First Interstellar Guide Chapter 68: Return to Capital Star

Chapter 68: Return to Capital Star

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Lu Xiaolong narrowly escaped death and took a deep breath. After calming down for a while, he adjusted his emotions and looked at Yu Ran nervously, asking, “Um, all the members of the Special Forces are dead. What about us three? How do we get back?”

Yu Ran smiled and replied, “Good question. These past few days, I’ve been searching around the forest and have already found the location where the Eagle Starship crashed. The starship isn’t heavily damaged. With some repairs, it can still be functional. We can leave on the starship.”

Lu Xiaolong suddenly realized. No wonder Yu Ran instructed Lu Zexuan to eliminate all the members of the Eagle Special Forces. It turns out, he had already found a way to leave this planet. Lu Xiaolong dusted off the dirt from his body and quickly followed, “Shall we go to the starship now?”

“Yes, there’s no time to waste. Let’s head back to the capital as soon as possible.” Yu Ran looked at Lu Zexuan and pointed to the southeast direction, saying, “Zexuan, take us over there.”

Lu Zexuan nodded, spreading his wings from his shoulders, and swiftly brought the two of them to the vicinity of the Eagle Starship. He glanced at the starship that had been his companion for many years. As Yu Ran had said, the damage wasn’t severe. The damaged parts of the wings could be repaired, and the systems could be restarted. Lu Zexuan felt relieved and placed the two beside the starship.

Yu Ran entered the starship and skillfully retrieved a pile of tools from the maintenance cabin, rolling up his sleeves to start working.

Lu Xiaolong approached, eager to help, while flattering, “Ranran, how come you’re so skilled at everything?”

This chameleon had an impeccable ability to change faces, knowing that his life was in Yu Ran’s hands, he smiled ingratiatingly. Yu Ran glanced at him and said, “Didn’t the organization tell you? I used to be a star pirate.”

Lu Xiaolong was stunned. He hadn’t expected Yu Ran to have such a background. Impressed, he said, “Star pirate, that’s so cool!”

Yu Ran casually said, “I lost both my parents when I was young. I grew up in a star pirate team, piloting ships, repairing mechas, I’ve learned various survival skills.” He handed a tool to Lu Xiaolong, “Hold this for me.”

Lu Xiaolong respectfully took it with both hands.

Yu Ran used the tools from the maintenance cabin to repair the starship, spending over an hour patching up the broken wing until it looked good as new. Then, he entered the command room of the starship to reboot the system. Lines of characters appeared on the transparent screen before him, and Yu Ran’s fingers flew, continuously inputting new commands. Rows of white characters appeared like snowflakes on the screen.

Lu Xiaolong thought to himself that Yu Ran was truly a talented individual with high mental energy, no wonder the organization valued him so much!

While Yu Ran repaired the starship, Lu Zexuan stood motionless outside like a human stake. Lu Xiaolong, unable to assist Yu Ran, turned to find Lu Zexuan. He looked at the dazed Lu Zexuan and asked softly, “Major Lu, can you hear me?”

Lu Zexuan remained unresponsive.

Lu Xiaolong reached out and shook his hand in front of him to test his reaction. Lu Zexuan’s eyes flickered, and he suddenly pulled out an electromagnetic knife, almost slicing Lu Xiaolong’s finger off!

Lu Xiaolong stepped back in fear.

In his mind, Yu Ran couldn’t help but say, “Don’t scare him. He’s still needed as our witness.”

Lu Zexuan said, “I restrained myself. I didn’t hurt him.”

Yu Ran understood Lu Zexuan’s disdain for this informant. After all, his older brother’s sacrifice was closely related to Lu Xiaolong. Yu Ran reassured him, “I understand how you feel. Don’t worry, one day, we’ll settle these debts one by one.”

Lu Zexuan said, “Hmm… How’s the progress on your end?”

Yu Ran replied, “Almost done.”

In the mental world, White Eagle circled boredly in the sky, while two foxes ran in the forest, creating a warm and tranquil scene. Since the fusion of their minds, White Eagle had been the happiest. Previously confined to the snowy mountains, it could now freely roam the vast forests, seeing the two foxes anytime, doubling its joy.

