Chapter 94

The progress in restoring her talent was smoother than expected.

However, the materials used this time were already close to the Special Star level.

“Does that mean to fully restore to the Special Star level, we need to use materials from a Special Star-level exotic beast?” Qin Chu Yue looked worried.

It’s not just that Special Star-level exotic beasts are extremely rare; Special Star level is a realm that ordinary people can hardly ever encounter. Even if such a beast appears, the alliance will keep the news under wraps, isolate the beast, and then send in a military force to deal with it.

Even if they did find one, they might not be able to defeat it.

The alliance’s operations against Special Star-level exotic beasts are meticulously planned, and Fang Yanli often oversees them personally.

The deployed teams include many Ultra Star+ and Ultra Star-level members.

Currently, they only had Ji Fu at Ultra Star+, and Wei Lan, who, after encountering Fang Yanli that day, was stuck on the verge of a talent upgrade but just couldn’t make it.

They had plenty of black mechs, but the only truly effective ones were the Ultra Star+ Zhushi and the Ultra Star-level Infinite.

Ji Fu said calmly, “When Infinity was created, it was designed with upgrade potential.”

With the materials they had accumulated over time, it was enough to upgrade Endless to Ultra Star+.

“That makes two,” Qin Chu Yue paused. “But can two Ultra Star+ mechs defeat a Special Star-level exotic beast?”

“Normally, no,” Ji Fu replied calmly.

Qin Chu Yue frowned. “Even with your and Wei Lan’s high potential, it still won’t work?”

“Based on the footage we’ve found of Special Star-level exotic beasts, these beasts exceed the limits of what can be defined physically and differ vastly from what the best Ultra Star+ can achieve,” Ji Fu explained, pausing briefly. “In terms of weaponry, it’s like comparing ordinary firearms to quantum light cannons.”

Qin Chu Yue felt a tightness in her chest.

Special Star-level exotic beasts are known only through rumors; regular interstellar citizens rarely get to see them.

…And those who do rarely survive.

So, there’s no concrete concept of Special Star-level beasts.

But she had seen Fang Yanli’s mech, Jimi… It indeed looked like an advanced, era-defining machine.

“Then we need to consider other options,” Qin Chu Yue said, looking between the two of them.

Compared to a deadly battle with a Special Star-level beast, she still thought a more reliable approach was needed.

At least getting one person upgraded first would give them more confidence in whatever they planned.

Ji Fu didn’t need to guess what she was thinking. She looked up and met Wei Lan’s eyes.

Ji Fu: …

“Don’t even think about it.” She didn’t know who she was reminding, but she continued, “We don’t have much time left; that method would take too long.”

Qin Chu Yue immediately smiled knowingly.

So, it’s not that she didn’t want to, just that it would take too long, right?

Ji Fu cleared her throat. “Tan Xi contacted me this morning, saying that recently the Imperial Star Alliance has tightened its security, and the Fang family has mobilized a large number of troops.”

“Are they planning to go to war directly?”

Ji Fu nodded. “There have been massive protests within the military, and those leaving the army are gradually becoming a threat. The Interstellar Academy is also preparing for war.”

She paused. “If I were the Alliance, the quickest way to quell this situation would be to sacrifice the three of us first.”

The current rebel forces are all acting under the name of the Slaughterhouse.

Tan Xi, Li Yunyi, Zhang Huan, and others from the Interstellar Academy, after the uprising, went in different directions to organize and unite these people.

Among them, Lu Bingyun, the most respected in the army, had her body mostly repaired.

Ji Fu had sent a batch of medicine to the Interstellar Academy through the black mechs.

With her teacher Du Ming’s cooperation in the academy, Lu Bingyun’s injuries were healing quickly.

The main point is…

“After the Interstellar Academy publicly took a stand, the Alliance cut off all their supply lines.”

But they couldn’t directly attack the Interstellar Academy.

Among the three existing major military academies, the Interstellar Academy holds a special position.

It made special contributions during the establishment of the Alliance many years ago; otherwise, it wouldn’t be named after the stars.

Moreover, the academy still has some inherent strength.

The Alliance, currently overwhelmed with its own issues, can’t afford to go to war with the academy directly.

They cut off transport routes and placed the current Dean Yang under house arrest within the Imperial Star Alliance to force the academy into submission.

Dean Yang, through Zhang Huan, told all students not to worry about him and to proceed with their plans.

