EDMLSFM Chapter 43: “He’s stronger than you.”

Translated by JayQue of Exiled Rebels Scanlations 

Editor: Kris, Gwyndolyn

 

Chen Bai’s gaze glimmered slightly.

Vanda was a very utilitarian and arrogant person. Because of his capabilities, he viewed many average people as beneath him. He often carried the confidence of being better than others and never tried to hide this attitude.

Average people without capabilities were like ants in his eyes, not even worth his time. But now he was uncharacteristically sitting there, calling out only Chen YiBai’s name after Mundi’s, meaning that his perception towards Chen YiBai had changed dramatically.

Though Chen Bai took out that elite in the forest, it was like the time everyone had gotten the video footage when the two teacher groups were eliminated. After that military elite was eliminated, the results were the same.

Mundi’s group was busy conversing with Chen YiBai and planning their next steps, so no one had seen this video yet. But it was different for Professor Vanda, who had paid exceptional attention to Mundi’s group.

Seeing the elites’ number suddenly dropping as well as Mundi’s group suddenly jumping to first place, especially their increased points, he opened the video footage as soon as possible.

“Professor Vanda.” A hint of surprise flashed across Mundi’s eyes. All ten groups were scattered in different places, and it had been thirty minutes since the competition’s start. If Professor Vanda was close to them, then it wasn’t strange for them to meet now, but… Waldo didn’t detect him.

With that thought, Mundi couldn’t help but glance at Waldo again.

Noticing his actions, Professor Vanda’s eyes were filled with hints of disdain. Originally, in this group, he was only interested in Mundi’s exceptional explosive power and Faye’s great mobility. Now, because of the video, Chen YiBai was also added… But what was Waldo? A small trick and he could block detection of himself. How could he be detected by this sort of person?

“Long time no see, Mundi.” Professor Vanda smiled pleasantly at him. “Firstly, I’m here to say thank you.”

From behind him, his group members came out one by one. Fen Duo’s expression still held contempt. Just as they had predicted, a member who was part of a team eliminated by the previous sudden attack was indeed added into Professor Vanda’s group, currently standing at the very back. His firm and muscular body signified his explosive power.

Clearly, he was acquainted with Mundi. As their gazes met, Mundi nodded at him.

“Two minutes ago, we just went to the water reservoir to get enough water. Everything was handled quite cleanly inside. After sensing you walking back, I felt like there was a need to say thank you to you.” Vanda was still smiling, which carried hints of sinister satisfaction.

All those words made Mundi’s face twitch helplessly, but he controlled it.

Though he controlled it, not everyone could. For example, Waldo, who was standing behind him, had changed his expression drastically. If he wasn’t instinctively afraid of Vanda, he might have screamed out now.

Vanda had SS-ranked manipulative mental energy. He had extraordinary abilities in detection, mental camouflage, investigation, judgement and such. Waldo could hardly imagine how he could surmise that their distance was close to Mundi’s group or even how they guessed that Mundi was going to the water reservoir… In short, if their group was attacked by the military elites just now, not only would the five of them be at a high disadvantage, but Professor Vanda could also have taken Mundi and the water away in the chaos!

Waldo thought, then couldn’t help but widen his eyes. He saw the water bucket carried behind that lieutenant general, and Vanda’s group had one here as well. Theoretically, one group should only have one water bucket…

Thus, an idea popped up in his mind. He thought, perhaps when that group was destroyed, Vanda used the same method…

“Stop guessing at me with your ideas.” Professor Vanda’s chilly voice boomed, scaring Waldo out of his wits. After that, the former seemed to be thinking about something and revealed a fake smile, “Then again, having this idea seems to be the height of whatever little capabilities you have.”

Waldo immediately shivered. It wasn’t that he hadn’t heard of low-leveled mental energy users having their thoughts easily read by Professor Vanda… But he never imagined, being an A-ranked mental controller himself, and highly accomplished in the area of detection, that Professor Vanda could still see through him…

Waldo couldn’t help his gaze from flickering. That feeling of being spied on in his mind was back, and he closed his eyes helplessly, forcing himself not to continue thinking.

Chen Bai silently rolled his eyes in his mind. Waldo’s emotions were fluctuating too heavily. Putting aside Professor Vanda’s attempts to get into their brain regions and find out some things, even Chen Bai, who had absolutely no interest in what Waldo was thinking, also heard all of it.

Theoretically, he could open a protective web around Waldo’s brain region, as it was still beneficial to protect fellow group members at this point in time. But Chen Bai was too annoyed by the other, and he was no saint, so he didn’t offer any help.

Thus, he only adjusted his brain region slightly, so that the prodding Professor Vanda wasn’t knocking on a wall.

Seeing that the other seemed very satisfied with prodding his brain region, Chen Bai lazily raised his arm and looked at his wristwatch, his face full of amazement. “100 points for one elite; will these scores affect our final scores?”

Hearing his words, Fen Duo couldn’t help but shoot out a cold glare. She didn’t loathe Chen YiBai more than Waldo, but with the video footage and Vanda’s warning, she still retracted her glare after a few seconds.

