Chapter 51

She didn’t have much time to keep negotiating with Wu Yang.

The patrolling warships orbiting this star system would notice the anomaly here in at most half an hour.

Hanhai Academy’s system was indeed well-designed, with ground management and patrol management operating on different systems.

Ji Fu had used a fabricated identity to enter Hanhai, hacking into the ground system once she connected to the network.

This method could only sever the link between the ground system and the patrol system but couldn’t intercept the patrol warships directly.

Time was tight, and given Wu Yang’s apparent hesitations, there was no point in wasting time trying to get him to talk.

His demeanor hinted at deeper issues: he either didn’t dare to speak or was being blackmailed by someone holding something over him.

The only entity capable of controlling a star-level mecha soldier and having far-reaching influence was the Shen family, to whom the Wu family was affiliated.

Wu Yang even gave up his entrance examination spot to Shen Qingxue, which was telling.

As for his last-minute denials…

They were the least important.

Ji Fu stepped forward, removed the optical computer from her wrist, and connected it directly to Wu Yang’s.

Her main purpose today was to take his life.

Any other evidence or information would be extracted from his optical computer.

As the systems connected, hers quickly invaded and began sorting through the data.

In the brief minutes this took, Ji Fu searched through Wu Yang’s student apartment.

The apartment was very clean, containing only some important documents regarding interactions between the Wu family and the Shen family, and not much else.

There was no sign of the so-called special nutrient solution either.

Returning to the third floor, Ji Fu surveyed the room.

It was a luxurious study, with a row of transparent cabinets filled with precious materials and mecha models behind the desk.

She only glanced at them, then focused on an empty slot in the middle of the cabinets.

The slot was empty, illuminated by an orange light.

Empty slots in the cabinet were rare, and they were all lit.

Ji Fu activated the scanner built into her goggles. A quick scan revealed biological traces on the empty slot.

She walked over and pressed a button on the marble panel behind the slot.

Click, clack.

The panel made a crisp sound and slowly lowered, revealing the contents inside.

Ji Fu’s expression momentarily froze when she saw what was stored in the hidden compartment.

Who would have thought that in the elite student apartment of one of the three major military academies, Hanhai Academy, there would be three vials of Blue Lotus?

The compartment was clearly specially treated, with cold air wafting out when it opened.

In the misty cold air, the three vials of Blue Lotus were neatly stored.

Judging by the compartment’s construction, it originally held more than just three vials.

It should have held five.

Two were missing, likely already used.

She reached out and took the three vials of Blue Lotus.

Time was almost up. Ji Fu opened her system, erased all traces of her intrusion, and finally set a timed bomb in the apartment.

Once the timer went off, the bomb would explode before the patrol warships detected anything amiss.

The bomb’s power was sufficient to destroy all evidence here.

As for how those behind Wu Yang would react and what the Alliance’s stance would be, that was their business.

Ji Fu set the timer and immediately summoned a small stealth starship. She boarded it and quickly departed.

By the time she arrived at the asteroid, it was already late at night.

There were only two days left until the second part of the entrance exam, but there was still no progress on the new treatment potion.

In addition to killing Wu Yang, she had also brought back an exotic plant.

When Qin Chu Yue entered the lab and saw the glowing plant under the glass dome, she raised an eyebrow and said, “It’s quite pretty.”

The plant, called Jinghai Xungen, had a deep ocean blue color from its roots to its leaves, and a particularly melodious name.

However…

Ji Fu glanced at the clear ocean blue and said calmly, “It’s an A-grade exotic plant, highly toxic.”

And it was an aggressive type.

It was the kind of plant Du Ming often mentioned in class as the least suitable for medicinal use.

With Yan Yan at her disposal, dealing with an A-grade exotic plant was easy. She only needed the essence, specifically the roots of the plant.

The root was the most crucial part of the Jinghai Xungen.

The root itself wasn’t aggressive; extracting it carefully to avoid poisoning was all that was needed.

Given that the root was the essence of the Jinghai Xungen, a small segment yielded a substantial amount of extract. Ji Fu extracted a large container of essence from just a small branch.

