Chapter 20

Chapter 20

The smell on White Sand lingered for two whole days.

During this time, she stayed as much as possible in her room. Fortunately, she had taken leave from school and still had a few days off, so there was no rush to go out.

Still, two days later, White Sand heard some rumors about herself in the orphanage. Rumor had it that to earn money, she had gone to the seafood market and gutted fish non-stop for two days and nights. She supposedly gutted fish until the sun and moon dimmed, and the fish hundreds of meters away were scared to death by the smell of blood on her. She had honed an unmatched skill with the knife at the seafood market, and her heart was even colder than her blade!

White Sand: "…"

While it's good for children to have imagination, too much of it can be annoying.

This time, let's consider it a celebration of her successful determination of psychic power level.

She had eliminated an A-class and an S-class star bug, confirming her psychic power as above A-class. Mech pilots and commanders were common, but mech technicians were a rare breed. Competition was relatively less intense, and schools like the Central Military Academy and St. Cyril Military Academy recruited many A-class mech technicians annually. Now that she had met the admission criteria, White Sand didn’t need to worry too much. She was confident in her remaining steps.

Fortune seemed to be on her side, gracing her with a stroke of luck.

But there was another matter she was concerned about.

During White Sand's return to the orphanage, neither Holman nor the boy had shown up again. It wasn’t until two days after her return, in the evening, that Holman, looking weary and serious, found her.

"You really brought me a big problem," Holman said with a complex expression. "The boy's injuries weren’t severe, and with S-class recovery ability, they would heal quickly. The main issue is his unstable psychic state, which is beyond the medical capabilities of Lanslo Star."

White Sand asked curiously, "Has he woken up?"

"He woke up, but now he’s passed out again," Holman said, ruffling his hair with a troubled look. "In a way, we're both his saviors, right? Why won’t he think about us? Although he's in a bad state, he's not so weak that he can't walk. I told him to find his own way back to the Imperial Capital Star or contact someone else to pick him up, just not to mention seeing us, but he refuses."

"He's waiting to die," Holman concluded. "It looks like he doesn’t want to live anymore."

"But he clearly comes from a noble family. If he dies on Lanslo Star, wouldn't that bring trouble upon us?"

White Sand remembered the young man piloting the silver mech, valiantly fighting the phantom bug, and couldn't imagine him choosing to stay on Lanslo Star and slowly wait for death.

"But why? There must be a reason," White Sand said. "Is it because his subordinates all died at the hands of the phantom bug, and he's devastated? But he avenged them by killing the bug."

Hearing White Sand's speculation, Holman laughed outright: "Don’t think of these people from great families as so naive; they are all shrewd. Committing suicide over a few subordinates? How could he have reached the rank of captain at such a young age? Even though a captain's rank is not high, it's earned through genuine military achievements. Even if his family paved the way for him, he must have spent considerable time on the battlefield. How could he have not seen death before?"

White Sand: "Teacher, that's a bit cold-hearted of you."

Holman: "That's because you haven’t been tormented by him! Just take care of him for two days, and you’ll understand!"

White Sand: "Why me? I still have school."

"You brought him here," Holman suddenly raised his head, pressing down on White Sand's shoulder and giving it a firm pat, "and it’s up to you to send him off."

"Whatever means you use, it's best to get him out of Lanslo Star, understood?"

White Sand: "…" She realized that, to Holman, the military seemed more like a psychological shadow. It was less avoidance and more taboo.

Then, White Sand told Holman about her encounter with the phantom bug.

"Now the rumors about me killing fish have spread," White Sand said with a numb wave of her hand. "Since that's the case, let's just go with the flow and pretend that we really did go to the seafood market to gut fish."

Holman: "…"

"Such ill-fate," Holman sighed heavily. "Encountering an A-class star bug was bad enough, but who would have thought we’d run into a phantom bug! Although not the strongest among the S-class, phantom bugs are rare and elusive, and few people in the frontier star systems have ever encountered one. I thought focusing on just you on the battlefield would prevent major problems. But I didn't expect…"

He said with a bitter smile, "But we did exceed our mission, at least this trip wasn't in vain."

After their talk, Holman left White Sand an address, saying that the troublesome young master was currently staying there and asked her to visit when she had time. Holman himself had a lot of "cleanup" work to do and asked White Sand to excuse him to Lady Joan, as he would be leaving the orphanage for a few days.

