Chapter 271 - 270

Like a scavenger, Jian Yu waited for them to beat the Soul Ghost Bodies to near-death before swooping in to devour them and upgrade.

The soul domain value on her wristband was increasing rapidly.

But no one answered the question she asked.

Jian Yu: "What’s wrong?"

Sheng Yue pressed his lips together, remaining silent.

He couldn’t give her a precise time.

Honestly, he wasn’t even sure they could make it back to the Imperial Capital Star today.

Ling Yanzhi’s voice was languid. "Just fight for now. It’s not like we can escape. We’ll figure something out if we can’t win."

He sounded as flamboyant and fearless as ever, but if you listened closely, you could hear the grim and somber undertones in his voice.

Gu Qi silently hugged himself. "It’s fine. If I get to die with you guys, maybe the Alliance will even declare me a martyr posthumously."

Ling Yanzhi laughed. "What a jinx."

Jian Yu agreed, "Mm-hm."

Xi Yu nodded. "Baby, mm-hm, mm-hm!"

Gu Qi: "..."

’Shoving their PDA in my face without my consent... who’s the real jinx here?!’

Sheng Yue’s eyes flickered, and he said in a flat tone, "According to Alliance regulations, to be a martyr, you must at least..."

"Okay, okay, okay!" Gu Qi quickly cut him off. "Don’t say it. I know I don’t qualify."

He sighed and covered his face. "Admiral Yan has saved a lot of people in the past. I thought he was one of the good guys. I never expected him to be so power-hungry, clinging to his authority at his age."

’If I’d known, I never would have come to Emperor Wolf Star.’

’I’ve been completely had.’

Jian Yu deeply agreed.

No matter what Yan Tianba’s original intentions were, the way things had developed was proof enough that he was no longer as pure as he once was.

Ling Yanzhi said unhurriedly, "We’ll stall them. You focus on upgrading."

"Okay." While devouring, Jian Yu looked down. Another ten or so fighters were in pursuit, Yan Tianba among them.

Even through the cockpit window, she could see his crazed expression.

For some reason, Yan Tianba’s savage appearance was more suffocating and terrifying than the blood-red pupils of the Soul Ghost Bodies next to him.

Jian Yu was aware of her own lethality, but she also understood how ridiculously fast she would deplete her energy if she used it in large amounts.

So, she was waiting. Waiting for an opportunity to wipe out the entire enemy force.

If that wasn’t possible, she at least had to tie them down.

"Baby, hold on tight. They’re getting a little tenacious." Xi Yu’s attack speed had clearly dropped.

But the Soul Ghost Bodies swarming them were still continuously splitting and resurrecting.

Gu Qi fought the urge to scream, his legs trembling. "The whole ’Baby’ thing... can’t you save that for private?"

No one paid him any attention.

As beings akin to Spiritual Bodies, Soul Ghost Bodies generally couldn’t harm physical objects like Mecha; they could only attack the person piloting it.

To prevent any accidents while piloting the Mecha, Xi Yu had no choice but to disconnect his link and enable autopilot.

But autopilot used the Mecha’s energy, and it was far slower than piloting it with his own spiritual power.

Yan Tianba wasn’t about to let them leave, either.

The fighters fired into the air around them, cutting off any opportunity to flee.

Sheng Yue had intercepted most of his reinforcements. The ones that got through were all possessed by Soul Ghost Bodies, and they were now using their damaged fighters to block the way.

Sheng Yue had fought them before. He couldn’t win, which was why he had decided they needed to run.

Everything he wanted to say was already laid out before them. The only thing he needed to add was...

Sheng Yue marked a location. "We can’t let the Soul Ghost Bodies lead us here. I suspect it’s their energy supply station."

Ling Yanzhi glanced at the small red dot on the shared map and fired a long-range shot at it.

As if he’d found a new toy, Xi Yu followed up with a shot of his own.

Sheng Yue: "..."

The surrounding Soul Ghost Bodies became even more frantic.

