“Doudou, is there still something in your little cage?” Lin Xiaohe asked silently, her heart racing.
Doudou: [Yep. The dandelion fluff and the ginseng fruits you picked.]
!!!
Lin Xiaohe barely managed to keep a look of surprise from showing on her face.
She could actually bring things out of the wormhole?!
Holy moly.
Lin Xiaohe repeatedly instructed Doudou, “Whatever you do, don’t let them out.”
Who knew what kind of stuff might be clinging to them?
“Lin Xiaohe, what’s wrong?” The lead Security Force captain’s sharp gaze fell on her.
Lin Xiaohe bravely met his eyes. “How long is this questioning going to take? I still have to go to class.”
“At best, a day or two. At worst, about a week.”
“Oh. Well, try to make it fast. It’s been almost three months since the semester started, and I haven’t attended a single class. Does that seem right?”
The Security Force captain just smiled and said nothing. Anyone who’d ever been on the Star Network knew Lin Xiaohe was in the Agriculture Department. And the Agriculture Department didn’t really have any classes to speak of.
The Security Department people didn’t try any funny business. They directly requisitioned the Central Military Academy’s detention rooms as their interrogation office.
As soon as Lin Xiaohe walked in, she saw a white-haired old man sitting inside, smiling at her.
In the detention room, there was a table and two chairs. On the table sat a flowerpot with a gorgeous, vibrant bouquet sticking out of it.
“Do you like these flowers? Does this make you feel a bit more at ease?”
Lin Xiaohe sat down in the empty chair and nodded. “Yeah, they’re fine. What do you want to ask me?”
“What did you see after you entered the wormhole?”
Lin Xiaohe omitted the part about the dandelion fluff and the ginseng fruits and told him the rest of what had happened.
The old man nodded, seemingly not placing much importance on that. Instead, he asked with great interest, “What do you think of the monsters in the arena?”
Lin Xiaohe thought for a moment, organizing her words. “They’re powerful. They have a certain level of intelligence. It’s very likely they have their own social structure and can coordinate with each other.”
A glint of satisfaction flashed in the old man’s eyes. He pressed further, “That weapon you used at the end… that was also a Stardust Mutant Plant, right?”
“Yes. My fifth partner.”
“Remarkable. Your mental power is only rank 1. How are you able to access the Star Network?”
Lin Xiaohe said, “I have a Stardust Plant partner that helps me connect to the Star Network.”
This answer matched their own speculation on the matter.
The old man asked, as if making small talk, “How did you meet your Stardust Plant partner?”
Lin Xiaohe summoned Xinbao. “My family are farmers. As everyone knows, the Sixth Star Ring has high Stardust concentrations, especially on Wasteland Star. I met Xinbao in my family’s field.”
“Is that so? Its name is Xinbao? You two must be very close. Is it injured?” A faint blue light flickered deep in the old man’s eyes.
A line of text appeared on his glasses.
Type: Stardust Mutant Wheat
Rank: A-Class
Stage: Seedling
Skill Category: Support, Star Network Direction
Xinbao’s lonely little leaf stood in stark contrast to the vibrant flowers in the pot.
The old man seemed very interested in Xinbao. He reached out a finger and gently touched its leaf.
Xinbao wanted to run away, but after glancing at Lin Xiaohe, it stood still.
The old man pulled his hand back and said with emotion, “A very well-behaved little one. Would you mind introducing us to your other partners?”
He framed it as a request, but it had an undeniable, forceful edge to it.
Discretion was the better part of valor.
Lin Xiaohe had never heard of this Federation Security Department before, but from the attitudes of Principal Cassian and Chu Huaizhi, it was probably pretty powerful.
She thought for a moment, then pulled Doudou, Fanfan, and the others out of her pockets.
Cold gleams flickered one after another behind the old man’s eyes.
Stardust Mutant Pea, A-Class.
Stardust Mutant Corn, A-Class.
Unknown Stardust Mutant Plant, A-Class.
Unknown Stardust Mutant Plant, AA-Class.
Hiss.
The moment he saw the results, the old man was so shocked he nearly stood up.
Five Stardust Mutant Plants, all A-Class or above, and two of them were unknown species!
The old man rested his hands on his legs, not wanting anyone to notice they were trembling slightly.
“What are those two plants called? Where did you get them?”
Lin Xiaohe followed his gaze and introduced them. “That’s Fanfan and that’s Little Red. I don’t know their exact species either. Xinbao introduced them to me.”
Huh?
The old man stared at her. After a long moment, he slowly spoke. “Are you saying you bonded with one Stardust Mutant Plant, and then it introduced you to a bunch of its friends?”
“That’s right.”
“Lin Xiaohe, do you actually believe that reason yourself?”
Lin Xiaohe’s eyes were exceptionally sincere. “Yes, I do!”
A giant sound whale could be friends with that weird tree. Why couldn’t Xinbao have its own social circle?
The old man laughed in disbelief. “Why would it introduce its friends to you? What does it see in you?”
No money, no influence, mental power of only rank 1, not even a particularly good physique.
From every angle, Lin Xiaohe completely lacked the qualifications to be a Stardust Creature Controller.
Lin Xiaohe didn’t like the look in his eyes. He pretended to be so kind and amiable, but deep down, he was still condescending, looking down on others.
Lin Xiaohe said confidently, “It likes me because I’m a good person! Because I’m generous!”
She couldn’t bear to spend a little more on expensive nutrient solutions for herself, yet she’d gladly drop tens of thousands of gold coins on them.
Wasn’t that generous enough? Wasn’t that dominant enough?
The old man waved his hand and turned to leave the room.
“Sir, the lie detector shows Lin Xiaohe isn’t lying.”
The old man rubbed his throbbing temple and said heavily, “She has Xinbao. The tester’s results aren’t accurate.”
Someone handed him a document. “We learned from the Iron Meteor Plunder Group that back on Wasteland Star, Lin Xiaohe had already joined a mysterious organization. The Grand Theater incident was a test of her by that organization.”
The old man looked thoughtful. After analyzing the situation with his colleagues, they unanimously agreed that Lin Xiaohe had someone backing her!
“From an unknown high school exam candidate on Wasteland Star to pushing past all obstacles and becoming the department student council president of the Central Military Academy, her path has been way too smooth. There’s definitely someone behind her!”
“She also founded the Starhearth Party. Is it possible that those scumbags are trying to make a comeback?”
“Hard to say. Based on her movements since arriving at the First Star Ring, she probably obtained her fifth Stardust Mutant Plant in the Abyssal Prison.”
The Abyssal Prison does offer opportunities, but over the past few centuries, precious few have come out alive with any.
So, they were more inclined to believe that the organization backing her had used the Abyssal Prison as cover to slip her the Stardust Mutant Plant.
The old man curled his lip in disdain. “Ever since we left our mother planet and embarked on our star journey, we’ve encountered countless opposing forces. Countless facts and experience have taught us that in the face of absolute power, any conspiracy or trick is nothing but a paper tiger.”
“Since they want to stir up trouble, we’ll just wait for them to show their hand themselves.”
So what if she wanted to get into the Central Military Academy? So what if she wanted to farm? Let her!
Nuwa’s eyes were everywhere on the First Star Ring. The rats hiding in the sewers would have nowhere to hide.
Inside the detention room, Lin Xiaohe’s stomach growled with hunger. She was just about to knock on the door and ask someone to bring her some food when she saw the white-haired old man standing in the doorway.
He was smiling. “Lin Xiaohe, how about we make a deal?”
