Chapter 7: Treatment

Chapter 7: Treatment

When star beasts were severely injured, they would involuntarily regress to their juvenile form, much like what the Silver Wolf was experiencing now.

The wolf no longer possessed the majestic aura it had when it stepped on the moon and descended from the sky.

It lay on its side on the ground, its eyes half-closed, ears and tail hanging limply. Its body was slightly curled up, with limbs twitching uncontrollably.

The wolf's condition seemed dire.

Rong Mi's heart ached as he realized that the beast must have exhausted itself mentally during its attack.

Like humans, star beasts could also suffer from mental domain disorders. Without treatment, it might not survive this critical juncture.

Without hesitation, Rong Mi grabbed the first-aid kit from the storage compartment of the mecha and jumped out.

Whether it was due to the Silver Wolf's intervention that saved him or his affection for the star beast itself, Rong Mi couldn't just leave it alone.

After the Silver Wolf's rampage with its mental energy, the surface temperature on the barren planet was extremely low. Rong Mi shivered, zipping up his mecha combat suit to its maximum, and approached the Silver Wolf.

Up close, he felt he could embrace the wolf's entire body with just both hands.

Rong Mi had always been self-aware of his attraction to the majestic power of hunting-type star beasts.

But... the juvenile form of these mighty creatures... seemed even more irresistible.

Resistless was the urge to reach out and stroke fiercely.

Looking at the little ball of fur, an uncontrollable thought emerged in Rong Mi's mind: ...This must feel incredibly pleasant!

Perceiving the aura of the stranger, the Silver Wolves opened their eyes, lifting their heads slightly to regard Rong Mi.

The wolf's eyes were ice-blue, with a cold ferocity hidden deep within their beastly pupils, characteristic of a hunter.

Despite its terrible condition, it bared its sharp, white teeth and growled threateningly from the depths of its throat upon the stranger's approach.

If such a gaze and gesture were displayed by an adult Silver Wolf, Rong Mi would undoubtedly not dare to leave his mech so recklessly, nor approach the wolf unarmed.

He would be wary of the wolf's mental assault or risk being seized upon, with its jaws clamping down on his neck.

That would undoubtedly be a fierce battle.

And unless absolutely necessary, Rong Mi had no intention of fighting a star beast.

But now, the wolf was so tiny.

A tiny bundle.

It would feel warm and fluffy, soft to the touch if held. With such small fangs, it could at most pierce through his fingers.

Rong Mi: Restraint was out of the question.

Moreover, if he couldn't approach the wolf, there was no way to alleviate its current state.

Under the Silver Wolves' gaze, Rong Mi felt a chill down his neck, but he didn't retreat. Instead, he stopped and slowly crouched down on the spot.

Rong Mi averted his gaze, avoiding direct eye contact with the silver wolf, to show his friendliness.

With his peripheral vision, he kept an eye on the wolf's movements as he reached into the first aid kit and pulled out a calming agent for mental distress.

The Silver Wolves were not placated by his actions.

It vigilantly stared at the stranger before it, forcing itself to stand up, with its front body lowered.

This was a posture of preparation for an attack.

Rong Mi attempted to reason with it.

"You've overloaded your spirit domain," he knew that high-level star beasts could communicate, but he didn't know their language. So, he simply resorted to using human language, hoping it might somehow work, "I'm Rong Mi, here to help you."

"ROOOOOWL!" The silver wolf emitted a faint, ethereal glow around it, exuding a menacing aura.

Rong Mi tried to maintain a relaxed demeanor, holding the calming syringe in his left hand while cautiously extending his right hand forward.

Humans were already wary of one another, let alone when dealing with a language-barrier creature.

In that instant, a burst of silver light erupted as Rong Mi moved.

The Silver Wolf's spiritual energy transformed into sharp ice spikes, heading straight towards him.

In that instant, Rong Mi's actions suddenly accelerated.

With his right hand steady and precise, he grabbed the back of the Silver Wolf's neck, lifting it up. Then, with his left hand, he scooped up the wolf's limbs and held them close to his armpit.