Everything went smoothly.

But…

Ji Fu looked at the few exotic beasts nearby.

She had captured them while collecting the Jinghai Xungen, all small but exceptionally fierce.

One of them was even an A-grade exotic beast, not top-tier among A-grade beasts, but she had tested it and confirmed its tough constitution.

“The new potion made from the extract is highly toxic,” Ji Fu said calmly.

Qin Chu Yue looked at the state of the exotic beasts and was momentarily stunned.

This wasn’t just toxic; it was lethal.

Ji Fu had tested several methods: ingestion, medicinal baths, and applying it to wounds.

… Each method resulted in the same deadly toxicity.

The most terrifying result was an A-grade exotic beast reaching a near-death state within five minutes of ingesting the potion.

Qin Chu Yue: …

She raised her thumb towards Ji Fu and said, “Fu, I didn’t know you had such a talent for making poisons.”

Ji Fu chuckled.

Qin Chu Yue didn’t know that Ji Fu’s approach to medicine was incredibly bold.

No regular pharmacist would think of using something like Jinghai Xungen in a potion, let alone combine it with an energy stone.

If Du Ming saw the potion Ji Fu had concocted, he would probably faint.

Nobody uses ingredients like this.

Her methods were unconventional and without bounds.

Ji Fu rubbed her chin, contemplating the blue-red liquid in front of her after adding the Jinghai Xungen essence, and said, “But I think this might be the best solution.”

Qin Chu Yue paused. She trusted Ji Fu, but considering Wei Lan’s current condition, she feared the strong potion might be too much for him.

Ji Fu’s hypothesis was based on evidence.

Data showed that the Jinghai Xungen neutralized the intense energy from the energy stone and thoroughly integrated the stone with the original potion.

This didn’t mean the potion was non-toxic; it was still poisonous.

No matter how much it was extracted, the poison from the Jinghai Xungen couldn’t be completely removed. Mixed with the energy stone, the poison became even more unpredictable.

Everyone’s constitution was different. Wei Lan’s injuries were mainly threefold: an old injury from three years ago, a recent critical injury affecting his lungs, and the most problematic one—a poison from the Black Sea.

The Black Sea water, though not fatal, was highly toxic.

Wei Lan, having been tortured by prolonged exposure to the Black Sea water, had this poison seep into his body, making all his injuries, old and new, unhealable.

To fully recover, he needed to purge the Black Sea poison from his system.

With current medical technology, curing the Black Sea poison was possible but required long-term bed rest, at least ten years.

After treatment, he would be extremely weak, and his physical abilities would be significantly impaired.

Ji Fu considered using the Jinghai Xungen because it grew by the Black Sea.

It was an exotic plant that could thrive near the Black Sea.

Everything in nature has its counterpart; the cure for the Black Sea poison might be the Jinghai Xungen growing nearby.

However, this potion indeed had a life-threatening risk.

“Use it,” Ji Fu said, turning to meet Wei Lan’s gaze.

He looked at her calmly, his eyes clear.

Ji Fu recalled many years ago; he was the same way.

When she found Wei Lan, she was only twelve, just a child herself.

Having barely escaped from Purgatory Star, she initially didn’t plan to help.

But that day, the weather was too good, and he just quietly watched her.

There wasn’t even a plea for help in his eyes.

Ji Fu treated him like a dying puppy on the roadside, spending all her money to buy him a nutrient solution.

She thought that if he survived, then it wasn’t his time to die.

That one vial of substandard nutrient solution made Wei Lan follow her unwaveringly ever since.

At that time, she didn’t know she had been bio-tagged. Within a few months of escaping, she was recaptured.

Back then, the influential family that threw her into Purgatory Star punished the escaped convicts by sending them to a place even more terrifying than Purgatory Star.

It was an exile zone for death row prisoners, teeming with ferocious exotic beasts and ruthless individuals.

The family’s overseer said that only one person could leave the exile zone alive.

Among ‘them’ were the death row prisoners, including Ji Fu and Wei Lan.

Whether Wei Lan had originally escaped from Purgatory Star didn’t matter.

