Awakening and a Request

In the cramped, dim space, heavy breathing echoed faintly. A petite figure lay curled up, her face deathly pale. Through the gap near the top of the wall, she knew it was already night.

The eighteenth night she had spent hiding here.

Her beautiful crimson eyes were dull and lifeless, filled with exhaustion and disorientation.

My spirit energy is collapsing. I can hold on for another two days. Am I finally reaching my limit...

She shifted slightly, and a tearing pain made Xi Guang's delicate brows furrow. She drew a deep breath and forced herself to stand, then went to the gap in the wall to feel the stale air outside.

Why had that oppressive, irritating buzzing disappeared today?

Xi Guang froze for a moment. Hearing the intermittent sound of helicopter rotors outside, she knew the Sin City Council had not withdrawn its forces. They would never retreat without seeing her corpse.

Supporting herself against the wall, she tried to mobilize her source energy to suppress her increasingly painful wounds. Yet the source energy that had once been as deep as an abyss no longer responded. It had completely dried up.

Only the last trace of weak spirit energy remained, ensuring that the detection terminals would not find her.

She had gone more than ten days without food or energy supplements, relying entirely on her source energy to hold on. Now even her spirit energy was about to run dry. Barring any surprises, these two days would be her time of death.

Extreme weakness and hunger originating from her cells made her slowly sit down against the wall.

So I'm going to die here...

She stared at the ceiling as a trace of daze and bewilderment gradually rose across her delicate face.

If not for that suddenly appearing pirate fleet, she should have been about to take the Silver Elf coming-of-age examination by now...

Her vision gradually blurred, and she seemed to hear her teacher's voice from spirit energy class echoing beside her ears.

Will and consciousness are the source of spirit energy. When consciousness collapses and will wavers, no matter how abundant one's mental power or how vast one's spirit energy, its effects will be greatly reduced. In more serious cases, all spirit energy will be lost...

"Qian Ling, Uncle Li... Sigh, perhaps this is for the best. I was never... a heroic person."

Her consciousness grew increasingly hazy. In her daze, she seemed to see the garden in her homeland. Colorful flowers stretched for a hundred miles, rivers murmured, lush forests spread in patches, and mountain ranges thousands of meters high crossed the far horizon. Gentle, radiant sunlight spilled across the earth.

That sunlight drew closer and closer, yet its warmth and brightness did not diminish. There seemed to be something chaotic within it, as though it were a mosaic.

Huh? What is this...

"Light?"

Warmth enveloped her entire body. Just before her consciousness sank completely, she seemed to hear someone say something.

"Light? What light? I lent it to that deadbeat named Diga when he was little, and he still hasn't paid me back."

Jiang Xiao looked at the petite girl in his arms as Origin Data rapidly spread layer upon layer across the surroundings. At the same time, he took out a nutrient and slipped it between the girl's pale lips.

He glanced around the cramped space. His gaze paused for an instant on the small pool of blood long since congealed in the corner before returning to the girl in his arms, who had instinctively curled up.

A little girl?

No, where was the valiant heroine with the imposing, fierce aura he remembered?

Why did she look like a little girl under one meter sixty tall—and a white-haired, red-eyed one at that?

Was this supposed to test a cadre?!

"If my life were a novel, it must have been written by a Kyushu author..." Jiang Xiao muttered as he carefully adjusted his posture, using a princess carry to make Xi Guang sleep more comfortably.

He casually tossed out a scan.

Xi Guang Arsophie (Cosmic High Pan-Human · 100% Silver Elf)

Level: Tier 2 Elite

Talent Value (Dual Talent): 6.34 (Damaged Foundation)

Source Energy Intensity: 54 (76)

Spirit Energy Intensity: 52 (87)

Prompt: At one hundred and thirty-two years old, she is still a minor among the Silver Elves (the average age for the coming-of-age mentality assessment is one hundred and sixty). Please play responsibly...

A high-level Pan-Human. Good heavens, even with a damaged foundation, she had a talent value of 6.34?

At her peak, she was probably destined to be invincible among Tier 2s.

After Jiang Xiao finished reading, the admiring expression on his face stiffened.

No, seriously, Endless System, what do you mean by this?!

Look me in the eyes and say that again!

Did I have any impure thoughts? Why are you giving me a warning? If I really were that kind of person, I could have spent a little money on the Doran to clone a mindless organism in any appearance I wanted!

No, no, no. The Doran's captain would beat me senseless for that.

Jiang Xiao's eyes widened. From the Endless System's rare prompt, he sensed deep malice.

But he quickly tossed those thoughts aside and watched Xi Guang, whose little ears trembled slightly while her eyes remained tightly shut. Confusion filled his heart.

What was the Spark Gang thinking, placing the burden of the entire Prison Star Pan-Human population's survival on Xi Guang?

Li Yuan and Qian Ling did not look like that kind of people. Could they simply not know that, to a Silver Elf, someone over a hundred years old was still a minor?

That was quite possible. As for whether Qian Ling and Xi Guang belonged to the same race, they certainly knew that, right?

But they had to remember that Qian Ling possessed only five percent Silver Elf genes.

Jiang Xiao guessed that Xi Guang had granted Qian Ling her power, and Qian Ling had changed her name out of gratitude or something similar. An upper-ranking race granting power to a lower-ranking member of the same race, with the lower-ranking member swearing allegiance in return, was not uncommon.

There were records of this on the Doran as well.