Rong Mi: The texture is indeed pleasing!

As he held the young wolf in place, he rolled sideways to dodge the ice spikes. At the same time, a faint purple mental energy radiated from Rong Mi's surroundings, locking onto the Silver Wolf's aura.

The juvenile Silver Wolf wriggled fiercely within Rong Mi's grip, its silver glow intensifying as it prepared for another mental attack.

However, due to its injuries, its movements were delayed.

While it was gathering its strength, Rong Mi's mental energy solidified into a tangible collar, tightening around the wolf's neck.

"....Awooo!!! ——"

The Silver Wolf let out an enraged howl, twisting its body to bite, but to no avail.

Being small in stature, the young wolf was completely immobilized under Rong Mi's control.

It sensed the spirit collar around its neck hindering its assault, preventing its power from being unleashed. As it continued to struggle furiously, the wolf gradually grew weary. Seizing the opportunity, Rong Mi administered a soothing dose of spirit energy to the wolf.

"…Aaauuugh…" The weakening Silver Wolf let out another howl of rage.

"It's not harming you," Rong Mi said, holding the wolf down with one hand as he explained and climbed onto the mecha. "You need treatment, understand? You'll feel much better after…"

Rong Mi pulled down his pilot helmet.

This environment wasn't safe.

The scent of dead ice butterflies permeated the snowfield.

If all the high-ranking ice butterflies in the underground lair had indeed been killed by the wolves, then there was no issue with staying here.

But when Rong Mi had glanced at the ice butterfly nest as the wolf descended through the ice layer, he'd judged that the planet likely nurtured more than just first and second-level high-ranking ice butterflies.

In the hierarchy of ice butterflies, low-ranking ones hunted for the high-ranking, while high-ranking ones hunted for even higher ones.

At the depths of the planet, the tribe's leader, after accumulating ample energy, would enter a slumber. If it could successfully assimilate the energy, it would awaken around the time of its ascension.

At this point, they would take matters into their own hands to acquire the high-level energy needed for advancement more quickly.

However, they might also awaken for other reasons.

For example... to avenge their kind.

As a precaution, Rong Mi had to take the wolf and leave, finding a concealed location.

The mecha activated, departing the icy plain, crossing the mountains, and distancing itself from the recent battlefield. It finally came to rest by the icy sea at the end of the mountain range.

Rong Mi hoped that the dose of mental soothing agent would take effect, but it seemed his wish was in vain.

As the mecha landed on the beach, he sensed that the Silver Wolves were no longer wriggling in his arm, seemingly unconscious.

Looking down, Rong Mi noticed that the little wolf had, at some point, closed its eyes.

The wolf's body completely relaxed, jerking involuntarily now and then, with barely any other response. Even its breathing became barely audible.

Rong Mi gently placed the Silver Wolves on his lap, furrowing his brow.

With one hand cradling the Silver Wolf's head, he extended a thread of his mental energy, non-aggressively, attempting to probe into the wolf's mind domain.

In the era of interstellar nomads, Rong Mi was a "Synthetic Healer."

That was a term that struck fear into the hearts of all orphans like a nightmare.

During a time of scarcity when "Natural Healers" had gone extinct, every orphan taken in by a fleet had to undergo genetic modification and become "Synthetic Healers" as a way to repay their adoptive fleets.

Orphans who refused the transformation were abandoned by the fleet, left to die on barren planets with nothing.

Rong Mi was also an orphan.

The "Synthetic Healer" was once a nightmare he couldn't escape, but it was also the hope for humanity's continued survival.

Under prolonged exposure to cosmic radiation during space travel, humans' mind domains could sustain damage, with Mecha Pilots, who ventured out on missions, being the most affected.

All treatments for mind domain injuries required the cooperation of a healer.

Without the genetically modified "Synthetic Healers," humanity would have gone extinct centuries before Rong Mi's birth.

Yet, genetic modification was far from flawless.

