Chapter 8

Chapter 8

The man noticed his gaze and sneered contemptuously, “I didn't expect someone without any psychic powers to have such a keen sense of awareness.”

Lin Fu didn’t respond. The ordinary middle-aged man he saw was transforming into a brash young man with a head full of flamboyant red hair, looking him up and down with a nasty expression as if appraising a piece of merchandise.

It was a sentinel, and a very powerful one at that.

He immediately abandoned any thoughts of resistance and used his psychic powers to link with his light-computer and send a message to the principal.

The young man thought he was a useless person without psychic powers and took no measures to block psychic forces, allowing Lin Fu to easily succeed.

He was a person full of confidence and contempt.

Lin Fu slowly exhaled a breath of relief.

Such individuals are easier to handle.

His muscles gradually relaxed, feigning fear and trembling, he forced a calm and inquired, “What do you want with me? We don’t know each other.”

The young man replied, “It doesn’t matter if you don’t know me, as long as I know you. How about you come along nicely and spare yourself some trouble?”

Lin Fu shrank back, his voice quivering, “Where are we going?”

Seeing his cringing demeanor, the young man’s interest visibly waned.

He really is useless.

Grabbing Lin Fu by the back of his collar, he said, “Why ask so many questions? Considering you’re a guide, I won’t lay a hand on you. Just be smart about it.”

Lin Fu stumbled off the vehicle, following behind him and got into a hovercar.

Before he had a chance to take in his surroundings, he was overwhelmed by a pungent smell and fainted, slumping over in his seat.

When he regained consciousness, he found himself tied to a chair, his neck, torso, and limbs all secured, with straps two fingers wide buckling him down, and a faint pain on his arm.

Without looking, he could guess that blood had been drawn from him.

It seemed that this trouble was likely related to the person he had saved.

Lin Fu closed his eyes and called out to his system, “On the way here, did you hear anything said by the person who took me?”

The system replied, [Host, once you fall unconscious, I also lose sensory capabilities and can only maintain protective functions.]

After speaking, it entered the star network to search, its tone relaxed, [However, you don’t have to worry, Host. Your principal has received the message and is dispatching people to search for you. The star rail’s records have been sent to him.]

Lin Fu didn’t let out a breath of relief so soon. It was easy for the principal to find him, but whether he could get him out was the real issue.

Karl had suffered severe injuries and had long withdrawn from the center of power, and furthermore, Lin Fu’s value to him might not be worth the trouble.

If it had been an ordinary student, Karl would surely have rescued him, but Lin Fu could not shake off the “Lin” surname no matter what.

The conversation concluded unilaterally.

With his eyes closed, he heard the sound of someone entering the room.

"Hah, I must say, this guide has some nerve, daring to venture into the slums. Isn't he afraid of being forcibly bonded... Hehe."

"What do you know? He's a military academy student. Is he going to be scared of that? Who knows what he's been up to in the academy."

"Shut your traps, both of you. Another word and you're out," a stern female voice commanded, silencing the two.

Lin Fu felt his seat being moved, and after several mechanical "beeps", the straps around his neck and torso were released, leaving only his limbs restrained.

Something cold tapped his face, "Now that you're awake, open your eyes."

He opened his eyes to a formidable beauty clad in black, her sharp gaze assessing him, an aura of sentinel authority impossible to hide.

She was an imposing figure.

Circling once around him, she sat opposite Lin Fu, crossed her legs, her fingertips resting on the metal table, sizing him up and down with a look full of scrutiny and a hint of curiosity.

There was no one else in the room but her.

Of course, the images here were likely being transmitted to the eyes of others.

He kept his eyelids lowered, choosing not to meet her gaze.

The woman let out a scornful chuckle, "Cautious, but overly naive. If there were surveillance here, dodging would be futile. Whatever needs to be pried from your mouth won't be any less."

Lin Fu remained unmoved.

The woman seemed unconcerned, her toes gently swaying, "Relax, your principal will be knocking on the door soon to take you out. No one dares to touch you, myself included."

Lin Fu simply closed his eyes.

His mind analyzed the woman's words.

Principal Karl hadn't found him yet, but their people had stopped their actions, not doing anything to him. Lin Fu didn't believe they would go through the trouble of bringing him here, risking offending the Artemis Military Academy, just to draw some blood and then let him off lightly.

Either they had already achieved their desired result, or someone else was intervening.

After the woman had stayed for a while, the door suddenly opened, and a dangerous presence filled the space.

It wasn't a symbolic filling, but a physical one, the entire room saturated with the powerful presence and psychic force of a strong sentinel.

Lin Fu's eyes snapped open, and he saw the previously composed woman kneeling on the ground, barely able to lift her head.

