First Interstellar Guide Chapter 31: Special Inspection

Chapter 31: Special Inspection

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Early on March 31st, a sudden announcement appeared on the Sanctuary’s bulletin board: “Tomorrow, Federal Commander-in-Chief Qin Xiao will visit the Guide Academy and Sentinel Academy for inspection. Teachers and students, please be prepared for the reception.”

This news stirred up a storm. Teachers and students from both academies were energized as if collectively injected with chicken blood, excitedly tidying up dormitories, cleaning classrooms— the entire campus was bustling as if celebrating the New Year. Discussions about the Marshal could be heard everywhere on campus.

Roommate Qin Tian exclaimed excitedly, “The Marshal is my idol, and we even share the same surname. Maybe we were a family hundreds of years ago!”

Blushing, Kamiya said, “He’s my idol too!”

Timidly raising his hand, Qi Xiaoluo asked, “I don’t know much about the military. What kind of person is the Marshal?”

Qin Tian enthusiastically explained, “The Qin family made significant contributions in quelling the sentinel rebellion back then. Their genetic lineage is outstanding. Over the past few centuries, there have been two Marshals from the Qin family. The current Marshal is rumored to have reached S+ in mental energy!”

Kamiya exclaimed in surprise, “S+? Is he more formidable than Professor Morvi, who is S-class? That’s the highest level of mental energy, isn’t it?”

“Yes, I’ve heard of S+, but I’ve never seen it,” Qin Tian said, turning to Yu Ran. “Brother Ran, do you know Marshal Qin Xiao?”

Yu Ran replied, “I heard General Lu mention something. There were some frictions among the four major federal legions, almost leading to war, but peace was maintained under the Marshal’s mediation… This is also why the position of Marshal has always been held by a guide.”

Kamiya suddenly realized, “Guides have quick minds and can dispel negative emotions from sentinels. Having a guide as the Marshal is indeed more reliable.”

Qin Tian summed up, “So, the Marshal’s existence is actually as the military’s top advisor?”

Yu Ran nodded, “More or less. The Marshal doesn’t need to lead troops personally, so physical fitness and combat ability are not high requirements. Military affairs are complex, and conflicts of opinion among generals can arise at any time. Only a guide serving as the supreme commander can manage everything properly. Of course, the Marshal doesn’t have the final say alone; many important decisions require votes from the four generals and the Marshal.”

Kamiya joked, “Is all this from General Lu as well?”

Yu Ran coughed slightly in embarrassment. “Um, yes. He did tell me some things about the military. Do you want to hear more?”

The three of them exclaimed in unison, “Yes!”

So, the roommates sat together, eagerly listening to Yu Ran’s stories about the military. They chatted until dawn, reluctantly returning to their rooms to sleep.

A day later, Marshal Qin Xiao arrived at Sanctuary with his security detail. He first inspected the Sentinel Academy next door before coming to the Guide Academy in the afternoon. This time, the Marshal made a special request to meet with the students. Two representatives were selected from each class to gather in the auditorium. Representatives from Class A, B, and C were scheduled to talk with him in batches.

The students of Class C were almost moved to tears.

“Oh my god, do we C-class guides also have the opportunity to meet the Marshal?”

“He didn’t forget about us rookies!”

“I wonder who will be so lucky?”

“Yu Ran from Class 107 will definitely go, he’s the top of our C-class!”

Inside the Class 107 classroom, Teacher Ai Qi stepped onto the platform. “Choose two representatives to meet the Marshal. Everyone, vote and write down the names of two students you want to recommend.”

Yu Ran received almost 100% support. The other one was Qin Tian, who was lively in character and had a teddy bear spirit body. He was well-liked by many classmates, receiving over twenty votes.

After hearing his name, Qin Tian excitedly ran around the classroom, almost jumping up. Yu Ran and Qin Tian were brought to the auditorium by the teacher. The student representatives of Class C gathered together, numbering in the hundreds. At this moment, enthusiastic applause erupted from the auditorium next door where the representatives of Class A had just finished their meeting.

Qin Tian whispered, “It seems that the meeting for Class A just ended. When will it be our turn in Class C?”

Yu Ran replied, “Don’t worry, he will definitely come. Let’s just wait.”

Qin Tian fidgeted nervously, and other student representatives were also somewhat anxious. Yu Ran, being the oldest and looking more composed than them, reassured them.

After about half an hour, the doors of the auditorium were pushed open.

