On Fog Star, where the birth rate is extremely low, every cub is a treasure.
The system had emphasized this point to Su Cha, but the way Fog Star people valued each child went far beyond what the word “treasure” could define.
What’s more, this was a one-of-a-kind child who had undergone a bloodline atavism. For a society that revered pure bloodlines like Fog Star, the significance was self-evident.
“Marshal.” A soldier behind him spoke, voice strained with suppressed fury.
They actually had a child lost out in the world. In the eyes of the Fog Star people, whose average lifespan was over three hundred years, he was still so young, yet had already faced a life-and-death crisis.
This fury was unleashed entirely on the strange beasts. In the instant when the silver thread pierced through the brain core, a hint of relief even flashed across the beast’s expression.
Not having to suffer a cruel and drawn-out death, they felt they could leave peacefully.
A flying craft sped through the sky. When the soldiers saw who disembarked, a wave of realization and excitement swept through them.
The King had awakened.
As the true ruler of the planet, the King had slumbered for a long time to suppress the overwhelming power of his bloodline that could otherwise destroy his body. The last time an internal guard had conveyed his message was more than a decade ago.
“By royal decree: bring him home, at all costs.”
Who “him” referred to was clear without needing to be said.
The only problem was that there were virtually no leads about this child—only a fleeting image to work from.
The Marshal identified one clue: “Besides the serpent, there seemed to be another person. Wearing bone fragments at the waist is a star pirate tradition. They usually operate on interstellar battlefields.”
“Then we go,” the internal guard said with a blank expression. “Once we find the one who harmed our Fog Star child…”
His face twisted with a trace of cruelty: “Bring them back alive. His Majesty will personally deal with them.”
…
The Fog Star people had a feeling that Su Cha might still be alive. When they tried to strengthen the link and locate him, the spiritual bond loosened, suggesting the individual might have caught a glimmer of hope.
“Stop—” The light tea-colored eyes were filled with a shadowy fierceness that rivaled star pirates. Unconsciously, Su Cha uttered the word, and as if under some strange influence, the giant serpent—normally obedient only to its master—actually released its grip.
In that moment, Fasite’s mind momentarily stalled.
The single word had nearly drained Su Cha. His spiritual power was reaching its usable limit.
“St—” The second time, he could barely manage one syllable.
Su Cha’s consciousness was muddled, but his perception had never been clearer. Perhaps it was because he was once a flower in his true form—more attuned to the natural world.
The sound of wind nearby became more urgent, as if someone was approaching against the current.
Was it rescue?
A warship’s silhouette emerged from the clouds, dazzling beams of light shot down from the sky, confirming what he had hoped. Fasite cursed, hurriedly injecting himself with a stimulant. In an instant, his flesh and blood felt as if they were forcibly torn apart.
The side effects were beyond imagination—his whole body felt like it was about to vaporize. Just like when he arrived, Fasite’s body began to silently sink, his spirit form diving first to forge a path through the desert sands.
The heavily injured white tiger raised its sharp claw and fiercely struck at the rippling sand.
Both were gravely wounded, yet Fasite was still faster.
Wandering through the gravel, Fasite was in bad shape—venom dripped from his eyes, and the drug was making his body feel like it would explode.
“Just a bit faster.” As long as he could break through the military’s encirclement, he would be safe.
There was an underground river beneath the beasts’ habitat, and Fasite intended to escape through it.
Had he been at his peak, escaping today would not have been difficult. But now, a faint scent emanated from his body—like a death curse. Su Cha’s poison, circulating through his bloodstream, was numbing his nerves. His already corroded right eye leaked blood and a strange, sweet aroma.
“So you were here.”
Fasite’s body went rigid. The moment spiritual force struck, he was forcibly ejected from underground.
It was Xie Ruanjue who had arrived, with a hound at his side. Almost no one in the empire had a dog as their spirit form. Rumor had it that his spirit form possessed a sense of taste—but whether that was true was unknown.
“Xie Ruanjue,” Fasite sneered, “I know who you are. Yise at least has a bit of backbone, but you… you’re nothing more than the King’s most loyal dog.”
Xie Ruanjue smiled faintly. “The Investigation Department serves His Majesty. Loyalty is a basic requirement.”
He gently patted the hunting dog’s head, and the emaciated hound immediately lunged at the giant python.
At first glance, the skeletal dog looked like a hellhound, its entire body emanating a corrosive black aura.
Fasite’s pupils contracted sharply. He had no choice but to engage the python in a direct confrontation. After only a few rounds, he was completely overwhelmed. For a moment, he couldn’t tell whether the blood in his vision came from his injured eye or was spurting from his body.
…
A number of emergency responders arrived at the desert site.
Ji Tianjin arrived quickly. Due to his spirit form being severely injured, he himself was affected as well—his thin lips pressed into a hard line, a sign he wasn’t in good shape.
Wu Shui applied a fast-acting hemostatic agent. Di Yuansi was carried to a small medical pod for a minimally invasive procedure.
“Withdrawing from the competition?” a soldier came over to confirm with the injured participants.
Di Yuansi assessed his condition and shook his head. It was just an arm that couldn’t be used temporarily—no need to drop out.
Su Cha, now with several needle marks on his hand, also waved him off. “I’m fine too. I still have to farm.”
The soldier’s face twitched slightly. He knew it wasn’t appropriate, but at that moment, he couldn’t help but recall the Jialejia Fertilizer commercial jingle in his head.
