Chapter 158

Hearing this, Wen Jing frowned. "But this deviation is not necessarily caused by the gravitational perturbation of an unknown celestial body; there are many possible factors."

Celestial knowledge is a fundamental part of the School District Planet culture course, so she can deduce the rest of the story as soon as Yan Sheng says half of it.

Yan Sheng nodded. "The conditions were limited back then. The model was based on the premise that the Tenth Planet was in an orbit that could avoid the Ocher Soil's observation view. More importantly, it was the era of interstellar pioneering, and there was a convention that whoever discovered and arrived at a planet first to develop it would own the land."

"This is written into the Mastermind's agreement, and it can be said to have widespread social acceptance."

"At that time, the habitable Azure Jade and Mystic Radiance planets had already been divided up by the ten major conglomerates, and the remaining resource planets had also been 'bought'. The appearance of a potentially existing unknown new planet immediately caused a sensation."

At this point, he pointed to the top of his head.

"I don't know if you noticed, but the framework of this base was originally a spaceship..."

Wen Jing nodded. She had guessed this as early as when she sensed the outline of the base. However, the 'spaceship' was of ancient style and different from this era. Apart from the main structure, there were many traces of later splicing.

Yan Sheng said, "That was the peak of the Ten Star Group. Engineers, scientists, and workers all worked together day and night to build spaceships, intending to travel to the Other Shore Star and establish a nation where the land and air were not the private property of any one person."

Even if the Mastermind appears objective and fair, in reality, the underlying code is jointly controlled by the ten major conglomerates; it's merely a tool for their rule.

"But not long after, the existence of the Tenth Planet was refuted, Ou Shi himself and the planet named The Other Shore became a laughing stock."

At this point, Yan Sheng suddenly laughed, "However, even knowing that the Other Shore Star doesn't exist, some people still chose to stay in the Ten Star Group, passing it down from generation to generation to this day."

Wen Jing understood, of course, that the key point was not whether the Other Shore Star existed, but that the seeds of resistance had already been sown.

However, she was still curious. "Was it overturned because it wasn't observed on Azure Jade and Mystic Radiance later?"

The logic is simple: if there exists a planet that cannot be detected by light, it means that its orbit is blocked by a star. Every time you look at it from this planet, it is either 'behind the sun' or 'in front of the sun'.

However, this is relative to a single planet. Azure Jade and Mystic Radiance are in other orbits. Unless the Other Shore Star can adjust its orbital position and orbital speed on its own, it is impossible for it to go undetected.

"It won't be that slow." Yan Sheng shook his head.

"It was quickly discovered that the observatory's equipment was aging, and the so-called periodic deviation was caused by a mechanical malfunction."

Wen Jing was speechless.

After their conversation, she bid farewell to Yan Sheng and left the Ten Star Group base.

What left the deepest impression on her during this brief stay in the Ten Star Group was the story of discovering the Other Shore Star.

In his childhood in his previous life, Wen Jing developed a great deal of curiosity and imagination about the vast universe through science programs and books.

However, perhaps higher dimensions are within reach of the Awakened, perhaps the tycoons only know how to seize immediate interests, or perhaps it is a meaningless internal war with another human civilization... Humanity's farthest footprint is ultimately limited to two adjacent star systems.

In this era that is so close to the universe, no one looks up at the stars anymore.

Chapter 158

"Beep beep beep!"

At night, the Mystic Radiance Traversal Registration Center was illuminated by a red alarm light as a figure appeared.

"Unregistered Awakened detected, alert, alert!"

The emergency plan was immediately activated the moment it was discovered that the visitor was not a registered Awakened.

The ordinary staff at the registration center immediately ducked into the emergency exits, while the security robots were deployed to surround the unfamiliar Awakened.

"Please remain where you are, provide identification or shuttle permit number, and await the Arbitration Bureau ruling..."

In the Federation, unreported interstellar travel is punishable if discovered, with penalties ranging from minor to serious. This is especially true on Mystic Radiance Star, the Federation's capital, where regulations are even stricter.

The visitor did not make any rash moves and cooperated by standing still.

Dozens of lights shone down, illuminating Zhang's delicate face and signature ponytail in every detail.

"Wen Jing from the Red Earth Academy, ID number 9407691."

At the same time she provided her identity information, the security robot completed its scan and identification, synchronizing the situation with the Awakened Arbitration Bureau.

Upon receiving the message, the duty officers immediately stood up from their seats.

"Wen Jing? She's still alive?!"

The news that Wen Jing is still alive might be a secret to some people, perhaps even through spies from the Ten Star Group, but it's definitely only a very small minority.

For most people, this short-lived genius, who disappeared after being assassinated by the empire, must have perished.

