A fight was about to break out.
“Since you’ve got such a smart mouth, let me see what a Stardust Plant Manipulator can really do! Remember, my name is Rayne.”
The tall military Academy Student opposite Lin Xiaohe dropped into a standard tactical crouch.
His matte black combat uniform seemed to absorb the surrounding light, except for the flickering, dim blue column of light along his spine.
In the blink of an eye, Rayne charged forward!
With a sharp crack, a red shockwave erupted beneath his feet, leaving spiderweb-like cracks in the solid ground.
Wan Tianming quickly warned her: “Be careful! Those are special combat boots from the Deep Space Combat Department. They can instantly increase gravity!”
One kick from those, and you’d be either dead or crippled.
Rayne’s right fist cut through the air, aiming straight for Lin Xiaohe’s throat, trying to put her in a chokehold.
Lin Xiaohe leaned back sharply. As the force of his punch passed by her carotid artery, she summoned Fanfan.
Rayne wasn’t afraid at all.
They had already analyzed Lin Xiaohe’s stardust plants and knew they had tremendous offensive and destructive power. That’s exactly why they chose to start trouble at the spaceport.
Go ahead, Lin Xiaohe. Destroy the spaceport if you dare. Then everyone can freeze together in the vacuum of space!
Rayne swung his right leg in a sweeping kick toward Lin Xiaohe’s chest, the icy blue light patterns on his leg flaring brightly.
Tiantian stepped forward, projecting a pale yellow shield that firmly protected Lin Xiaohe. At the same time, Fanfan’s tendrils, like little snakes, coiled around Rayne’s combat boot.
The tendrils gently pierced the boot. Within just a few seconds, the blue glow on Rayne’s uniform vanished completely.
Lin Xiaohe seized the moment, closing the distance and kicking hard at the back of Rayne’s knee. As he lost his balance, she jumped up and landed a heavy right hook on him!
“Ow!”
Rayne cried out in pain.
Then Lin Xiaohe’s fists rained down on him like a hailstorm, thudding against his body.
“Ow! You freakishly strong woman!”
Rayne was pinned beneath Lin Xiaohe, completely helpless against her relentless assault.
A flicker of panic flashed in his eyes.
But his companions didn’t understand his panic. They thought he was just taking it easy on her.
“Rayne, you’re overacting! Lin Xiaohe’s attacks haven’t even pierced your uniform’s armor. What are you screaming about?”
“Rayne, get up! You’re being ridden by a woman!”
Rayne raised his arms to protect his head and shouted in angry embarrassment: “The uniform’s energy is drained! The stardust plant sucked it all up!”
No one believed him. How was that possible?
The uniform’s energy was enough for ten full battles! What kind of stardust plant had such a good appetite that it could drain all that energy without bursting?
“Fanfan, go!”
Fanfan shared a telepathic connection with Lin Xiaohe. Hearing the command, it curled into a small ball and rolled into Doudou’s launcher.
Whoosh!
At nearly invisible speed, Fanfan smacked right onto Baishide.
Lin Xiaohe sneered. He thought he could just stand there eating popcorn and watching the show? No way!
Get in here!
I’m dragging all of you into this. Not a single one gets away.
Baishide reacted quickly, reaching out to pinch off Fanfan’s tendril.
But he never expected that this thing, which looked so thin and small, barely thicker than a hair, would be incredibly tough.
The moment Baishide’s hand touched the tendril, a numbing, tingling stinging shot through his fingers.
His gaze darkened. He decisively sprang the laser dagger hidden in his sleeve and slashed at the tendril that had pierced his glove.
Clang!
It didn’t cut through!
【Ugh! Yuck! That tastes awful!】 Fanfan had sneaked a taste of what a military Academy Student was like, only to find it utterly disgusting!
It glanced stealthily at Lin Xiaohe, making sure she hadn’t noticed its little transgression, before quickly withdrawing its tendril and speeding up its energy absorption.
Eat this one, then the next one. After finishing the next one, there were plenty more!
Opportunities like today, to openly devour energy, were truly rare.
Fanfan cherished this chance for a big meal.
Eat more, bear more fruit, sell them to the Giant Sound Whale, and earn star coins for Xiaohe!
The scene was total chaos.
This was supposed to be the interstellar age, where anyone with a bit of money could afford armor and small weapons. Yet here were members of the Central Military Academy’s Deep Space Combat student council fighting a Stardust Plant Manipulator in such a down-to-earth, simple and unadorned manner.
No flashy armor. No laser cannons. No dazzling exchange of weapon fire. Just fists pounding flesh.
Lin Chiyang was itching to join in. He felt he could do it too. He was ready!
Wan Tianming grabbed him, a dark line forming on his forehead. “Don’t make things worse.”
If Lin Xiaohe fought them, it could be played down as an internal dispute among students.
But if Lin Chiyang jumped in, wouldn’t Baishide and his crew latch onto that like mad dogs?
In less than five minutes, the fully armed port patrol arrived.
“Stop! Put down your weapons and come with us!”
Lin Xiaohe and the group were taken into custody at the port detention center.
The Lin family hurried after them. Wan Tianming lagged behind, trying to contact the academy’s dean, but it turned out the dean was away on business, and his communicator was switched off.
At the detention center, to ensure a fair judgment, the AI robot “Adjudicator 11083” was responsible for the interrogation and arbitration of both sides.
The spaceport was covered in surveillance cameras. Adjudicator 11083 took ten seconds to produce a list of penalties.
[Citizens Baishide, Rayne… are found guilty of intentional disturbance, breach of peace, endangering port security, and affray. Combined sentence: one year and three months of imprisonment, plus a fine of 15 million star coins each.]
[Citizen Lin Xiaohe is found in violation of the “Federation Convention on Stardust Biological Manipulators,” having used stardust plant abilities in a densely populated public area, severely endangering the safety of Federation citizens. Sentenced to three months in a secure cell and a fine of 20 million star coins.]
Rayne protested: “I demand an administrative review! Why do we get over a year, but Lin Xiaohe only gets three months?”
Lin Xiaohe also protested: “Why do they only get fined 15 million, but I get fined 20 million?”
The two sides glared at each other angrily, neither accepting the verdict.
Baishide’s face was as black as a bottom of a pot. He had been dragged into this mess by Lin Xiaohe.
As one of the Renault family heirs, being detained for the first time in his life – if this got out, those others would surely laugh at him, wouldn’t they?
“Rayne, make a call.”
Rayne shot Lin Xiaohe a provocative look. Hmph, we have connections!
Lin Xiaohe narrowed her eyes. Can’t take the heat, huh? Having someone pull strings!
“I have connections too!”
…
At the Central Military Academy, Chu Huaizhi squatted in the yard, gently touching the wilted plants with pity. “Hold on just a little longer. Someone will come to save you soon.”
Cassian squatted beside him, curious. “How did you convince Lin Xiaohe to come to our school? I heard Principal Gaia offered her a blank-check deal.”
“All thanks to my personal charm.”
Cassian’s teeth hurt, but he had to endure it. After all, Marshal Chu had successfully snagged the good student.
He muttered under his breath: “The heads of the Deep Space Combat Department, the Alien Combat Department, and the Mecha Department have all come to me, wanting Lin Xiaohe assigned to their department. Marshal Chu, which department do you think would be best? She’s a once-in-a-millennium talent. We absolutely can’t waste her potential!”
Marshal Chu paused, his gaze drifting.
Suddenly, his communicator rang with Lin Xiaohe’s exclusive ringtone: “Marshal Chu, come bail me out!”