Some students chose to leave and join the Alliance and the aristocratic families.

For example, Liu Can from the previous Special A class.

But the majority of students chose to stay at the academy.

Leaving the academy might bring temporary peace, but no interstellar citizen with a normal conscience could turn a blind eye to the horrific Pig Plan.

Moreover, students of the Interstellar Academy had a tough time under the families’ monopoly.

After the transport route was cut off, other things were still manageable.

The academy had ample material reserves to ensure all students’ basic needs.

The only issue was the energy supply.

The military school housed many mech pilots and soldiers, but the normal operation of mechs required energy stones.

“The Alliance is shameless with this move,” Qin Chu Yue spat.

“I’ve already sent the energy stones we got from the Si and Han families to the Interstellar Academy.”

That batch of energy stones was ridiculously large.

They didn’t have a main base now, and carrying it around was inconvenient.

So Ji Fu sent most of it to the Interstellar Academy, keeping only a small portion on their spaceship for emergencies or to support the various resisting armies.

The mechs she made didn’t require a lot of energy stones.

She repeatedly modified the system and mech structure to save energy or, like Zhushi, used two different exotic beast cores as the main energy source.

This kind of modification eliminated the need for energy stones.

Her black mechs were well-powered and didn’t need that many energy stones.

The Interstellar Academy and the gathered armies had the greatest demand.

High-level battles were important, and their battlefield was crucial.

“After Fang Yanli makes his move, the Alliance will undoubtedly retaliate. If a Special Star-level comes into play, it will directly affect the battlefield’s outcome,” Ji Fu said calmly. “And with the Special Star level’s power, the battle will end very quickly.”

There’s no possibility of a prolonged battle lasting months, allowing them to grow slowly.

That’s why the Alliance and the families need at least one Special Star-level at any cost.

The existence of the Special Star level inherently ensures a higher dimension of combat.

The more Special Star-levels they have, the stronger their hard power.

So, before Qin Yebai makes his move, they must quickly advance their talents. At the very least, they need a Special Star-level mech to hold the line.

Time was tight, but Ji Fu still used the system to scour the entire star network.

Because the search content was rare, she extended the range to over a hundred years back.

The operation platform had countless windows open, and the system was running calculations wildly.

Ji Fu sat beside it, going through the information.

So far, she had reviewed all books, records, and even rumors from the past fifty years.

But there were no descriptions of the talent mark on her wrist.

This thing couldn’t have appeared out of nowhere, especially in such a strange shape.

Ji Fu rubbed the dragon-shaped mark on her wrist, lost in thought.

Wei Lan lightly tapped on the door, and she turned to see him placing a can of sweet milk in front of her.

Ji Fu’s gaze fell on his long, fair fingers.

Wei Lan set down the milk and was about to pull his hand back, but the person in front of him grabbed his wrist.

Her palm felt cool.

He lowered his gaze, watching her turn his wrist over, examining his left hand before pulling the right to inspect.

“What’s wrong?” Wei Lan asked softly.

Ji Fu rolled up her hoodie sleeve, indicating for him to look at the special mark.

She spoke slowly, “This thing has been around for a long time.”

She recalled carefully, “It appeared when I received my first talent extraction at the Highest Supervision.”

She was certain because her connection to her talent started from the first extraction.

At that time, her wrist was burning with pain, and after Ye Ping left, she untied the instrument and looked at it.

There was a white mist, but in the center, there was indeed a very faint golden color.

“At first, it was just a faint color, but as my talent improved, it gradually took shape.”

“After upgrading to Super Star+, I could clearly see its appearance.”

Wei Lan touched her mark and asked, “Does it hurt?”

Ji Fu shook her head. It hurt before detoxification, during talent recovery, but it felt like it didn’t exist at other times.

Wei Lan also remembered when she was in the Black Abyss, cutting her skin and putting it in the medicine; it was in this position.

He paused and lightly pressed around the mark.

“The first time you cut the mark, it felt like something was sliding here.” He circled his fingertip around. “Like something was moving.”

Wei Lan glanced at the coiled golden dragon. “Like a wandering dragon.”

At that time, the dragon was just a rudimentary form and not clear.

Wei Lan remembered something. His eyes paused slightly. “When I was in the Black Prison, the head of the Si family mentioned it.”

“He said that during the ancient period when black holes first appeared, the first Special Star-level born had a mark on its neck, a dark red flower.”

When the Si family discussed these matters, they never avoided him.

