Chapter 56: Family Reunion and Awakening the Mental Body

Chapter 56: Family Reunion and Awakening the Mental Body

After one more day of rest, Xiao Sa and Broken Peak set off for the planet where their clansmen had settled. Five days later, the starship they were on finally reached its destination.

The nearby debris belt was a high-risk area for humanoid mutant contamination, and hardly any starships would choose this route.

From space, the planet was a stark contrast—half lush with greenery and oceans, the other half a barren wasteland.

There wasn’t even a proper high-tech spaceport on the planet. As the starship entered the atmosphere, Haino suddenly said, “Xiao Sa, I’ve detected that same signal frequency we intercepted before!”

Before Xiao Sa could react with joy, Haino gave another alarming report: “I’ve also detected a contamination source from the humanoid mutants.”

Xiao Sa’s expression turned serious. “Where?”

※※※

Since the ship was caught in a cosmic storm, Xiao Yijing and his clansmen barely survived the crash-landing on this desolate planet. Many of his clansmen were lost in space, their fates unknown, including his youngest son.

Xiao Yijing had originally planned to settle on this planet temporarily with his people and then search for the missing clansmen and his son. However, the planet’s extreme ecology made things difficult. Half of the planet was a primitive jungle, and the other half was a volcano on the verge of eruption at any moment. More importantly, there was an extremely terrifying monster in the vicinity.

The local natives referred to this monster as a humanoid mutant. It carried a kind of viral contamination source that could infect anyone who came into contact with it. At best, the infected would lose their rationality; at worst, they would turn into monsters. The local natives avoided these humanoid mutants at all costs.

Due to the hostile environment and the presence of these monsters, the planet had remained desolate and unclaimed by surrounding nations. Nevertheless, it was still better than their war-destroyed home planet. At least there was fresh air and water here.

After living there for some time, they discovered that the sun of this star system seemed particularly hostile toward outsiders.

Prolonged exposure to the sun’s rays caused burns and mental energy depletion, leading to fainting or even near-death experiences. With no other choice, Xiao Yijing led his clansmen in carving out a mountain, where they lived temporarily under the shelter of caves, all while dealing with the humanoid mutant monsters that appeared every few days.

Six months had passed, and they were still far from establishing a new nation, making alliances, or finding their lost loved ones. They were struggling to adapt to basic survival.

In any case, they had survived.

“Father.” Xiao Ke, Xiao Yijing’s eldest son, wore a military camouflage outfit and hurriedly jumped out of his mech cockpit, his expression grave.

“Today, a large number of humanoid mutants have attacked. There’s even a leader-class humanoid mutant out there. The first batch of combat troops has temporarily fallen back, with the second batch taking their place, but our energy reserves are running low. Many mechs can no longer fight due to insufficient energy.”

This situation couldn’t continue much longer…

Xiao Yijing let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping under the weight of the decision he had to make.

This desolate planet was too underdeveloped, and the resources were difficult to extract. There were nearly 3,000 survivors who had followed Xiao Yijing, but only about 800 of them were capable of fighting. The rest were elderly and weak.

Xiao Yijing said seriously, “If we have no other choice, we’ll have to abandon this planet and search for another habitable one with the remaining people.”

Xiao Ke shook his head. “We’ve already scouted the surrounding area. Either the planets are completely uninhabitable wastelands, or they are territories of other nations. Going there rashly might lead to conflicts with those nations.”

“We’re outnumbered and vulnerable. If we’re seen as invaders, things will get worse. Moreover, we’ve been working here for half a year. It would be truly regrettable to abandon everything now.”

Before he could finish, a deafening roar erupted from outside. Both men were startled and immediately entered their mech cockpits, flying out.

In the sky, the dense swarm of humanoid mutants was terrifying to behold.

A vast cloud of black fog hung in the air, punctuated by the distant, guttural roar of the leader mutant. Brave warriors continued to charge into the black fog with their mechs, but none of them returned.

