First Interstellar Guide Chapter 41: Tang Ce’s Suspicions

Chapter 41: Tang Ce’s Suspicions

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

That night, everyone from the Eagle Special Forces slept on the starship. Lu Zexuan was worried that Yu Ran might not be accustomed to it, so before going to bed, he specifically came to check on him, saying, “Space on the starship is limited, and everyone’s quarters are quite compact. During missions, we can only sleep here. You’ll have to get used to it slowly.”

Yu Ran smiled and replied, “It’s okay, I think it’s pretty good. There’s a separate bathroom, very convenient.”

Lu Zexuan handed a bag to Yu Ran, “Oh, by the way, I brought your hairdryer for you.”

When Yu Ran was packing earlier, he only brought some changes of clothes, leaving the hairdryer in the drawer of the bathroom. He was too rushed at the time and forgot about it. Yu Ran felt a warmth in his heart as he took the bag and said, “Thank you.”

Lu Zexuan cleared his throat, seeming somewhat uneasy, “Well then, you should rest early. We depart at 8 a.m. tomorrow.”

Yu Ran nodded, “Yes, goodnight, Major Lu.”

White Eagle flapped its wings, circled around the little fox, then reluctantly flew away.

Tang Ce was looking out through the porthole in the corridor. When he saw Lu Zexuan coming out, he quickly stood at attention and saluted, “Major Lu.”

Lu Zexuan glanced at him in confusion, “You’re still not sleeping at this hour?”

Tang Ce explained, “It’s my first time on the starship. I’m a bit curious. I wanted to observe and familiarize myself with the environment.”

Lu Zexuan nodded, not suspecting anything. After all, the person in front of him was a new recruit who had just graduated from university. It was normal for him to be curious. Lu Zexuan turned back to his room, unaware that Tang Ce was carefully observing the layout of the dormitory area behind him.

The dormitory area of the Eagle starship was a long corridor with rooms on both sides, each person having a single room of about ten square meters, equipped with a private bathroom. No one would know what you were doing in your quarters. The undercover agent would definitely want to understand the situation between Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan and would find a way to observe them.

Since it was an inside job, the time in the Special Forces shouldn’t be too short for the infiltrator. It’s difficult for new recruits to get close to Lu Zexuan. Moreover, the infiltrator must be in a relatively safe position. Otherwise, they would easily sacrifice themselves, making it impossible to pass on information.

The Eagle Special Forces were a unit that executed high-difficulty special missions. In such a team, the safest person was typically the guide. The guide usually wouldn’t engage in combat personally but would stay on the starship. If a sentinel got into trouble, they would seek treatment from the guide.

Mohr, this guide, had served in the Eagle Special Forces for eight years and was well-informed about the entire team. Moreover, the guide could enter the mental landscape of the sentinel, easily grasping their weaknesses and secrets. A guide could apply for retirement after serving eight years in the military and be transferred back to the capital for work. However, Mohr had never applied for retirement, which raised suspicions—he seemed to be the most likely candidate for the role of “mole.”

Next, there were the heads of logistics support and defense departments.

Captain Xiong Kai, the deputy captain of the Eagle Special Forces, was responsible for the daily maintenance and security of the starship. During missions, the starship was the only “escape route” for all the warriors. Naturally, not everyone would leave during a mission. Someone had to stay on the starship so that in case of trouble, they could evacuate quickly, ensuring the team’s survival.

This spirit body, a brown bear, was in charge of the important “rear defense work” and was the strongest support of the Eagle Special Forces.

He wouldn’t leave the starship during missions, making him the safest person in the entire team. Mohr occasionally had to go down to treat the sentinel, but Captain Xiong had to stay behind to protect the safety of the starship. Unless the team was wiped out, or the starship was destroyed, he would definitely be the last one standing.

Tang Ce had met Deputy Captain Xiong Kai today. He was tall and sturdy, with a very honest appearance. His spirit body, the “brown bear,” was oriented towards strength, possessing strong close combat abilities. He was safe on the starship, but if the team was wiped out or the starship was invaded, he also had strong close combat abilities and could drive the starship away at any time—making him a very likely suspect.

Then, there were several sentinels with strong self-defense capabilities.

The spirit body of “Hummingbird,” female sentinel Lin Fengyao, had evolved into one of the top speeds among humans and could immediately escape if something went wrong. She was agile and could easily move between monsters. She was only responsible for reconnaissance and didn’t need to engage in dangerous battles. Having joined the Eagle Special Forces five years ago, she also fit the criteria for being an “inside man.”

The spirit body of “Chameleon,” Lu Xiaolong, could change his appearance and blend with the surrounding environment, making it difficult for enemies to detect him. This type of spirit body was suitable for infiltration and eavesdropping. For example, sticking to the corridor and changing his color to match the wall, coupled with holding his breath, others would find it hard to detect his presence, making him an ideal undercover agent.