Holman didn’t take his battered flyer, leaving it for White Sand. So, after requesting leave from Lady Joan, White Sand got into the flyer and headed to the address Holman had given her.

This was Lanslo Star's notorious "Back Alley," inhabited by smugglers, wanted criminals, addicts, and all sorts of shady characters. Here, one could buy food, medicine, and even weapons without identity verification. It was the perfect place to hide the young captain.

However, Baisha seldom ventured near such places. Firstly, even casual interactions with these criminals could tarnish her record and affect her impression at the military academy; secondly, everything in Back Alley was exorbitantly priced.

Homman had somehow managed to rent a small shop there. From the outside, it appeared as a closed tobacco and liquor store, but inside was a spacious living area.

Homman seemed determined not to inconvenience the young captain, having transformed the living quarters impressively. Baisha walked through the neat and cozy living room, finding it several times better than the shabby exterior.

The bedroom was in a small attic on the second floor. Climbing the wooden staircase and opening the bedroom door, Baisha found the young man awake. He was sitting on the bed, quietly watching the people in the Back Alley through a small floating window. His black brows were lowered, calm and collected, exuding a cool aura.

"Ahem," Baisha cleared her throat, "I heard... I heard you refused to leave Lanslo Star for treatment, why?"

The young man turned his head, his face expressionless. He looked at Baisha and asked, "Who are you?"

Baisha: "..."

Suddenly, Baisha felt a surge of anger.

"You're asking who I am?" Baisha lowered her voice, trying to sound as she did on Hanbo Star, "If it weren't for staying in that cave to save you, would I have been covered in that stench?"

The young man appeared slightly startled, finally showing a hint of surprise.

"I apologize," he said decisively. "So it was you. Thank you for saving me."

"That's not what I'm talking about," Baisha said wearily, crossing her arms. "You have no idea how bad the fluid from those destroyed Phantom Worm eggs smelled—I've never smelled anything so foul in my life."

After a moment of hesitation, the young man recited as if from a textbook, "The sac fluid of the Phantom Worm eggs is a very rare S-level material, used for mech engine lubrication or inner shell coating. Its price ranges from ten to thirty thousand star coins per milligram."

Baisha's expression cracked inch by inch, "What did you say? How much per milligram?"

"Phantom Worms are rare," the young man stated emotionlessly. "Materials related to them are priceless."

Baisha looked even more despairing. "..."

"If it bothers you that I remain on this planet, I promise I'll leave," the young man said, gripping one wrist with his other hand. "But I can’t do it now. My psychic power is extremely unstable; going out would surely cause chaos."

Bai Sha took a deep breath, pulled up a chair, and sat beside him, speaking gently, "That's exactly why you should seek treatment as soon as possible. Don't you want to go home? Your family must be waiting for your news."

The boy's face remained expressionless, only his wrist trembled slightly, so subtly that Bai Sha thought she was imagining it.

"As I am now, I would only be a burden to everyone." He released the hand that had been clutching his wrist, spread his pale fingers, and extended them towards Bai Sha, "...If it's you, you should be able to understand the changes happening to me."

Bai Sha's pupils constricted.

She could see the veins in the boy's hand glowing with a faint blue light, part of his skin turning translucent, thin as a cicada's wing, clinging to his snowy-white knuckles.

The blue light in his veins flickered like fireflies, identical to the traits Bai Sha had seen in ghostly insects.

"My mental power is contaminated. Because I've been maintaining a 'hyper-sensory' state for years, my mental power is different from ordinary people," the boy's voice sounded like a string of raindrops falling from the eaves on a gloomy day. "Soon, I will become like a ghostly insect, unable to fully control the power of invisibility. I will become a monster that's better off not existing."

Despite everything happening to him being out of control, he showed no anger or dissatisfaction, instead, there was a faint sense of relief, as if a burden had been lifted.

Bai Sha, feeling a bit suffocated, asked him, "What's your name?"

"...Zhou Xie." He answered promptly about his name, paused, and then looked into Bai Sha's eyes, "According to etiquette, we should exchange names."

Bai Sha didn't respond immediately, but under his puzzled gaze, she began searching on her light computer. A minute later, she looked up and asked, "Is that an alias?"

She had searched the Star Network with keywords like "military", "captain", and his name, but found no information.

The boy shook his head.

"Alright, I'm Bai Sha." Bai Sha encouraged him to actively seek treatment, "There's no reason to sit and wait for doom. Giving up on treatment without trying anything, how can you be fair to yourself?"

