First Interstellar Guide Chapter 21.1: Yu Ran’s Plan (Part 1)

Chapter 21.1: Yu Ran’s Plan (Part 1)

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Yu Ran sat on the edge of the bed, furrowing his brows as he carefully pondered the next strategy. The fact that the other party asked him to place the chip in the restroom of the charity gala meant that someone would definitely come to retrieve the chip on the day of the event. Moreover, the other party didn’t want any contact with Yu Ran to avoid suspicion.

They hadn’t told Yu Ran how to get to the venue of the gala. Given Yu Ran’s identity, he couldn’t obtain an invitation to the charity gala unless someone brought him in. It seemed that the other party already knew about Yu Ran’s compatibility of 98% with Lu Zexuan and wanted Yu Ran to utilize Lu Zexuan to follow General Lu to the gala.

The area around the school had been sealed off by the Investigation Division recently, with surveillance cameras everywhere. If Yu Ran went out recklessly, he would surely be tracked. It would be safer to wait until the Investigation Division wasn’t watching so closely before transferring the data at the gala.

However, Lu Zexuan was very cautious and not easily manipulated. He had previously suspected that something was amiss with the three Sentinels at Base B73. Although today’s events had successfully deceived him with the invisibility ability of the Nine-Tailed Fox, he hadn’t completely dispelled his doubts.

If Yu Ran were to suddenly suggest, “General Lu, I want to go to the charity gala,” Lu Zexuan’s first reaction would definitely be, “Is this guy up to something again?”

In General Lu’s mind, a Class C guide with a compatibility of 98% wasn’t worth trusting — he was still a potential threat.

Since proposing the idea himself would raise suspicions, it would be better to let him bring it up voluntarily.

Yu Ran quickly devised a series of plans for what to do next.

Firstly, Lu Zexuan, as the Captain of the Eagle Special Forces, often carried out high-risk missions outside. This Sentinel had experienced too many life-threatening situations, had a calm and wise personality without any “romantic brain,” and wouldn’t wholeheartedly trust a guide just because of a compatibility of 98%.

Unless this guide not only had a high compatibility with him but also understood him, supported him, helped him and his teammates, and was willing to fight alongside him — only then would he take notice of this guide.

If I remember correctly, the guide who accompanied the Eagle Legion, Mohr, had already served for eight years. According to the rules of the Guide Association, a guide serving with the army for more than eight years must retire and return to work in the capital. After Mohr retired, the selection of guides for the Eagle Special Forces would definitely need to be re-determined.

The number of guides in the military was already scarce, and all A-class guides had long been snatched up by various major legions. Selecting from this year’s graduates, those graduates might not even be willing to take risks with the Eagle Special Forces.

Yu Ran was a Class C guide and couldn’t directly qualify to join the Eagle Special Forces, nor could he help this elite force consisting entirely of A-class Sentinels.

However, if he were a “growing guide” whose mental energy could continuously improve, and because of his high compatibility with Lu Zexuan, he willingly followed his Sentinel into danger… then Lu Zexuan seemed to have no reason to refuse, right?

From being a “not very useful Class C little guide” to becoming a “promising, high-compatibility growing guide,” Lu Zexuan’s view of him would definitely change.

For Yu Ran, this wasn’t difficult. He just needed to demonstrate his strength appropriately during the first joint examination after the start of the school year.

To make Lu Zexuan believe in him, he also needed to dispel Lu Zexuan’s suspicions about him.

The key point of Lu Zexuan’s suspicion was his special guide essence. Information could be completely deleted from the Association, but the guide essence existed in the body’s blood and couldn’t be changed. Only by solving this problem could Lu Zexuan believe that his identity was legitimate.

Yu Ran thought for a moment, then sent a message to an unfamiliar number, “I need your help.”

The other party replied with a string of codes, “Ran, you’ve caused quite a stir at the Sentinel Academy. Don’t act rashly for now, so as not to arouse suspicion.”

Yu Ran replied, “Understood, I’ll focus on studying seriously at school now. On February 14th next month, please arrange for Lu Zexuan to take a day off. I want to go to Bay Park with him. At that time, send a guide who attended the graduate exchange ball in Star Calendar 495 to the park at the same time, preferably someone you trust.”

