“Oh, verify it again,” Song Wen said. His hands, tucked into his trouser pockets, trembled slightly, but his face remained expressionless.
His adjutant glanced at him, hesitated as if to speak, but ultimately turned and left to re-confirm the situation.
Song Wen was burning with anxiety. His gaze fixed on the virtual examination screen, silently cheering them on, willing them strength.
His bottom line was this: the occupied territory could not exceed seven-eighths. Once it crossed that threshold, for the safety of the Fourth Star Ring and the Federation, he would have no choice but to sacrifice Song Sea Star.
Elsewhere, Cassian found Marshal Chu and explained the crisis facing the Federation.
Marshal Chu’s mental strength had been severely damaged in service to the Federation, and he could not log into the StarNet for extended periods.
Consequently, he had absolutely no idea what was happening online.
Now, his tiger-like eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at Cassian. “What do you mean?! Lin Xiaohe is a Stardust Plant Manipulator? And she controls three whole types of plants?!”
Just mentioning this made Cassian want to weep. His precious prodigy! Why was fate so cruel to her?
Marshal Chu shot to his feet, an overwhelming aura radiating from him. His voice rumbled like muffled thunder, exploding in everyone’s ears.
“What are you people even doing? A talent this exceptional, and you didn’t bring her straight to the military academy? You actually made her go through some assessment?! Has Central Military Academy become that arrogant?”
Cassian pursed his lips. Even if you are Marshal Chu, you can’t just twist the facts like that.
He reminded him softly, “Marshal Chu, have you forgotten? It was you who ordered Lin Xiaohe to go through the assessments all the way from the Sixth Star Ring to the First Star Ring!”
Marshal Chu glared at him. “I told her to take the assessment at the Agricultural Appraisal Center! Since when did I tell her to take a combat assessment?! Are you all brainless? What kind of military academy treats its students like Imperial soldiers?!”
Cassian’s mouth fell open. For a long moment, he could not utter a single word.
Wait—why on earth would such an outstanding talent be sent to the Agricultural Appraisal Center’s assessment?!
Then, in the next second, it dawned on him.
The Agricultural Appraisal Center’s assessment. You could go anytime, take it anytime. It was safe, and it was simple.
It would have guaranteed Lin Xiaohe’s life and safety, while allowing her to completely bypass the Central Military Academy’s StarNet combat assessments. It was the smooth, broad path Marshal Chu had carefully chosen for her.
Cassian was now filled with such regret his intestines turned green. If only he had asked one more question back then! Wouldn’t Lin Xiaohe have been exempt from the Fourth Star Ring’s combat assessment? Wouldn’t she have avoided this perilous situation she was now trapped in?
“Marshal Chu, never mind all that now. You have to think of something! Is there any way to get Lin Xiaohe out of there?”
Marshal Chu let out a heavy sigh. This was not just about a student; it was for the Federation itself. He had to find a solution to the crisis on Song Sea Star’s examination grounds.
For the first time in ten years, he contacted that person.
The voice that answered was laced with languid ease. “Little Chu, the Federation has already asked me. I can tell you very clearly: I have no solution.”
“Why not?”
“Because the mastermind behind this attack is a Stardust Giant Sonic Whale. Their innate abilities have mutated. Even I cannot breach their domain from the outside.”
Marshal Chu was stunned. The Stardust Giant Sonic Whales were that powerful? Their evolutionary rate was terrifyingly fast.
The person offered some consolation. “The silver lining is, they are a peace-loving species by nature. Their target is solely the Fourth Star Ring.”
That consolation was truly just words.
The Fourth Star Ring contained countless citizens, countless planets. How could anyone simply abandon it on a whim?
The person shrugged helplessly. “If you truly cannot accept this, then your only hope is to pray. Pray that those candidates can break through the domain from the inside out.”
…
Lin Xiaohe had snapped. Completely.
She dared not look back to see how many candidates had fallen behind her. She could only charge forward, relentlessly.
Before setting out, they had prepared four contingency plans.
The best-case scenario: successfully locate the command post, concentrate all their strength, and execute the decapitation strike.
The worst-case scenario: find the command post, but discover the enemy leader is not there.
Now they faced the absolute worst-case scenario of the worst-case. Not only was the enemy leader hiding inside the temple, but they themselves had been ambushed!
The candidates left behind on the battlefield were buying time for Lin Xiaohe with their very lives.
Two streams of blood suddenly gushed from Lin Xiaohe’s nostrils. It was the physical toll of the mech’s extreme startup and flight speed, the immense strain it placed on her mental fortitude.
She ignored it completely. Her eyes remained locked forward, her hands gripping the controls, keeping the mech at maximum velocity as it hurtled toward the Nanyu Temple, which glowed with an eerie blue luminescence.
Bean said nothing. It simply unleashed a furious torrent of green bullets—a green rain of projectiles denser than ever before—ripping every Imperial mech that dared block Lin Xiaohe’s path into shreds.
Xin Bao retained only a sliver of life force for herself, sending all the rest to Sweetie.
Sweetie expanded her shield, enveloping Lin Xiaohe in a firm, protective embrace. Empowered by Xin Bao’s life force, she could withstand far greater damage.
Stepping over the wreckage of Imperial mechs, Lin Xiaohe finally arrived at the Nanyu Temple.
Ten giant, luminescent jellyfish circled the temple, their tendrils weaving a dynamic defensive net.
“Fanfan.”
Fanfan launched from the back of the mech. Its fine, densely packed root tendrils stabbed viciously into the giant glowing jellyfish.
The giant jellyfish emitted a blinding flash of light, then began thrashing wildly, desperate to shake off this maddening parasite.
Fanfan doubled down, chewing faster.
After letting out a satisfied burp, Fanfan fought against its drowsiness and moved on to devour the next jellyfish.
On its branches, tomatoes shifted from green to red, ripening before falling to the ground. New tiny fruits budded on the branches, swelling, reddening…
The mech’s left-arm green cannon barrel morphed into the shape of a large hand, scooping up the fallen tomatoes.
Bean: [Save them. We’ll use them when it’s time for the ultimate move.]
After consuming all ten giant luminescent jellyfish, Fanfan was so bloated it could barely move. Its branches sagged under the weight of countless plump, crimson tomatoes.
[Burp… Xiao He… burp… finished eating. You can go in now. Burp.]
The large vine-like green hand carefully scooped up Fanfan and placed it gently back onto the mech’s rear section.
Lin Xiaohe piloted the mech inside the temple.
The temple’s interior was cavernously high. The pillars encircling the space seemed carved from the vertebrae of a giant sonic whale, emitting a faint blue glow.
At the base of each pillar sat clusters of red mineral crystals, reminiscent of stalactites.
The walls were covered in living coral polyps, forming dynamic, ever-shifting murals.
Lin Xiaohe looked closely. The images seemed to depict three beings.
“Those are our Three-Phase Deities. Mother of the Abyss, Father of the Waves, and Child of Melody.”
Lin Xiaohe followed the voice. Standing upon the temple’s altar was a man clad in an Imperial military uniform.
He looked at her, cultured and refined. “Do you like this image? The Federation’s most hated enemy… the Imperial Marshal.”
“Let me guess. Another one of your decoys?”
“Guess.”
“I’m not guessing.” Lin Xiaohe immediately activated Bean’s fusion function.
Villains die from talking too much. Time to die!
Thanks to the bountiful tomato harvest, the bullets fired this time were red, streaking through the air like droplets of blood.
In an instant, the figure opposite was plastered by the red projectiles, transforming nearly into a little red figurine.
“Detonate!” Lin Xiaohe roared.