An elderly man with gray hair walked in gracefully. He wore a specially tailored deep green military uniform with a gold medal adorned with a horizontal bar and five stars on his shoulders, symbolizing his highest command position in the military. He looked over sixty years old, but he walked tall and straight with a warm smile on his face. Although he exuded the dignity of a military man, it didn’t come across as intimidating like the high-ranking sentinels. Instead, he seemed kind and approachable.

The audience erupted into enthusiastic applause, and many students clapped until their hands turned red.

Qin Xiao stood on the grand stage, smiling as he waved his right hand. When the applause subsided, he took the microphone and said, “Hello, everyone. I am Federal Marshal Qin Xiao. I am here today to inspect the Guide Academy, mainly to understand the students’ learning and living conditions. I hope I didn’t scare you.” 

His words instantly eased the atmosphere in the room.

Dean Xie, who was beside him, asked, “Marshal, regarding the student representative for Class C, are we sticking to the previous arrangement?”

Qin Xiao nodded and looked at the students below, saying, “As guides, our communication relies not only on words but also on mental energy. I have always believed that expression in the mental world is more sincere—so, let’s communicate using mental energy from now on.”

As soon as he finished speaking, several beautiful jellyfish suddenly appeared beside him. These jellyfish continued to multiply and spread, and in the blink of an eye, they drifted like cotton throughout the entire auditorium. These jellyfish were incredibly beautiful, turning the original auditorium into a vast ocean. Students could feel the mysterious and powerful force from the depths of the sea.

Marshal’s spirit body was a rare deep-sea jellyfish. In front of these deep-sea jellyfish, the spirit bodies of Class C guides felt ashamed to even lift their heads.

Qin Tian’s usually playful little Teddy, shrunk his neck in fear, and Yu Ran’s little white fox curled up tremblingly. However, the jellyfish showed no signs of aggression. Instead, they were gentle and accommodating, their tentacles gently touching the students’ spirit bodies, indicating friendliness.

The spirit bodies felt enveloped by the sea, no longer afraid as they were initially, and the students’ nervousness gradually disappeared.

Qin Tian said gently, “Let’s go row by row. Students in the first row, I will use mental tendrils to touch you and take you to my mental landscape to have a chat… Don’t be nervous, relax. You should know that mental dialogue between guides is the most intuitive and fastest. Our brains are always faster than our mouths.”

Laughter erupted around. Indeed, the thinking speed of guides was several times or even dozens of times that of ordinary humans, sometimes the mouth really couldn’t keep up with the brain.

Qin Tian stretched out his right hand, and dozens of blue mental tendrils condensed and released from his palm. Each blue thread quickly spread out, and the sucker-like tips lightly touched the foreheads of the students in the front row.

As the students touched by the mental tendrils, a vast blue sea suddenly appeared in front of them. In the boundless deep sea, various beautiful jellyfish floated, and the seabed was covered with countless seaweeds, algae, and corals… Such a magnificent underwater world left the Class C students in awe.

Was this the S+ guide? The mental landscape was so vast and grand. What surprised everyone even more was that they turned into mermaids, each covered in transparent bubbles, freely swimming in the ocean world.

A gentle voice came to their ears, “Students, feel free to use mental energy to chat with me if you have anything to say.”

Guides below the S level could only have mental dialogue with one person connected by mental tendrils at a time. However, to simultaneously pull a group of people into one’s mental landscape, use powerful mental energy to converse with multiple people, and establish a mental conference—this was the terrifying power of an S+ guide. No wonder the military’s meetings were always so efficient; several generals were pulled into the mental sea by the marshal.

Qin Tian was the first to excitedly say, “Marshal, I’ve admired you since I was a child!”

A nearby student said, “Marshal, my dream is to join the military, but unfortunately, I’m only a Class C guide with limited abilities. What should I do if I can’t get into the military academy?”

Qin Tian’s voice carried a smile, “Class C guides don’t need to belittle themselves. There are many Class C sentinels eagerly awaiting your help. The military is building a military academy specifically for training Class C guides. By the time you graduate, this academy should be able to officially enroll students. You can consider applying.”

“Oh, that’s great!”

There were many excited cheers from the ocean.

Suddenly, a cold voice asked, “Marshal, the problem of imbalance between guides and sentinels has always existed. I heard that there are many sentinels on the front lines who never receive treatment from guides throughout their lives. How can this problem be solved?”

The person speaking with mental energy was Yu Ran. As Yu Ran was known as a top student in Class C, diligent and studious, often cited as an example by various class teachers, everyone here knew him. After hearing this question, everyone quieted down, waiting for the marshal’s response.

Qin Tian smiled, “That’s a good question. What’s your name, this student?”

“I’m Yu Ran, the class monitor of Class 107.”