He was captured with Ji Fu and therefore subjected to the same punishment.

However, the family recognized Ji Fu’s mechanical talent and offered her a chance.

They said that if she agreed to return to Purgatory Star and continue being their mechanical slave, she could leave the exile zone at any time.

She did return, but not by bowing her head and submitting to the aristocrats.

Instead, she and Wei Lan fought their way out of the exile zone over the course of more than two years.

The two of them relied on each other in a place filled with high-risk exotic beasts and constant danger.

Conditions back then were even worse than they are now; she was merely an easily targeted lower-class individual.

Wei Lan, during those two years, rose from F- to A-rank. In the brutal, chaotic environment, they survived like wild grass.

Eventually, she led Wei Lan back to Purgatory Star, fighting all the way.

They encountered Qin Chu Yue, who had just graduated at the time, at 22 years old, and joined forces with them, two half-grown kids.

Using their meager funds, they gradually built a starship and weapons, taking two years to travel from the exile zone to Purgatory Star.

Four years passed in a flash. At that time, she was 16, Wei Lan was 14, and Qin Chu Yue was only 24.

The three of them turned Purgatory Star upside down.

That was Ji Fu’s first step in opposing the Alliance, starting from the Purgatory Star where she had been trapped for years.

After destroying Purgatory Star, she had considered stopping.

They had come from the wilderness and chaos, and if possible, she wanted to live like a normal girl. That’s why she talked and laughed with Wei Lan about the major military academies.

She said she would one day blast open the gates of the interstellar academy.

But reality left no room for such naive thoughts. Returning from Purgatory Star, she went home.

Upon returning home, she discovered that soon after she was captured and sent to Purgatory Star, her poor, remote planet had suffered inhumane devastation and harm.

Her parents and family had all perished. In an era of rapid technological advancement, the lives of the lower-class were worth less than those of useful F-grade exotic beasts.

They had come from a life of endless toil, only to die on the way to extracting top-tier materials for the elite, becoming tools in the resolution of the elite’s disputes.

At 16, she might not have fully understood the world, but as a person, she couldn’t remain indifferent to such tragedies.

Thus, in the following two years, she used every means possible.

She destroyed 33 major planets of the Alliance, demolishing countless Alliance bases.

In those two years, everyone in the interstellar era knew the name Yun Chi, the lower-class individual, and recognized her black mecha.

This continued until Yun Fang was destroyed.

Before Fang Yan Li captured her and imprisoned her, Ji Fu was 18, and Wei Lan was only 16.

At that time, he was entirely devoted to her but had been severely injured in their final battle against Fang Yan Li, witnessing her capture and imprisonment with his own eyes.

They were separated for three years.

He had nearly died breaking out of prison to see her. During those three years, Wei Lan had often wondered if she had met with misfortune due to his failure.

Perhaps due to countless moments of regret and heart-wrenching pain, when they finally reunited, he was so uncontrollably emotional.

Three years had been too agonizing for Wei Lan, and he could never bear the thought of losing her.

He had never expressed each regretful moment during those three years, only wanting to stay by her side a little longer.

Ji Fu looked into his unreserved eyes, just as they had been in the past.

She paused and smiled lightly, saying, “Shall we try?”

When she decided to try, she tried.

Qin Chu Yue didn’t stop them either.

At worst… they would figure something out. After all, that exotic beast hadn’t died.

Then she turned around and saw the beast collapse to the ground, already lifeless.

Qin Chu Yue: …

Alright.

They should be able to feed Wei Lan an emergency medicine before he stopped breathing, right?

The medical pod restarted, and Qin Chu Yue saw the dazzling light effects again, feeling only her heart pounding.

She watched Ji Fu’s steady hands inject the freshly made potion into the medicinal bath device.

The device activated, beginning a new round of treatment.

The potion was infused into the medical pod. To monitor Wei Lan’s condition, Ji Fu opened all the data and real-time treatment status.

Within five minutes of starting treatment, many data points turned red.

Qin Chu Yue didn’t understand these values but knew that red meant trouble.

