Tendo heard An Qin's words and looked up at her.
Those deep, pale blue eyes seemed capable of piercing through outward appearances to reach the depths of her soul. After a moment, Tendo withdrew his gaze and spoke in a flat tone, "Breaking free from them is far more difficult than you imagine."
An Qin had clearly expected this. She raised her head, her eyes devoid of hesitation.
"I know the risks involved, but I am still willing to try. I don't want to be held back by them anymore, and I certainly don't want to be a pawn they can manipulate at any moment."
"Interesting."
Jing Liuli stepped forward, circling An Qin. Although she had heard Tendo mention the so-called "bloodline fusion"—a low-end version of "stellar modification"—knowing about it was one thing; seeing it with her own eyes was another.
So, the boundary between humans and Star Beasts was not as distinct as she had imagined?
While Jing Liuli observed An Qin, Chen Kong, standing to the side, acted as a mediator.
"Brother Tendo, An Qin was a huge help this time. If she hadn't crushed the energy interrupter in advance and contacted you for support, we might have already been sucked into the Broodmother for modification. Why not let her stay with us for now? Once we return to the base, we can look into her situation more specifically."
Chen Kong didn't know exactly what An Qin wanted Tendo to help her with, but he felt she wasn't a bad person. Returning to the base first seemed like the right move.
Tendo arched an eyebrow and gave Chen Kong a sideways glance. Amidst Chen Kong's nervous gaze, Tendo spoke: "Very well. But her safety and her whereabouts are your sole responsibility. If anything goes wrong because of her, you will bear the consequences."
"I understand," Chen Kong nodded, accepting the responsibility.
A flash of gratitude appeared in An Qin's eyes. She gave Chen Kong a slight nod before turning back to Tendo.
"Thank you. I can provide some intelligence right now—for instance, the identity of two Abyssal Heavens moles lurking within the base. One is Star Envoy Zhang Qiming, who is in charge of Level 3 Star Envoy rank examinations. The other is Wang Yuan, a logistics materials manager. They meet regularly at a place called the 'Eternal Night Tavern' in the public living area to transmit students' star energy data to the organization."
"Zhang Qiming?" Liu Ma couldn't help but cry out in surprise. "That always-smiling advancement instructor? He's a mole? When I was in the Black-rank training zone, he even went out of his way to give me pointers. I thought he was a decent guy."
"The better someone is at camouflaging themselves, the easier it is for others to lower their guard." Vivian pushed up her goggles, her cybernetic eyes rapidly recording the intel provided by An Qin. "They likely transmit student data to screen for targets suitable for Broodmother modification. The recent mysterious disappearances of students from the base might be linked to them."
Beside her, Caroline flicked her fingers, manifesting a virtual screen in the air that instantly displayed the dossiers of Zhang Qiming and Wang Yuan.
During this process, Tendo looked toward the distorted Broodmother in the distance, which was beginning to writhe slowly. Although he had neutralized Lin Feng and Zhao Yu upon arrival, he hadn't yet dealt with the Broodmother itself.
"Caroline."
"What is it?"
"Take those two back to the Star Energy Ship first. Leave this place to me."
"Understood," Caroline nodded in response. She turned and led the restrained Zhao Yu and Lin Feng toward the ship.
Before long, Tendo was the only one left in the bone-strewn wasteland. He looked at the distorted Broodmother inside the central building. Dense Abyss energy was seeping from its wrinkled flesh-walls, condensing into black threads in the air.
A sharp glint flashed in his eyes as an invisible vector field expanded outward.
As the Broodmother suddenly writhed violently, the mysterious patterns on its flesh flared with a blinding red light. Dozens of thick tentacles burst through the building's walls like hideous giant pythons, lashing out at Tendo with savage force. The tentacles were covered in slimy fluids and reeked of rot; wherever they passed, sand was corroded into black powder, and even the air was churned into distortion.
Facing the overwhelming onslaught of tentacles, Tendo's expression remained placid. He didn't even shift his feet. He lightly raised a finger, and the invisible vector field around him surged, transforming into an impenetrable barrier that firmly blocked all incoming tentacles.
Thud! Thud! Thud!
A series of violent collisions rang out. The tentacles slammed into the field barrier but failed to produce even a ripple. Instead, the counter-force of the field shattered them section by section. Massive amounts of black fluid gushed out, hissing as it corroded the sandy ground.