She patted his shoulder, only to see the signs of transparency on the back of Zhou Xie's hand recede somewhat.

Zhou Xie was startled.

Bai Sha: "...What's happening?"

Narrowing her eyes, Bai Sha grabbed his hand and stared intently at it. Zhou Xie's hand was slender, with thin muscles over elongated joints. Even with the inhuman transparency, it looked pleasing to the eye, strangely beautiful, and not repulsive like the skin of a star insect.

He seemed uncomfortable under her gaze, instinctively trying to pull back his hand, but Bai Sha held it firmly, saying, "Wait a moment."

She stared at the hand for several minutes, but there were no further changes. It seemed as if everything before was an illusion - yet a small patch of skin on the back of Zhou Xie's hand had indeed returned to its original state. The change was subtle, but both of them had excellent vision and could see it clearly, leaving no room for doubt.

Finally, Bai Sha let go, and Zhou Xie quickly withdrew his hand.

"Your condition is so strange," Bai Sha frowned. "Does it improve only with close contact with different people?"

"...It might be your mental power," Zhou Xie said somewhat hesitantly, "Some people's mental power exhibits unique properties. Yours might just counteract that of the ghostly insects."

Bai Sha raised an eyebrow: "Is it really such a coincidence in this world?"

"Perhaps," Zhou Xie slightly furrowed his brows, "Without proper testing, it's hard to confirm."

"So you mean, if I hold your hand every day, it would help your recovery?" Bai Sha asked.

Zhou Xie: "Simply holding hands is not very meaningful; the key is to activate your own mental power."

"Mental power? I don't know how to use that," Bai Sha waved her hand, saying confidently, "That's something they teach in military school."

"For those born with a higher level of mental power, their control over it is much more precise than the average person," Zhou Xie shook his head. "For an S-level individual, using mental power is as natural as breathing."

"I really don't understand how to control mental power," Bai Sha said with a look of difficulty.

Zhou Xie paused, then asked with some confusion, "When you were shooting the ghostly insects underground, I sensed your strong mental power. Didn't you feel anything special when using that force?"

Bai Sha thought back seriously, and it seemed that indeed, at some point, she had entered a somewhat miraculous state.

Yet, she had never sensed this so-called "mental power" within herself.

"I can teach you how to sense it," Zhou Xie offered, "Once you detect your mental power, you'll naturally understand how to use it."

Bai Sha glanced at the time displayed on her wrist computer and said, "Some other time. There's work waiting for me at the orphanage." The elderly lady in charge of cooking for everyone was getting older, and Bai Sha helped in the kitchen whenever she could.

"Since you can't leave Lanslo Star for now and are unwilling to seek help from your family, you might as well stay here." Bai Sha opened her computer, input her contact information, and said, "Call me anytime you need. Did the guy who arranged for you to stay here give you a computer?"

"He did." Zhou Xie took out a silver metallic bracelet from the bedside cabinet.

Bai Sha recognized it as a basic version of a computer, capable only of receiving messages, setting alarms, and making payments. It couldn't even connect to the internet, and its sole entertainment feature was a classic game still popular in the interstellar era - Block Puzzle.

After a pause, Bai Sha entered her contact number into his device and then transferred 2,000 star coins to Zhou Xie.

"Spend it wisely," Bai Sha said with a pained expression. "Everything here is expensive."

Zhou Xie hadn't expected Bai Sha to transfer money to him.

"I've taken a seven-day leave from school, so I can visit you every day for the next couple of days. Once my leave is over, I have to go back to school, and then you're on your own."

Zhou Xie asked, "You're attending a military academy?"

Bai Sha replied, "Just a preparatory class."

Zhou Xie's gaze held a veiled inquiry as he asked, "Why did you disguise yourself as a mercenary and go to the front lines if you're not yet in the military academy?"

"To test my mental power," Bai Sha sighed helplessly. "I couldn't afford to go to the main star for testing and was too young to take the military academy entrance exams, so I had to find my own way."

This answer was so unexpected that Baisha had already left before he could fully process it.

In the following days, the young man, Zhou Xiang, began instructing Baisha in the use of psychic power.

His teaching manner was very calm, even patient and meticulous, without any hint of urgency—despite Baisha’s learning progress being directly related to his condition, Zhou Xiang seemed completely unconcerned.

In stark contrast to his excellent teaching demeanor was his poor teaching ability.

Zhou Xiang first taught Baisha to sense the existence of psychic power within her own body.