The medical pod kept issuing alerts, even showing high-level warnings of rapidly declining vital signs.

Ten minutes into the treatment, all the indicators on the interface were flashing red.

The situation was worse than after Wei Lan’s escape when Ji Fu had given him basic treatment in the interstellar academy’s medical room.

Fifteen minutes in, the medical pod even activated emergency mode.

The potion, upon contact with the skin, must have been extremely painful. The long string of red indicators made that clear.

But throughout it all, Wei Lan remained silent.

Qin Chu Yue almost thought he had fainted from the pain.

She didn’t interrupt Ji Fu but paced anxiously, occasionally glancing at the operation interface.

The emergency function of this medical pod was indeed very powerful, especially after Ji Fu’s improvements.

Within ten minutes of activating the emergency function, Wei Lan was out of danger.

Qin Chu Yue breathed a sigh of relief. Regardless of whether the experiment was successful, at least his life was saved.

She also understood why Ji Fu hadn’t let her stay by her side when she locked herself in the lab to detoxify.

She would have been scared to death watching her.

What was even more miraculous came next.

Ji Fu’s judgment was correct. The Jinghai Xungen was indeed a good remedy for Black Sea Water Poisoning.

However, when the toxin first entered the body, it did trigger a bodily warning, especially for someone with Wei Lan’s exceptionally strong physique. His resistance was too strong, resulting in frequent red indicators.

Once his body adapted to the toxin, the Jinghai Xungen’s poison quickly dissolved throughout Wei Lan’s body.

After the emergency treatment, within just fifteen minutes, Wei Lan’s various bodily indicators began to rise, gradually stabilizing.

As for the value related to Black Sea Water Poisoning, it started to decline steadily.

The rate of decline was the fastest level the human body could handle, but because he had been soaking in Black Sea Water for a long time, that value was astonishingly high, and it would still take some time to completely eliminate it.

But compared to the previous estimate, the time had been significantly reduced.

The estimated recovery time before did not include the elimination of Black Sea Water Poisoning, which would take at least half a year.

Now, the new data indicated three months.

In other words, at most, it would take three months for Wei Lan’s body to fully recover.

This wasn’t just a temporary fix; it was a genuine, comprehensive recovery.

And…

Ji Fu scrolled to the last entry and saw a new data point.

The use of the new potion had somehow led to Wei Lan developing resistance to Black Sea Water.

It was worth noting that Black Sea Water, a byproduct of the appearance of black holes, even caused the creatures living in it after the black hole mutation to remain in a poisoned state.

If poisoned alone without suffering fatal injuries, the impact of this toxin wouldn’t be so significant.

But it was still uncomfortable.

This was also the ultimate reason why Wei Lan was able to escape from the interstellar prison.

As the treatment cycle ended, the medical pod opened.

Ji Fu looked up and saw Wei Lan opening his eyes.

He lay quietly in the medical pod, looking at her. Ji Fu touched his hair and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Before he could answer, she placed a piece of candy to his lips.

Wei Lan was slightly stunned but swallowed the candy.

As the candy entered his mouth, it brought a rich and gentle sweetness, just like her tenderness.

He looked at her, only to see Ji Fu raising her eyebrows lightly.

The success of the new potion had given her some other ideas.

It had been several months since she successfully detoxified herself, but the excessive detoxifying drugs in her body had not been metabolized.

Due to her busy schedule recently and the beginning of the joint exams, she couldn’t spare the time to solve this problem.

This had inspired her.

The drugs she had balanced before were based on the combination of Lan Russell and Blue Russell, and the estimated dosage.

But in reality…

She had only administered four doses of Blue Russell.

According to what Ye Ping had said, her body could only withstand a maximum of five doses of Blue Russell, beyond which she would die instantly.

In the situation where she had enough Lan Russell but not enough Blue Russell, if she used the detoxifying drugs normally, it would definitely cause an accumulation of drugs due to overdose.

The formulas for the two drugs used to extract talents were now clear to her.

However, due to the extreme rarity of the materials involved and the difficulty of the experiments, it was not easy to make one by herself.