Lu Zexuan noticed its delight and reminded it, “You also need to improve your acting skills. The Dark Night Organization’s plan is for Ranran to capture my spirit body and control me as a puppet. So, from now on, whenever you need to appear, you must play the role of a puppet well.”

White Eagle hesitated, “Puppet? Like with vacant eyes, obeying all of Yu Ran’s commands?”

Lu Zexuan said, “More or less. No matter who you encounter in the future, don’t show too much emotion.”

However, the spirit body was still an animal, representing the subconscious of the owner, and many instincts were difficult to completely conceal. Lu Zexuan worried that it might give itself away.

Yu Ran shared this concern, considering White Eagle’s poor acting skills. After a moment of thought, he said, “In the future, try to keep it from coming out as much as possible. It’s safer to stay in the mental landscape. If it really needs to appear, I can summon the Nine-Tailed Fox to accompany it and provide cover.”

Lu Zexuan agreed, “Yes, with the Nine-Tailed Fox around, I can feel much more at ease.” 

Finally, Yu Ran finished inputting the commands. A familiar voice echoed in their ears, “System reboot successful. Welcome aboard the Eagle Starship.” 

Lu Xiaolong’s eyes lit up, and he hurried back to the command room, asking, “Is the starship fixed?”

“Yes, let’s get ready to depart.” Yu Ran waved to Lu Zexuan outside. “Zexuan, come aboard.” 

Lu Zexuan walked onto the starship expressionlessly. Yu Ran handed him a molding gun, saying, “Here, go play over there.” 

So, Lu Zexuan went to “play” by himself, sitting there like a child, earnestly playing with the firearm mold.

Lu Xiaolong glanced at him with mixed feelings. He hadn’t expected that the usually calm, sharp, upright, and powerful S-class Sentinel General would now become an obedient puppet. Would Lu Zexuan even hesitate to obey if Yu Ran ordered him to shoot himself?

Lu Xiaolong withdrew his thoughts and asked, “Are we heading straight back to the capital?”

Yu Ran looked at him. “Where else would we go? Where do you plan to go?”

Lu Xiaolong hesitated, “Um, when the Eagle Special Forces departed this time, there were over fifty people. Now, there are only three of us left. How do we explain this to the high levels of the White Tower and the Eagle Corps?”

Yu Ran said without hesitation, “That’s easy. I’ve already figured it out. We’ll say that we encountered ferocious monsters during the galactic creature encounter, fought them for seven days and seven nights, suffered heavy casualties among our comrades, and in the end, Major Lu only managed to save the two of us and escaped in the starship amidst danger.”

Lu Xiaolong scratched his head. “Will they believe it?”

Yu Ran smiled, “This is much more believable than if I controlled Lu Zexuan’s consciousness, instructing him to kill his own team members, isn’t it?”

Lu Xiaolong thought carefully and nodded in agreement.

Yu Ran turned and walked towards the cargo hold of the Eagle Starship. As expected, he saw the two captured monsters trapped in electromagnetic nets. Their large heads resembled octopuses, and their round eyes stared at Yu Ran pitifully, as if he had abandoned them.

During this time, Yu Ran had been busy with Lu Zexuan’s mental world, neglecting these two little monsters.

Yu Ran extended his green mental tentacles, connecting to the monsters’ brains, and asked, “Are you two alright?”

Surprisingly, the monsters understood his words. With tears in their eyes, they said, “Where are you taking us? Can you let us go? After I go back, I’ll tell my mom and dad not to attack you anymore, okay?”

The eyes of these little monsters were almost as big as those of humans. Hearing them cry in his mind, tears streaming down, Yu Ran couldn’t help but feel amazed. He smiled at their teary eyes and said, “Don’t be afraid, I’ll release you now.”

The Eagle Starship quickly started up.

Yu Ran controlled the starship to fly around the Red Spider Star once, then left the planet in the opposite direction of the wormhole, venturing into the vast universe.

Before long, he found the human-established routes in space.

Yu Ran carefully determined the direction and directly issued instructions to navigate to the S107 planet in the Dorado Constellation.

Lu Xiaolong asked, puzzled, “Why did you come back?”

Yu Ran opened the cargo hold door, released the two monsters trapped in the electromagnetic nets, and returned them to their planet.