Qin Tian patiently said, “We’ve been trying to solve the problem of imbalance between guides and sentinels. In fact, with the healing ability of guides, once skilled, the speed is very fast. A guide can treat a dozen sentinels in a single day. However, currently, there are too few guides joining the military, and many children prefer to work in leisurely units after graduating from the Sanctuary, so they apply for other majors. To solve the problem at its root, we need to increase the enrollment scale of guide soldiers.”

After hearing this, the students finally understood why the marshal had come for inspection—it was to promote the enrollment of the new “Class C Guide Military Academy” so that more students could apply for military academies.

In the depths of the ocean, Yu Ran, like other students, floated in a transparent bubble, connected by a blue mental tendril. All the students were listening to the marshal talk about the new school, unaware that in Yu Ran’s mind, there was another storm-like mental dialogue—

“The Information Department of the Investigation Division brought in several communication experts and deciphered the code you and Adeline used to contact each other. Fortunately, you reacted quickly at the banquet and understood the hint I gave you, avoiding exposure.”

“The several generals from the military department, were they sent by you?”

“That’s correct. The Investigation Division has fully deployed a network in the capital planet, intercepting all channels of unidentified encrypted information. Although our communication wasn’t intercepted, it wasn’t secure enough. In urgency, I could only think of getting a few generals to attend the banquet. I believe you noticed something wrong and acted promptly.”

“…Thank you for your covert reminder.” Thinking back to that day’s experience, Yu Ran also felt extremely thrilled. Indeed, someone was secretly helping him.

“Have you given them the information? What are your plans next?”

“I met Adeline’s superior.” Yu Ran paused and added, “However, he should be a decoy. He wore a mask at the time, and his voice was mechanical, revealing no identity information. That person is very vigilant; apart from Adeline and her brother, I still can’t identify a third person who knows his identity. They are all hiding in the dark, wanting to root out, which is not so easy.”

“You must be careful. Once they sense something wrong, you could lose your life at any moment!” The old man’s voice carried a hint of severity.

“I know. I want to further gain their trust. Their experiment has reached a critical stage and requires an S-level sentinel as a sample—they have chosen Lu Zexuan, and I am the best candidate to get close to Lu Zexuan.”

“…So, you want to join the Eagle Special Forces?”

“Yes, Lu Zexuan wants me to accompany him as a guide with the team. He has already submitted a special application—this was also told to me by the masked person. The military must have their insiders; he knows everything about the military’s movements.”

“To what extent they have infiltrated, I can’t predict either,” Marshal Qin Tian’s voice carried a thick sense of helplessness. “This organization has been dormant for many years, and they have people in various fields of the Federation. Including under Zhu Tianyi from the Investigation Division, they also have their spies. Ranran, it will be difficult for us to maintain communication in the future, let alone meet in private. From now on, you must be cautious.”

“I understand, I will be careful,” Yu Ran said calmly. “When I pretended to be injured and contacted their liaison, I let them know that the Nine-Tailed Fox has invisibility and shape-shifting abilities. They all think that the Little White Fox is the transformed appearance of the Nine-Tailed Fox, only capable of performing the simplest mental healing. They don’t know that I actually have two spirit bodies—this is my only trump card.”

Even attack-type guides can perform the simplest basic healing, which is a compulsory course for all guides at Sanctuary. And advanced spirit bodies, some indeed evolved “shape-shifting abilities”; the Nine-Tailed Fox being the king of the fox clan, it makes sense for it to evolve such an ability.

Yu Ran first summons the Nine-Tailed Fox, then instantly recalls it and summons the White Fox, telling those people “the Nine-Tailed Fox can transform”; to outsiders, the White Fox is just a transformed Nine-Tailed Fox. He has never allowed the Nine-Tailed Fox and the White Fox to appear simultaneously. So, no one suspects that he has two spirit bodies—after all, in people’s cognition, each guide only has one spirit body.

The White Fox has S-level healing abilities, and the Nine-Tailed Fox has S-level attack abilities. Yu Ran is the first SS-level guide evolved in the history of the Federation.

—And this secret is known to only three people. The marshal sent him to infiltrate the Dark Night Organization in the first place because of his dual spirit bodies, which are very suitable for special missions. It’s a mission where death could happen at any moment. It’s hard to imagine how many difficulties and dangers lie ahead, but Yu Ran has accepted it without hesitation.

He’s not afraid to die, and he’s prepared to die at any moment. He just hoped to do his best to bring justice to those innocent sacrifices five years ago, to those who have been experimented on like guinea pigs for years. To find some justice.