Chapter 176

Chapter 176

A fine misty rain began to fall from the sky.

Yaning, lowering his hat brim, said to Baisha: "Shall we search separately?"

They were equipped with the most advanced signal searching devices.

"If it's a spacecraft from the Solitary Light, it might have special technology to shield itself from searches," Baisha observed the surroundings. "Although deserted now, when Professor Holman found me, there were scavengers sifting through garbage nearby. Many people passed through here, yet it was Professor Holman who found me – that might not be a coincidence."

Cecil had mentioned that the sea kind's mental power could control minds, and they were also advanced in consciousness filtering technology. Perhaps only individuals with high levels of mental power could approach that spacecraft. To actually access it might require a different approach...

They initially conducted a thorough, separate search of the area. As expected, they found nothing.

They could have opted to dig up the entire abandoned minefield. Even the most advanced stealth technology could be breached. However, they lacked the time and couldn't afford to cause such a disturbance.

When they regrouped, Baisha pondered for a moment and then released her spiritual form.

The round and plump Little White Chirp, which seemed to have been deeply asleep, digesting power, was suddenly awakened and appeared somewhat groggy. It fluttered a few times before perching on Baisha’s shoulder, letting her carry it along.

"How did you become so lazy?" Baisha poked its head, "In your Little White Bird form, being chubby is fine, even cute. But if you were this fat in your Black Bird form, you'd become the joke of the Black Bird community."

Little White Chirp opened its eyes wide, chirping in slight displeasure.

"Come on, fly around. And see if there's anything special nearby," Baisha gently brushed it off her shoulder. "Consider it exercise."

If there was anything naturally sensitive, it was a spiritual body formed from mental energy.

Receiving the order, Little White Chirp finally fully opened its eyes. It flew up high for a couple of minutes, then suddenly darted in a particular direction without looking back.

Baisha and the others hurriedly followed.

Suddenly, the space around the flying Little White Bird twisted. It passed through some kind of transparent, membrane-like barrier and then disappeared from sight.

Baisha slowed down. She tried to recall Little White Chirp but got no response.

"I'll go in and check," she told Yan Jingyi and Yaning. "You two wait here for me."

After all, she was half sea kind by blood, so the sea kind technology that brought her to Lanslo Star shouldn’t harm her.

Baisha stepped through the thin membrane. As she did, she felt no discomfort, like passing through a transparent waterfall. A cool sensation skittered across her skin, tingling pleasantly.

She blinked—before her appeared a moderately sized spacecraft.

The spacecraft, similar in structure to those she remembered whirling around on the Solitary Light, differed slightly. Fashioned like a ship, it was painted not in gray but a vibrant sky blue. The two round thrusters at the back were comically cute. Affixed to them was a red box, resembling a suitcase, ready to take its owner on a trip to another planet—but in reality, it was purely decorative. Like people taking a picnic basket on an outing, a suitcase symbolized travel. It was an amusing emblem.

The cockpit door opened upwards.

Xiao Bai Jiu stood at the edge of the doorway, quietly watching her.

Baisha paused for a second, then climbed into the cockpit.

The spacecraft seemed designed for a child. With Baisha's current size, the cockpit was a tight fit. She sat down with some difficulty, noticing torn pipes and dried liquid stains on the walls. Apparently, someone had hastily retrofitted the cockpit with a full life-support system, but the work was rough. Such haphazard instruments couldn’t withstand much jostling—sure enough, there was a noticeable crack on the oxygen exchange interface.

Baisha touched the crack, inadvertently brushing her elbow against the wall. The control panel in front of her lit up, and a blue sphere slowly appeared in the air, surrounded by three arc-shaped screens that flickered to life with a buzz.

Baisha tensed up, glancing at the screens to ensure she understood the text displayed, and then relaxed.

The screens briefly reported the spacecraft’s condition: Structural damage, energy nearly depleted, maintaining only basic hibernation mode. The last alert was a red warning, indicating a malfunction in the life-support system, urging timely repair or rapid evacuation from the spacecraft.

Baisha attempted to operate the system but, being extremely unfamiliar, didn’t dare to make any rash moves and simply checked the operation log.

The system was first adjusted to life-support mode, then switched to autopilot. Baisha reviewed the intended destination coordinates within the Empire’s territory. However, due to severe structural damage and energy depletion, more severe than planned, the course was altered, eventually forcing an emergency landing on Lancelot Star.

The system proved to be quite intelligent; at least it didn't leave the spaceship drifting in space when its energy was exhausted, but instead brought Baisha to a planet with human activity.

Baisha continued to examine the log: after the emergency landing on Lanslo Star, the oxygen in the spacecraft gradually depleted, leading to several yellow alerts followed by a red alert, forcibly ejecting her from the cockpit.

However, even after being ejected from the cockpit, Baisha's landing spot was still within the spaceship's shielding range.

After some fiddling, Baisha somehow accessed surveillance footage from around the spacecraft.

The monitor wasn't always active; it only activated when it detected a living being nearby. Baisha saw her younger self, eyes closed, lying a few steps away from the spacecraft. Due to the ship's consciousness filtering technology, several vagabonds and scavengers came and went without noticing her.

