Chapter 43: First Glimpse of Talent

Chapter 43: First Glimpse of Talent

Xiao Sa looked at Lan Dis on the projection screen with a headache. He always felt that Lan Dis's stubbornness likely had another reason behind it.

The fact that he, an S-rank, didn't have a mental entity was hard to explain reasonably. His identity involved too many secrets—the biggest one in his heart—and he couldn't tell anyone.

At least, not until he had retrieved the gem necklace.

"Landis," Xiao Sa tried to explain, "Do you remember how I used to go for morning runs, and you shared your mental entity with me? And the mental energy notes you gave me? My mental energy has improved a lot compared to before, and I might not be C-rank anymore. I've also adapted much better to sunlight, and I can handle daily missions without any problems."

"These are just mutated beasts, not humanoid mutants, and the corps doesn't only have me. I act with my teammates every day, so there won't be any danger."

Landis frowned on the other side of the screen, wanting to say something but hesitating.

Xiao Sa emphasized again, "Staying in the base is a waste of time for me. I must go outside to look for clues. If you keep blocking me, I'll have to find another way."

Landis pursed his lips, looking at him with a mix of disapproval and helplessness, just about to say something—

The door of the dormitory was suddenly slammed open, and an alarm calling for support echoed down the corridor.

Xiao Sa turned around and saw Pero supporting the injured Atai. His expression turned serious as he quickly bid Lan Dis goodbye and ended the video call.

"What happened? Are you both hurt?"

Pero raised his brow and said briefly, "We encountered a group of high-level mutated beasts while collecting energy minerals."

Atai, holding his fractured arm and wincing, added as Pero bandaged him, "We're here to send our critically injured comrade back and call for reinforcements. Our brother is covering the rear for us and is still there."

"We need to call people back to save our brother immediately. I'm worried he won't hold on much longer."

Xiao Sa stood up immediately, "I'll get the medic. If you're not injured, Pero, take me with you."

Pero looked at him in surprise and quickly tried to stop him, "You shouldn't go. The mutated beasts today are mostly A-rank, and there's a Lord-level leader. We can't spare the effort to protect you."

Atai immediately added, "Yes, Xiao Sa, we've already called for the remaining teams from the base."

Xiao Sa grabbed Pero's wrist and gently pushed him aside. Despite his lack of visible effort, Pero couldn't stop him. Looking down, he saw his wrist had turned red from the pressure.

Xiao Sa said calmly, "There aren't many people left in the base. Colonel Horan and most of the team haven't returned from their exploration mission in other areas. Every extra hand counts. If you keep wasting time, how long do you think Major Lo Kai can hold on?"

Without another word, he quickly headed to the warehouse and retrieved his mecha. The mecha used by the Exploration Corps were all standardized models.

He entered the cockpit, opened the radar to display the coordinates, and looked at Pero, who had just arrived. "Lead the way. Time is running out."

Pero didn't say anything else and silently entered his mecha, quickly flying out of the base. Xiao Sa and a twenty-man reinforcement team followed closely behind.

Pero led the reinforcement team southward for about 20 minutes. Xiao Sa could already see the dust-filled sky ahead, with roughly a hundred massive mutated beasts visible in the distance.

The team accelerated, and the blue thrusters behind the mechas left long trails of light as they charged into battle.

Xiao Sa observed carefully. The beasts resembled a combination of Tibetan Mastiffs and highland wolves. Their highest leader beast stood at least two to three meters tall, definitely double A-rank or above. The majority of the others were about the height of a person, massive in size, and incredibly powerful.

Their manes, when attacking, were as hard as steel needles, forming a thick defense through condensed mental energy on their skin. This defense could dissipate most of the energy from the mecha's particle cannons unless they hit vital points directly.

Major Lo Kai's wolf-type mental entity made him a prime target for the beasts' aggression.

He and several officers were leading the team, barely holding their ground, while several heavily injured comrades were behind them. The mecha's cockpit doors had been mauled, showing signs of severe damage and deformation.

The reinforcements immediately joined the battle, and the pressure on the officers who had been struggling to hold their ground was instantly alleviated. The medics rushed to the injured, administering inhibitors and potent healing agents.

Unlike the others, Xiao Sa didn’t rush into the attack. Instead, he carefully observed the behavior and tactics of the mutated wolves. His earring emitted a faint glow, and the translucent visor’s optical brain screen instantly appeared before his eyes.

Relying on Haino’s powerful computational abilities and extensive database, the mutated wolves before him were quickly analyzed in detail.

The alpha wolf, clearly intelligent, remained at the rear of the pack, issuing commands through occasional howls.

The wolves’ fangs and claws gleamed with a cold, metallic sheen, their powerful bites having torn through the mecha’s reinforced doors.

