Upon arriving at Tigre Star, the mentor and his group, unable to suppress their smiles, headed straight for the government building.
The staff there, seeing their excitement, were utterly bewildered.
“What’s going on? Didn’t the Second Star Ring just fall? Why are they so happy?”
“Maybe the stress was too much and their facial expressions malfunctioned?”
“Tsk, tsk, poor things.”
The mentor happened to be on good terms with Kaylin Reynolds, so he wasted no time knocking on her office door.
Kaylin Reynolds was as polished as ever—every strand of hair impeccably smooth, her skin firm—but her eyes betrayed a weariness she couldn’t quite hide.
“My dear friend, what a pleasure to see you. Here are the keys to the Reynolds Hotel—an entire floor, all yours.”
The mentor took the keys, his eyebrows lifting slightly, his eyes crinkling into slits, his grin stretching from ear to ear: “Dear Kaylin, I have some good news for you.”
“What good news?”
The Federation’s situation was a mess, and the sudden appearance of the Great Tomb over the Second Star Ring had caught everyone completely off guard.
The defenses built with the full might of the Federation had become a laughingstock.
Chu Huaizhi was still at the Holy Gate and couldn’t make it back in time. The First Ring’s space fleet, crippled by Lin Xiaohe, could barely maintain a skeleton guard over the First Ring—it had no capacity to deal with the Great Tomb.
No one had the slightest clue how to handle the Second Ring’s crisis. Even the Security Department remained silent.
Kaylin Reynolds wore a perfect smile, but inside she was churning with anxiety and worry.
The mentor didn’t keep her in suspense. Beaming, he said, “I’m ninety percent certain that the crayfish are the juvenile form of the Void Devourers!”
What?!
Kaylin Reynolds’s eyes flew wide open, as if she’d just heard a joke: “My friend, this is no laughing matter!”
“I swear by my profession and my reputation—everything I’m saying is true.”
“Goodness gracious.” Kaylin Reynolds could no longer maintain her elegant composure. She stood up and paced around the office.
Her mind felt like fireworks exploding in all directions—sparks flying, thoughts tumbling chaotically, with no outlet for release.
Crayfish = Void Devourers.
Crayfish are edible = Void Devourers are edible.
Lin Xiaohe kills crayfish like chopping vegetables = Lin Xiaohe kills Void Devourers like chopping vegetables.
“Oh, this is just…” Kaylin Reynolds breathed rapidly, her right hand pressed over her heart. It beat faster and faster, until it felt like it might leap right out of her chest.
At last, she saw a glimmer of hope for the Federation!
At last, she saw a glimmer of hope for humanity to defeat the bugs!
Tears welled up in Kaylin Reynolds’s eyes, her lips trembling uncontrollably: “Nuwa, I request an emergency meeting. This concerns the future of the Federation—and the future of humanity.”
Nuwa: “Request approved. Connecting parties now.”
In less than ten minutes, the virtual conference room was assembled. Representatives from the military, the Security Department, the government, and the parliament filed in one after another.
Before anyone could even ask what was going on, Kaylin Reynolds dropped a bombshell: “Crayfish are the juvenile form of the Void Devourers.”
Then she sent the mentor’s video footage and all the research reports on crayfish to everyone’s smart terminals.
The room fell silent for a moment as everyone buried themselves in the documents.
After reading through them four or five times, the conference room suddenly erupted.
“Holy crap, it’s true! I thought Kaylin was messing with us!”
“Oh man! If we’d known Void Devourers were this easy to kill, we should have called Lin Xiaohe over a long time ago—we could have avoided so many losses!”
“Haha, heaven is looking out for us humans. With Lin Xiaohe around, the bugs won’t be able to stir up any real trouble!”
“The Empire has bug-fusionists—we have Lin Xiaohe!”
The atmosphere in the room lifted, light and harmonious.
With the mountain called “the bugs” moved out of the way, everyone could see a bright future ahead.
The government representative said matter-of-factly, “Then let’s call Lin Xiaohe back. We’ll wipe the slate clean—let bygones be bygones. The Federation will no longer pursue her for the public killing.”
The Security Department representative snorted coldly, silently agreeing.
The government rep added, “And let’s have Melina handle the communication. Her son is a core member of the Star Lotus Party—a die-hard loyalist to Lin Xiaohe. She’ll have an easier time talking to her.”
Melina was urgently pulled into the meeting. After listening to their proposal, her face twisted into a strange expression. She couldn’t help but retort, “What—do you think Lin Xiaohe is some kind of doormat? Summon her here, dismiss her there. You’ve got it all figured out, but have you bothered to ask whether she’s willing?”
The government rep wore a look that said, Why are you being so unreasonable? “What’s there for her to be dissatisfied about? None of us wanted what happened back then. Sure, there were misunderstandings—but isn’t she partly responsible too?”
The Security Department rep chimed in with a sneer: “Let’s not pretend we don’t see it. Lin Xiaohe had contact with the bugs long before all this—there’s no whitewashing that. Who knows if she knew about their attack plans in advance? And yet we’re being very generous by not holding that against her. What more does she want?”
“Exactly. The Black Domain isn’t exactly a paradise. We’re already showing great leniency by allowing her back into Federation space.”
The military rep, seeing Melina’s expression sour, tried to mediate: “If Lin Xiaohe can help us deal with the bugs, we’ll certainly reward her.”
Melina’s face remained stern: “What kind of reward?”
Bosses who make their employees work overtime at least know to dangle a carrot. Are these people not even willing to offer that much?!
The military rep: “A promotion and a raise! For a contribution this huge, a field promotion is only fitting. How about the rank of Lieutenant Colonel? Or if that’s not enough, we can negotiate for Colonel.”
The military could grant ranks on its own authority, completely independent of the Federation and parliament.
Melina rolled her eyes hard and shot back: “A person doesn’t fall into the same trap three times. Last time, you used the rank of Lieutenant Colonel as a carrot to get Lin Xiaohe to bust her back working for you. And now you want to pull the same trick?!”
The military representative didn’t object, but the security department representative flipped the table: “Melina, are you even capable? If you’re not, then let someone who is!”
Melina answered decisively: “I can’t. I don’t have that thick a skin or that much self-confidence.”
The Security rep was livid and had Nuwa kick Melina out of the meeting: “Nuwa, connect with the Fifth Star Ring theater commander. I refuse to believe that if the Security Department handles this personally, Lin Xiaohe won’t show us some respect.”
The Fifth Star Ring theater commander was pulled into the meeting, looking utterly bewildered.
Oh—good news.
Humanity was saved. Lin Xiaohe was the bugs’ kryptonite—not only could she kill them, she could turn them into gourmet food.
The Fifth Ring commander’s face was pale. He licked his dry lips and said weakly, “Funny you should mention that—I’ve got some bad news. Anyone want to hear it?”
“Hm?”
He looked utterly defeated: “Lin Xiaohe is trapped in the Magellanic Cloud. The Dead Hand system has entered its final charging phase.”