At that time, it was just idle talk, and they all treated the mark on the Special Star-level’s neck as a curious thing.

Because the career of that Special Star-level was too brilliant; controlling mechs, killing powerful exotic beasts, and almost being considered the savior of that time.

There were too many mysterious things about the person, so even the mark on his neck was talked about.

Expelling exotic beasts from the main star system was also the work of this person.

He was the true ancient first mech soldier.

Wei Lan didn’t think much of it at the time.

Now, with Ji Fu’s mark in hand, it felt somewhat unusual.

Ji Fu nodded slightly.

She also knew about that person’s deeds.

But she didn’t know about the strange mark on the person’s neck.

She realized and immediately replaced all the keywords on the operating platform, locking in the ancient period, and conducting a full network search.

With specific parameters and keywords, the system searched very quickly.

It even collected some very rare image data.

Although hundreds of years ago was distant, the rapid development of interstellar technology left behind many images.

Ji Fu enlarged the image of the flower on the neck.

It was a bright red rose.

Unlike her golden dragon, the flower bloomed brightly on the neck, exquisite and charming.

The picture came from a forum, with many people commenting below.

“Don’t say, this flower drawn by Jin Yin is really beautiful.”

This ancient first mech soldier was named Jin Yin.

“It’s said that after he became famous in one battle, people all over the galaxy started to draw this flower on their necks.”

“Maybe these big shots all have this preference? I found Jiang Fangyue also has it.”

Compared to Jin Yin, Jiang Fangyue’s name is closer to their time, but it has been almost three hundred years since he became famous.

This person was also one of the most powerful mech pilots of his time.

He was also the creator of the current Light Brain and a high-tech researcher across time.

Someone posted a picture.

It showed Jiang Fangyue’s left hand.

The mark covered his entire left hand and was a blue fish.

Jin Yin, Jiang Fangyue, were both famous figures of their time, and people might not know their specific talents, but their merits were firmly recorded in history books.

Ji Fu knew, however, that these two people had one thing in common: they were both Special Star-level talents.

Jin Yin’s time was too distant to distinguish clearly.

Jiang Fangyue’s time was traceable.

From that era onward, Special Star-level talents gradually declined, but there were still a few outstanding ones.

Ji Fu entered the names of those celebrities for a search.

However, among these people, without exception, none of them had this kind of mark again.

Only Jin Yin and Jiang Fangyue were known.

If it were just one person with this mark, it might be considered a preference, as people speculated. But when this thing appeared repeatedly, it was no longer a coincidence.

Leaving aside other things, Jiang Fangyue’s personal biography repeatedly mentioned that he had a serious obsession with cleanliness.

After every experiment, he would always wash his hands repeatedly, and he didn’t use ordinary hand soap.

People who conduct experiments and work on mechs year-round often use special hand soap.

Ji Fu searched through all the records about Jiang Fangyue’s later years. Whenever there were photos or close-ups of his hands involved, the mark would appear.

Even in his later years, this thing still appeared with a blue hue.

This situation indicated that this mark couldn’t possibly be a tattoo.

Following this, she searched within the range of marks, tattoos, and special marks and found several articles.

However, most of them only discussed the unusual characteristics of Jin Yin or Jiang Fangyue’s personalities, lacking any useful references.

Only more than seventy years ago, a relatively unknown scholar wrote an article that caught her attention.

The main content of the paper was—talents that were too high and possessed special abilities would, to some extent, manifest in a person’s appearance.

Ji Fu’s search results showed that after this paper was published, the scholar received severe criticism from all quarters, with everyone thinking that this person was fabricating stories and tarnishing the reputation of famous figures.

But it was this paper that gave her an important clue.

Ji Fu quickly opened a blank document to categorize and organize the information.

The available information was relatively limited, so she could only make deductions based on descriptions.

But the results of her organization were surprisingly remarkable.

Jin Yin’s talent ability likely had something to do with combat. Various sources indicated that when engaging in combat with him, it seemed like one would enter a state of suspended animation.

This was also the case when killing exotic beasts. They would instantly appear and disappear.

Ji Fu’s note: Temporary spatial stagnation.

Jiang Fangyue’s talent, on the other hand, leaned more towards the legendary category, but it wasn’t completely useless.

Some interviewees claimed to have seen Jiang Fangyue entering the sea without any equipment and breathing underwater.

This statement was exaggerated, so few people believed it.

