First Interstellar Guide Chapter 57: Departure

Chapter 57: Departure 

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

 

The next morning at eight o’clock, the members of the Eagle Special Forces assembled punctually on the starship. They noticed that Deputy Captain Xiong Kai was absent, and the sentinels were discussing it privately.

“Where’s Deputy Xiong?”

“Yeah, Big Xiong has never been late before. What’s going on?”

“Could he have overslept?”

Just then, Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran walked side by side into the starship, and everyone immediately fell silent, standing at attention.

Lu Zexuan scanned the crowd and said, “Deputy Captain Xiong Kai’s grandmother is critically ill and hospitalized, so he needs to take some time off. Starting today, the position of deputy captain of the Eagle Special Forces…” He looked at the Zhao brothers standing in the crowd and continued, “…will be temporarily held by Zhao Quan. Zhao Quan has served in the Eagle Legion’s Vanguard Camp for many years and is very familiar with the operation of the starship. From now on, the safety of the starship will be entrusted to you.”

Zhao Feng and Zhao Quan, the two brothers, were veterans sent by Lu Zexuan’s father. They were older than everyone present, and Lu Zexuan entrusted the most important task of guarding the starship to his younger twin brother. Even if the starship encountered trouble, his elder brother could immediately sense it.

This arrangement was reasonable, and no one objected.

Zhao Quan saluted, “Understood. I will protect the starship!”

Lu Zexuan nodded at him and continued, “The goal of this mission remains the investigation of the Dorado Constellation’s S107 planet. Last time, we were misled by the monsters and intruded into their territory recklessly, only to be surrounded and ambushed. This time, everyone needs to be more cautious. The White Tower has requested that we bring back at least two specimens of the monsters for scientists to study their characteristics and weaknesses.”

In the interstellar age, humans sent elite forces to capture samples of flora and fauna from other planets for research purposes, a practice that had been ongoing for hundreds of years.

Only by understanding the characteristics of the other party could losses be minimized when occupying resource-rich planets.

This capture mission was not difficult. After the targets were locked with special high-energy electromagnetic nets, they could be quickly stunned, rendering them unable to resist. Capturing two live monsters would suffice for their return.

Lu Zexuan walked to the command platform, set the navigation route, and instructed Zhao Quan to stay in the command room to carefully monitor the starship’s various data.

The starship soon entered the southern interstellar route and began its smooth flight.

If everything went as planned, they would arrive at the Dorado Constellation by four in the afternoon. With nothing else to do, Mohr suggested that everyone line up for inspection, with Yu Ran assisting him.

The sentinels sat down one by one, and soon it was Lu Xiaolong’s turn. His mental landscape was a forest, with the ground covered in weeds, and a chameleon blending seamlessly with a tree trunk. This spirit body liked to hide. Yu Ran ignored it and searched the forest with Mohr.

In Lu Xiaolong’s mental landscape, memories floated up like bubbles, all related to food. Various delicious snacks, nuts, cola chicken wings, spicy beef, braised ribs…

Mohr couldn’t help but laugh, “Looking at your mental landscape, I’m getting hungry.”

Yu Ran said, “Is your mind always filled with food?”

Lyu Xiaolong said embarrassedly, “I don’t have high aspirations in life. Hey hey, being able to have good food every day is already satisfying.”

Last time when Yu Ran checked his mental landscape, he saw a pile of delicacies. Coupled with Tang Ce discovering him stealing canned food from the warehouse, Yu Ran subconsciously thought of him as a foodie.

However, foodies were the easiest to let their guard down. Because he was a foodie, when the guide checked his mental landscape, he would be led astray by his thoughts of food. Also, because he was a foodie, when he gave snacks or fruits to others, it wouldn’t arouse suspicion easily. That’s why Lu Cheng’an back then could eat the biscuits he gave without any guard; and even if he was caught eavesdropping in the middle of the night, he could successfully cover it up with the reason of “getting up to find food”.

Yu Ran continued to inspect the forest, seemingly without finding any anomalies on the surface. However, when his mental tendrils passed through a lawn deep in the forest, the chameleon hiding in the treetops tensed slightly, but soon, various delicious mushrooms grew in the lawn.

Quick to react and using food to deceive again? It seemed that there were many secrets hidden under this lawn. Yu Ran remembered the location of the lawn and quietly withdrew his mental tendrils from that area.

After inspecting all the sentinels, it was lunchtime.

Yu Ran deliberately went to the tea room.

At this time, most of the sentinels were having lunch, and Yu Ran was alone in the tea room.