Compared to them, the others were less seriously hurt. The doctor advised Ji Tianjin not to use his spirit form for a while.
Wu Zhi let out a long sigh. “We really are out of luck.”
They were nearly taken out in both the preliminaries and finals by the same star pirate.
Su Cha gave a weak, apologetic smile.
“It’s not your fault.” Wu Zhi waved his hand. “At least the threat’s been eliminated all at once.”
He was silently praying that the fleeing Fasite would be captured.
Everyone present shared the same hope. This incident was the fault of both the competition organizers and the Investigation Department. They had failed to detect the infiltration of foreign personnel into the barren planet zones—especially d*mning for the Investigation Department, who had previously tried to suppress the military over the simulated battle controversy. Now it was their turn.
Only by capturing Fasite could they uncover how he got in.
“The Chief’s back!” someone shouted.
Everyone looked up. From the other side of the desert sands, Xie Ruanjue approached, dragging someone behind him. The limp hand indicated it might be a corpse.
“Dissect him. Identify every substance in his body.”
Glancing at the injured first-years, Xie Ruanjue added, “Give each of them one vial of energy liquid.”
Energy liquid could greatly accelerate recovery but was extremely rare. However, since he gave the order, no one from the department dared object.
Su Cha took his portion without hesitation, eyes never leaving Fasite’s corpse. He had a strong feeling that there was something important to be found on that body. With a slight smirk, Su Cha said, half gloating: “So many failures. Whoever’s orchestrating all this must be going mad.”
He was right. No matter how composed Luan Zheng tried to be, his face was now ashen with fury.
Fasite’s jammer had successfully blocked the signal. Even when the Investigation Department arrived, the live stream in Su Cha’s zone couldn’t resume. But Fasite going missing said plenty on its own.
Just a mere school-age test subject—Luan Zheng couldn’t fathom why they still couldn’t kill him.
“First failure—test subject escapes, makes it into the military academy school.”
“Second—smear campaign fails, and he gets public sympathy.”
“Terror attack fails, Su Cha earns the Rose Warrior Medal. Come on, tell me—what did we ‘gift’ him this time?”
Luan Zheng’s expression was dark and menacing. No one dared speak.
“Speak!!”
His sudden fury sent a wave of spiritual power crashing outward. Someone couldn’t withstand it and coughed up blood on the spot.
“We didn’t send anything,” a subordinate finally stepped forward, gritting their teeth. “But Fasite sent himself off.”
Every gene soldier had an internal chip that constantly uploaded biometric data to a hidden monitoring terminal. Just thirty seconds ago, the chip indicated that Fasite had no more life signs.
Luan Zheng calmed down, but his gaze was terrifying. “Where’s the body?”
“When I detected his vitals flatlining, I remotely triggered the explosion. It should be fine.”
Besides the chip, to prevent corpses from being taken for study, they had implanted micro-explosives in each body.
Only then did Luan Zheng’s expression ease.
…
But man plans, and heaven laughs. The plan was usually foolproof. Capture them alive, and if that failed, detonate—hopefully injuring pursuers. Weaker spiritual bodies might even be killed in the blast.
But this time, the one chasing Fast was Xie Ruanjue.
His hunting dog had sensed something abnormal in Fast’s chest. Xie Ruanjue directly extracted Fast’s heart—and found the micro-bomb hidden inside.
Supply Post.
Liu Xiqin and Rong Shao waited anxiously inside the hut. After Ji Tianjin called in emergency aid, he’d ordered them to guard the post while he led the rescue team to the incident site.
When sounds came from outside, the two rushed out. Seeing everyone returning with injuries, Rong Shao’s face fell. “What happened?”
Ji Tianjin had left in such a hurry earlier, he hadn’t had time to explain.
Su Cha gave them a rough overview—brief as it was, the danger was still clear.
Liu Xiqin spoke grimly, “Provoking us again and again like this… His Majesty will not let this go quietly.”
The energy liquid restored much of Su Cha’s drained spiritual power. After resting for a while indoors, his breathing calmed, and he said, “Several students have disappeared without a trace. The Empire may not even trace it back to them.”
Who would’ve thought Fasite could slip past the Investigation Department’s eyes, sneak into Desolate Star No. 37, and in the end, leave behind only an unsolved case?
All that scheming… amounted to nothing.
“Those who do evil are bound to destroy themselves.” Su Cha thought this summed up Fasite perfectly.
Rong Shao looked at their battered condition and frowned. “Are we really going to keep competing?”
Seeing how injured everyone was, he thought it might be better to rest and recover.
Di Yuansi replied, “Let’s try to hang on. If we can’t, we’ll decide then.”
Wu Zhi and Wu Shui both nodded in agreement.
“As it stands, we still have a shot at winning.” Su Cha pointed to himself. “What if—”
Rong Shao interrupted, “You rent yourself out to others for farming?”
Su Cha gave him a cold look.
Rong Shao coughed awkwardly.
Su Cha continued, “We can use food to hire people to help us hunt strange beasts.”
Di Yuansi recalled the trauma of wolf howls and fell silent for a moment. “Would anyone even want to?”
Su Cha waved a small hand. “I’ll make them fight over the chance.”
To borrow Di Yuansi’s earlier attitude: At this point, if there’s food, what more can you ask for?
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