But Ji Fu found a very important point in Jiang Fangyue’s autobiography.

Jiang said that he liked to create mechs in quiet and deserted spaces, especially in the deep sea.

Jiang’s most notable achievement was that he once rapidly manufactured thirty Special Star-level mechs within a short period.

This level of achievement was simply miraculous in today’s context.

But Jiang Fangyue achieved it.

Moreover, it was because of his thirty or so mechs that he reversed the situation of the battle.

Ji Fu checked the topographic map from that time, and indeed, the place where he made the mechs had a sea, and it was even the Black Sea.

Her note was: Making mechs underwater had absolute stability and success rate.

Given the time period and the difficulty of manufacturing mechs, Jiang definitely didn’t fail even once.

Now, the question arose.

If her talent was similar to those of these two individuals, belonging to a very rare ancient category.

What was her talent’s special ability?

The mark didn’t correspond to the abilities. Jiang Fangyue’s fish and the sea were just a coincidence.

Because Jin Yin’s flower had no connection to spatial stagnation.

Ji Fu rubbed the golden dragon on her wrist, her expression slightly hesitant.

It was already late at night, and because of this special discovery, she couldn’t sleep.

Turning her head, she saw Wei Lan sitting on the sofa with his eyes closed.

There were still several screens open in front of him, all displaying the results of her searches.

Ji Fu didn’t look at the content anymore. Her gaze swept over Wei Lan’s face and landed on his lips.

… Ji Fu suddenly felt a bit curious. When Wei Lan was asleep, if she touched him, would his talent also advance?

The matter of the mark temporarily had no conclusion. She simply got up and walked to Wei Lan’s side.

The sleeping Wei Lan was very quiet, with long eyelashes and fair skin, like a beautiful doll.

With Wei Lan asleep, Ji Fu walked up to him without any burden, leaned in to look at him closely, and confirmed that he was really asleep before lowering her head.

In the quiet laboratory, only their faint breathing could be heard.

Ji Fu wanted to kiss his lips lightly as she did last time.

Unexpectedly, before she could touch him, Wei Lan suddenly opened his eyes.

Those deep black eyes looked directly at her.

Ji Fu:…

How should she say this, that she just wanted to conduct an experiment?

Before she could speak, the lying-down Wei Lan suddenly sat up, grabbed her waist, lifted her chin, and pressed his lips against hers.

It wasn’t just brushing past her lips; it was a tight, seamless connection.

Ji Fu was slightly stunned, looking up.

With just one glance, she saw the trembling of Wei Lan’s eyelashes.

After locking eyes with her, Wei Lan’s emotions surged even more. He held her waist tightly and explored her lips.

She heard their intertwined breaths, her hand still hanging stiffly in the air.

Amidst Wei Lan’s entanglement, she blinked lightly.

However, Wei Lan couldn’t be satisfied with just this level of closeness. He leaned back slightly, panting lightly, and was about to lower his head to kiss her again when an incredibly loud sound came from the base—

[Talent upgraded to: Super Star+]

Outside, Qin Chu Yue was still sleeping soundly, and upon hearing this reminder, she was still not fully awake. She pressed down on the light brain and asked, “What’s wrong, what’s wrong, has Fang Yanli attacked?”

Wei Lan:…

It was the first time Ji Fu saw this kind of expression resembling frustration on Wei Lan’s face. He was handsome, but there was usually no extra emotion on his face, not at all like a teenager his age.

She couldn’t help but laugh lightly.

Seeing her smile, a smile also appeared in Wei Lan’s eyes. He couldn’t help but reach out and hug her waist again, whispering softly, “Afu.”

Ji Fu was full of smiles as she looked past Wei Lan’s shoulder and toward the console with countless screens.

Suddenly, she had an idea.

However, she couldn’t confirm it for now and needed to test it.

Practice was the best way to test it.

Coincidentally, there was a very suitable test subject right in front of her.

It wasn’t yet dawn.

The starship had already pierced through outer space and was rushing towards a certain direction.

This location was the legion’s training base where they had trained during the joint exams.

However, after the Piglet Plan was announced, there were significant conflicts within the legion.

The legion ahead was in chaos, but the training grounds were relatively quiet.

It was close to the legion here, so shouting would bring someone over, and it was relatively safe.

After the Piglet Plan was announced at the slaughterhouse, Zhou Xingyu died in the exam venue. Han Patriarch brought his family and relocated to this place.

