Translator: Moonlit
Editor: Aiya-ge
The Star Pirates discovered the hidden role of NK-03 behind danger before they did.
Based on this recording and some known chemical elements of NK-03, the Empire’s researchers unexpectedly discussed a surprising result.
After taking NK-03, there are three possible outcomes: the first is not being able to withstand the toxicity of the drug and dying directly.
The second is falling into a state of apparent death, but upon awakening, succumbing to the effects of NK-03 and dying as well.
As for the third, it’s a blessing in disguise, surviving against the odds, and perhaps gaining unprecedented benefits.
“However, until now, there has never been a case of the third type,” Weiss sighed, “and for this, Chongye has taken many lives.”
“So they have a cooperative relationship with Jin Di, just to experiment with various races from different planets and determine which of their genes can better resist the strength of NK-03,” Li ZouXing said expressionlessly, “Am I correct?”
It’s rare for him to be like this; Gu WenCheng looked at him several times and felt that Li ZouXing was even more handsome at this moment.
Then one look followed by another, making Li ZouXing, who was originally tense, unable to feel nervous anymore.
Weiss nodded in silence.
The atmosphere in the meeting room became heavy. Everyone present, whether soldiers or military academy students, had devoted their lives to their responsibilities. Protecting Imperial citizens was their duty, but reality was cruel. The Empire was vast, and planets varied; they couldn’t possibly protect every individual on every planet.
“You mentioned that CD took Nan,” Gu WenCheng finally returned to reality from his boyfriend’s handsome face. He looked at the screen and the photos on it. “The brief recording we just heard already indicated that they found someone who could survive the apparent death. Have you found out what race they are?”
“No,” Wu Lan, responsible for tracking information, shook her head regretfully, “they have protected this information very well.”
Gu WenCheng didn’t say anything.
But Li ZouXing secretly added a side note to his inner thoughts: ‘Stupid Imperial people.’
It was quite obvious that Chongye stole Nan for experimental subjects, enhancing their physical strength, which increased their chances of survival after taking NK-03.
Gu WenCheng, the only person in the world who had benefited from taking NK-03, propped up his legs and covered his smile with his hand.
Did they think everyone had the right to take NK-03?
Fortunately, he had already obtained the two newly extracted bottles of Nan from the Empire.
“What’s even more interesting is,” Weiss sighed heavily, feeling a headache coming on, “after the Empire had this batch of Nan stolen, they developed another batch, and then…”
Ling Nian couldn’t resist being sarcastic, “You don’t mean to say that this batch was stolen too, do you?”
Awkward…
Seeing the three officers’ blatantly awkward expressions, the Dream Team collectively remained speechless. “…It’s okay, resilience in the face of setbacks is a quality of us Imperial people.”
Why did it feel even more embarrassing now? Weiss cleared his throat a few times and tried to explain forcefully, “The second theft was committed by Walter, and no one in the galaxy can stop them.”
It was his wife’s doing again.
Li ZouXing had to speak up for his wife, “Why do you assume it was Walter?”
“Because Walter left his personal mark,” Weiss said, itching with irritation at the mention of the star pirate, “he’s really too brazen!”
Alright, there was no use arguing.
He had thrown away the marks, doing things in a high-profile manner.
After sharing the information with them, Weiss considerately gave them some time to digest the news and then had someone escort them to their rooms.
Not long after returning to their room, Nana sent an urgent message to Gu WenCheng, “Quickly check the StarNet for the Strongest Team Competition; their forum is actually undermining the relationship between you guys!”
Undermining the relationship?
They frowned and logged onto the forum. The top-ranked title read: [Dream Team’s Internal Photos Leak: Teammates Maliciously Kissing – Unveil the Hidden Secrets of the Dream Team – Teammate Friendship Shattered]
When they opened it, the first large image that met their eyes was none other than Ling Nian making Li ZouXing and Gu WenCheng kiss.
“Cough,” Ling Nian blushed, clenched his fist to his lips, “Sorry.”