With the arrival of human reinforcements, the wolf pack swiftly switched to a defensive formation. On the surface, it appeared the humans were advancing, giving Major Lokai and the others a moment to catch their breath.

Xiao Sa quickly deduced that the alpha wolf had pulled back the front-line wolves to rest, while a small number of strong middle wolves were moved to the front. The number of wolves engaging with the corps decreased, creating an illusion of human control over the situation.

Lokai, a veteran of many battles in the Exploration Corps, had clearly noticed this as well.

After hours of intense combat, his mental energy was waning, but he continued to lead from the front.

Over the team comms, Lokai’s voice rumbled, “Stay alert. The alpha wolf is clever. They’re regrouping and will strike back soon!”

Xiao Sa nodded silently.

At the same level, individual wolves were generally much stronger than humans. It typically required two or three elite humans of the same level to hold their own against a lead wolf.

The officers of the Exploration Corps were all A-rank, with Lokai being the only double-A. The rest of the team members were B-rank, but the sheer number of wolves opposing them was overwhelming. Under the alpha wolf’s command, their combat effectiveness was comparable to an elite troop. Even with the reinforcements, the balance of power was still stretched thin.

Fortunately, compared to the lead alpha wolf, the other wolves were not very intelligent and attacked solely with their formidable bodies and instincts.

Xiao Sa raised his mecha’s position and pushed the energy lever to the maximum. As long as they could take down the lead alpha wolf, the remaining mutated wolves would be no threat without their commander.

He quietly released his aggressive pheromones, preparing to deliver an unexpected heavy blow to the alpha wolf.

Unexpectedly, the alpha wolf’s sense of smell was far more powerful than imagined. Extremely sensitive to attack pheromones, it almost instantly detected Xiao Sa’s killing intent, despite the chaos of the battlefield.

The alpha wolf let out a loud roar, commanding two A-rank giant wolves to charge directly at Xiao Sa.

Lokai, who was fighting at the front, noticed this and clicked his tongue, instinctively turning back to ram into Xiao Sa’s hovering mecha. He fired two beam cannons at the giant wolves.

The two giant wolves were instantly enraged, biting onto his gray wolf mental entity from head to tail.

The gray wolf let out a mournful howl. It was already wounded in several places, and its hind leg joints were clearly weak, but it was spurred into action, turning to bite the neck of one of the giant wolves. It clamped down tightly, not letting go even as the hard, needle-like fur pierced its flesh.

This unexpected rescue caught Xiao Sa off guard. He heard Lokai’s hurried and irritated voice in the team channel, “What are you doing here? We don’t need you causing trouble! Get back to the base!”

Lokai’s voice was visibly anxious, his breathing rapid and heavy.

Xiao Sa glanced at his mental entity and surmised that after such a long and high-intensity battle, Lokai’s mental state was probably in bad shape.

Though the dorm leader was cursing fiercely, his actions to protect his teammates were swift and precise.

Xiao Sa shook his head and sent a calm, steady voice through the team channel, “Captain, we’ve got this. You should inject yourself with an inhibitor as soon as possible.”

With that, he ignored Lokai’s reprimand and saw that the alpha wolf had regrouped the rested pack, sending them toward the breach they had just torn open. Xiao Sa immediately charged toward the alpha wolf.

On this unfamiliar desolate star, not knowing if there were other wolves around, Xiao Sa understood the importance of a quick resolution.

His mental domain expanded, engulfing the entire wolf pack. The aggressive pheromones coalesced into an invisible spear, striking the alpha wolf’s sensitive nose with devastating force!

The nose, the most sensitive weak point of a wolf, was overwhelmed by the massive pheromone attack, causing a catastrophic effect that was hard to describe.

The lead wolf felt as though its sense of smell, and indeed all five senses, had been overwhelmed by an extreme stimulus, rendering them useless. It was as if it was cut off from the world, unable to smell or see anything, losing all sense of its surroundings.

The hostile, icy atmosphere enveloped it completely, causing its fur to bristle.

The lead wolf's sharp howls echoed across the battlefield, but Xiao Sa's concentrated attack pheromones and mental domain severed its control over the other wolves.

In great fear, the lead wolf flailed wildly, attacking everything around it. Both the other wolves and even the humans were astonished by the lead wolf's sudden madness.

Even more shocking was the fact that Xiao Sa, a C-grade cadet who had been resting at the base, dared to charge at the most ferocious lead wolf. To everyone watching, it looked like he was deliberately throwing himself into the lead wolf's deadly grasp.

On the chaotic battlefield, only a few mental entities with heightened senses vaguely detected Xiao Sa's alpha pheromones.

Naturally containing powerful attacks, repulsion, and a territorial warning, these pheromones involuntarily made the mental entities feel threatened, instinctively avoiding his sharpness.

Lo Kai's face changed drastically. "Are you trying to get yourself killed? Come back!"

