Back to School

Aboard the ship, Xilin, Pride, and Hard were assigned to the same hospital room. Saqi and Knight stayed there too. Knight hadn't been injured, but Huoding had still arranged for him to return first. Knight didn't object; he felt more at ease keeping watch in person, just in case anyone tried another assassination.

Now that the incident had come to an end, Xilin "recovered" quickly. The five of them were chatting in the room, three lying down and two sitting up. Saqi was peeling fruit, while Knight excitedly recounted the latest news he'd heard.

"I heard that after the Big Black Rat mutated, its chromosomes doubled, and it reproduced asexually, producing a batch of little black rats. Uh... the process was like that of a queen bee and the drones, but no one knows exactly how it works yet. People from other Research Bases have gone over to study it together. You know, if they get results, they can publish them in an academic Electronic Publication with a Star Alliance contribution rating of at least seventy. Then they'll be famous."

"Don't the people at the Research Base have even the slightest psychological hang-up about it?" Saqi asked. Whenever he thought about rats, he remembered brushing past that swarm of black rats, and a chill crept over him.

"That's exactly their thing. Here's an example: say you got shot during a mission and barely survived. Would you be afraid of guns? Would you still pick one up and go on a mission next time?"

"Of course I would! What's there to be afraid of? Getting shot happens all the time."

"It's the same for them. Isn't it common for them to come up with weird stuff in their research? Hey, don't interrupt. I'm not done," Knight said, clearing his throat. "I heard that the black rats' mutation caused them to produce some kind of enzyme that let them keep breathing without oxygen for a while. That explains how they could stay in caves deep underground for so long."

Knight usually looked at everyone else as if to say, "I can't be bothered with you." But with people he approved of, he acted completely differently and had a lot more to say.

Seeing Knight act like an expert, Pride glanced sideways and scoffed. "What a show-off!"

"Oh? The young master's got a problem with me? Take a look at yourself, you pathetic wreck. Xilin and Hard had good reason to get hurt, but what about you? A useless burden, young master?" Seeing Pride glare at him in indignation, Knight flicked a grape at him. "Don't tell me you didn't realize those people in your group were special-duty personnel."

"It's because I realized they were special-duty personnel that I didn't want to be near them!"

"Then you deserved to get scratched by the black rats. Did you think you could handle a situation like that alone? What are you, a Star Hunter or a Heavenly Decree Warrior? Use your head, or you'll never catch up to your brother, Ji Feihang!"

"If I can't be a Heavenly Decree Warrior, does that mean you can, Knight?"

"At least I'll become one before you," Knight said scornfully. If Ji Feihang hadn't asked him to keep an eye on Pride, would he have bothered with this idiot?

Seeing that Pride looked ready to charge at Knight, Saqi hurried over to break them up.

Xilin watched, amused. If Saqi hadn't stepped in, Knight would probably have beaten Pride up again. Similar things had happened several times already.

But Knight's mention of Heavenly Decree Warriors and Star Hunters caught Xilin's attention.

There were countless Hunters in the Star Alliance. Those at the very top were awarded the title of "Star"—the Star Hunters Knight had mentioned. There were six people currently recognized in the Star Alliance's Hunter world as holding the title. The leaders of the Four Great Hunter Groups were all Star Hunters, along with two elusive lone wolves. Together, the six were known as the Six Stars of the Hunt.

The Heavenly Decree Warriors in the military held the highest honor a warrior could receive: the title of "Heavenly Decree." But they were so mysterious that the military classified much of what concerned them as top secret. To the public, they existed only in legend. Even the children of officers like Knight and Pride knew little about them, except that there were four.

The Four Heavenly Decree Generals and the Six Stars of the Hunt were the goals that the warriors and Hunters of this era spent their lives pursuing.

"After this mission, I finally understand the gap between cadets and regular troops. We still have a lot of work to do," Hard said with a sigh from his hospital bed.

At Hard's words, Knight and Pride both glanced at Xilin, but said nothing.

"Hey, what do you think the school will reward us with when we get back?" Saqi asked expectantly.

"A reward?" Knight rubbed his chin. "Either Credits or money, probably. But they'll record some Military Merit in our files too. It won't be much, but it's still an honor. It could come in handy if we join the military later."

"That's all right, then. Military Merit is enough," Hard said with a grin.

When they reached Seven Luminaries Star, the ship stopped at the Space Station. They transferred to a flight vehicle, which landed at a dedicated berth in the Training Department. Xilin and Hard were wheeled out in wheelchairs. Pride was supposed to be pushed out too, but refused to sit in one for the sake of appearances.

Quite a crowd had gathered at the Training Department's berth. Some of Seven Luminaries Star's senior officials were there too, since the mission had been prompted by an accident at the Research Base. All the Training Department cadets were present, including Long and Ci Jincheng. Long, however, was winking at Xilin and pointing his chin toward a certain direction. A familiar Stretched Flying Car was parked over there.

As soon as Xilin was wheeled off the flight vehicle, someone stepped out of the car. Seeing him, Knight shamelessly abandoned Xilin and backed away, looking like he wanted to put as much distance between them as possible.

Xilin saw who it was and forced a smile. "What brings you here...?"

Mo Heng scowled. He looked Xilin up and down carefully to make sure he'd recovered well enough, then reached out and pinched his cheek.

The Training Department's berth was packed with cadets and senior school officials there to welcome the wounded, along with the people disembarking from the flight vehicles. There were thousands of people in all. Under the gaze of that entire crowd, Mo Heng pinched Xilin's cheek and scolded him. Mo Heng's booming voice rang across the vast berth.

Many of the cadets there were upperclassmen. They had only ever seen Mo Heng's kind and amiable side. They had never seen Vice Principal Mo like this. One by one, they fell silent, staring at Xilin's cheek in Mo Heng's grip. Just looking at it made their own cheeks hurt.

A few senior school officials, however, were surprised. Those who knew Mo Heng understood that he only pinched the cheeks of people he cared deeply about. And although he was scolding Xilin, he was really telling everyone else, This kid has my protection. If you want to lay a hand on him, you'll have to get past me first.

At an estate not far from the bustling downtown area on a planet in the D Star Zone of the Trade Ten Star Zone.

Aifulan watered the plants leisurely with a spray bottle. Behind him, his steward, Suofu, reported on the situation.

"...Those families have taken a heavy hit. The military has seized their supplies, the government launched a sudden investigation, their business partners have suspended cooperation, and even several renowned scholars who'd been invited as guests have changed their tune..."

Aifulan showed no reaction as he listened. When he finished watering the plants, he put down the spray bottle and accepted the towel Suofu handed him. He wiped his hands, then said, "Triple his bounty this time."

"Yes. And the person handling our contact with Seven Luminaries Star...?"

"Proceed as planned."

"Understood. I'll take care of it right away."