Ji Yu frowned, his fair face filled with anger, “This is too much!”
The virtual world competition clearly wasn’t being live-streamed, so where did these photos leak from internally? Were the organizers’ staff so disrespectful of others’ privacy?
There was no rule in the competition regulations that allowed the indiscriminate leaking of internal photos!
The chosen photo was from the scene where they sent the two little girls to school and bought candied haws on the way.
Because of Ling Nian’s sudden move, the two obviously couldn’t react in time. Lips were pressed together, and their cheeks puffed cutely, their eyes filled with confusion from beginning to end, exuding the question, “What’s going on? How did I end up kissing you?”
It looked super cute and pure, and even because of Ling Nian’s expressionless face and the ruthless way he pressed their heads together, it added a touch of absurdity.
The person who posted this was clearly just using clickbait tactics. No one would think of the phrase “Friendship Shattered” upon seeing this photo. It was probably because Ye An saw the title and nervously messaged them.
His own kissing photo with his boyfriend was now being viewed by others…
Gu WenCheng glanced at the view count, which had already reached 10.8 billion.
For the eight major star systems, this number was just a drop in the bucket, but for a single post, it was already scorching hot.
The original poster was likely an insider employee who had just wanted to share a funny photo in their opinion. No one knew why it had become so explosively popular.
[Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!]
[Ah ah ah ah ah ah ah ah!]
[I can’t speak anymore, what’s wrong with me, am I sick?!]
[The poster!!! Get out of here!!! How can one picture be enough!]
[What are they doing? Is this how you guys usually play around, guys?]
[This picture really inexplicably struck a chord with me, look at their gaze at each other, oh my… it’s like the wet and endearing eyes of a newborn animal, it’s so heartwarming]
[Both of them are so heartwarming, is it a bit too fickle?]
The original poster was called hundreds of times, and he was so scared by this level of popularity that, in an irrational moment, he actually posted more than a dozen additional pictures.
It’s important to note that this information couldn’t be made public. It served as a basis for assessing the auxiliary team’s abilities and as proof that they didn’t cheat.
The further Li ZouXing scrolled down, the darker his expression became.
He glanced at Gu WenCheng, and neither of their expressions looked good.
Of course, they wouldn’t be happy about their private photos being leaked. Take a look at the photos the person below had posted – various intimate shots, and each one had an astonishing number of downloads.
Li ZouXing closed StarNet and immediately contacted the organizers.
Two minutes later, the post had been deleted, and the employee who had posted internal data without authorization had been identified.
The organizers promised compensation and would take serious action regarding this matter, but the momentum that had already spread on the star network was beyond their control.
After receiving the response, they expressed their gratitude to Nana.
Nana’s mood was complicated. “…I looked at those photos.”
…She had even saved them all under the influence of some force.
“You guys…” she started to say but then sighed. “Never mind.”
After ending the communication, Xi Nan muttered, “The thoughts of little girls are really hard to figure out.”
Ji Yu nodded in agreement.
However, what Nana wanted to ask was ultimately about the relationship between Li ZouXing and Gu WenCheng. Girls were naturally more sensitive, and if she hadn’t seen it with her own eyes, she would never have thought that Li ZouXing and Gu WenCheng would actually be together.
The military ship was fast, and as they approached Tona Star, Weiss conducted a mental power test with them.
This was their first mental power test after taking the energy crystals, and the whole team was eager to try it. The results were astonishing; for example, Si Wo Lin, whose psychic power was already high, had it increased to over 6000.
More than double what it used to be – that’s the fascinating aspect of the energy crystals.
And in the following tests, Ling Nian, Xi Nan, and Ji Yu, the three of them, all had mental powers of at least 5000 or more.
This data startled Weiss. “Did Chengyang Military Academy raise its standards now?!”
“No,” Xi Nan grinned. “We’re just exceptions.”
After all, the energy crystals they took were diluted. They were proud of their results, as anyone who took energy crystals could experience rapid growth. They had only doubled their abilities.