"Parlor tricks," Tendo scoffed, closing his hand into a fist.
In the next second, the defensive vector field instantly contracted and condensed, transforming into a massive golden blade of light. With a casual swing of Tendo's arm, the golden blade cleaved downward toward the Broodmother's core with world-ending momentum.
Boom!
A deafening explosion echoed across the wasteland. The light blade sliced through the building's ruins and struck the Broodmother's flesh-wall with pinpoint precision. The red patterns on its surface dimmed instantly, and it let out a shrill wail that sounded unlike any living creature. Its massive body contorted violently as countless small tentacles flailed madly.
However, these sickening tentacles were instantly ground into meat paste the moment they approached the field around Tendo.
He gave the Broodmother no chance to breathe. With a cold gaze, several golden vector blades materialized in mid-air, pouring down on the Broodmother like a torrential rain. Each blade struck a vital point, relentlessly carving through its flesh.
Under this assault, the Broodmother's wails grew weaker, its writhing slowed, and the red light finally vanished. The Abyss energy was forcibly crushed and devoured by the vector field.
A moment later, the clamor subsided completely.
The once-distorted and massive Broodmother had been reduced to a puddle of black sludge, and the eerie energy it emitted had been thoroughly purged. Tendo walked slowly to the building's ruins. After a brief scan, he quickly found an encrypted quantum data disk buried under the rubble.
He bent down to pick it up. His Eclipse Heavenly Eyes, which could see through the essence of all things, instantly cracked the disk. A virtual screen unfolded before him, clearly recording the experimental logs of the Abyssal Heavens organization.
Much like the memory fragments of the flesh-monster Tendo had seen in Tsukiyama City, this log documented various experiments conducted by Abyssal Heavens. As for why it was here, it was because this location had once been a vital experimental base for the organization.
"It seems Abyssal Heavens's experiments are progressing faster than I thought," Tendo remarked, his tone icy. "However... the game has only just begun."
With that, he turned and returned to the Star Energy Ship hovering overhead.
Inside the cabin, An Qin sat by the window, looking down at the shrinking bone-wasteland with a complex expression. Chen Kong walked over and handed her a bottle of water.
"What are you thinking about?"
"About my life before this." An Qin took the water but didn't drink, lightly rubbing the bottle. "Before I met you all, I thought 'obeying the organization's orders' was my only purpose for existing." She paused, her tone carrying a hint of relief. "It wasn't until I entered the Star Envoy Association that I realized life doesn't have to be full of surveillance and commands. Especially you, Chen Kong—you showed me a new choice."
"A new choice?" Chen Kong blinked, looking confused. He felt like he hadn't really done anything.
An Qin suddenly laughed. "Even if the scenario in the Explorer qualification exam was fake, the impact it had on me was real." A light sparkled in her eyes. "That's why I am even more determined to break free from Abyssal Heavens's control and use my abilities to make up for my past mistakes. Oh, I also have another important piece of intel. Abyssal Heavens's next move is a grand ceremony to be held three months from now during the 'Star Energy Grand Ceremony' in the Martial Heaven Capital. They have been preparing for this plan for three whole years."
"The Star Energy Grand Ceremony?" Liu Ma's eyes widened instantly. "That's a rare mega-event in the Martial Heaven Capital. Countless people attend. They actually want to strike then?"
"Yes," An Qin said gravely. "On the day of the ceremony, many outsiders will flood into the capital, stretching the security forces thin. It is the perfect time for them to act. From what I know, Zhang Qiming and Wang Yuan are relatively important figures in this plan, but they are not the true core. As for who is leading the plan, I don't know yet, but their rank must be high—very likely within the upper management of the Martial Heaven Capital's Star Envoy Association branch."
Vivian's cybernetic eyes flickered rapidly as she recorded the intel. "A third mole in the branch management? That's troublesome. Someone like that surely has significant influence. We might not be able to find them on our own, and we risk alerting the enemy."
Jing Liuli leaned against the cabin wall, her expression lazy and unbothered. "What's the big deal? Since we know about it, just have Caroline tell the Association President. Simple as that."