The other party quickly understood Yu Ran’s meaning, “You want Lu Zexuan to stop suspecting you, so you can use him to do something?”

“Yes,” Yu Ran said calmly, “Rest assured, I won’t harm him.”

The other party replied, “Alright, be cautious.”

After ending the conversation, Yu Ran wiped clean all records of their chat.

In the communication device issued to him by Guide Academy, only the numbers of six people were saved – Lu Zexuan, Mrs. Joseph, Dean Xie, and three roommates. The message just now was sent to a dedicated unfamiliar number, which Yu Ran had long memorized.

However, in the future, unless absolutely necessary, he would try to minimize contact.

The members of the Investigation Division would certainly continue their investigation. During this recent period, he also needed to keep a low profile.

***

That afternoon, all the students of Guide Academy returned to the classroom to receive study materials and schedules.

The homeroom teacher of Class 107 was called Aiqi, a very gentle woman. Her spirit body was a spotted deer, a B-grade healing guide. After distributing the materials, she smiled and said, “Next, we will vote to elect the class monitor for Class 107. Students who want to be the class monitor, please raise your hand to participate in the election.”

The class division rules of Guide Academy were based on the strength of mental energy. Classes 1 to 10 were also referred to as Class A, all rare guides of A grade or above, similar to the “key classes” of other schools. The progress of these classes’ courses was faster, and the content taught by teachers was deeper. Students could graduate and enroll in prestigious universities.

Classes 11 to 100 were guides tested as B grade in mental energy, comprising the majority of guides. Classes after 100 were all Class C.

The status of Class C guides was very awkward. Although they were evolved, their mental energy was weak, and they couldn’t do much, considered the lowest level of guides. Perhaps for this reason, most of the students in the class were introverted, and some were quite self-conscious.

After the homeroom teacher finished speaking, surprisingly, no one raised their hand to run for class monitor.

A hand slowly rose in the corner, the fingers fair and slender, obviously older than the 13-year-old classmates – it was Yu Ran.

The homeroom teacher breathed a sigh of relief, looking to the back corner, “Yu Ran, are you interested in being the class monitor?”

Yu Ran stood up and said earnestly, “I am the oldest student in the class. Although I awakened relatively late and know nothing about guide-related knowledge, I have experience as a class monitor in junior high school. I believe I can do this job well.”

Teacher Aiqi smiled, “Everyone, please vote by raising your hands… very good, unanimously passed! So, Yu Ran is the class monitor of our Class 107!”

Warm applause filled the classroom, especially from Yu Ran’s three roommates, who clapped particularly enthusiastically.

Yu Ran sat back in his seat. From today onwards, he will be a diligent student, guiding the 13-year-old guides in the class to study well. Being a “class monitor” was quite a fresh experience, and he rarely got to rest his mind. Next, he would simply attend classes honestly and try to minimize his presence in the eyes of the Investigation Division.

At the same time, the two deans had already compiled a list of sentinels and guides with invisibility abilities for Zhu Tianyi.

The list was extensive, taking a long time to check one by one. The Investigation Division was going to be busy.

But Zhu Tianyi didn’t give up on investigating the teachers and students of the two academies. He invited a traceology expert from the Investigation Division, an elderly predecessor whose spirit body was a hunting dog. The group conducted a thorough search of the entire campus.

Near the isolation wall of Guide Academy, they found a secret passage.

Zhu Tianyi squinted and jumped into the passage. It was very narrow, only allowing one person to pass through. He released his black spider, letting it crawl along the wall of the passage. As expected, the exit of the passage was in the neighboring Sentinel Academy.

The black spider reported the search results, “Only a few footprints were found. Unfortunately, the footprints were intentionally destroyed, and no useful information could be extracted. No hair or skin tissue was found either.”

Zhu Tianyi looked at Kane behind him and said coldly, “Bring the two deans over here.”

A moment later, the deans of Guide Academy and Sentinel Academy arrived upon hearing the news.

Dean Kelly looked shocked, “How… could there be a secret passage near the isolation wall? Dean Xie, do you know anything about this?”

