Ning Kongran, Yun Huai, and the others had already descended from the spaceship. Qiao Zhiya was overjoyed to see his good friend and hurried over, calling out, “Kongran!”
Ning Kongran was equally excited. Always reserved and courteous, he couldn’t help but take a step forward, embracing Qiao Zhiya tightly. His tense body and nerves finally relaxed, almost hanging onto Qiao Zhiya.
Qiao Zhiya was momentarily stunned by the embrace. Then, she patted his back gently, comforting him softly, “It’s alright now, you’re safe.”
Qiao Yi and Mi Lai, who had stepped forward behind him, paused in their steps simultaneously. They glanced at each other, then looked towards Ning Kongran with a hint of scrutiny and curiosity in their eyes.
“Thank you,” Ning Kongran suppressed his excitement slightly and released his hold on Qiao Zhiya to observe her unchanged appearance. A smile unconsciously appeared on his face. Just as he was about to say something else, he sensed the gaze from the side, and the smile faded slightly as he turned his head, then froze.
‘Pointed ears, golden hair, and emerald green eyes. This man…’ A thought sparked in his mind, and he shifted his gaze to Mi Lai beside him. Meeting her gaze, which was almost identical to Qiao Zhiya’s arc, he tightened his grip on Qiao Zhiya’s shoulder and slowly released it.
‘These two…’
Qiao Zhiya noticed him staring fixedly at her parents, glanced back and forth between them, and smiled as she introduced, “Kongran, these are my mom and dad. Mom, Dad, this is my good friend, Ning Kongran. He took good care of me back in school.”
‘They are actually his parents?’
Ning Kongran was stunned again, his gaze scanning Qiao Yi and Mi Lai’s faces, focusing briefly on Mi Lai’s height, before politely averting his assessing gaze. He smiled at the two and greeted, “Uncle, Auntie, nice to meet you. I was rude just now, I apologize.”
He’s a gentle and well-mannered young man.
Qiao Yi and Mi Lai withdrew their probing gazes and courteously returned the greeting.
Chu Rong saw this scene unfolding at the D-section airlock on the monitor, his face darkening slightly. As soon as Qiao Zhiya returned with the others, he stepped forward to take Qiao Zhiya’s hand, keeping him by his side. He greeted Ning Kongran and the others briefly, knowing there was no time for further conversation, then turned back with Qiao Zhiya to the command seat.
There were too many Zergs. As soon as one batch was destroyed, more swarmed in, making it almost impossible for the three flagships to move an inch. There was no time now for reminiscence.
“These creatures are hindering our approach,” Fan Xiangnan spoke up, frowning at the dense black mass on the screen. He turned to ask, “Commander, the Zergs have blocked off the flagship and this entire area. The scanners can’t detect the trajectory of the asteroids ahead. Should we stop advancing?”
Chu Rong also looked at the densely packed Zerg shadows on the screen, lost in thought for a moment before saying, “No need. Continue forward. I’ll navigate.” With that, he patted Qiao Zhiya’s head, signaling him to step back, then spread out his mental power.
The room quickly filled with a sharp spiritual force. Ning Kongran and Yun Huai sensed it and first froze, then their faces showed astonishment — this intensity of spiritual power, just a few months since they last saw him, and Chu Rong had grown stronger again?
Fan Xiangnan, who had witnessed Chu Rong’s powerful mental freezing technique before, immediately understood what he intended to do. He quickly instructed the other two ships to cease fire, line up behind Chu’s family’s ship, and as soon as all the Zergs within scanning range froze in place, they fired a volley. They then headed towards the gap that appeared ahead.
The flagship fleet proceeded forward amidst the “dark clouds.” The surrounding Zergs attempted to charge in but were blocked by the internal “frozen” Zergs, unable to advance further. The situation quickly stabilized.
Inside the command room, only the voices of Fan Xiangnan adjusting cannons and Chu Rong directing the course remained. Ning Kongran’s gaze swept over the faces of the people in the room, then settled on Chu Rong standing at the front. A thought crossed his mind—Chu Rong suddenly appearing in the asteroid belt, advancing deep with a clear goal, coupled with the sudden appearance of the Zergs — could it be they had already located the hiding place of the mastermind behind the scenes and were now in battle with them?
Yun Huai seemed to have the same thought. He couldn’t help but lean closer to Ning Kongran, lowering his voice, “Kongran, it seems like we’ve been working in vain.”
They had thought the news of the mastermind being in the asteroid belt was crucial and should be reported to the Federal Military immediately. But now it seemed Chu Rong and his team already knew, and were far ahead of them.
It was a disheartening realization, yet it also brought a sense of reassurance. The military and Chu Rong were more powerful than they had imagined, which was good news for the entire Blue Star System.
Ning Kongran shook his head without speaking, his gaze shifting from the worried Qiao Zhiya looking at Chu Rong to the scanning screen.
