Chapter 271

Chapter 271

"What do you think this 'exposure' means?"

After a long silence, Qin Mengde finally turned her head, thoughtfully asking Zuo Li, "Who would send me a message like this?"

Was the sender well-intentioned or malicious?

Their covetousness for the Second Legion was never hidden, so there was no question of exposure. Their intentions toward Governor Garcia were half-concealed, half-revealed—an attempt to cover up that only drew more attention. If suspicion arose solely for this reason, there would be no need for someone to go out of their way to warn them.

Zuo Li leaned towards the possibility that the other party might have discovered other arrangements, such as special teams sent in advance or other collaborations.

"It's just a reminder, with no clear stance," she mused for a moment, her mood gradually darkening. "But a reminder itself is the greatest risk. The Swan Star System can no longer be considered a safe fallback. You must leave this place."

Qin Mengde asked, "Will you stay here and take my place?"

Zuo Li nodded. "I can protect myself, and many tasks can only be handled by me for you. Don't worry, if the situation turns dire, I will leave on my own."

This was the truth.

Qin Mengde had chosen Zuo Li from the multitude of talented individuals in the Fourth Legion for two reasons: first, her intelligence and efficiency, and second, her unique Spiritual State ability—appearance alteration.

Perfect appearance alteration could be useful in many situations. If cultivated properly, it was like having a second self.

However, Zuo Li’s origins were too mysterious. Such a person would never be content to remain a mid-level officer in the military, waiting for some discerning superior to discover her.

Because of this apprehension, Qin Mengde had only briefly mentioned her to Eve once. But during the time Eve returned to the capital star for a break after the league matches, Zuo Li happened to be on a mission to eradicate star pirates in the outer reaches, missing their only chance to meet. Upon her return, Qin Mengde suspected that Zuo Li might be avoiding Eve.

Now, dwelling on this was meaningless. Since the two had already signed an alchemical contract, all Qin Mengde needed to do was ensure her cooperation with Zuo Li remained effective.

After brief consideration, Qin Mengde agreed to Zuo Li’s proposal. They had, after all, devised more than one plan.

After leaving the meeting, Zuo Li suddenly remembered the girl who had bumped into her in the corridor.

Earlier, she hadn’t noticed anything unusual—the girl’s demeanor and attire were no different from an ordinary person’s. But now, recalling the girl’s appearance, Zuo Li belatedly sensed a faint familiarity.

Beneath disheveled jet-black hair, a pair of very distinctive light blue eyes were revealed—a feature uncommon across the entire star system.

"Not good."

A sense of foreboding struck Zuo Li. Seeing her pause, a subordinate nearby asked curiously, "Chief Staff Officer?"

"Go investigate someone for me now," Zuo Li said, realizing she might have already been exposed. "A young woman who came to the camp about an hour and a half ago, with black hair and blue eyes, not from the legion. Find out why she came to the legion today and who she is close with."

Uncertain if Zuo Tan was still using her original name and identity, she could only provide general external information. Fortunately, her subordinates were well-disciplined and didn’t ask unnecessary questions. After understanding the requirements, they immediately set to work.

She had thought few people would still recognize her, and to gain Qin Mengde’s trust, Zuo Li had appeared in her true form. She never expected to encounter Zuo Tan here.

Although the Flying Bird incident was significant, it wasn’t important enough for the Medici Patriarch to personally oversee. Thus, Zuo Li’s knowledge of the case was limited to Zuo Qirong’s death, the capture of the remaining star pirates and their families, the executions and imprisonments, and the hostages being sent home.

Her feelings toward Flying Bird were indifferent, and after the incident, she hadn’t actively inquired about it even once. Thus, she had no idea that Zuo Tan had escaped investigation and gone into hiding under an assumed name in the remote Swan Star System.

Her fingers lightly brushed the spatial button on her right middle finger—a habitual gesture Zuo Li made when considering lethal action.

After pondering for a long time, she sighed and finally relaxed her fingers.

-

As soon as she saw Eve, Zuo Tan eagerly recounted her encounter with Zuo Li.

The third floor of the medical building was much emptier than before. With the help of Eve’s medications, many patients with relatively optimistic injuries had successfully replaced parts corroded by Zerg poison with healthy prosthetic limbs, and the Zerg poison circulating in their blood had been cleared by the medicine. Grateful, they were discharged. As for the remaining patients, their injuries had dragged on too long, and even their spiritual seas had been eroded by the Zerg poison. Eve had no good solutions for them.

Even though alchemy was more versatile than ordinary medical methods, some principles were common to both medicine and alchemy. For example, every patient had a golden treatment window—beyond that, the effectiveness would greatly diminish. Also, depending on their constitution, people’s resilience to injury varied. Not everyone could endure the torment of Zerg poison for over a decade like Lorca.

