Chapter 1673: Tug-of-War

Chapter 1673: Chapter 1673: Tug-of-War

Companion Stone?

That thing takes up too much space. To make room for more items in the Space Button, Ji You stored all the Companion Stones in her dormitory before heading to the Space Rift.

Alloy?

Mithril, Snow Juice, or...

Ji You is confident she can craft a low-level soul artifact from these, but has no confidence in making a Mid-level Soul Device. Mainly because these materials are too fragile, and the area for engraving the Array Diagram is too small. She has to construct the Array Diagram very robustly to use it on materials like Mithril.

So, what’s left?

Ji You frowned, the more she thought about it, the more she felt that at critical moments, she was someone who messed up. Otherwise, why couldn’t she steadily produce Mid-level Soul Devices?

A bit frustrated, Ji You decided to give it a try - selecting something randomly from the Space Button to test her luck.

"If you don’t try, how would you know it won’t work?"

Cough, cough...

The problem of failure flashed quickly in Ji You’s mind, but at this moment, her bit of pride was worth nothing. Everyone working together to solve the current problem was most important.

As for whether she’d be beaten up afterward for messing up, Ji You never thought she’d be beaten. At this moment, she was confident she could take on any one of them individually!

Anyone who dares, she’ll take them on!

Cough, cough...

Of course, Senior He Bi is an exception.

She can’t beat Senior He Bi, so she’d surrender in advance. It’s not embarrassing at all to surrender.

In the silence, Ji You extended her hand into the Space Button, tossing materials aside with full concentration...

While she was picking, He Bi started shaking the rope, ready to pull the medal floating in the starry sky back.

Bit by bit...

During the pulling process, He Bi felt heavy-hearted. Constant failures already proved this method wasn’t working.

If all efforts still failed to find the seam to enter this plane, then abandoning it was the only option.

Abandon...

How easy.

However, finding another plane would be even more difficult.

Discovering an unknown plane this time was sheer luck, and those little lobsters stumbled upon it themselves. Otherwise, how could He Bi have easily found an unknown plane?

Thinking of the word ’plane’, He Bi’s mood grew heavier. His primary mission in entering the Space Rift this time was to find a plane and discover a method to effectively resolve the current Star Beast crisis...

Before leaving, He Bi clearly remembered what Principal Hong said to him. He said, "Student He Bi, many before you have attempted this task. Military and political figures like Marshal He Chuan, Admiral Bai Ji, General Shen Chi... including me, plus your mentor Liang Chen, and your numerous seniors... they all attempted it. Some never touched the edge of an unknown plane, some were lucky to enter one, but others sacrificed and remained permanently within that Space Rift... We all had different encounters, yet all ended the same— none!"

"No solution to the Star Beast scourge was found."

He Bi vividly remembered Principal Hong’s expression of helplessness and regret while saying this...

Principal Hong continued, "I don’t have high hopes for this attempt, but how do you know it won’t work if you don’t try? So, you need to try hard to find it."

Here, Principal Hong paused, looked at He Bi, and said, "I hope for a positive result, but also wish for your safety, so make sure you seek while ensuring your and your teammates’ safety first."

He Bi remembered agreeing at the time.

However—

He Bi was born an adventurer! If he strapped a safety valve to each step, he wouldn’t have progressed so much! He would no longer be He Bi of today.

His strength was honed step by step, on the edge of death.

If he always relied on a safety valve, he’d no longer be He Bi, but a young man on some remote star, living a muddled, inconspicuous life... he might disappear forever during a Star Beast attack.

...

At this thought, He Bi’s throat felt slightly bitter.

He might risk himself, but he’d never let juniors and juniors risk their lives with him.

So—

Once the Soul Device was back, he’d have Ji You and the others fly the spaceship away, while he remained as bait.

He Bi steeled his heart:

If the Soul Device didn’t work, then surely the human body would.

...

With a change of mind, He Bi was resolute, thus his actions were quick and decisive. Raising his hand, he pulled strongly to retrieve the medal Soul Device, but!

Just as he applied force, He Bi felt something strange. Why... why couldn’t he pull the rope?

What’s going on?

He Bi looked closely, and his mouth dropped open in shock!

Just where the K-Q75 disappeared, the previously calm starry sky suddenly started churning for some reason, wave by wave...

In the blink of an eye, it formed a huge vortex, with the center being where the medal was, and the medal?

Wait?

Where did the medal go?

He Bi’s heart jolted, and he pulled hard, finding an equally strong force pulling from the opposite side, even stronger and more intense than his own!

He Bi’s face turned red instantly.

Beside him, Ji You, Chu Jiaojiao... everyone’s mouths formed an ’O’, quickly reacting. Ji You was the first to jump forward and grab the rope under Senior He Bi’s feet.

Chu Jiaojiao was a beat slower but quickly grabbed Ji You too.

Shen Changqing, Yue Qiyuan... even Liu Fufeng, who was slumped crookedly against a corner wall, looking like he was about to kick the bucket, leaped forward and grabbed the rope.

Then—

The opposing force became stronger.

The Protective Shield was opened with a seam to facilitate retrieving the medal, but now this seam became a ’blade’ hanging over everyone’s heads, for He Bi, who was at the forefront, was already being dragged outside the Protective Shield, his whole body suspended!

Ji You, slightly behind, was also being dragged to the side of the Protective Shield, about to be pulled out.

Everyone’s hearts were in their throats!

At this moment, everyone joined this sudden tug-of-war, and no one dared cut the rope, fearing if it snapped, both Senior He Bi and Ji You would fall into the center of the vortex...

Strangely, the creatures below the vortex, whatever their intention, didn’t cut the rope either...

The tug-of-war began.

But everyone knew the likely victors of this tug-of-war were certainly those creatures beneath the vortex because their numbers were unknown, while the spaceship only had a small crew.

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

Whoosh~

The entire starry sky was filled with the sound of whooshing.