But this problem ceased to be a problem after she killed Wu Yang.

What Wu Yang had collected was precisely the Blue Russell she lacked.

Ji Fu glanced at the time.

In terms of time, it seemed like it might just work.

Two days later, the second round of joint exams would begin.

The three major military academies gathered again in the main square.

Unlike the first time, this time, people from the Empire and Hanhai would occasionally look towards the interstellar side.

The second round was about to begin, and as they stepped into the square, the live broadcast began.

Ji Fu wasn’t late this time, but she wasn’t early either.

When she arrived, most of the students from the three major military academies were already present.

After the first round ended, most of the students stayed in the joint exam resting area.

Seeing someone entering from outside, many eyes fell on her.

The position of the Interstellar Academy was on the far left, next to the Hanhai Academy.

When Ji Fu came over, she even met Shen Qinglan’s gaze.

His expression was particularly unsightly.

It was certain that things wouldn’t look good. Hanhai had ranked last in the joint exams this time, and his companion, Wu Yang, had been inexplicably killed after being eliminated.

After the student apartment where Wu Yang was located exploded, nearby patrol warships were alerted.

The Alliance also sent people.

But after several searches, no problems were found.

The systems at Hanhai Academy were functioning normally, with no traces of intrusion, and no one had entered or exited the student apartment that day.

…Of course not, Ji Fu had deleted all the data before leaving.

However, since the incident happened at Hanhai Military Academy, the Alliance attached great importance to it. After repeated investigations, they finally found some clues.

There had been a brief fluctuation in Hanhai Academy’s system before Wu Yang returned to the apartment.

With a fluctuation, there’s no source of information.

What can that indicate?

It can only indicate that Wu Yang didn’t commit suicide, but the scene also clearly shows it. Who would blow up an apartment building to smithereens?

Just because it’s blown into fragments, there’s no trace to be found, and no idea what the other party was aiming for.

Anyway, Wu Yang is definitely dead.

At this critical moment, such an incident occurred, and you can imagine the mood of the students in Hanhai.

Shen Qinglan also completely ignored Ji Fu, only ordering to quickly find the murderer.

The low atmosphere in Hanhai continued until just before the start of the second exam.

The joint exam is about to begin, and all the teachers leading the teams from military academies remind the students to wear their nameplates.

The onlookers from the interstellar network also finally became interested.

But as soon as the nameplates were put on, there was a commotion from the interstellar side.

[Beep! Beep! Abnormal information]

This nameplate is a super stellar mechanical device with authentication information function, and suddenly emitted an alarm sound, everyone in the venue was stunned.

After the alarm sounded, the surrounding mechs synchronously raised their weapons, the red aiming devices unique to laser weapons all aimed at one person.

Everyone in the venue looked over at the sound.

With just one glance, they saw Ji Fu being targeted by countless aiming devices.

Zhang Huan, who was leading the team in front, was dumbfounded. He hurried over and asked, “What’s going on with you?”

When the nameplate alarms, under normal circumstances, everyone would think that someone is impersonating a student.

But Ji Fu is still the same person, and she looks the same as before, it doesn’t seem like anyone has replaced her.

Zhang Huan couldn’t help but say, “Are you possessed?”

Ji Fu: …

She raised an eyebrow lightly and raised a hand.

“Report.” Ji Fu said lightly, “I have information to update.”

What information needs to be updated?

The teacher in charge of the nameplates frowned lightly, but seeing Zhang Huan’s appearance, he knew that Ji Fu’s identity should be fine.

It must be the information she mentioned that needed updating.

The nameplate alarm could also be due to incorrect information.

The information entered before doesn’t match the current information.

The teacher quickly walked to her side and lightly scanned the nameplate with a device.

Ji Fu’s nameplate blinked: [Synchronizing information, information updated]

In the next moment, the prompt representing the alarm was directly removed, and the nameplate directly began the updated broadcast:

[Interstellar Academy, Ji Fu, female, 21 years old, talent level—]

All the previous information matched perfectly, except for the last line.

In full view of the public, a mechanical broadcast sounded from the nameplate: [S class]