Xiao Ke said anxiously, "Low-level mutants can still be killed with energy cannons, but high-level ones cannot be taken down with energy cannons alone. The locals talk about 'spiritual entity abilities,' which we don't possess. Several of our clansmen have already been infected..."

Xiao Yijing immediately rushed into the black fog with Xiao Ke. Both Alphas, their entry into the battlefield instantly eased the situation.

The more Xiao Yijing learned, the more amazed—and horrified—he became by the mutants.

The black fog was clearly a mental domain radiating intense negative energy. There were also faint pheromone reactions from the mutants. Even more terrifying, their bodies could slowly regenerate even after being riddled with holes.

Without spiritual entities, their clansmen were at a huge disadvantage against these high-level mutants. They had to rely on draining energy to wear down and eventually kill these high-level mutants.

After much collective effort, they managed to kill a mutant overlord. Xiao Yijing’s brow furrowed as his mech’s energy levels dropped dangerously low.

Before they could catch their breath, another ear-splitting roar erupted from the opposite direction.

Both father and son turned pale—damn, how could there be another one?

The system channel was filled with gasps and sighs. You could almost see the exhaustion and despair on the faces inside each mech.

Xiao Yijing took a deep breath and said solemnly, "The other Alphas will go and destroy the nest. As for the other leader, leave it to me."

Xiao Ke immediately objected, "No, that's too dangerous. Let me go with you."

Xiao Yijing said sternly, "No. You need to gather the remaining clansmen and return to the starship immediately. The survival of our clansmen is the top priority. We can't afford to keep fighting these monsters here."

With no other choice but to follow his father's order, Xiao Ke's eyes turned red. "Understood."

He immediately turned his mech and flew toward the mountain.

Just as Xiao Yijing was preparing to make a final stand and lead the remaining clansmen to abandon the planet, a huge shadow suddenly loomed overhead.

Everyone instinctively looked up, only to see a massive unfamiliar starship slowly approaching from the horizon.

Xiao Yijing's expression turned more serious than ever. He shouted in the system channel, "Everyone, return to the starship. The combat teams, follow me to engage the enemy. The rest of you, evacuate the planet immediately!"

On such a desolate planet, it was impossible for an ordinary starship to just "pass by." It was either space pirates or a foreign military starship trying to claim the planet.

Either scenario posed a threat, especially while they were in the middle of fighting the mutants. It would be devastating, especially now.

Upon hearing the order, the other combat teams immediately assumed an attack stance, warily watching the unfamiliar starship draw closer.

The main cannon of the starship slowly rotated, aiming at the leader mutant flailing within the black fog. A milky white energy beam began to form at the cannon’s muzzle.

After Xiao Yijing led the warriors out of the black fog's range, the massive energy beam from the starship's main cannon shot down from above, striking the leader mutant in the center of the black fog.

A powerful shockwave instantly rippled out, and the resulting gust nearly snapped all the nearby trees.

Xiao Yijing and his clansmen were forced to retreat dozens of meters to stabilize themselves.

Following that, a group of mechs flew down from the unfamiliar starship.

Before Xiao Yijing could send a communication signal to these strangers of unknown origin, he felt an immensely powerful mental domain surging outward around him.

Along with it came a thick and familiar scent of pheromones.

"This is..." Xiao Yijing's eyes widened in disbelief as he stared at the mech charging to the front.

The overwhelming mental domain completely covered the black fog's magnetic field.

Xiao Sa's sharp attack pheromones cut through the surging black fog like a sword, piercing straight into the leader mutant's flesh.

He had intended to use the same trick again, just like before on Frostfall Star, by connecting to the spiritual entities of Broken Peak and others. Since his second differentiation, the power in his mental sea no longer depleted after a single strike as it had before.

Unexpectedly, the alpha mutant, sensing Xiao Sa's pheromones, began to howl madly.