A chameleon silently followed him and crawled onto the roof. Yu Ran took out a white pill from his pocket and threw it into the cup of water. The pill quickly dissolved in the cup, and then Yu Ran casually shook the cup, turned around, and walked out with the cup in his hand. He handed the “drugged” cup to Lu Zexuan and took another cup for himself, saying, “Have some water.”

Lu Zexuan drank without suspicion—the familiar sweetness meant Ranran had once again staged a performance for the mole.

At the same time, Tang Ce pretended to come out of the restroom at the end of the corridor, quietly retrieving his lizard.

Last time, when Yu Ran went to pour water for Lu Zexuan, the chameleon had disappeared. The sentinels were fighting at the time, and Tang Ce was focused on Xiong Kai, Hummingbird, and Mohr, so he didn’t see where the chameleon went. Later, he encountered the chameleon stealing in the warehouse, and he subconsciously thought it was going for food.

But now, it seemed the chameleon’s observation of Yu Ran was even more discreet than Xiong Kai’s—Xiong Kai glanced at Yu Ran discreetly, caught by Tang Ce. Lu Xiaolong, however, used his spirit body’s invisibility ability, directly hiding on the roof of the tea room to confirm if Yu Ran had drugged the water.

After an A-grade chameleon turned invisible, as long as it remained quiet, it would be challenging for a guide to detect it. So, at that time, Yu Ran hadn’t noticed a chameleon silently observing him on the roof. Whether Yu Ran had drugged the water was the key the mole needed to confirm.

This time, Tang Ce, following Yu Ran’s instructions, paid special attention to Lu Xiaolong. Before lunch began, he went to the public restroom at the end of the corridor and left his lizard on the hallway wall, indeed noticing some movement.

A regular sentinel wouldn’t specifically observe Yu Ran pouring water. Even if they accidentally saw him drugging it, they would definitely warn their own captain to be careful of this guide. But after Lu Xiaolong saw it, he didn’t do anything. There was no change in his expression, as if he had known everything beforehand.

In the dining hall, Tang Ce went to sit with Lu Xiaolong, smiling, “Brother Long, did you bring snacks? Share some with me later.”

In front of Lu Xiaolong, Tang Ce also created a “foodie” persona, and the two had built “friendship” over stealing canned food together.

Initially, Lu Xiaolong had suspected Tang Ce of intentionally approaching him, but later he realized Tang Ce treated everyone in the team with the same attitude—calling Sister Bird, Brother Dragon, and Brother Tiger in a very friendly manner, clearly a naturally sociable person.

He smiled and said, “Sure, I’ll give you some later.”

Not far away, Yu Ran, who was having his meal, discreetly glanced at Tang Ce, who happened to be looking at him too. They exchanged a glance and quickly looked away—snacks, it seemed Major Tang intentionally mentioned that word. It appeared Major Tang had confirmed Lu Xiaolong was the mole.

With the evidence observed by Tang Ce, the next step of the plan could be executed.

After lunch, Lu Zexuan asked everyone to rest in their rooms and took Yu Ran to his own room, closing the door behind them.

Everyone thought the two would engage in some intimate activities, but unexpectedly, as soon as Yu Ran entered, he connected with Lu Zexuan’s mind.

In Lu Zexuan’s mind, he asked, “What did you find?”

Yu Ran replied, “When I went to pour water for you just now, Lu Xiaolong was observing me. He should have seen me drug your water, but he didn’t react at all. It seems our speculation was correct—he’s the mole sent by the Dark Night Organization to monitor us.”

Lu Zexuan nodded, “What’s the plan for the next step?”

Yu Ran said, “First, follow the White Tower’s mission instructions to capture the monsters at the Dorado Constellation. When we return after completing the mission, everyone will relax their guard. Late at night, you can quietly change the starship’s course. I’ll give you a set of coordinates to follow.”

Yu Ran wrote down unfamiliar coordinates on Lu Zexuan’s palm.

Lu Zexuan had been campaigning in the southern region for many years and was very familiar with interstellar routes. The coordinates Yu Ran gave him were not on the route, seeming to be in an uninhabited area in the southern region?

He felt puzzled and looked at Yu Ran.

Yu Ran explained, “There’s a cosmic wormhole there that will suck nearby starships in, landing them on a red spider star in the distant Triangulum constellation. That planet is inhabited by strange red-eyed spiders, and they will help us.”

Lu Zexuan was taken aback—a cosmic black hole? Unknown planet? Red-eyed spiders? How did Yu Ran know all this? Had he experienced all this during his escape years ago?

Lu Zexuan didn’t ask more, simply nodded and said, “Okay, let’s follow your plan.”

***

At four in the afternoon, the Eagle starship arrived punctually at the Dorado Constellation.

Stepping onto the S107 planet for the second time, everyone was exceptionally cautious.

