Chapter 101 Breakup

Chapter 101: Breakup

The mechs quickly moved to handle the threat, while the fleet worked frantically to set up temporary defenses. Everything seemed to be under control.

In reality, there were still White Worms inside the military fleet.

If it weren't for Ji Anjue, Ji Anzhi would probably be like Chi Yan and the others, complacently awaiting military orders.

Ji Anjue was still reporting the situation: 'There are twenty-three White Worms in the fleet. They coordinate through mental frequency synchronization, making them undetectable by machines and the human eye.'

Ji Anjue said proudly, 'Hmph, you underestimate me? I'm not an idiot. Why wouldn't I be able to learn it.'

'So you learned it from others' memories?'

'Yes.'

It seemed Ji Anjue's learning aptitude and motivation were quite strong.

'Can you protect the military fleet as well?'

'…………' Ji Anjue said speechlessly, 'Most of my mental power isn't here. Protecting you guys is already pushing it.'

With no hope of that, Ji Anzhi didn't press further.

He wasn't a saint. Ji Anjue wasn't human; he was willing to protect him and the rest of the team out of regard for Ji Anzhi. Ji Anzhi had no right to demand more.

But Ji Anzhi still wanted to help the Federation. The Federation alone defended against sixty percent of the Zerg. If the Federation fell, all of humanity would face catastrophe.

Ji Anzhi reminded Ji Anjue, 'If we're exposed later, immediately have the Nanny leave the starship, take the Star Eagle and get out of the military academy. Can you do that?'

'No problem.'

Ji Anzhi had Thor open a small screen to observe the situation outside. Thor was still chattering inside the mech.

"It's rare for you to come up again. Speaking of which, you and Xiao Yanshen still haven't done the deed?"

Ji Anzhi nodded, now fully understanding why Qi Yanshen wanted to silence Thor.

He would have done the same.

"Xiao Anzhi~ Can't you pay me a little attention? I'm practically half a witness to your romance, you know?"

Ji Anzhi looked up, pretending to be tired.

"Sorry, Thor, I don't have the energy right now. Today's events were really unsettling."

Thor was deeply impressed by Ji Anzhi's physical weakness.

The first time he came to the cockpit, he bumped his head. Later, when Xiao Yanshen killed the Zerg, Xiao Anzhi was so weak he couldn't handle the mech's lurching and vomited. And during the space jump, he passed out after just a few seconds...

In summary:

Xiao Anzhi was all brains and no brawn.

"Alright, I'll leave you be. Don't worry too much. The Commander of the Third Legion is Qi Yanshen's mother. For both personal and tactical reasons, the Third Legion will send elite reinforcements."

Ji Anzhi nodded.

Thor finally stopped his chatter. Ji Anzhi turned his full attention to the outside world.

Apart from the Bug Swarm arriving in two minutes, everything seemed calm.

The fleet inspection was complete; no White Worms were found.

But Ji Anjue told Ji Anzhi that the White Worms had already burrowed inside the starship. Because White Worms could freely shrink and stretch, the entry holes weren't large.

Against the massive hull of the Mothership, they were like ants on an elephant.

Ji Anzhi frowned deeply. The Federation's current instruments couldn't detect White Worms unless they actively used their mental power and exposed themselves, or unless there was an SSS-level psychic who could pierce their camouflage. There was no other way.

What made Ji Anzhi even more uneasy was that the White Worms weren't attacking them but lying dormant.

The Zerg were creatures devoid of reason, possessing immense destructive power and resilient life force.

Creatures without reason were no different from beasts; humans could easily kill them with traps.

But if the Zerg gained reason and learned self-control, the situation would be night and day.

With reason, immense destructive power, resilient life force, and the ability to override their biological instincts—aside from their appearance, they would be practically human.

They might even become stronger than humans.

Sensing Ji Anzhi's anxiety, Ji Anjue asked, 'You care about the Federation?'

Ji Anzhi denied it: 'No, I care about myself, and about humanity.'

First himself, then humanity.

Ji Anjue knew Ji Anzhi's ruthlessness. Beneath that gentle, amiable exterior lay absolute indifference and detachment.

If he weren't human himself, he probably wouldn't even consider humanity.

But Ji Anjue, whose perspective had been warped by Ji Anzhi, didn't dislike this.

He had seen all of Ji Anzhi's memories, from birth to the present. In the first eighteen years of his life, he had only experienced favoritism from one person, but that person said goodbye to him forever when he was twelve. It was normal for him to become like this.

Ji Anjue received a message transmitted via mental power and said, 'Those bugs are about to move.'

Ji Anzhi signaled his understanding.