Xiao Sa was startled, his eyes narrowing as he coldly stared at the alpha mutant on his screen. This was his second close encounter with a mutant, and now he could vaguely perceive the thoughts and will of the beast.

He even caught a faint scent of pheromones from the creature, an odor of decay, despair, and icy coldness, like the stench of rotten frozen food.

He had never experienced this before.

The pheromones carried another intense signal: anger, hostility, and deep fear.

Xiao Sa's brow twitched slightly. Could it be that this alpha mutant was actually afraid of his pheromones? Was this an effect of his second differentiation?

When Landis had mentioned the history of humanoid mutants to him, Xiao Sa had firmly rejected the idea that these so-called humanoid mutants had anything to do with his clansmen. But now, he was truly beginning to waver.

Why did these mutants have both spiritual fields and pheromones?

They were like Alpha mutants.

Xiao Sa's expression hardened, and his resolve returned.

No matter the evolutionary process of these mutants, the one before him was an enemy that threatened him and his clansmen.

An overwhelming wave of killing intent radiated from his pheromones, affecting all the lower-level mutants around him. They froze mid-air, and wisps of black fog began to dissipate, trembling as if in fear.

Xiao Sa attempted to communicate with and control these lower-level mutants using his pheromones and spiritual field.

"Stop killing humans, gather, and tear each other apart."

The command, carried by his sharp and cold pheromones, reached every mutant nearby. To his surprise, some of the lower-level mutants actually began to slaughter each other!

Only the alpha mutant continued to struggle, its strong self-awareness refusing to obey Xiao Sa's commands.

Its powerful tail, like a towering vine, lashed out and coiled around a nearby mecha, crushing both the mecha and its pilot inside into a twisted, deformed shape, like a tightly squeezed soda can.

Xiao Sa's eyes darkened as he requested all members of Broken Peak's squad to activate their spiritual entity abilities via the system channel.

Countless streams of abilities, transformed into faint silvery pure energy, were gradually condensed into a sharp, unparalleled longsword within Xiao Sa's spiritual field, and it was brutally stabbed into the alpha mutant's body.

A terrifying energy surge exploded instantly!

The alpha mutant's painful howls came to an abrupt halt, and the aftershock of the explosion scattered the lower-level mutants, leaving only a rain of dark red blood and flesh, which eventually disappeared.

Only Xiao Sa's group and Xiao Yijing's combat team remained, silently facing each other in the air.

Xiao Sa maneuvered his mecha to meet them head-on, and behind him, Broken Peak's anxious voice came through: "Wait, we still don't know who's on the other side!"

Inside the cockpit, Xiao Sa smiled slightly, his bright eyes filled with uncontainable excitement and joy: "It's alright, I already know."

As the mecha slowly landed on the ground, Xiao Yijing opened his signal and connected with them, his voice steady but filled with excitement: "Xiao Sa? Is that you?"

Xiao Sa was stunned. The first clansman he encountered turned out to be his father.

"Father, it's me!" Xiao Sa immediately opened the cockpit and jumped out.

The middle-aged man on the other side removed his combat helmet, his stern face familiar, his face lit up with a mixture of surprise and overwhelming joy. He opened his arms and embraced his long-lost younger son tightly.

"I'm just so relieved you're alive!"

Xiao Sa hurriedly asked, "Mother and Brother? Are they okay? And the other clansmen?"

Xiao Yijing nodded. "Most of them are still here. Your mother and brother are fine too. They've been very worried about you."

Xiao Sa let out a long sigh of relief.

Not far away, another mech quickly flew over. The cabin door opened, and a tall man in a blue combat suit jumped out, removing his combat visor, and called out in surprise, "Xiao Sa!"

"Big brother!"

Xiao Ke gripped Xiao Sa's shoulders and studied him closely.

His eyes welled up, and he hugged Xiao Sa tightly, tears streaming down his face. "I dreamed last night that a monster took your head away. I'm so glad you're safe!"

Xiao Sa awkwardly patted his brother's back, unsure of how to comfort him. "Don't cry, big brother. I'm not dead yet."