First of all, the fact that the empire specifically dispatched assassins to kill him is itself proof of his strength and potential.

Even more terrifying is the chain reaction caused by Wen Jing's disappearance.

On the day of the incident, many important figures that the duty officers would never normally come into contact with died so suddenly. Then, power shifts occurred in many positions, and the Reformist Faction emerged in the factional struggle, which can be described as a complete upheaval.

Although the real reason behind this was Dean Bai's contributions to the Empire, to the lower and middle classes who were unaware of the situation, Wen Jing was undoubtedly the trigger for the incident.

For the past four days, her name has been widely known throughout the Federation, from the top ten conglomerates to ordinary citizens.

It can be said that its influence is even greater than that of winning the Freshman League championship six months ago.

Now, after all that has happened, Wen Jing has returned unharmed from the assassination attempt by the Empire's Shapeshifter!

*

Arbitration Bureau exist on all three habitable planets, but the one with the highest level of authority is the headquarters located on Mystic Radiance Star.

Matters involving high-level Awakened are handled here.

Although Wen Jing is not a high-level Awakened in terms of personal information, he is more troublesome for the presiding judge in charge of this matter than an ordinary high-level Awakened.

Inside the interrogation room, Wen Jing sat alone in the central chair.

In addition to basic equipment such as lie detectors and deviation measurement devices, this place, as an arbitration body for Awakened, is also equipped with an energy sealing field and Suspended Falling Alloy, capable of suppressing all outward energy and mental power.

Of course, there is no out -Out-of-Control Zone, but if an Awakened chooses to escape into the Ancient Wilderness during interrogation, that would be considered an act of defection, and the next time they appear in the material universe, they will be wanted by the authorities.

Looking out from the interrogation room, all four walls are made of solid black glass, providing an unobstructed view for the interrogators outside.

However, Wen Jing, whose strength has now improved further, can clearly visualize the positions and figures of the five interrogators outside in his mind using only his own Gravity Sensing.

The presiding judge had a serious expression and sharp eyes. The markings on her shoulder insignia indicated her seniority. Beside her were two assistants responsible for recording and monitoring the equipment, and further out were two security personnel.

"Wen Jing." The presiding judge's voice came through the loudspeaker, carrying a metallic quality, echoing in the empty interrogation room.

"According to records, you were assassinated by an Imperial spy four days ago during an inter-academy exchange and subsequently disappeared. Now, please truthfully recount your experiences over the past three and a half days, and how you survived the assassination attempt and returned to Mystic Radiance Star."

Wen Jing was naturally prepared for this. "When the spaceship's alarm sounded, I was in my rest cabin, immediately preparing to assemble at the cabin mentioned in the broadcast. However, when I opened the door, I fell into the enemy's spatial trap and was teleported to an unknown place, instantly entering Out-of-Control Zone..."

Outside the interrogation room, everyone listened attentively to her description. The lie detector and behavioral deviation values were all normal, after all, she was telling the truth.

"... After killing the enemy whose talent was controlling metal, I outmaneuvered the Shapeshifter, fought and retreated, and managed to escape the out -Out-of-Control Zone. Then I seized the opportunity to teleport directly into the Ancient Wilderness."

At this point, the deviation value begins to increase slightly.

However, the question that arose among the interrogators at the scene in the face of this change was clearly not whether Wen Jing had escaped into the Ancient Wilderness land.

"The Imperial squad tasked with assassinating you includes a Shapeshifter with spatial control abilities, a metal manipulator, and an assassin..."

Not to mention the others present, even the experienced presiding judge could hardly hide the disbelief on his face.

Even though Wen Jing is a renowned genius and the champion of the Freshman League, his opponent is also a high-level fully Awakened, an imperial assassin who came prepared.

If the other party hadn't actually said it out of the blue, they wouldn't have even considered this situation.

Anyone would think that Wen Jing's survival is a testament to his genius.

"You mean, you not only survived their attack, but also managed to kill two of them?"

"That's right," Wen Jing readily admitted.

The five people outside the interrogation room exchanged glances, then simultaneously looked at the data on the monitoring equipment. They noticed that the deviation value had actually decreased...

The presiding judge couldn't help but ask instinctively, "How did you do that?"

"Huh?" Wen Jing tilted his head. "Do we really need to demonstrate this here?"

The presiding judge hesitated; this was clearly impossible.

There are regulations to support a normal investigation of Wen Jing, but any physical actions would be unacceptable.

They had just survived an assassination attempt by the Empire and barely made it back alive, only to start fighting in the Arbitration Bureau —no matter what their reasons were, they were completely untenable.

Not to mention the precedent set by the Iron Curtain Group, the Arbitration Bureau's actions at this juncture are tantamount to handing Dean Bai a knife to stab herself.