It wasn’t until Holman's arrival – although shabbily dressed, he was more presentable than the vagrants. After the mining area was abandoned, it became a popular dumping ground. Scavengers often came to pick up what they deemed useful, sometimes digging for small ore fragments to sell. Holman, however, had higher aspirations and was scavenging for more valuable waste. He visited twice within two days, the first time leaving empty-handed and the second time with his ship’s cargo box full of various intriguing parts. He passed the spacecraft's shielded area during his second visit but didn't notice Baisha.

Baisha: "..." How exactly did she survive then?

The next moment, a transparent ripple appeared around the unconscious Baisha. A small white bird fluttered out, grasping her collar in its beak and desperately dragging her away.

It was hard to believe such a small bird had such strength – the scene resembled a mantis knocking down a bull. It took about three to four minutes to drag Baisha out of the spacecraft's shielded area, then collapsed onto her chest, exhausted, dissipating into flickering lights.

After that, Baisha knew the rest of the story.

She looked up at her spiritual form, unsure what to say: "So it was you who saved me."

Little White Chirp: "?"

It tilted its head, seemingly without any memory of this event.

"Never mind," Baisha shook her head with a wry smile.

Back then, Little White Chirp's consciousness was probably still forming, and its actions were likely instinctive. After all, if Baisha died, it would cease to exist too.

"Alright, let's get out of here," Baisha pushed herself up, preparing to climb out of the cockpit.

She hadn't forgotten about Yaning and the others waiting outside. Without any sign of her, they might just barge in. As for the spacecraft, she planned to find a way to transport it entirely. If that wasn't feasible, it would have to be dismantled into parts and reassembled back in the Empire. In the worst-case scenario, she would need to quickly study the structure and remove the main board to take back to Youdu Star.

As she was exiting the cabin, she slipped and hit her head against the edge of the cockpit door.

At that moment, the floating blue sphere on the control panel suddenly lit up, emitting a gentle male voice:

"Be careful not to bump your head, pay attention to safety."

Baisha: "..." She felt this pleasant and gentle voice sounded familiar –

It was Bai Yi!

Somewhat incredulous, she stuck her head out again to bump it.

"Be careful not to bump your head, pay attention to safety."

"Be careful not to bump your head, pay attention to safety."

"Be careful not to bump your head, pay attention to... Are you doing this on purpose? Good children shouldn't tease the system."

Baisha was startled, almost thinking the spacecraft's system was conscious. But after repeating the action a few times and unlocking a few new voice prompts, she realized these were just pre-recorded human voices in the system.

To unlock these voices, Baisha had to behave like a mischievous child, touching everything in the cockpit and even trying to pull out a few control sticks. The gentle male voice consistently reminded her to be careful. The last voice prompt Baisha unlocked was:

"If you keep messing around, I won’t help you plead with your mom when she confiscates your flight certification."

Baisha: "..."

Baisha was both amused and oddly pleased.

After several minutes of testing, Baisha confirmed that only Bai Yi had recorded some voice reminders, while Xipes had not. Perhaps Xipes' method of "reminding" was more direct – by confiscating the child's flight certification and spacecraft.

However, since the spacecraft had a voice intelligent system, it made Baisha's operation much easier. She might even get the information she wanted directly:

"I request to return to base," she said.

There was a moment of silence in the cockpit.

Then the system announced, "Insufficient energy, return flight plan cannot be executed."

This meant that the spacecraft was indeed capable of returning.

……

The next day, the peace talks between the two nations officially commenced.

As expected, the Imperial Crown Prince didn't participate much in the discussions. She delivered a prepared speech at the beginning and then remained silent in her seat for the rest of the time. When asked to speak, she repeated clichés about "hoping to promote peace between the two countries."

The Federation's military officials and some reporters scrutinized her, eager to find fault in her words. However, her seemingly frail condition, having to sit back down and catch her breath after speaking just a few sentences, and her pale complexion made it difficult for them to criticize her harshly. Consequently, the Federation's reporters shifted their angle, subtly suggesting in their reports that the Empire's Crown Prince was severely injured, almost a half-invalid.

That night, several unidentified assassins appeared near the hotel where Baisha was staying, all swiftly dealt with by the royal guards. A few particularly skilled ones managed to infiltrate the hotel and reached the door of the Crown Prince's room, only to be brutally beaten by Kaxin Greiz, who was guarding there.

They seemed quite knowledgeable about the internal affairs of the Ares Empire, showing surprise at the sight of Kaxin.

"Aren't the Greiz family and the Ronin family at odds?" one of them spat blood and bitterly said to Kaxin, "Take her out now, and your Greiz family will have a chance at the throne again!"

Unfortunately, they understood the relationships between the Imperial families but were clearly unaware of the Empire's recent political climate.

Kaxin remained silent.

He piloted "Seven Kills," the knife in his hand emitting a strange purple glow in the night.

He hadn't yet mastered "Seven Kills'" other weapon, the silver wire, but even his limited mastery of the blade made it an extraordinary force in his hands.

The soldiers visibly guarding the area seemed more like decorations, while he was the one silently eliminating all threats in the shadows.

"…They say the Greiz are as proud and solitary as their spiritual forms, but who would have thought that in your generation, you'd be tamed into Baisha Ronin's dog—ugh!"

With a swift strike of his knife, Kaxin spoke indifferently:

"You only have the right to criticize when you're alive. What right does a dead person have to judge me?"