His older brother, an Alpha, was perfect in every way, inheriting their mother's good looks. But he had an overly developed tear gland, which caused him to cry whenever his emotions were stirred, and even his pheromones smelled like sea salt.

Xiao Sa really couldn't imagine his older brother and mother crying together in each other's arms, which gave him a headache. He quickly extricated himself from his brother's embrace and called over the members of Broken Peak to introduce both sides.

Skipping the later part of the story, after both sides settled down, Xiao Sa's parents and older brother sat in a makeshift reinforced concrete house to chat.

Xiao Sa looked around for a moment. The living conditions were quite basic, with makeshift buildings constructed from salvaged starship parts and local materials. While not exactly beautiful, they were incredibly sturdy and functional.

Without addressing the threats from solar radiation and humanoid mutants, proper infrastructure development was out of the question. In terms of living conditions and material resources, it was probably worse than the lower planets of the Dawn Empire.

Xiao Sa briefly summarized his experiences.

After settling on this desolate planet, the clansmen had sent starships to nearby planets to search for other survivors and lost clan members. Some had unfortunately perished, and those who survived weren't far away, except for Xiao Sa, who had ended up tens of thousands of miles away.

The starship he encountered on Frostfall Star last time was sent to find other clansmen but couldn't make contact due to the pursuit of humanoid mutants.

As expected, his mother and older brother started crying in each other's arms, while his father, accustomed to it, happily brewed tea. The tea leaves were traded with the native inhabitants of this planet, a practice that had become a small comfort in their new life.

Xiao Sa had a bit of a headache and took a cup, gulping it down. The taste was unexpectedly sweet.

When Xiao Sa mentioned his second differentiation, a rare phenomenon where an individual undergoes a second transformation, often associated with ancestral traits, his parents exchanged a surprised glance.

Xiao Yijing frowned. "Second differentiation, I've heard elders mention it. It's said to be a throwback phenomenon, but it hasn't occurred in many generations of our people."

"What's certain is that the great ancestor who led our clansmen had a second differentiation. He was the only recorded dual-S Alpha in the entire clan."

"He once built an underground city in a certain place on our ancestral planet, which recorded the history and major secrets of our clan. But after hundreds of years, everything from the past has been lost, and those legends are hard to verify."

Xiao Sa pondered for a moment and then explained the method of awakening a mental entity, a powerful psychic presence that could significantly enhance one's abilities in battle, to his family.

"Father, there are powerful humanoid mutants spreading pollution sources all over this star system, and I feel that these mutants seem to have some connection with our clansmen."

"Most importantly, without a mental entity, we are naturally at a disadvantage on the battlefield."

Xiao Yijing watched the entire projection seriously and nodded. "I understand. We'll investigate this matter. Fortunately, we met you today; otherwise, we might have had to relocate to another planet."

Xiao Sa frowned. "Why would we need to relocate? Are the mutants too dangerous to handle?"

Xiao Yijing sighed, "It's not just because of the humanoid mutants. Our ship crash-landed, and we lost a significant amount of supplies. The technological level of this desolate planet is very backward. Even if we wanted to trade with other factions to purchase supplies and resources, we don't have the currency in circulation here."

Looking at his father, who was clearly confused, Xiao Sa raised an eyebrow and said slowly, "Money, I have that."

Xiao Yijing stared at his son, clearly confused.

Xiao Sa's transport ship brought in a large number of resources and funds. After expanding the makeshift port on the planet, he resumed his old business and opened a brand new, larger high-concentration inhibitor production factory.

He also persuaded the idle Alpha clansmen to join his production facility, developing new inhibitors of various flavors.

They fully met the needs of various populations in the star sea region. There was no demand they couldn't meet.

A massive construction boom began.

After temporarily leaving the production factory in the care of Broken Peak and Haino, Xiao Sa began to focus on researching the matter of the mental entity.