“Yes.” Not waiting for Mundi’s group members to reply, Vanda lifted the corner of his lips. “But whether or not you can last until the finals remains to be seen. No need to be hasty, Teacher Chen. Wait and see, then you’ll know.”

Chen Bai thought that Vanda was saying that his group might not make it to the end. But then he noticed that almost everyone’s brain waves aside from his had slight emotional changes from Professor Vanda’s words. He narrowed his eyes and figured that what Vanda had said was not as simple as what was implied on the surface.

“Or maybe… Teacher Chen wants to book a one-way ticket to the finish line?” Professor Vanda watched Chen YiBai, his eyes full of interest.

With Vanda’s words, Chen Bai immediately sensed that everyone’s emotional changes were not slight anymore. Even Carlyle, who had a weaker reaction just now, had his mental energy spike suddenly.

“Teacher Vanda…” Fen Duo couldn’t help but call from the side.

Vanda acted as though he didn’t hear her voice, his gaze still fixated on Chen YiBai.

For the audience at the scene, it probably seemed like Vanda was inviting Chen YiBai into his group. But according to the reactions of the people around him, Chen Bai knew that there was a deeper meaning to this.

Making a wild guess, he thought, this was likely related to Berkeley.

He smiled, pretending that he didn’t understand, and gave an innocent smile to Professor Vanda. “If there really is a train going straight to the finish line, I think I’m already on it, Professor Vanda.”

Hearing the reply that defeated his purpose, Professor Vanda’s gaze flashed, and a look of pity appeared on his face. Then, he called his group members and left.

“… My god.” After they left, Waldo felt like his whole body was wrung out of energy, as if he had just walked out from under Professor Vanda’s intense psychological pressure. He widened his eyes. “Professor Vanda is too strong… Heavens… If we had failed just now, he could still succeed in getting the water for his group. This kind of team, this kind of team!” Was what he longed for!

“Waldo.” Mundi turned to look at Vanda disappearing into the forest. “Go help Carlyle look at that wristwatch. Be his assistant.”

“What?!” Just having walked out from Vanda’s damage, Waldo was stunned, as though he didn’t understand what Mundi had said. “You- you want me to be Carlyle’s assistant?! This- this should be Chen YiBai’s job! I still need to do detection work. Mundi, think again…”

“I’m clear on my thoughts.” Mundi glanced at him coolly. “According to the situation just now, Chen YiBai’s detection ability and area are clearly above yours. We only have five members in our group. Everyone must put in their use for us to survive until the end. So from now on, our group’s detection work will be handled by Chen YiBai.”

Waldo could not believe his ears!

Just because Chen YiBai stumbled on something of use, just because that Chen YiBai somehow got lucky, Mundi wanted to strip away his position as the spy! What a joke! He had participated in so many Teacher Competitions, and his experience was so much more than that Chen YiBai brat who knew nothing! Mundi actually wanted him to take the spy position?!

Why, for what reason…

Mundi was a lieutenant general to the end, so his aura and power couldn’t be compared. As dissatisfied as Waldo was, he had to force himself to accept it, then walked unwillingly towards Carlyle.

He also didn’t forget to glare angrily at Chen YiBai.

The latter seemed to feel his gaze, as Chen Bai turned leisurely and wiggled his eyebrows at him, carrying hints of mockery.

Heavens, he must do it on purpose!

Waldo clenched his fists furiously.

.

On the other side, walking into the forest, was Vanda’s group going towards their next destination.

After Fen Duo noticed that they were a distance away from Mundi’s group, she stopped walking and said incredulously, “Teacher Vanda, I- I don’t understand… You were inviting Chen YiBai to… join our group just now?”

Obviously, Fen Duo initially didn’t want to say ‘our group’, but knowing that there were still cameras around, she quietly switched.

“He’s stronger than you.” Vanda’s lips carried a hint of a smile, “My understanding of his brain region is shallower than yours, by a lot.”

Fen Duo opened her mouth, about to say that it was impossible, but no one would dare refute Professor Vanda’s judgement casually. He was currently the best mental manipulator in the Alliance.

Understanding brain regions was how manipulators sensed other people’s brain regions. The less they saw, the stronger the other person was. Between two people who had a large gap between them, such as Waldo towards Vanda’s brain regions, the weaker wouldn’t be able to sense even a hair of anything.

“But that doesn’t mean he’s suited to…” Fen Duo’s eyes glimmered for a long time and never finished her sentence.

Vanda glanced at her from the side, as if he didn’t want to continue arguing about the topic any longer. He waved and said, “Let’s go.”

.

Heinz sat in the research lab with a solemn gaze, watching as people from the research lab ran to and fro to save as much data as they could from the exploded room. He let out some sighs and annoyed sounds from time to time, his gaze turning darker and darker.

“Marshal.” After hearing Kureya’s voice, Heinz’ expression shifted.

“How is it?” He asked.

“Not good. The scent and wave frequencies could only reach one floor below the research lab. We’ve sent people to search the area within a one kilometer radius, but no clues have been found.”

Heinz’ expression turned even colder, “What about the basement?”