His temples throbbed, as if something blunt was repeatedly hitting his spiritual sea, causing pain so intense that the veins on his hands bulged. Yet, even as he cursed, he quickly maneuvered his mech to rush toward Xiao Sa, attempting to pull him out.

Just as he flew halfway, Lo Kai watched as Xiao Sa deftly dodged the lead wolf's brutal attack with an incredible trajectory in mid-air, accelerating again and again. In the blink of an eye, he charged toward the lead wolf from above.

Xiao Sa swung an iron fist at the lead wolf's bloodshot eye. With the force of a mountain, he struck it hard, instantly creating a massive, bloody wound.

The lead wolf let out a howl of excruciating pain, its voice filled with horror and rage. The terrifying sound made everyone's ears ring and scalps tingle, forcing both enemies and allies back a step.

Even Lo Kai was momentarily paralyzed by the force of the blow, nearly losing control of his mech. Everyone instinctively covered their left eye, avoiding pain that didn't exist.

But Xiao Sa's attack had only just begun.

Badly wounded, the lead wolf's first reaction was to retreat and summon the other wolves to surround and attack the enemy.

As it took two steps back, it felt as though its limbs had sunk into an extremely viscous swamp, becoming stiff and slow. Within moments, it lost its best chance to escape.

Faced with such a massive and powerful enemy, Xiao Sa decided to rely on his overwhelming strength to crush its bones.

Wolves were known for their strong heads and iron-like arms but vulnerable waists, and even as a mutated wolf, the lead wolf retained this weakness.

Xiao Sa aimed at the joints of its hind legs and fired several shots. Though he couldn't completely break through the wolf's defenses, he at least restricted its movements.

Following that, he delivered consecutive heavy blows to the lead wolf's spine and flanks, until it was completely knocked down.

The dull thuds, rhythmically pounding on the ears of both wolves and humans, mixed with howls, causing everyone to gasp in awe.

Shadowed by death, the lead wolf howled in terror, its sharp howls summoning all nearby wolves. The wolves abandoned their fights with others and rushed toward Xiao Sa without regard for their own safety, desperately trying to protect the lead wolf.

The howls, filled with fierce aggressive mental energy, directly stimulated the mechs' magnetic signals and people's spiritual seas.

After continuous high-intensity combat, Lo Kai's mental state had already been stretched to the limit, and this was the final straw that nearly broke him. His gray wolf rolled on the ground, howling in pain.

"Caesar!" Lo Kai gritted his teeth and immediately injected himself with an inhibitor. His forehead was drenched in sweat, his face flushed red, and he breathed heavily, feeling as though his head was about to explode.

With his last bit of rationality, he shouted in the team channel, "Everyone, go support Xiao Sa! Put on ear protection and do not release your mental entities! His ability counters mental entities!"

The team, mentally overwhelmed by the wolf howls, finally snapped out of their daze. They quickly retracted their damaged mental entities and manipulated their mechs to unleash the most powerful beam cannons at the group of frenzied wolves.

Xiao Sa, who had no mental entity but was immensely powerful, was not afraid of the lead wolf's ability attacks at all.

Within his spiritual sea, he could deeply sense that the lead wolf was at the end of its rope.

A massive surge of mental energy erupted from him once again, like an impenetrable net, firmly ensnaring the wolf pack lunging towards him.

The dense pheromones of attack were almost tangible, like invisible blades slicing through the surrounding wolf pack, causing a scene of carnage. For a moment, it was unclear whether Xiao Sa was being besieged by the wolves or if he was the one besieging them.

Xiao Sa's mecha alloy fist glowed with a silvery sheen of mental energy. He leapt into the air, using the momentum to dive down like a sharp cone, piercing deep into the alpha wolf’s soft belly.

Punch after punch, the overwhelming force struck the weakest point of its defense.

The alpha wolf's howls grew more desperate with each one, becoming weaker until it finally fell silent and collapsed amidst the swirling dust.

Everyone watched in stunned silence, eyes wide, jaws nearly hitting the ground.

"That guy's a C-rank? What a joke! Is he a legendary innate strength from a genetic mutation?"

Pero and Luokai were equally stunned, watching Xiao Sa, nearly forgetting their own mental entities were still writhing in pain.

With the alpha wolf dead, Xiao Sa's mental energy slowly dissipated. The rest of the wolf pack, now leaderless, fell into a paralyzed state. Working together, they finally managed to eliminate the mutated wolves.

As Xiao Sa's mecha touched down, the others instinctively cleared a space for him.

Xiao Sa opened the mecha hatch, and several squad leaders immediately surrounded him, their expressions a mix of awe and concern.

"Are you okay? Are you injured?"

"I'm fine." Xiao Sa jumped down from the mecha, casually running a hand through his short hair, not even breaking a sweat.