The person at the door was Karl.

His stern face was furious, his scars twisting and writhing as if alive, seemingly ready to leap from his skin and clamp onto one's neck.

His icy glare swept over the woman like a knife, softening only slightly when he saw Lin Fu unharmed and fully conscious.

This arrival was both within and beyond Lin Fu's expectations.

Karl strode towards Lin Fu, kicking the woman aside and swiftly unfastening the restraints on Lin Fu's limbs at the console, then hoisted him by the collar and exited the room.

Like a docile chick, Lin Fu allowed himself to be carried, matching Karl's brisk pace and surveying the surrounding environment.

Metallic corridors branched in every direction, their gray-white sheen faintly reflecting human silhouettes.

People clad in black formal attire walking along the corridors stopped in their tracks at the sight of the pair, their gazes filled with a mix of wariness and curiosity.

Lin Fu's gaze briefly lingered on the badges on their shoulders, then swiftly moved on.

It resembled the one he had found, though the emblem at the center, akin to a family crest, was different.

Head down, he encountered obstructing figures along the way.

The person blocking Karl spoke with harsh urgency, "Karl, you're no longer a general of the Fifth Legion. Who gave you the right to barge in here!?"

Karl scoffed coldly, "You snatch my student without asking me, and now you talk to me about rights? The Casophiel family sure has some nerve!"

Karl's blunt words left the other man ashen-faced, unable to retaliate, he could only watch helplessly as Karl led Lin Fu away.

Only after they had left the premises did Karl set Lin Fu down, his face fierce as he growled, "Follow me, and be quick about it. If you get caught again, don't expect me to save you."

Lin Fu knew full well that Karl was all bark and no bite, so he nodded obediently.

Several teachers were crouched at the doorway, Bazil at the forefront. His eyes brightened when he saw Lin Fu emerge unscathed. He wanted to inquire about his wellbeing, but the setting wasn't right for conversation, urging him to quickly get in the car instead.

Lin Fu glanced back, his keen gaze settling on a row of hovering cars parked behind them, scrutinizing which one might harbor someone currently peering out at them through the windows.

Two people who hadn't met, their gazes seemingly interlacing across the void, tangled like unbreakable threads, the source of which was impossible to trace.

Back at the academy, Lin Fu wasn't subjected to any interrogation, further confirming his suspicions.

Indeed, someone did help rescue him.

With a frown creasing his thick, dark brows, Bazil anxiously escorted Lin Fu to the medical unit for a thorough examination, ensuring that no special drugs had been injected into his body or anything untoward placed within. Only then did he feel reassured enough to allow him to return to his dormitory to rest.

Lying in bed, Lin Fu gazed at the ceiling of his bedroom. With a flick of his hand, he activated the room's environmental simulator, transforming the space into a starry sky.

Planets of various hues orbited, a wide asteroid belt bisecting the view, safeguarding against the invasion of the insectoid species.

The standard simulation feature in the military academy was an interstellar map, designed to help students memorize the characteristics of numerous planets and the unpredictable asteroid belts of the cosmos during their leisure time, as well as the distribution of minor asteroids, which could prove invaluable on the battlefield.

He reached out to tap the nearest planet, and the scene instantly changed to a simulated environment of that planet, complete with pictorial and textual descriptions.

As he perused the planetary information, his thoughts drifted back to the day's events.

After a long moment, he sighed softly.

Regardless of whether someone helped Principal Karl save him, he knew he wouldn't be leaving the academy anytime soon. His mission had to be set aside for now, unless an unexpected accident within the academy required his intervention.

But such a scenario was far from reality; with the school doctor and a host of robust sentinels around, it was highly unlikely that he would be needed.

The plan would have to be postponed.

He swiped his hand to exit the planetary introduction, aimlessly dragging his finger across the display space, reversing direction, and pausing when his finger landed on a brown-red planet.

Maintaining the current projection, he tilted his head to change the perspective and got up. From a hidden compartment beneath his bed, he retrieved a badge, stunned to find its emblem identical to the image he had just seen.

It was a subtle viewpoint, looking from the insectoid territories towards human lands—an angle imbued with the hostility and greed of an enemy's gaze.

No one would scrutinize their own territory from such a perspective.

Except for an enemy or someone who had etched the humiliation brought by that enemy deep into their heart.

The next morning, Lin Fu got dressed and headed to the assembly point of Class C9, ready for the morning drill.

Blended in with everyone else in their fatigues, Lin Fu stood out conspicuously; he had visibly lost weight and lacked the restless energy characteristic of young people.

Being half a head shorter, Lin Fu stood at the very front of the Class C9 formation, unwittingly drawing the gaze of the sentinels to his figure.