In the thick scent of disinfectant, dust particles danced in the air. Zuo Tan sat down in the otherwise empty laboratory and, after finishing her story, felt her heart pounding like a drum. "...I never thought Zuo Li was still alive. At the time, all of us, including Frank, thought she was dead. Genetic diseases are incurable. Yet she survived, but the feeling she gave me... is also very different from before."

"You were right not to reveal yourself to her. She might be very different from the person you remember."

As she spoke, Eve drew the freshly concocted medicinal liquid into a syringe—she still believed this method was more effective than oral or topical applications, though most alchemists considered injections unorthodox.

Though she had never met the former Zuo Li, from Frank and Eugene’s descriptions, she could sense their attachment and admiration for the former eldest young miss of the Zuo family.

Zuo Tan extended her right arm, watching as Eve inserted the slender needle into a vein in her upper arm. A slight pressure followed, and before she could register any unusual sensation, the injection was already complete.

Eve said, "Stay for observation until five before leaving."

"I already asked for leave from the steward today, so I can stay overnight in the barracks. If I can observe for a full night, the effect should be better, right?" From now on, it was barely four hours. Zuo Tan was puzzled by Eve’s urgency to send her away. Remembering some unfamiliar faces she had seen in the barracks today, she tentatively asked, "Have you encountered some other trouble recently?"

In fact, the trouble wasn’t limited to them. Eve glanced at Zuo Tan, who was still unaware of the situation, and nodded while putting away the syringe. "Yes."

Unless something unexpected happens, Zuo Li should have already obtained information about Zuo Tan by now. A mere low-level supervisor in the Garcia family, her past was a blank slate—thanks to the efforts of those on the capital star, all traces of her origins in the star pirate organization had been thoroughly erased.

As for her present, it was so simple it was almost impossible to find anything noteworthy: a somewhat clever, somewhat unlucky young woman who accidentally cut her hand on a Zerg while inspecting a planet, was sent to the barracks, and fortunately encountered a Senior Alchemist who was almost impossible to find in the Swan Star System. After recovering, she returned to thank her benefactor.

From anyone’s perspective, there was nothing unusual—unless the person reviewing this information was Zuo Li, and the injury Eve healed was called Zerg poison.

If she couldn’t connect this to the person who kidnapped Louis from the Medici family that day, then Zuo Li might as well stop collecting her salary from the Medici Patriarch and step down to make way for someone more capable.

One advantage was that with herself as a living target, the Garcia family should be safe for now.

"After you return, remind the people in the governor’s household to avoid going out recently if possible. If they must go out, ensure thorough security screenings," Eve said. "Things will likely be unsettled lately."

Zuo Tan seemed to sense something but agreed readily. "Okay."

After about half an hour, the medicine's components should have fully integrated with her blood. Eve drew another tube of her blood and placed it in a centrifuge. After separation, she compared it with the remaining bit of Anthony’s blood, observing the color, activity, and persistence of other elements, carefully recording these precious data on her handheld terminal.

Whether it was due to reuse or the Otto royal bloodline being genetically superior to ordinary people’s, the Zerg poison extract in Anthony’s blood, even after leaving the body and without the heart’s supply, had far higher concentration and activity than Zuo Tan’s.

It seemed impossible to use Zuo Tan’s blood extract for a third time to create a Spiritual State enhancer.

The display screen automatically updated the line graphs of various data. Staring at these figures, Eve had a sudden thought. She remembered how, when she first transmigrated into this world, she was surprised that her actual awakened Spiritual State differed from what was described in the original book.

Of course, she now knew that the so-called transmigration was just a facade, but the memories implanted by Cionanado were essentially the experiences of her past self. So, why was her Spiritual State still the Luna Butterfly even though she was using her original body?

Eve had initially thought that the repeated transmigrations had tempered her spiritual strength, leading to the awakening of a more powerful Spiritual State—but could there be another possibility?

She had never considered this possibility before.

Zuo Tan’s arm had already stopped bleeding, leaving only a pinprick spot on her skin. A faint tingling sensation surged within her, not painful but oddly numbing—likely the medicine slowly taking effect. Not daring to move, she maintained her posture, holding her breath and pondering this mysterious energy.

Taking advantage of Zuo Tan’s inattention, Eve took an empty syringe, drew a tube of her own blood, and placed it in a special centrifuge.

One minute... two minutes... ten minutes passed.

Perhaps too much time had passed, or maybe due to Cionanado’s modifications, but after nearly forty minutes, Eve finally saw a golden line suddenly appear on the screen.

Then, it settled into a consistently fluctuating line.

Her blood also contained Royal Zerg genetic markers, and they were even more stable than the components in Anthony’s body.

Seeing this result, Eve felt strangely unsurprised but rather a sense of "just as I suspected" realization.

There is no gain or loss in this world without reason. In her previous life, she was forced to take poison from the Oliver Family, so it was impossible for her body to show no traces of Zerg venom erosion. However, such high-quality and stable Royal Zerg factors could not have come from mass-produced poison.

With almost no need for deduction, Eve guessed the most likely source—Agnes.