"I hope the Spark Gang didn't deliberately prop Xi Guang up and make her take on this responsibility." Jiang Xiao pondered.

Otherwise, he would have to wonder whether this uprising was truly for their fellow Pan-Humans.

This had nothing to do with how many years one had lived. The Doran's Database contained records stating that Pan-Human Civilization did not calculate adulthood based on age or physical development.

Instead, it was calculated using mentality, multiple physiological factors, culture, and the average age of the race.

In other words, Xi Guang's mental and cultural age should be equivalent to that of an ordinary human aged fifteen or sixteen!

There was also one important question: Why had she been sent to Prison Star?

Only a small number of elites from high-level Cosmic races and established Intermediate Civilizations possessed such a life rank. They generally enjoyed a certain degree of legal immunity throughout the galaxy.

At the very least, the laws under which someone would be sentenced to a Frontier Prison Star should be entirely exempted in their case. Even if they were to be sentenced, the matter should be handled internally by their own race, not judged by the Interstellar Alliance.

To put it bluntly, the Interstellar Alliance was a United Nations with greater authority and an armed department. It had no qualifications to directly judge elites from Mid-to-High Level Civilizations.

"Forget it. Let's head back first."

Jiang Xiao slowly released source energy to soothe Xi Guang's injuries. His balanced source energy possessed a certain suppressive effect on wounds.

Seeing that Xi Guang's wounds had stopped bleeding, Jiang Xiao stepped out of the cramped space and warily glanced at the sky. When he saw that the drone swarm had yet to return, he immediately sped toward the Yuanjin Black Market.

With a Pan-Human girl in his arms, he did not want to provoke any conflict with alien races.

Leaving Kasar Street Block was simple. Jiang Xiao passed through layer after layer of security like a ghost, and within five minutes, he saw the outer isolation zone.

He crossed the area covered with alarm devices without incident, and his heart relaxed slightly.

Yet not long after he entered the alley across the street, the Sin City Council forces in Building 8 outside began withdrawing, returning to Kasar Street Block in groups.

"Damn it! How did he get away again?"

In the underground space, the newly dispatched Viper Clan hall master smashed the wall with a punch and said furiously, "If we can't catch him, are we supposed to hide here like rats?"

"We can only request reinforcements. I didn't expect the Spark Gang to find such an expert. Fortunately, he's only a sniper. His close-combat strength definitely isn't strong."

The Blade Armor Gang's hall master spoke in a deep voice, then looked toward the Sin City Council's Tier 2 Elite. "Give us another three thousand sets of equipment and supplies. We'll arrange for the gang's elites to establish a base in the high-rise building across the street."

The council's Tier 2 Elite frowned slightly and stared intently into the other man's eyes.

After a moment, he nodded slightly and left the room.

"I'm telling you, don't squeeze them too hard. Be careful you end up on that octopus-head's blacklist." The Dragon Fang Gang elite chuckled.

The Viper Gang elite sneered. "Hmph. To the Sin City Council, these supplies are nothing more than a drop in the bucket. So what if we squeeze them a little?"

Around the corner outside the underground space, the Sin City Council's Tier 2 Elite warrior calmly reported the situation.

"Yes, Councilor. That's the exact sequence of events. The three gangs are demanding another five thousand sets of equipment. They'll continue sending more gang members to provide support.

Yes, I understand. Please rest assured, Councilor.

I've been watching the whole time. Xi Guang will never escape Kasar Street Block. Otherwise, I'll bring you my head!"

Awakening and a Request

In the Mechanical Workshop, the dim lights flickered faintly as Jiang Xiao carefully laid Xi Guang down on the recliner beside the workbench.

The girl's deathly pale face had gradually regained some color after the nutrient supplements.

Looking at the bloodstains caked onto Xi Guang's combat suit, Jiang Xiao immediately mobilized a stream of Origin Data and swiftly scanned her body inside and out.

Only then did he let out a sigh of relief.

Xi Guang did indeed have quite a few wounds, but after drinking several nutrients, her depleted source energy had recovered slightly. At the very least, it could suppress most of her injuries and prevent them from worsening!

The more serious wounds were all concentrated on her back. They seemed to be lacerations caused by some kind of force, but they had not damaged her bones or internal organs.

After scanning Xi Guang's internal organs once more and confirming that there was no serious damage, Jiang Xiao took out two cans of wound spray and hemostatic spray. He helped Xi Guang sit up, pulled down the zipper on the back of her combat suit, and began treating her wounds.

Jiang Xiao was extremely skilled at emergency treatment for external injuries.

If anyone asked, he had learned it on the Doran.

To be honest, Xi Guang's injuries were not actually serious. Her severe weakness was mostly because she had been trapped in Kasar Street Block and unable to replenish her supplies.

Without food or medicine, even ordinary external injuries could prove fatal.

After quickly treating the wounds, Jiang Xiao had Xi Guang lie on her side. His gaze involuntarily lingered for a moment on her silvery-white hair.

During the Origin Data scan just now, he had discovered that Xi Guang's long hair seemed to possess an extremely strong energy conductivity, along with remarkable toughness.

Forget it. Secretly plucking someone's hair in this situation doesn't seem appropriate.

Jiang Xiao withdrew his gaze and reached into the pocket of his jacket, preparing to notify the Spark Gang through the Sin City terminal.

When he pulled out the object in his pocket, he saw a heavily cracked terminal in his hand, and a faint burnt smell drifted through the air.