The spirit body of “Bloodhound,” Si Te, usually handled search and rescue missions. Rescue missions usually occurred after the battle ended or when teammates helped establish a safe defense network for him. Since he was responsible for rescuing people in the rear, the dangers on the front line wouldn’t usually affect him. Bloodhound had the most acute sense of smell and could distinguish who was approaching even from tens of meters away, making him a suspicious figure.

Tang Ce carefully assessed the sentinels of the Eagle Special Forces, and currently, these were the most suspicious ones.

Mohr, Deputy Captain Xiong, reconnaissance sentinel Hummingbird and Chameleon, and the captain of the rescue team, Bloodhound. Among them, Mohr and Deputy Captain Xiong had been with the Eagle Special Forces for eight and seven years, respectively, while the others had joined five years ago.

It was better to observe them further and see if any clues could be found.The next morning at seven o’clock, a mechanical sound urging everyone to wake up echoed through the starship.

Yu Ran quickly washed his face, brushed his teeth, and got dressed neatly. When he arrived at the dining hall, everyone was already up, and the sentinels were all dressed in dark green camouflage suits. During missions, wearing neat military uniforms was replaced by sleek camouflage suits for better mobility.

Lu Zexuan also changed into a camouflage suit. He was already tall and handsome, and wearing a sharp military uniform gave him a cold and restrained aura. But in this camouflage suit, he seemed more wild, exuding a burst of hormones. As a top-tier evolved sentinel, his whole body radiated strength, and his sharp eagle-like eyes softened slightly when he met Yu Ran’s gaze. He walked over and asked, “How did you sleep last night?”

Yu Ran replied, “Pretty well. How about you? No nightmares?”

Lu Zexuan answered, “None. Let’s go eat first.”

The two of them went to the dining hall together, and Lu Zexuan even considerately helped Yu Ran with his milk.

In the distance, the Zhao brothers exchanged glances. Zhao Quan leaned over to his brother’s ear and whispered, “Major General seems to have a good relationship with this Yu Ran.” 

Zhao Feng nodded, “Of course, their compatibility rating is 98%. Maybe they’ll develop feelings and get married next year.”

Lu Zexuan raised an eyebrow lightly—did they think he was deaf? Talking in hushed tones in front of an S-class sentinel, they must be deliberately speaking for me to hear, right?

His father sent these two trusted aides over because he heard that Yu Ran was going on the mission with them. In General Lu’s eyes, his son was expendable, as he was tough enough to fly away in case of danger. But Yu Ran was just a “C-grade guide with average physical abilities” and absolutely couldn’t afford to have any accidents. So, General Lu officially sent two trusted aides from the Imperial Guards to protect Lu Zexuan… In reality, they were here to protect Yu Ran.

Lu Zexuan had already seen through this but didn’t reveal it.

Yu Ran didn’t hear the conversation between the two, concentrating on eating—thankfully, there were no desserts or cakes on the starship, and the food choices were relatively simple, mainly quick energy and protein-rich items like eggs, canned beef, and compressed biscuits.

Yu Ran finished an egg, drank a glass of milk, and ate some biscuits before wiping his mouth to indicate he was full.

Zhao Quan, sitting not far away, remarked, “He has such a small appetite.” 

Zhao Feng replied, “He’s just a guide, so he doesn’t need to eat so much to replenish his energy.”

Lu Zexuan coughed lightly, interrupting their conversation. “You two, come with me.”

The two vultures flew up simultaneously and followed Lu Zexuan’s White Eagle into the command room.

Lu Zexuan closed the soundproof door behind him, looked at them with a calm expression, and said, “I know the purpose of my father sending you here. I need to oversee the overall situation and sometimes can’t attend to him. From today on, Zhao Feng, you’ll stick with me; Zhao Quan, you’ll specifically protect Yu Ran, understood?”

The two immediately saluted, “Yes, General!”

Lu Zexuan reminded, “I hope you two can keep your mouths in check, no whispering. It’s not good to be overheard by him.”

The two exchanged a glance and immediately made a zipper motion across their mouths with their hands.

Lu Zexuan sighed, “You may go.”

The two people sent by his father were both A+ class sentinels responsible for protecting General Lu in the Eagle Legion. With rich combat experience, they were top-tier personal guards. Although they hadn’t evolved flight capabilities, the White Eagle’s spirit body had a much sharper perception of danger than other raptors. Coupled with being twin brothers, they had a telepathic connection and could immediately sense if the other was in danger.

Lu Zexuan separated the two brothers, with the elder brother following him and the younger one accompanying Yu Ran. In this way, if one side encountered an insurmountable danger, the brothers could immediately sense the level of danger and inform each other if reinforcements were needed.

Lu Zexuan’s purpose in doing this was his concern for Yu Ran. If Zhao Quan couldn’t handle it, he could go to the rescue immediately.

The next morning at eight o’clock, the Eagle Special Forces departed on time. The skylight of the White Tower slowly opened, and the black starship spread its wings, resembling an eagle soaring into the sky.