This was the only opportunity for Eve Medici, who had "succumbed to illness" before the Zerg War broke out, to come into contact with a Royal Zerg.

A crucial link in the causal chain fell into place, and Eve faintly felt she had an idea about the content of that mysterious transaction between her and Agnes. She suddenly snapped back to reality, glanced at the time on her smart device—4:39 PM—but outside the window, the sky was already flushed with sunset, like a beauty’s flushed cheeks from wine. Zuo Tan remained sitting in her initial posture, extremely cautious and still.

"Don’t be too tense; it might affect the efficacy," Eve said, picking up her coat and standing. "It’s about time. Let’s go, I’ll take you back."

"So early?"

Zuo Tan instinctively checked the time—it wasn’t even 5 PM yet. Eve had an explanation ready: "Keeping you here was just to check for any adverse reactions. If you’re not feeling unwell, it means everything’s fine. The secondary evolution of the Spiritual State isn’t something that can be completed in a short time. Let’s head back for now."

She thought it was because the venom extract was taken directly from Anthony’s blood—it had already adapted to the human body’s environment, so when injected into a second person, there was naturally no reaction.

The Reaper Butterfly refused to carry ordinary people, and Eve couldn’t force it, so she had to rely on human transportation methods. Worried about being pursued by Zuo Li’s people, she changed vehicles nearly five times just to travel the short distance from the military camp outside the city to the inner city.

No matter how many changes she made, she couldn’t completely shake off the pursuers, but with so many traces left behind, the chasing party ultimately didn’t dare to act directly in full public view.

Over the next three days, Eve repeated the process with the remaining test subjects. The fastest reactor completed their Spiritual State evolution that very night, advancing from C-class to B-class, with the same direction. Although the progress wasn’t significant, it at least confirmed that Eve’s research direction was correct, which greatly encouraged her.

And Zuo Li acted faster than Eve had anticipated.

After she successfully arrived at the capital planet from Qin Mengde, she no longer concealed her actions. However, Anthony had also been wary of this imperial sister. With Frigga seemingly missing on the front lines, he directly used the military department’s internal channels to contact another major legion closest to the Swan Star System—the Third Legion, led by the well-known neutral faction leader Luo Yuan.

If there had been any other choice, he wouldn’t have risked betting on Luo Yuan’s willingness to help, but the other legions willing to provide support were either too far away to arrive in time or would be cannon fodder even if they came.

Left with no other options, fortunately, Luo Yuan likely truly felt Qin Mengde had gone too far this time and agreed to Anthony’s request.

On the evening of the fourth day after Zuo Tan’s injection, she finally completed her Spiritual State evolution. The spiritual sea, which had been suppressed by Zuo Qirong and unable to develop, finally reemerged under the stimulation of the extract.

She was also the highest-level test subject so far, breaking through to A-class in one go—Sand Flounder, ability: Vanishing.

"I remember Zuo Qirong’s Starry Sea Sailfish is an S-class Spiritual State ability that combines physical transformation and strong offensive power," Alice said, thanks to her relationship with Frank, she had some understanding of Zuo Tan’s family matters. After seeing Zuo Tan’s power assessment, she couldn’t help but ponder. "The disparity in genetic tiers of her parents is too great. Her ability seems to inherit noticeably more from her father’s side."

"Marine-type Spiritual States mostly have some camouflage ability; it should be considered one of the highest-quality Spiritual State lineages."

Eve wasn’t very surprised by this. She put away the materials when suddenly an idea flashed through her mind like a spark.

If both her father and sister’s abilities were related to transformation, what would Zuo Li’s Spiritual State Ability be?

Simultaneously with her suspicion, a distress call video from Deputy Director Hu came through. It was only seven or eight seconds long, and from the shaky footage, it was clear the filmer was terrified. A strand of wine-red hair in the upper left corner looked even more familiar.

The sound of frantic footsteps echoed like beats on the heart, turning several corners until they hid in an empty office. Only then did Deputy Director Hu have time to gasp for breath and add what he needed to say.

While speaking, he kept nervously glancing outside the door, as if wary of someone. The loud banging on the door, muffled by the barrier, sounded like thunder.

"I—Anthony and I are trapped in the inpatient building... third floor of the inpatient building. I don’t know who released all the patients... they’re insanely hunting people to torture and kill..."

"Anthony is injured... not sure if he’s infected..."

"The only person I can think of to save us is you, Lu Zhan... help—!!"

Under the collaborative efforts of Eve and the military doctors, the third floor was now filled with Zerg venom patients deemed beyond saving. It wasn’t hard to imagine how frantic these people with nothing left to lose, who had been sentenced to their fate, would become once released.

Even if their individual combat abilities were limited, the entire third floor housed over 170 people. Combined with the cramped layout, sheer numbers alone would be enough to overwhelm Anthony and the others.

Eve and Alice’s faces both changed, and at that moment, the chaos wasn’t confined to this alone in the camp.