'If an accident happens, I'll knock Qi Yanshen unconscious first, then you take control of Thor.'

'Okay. But after knocking Qi Yanshen out, what's your plan?'

At that moment, Qi Yanshen entered the cockpit. He had just told everyone to stay in their mechs and not disembark yet.

He stepped forward to check if Ji Anzhi's seatbelt was fastened properly and asked, "The military didn't find anything. How many do you know about?"

Ji Anzhi looked at Qi Yanshen, who trusted him, feeling a complex mix of emotions.

Qi Yanshen was a straightforward Alpha—not in a prejudiced ABO sense, but simply because, from an alpha's perspective, he sometimes couldn't understand the thoughts and actions of betas and omegas.

However, Qi Yanshen was willing to change. He was willing to adjust his alpha perspective and try to understand from a beta's standpoint.

It might not be perfect, but it was enough.

Ji Anzhi suppressed those obscure, unclear emotions and said softly, "There are six on our Mothership."

His voice was soft and fleeting, as if it might dissipate at any moment.

Qi Yanshen was contemplating countermeasures—how to inform the Federation without exposing Ji Anzhi—so he didn’t notice Ji Anzhi's odd behavior.

Before Qi Yanshen could finalize a plan, the fleet announced the all-clear.

Qi Yanshen began to doubt whether the Federation couldn't detect the threat or if Ji Anzhi had relayed false information.

But ten seconds out from the Bug Swarm's arrival, it all became clear.

Thanks to Ji Anjue’s protection, Qi Yanshen’s squad felt nothing unusual. Even Chi Yan and the others didn't notice a thing.

Ji Anzhi, however, knew the White Worm had already begun its attack.

Ji Anjue blocked the psychic assault and reported, ‘Someone in the fleet’s been compromised; it’s chaos in there.’

Ji Anzhi had seen this coming.

So when the fleet turned on itself, Ji Anzhi remained calm.

Utterly unperturbed.

The rescue team noticed the situation and immediately tried to assist, but chaos broke out among them too.

Xia Ci attacked the nearest mecha. The strike didn't critically damage it, but the mecha was disabled, caught completely off guard.

So, aside from Qi Yanshen’s seventeen squad members, everyone else was thrown into chaos.

The squad also wondered: why was the fleet fighting the rescue team? And why was their spot so quiet?

The rescue team made sense—they were all alphas, easy to control psychically.

But the omega military doctors on the fleet warships far outnumbered and outclassed the students. There was no way the warship could be in trouble while they were fine.

Or were the fleet members simply more appealing targets?

No one knew.

And there was no time to ponder.

Then the Bug Swarm hit.

After last year, the academy had doubled the assessment's energy supply for emergencies.

Qi Yanshen exited the mecha, activated the Mothership’s defense mode, focusing on surviving the swarm.

Once again, they had to abandon the Mothership. Qi Yanshen couldn't quite describe his feelings.

As command students, their first lesson emphasized that the Mothership was a commander’s bottom line and lifeline—yet he was about to abandon it again.

Pushing the feeling down, Qi Yanshen shoved the thoughts aside.

He was still a student; rather than playing the arrogant hero, he needed to stay alive and become a commander first.

He activated the shield, then sprinted and vaulted back into Thor, linking up psychically.

He had to be ready for the shield to fail at any second.

Meanwhile, chaos reigned inside the warship.

“Knock them all out! As long as they’re alive, they can be saved. All omegas, find that psychic source! Alphas, on me—clear out the White Worms!”

"All operational warships, on my command! Plug the holes and wipe out the Zerg! Those behind us are your juniors—don't make us look bad in front of the underclassmen!"

The words were spoken rapidly, almost shouted.

It proved the Third Legion really lived up to its reputation. The alphas instantly reined in their psychic energy, while the omegas swiftly extended their psychic awareness to scan for the White Worms.

They were just as ruthless with their own under control—they'd shoot to maim first, then finish with a knockout blow.

After all, as long as they weren't dead, just toss them in a Treatment Pod; they'd be up in half a day at most.

Although more personnel were later controlled, the alphas were ready for it. The White Worms couldn't take control instantly anymore. Once they detected a psychic attack, the alphas would seek help from the nearest omega; otherwise, their squadmates would put them down with a quick burst.

The stable psychic nature of betas made them difficult for the White Worms to control easily, and omegas were completely out of the question.

Within half a minute, they had the situation under control. The commander immediately focused on resisting the Bug Swarm. Originally, the troops they had on hand could hold the line for twenty minutes—long enough for the main force to arrive and dig in.

Given the current circumstances, they'd be damn lucky just to protect the students safely until the main forces arrived.

