Chapter 12

Yuan Hanshuang stared straight at the bag of crystal cores, her throat involuntarily rolling.

“Continue?” Young Master Gu turned to ask her.

“Sure.” Yuan Han Shuang quickly withdrew her gaze, so as not to be too obvious. “But it’s boring to keep competing like this. How about adding some rewards?”

“What kind of rewards do you want?”

As she expected, Young Master Gu did not refuse this proposal.

Although he had been repeatedly defeated by her, the young master had a commendable amount of courage and confidence. Of course, this was also thanks to her showing mercy and giving him hope over the past two years. Otherwise, they wouldn’t be where they are today.

So Yuan Hanshuang nonchalantly pointed to the bag of crystal cores in the hands of the black-suited men. “How about these?”

The several black-suited men immediately glared at her.

Although these low-ranking burrowing insects were not high in rank, they had strength in numbers. Selling this bag of crystal cores alone could fetch tens of thousands of star coins, not to mention the high-level leader’s crystal core. Even for them, it would be a small bonus.

“Bring it here,” Young Master Gu said calmly.

With the young master’s order, the black-suited men reluctantly handed over the bag.

“That’s not a reward.” After receiving the crystal cores, the young master didn’t even glance at them. He threw them directly to her without touching them. “Consider it compensation for the competition.”

“You’re generous, young master.” Yuan Hanshuang’s heart blossomed with joy as she caught the bag full of crystal cores.

Feeling good, she decided to save face for Young Master Gu. “There are too many gravedigger corpses around here, which might hinder our performance. Why don’t we choose another location?”

“Since it’s a competition between the two of us, we don’t need unrelated people watching,” Yuan Hanshuang thought she was a good person, not only thinking about how to subtly cheat but also trying to preserve the young master’s face.

“Young master…” Peng Shi was the first to display a disapproving expression.

However, Young Master Gu completely ignored him and walked away. “Hmm, lead the way.”

Watching the two figures move further away, Peng Shi’s eyes darkened.

The other black-suited men asked, “Boss, the young master doesn’t want us to follow. What should we do now?”

“Why panic?” Peng Shi reprimanded in a low voice. “Since we have tracking devices, we can just follow them from a distance to protect them.”

There was a lingering contemplation in his eyes as he raised his wrist and tapped a few times on his light brain.

After a “beep,” the call was connected, and a cold voice came from the other side. “Assistant Department of the main family.”

“Hello.” Peng Shi forced a smile. “This is Juror Number Three.”

When they had left, he secretly scanned Yuan Hanshuang’s facial data with his light brain, which now came in handy. “Could you please investigate the little girl in the recording? She has an unusually close relationship with the young master.”

Given the current situation facing the Gu family, they had very few options. Among these people, Young Master Gu, who had awakened the family’s signature Manifestation ability, naturally stood out.

This matter was of great importance, and before the final decision was made, everything Young Master Gu had done on Star 1999, including his personality, relationships, and abilities, would be recorded in the files for the main family’s overall review and the family head’s examination. There was no room for error.

After the transmission was complete, Peng Shi whispered, “There’s one more thing. There seems to be unidentified activity near the Level 5 low-pollution star near Star 1999. We saw a bone dragon Manifestation form there…”

“Gifteds and the Starship of the Luminous Temple.”

“A Bone Dragon manifestation Form?!”

The voice from the other side immediately raised, “Are the dragon’s eyes and body burning with blue ghost fire?”

Peng Shi recalled, “Yes.”

“The Abyssal Dragon.”

The tone behind the communicator regained its indifference after a moment, “I understand. This is not information you have permission to access. The main family has no intention of getting involved in the conflict between the Temple and other forces. Don’t cause any trouble.”

Peng Shi instinctively stood up straight, “Understood!”

On the other side, Yuan Hanshuang glanced at Young  Master Gu, who had been following behind her silently. “Are they not from the school? What’s going on?”