A gentle mechanical voice sounded in their ears, “We have left the atmosphere of the Phoenix Constellation and are preparing to accelerate. Navigation target, Planet S107 in the Dorado Constellation. The spaceship is about to perform its first space quantum leap in 10 minutes. Please return to your safety seats…”

Everyone immediately sat down on their safety seats.

Yu Ran looked out through the porthole and saw the bustling capital planet gradually receding below his feet. Outside the window was shrouded in dense white fog. After a while, the starship broke through the clouds and began its first space quantum leap.

The tremors caused by the space quantum leap made Yu Ran feel a little dizzy, but the dizziness quickly passed. After the starship performed the quantum leap, it arrived on the route to Planet S107 in the southern star region and began to move steadily toward its destination.

The southern star region was a region that the Federation had focused on exploring and developing in recent years. There were many resource planets here. Although the climate was harsh and unsuitable for human habitation, the resource planets were rich in various minerals and crystal energy.

For the sake of development, humans needed to occupy resource planets to exploit resources. However, the indigenous creatures on the planets would instinctively resist the “invaders.” Over the years, the battles between humans and galactic creatures had intensified, with both sides paying a heavy price. The Federation currently had no good way to balance this, relying only on advanced technology and highly evolved sentinels to forcibly conquer these planets.

The target of this mission was obviously an undeveloped resource planet.

The Eagle Special Forces were the first humans to set foot on this planet.

As Yu Ran looked out at the vast universe and the stars sprinkled across the sky through the porthole, his sense of unease grew stronger—he felt that something was going to go wrong with this mission, and it wasn’t going to be minor.

Back when he graduated from university, during the outing with his parents, he had this strange sense of unease, and then, almost the entire Starlight Legion unit that went on that mission was wiped out, leaving only him and Tang Ce as the survivors.

Although the Eagle Special Forces had an undercover agent sent by the secret organization, there were still many innocent people, all of them accomplished military personnel.

Yu Ran didn’t want the experience of that year to happen again. In desperate situations, he would intervene to save people. Thinking of this, Yu Ran got up and went to the medical room. 

Tang Ce also came to the medical room tacitly to find Yu Ran, scratching his head, and smiling, “Guide Yu, thank you for helping me repair my mental landscape yesterday. But I had a nightmare last night and have a headache. Could you help me check it out?”

It was normal for patients to come back for a follow-up examination with the doctor, and no one suspected anything.

Yu Ran apologized, “Maybe I made a mistake during the treatment. Sorry, my skills are not high enough. Let me check for you. Please sit down first.”

Tang Ce obediently sat down in front of Yu Ran. Yu Ran extended his mental tendrils and gently touched his forehead.

On the surface, this was just a sentinel with a headache coming to the guide for treatment.

But in the mental world, Tang Ce was quickly communicating with Yu Ran, “There are five suspicious targets: Mohr is the most suspicious, followed by Deputy Captain Xiong, and the reconnaissance Hummingbird and Chameleon, and the rescue Bloodhound. Chameleon’s movements are mysterious; he easily blends with the surroundings and disappears. I’ve captured his breathing frequency and found out he just went to the logistics storage room. But to avoid being detected by him, I left in time. Hummingbird often seems to be peeking at you, seems very interested in you. Bloodhound, Deputy Captain Xiong, and Mohr currently show no abnormalities.”

“Good job.” Tang Ce, as a top student graduated from the Federation Military Academy’s Reconnaissance Institute, quickly identified the suspects. Yu Ran calmly said, “Later, I’ll put on a show. Pay attention to their expressions.”

“Got it.”

Yu Ran retracted his mental tendrils, blushing and apologizing, “I didn’t clean up the issue in the bushes properly when I repaired it yesterday. I’m sorry for causing you trouble.”

Tang Ce hurriedly waved his hand, “Guide Yu, you’re too polite. My headache is gone now, thank you!”

Yu Ran smiled and said, “You’re welcome.”

Outside the treatment room, Lu Zexuan watched the scene through the window… feeling a bit uncomfortable.

Had Yu Ran and that Tang grown too close? Repairing his mental landscape last night, and carefully checking on him today… the image of the two smiling at each other somehow felt irritating.

The White Eagle was indignant in Lu Zexuan’s mind, “That smelly lizard dares to get close to my little fox!”

Lu Zexuan was speechless. Even his spirit body was unhappy, making him feel uncomfortable. After Tang Ce left, he walked into the treatment room and asked, “Is everything okay? Why did that Tang come to you again?”

“Little Tang?” Yu Ran looked at Lu Zexuan and explained, “It was the first time I encountered a swamp-type mental landscape, and when I treated him yesterday, I didn’t handle some parts well, causing him to have a headache all night. He came to me just now for a check-up. Is something wrong?”

Lu Zexuan rubbed his nose, “Oh… nothing.”

Yu Ran raised an eyebrow, “?” What’s with the sudden visit from Lu Zexuan? The two glanced at each other, Lu Zexuan uncomfortably looked away and left the room. Yu Ran felt puzzled. What was up with this sentinel?