They no longer dared to lead them in that direction.

They charged forward with reckless abandon, unleashing Spiritual Attacks as if they were free.

Xi Yu found this amusing and fired a few more shots over.

There was no reaction.

Sheng Yue waited a few seconds, then said coldly, "Deal with what’s in front of us first."

Xi Yu replied in all seriousness, "Mm."

Gu Qi, ever the mix of cowardly and vigilant, spotted an interesting scene. "Whoa, that Soul Ghost Body just burned itself out completely!"

He whispered, "Did you hit their mothership or something? To think it would burn itself out for revenge!"

The atmosphere turned strangely quiet.

Gu Qi’s eyelid twitched. "Why did you all suddenly go quiet?"

’If you think I’m being annoying, I can just shut up.’

’Just say something, I’m getting scared here!’

Sheng Yue gave him a complicated look.

Gu Qi thought he’d said something wrong and quickly covered his mouth.

Ling Yanzhi’s breathing hitched slightly. "You can see the Soul Ghost Bodies?"

Jian Yu’s ears perked up.

She was curious too.

As far as she knew, only Awakeners could see them. And without being injured, there was also a rank barrier.

These Soul Ghost Bodies outside were generally B Rank or higher.

And Gu Qi was a Low-level Half-awakened, only F Rank.

Gu Qi tried to laugh it off. "Can’t I see them? Heh heh, look at this whole mess, sigh! This... heh heh heh..."

The fighting was difficult, so no one pressed him on the topic.

Sheng Yue summoned Yin Jiu. "Keep a close eye on him."

Yin Jiu lay down, its eyes narrowed.

Gu Qi realized he was under suspicion and had even been designated a person of interest.

He wanted to explain, but he didn’t know how, so he simply stopped talking altogether.

Jian Yu rubbed the restlessly pulsing red thread on her wrist, her face tense.

She could feel Xi Yu and the others’ weakness, and she could clearly see the extent of their Soul Power depletion.

’She felt an urgent, unconcealed desire to do something.’

’They knew full well that her health was poor and her lifespan was short. They knew that in the future, not only would she need expensive medicine to maintain her health, but she would also be a bottomless money pit... and yet, they could still show her such tenderness and affection.’

’Does it even matter if they have a change of heart in the future?’

’It matters, but not that much.’

’She could be cold and aloof. She could walk away at any moment.’

’But she no longer wanted to be paranoid and indecisive, to worry about this and fret over that, to view their devotion with a critical eye.’

’It would make her seem unable to distinguish good intentions from bad.’

Jian Yu quietly searched for an opening, the frequency of her blinks slowing.

The Soul Control’s soul domain value kept jumping: 197-217-257-299.

’Too slow.’

Jian Yu bypassed the low-level Soul Ghost Bodies—the small fry—and only devoured the High-level ones.

Yan Tianba’s voice, as loud as a megaphone, blared in her ears.

Yan Tianba looked like he was full of pent-up anger and long-held resentment.

He was deeply dissatisfied with the Alliance for dividing power among Xi Yu and the others.

Seeing that Ling Yanzhi and his group were losing, Yan Tianba, his face bruised and swollen, began to air his grievances nonstop:

"Back in the day, I single-handedly fought off a horde of Soul Ghost Bodies! I held out for Alliance reinforcements and defended the Imperial Capital Star’s position to the death."

"Back when Soul Ghost Bodies were invading the Imperial City and tides of Mutant Beasts were rampant, I was out there risking my life and limb! And you? You were just little brats at home playing with your diapers!"

"And this is how the Alliance treats me? They handed the Imperial Capital Star to Xi Mu, and when Xi Mu stepped down, they gave it to Si Ji! What did I get? A quarter of the resources and two army corps, and nothing else!"

"And don’t tell me I was given Emperor Wolf Star! Emperor Wolf Star was mine to begin with! I saved the people of Emperor Wolf Star, and they only recognize me! The Alliance couldn’t handle it—it’s you and the Alliance who are incompetent!"