Although she was considered Young Master Gu’s opponent, they still had some daily interactions. After all, they were both from the same school and didn’t have any major conflicts. They couldn’t be considered enemies.

The boy pursed his lips.

To be honest, seeing Young Master Gu, who usually held himself high, was quite surprising.

Seeing that Young Master Gu didn’t seem inclined to answer, Yuan Hanshuang didn’t pay it much mind.

Unexpectedly, after taking a few steps, she heard a voice from behind, “. They are from the main branch of the Gu family.”

The Federation is composed of five major duchies, each controlled by a wealthy clan. The Gu family is one of them. Being able to control a duchy with just the power of a single family shows how influential these five major families are. Even on this remote planet in 1999, even the peripheral branch of the Gu family, who only inherited the surname, had enough power to make everyone in the school line up to flatter them, which speaks to their influence.

Once the floodgates were opened, it became easier to continue speaking.

Young Master Gu paused, “The sole heir of the main branch of the Gu family had an accident not long ago.”

This incident was not a secret. It had caused quite a stir recently, and everyone knew about it, except for Yuan Hanshuang, who didn’t have a neural implant and didn’t care about current events.

The designated heir of the Gu family followed the path of a prodigy, enjoying the best resources of the financial duchy for over twenty years. But unexpectedly, during an investigation of an ancient civilization relic, something went wrong. They encountered an extremely rare illusion-type neural parasite and were declared brain-dead on the spot.

After all, there was only one sole heir in the main branch of the Gu family, so they naturally had to do everything they could to protect them. The former head of the family even privately requested the personal intervention of the Pope of the Luminous Temple. The specific results had not been made public yet, but Young Master Gu knew that the outcome was not good.

Brain death was not like Yuan Hanshuang’s father’s brain injury; it meant becoming a completely non-thinking vegetable.

The accident involving the heir caught the Gu family off guard.

If they wanted to cultivate another heir, it would take at least several decades. Unfortunately, the main branch didn’t have any other young individuals with outstanding talents, so they had to turn their attention to the peripheral branches.

Young Master Gu was fortunate enough to be selected.

In short, it was like winning the lottery, an overnight rise.

Yuan Hanshuang had long known that Young Master Gu came from a prominent family, but she never imagined it would be to this extent. “So, you became the heir of the main branch of the Gu family?”

Young Master Gu took a deep breath, “No, there are several other peripheral branches Gifted that were chosen alongside me.”

Several equally outstanding individuals of suitable age competed, but only the most exceptional one could be adopted by the main branch.

Although the Fiery Striped Tiger was extremely rare, but for others, the probability of awakening their own signature manifestation is still quite high for those with the ancient lineage, which is also the most basic condition that catches the attention of the main family.

“The people just now were jurors from the main family. They are responsible for bringing people back to the main family and issuing investigation reports on collateral branches. Most people choose to establish a good relationship with them, hoping they will speak favorably.”

“Oh, I see.”

Yuan Hanshuang absentmindedly touched the round belly of Yuyu, her fish-like companion. “Don’t you want to go?”

“I don’t know.”

Young Master Gu, unusually perplexed, said, “I don’t have the right to choose.”

His parents and everyone around him had high hopes for him. They were overjoyed upon receiving the news, praising him for bringing honor to his ancestors. They constantly reminded him of his duties and secretly gave gifts to the jurors.

If everything goes as planned, after this polluted star experience, he will have to travel to the Ancient Kingdom with the jurors and start the real assessment.

No one cared about his own thoughts, and he couldn’t make any decisions.

That’s precisely why Young Master Gu couldn’t wait to challenge Yuan Hanshuang before leaving.

He wanted to have a proper showdown with this opponent who had overwhelmed him for the past two years since entering school.

Besides, there might be some reasons that Young Master Gu himself couldn’t explain clearly.

Unfortunately, the golden-haired girl standing nearby didn’t notice any of this.

“Oh, I understand!”