The extensive deployment of spiritual power consumed a lot of energy. After reaching the new teleportation target, Chu Rong furrowed his brow and withdrew his power, signaling the flagship to stop. He supported his forehead with his hand, indicating fatigue. It was time to rest; otherwise, there was a risk of overexertion of his spiritual power.
A small hand holding a potion vial stretched out, accompanied by a familiar healing energy.
Chu Rong paused, furrowing his brow as he grasped the hand in front of him and glanced sideways, meeting Qiao Zhiya’s gaze. Disapprovingly, he said, “You haven’t gone to bed yet?”
“I’m already awake,” Qiao Zhiya explained softly, indicating the time and added with concern, “You’ve been holding on all night. It’s incredible. With an equivalent level of magic, it would have been impossible to sustain this long.”
Only then did Chu Rong realize that the people in the command room had all been replaced. Qiao Yi and the others were nowhere to be seen. Currently, Lin Zhen was controlling the direction of the flagship, and Fan Xiangnan was also absent.
“My parents are still resting, and Fan-dage just came off duty not long ago.”
Qiao Zhiya explained where everyone had gone, then gently moved the hand held by Chu Rong, indicating him to drink the potion.
Chu Rong relaxed his furrowed brow, drank the potion from his hand, took a step back, leaned against the console, stretched out his arm, pulled him into his arms, closed his eyes, and rested his head on his shoulder. Feeling his breath and body warmth, he whispered, “Qiao, I’m a bit tired.”
Qiao Zhiya hugged him back tenderly, gently stroking his back, and said softly, “Rest for a while. We’ve reached the new coordinates, and the flagship doesn’t need to advance temporarily. There are fewer Zergs around us now, so we can hold them off with artillery for a while.”
Chu Rong didn’t say anything, quietly holding him for a moment before getting up to check the situation outside. Once he confirmed it was relatively safe, he followed Qiao Zhiya back to rest in their room.
Lin Zhen watched them leave with some emotion.
‘Perhaps even the commander himself hadn’t realized how much his attitude towards Qiao Zhiya had changed. Previously, he liked to bear everything himself and endure silently, but now he was slowly trying to express his emotions outwardly.’
‘If this had happened earlier, the commander would never have admitted to others that he was tired. He would have continued to persevere alone, striving to be everyone’s pillar.’
‘It’s good, now that he’s tired, he can admit it and rely on someone. The commander seemed warmer than before.’
Lin Zhen chuckled to himself, then resumed his serious expression, instructing, “Find the asteroid coordinates, maintain firepower output, and don’t slack off until the commander returns fully rested.”
The command room personnel who had just taken over nodded quickly and showed full alertness.
After Chu Rong fell asleep, Qiao Zhiya immediately rushed back to the command room. After his parents woke up, they joined him at the airlock to help the soldiers drag the asteroids and resist Zerg attacks, preventing them from rushing in when the airlock opened.
Qiuqiu made another appearance, this time with its two children. Everyone cooperated tacitly, successfully resisting the frantic attacks of the Zergs and dragging the asteroids up.
Chu Rong woke up around noon. By then, they had organized the teleportation field diagrams inside the asteroid and deciphered the coordinates to the next target location.
After a quick lunch, he continued his work with the coordinates Qiao Zhiya provided.
This life of deepening the search for asteroids continued for a whole week. During this period, the Zergs remained as persistent as ever, although their numbers were significantly reduced. Chu Rong squeezed his body to its limit, with minimal rest each day, causing Qiao Zhiya considerable worry.
“We must slow down the advance. Commander, you need to rest properly.” Zhuang Yu, observing for a week, finally couldn’t help but voice her “unpleasant advice,” solemnly warning, “This isn’t just staying up late – it’s frequent exhaustion of power, which is extremely damaging to the body. If you continue like this, you might collapse before we even find the monsters’ lair.”
Chu Rong furrowed his brow, about to decline, but his gaze swept to Qiao Zhiya beside him, who looked worried but refrained from pressing him further. His heart trembled, swallowing his refusal, he instead said, “For now, let’s slow down the speed and let the soldiers rest properly.”
Qiao Zhiya’s eyes brightened at his words, the worry on his face easing slightly. He quickly unpacked a vial of potion and handed it over.
Zhuang Yu, who had been prepared for a stormy response, froze. She couldn’t help but check her ears — had she heard correctly? The commander had actually accepted her suggestion to rest obediently. Was she dreaming?
Fan Xiangnan and Lin Zhen exchanged looks, sharing a knowing smile.
The flagship began to slow down for rest, and upon hearing that Chu Rong finally had some free time, Yun Huai and Ning Kongran hurried over.
After a week of recuperation and communication, they had learned from Fan Xiangnan and others about the events that had occurred in the Federation during their investigation abroad for the past few months, and just how much crucial information they had missed.
They were now grateful that they had encountered Chu Rong in the asteroid belt, not missing the most crucial step in defeating the mastermind.