Every Artificial Healer began their service on the main battleship at the age of seven, and this lasted for twelve years until its conclusion.

Those twelve years were also the "shelf life" of the Artificial Healers.

After twelve years, the genetic modifications would start to reverse, causing the forcibly acquired healing abilities to vanish.

The "Artificial Healers" regained their freedom, finally able to choose their own paths in life, but they were perpetually threatened by the lethal genetic disorders that could erupt at any moment due to the modifications.

In an era when the average human lifespan was two hundred years, the lifespan of an "Artificial Healer" typically did not exceed forty.

Within her short life, Rong Mi chose to live it to the fullest.

Upon completing her service as an Artificial Healer, Rong Mi didn't opt to leave the main battleship like the majority, to spend the rest of her days on a satellite ship as a mid-class resident. Instead, she passed the assessment and entered the main battleship's mecha training camp, becoming a mecha pilot who safeguarded the fleet, explored barren planets, and battled against the insectoids.

She soared through the cosmos, witnessing magnificent sights that were inaccessible to most.

Due to prolonged mecha piloting, Rong Mi succumbed to a genetic disorder and died before reaching thirty. It had been less than six years since she lost her status as an Artificial Healer and regained her freedom.

Rong Mi never imagined that there would come a day when he would attempt to use his healing abilities again.

All for a fluffy Star Beast.

"Since I've 'inherited' this body... I should have also 'inherited' its mental domain..." Rong Mi closed his eyes, recalling the method of using spiritual energy to heal others. He slowly delved into the wolf's mental domain.

The process went smoother than he had anticipated.

Perhaps because the wolf was severely injured and unconscious, it offered no resistance to Rong Mi's intrusion.

The young man's mental energy delved into the wolf's mind, operating in a completely different vibrational pattern from his usual offensive approach.

This was a unique application of mental power that only a healer could accomplish.

Rong Mi let out a subtle sigh of relief.

After being reborn, he had indeed regained his healing abilities.

Rong Mi: "One could say it's a blessing."

A gentle purple spirit energy rippled, soothing the consciousness and calming the chaos within the wolf's spiritual domain.

The wolf trembled, whimpering weakly while still unconscious.

"Shh... Relax," Rong Mi whispered. "It'll be alright soon. Didn't I just introduce myself? I'm Rong Mi, a healer. You know what a healer is, right?"

Deep within the icy sea where the mecha was docked, there hung a small starship, its silhouette outlined in black with silver edges.

The main cabin's rest area was in disarray. In the center lay a treatment bed surrounded by scattered spiritual energy monitors and life signs detectors, all askew and damaged despite their reinforced casings. It seemed they had been severed by energy waves.

The temperature inside was frigid, frost covering everything. Layers of ice clung to the edges of the broken instruments. The cold energy flow originated from the treatment bed in the center.

Lying on the bed was a handsome man. Fractured monitoring tubes were embedded beneath his skin, his breath shallow, his complexion deathly pale, and dark blood stains at the corners of his lips.

The man's eyes were tightly shut, lost in a deep slumber. As waves of unchecked spirit energy pulsed outward, his body trembled slightly, fresh blood seeping from the corners of his mouth, overlaying the dark stains already there.

Suddenly, the man seemed to sense something, his brows furrowing abruptly.

His consciousness was foggy, instinctively suppressing the savage rampage within his mental domain with all his might.

Amidst the intense pain that seemed ready to engulf him at any moment, an unfamiliar sensation arose, one he had never experienced before.

It was as if the vulnerability of his body had been suddenly seized by someone else, instilling in him a profound sense of being threatened. He struggled to retaliate amidst his fading consciousness.

Yet simultaneously, amidst the chaos caused by the disorder within his mental domain – a chaos that threatened to shatter him completely – he sensed a long-forgotten sense of ease and clarity.

It was as if a hand was gently parting the turbulent energy vortexes.

In the midst of his daze, he heard a clear voice, somewhat distant, repeating his name indistinctly.

The name was Rong Mi.