But when this Colonel’s aide saw Li ZouXing’s mental power value, he would probably be too shocked to speak.
And there was Gu WenCheng; they had no concrete idea of his true strength from start to finish, but they had an inkling that Gu WenCheng’s true strength must be even higher than what he showed.
Perhaps no one on the entire ship could surpass him.
Weiss managed to maintain a calm appearance, preventing himself from looking embarrassed. “So, what about you, Li ZouXing?”
What did 5000 mean? What about 6000?
Did these kids not yet fully utilize their mental powers? Or were they still inefficient in using their mental powers?
They were certainly powerful when they killed the SwordShell Beasts, but not to this extreme! Even Colonel Raymond, who had fought countless battles, only had a mental power level of around 6000!
How did Chengyang Military Academy teach them?
Weiss felt both regret for wasting such talent and excitement at discovering these gems.
It was alright. They could teach them how to enhance the power of mental attacks. Once they learned that, they would truly become their people.
With this thought in mind, the gazes fixed on the Dream Team became even more intense.
One more with a psychic power level of 6000!
He could already imagine the expressions when he submitted this data to the Colonel and the Prince; they would be utterly incredulous.
Prince Nico was indeed fortunate to be able to recruit so many exceptionally talented individuals as soon as he began building his army.
Under the watchful eyes, Li ZouXing calmly placed his hand on the testing machine. This intermediate-level device had a maximum reading of 8000. As the numbers on the screen began to change, both the Dream Team and the military officers who had come to watch the test stared intently, not missing a single fluctuation.
But the values on the screen shot up to the maximum and emitted a piercing alarm sound.
The data was insufficient; the test couldn’t yield a result.
The officers present fell into silence.
It took Weiss a while to regain his composure. His voice trembling, he ordered his subordinate, “Bring another testing machine.”
The subordinate hurriedly left, his footsteps in disarray.
In the entire Empire, there were only two individuals who would use an advanced testing machine.
Even among the space pirates, it was exceptionally rare. The only one they knew of was Walter.
And now, the Empire was about to witness a third individual.
No wonder, no wonder Walter regarded him as a future rival, while these fools were still questioning whether Walter was just trying to divert their attention.
When they thought Li ZouXing was just an ordinary person, Walter had already seen his tremendous potential.
What a waste of time, questioning Walter’s motives and making Li ZouXing a bait!
Such talent should be protected and used to deter those with ulterior motives!
Oh dear, Weiss’s mind went blank. He didn’t even know what he was thinking. It was only after Li ZouXing and the others looked at him that he barely regained his composure, pretending to be mysterious. “Your mental power readings are so high. How come when you use them, they don’t have that kind of intensity?”
“Lack of real combat experience,” Li ZouXing summed up honestly. “We don’t know how to use mental power to maximize its destructive potential.”
“We’ve only been able to condense weapons and harm people,” Si Wo Lin said with embarrassment, bowing his head.
Xi Nan clenched his fist, showing it to him with a fiery burst of mental power. “I only know how to use my fists.”
Ling Nian and Ji Yu didn’t say anything.
What a waste!
Weiss closed his eyes in agony. “Stop talking.”
It was our fault for not testing your mental power earlier.
However, if they had tested earlier, this group of people might not have fallen into Colonel Raymond’s hands, and they might not even have ended up under Prince Nico’s command.
Indeed, kind-hearted people will receive good karma.
Weiss, known as the “smiling tiger,” felt a pang in his heart.
Author’s Note:
I didn’t expect you to miss me so much, sob sob. Don’t worry, I have a lot of drafts, and there will be plenty of side stories. I’ll take my time writing them. ZouXing and WenCheng will celebrate the New Year with you.
I haven’t written enough sweet interactions, and I haven’t even reached the part where they fall off the horse!
Blame me, the author, for not being able to express myself clearly. Forgive me! I forgot to mention that I still have drafts to share. QAQ
P.S. Due to being busy before the New Year and unable to write, I can only update daily with the drafts I have! Love you all! Heart heart.