He explained that psychic power is an embodiment of human will, and to mobilize it, one must concentrate with absolute attention.

He further explained that psychic power is like flowing water; it can move through any part of the body. Using psychic power shouldn’t involve forceful control, but rather guiding it.

The young man's mech, after crashing against the rock wall and stirring up countless stones and dust, struggled to rise. However, the previously sporadic golden sparks suddenly burst, emitting a fizzing sound.

Baisha watched from afar. The mech's energy source was intact, and it wasn't missing any limbs. In theory, it should still be battle-ready, but it behaved as if something was malfunctioning, showing signs of losing control.

Zhou Xian: "It's all based on my own experience."

Baisha was floored.

—That was Lanslo Star's infamous "Back Alley," home to smugglers, fugitives, addicts, and all sorts of people who shunned the light. Here, one could buy food, medicine, and even weapons without any ID checks. It was the best place to hide the young captain.

"Don't be so modest," Baisha whistled. "Slaying Star Bugs is a genuine military achievement."

Somehow, Homman had managed to rent a small shop there. From the outside, it looked like a closed tobacco and liquor store, but inside, there was ample living space.

Homman seemed determined not to inconvenience the young captain, having made the living quarters quite comfortable. As Baisha walked through the neat and cozy living room, it felt several times better than the shabby exterior.

"Well, that settles it. Since I have to take the exam anyway, why bother making trouble for myself?" Baisha said with a smile.

"But you must learn to perceive," Zhou Xuan said mercilessly. "If you can't learn to use perception in advance, you'll fall behind as soon as you enter the Central Military Academy."

"But what you're saying is too vague," Baisha complained, "as mysterious as magic."

Zhou Xuan pondered for a moment, then suddenly threw a punch at Baisha. After Baisha blocked it, Zhou Xuan leaped up and added a side kick, catching Baisha off guard.

Baisha: "What are you doing?"

"It seems only combat can stimulate your instincts," Zhou Xuan posed in a fighting stance, unfamiliar to Baisha, "then let's try and see if actual combat can awaken your potential."

Baisha thought it was highly unlikely, as she had been practicing combat since childhood and had been beaten countless times by Jingyi without ever awakening any psychic power.

It wasn't until she had sparred a couple more times with Zhou Xuan that she felt something completely different.

Unlike the usual minor skirmishes, Zhou Xuan had a murderous aura. Battling him felt like a single misstep could be fatal.

Baisha fought him for five minutes, her fists bloodied and a bruise forming at the corner of her mouth, yet she still couldn't summon her psychic power.

Both of them, one worn out from days of training and the other just recovered from serious injuries, sat down exhausted after the fight, back to back, catching their breath.

As Baisha caught her breath, she poked Zhou Xuan's back, the warm spine of the youth uncomfortably hard against hers: "Hey, is psychic power tangible or intangible?"

Zhou Xuan gave another metaphysical answer: "It can be tangible, or intangible."

Baisha fell into deep thought, suddenly recalling the hallucination she had in the cave.

She was better off not thinking about it... but as soon as she did, the chirping noises returned, sounding like a bird fluttering around her, tweeting softly. Judging by the sound, it seemed like a small and cute bird.

Baisha sighed, feeling like she was deluding herself.

In the following two days, the chirping in her ears grew more intense. Sometimes the sound seemed so close, as if directly transmitted to her eardrum, yet there was no painful sensation.

Baisha, following the method Zhou Xuan had taught her, suddenly found the cacophony by her ear vanishing while practicing.

In that instant, she discovered within herself a power as lazy yet vast as the ocean.

She tried to communicate and resonate with that power until she could wield it at will.

It was then that she realized everything Zhou Xuan had said was true.

She fought Zhou Xuan again, this time both deliberately using their psychic powers. It was like stepping into a new world; she 'defeated' an exhausted Zhou Xuan in the fortieth round.

After checking Zhou Xuan's condition, Baisha found that the psychic contamination on him had indeed been suppressed, a result of his psychic power clashing with hers.

"Now we don't have to walk arm in arm anymore, just fighting can cure you," Baisha chuckled. "I've been annoyed with you for a while—saying you had an incurable disease, then suddenly finding a cure; giving you money, you're unhappy; me learning to use psychic power, you're also unhappy. Are you a robot?"

Zhou Xuan: "..."

He didn't understand why she was angry.

Zhou Xuan hesitated for a moment, trying to gloss over with a smile.

Baisha hit him even harder.