Collecting himself, the commander glanced at the students' situation. From the outside, nothing seemed amiss, but what was going on inside was anyone's guess.

However, seeing the Mothership activate its shield and the remaining smart warships not attacking their own side—all instead resisting the Zerg—things probably weren't too bad.

Just as the military fleet was resisting the Zerg, Ji Anjue spoke to Ji Anzhi again: 'A very powerful psychic signature is approaching.'

'Can you defend against it?'

'I can only protect you, and even that will be somewhat troublesome.'

Ji Anzhi's heart sank. *This was no ordinary trouble.*

Ji Anjue could sense the conflict within Ji Anzhi. On some level, he still wanted to save the others, but reason told him not to make things difficult for himself.

After some thought, Ji Anjue proposed a method.

'If you truly want to save them, there is another way, but the price is high.'

'What way?' Ji Anzhi didn't hesitate.

'But as I've said before, your body has limits. It can withstand at most SSS-level psychic power. Any more will cause your physique to degrade, severely enough to plummet all the way to D-level in an instant.'

Ji Anzhi knew this. Ji Anjue had mentioned it before—his body had limits, and exceeding them could cause it to collapse instantly.

'...I know. If it truly comes to that point, don't hesitate.'

Ji Anjue suddenly regretted it. Perhaps he shouldn't have told Ji Anzhi about that method.

Was it worth it?

Before he could ponder further, Ji Anjue sensed that powerful, intensely discomforting psychic energy rapidly approaching and immediately warned Ji Anzhi.

'Think carefully. Once it begins, there's no turning back.'

Ji Anzhi was resolute. Once he resolved to do something, he never looked back.

Unbuckling his seatbelt, he walked over to Qi Yanshen, leaned close to his ear, and said, "Yan Shen, thank you for liking me."

These words sounded like a farewell message, making Qi Yanshen sense something was wrong.

He turned to look at Ji Anzhi, frowning. "What are you doing...?"

"Let's break up."

Ji Anzhi's words were spoken with extreme calmness, as if it were no big deal, something that wouldn't cause a ripple.

Qi Yanshen was in disbelief. Over the past year, he had sensed that Ji Anzhi wasn't that into him, but there had been a real spark. They still had time to work things out.

If Ji Anzhi still felt nothing for him by graduation and proposed a breakup, he would definitely agree.

But it shouldn't be happening now.

Something was wrong.

Qi Yanshen spoke up, "What exactly happened?"

Even Thor asked, confused, "Anzhi, what's wrong? You and Yanshen were getting along just fine before. Why suddenly say we should break up?"

Ji Anzhi offered no explanation, his tone gentle yet utterly detached.

"Qi Yanshen, you approached me with an agenda from the start, and I accepted your approach with my own motives."

"Now you've accomplished your goal, and I've accomplished mine."

"We're even."

"So it's time for this relationship to end."

For the first time, Qi Yanshen was visibly panicked. He grabbed Ji Anzhi's hand, stammering, "I did approach you with an agenda at first, but later I genuinely fell for you. Did I do something wrong? Did you misunderstand something? I can—"

Ji Anzhi gently placed his hand over Qi Yanshen's lips, his eyes clouded with unreadable emotions. Qi Yanshen quieted.

After a long silence, Ji Anzhi finally spoke slowly.

"...I'm sorry."

With that, Qi Yanshen lost consciousness, passing out.

Ji Anzhi stood nearby, watching coldly. Thor was stunned by this sudden, inexplicable turn of events. Coming to his senses, he demanded sharply, "What exactly is your identity? What are you trying to do?"

Receiving no reply, Ji Anzhi removed the neural interface cable from Qi Yanshen, dragged him to a seat for the wounded, and secured him.

Returning to the pilot's seat, Ji Anzhi connected the neural interface cable to himself, preparing to link with Thor.

Thor was incredulous, as if looking at a fool, "You want to pilot me? Anzhi, wake up. It's impossible."

Mechs above S-rank have an owner-binding function. Unless the pilot dies, or a newcomer's mental power surpasses the original pilot's level enough to erase the mental imprint, the mech cannot be piloted by another.

Ignoring this, Ji Anzhi instructed Ji Anjue to begin.

Knowing Ji Anzhi's resolve was firm, Ji Anjue offered no persuasion this time and began stimulating Ji Anzhi's mental power.

Visibly, cold sweat poured down, instantly soaking his entire body.

Thor was bewildered.

Although Ji Anzhi had knocked Yanshen unconscious and was attempting to take control, Thor could see how much Yanshen cared for him.

So, despite what Ji Anzhi had done, Thor still asked with concern, "What's wrong? Ji Anzhi! What's happening to you?"