Han’s family was not like the Zhou family or the Fang family.

It was the weakest among the few remaining noble families.

The main residence of the Han family on the Imperial Star was mostly destroyed by the bombardment caused by the Shen family.

There were also many civilians living on the Imperial Star, and now these people were sending real-time updates on the situation of various noble families to the slaughterhouse website.

Han Patriarch was truly afraid.

Afraid that one day Ji Fu would go crazy and turn against the Han family.

The Han family still had some manpower within the legion and also occupied relatively crucial positions.

After Zhou Xingyu’s death, they could not rely on the Zhou family temporarily. After considering it, Han Patriarch, with the important belongings of his family and his two daughters, came to the legion.

In recent days, the chaos within the legion had gradually subsided, and this place was indeed much safer compared to the chaos center of the Imperial Star.

Han Siyi was skilled in repairing and manufacturing Super Star-level mechs and found herself fitting in well within the legion.

Han Qianqian was a bit lacking, but there were not only Super Star-level mechs but also Star-level and S-level mech soldiers within the legion.

Han Patriarch understood very clearly that once the situation changed, he also had a way out.

He would directly take over a legion.

With a legion in hand, any side would have to show him respect.

But he never expected.

That Ji Fu would lead people and directly come over here.

When he heard the sudden roar in the sky and the alarm sound that echoed throughout the base, Han Patriarch’s face changed.

He hurriedly got up, and with just one glance, he saw a black mech descending from the transparent glass window of the base.

The first to land was Wei Lan.

The black mech tore through the sky, pounding heavily, boom—

With one blow, the temporary base set up by the Han family was shattered into two halves.

The entire base instantly descended into chaos.

The legion received the alarm and released several Super Star-level mechs stationed at the Han family’s base at the same time.

But Wei Lan’s speed was extremely fast.

He maneuvered among these heavy mechs, wherever he went, sparks of gravity burst forth from the mech’s arms.

Boom!

The exploding heavy fist pierced through the chest of the Super Star-level mech, causing the engine to explode.

In the blink of an eye, he had already swiftly moved in front of another mech and violently twisted its neck with tremendous force.

Crack, whoosh.

Immediately, two mechs erupted into sparks.

Han Siyi’s face was particularly ugly. At Han Patriarch’s call, she released her Super Star+ mech.

This mech was given to her by Zhou Xingyu.

She piloted the mech, intending to launch a sneak attack on Wei Lan from the side.

But before the cruise impact cannon could be fired, she saw the second gray-silver mech suddenly landing in front of her with a loud thud.

Han Siyi’s expression changed drastically.

After all, they had participated in a joint exam together, and she naturally recognized the person in front of her.

But now, facing Ji Fu again, all she felt was hatred in her heart.

Everything was fine before. After leaving the joint exam, she would marry Zhou Xingyu.

Now everything was ruined by Ji Fu.

Han Siyi immediately raised her hand and released a fierce barrage.

The red mech was instantly engulfed in flames, and countless cruise missiles shot toward Ji Fu’s Zhushi mech.

However, Ji Fu did not evade the surging attacks.

Instead, she tentatively used the water blade formed by the Zhushi’s shell, mixing in a bit of talent power.

When she used talent power-mixed weapons, the mark on her wrist seemed to light up a bit.

The coiled golden dragon seemed to be swimming in her blood.

Ji Fu raised her head.

Han Siyi was also one of the beneficiaries of the Piglet Plan, swallowing the talents of others to enhance herself.

She wielded the water blade.

Boom!!!

As the blade slashed out, intense light waves flashed like a giant light blade, cutting straight toward Han Siyi.

The light wave was almost instantaneous, leaving Han Siyi with no room to retreat.

Han Siyi reacted, unable to activate the mech’s rampage and top-level defense in time.

She was caught off guard by the earth-shattering light wave, which directly severed her mech’s right arm!

Crack—

With the right arm broken, Han Siyi’s face instantly turned pale.

“Puff!” She spat out a large amount of blood.

Intense pain assaulted her entire body, and for a moment, her vision darkened, thinking she was about to die in pain.

She hunched over, convulsing all over from the pain.

Before she could recover from this intense pain, she heard the mech’s urgent alarm.

[Warning! Warning! Talent decline!]

[Talent declined to: Star-level]

Han Siyi looked up in disbelief.

She was actually reduced from Super Star-level to Star-level by Ji Fu’s single strike?