Xie Shiye shook his head and said, “Check the nearby surveillance footage.”

Zhu Tianyi glanced at the surveillance on the wall and said lightly, “No need to look – this is a blind spot for surveillance.”

Everyone looked at each other.

The isolation wall had been built for hundreds of years. Since the establishment of the Sanctuary, it had stood here, separating guides and sentinels into two worlds. No one had expected that there would be a secret passage near the isolation wall leading to the other side – it was simply isolating in loneliness!

Few people usually came here, so who could have avoided surveillance and secretly dug out this passage? A scene suddenly flashed through Xie Shiye’s mind.

It was more than ten years ago, on a full moon night. Xie Shiye woke up from a nightmare, got up for a walk in the school, and happened to pass by the isolation wall. He noticed a figure emerging from the woods.

Xie Shiye scolded, “Who’s there? What are you doing here in the middle of the night?”

The person slowly walked out, their expression innocent. “Dean Xie? It’s me. I couldn’t sleep at night, so I came here to look at the moon.”

— It was the genius student with the highest mental energy Xie Shiyi had seen since he began teaching, who was only 13 years old at the time.

A red fox jumped down from its owner’s shoulder and friendly wagged its tail towards Xie Shiyi’s long-tailed tit. The fox had a fluffy tail that, when waved, was as striking as leaping flames.

Xie Shiyi had always liked this student. Seeing him, Xie Shiyi softened his expression and said, “I know you’ve finished this semester’s courses. But in the middle of the night, it’s best not to wander.”

The student looked at him seriously and said, “Dean, I have a question. We can only practice mental tendrils-related courses in the 3D lab and cannot do actual exercises… Could you please invite some sentinels over so we can try actual operations? You know, there’s a big difference between simulation and actual operations.”

Xie Shiyi shook his head, “No. Your mastery of mental tendrils is not yet proficient enough. Practicing on low-level sentinels could easily cause harm. If you encounter high-level sentinels, you could be mentally backlashed… Don’t be impatient. Practical exercises are part of the university stage. Sentinels will cooperate with you when the time comes.”

The student nodded thoughtfully, “I understand.”

Xie Shiyi, “?”

He felt like there was a deviation in his understanding, but Xie Shiyi didn’t think much about it at the time and took him back to the dormitory to sleep.

At this moment, looking at the secret passage in front of him, Xie Shiyi suddenly remembered this past experience, and a cold sweat broke out on his back – could it be him? He wanted to find a sentinel to practice the knowledge he had learned, but unfortunately, Guide Academy didn’t have sentinels. So, he secretly dug a passage to the neighboring academy to find sentinels to practice controlling mental tendrils?!

When he said he “understood,” did he understand “that he could not practice casually,” or did he understand “that practicing as long as no harm was done was permissible”? If it was that student who did it, how did he avoid all the surveillance and prying eyes of Guide Academy and quietly do all this? Unless… he had invisibility abilities. And this ability was something even Xie Shiyi was unaware of! The more Xie Shiyi thought about it, the more scared he felt.

Zhu Tianyi quickly noticed Dean Xie’s abnormality and came over, asking softly, “Dean Xie, have you thought of something?”

Xie Shiyi came to his senses and said seriously, “I did think of someone. Director Zhu, have you heard that in the past, there was a genius student in Guide Academy who, in just three months, completed the courses that other guides took two years to complete and graduated from Sanctuary ahead of time?”

“I’ve heard. However, your Guide Academy protects students’ privacy very well, especially advanced guides. There is no public information about him in society, and no one knows his name and family background.” Zhu Tianyi paused, puzzled, “Why did the dean suddenly mention him?”

Xie Shiyi said with a complex expression, “He was the most talented student I’ve ever taught. I saw him near the isolation wall once. He always wanted to find sentinels to practice the practical application of mental tendrils. I suspect that this secret passage was dug by him behind my back. However, this incident of data theft should have nothing to do with him.”

Zhu Tianyi raised an eyebrow, “Is the dean so sure?”

Xie Shiyi sighed lightly, with a hint of regret in his tone, “Of course. Because, five years ago, after graduating from university, he passed away.”