Everyone was speechless, unsure of what to say.

Some of the squad leaders felt a bit awkward, as they were supposed to step up and protect the newcomers. They hadn't expected to be protected by a newcomer instead.

Luokai stared at him with a puzzled expression, his brow furrowed, unsure of what to do with his hands. He had just started to say a word, "You..."

As the tension from the battle eased, a dull pain suddenly hit his mental sea. He quickly covered his forehead and ordered Caesar to return. At that moment, it was as if the wolf had lost its mind, struggling and almost biting its owner.

The next second, a broad hand pressed on the top of the gray wolf's head. Invisible mental threads extended from Xiao Sa's palm, enveloping Caesar's aching head.

"Caesar! Kid, don't get close to him!" Luokai frowned and shouted, but before he could pull back his mental entity, it slipped out of his control for a moment.

In a daze, Caesar seemed to catch a calming scent, and his turbulent mental sea was gradually soothed, as if he were drunk and unsteady. He no longer struggled or bared his teeth, finally collapsing softly to the ground.

Luokai, holding his forehead, stepped forward. "What exactly are you doing?"

Pero grabbed his hand and pulled him back, whispering, "It seems to be a mental calming."

"What?" Luokai's eyes widened in astonishment.

Xiao Sa had observed Luokai carefully before. There were no obvious signs of mutation, and the severity of his injuries was far less than Landis's and Broken Peak's. There was no need for a direct connection to Luokai's mental sea to cleanse the source of contamination.

Clearly, given Luokai's attitude towards him, it would be hard to gain his trust to open up his mental sea. As such, a simple soothing of his mental entity was enough.

After a moment, Xiao Sa withdrew his hand, casually shaking off the wolf hairs from his palm.

Caesar shook his large head, no longer as agitated as before. Even his fierce wolf eyes looked clearer. He wagged his tail, sniffed the air, and silently lay down next to his owner, licking his fingers.

"How are you, Caesar?" Luokai rubbed the forehead of his mental entity, feeling through their mental connection that the unbearable pain had indeed disappeared. He sighed in relief and retracted his mental entity.

Luokai's gaze towards Xiao Sa was complicated, his previous disdain and annoyance gone. He opened his mouth, struggling to find the words, and awkwardly stammered, "You..."

Xiao Sa didn't mind, simply saying, "Stay out of combat with your mental entity for a while. You need a high-concentration inhibitor given your condition."

"Lo Kai couldn't help but ask, 'How did you learn this? Are you a spiritual healer?'"

"It's not like they’re common. Spiritual healers are either in the Royal Association or come from noble families. How did one end up in the Exploration Corps, on this desolate planet?'"

"Other than Colonel Horan, no one else knew about Xiao Sa’s mental condition. They just assumed he was low-ranked. Xiao Sa didn’t bother explaining much, just casually nodded and said, 'You can think of it that way. My abilities are a bit special.'"

"The people around him immediately started looking at him differently. Spiritual healers were even rarer than C-rank officers in the Exploration Corps."

"This helped Lo Kai understand why a C-rank could join the corps. If he were a healer, that would explain his value."

"But I thought spiritual healers couldn’t fight. Then how did he single-handedly beat the alpha wolf earlier?"

"The team was left with many questions, but since Xiao Sa had already returned to his starship cockpit, they wisely didn’t pursue the matter further."

"In the team channel, several major officers were discussing the recent large-scale wolf pack attack."

"With a furrowed brow, Lo Kai flipped through recent records of mutated wolf attacks and said worriedly, 'There haven’t been high-frequency, large-scale attacks like this before. Could it be that there’s a pollution source nearby?'"

"A wave of unease spread through the group. If there was a pollution source nearby, it would mean there might be mutated wolf dens on nearby planets. 'We need to report this to the garrison corps as soon as possible,' they thought."

"The reinforcement team took the injured comrades back to base first, while the remaining team members continued with the original mission of collecting energy minerals."

"This time, Xiao Sa joined them. Even Lo Kai didn’t protest this time, though he and Pero flanked Xiao Sa on either side."

"In the silence, Xiao Sa’s steady voice came through the channel, 'Where did you encounter this group of high-level mutated wolves?'"

"Lo Kai replied, 'There’s a mine pit ahead that was exposed when an unknown starship crashed into it. The wolf pack emerged from the underground of that mine pit.'"

"Xiao Sa’s eyebrows twitched slightly. 'What kind of starship?'"

"Lo Kai transmitted the holographic images he had captured to him. 'It’s a strange starship design, like an escape pod, not an imperial standard vessel. It might have been from some unlucky traveler from another country that crashed here.'"

"'We’ve already searched it. There were no people and no supplies.'"

"As soon as Xiao Sa saw the escape pod, his pupils constricted, and his heart raced—this was the design of a ship from his home planet!"