※※※

Central Star Imperial Palace, within the council hall.

The emperor and important royal family members, along with several military ministers, were arguing non-stop about the Alpha incident and the royal family's secret development of biological weapons.

The third prince, looking at the silent General Landis among the crowd, a cold smile tugging at his lips, said, "General Landis."

"If your security forces hadn't intervened at a critical moment, blocking the mechanized beast legion, and then obstructed their search of your territory while tracking the Alpha, how would we have lost the trail of the Alpha?

You bear undeniable responsibility for this matter!"

The crowd arguing in the hall fell silent and shifted their gazes toward Landis.

As the most powerful military leader in the four elite legions, the general had always been courted by the royal family and had never been reprimanded so harshly as by the third prince.

Landis shot him a cold, unflinching glance before calmly repeating his earlier explanation.

He emphasized, "If the royal family had informed us that the mechanized beast legion was our own, rather than some alien species attacking the royal family, I would not have given such an order."

The third prince frowned. "Are you implying that the royal family is at fault?"

Landis ignored him and bowed slightly to the emperor. "Your Majesty, I have no such intention."

The generals of the first and second legions snorted. They were, of course, quite dissatisfied with this situation as well.

Especially given the longstanding grievances over environmental pollution, the scarcity of spiritual healers, and the limited supply of inhibitors, this incident served as a tipping point.

The emperor, sitting on his throne, stood up, sighed, and began to mediate. "Enough, we can't entirely blame General Landis. He acted out of loyalty to the empire."

The emperor then added slowly, "Since General Landis is pregnant, he will stay on Central Star and rest quietly, awaiting the birth of the child."

He said with a smile to Landis, "You've been on the battlefield too often; it's been hard work. Now you have a chance to take a long break."

The room fell silent as everyone turned to watch Landis, their expressions unreadable.

The moment they learned that Landis was pregnant, their shock exceeded even Caro's astonishment.

Especially the third prince, whose face showed a complex mixture of surprise.

Since the emperor had effectively placed Landis under soft confinement, the third prince had nothing more to say.

Landis, knowing he would face a warning from the royal family, silently bowed to the emperor without further argument.

As long as his legion remained firmly under his control, even if he stayed on Central Star for a year or so, the royal family couldn't do anything to him. Even if they tried to strip him of his military command, they would still have to get the approval of his legion and the mutants on the frontlines.

The argument in the council hall ended without resolution, and Lan Dis returned home, dialing Xiao Sa's communicator signal once again.

Unsurprisingly, it was the busy tone of a failed connection.

Xiao Sa had left aboard the Wenser family's transport ship, and Lan Dis easily found out his destination.

However, after leaving the port in the border star region, Xiao Sa's location was completely lost. By now, he had probably crossed the national border.

Lan Dis rubbed his stomach and muttered to himself, "Where the hell did that guy disappear to?"

※※※

A month later.

A powerful mental energy presence and a surging Alpha pheromone suddenly erupted within the mountain where the clansmen resided.

All the nearby Alphas clamped their hands over their noses and bolted out of their rooms.

"What’s going on? Did some Alpha lose it or go into heat? The smell is overwhelming."

"Where’s the pheromone freshener! My nose is burning!"

At that moment, inside Xiao Sa's room.

He was staring down a fierce mythical beast with snow-white fur and black stripes. On its head was a light golden "King" symbol, and its golden pupils were round as it silently stared at him for a moment.

Then it let out a ferocious roar, "Ao, aowu~~~~"

Xiao Sa silently covered half of his face.

Having a majestic white tiger as a mental entity wasn’t bad, but who could explain why his mental entity was only the size of a palm? Was it just a baby cub?

He couldn’t help but look up again at the silvery, mist-like cloud of mental energy hovering in the air.

Wasn’t this the type of mental entity exclusively owned by spiritual healers, as rumored?

Back when he didn’t have a mental entity, he always wished for one. Now, he had accidentally ended up with two mental entities!