we were all collectively shocked!"
"They were very weak and didn't put up any effective counterattack," Lei Ting answered with honest simplicity. "It just looked intimidating."
"Weak? That's only because their weapons were useless against you..." Sandro shook his head. "And what about those espers? When you hauled that Guardian-type esper out into the vacuum and shattered his shield with one punch, the students on the ship were floored."
"...Wait," Lei Ting blinked. "You guys saw that too?"
"We saw it. Including the way you snapped his neck afterward... and your methods for handling the remaining targets." Sandro’s face lit up with excitement. "Clean and efficient. Definitely something to learn from."
"Ah..."
Lei Ting scratched his head awkwardly. He had chosen to take the enemies into the vacuum precisely because he didn't want any potential 'noise or smells' to disturb his resting classmates... It turned out he had worried for nothing; his classmates hadn't been resting at all.
"And those abominations... five waves in total, right? Must have been thousands of them altogether." Sandro marveled. "If you threw me in there, I wouldn't last against a tenth... no, a hundredth of them..."
—*Damn it, do these people never sleep!!*
"I had the escort fleet cooperating with me, and you're not a combatant anyway." Lei Ting felt somewhat helpless. "The time span over which I fought them wasn't short. Did you all really watch the whole thing?"
"Of course," Sandro nodded. "Those who were asleep were woken up by those who were awake!"
Lei Ting: "..."
—*There was really no need for that!*
The tall, handsome young man let out a long sigh, looking quite speechless. "Get some proper sleep... The enemies this time are different. You all might have to go to the battlefield..."
According to Sandro's usual style, he should have replied with something like, "Ayy, Brother Lei, you're really set on going to the front, aren't you? You don't even include yourself when you talk about us, hahahaha!" But not this time.
This time, his expression suddenly turned serious. "Don't worry, we've all rested well. With me, Susanna, and Lucas around, the necessary support will never be delayed. And... we aren't helpless in the face of danger.
"Just focus on carrying the flag at the front, Brother Lei!"
Lei Ting was stunned for a moment. He suddenly turned to look nearby, where several figures were quietly huddled by a doorway, peeking at them. They seemed to be enjoying the conversation but were caught red-handed by his glance.
It was Susanna, Lucas, Roxian, Romu, and several other classmates and friends who often hung out with them.
The transport ship prepared to dock. As the notification chime rang, a cold white light flared in the dark deep space outside the window. It was the high-beam light of the inspection ship sent by the spaceport.
The light swept across the window where the two stood. Light and shadow flashed across the tall young man's profile, briefly outlining his deep, chiseled features.
Then, the inspection ship moved into the fleet, its massive hull and the words 'Mistletoe 114' painted on it slowly gliding past the porthole.
Lei Ting smiled.
"Alright then. I'll leave the rear to you all." He spoke in a gentle tone. "I'll submit an application to have the higher-ups transfer you... along with two others I have my eye on, into my team."
"Awesome!!!" Everyone cheered. Roxian even shared a high-five with Romu, even though their hands used to only be used for holding pens, gripping guns, or pummeling each other.
To be fair, with Sandro handling intelligence support, Susanna in charge of logistics, and Lucas being an excellent pilot and a Guardian-type, they truly formed a perfect iron triangle for supply and security.
And Romu himself was an A-rank Element-type esper. Although Roxian’s rank wasn't as high, he was one of the best students in the Administrative Management department...
Over these years, these guys... had also been growing, sharpening their blades.
Lei Ting turned his head with a smile, looking at the 'Mistletoe 114' as it dispatched small crafts toward each ship—once they passed its inspection and routine space-pathogen disinfection procedures, they could enter the 'Mistletoe' starport ahead.
As he thought this, his gaze passed through the field of vision cleared by the inspection ship, looking into the profound distance.
There were faint glimmers of light shining in the deep space... Hm? Light?
He hadn't seen any flashes there when they arrived—Lei Ting frowned slightly and narrowed his eyes. He took a step forward, his mind instantly locking onto that flash.
It was enlarging. It was approaching rapidly... It—no, *they*—there were many of them! Densely packed... at least four thousand targets!
Judging by the metallic structure... it was a type of long-range offensive weapon equipped with a detonation mechanism!!
—*God damn it, this is a multi-purpose logistics and medical base!*
Lei Ting’s eyes widened. He didn't have time to wonder what was wrong with the warning system. He roared, "Enemy attack! Defensive stance!"
Simultaneously, his mental power triggered the controller of his superpower mecha. Armor plates began to pop out and deploy across his body. Yet, he didn't care that the suit wasn't fully donned; he lunged forward, passing through the ship's thick aeronautical alloy hull as if bursting through a curtain of water.
the moment he burst out of the metal, his faceplate snapped shut. He transformed into a brilliant streak of golden light, soaring past the fleet to collide with the swarm of stars screaming through the distant void.
***
Chinese | English | Notes/Explanation
--- | --- | ---
觉醒 | Awakening | An ancient superpower potion.
升华 | Ascension | A virus/potion derived from Awakening; causes power growth but instability.
沸腾 | Boiling | A virus/potion derived from Awakening; highly contagious and causes rapid power growth/loss of control.
吞噬者 | The Devourer | A major criminal in the galaxy; the source of Ascension and Boiling.
天眼 | Heavenly Eye | A mutation caused by Star Beast assimilation; characterized by purple eyes.
槲寄生 | Mistletoe | The name of the spaceport (Starport).
槲寄生114 | Mistletoe 114 | The name/designation of the inspection ship.
罗锡安 | Roxian | A student in the Administrative Management department.
罗穆 | Romu | An A-rank Element-type esper student.
异化系 | Mutation-type | A category of superpower (also translated as Alienation-type).
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