The little monsters were excited. “Thank you!”

Lu Xiaolong looked puzzled. “Why did you release them?”

Yu Ran calmly said, “Bringing them along would be a burden, and it wouldn’t look good when we report. We’ll say that during the monster capture process, we were attacked. Except for the three of us, all others sacrificed. It’s a better explanation.”

Lu Xiaolong suddenly realized, “You’ve thought of everything.”

Yu Ran sneered inwardly—of course, I’ve planned everything in advance. However, by letting go of these two monsters, he not only didn’t want them to be dissected and studied as specimens by humans, but also worried that these monsters might have high intelligence like the Spider Queen and might discover his and Lu Zexuan’s secret. It’s better to avoid trouble and just bring Lu Xiaolong back to the capital.

Yu Ran set up the navigation system and then returned to the dining room for a meal. After days of eating fruits and wild grasses, he was eager to have some canned meat.

Lu Xiaolong ran to the warehouse and brought back a pile of canned goods, saying, “Here, Ranran, have some.”

Knowing his history of drugging food, Yu Ran naturally refused to eat anything he offered. He opened the portion brought by Lu Zexuan and casually asked, “Who is your superior? Is it Ms. Adeline?”

Lu Xiaolong awkwardly remained silent for two seconds before whispering, “It’s Brother Andrei.”

Yu Ran raised an eyebrow. “Oh? I’ve met that mantis before. Did he tell you what the next plan is?”

Lu Xiaolong pretended to be clueless. “Plan? I’m not too sure. After we return to the capital, someone should contact you.”

Yu Ran chuckled. “Alright, my ‘sister’ will probably come find me.”

Lu Xiaolong didn’t say another word and lowered his head to eat hurriedly.

In the mental world, Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan were secretly discussing strategies.

Yu Ran said, “Lu Xiaolong’s superior is the Mantis, Andrei, and my superior is the Mantis Queen, Adeline. It seems that this twin brother and sister pair are just intermediaries in the Dark Night Organization.”

Frowning, Lu Zexuan said, “Adeline is the Federation’s first female billionaire, extremely wealthy. And her Brother isn’t lacking in money either. It’s surprising that they would fake their deaths and move behind the scenes for the organization… With their wealth and status, why would they willingly become the organization’s lackeys?”

Yu Ran replied, “Perhaps the organization can offer them something money can’t buy—supreme power.”

Lu Zexuan looked at Yu Ran. “Both S-class guides can only be intermediaries. I’m really curious about who their superiors are.”

Yu Ran said, “The Federation’s high-level guides are just a few.”

Lu Zexuan carefully went through the names of high-level guides in his mind—

Qin Xiao, S+ guide, Commander-in-Chief of the Federation’s military, responsible for issuing orders to the four major corps and mediating conflicts among them. He’s Ranran’s grandfather and Qin Luo’s father. It’s impossible for him to harm his son and daughter-in-law and let his grandson become an undercover agent. According to Ranran’s memory, Marshal Qin should have been investigating the Dark Night Organization—he’s the organization’s number one enemy.

Professor Morvi, S+ guide, Director of the Central Academy of Sciences of the Federation, inventor of the regeneration therapy chamber, a highly respected scientist. He’s the most famous self-made S+ guide in the Federation. Awakening at the age of 16 with only C-level mental energy, he later grew into an S+ through his own efforts, serving as an inspiration to many.

Mr. Ludwig, S+ guide, President of the Guide Association, in charge of all registered guide data in the Federation. He’s known for his grace and elegance and also serves as the director of the Central Hospital in the capital, curing many severe sentinel cases. He’s an idol in the eyes of many sentinels and guides.

President Harrison, S+ guide, the 57th President of the Federation’s Central Government, born into a prominent family with a strong background. During his election, he garnered over 70% support and implemented many policies beneficial to ordinary people during his tenure, earning him immense respect from the public.

These three S+ guides, whoever they are, possess formidable power. They not only have outstanding personal abilities but also vast networks of relationships behind them, as well as the terrifying star pirate forces lurking in the shadows.

The enemy was powerful, but their side was not without support. The Marshal’s intelligence network, the Lu Family’s secret troops, the Eagle Corps, and the Starlight Corps will all be our allies.