"Uh..." Chen Kong didn't know how to respond for a moment. Just as Jing Liuli said, as the President's disciple, Caroline really did have a direct line to the top. Once the President was aware, the plan would be impossible to execute.
Thinking of this, Chen Kong and the others quickly relaxed.
[Three Days Later, Martial Heaven Capital]
The Star Energy Ship docked at the dedicated berth of the Martial Heaven Training Base. As the group stepped out of the hatch, several Star Envoy Association staff members, who had received the news in advance, were already waiting.
Seeing Tendo, they immediately stepped forward. "The movements of Zhang Qiming and Wang Yuan are under secret surveillance. The Medical Department is also ready to provide 'treatment' for Miss An Qin at any time."
Tendo nodded and turned to Chen Kong. "Kong, you take An Qin to the Medical Department first. I have other matters to attend to, so I'll be heading off."
"Understood," Chen Kong replied, leading An Qin, Liu Ma, and Isabelle toward the Medical Department.
Inside the medical room, three staff members in white coats had already prepared the equipment. The lead doctor looked at An Qin and stepped forward. "Miss An Qin, please lie on the diagnostic bed. We need to perform a full-body scan before we can formulate a treatment plan."
An Qin did not hesitate and lay down. The machine started, and a pale blue beam of light enveloped her body. Her star core structure, which differed from normal humans, and the distribution of the Dark Spirit Snake bloodline soon appeared on the screen.
Surprisingly, deep within her star core, there was a black, pattern-like mark constantly emitting a faint, eerie energy.
"Found it." The doctor pointed to the mark on the screen, his tone serious. "If I'm not mistaken, this is the mark responsible for the 'organizational control' you mentioned. Based on what you've told us, we must resolve this mark as soon as possible. Otherwise, the other party could use it to re-establish control at any time. However, this is the first time we've encountered such a mark. The purification process might be extremely painful and could damage your bloodline and star core, potentially causing you to lose some or all of your star energy. Can you accept this?"
An Qin closed her eyes, her voice firm. "Begin."
The doctor nodded to his assistants. "Activate the purification device. Inject Grade 1 purification energy. Monitor the dosage carefully."
As the device started, a milky-white stream of purification energy was slowly injected into An Qin's body. The moment it touched the black mark, An Qin's body began to tremble violently. Cold sweat beaded on her forehead, and her face turned deathly pale. She bit her lip hard, refusing to make a sound, even as the Dark Spirit Snake bloodline within her raged, trying to resist the purification energy.
An assistant cried out, "Her bloodline is fighting back! The purification energy is being blocked and cannot reach the core of the mark!"
Chen Kong frowned and stepped forward. "Do you need my help? My Void Mark can neutralize a portion of bloodline energy. Perhaps that will let the purification energy through."
The doctor pondered for a moment and nodded. "We can try. But be careful with the intensity; do not damage her star core."
Chen Kong moved to the bedside and channeled his energy. Silvery-white Void Marks slowly emerged, carefully extending to An Qin's skin and following the path of the purification energy toward the mark deep in the star core. The moment the Void Mark touched the Dark Spirit Snake bloodline, it neutralized a portion of the restless energy. An Qin's trembling began to subside.
"It's working!" The doctor's eyes lit up. He immediately instructed his assistant, "Increase the dosage! Strip the mark away now!"
The purification energy intensified, breaking through the bloodline's resistance and enveloping the black mark. Sensing the threat, the mark began to release waves of eerie energy in a desperate struggle. An Qin's expression became agonized again, and an oppressed groan escaped her throat.
"Hang in there!" Chen Kong said deeply, increasing the output of the Void Mark to help suppress the eerie black energy.
Minutes ticked by. Under the dual pressure of the purification energy and the Void Mark, the black mark on the screen gradually faded. Finally, with a soft hum, the black mark dissipated completely, and the black energy was purged.
The device stopped. An Qin lay powerless on the bed, gasping for air. Her face was still pale, but her eyes had become much clearer. She slowly raised her hand, feeling the changes within her, a flash of joy in her eyes.
"That feeling of being held by the mark... it's finally gone."
The doctor let out a long breath and wiped the sweat from his brow. "Congratulations, Miss An Qin. The mark has been successfully cleared. Although your bloodline and star core sustained some minor damage, it isn't a major issue. You should recover fully after a period of rest."
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