“I’ve searched it personally with some men and looked for any possible basements or hidden rooms; there’s nothing.” Kureya’s voice also carried hints of anxiety, “I still wanted to bring some men to look around, but we were blocked by their manager. We could still check through a few more rooms later. I know this is probably bad, but Marshal, I…”

“You guys continue.” Heinz said, “Have the manager find me.”

“Yes, sir!”

Kureya’s strong and forceful voice sounded.

Leaning beside the glass window, Heinz’ gaze was slightly dark.

He didn’t care how much data was lost after the database had been destroyed. That was just dead information, things people from the research lab had a headache over. What concerned him, however, was Dr. Einbergen’s sudden abduction.

Dr. Einbergen was one hundred and twenty years old this year, and his IQ reached 390, the peak of humanity’s intelligence until this day. According to incomplete statistics, the research he had participated in had pushed human civilization’s advancement forward by at least fifty years. 

He was the Alliance’s treasure of intelligence. Without the formidable support from Dr. Einbergen during the war with the Gars, he would never have led the Alliance’s army to victory.

And now, he’s been kidnapped. This would undoubtedly become an important fact that would rock the entire Alliance.

The news had already leaked. In no time, the upper levels of the military and the head of the government would sit down and hold a serious meeting over this issue. But those up there were full of corrupt officials, the Alliance today so very different from that of years ago.

So Heinz believed that before any of that happens, he himself must figure out his train of thought in order to handle the upcoming challenges.

First of all, who would kidnap Dr. Einbergen? The most capable and most probable one right now was Berkeley, but why?

Berkeley’s development until this day was almost on the brink of fruition. Theoretically, if they really needed Dr. Einbergen, it would not have been now but much earlier on.

And, what’s the benefit of abducting Dr. Einbergen?

His value of existence was placed on the highest level in the Alliance. The crime of kidnapping him alone would be enough to let the military conservative party, led by Ruble, kill all of them.

If Berkeley really wanted to replace the Alliance government, they should have used a method that would not immediately turn the people away in disgust.

Plus, this undoubtedly sharpened the current internal conflict within the Alliance. Why would Berkeley, for whatever reason they have, do this at this critical juncture?

Thinking back to those experimentees that appeared in large numbers at Ellie’s banquet, the magnetites in the black market, as well as the research lab today, Heinz had a slight sense of foreboding.

“Marshal?” Just as he was deep in thought, a voice suddenly sounded. He paused, then looked up.

A sixty to seventy year old man came into view. He was wearing a uniform from the research lab, so he must be the manager Kureya mentioned. Heinz glanced at the nametag on the other’s chest, quickly adjusted his emotions and reached out a hand, “Hello, Professor Lee.”

“An honor to meet you at last.” Professor Lee shot him a smile, the triangular eyes behind his thick lenses shooting out quite a harsh glare.

Heinz narrowed his eyes, not showing any weakness, “It’s like this: Kureya is the lieutenant general under my command. The doctor’s disappearance is a special and urgent matter, so I’m letting her investigate first, and I’ll fill in the collaboration application form with the government later.”

Professor Lee pushed up his glasses, shook his head and said, “Ay, Marshal Heinz, you don’t know. It’s not that I don’t allow the doors downstairs to be opened, but the situation in the military is grim, and some things… are already different from before. That’s why I hope that the Marshal could acquire the official documents before coming for a thorough search through the research lab.”

Heinz’ gaze shifted.

From long ago, because of the separation of power between the military and the government, research labs never become too close towards any party to maintain their position and resources. To receive assistance from a research lab, they had agreed to apply for it beforehand. For example, if Heinz wanted to search through the research lab today, then he needed to get the agreement documents from the government.

But, special circumstances, special procedure. The incident of Dr. Einbergen’s kidnapping was so severe, it should be put as the first priority. Was this manager actually that meticulous, or was he trying to make things harder?

Heinz didn’t have time to think it through, and he said with a harsh glare, “You really can’t determine the severity of this situation? What if I insist on searching it now?”

Professor Lee pursed his lips and showed an unfriendly smile, “Then the Marshal can’t blame me for being impolite.”

Heinz furrowed his brow. He was really anxious to find Dr. Einbergen, but sitting in this position of his meant that he had to consider many more factors than just a simple search.

Especially if Berkeley was planning to do something… he couldn’t make any mistakes here.

His thoughts leading here, Heinz’ expression turned cold again, and he directed his words to Kureya waiting for his reply.

“Have some men guard those few rooms; don’t retreat before my command.” Even if he knew that someone wanted to do something with the research lab, it was practically useless to guard the doors. But Heinz said, “Get another team to continue searching the surrounding area and report immediately on any clues.”

After he finished saying that, he turned and shot a cold look at Professor Lee, as though he was staring at a dead man.

To Heinz, Dr. Einbergen was an elder deserving all of his respect. If something happened to him…

As though sensing something, the smile that Professor Lee couldn’t help but show just now had frozen. That feeling… that feeling was like having someone stick something down his throat.

He felt as if he couldn’t take a breath. It wasn’t until Heinz left the research lab without turning back did he finally collapse and kneel on the floor, his eyes filled with fear.