Chapter 414 - 377: Reinforcements and a Helper

Chapter 414: Chapter 377: Reinforcements and a Helper

"So this is... the helper you mentioned, Teacher?"

At Konia Manor, Yelena was momentarily stunned when she saw the tall, radiant Shi Jingyi standing before her.

She really hadn’t expected Guan Tong to bring Shi Jingyi.

Shangyuan Zi, on the other hand, had her suspicions. She knew Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi were on good terms, and given the latter’s immense strength, it wasn’t surprising she’d be asked to help.

But...

Now, with Shi Jingyi standing right in front of her, an inexplicable sense of danger welled up from deep within, making her want to flee.

She knew this feeling wasn’t because Shi Jingyi was showing any hostility, but rather the natural reaction of her own special bloodline ability upon sensing a powerful enemy.

It was like how some beasts with keen senses would instinctively feel fear when encountering other ferocious predators, sometimes freezing up completely, unable to move.

She had felt this same intense sense of danger when she first met Guan Tong on the island, and again when Mizusawa Chun used his "Ten Thousand Serpents Realm." Now, it was happening again.

Although she wasn’t frozen to the spot, she could clearly feel the incredibly oppressive aura Shi Jingyi was unconsciously emitting.

The closer she got, the more distinct this aura became, and it wasn’t something Shi Jingyi’s smile could dispel.

Guan Tong also had some sense of the "aura" around Shi Jingyi, but it wasn’t nearly as pronounced as it was for Shangyuan Zi, who possessed the Great Serpent bloodline.

He guessed this might be one of the changes that came with breaking the one-thousand-point Psychic Power threshold.

Shi Jingyi had previously described it as a "complete metamorphosis," and seeing her now, he could tell it was true. Although her appearance hadn’t changed much—apart from her skin being much smoother—that indescribable quality about her was unmistakable.

Shi Jingyi smiled and said, "You must be Yelena. I’ve heard Guan Tong mention you before. He said you were the most outstanding student he had during his time as a substitute teacher."

Her smile was warm and her voice was kind, putting people at ease. It felt as though no matter how much irritation one felt, it would immediately be soothed.

"Lecturer Jingyi... hello."

Yelena had seen Shi Jingyi many times in online classes and had even gone to the academy at North Star because of her... But now, seeing her in person, she finally understood why Shi Jingyi was so popular at the academy.

Simply by standing there, her dashing and heroic demeanor, combined with a casual and natural air, couldn’t help but draw people in. Anyone who met her, even once, would know she was one of the rarest types of people in the world today—someone with an incredibly stable spiritual core.

In today’s extremely unstable world, it was hard to imagine the immense sense of security that a person with a stable spiritual core and steady emotions could bring to those around them.

Even if such a person wasn’t strong themselves, other powerful individuals would be drawn to them, even voluntarily offering protection.

What’s more, Shi Jingyi was a top-tier powerhouse in her own right. That, combined with her calm and composed presence, truly made Yelena feel that being her student or friend must be a wonderful thing.

"Guan Tong has told me the specifics. I’ll help," Shi Jingyi said readily.

"Thank you so much!" Influenced by Shi Jingyi’s charisma, Yelena grew a little emotional. "With powerhouses like you helping, we can definitely crush the enemy’s plot this time and free the people of this country from the control of those bastards!"

Afterward, Shi Jingyi received the [Bystander Transformation Device] from Yelena, and they discussed the specific operational plan.

There wasn’t much to it, really. All they had to do was wait.

They held the data device, so they were in no hurry. The ones who were truly anxious were Valery and his people.

So, they just had to wait at the manor, conserving their strength for the opportune moment. When Valery made his move, they would seize the chance to crush him completely.

"I’ve already commissioned a professional to remotely crack the data encryption on the device," Guan Tong said. "They’re a world-class hacker, so we should have results soon."

The person he had contacted was none other than "Mask," the hacker he had worked with several times before.

Last time, when he needed help finding data on Shangyuan Zi’s parents, he had commissioned Mask, who handled the job very well. Since then, whenever Guan Tong needed any electronic data cracked, he naturally prioritized the hacker with whom he had a successful history.

Yelena nodded. "Okay. In that case, tonight I’ll draw up a plan for handling the aftermath, so we aren’t overwhelmed and unsure of what to do when the time comes."

...

In the backyard garden, Guan Tong and Shi Jingyi took a slow walk.

Guan Tong: "I originally didn’t want to make you come all the way from North Star, but to be on the safe side, I really needed your help."

"Hm? Since when are you so formal with me?"

"...Forget I said anything. Anyway, can you establish a Mind Network with other people now?"

"I don’t think so, but we can try."

Shi Jingyi held out her hand to Guan Tong, and he naturally took it in his.

A wave of warmth spread through him, and he could feel Shi Jingyi’s Psychic Power swirling in his palm. It seemed to be searching for a special connection on a matching frequency, but his own Psychic Power couldn’t resonate with it.

"It’s not working." Guan Tong shook his head. "It seems that to establish a Mind Network with each other, both parties need to have a Psychic Power limit that has broken the one-thousand mark... But if that’s the case, how are we supposed to identify Parasites?"

He had originally thought the principle behind using the Mind Network to identify Parasites was like a "group chat invitation." Only human Ascenders could join the group, while Parasites couldn’t.

But now it seemed that if only those who had broken the one-thousand-point Psychic Power limit could "join the group," then the requirement was so high that very few humans would be able to meet it for a long, long time.