Lu Zexuan’s voice came through the headphones, “Three scouts, use binoculars to find areas with fewer monsters. Hound, take Team 1; Crocodile, take Team 2. Disperse and deploy electromagnetic nets to capture the galactic creatures.”

Over fifty people quickly dispersed. Hummingbird, Chameleon, and Tang Ce flew ahead in the airship for observation.

From high above, the monsters remained motionless, their clawed appendages resembling desert cacti. Recalling their previous brush with danger when they recklessly intruded into the creatures’ territory, barely escaping with their lives, everyone felt a lingering fear.

This time, with experience, everyone kept the airship at a high altitude. Since these monsters couldn’t fly, maintaining high altitude flight allowed them to evade the creatures’ claw attacks.

Hummingbird quickly spotted a relatively monster-sparse area. “At ten o’clock direction, one kilometer ahead!”

Tang Ce added, “At three o’clock direction to the right, five hundred meters ahead, there’s also an area with fewer monsters.”

The Hound and Crocodile immediately led their teams there. Dozens of airships arranged themselves in a circular formation, a massive electromagnetic net dropping from the center of the airships, accurately entangling one of the creatures’ claws, swiftly wrapping it up.

“Howl!”

As the strong electric current paralyzed it, the feigning creatures were awakened, emitting sharp cries from below ground.

Lu Zexuan said sternly, “Swift and decisive, pull them up!”

The electromagnetic net began to contract, and in the blink of an eye, it captured one creature. It was pulled up into the air, and everyone could now clearly see its appearance—it resembled a combination of an octopus and a centipede, with a large head, numerous claws, and sharp fangs, its two large eyes rolling around.

Yu Ran said, “This one should be a juvenile of the creature; I can sense its fear.”

Lu Zexuan replied, “Let’s take it back first. The Central Academy of Sciences needs to study them.”

Yu Ran asked, “How do they study them? Completely dissect their bodies?”

Scientists usually dissect extraterrestrial creatures for study, even making specimens of different parts of their bodies. There’s even a museum of extraterrestrial biological specimens in the capital city, which attracts many tourists every year.

Yu Ran didn’t say more. In fact, he had a more gentle, idealistic approach, which was to send a special forces guide team to communicate mentally with the extraterrestrial creatures to reach a peaceful agreement.

The resources humans need and the living environment of extraterrestrial creatures often don’t conflict. It’s just because of the difference in species that many wars occur.

Guides can directly invade the mental world of highly intelligent creatures and communicate with them even if they don’t share a common language. In fact, the most suitable person to go to the front lines isn’t a sentinel with strong combat abilities but a guide who can communicate mentally.

However, it’s extremely difficult to change people’s inherent beliefs. And how many guides are willing to take the risk of going to the front lines to communicate with these creatures?

Yu Ran glanced at the captured juvenile creature. It stared back with big, round eyes, looking at him pitifully, conveying feelings of doubt and fear to Yu Ran’s mind.

Yu Ran approached, extending his mental tendrils, and suggested in its mind, “Be good, don’t struggle. This net is very powerful, struggling will only hurt you.”

The juvenile creature blinked its eyes, seemingly trusting Yu Ran, and stopped struggling.

The sentinels quickly placed it back into the cage at the rear of the starship.

Shortly after, another adult creature was captured. It struggled more fiercely, roaring loudly. Mohr followed Yu Ran’s example and approached it to communicate mentally. Soon, it calmed down too.

The sentinels watched this miraculous scene and couldn’t help but ask, “Do you understand what the creatures are saying?”

Mohr smiled and said, “Guides communicate using mental energy, so language isn’t important. They can understand.”

Hummingbird couldn’t help but ask, “If that’s the case, why not send an S-class guide to persuade them to surrender? There’s no need to fight them to the death!”

Everyone exchanged glances.

Persuade them to surrender? It sounded absurd, but it seemed to make some sense. The sentinels scratched their heads, not wanting to dwell on this issue any longer.

Lu Zexuan said, “Alright, mission accomplished. Let’s prepare to return. Everyone has worked hard, so let’s all go back and rest.”

The sentinels returned to their respective dormitories, and Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan exchanged a glance before returning to their dorm to rest.

The starship entered the route and flew towards the capital planet.

Until late at night, Lu Zexuan pretended to be awakened by a nightmare and came to the command room. He rubbed his temples and whispered to Zhao Quan, “You go back to rest. I’ll stay here and keep watch.”

Zhao Quan tactfully turned and left.

Only after Zhao Quan had left did Lu Zexuan come to the command platform and quickly modified the navigation path, entering the coordinates Yu Ran had given him.

Most of the people on the starship were asleep, unaware that the Eagle starship had deviated from its course without their knowledge.