First Interstellar Guide Chapter 69: Deception

Chapter 69: Deception

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

Meanwhile, on Red Spider Planet.

Tang Ce never lost consciousness from beginning to end. The moment Lu Zexuan chased after him with a knife, he immediately played dead, using the lizard’s ability to regulate body temperature to make his temperature drop, and the bloodstains were his own doing…

Only after Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan left in the starship did he sit up. Next time, he wouldn’t pretend to be “dead with eyes wide open” again. His eyes were starting to sting from being open for too long.

Tang Ce rubbed his eyes gently, looking around. The team members were still unconscious. He was about to check on the injuries of Bird Sister and Crocodile Brother when suddenly, a group of fist-sized spiders crawled out from the depths of the forest.

The sight of the spiders startled Tang Ce. He tightened the knife in his hand, watching them warily, ready to strike at any moment. However, to his surprise, the spiders began industriously spinning webs. Fine red threads were spat out from their mouths, gathering together like doctors dressing wounds, wrapping around the injured parts of the team members. The wounds that were bleeding profusely miraculously stopped bleeding.

Even more miraculous was that after treating the wounds, they neatly crawled back into the forest. They were like “enthusiastic little angels”.

Tang Ce was speechless. Spiders helping with healing? If he hadn’t seen it with his own eyes, Tang Ce wouldn’t have believed it no matter what!

He stood there dumbfounded for a while before coming back to his senses. “Could it be that Yu Ran already knew that there was a group of spiders on this planet that would help humans, so he led the Eagle starship here to facilitate his act of ‘killing teammates’ with Lu Zexuan?”

“Who exactly is Yu Ran, and how does he know so much?” Tang Ce was puzzled.

When the Marshal sent him to assist Yu Ran in the Eagle Special Forces, he didn’t say much, only telling him to protect Yu Ran at all costs. Tang Ce speculated that Yu Ran must be an important piece laid out by the Marshal. Whether they could uncover the details of that organization depended on Yu Ran.

After a moment, Hummingbird woke up first. She rubbed her head and met Tang Ce’s eyes, puzzled. “Xiao Tang? Didn’t Major Lu go berserk and try to kill us? He didn’t kill you? Wait… why am I not dead?”

Tang Ce scratched his head with a smile. “I don’t know either. It seems like Major Lu didn’t really want to kill us?”

The surrounding team members woke up one after another.

Crocodile scratched his itchy neck. “My neck feels cold, what’s with these red threads?”

The Hunting Dog beside him said, “I have them too. Strange, the bleeding from the wounds has stopped, and they’re itching, as if they’re healing slowly.”

Tang Ce said, “What if I told you these are spider webs, and a group of spiders suddenly came over to help bandage and stop bleeding for you guys, would you believe it?”

Crocodile rolled his eyes. “What kind of joke is this? Do you think we’re three-year-old kids? Stop making up stories!”

Tang Ce cleared his throat and analyzed, “I think Major Lu didn’t really use excessive force. If you examine your wounds carefully, you’ll find they’re either superficial or not in vital areas. You lost consciousness because he knocked you out. Isn’t that right?”

Everyone checked as he suggested—indeed!

One of the sentinels who was attacked by Yu Ran also said, “My mental landscape is intact. Yu Ran didn’t attack me; he was hypnotizing me?”

Hummingbird realized something was amiss. “What were they doing?”

Tang Ce said, “I’m not sure about the specifics, but I saw them driving away in the starship.” He really didn’t know Yu Ran’s next plan, only that Yu Ran wanted to stage this accident, fake the deaths of all Eagle Special Forces members, and then leave with Lu Zexuan. The two of them must have some special mission that couldn’t involve everyone else.

The crowd exchanged glances. At least they were all alive, which meant Lu Zexuan didn’t really want to kill them. This lifted everyone’s spirits.

When Mohr woke up, he faintly heard a voice calling out to him. The red mist in front of him automatically parted, and Mohr walked into it. The voice became clearer, “You’re a guide among humans, can you receive my mental signals?”

Mohr was startled for a moment, then nodded and said, “I can. Who are you?”

The voice said, “Someone asked me to tell you to live well, take care of your team members, and only by surviving do you have hope.”

The gentle voice sounded like comforting from a mother.

Mohr’s eyes became slightly moist. He remembered the stunning secret Yu Ran told him in his mind before hypnotizing him—there was more to Lu Cheng’an’s death than met the eye.

Was his sacrifice not an accident?

Mohr clenched his fist tightly, recalling the scene of Lu Cheng’an being torn apart by the monster. The pain, like his heart being crushed by a heavy object, spread throughout his body. He curled up, his face extremely pale. In his eyes blurred by tears, a hint of determination gradually surfaced.

To live well until the day the truth is revealed. If Lu Cheng’an’s death was indeed a conspiracy, he at least wanted to know who was behind it. Only by avenging his enemies could the souls find peace.

Mohr took a deep breath and calmed down, heading into the forest to find his other teammates.

Tang Ce, Hummingbird, and the others were also searching around in the forest, and more and more team members gathered together, realizing that none of them had died. They all felt a surreal sense of having narrowly escaped death, but at the same time, they were deeply puzzled—Major Lu seemed to have gone berserk, clearly intending to kill them, so why didn’t he?

Mohr analyzed, “Major Lu must have had his reasons for doing so. Let’s not forget, last time on the S107 planet in Dorado Constellation, he risked his life to save everyone. He has always treated us like family, so why would he really want to kill us?”

Crocodile scratched his head, “But he did go berserk, right? Berserk sentinels lose control…”

Mohr looked at him and said, “Have you ever seen a berserk sentinel flying around with a guide? If he really went berserk, wouldn’t the first person he’d want to kill be Yu Ran by his side?”

Everyone nodded. Mohr had been in the Eagle Special Forces for over eight years, treating every sentinel. He had considerable authority in the team, and everyone tended to listen to him. Moreover, his reasoning made sense.

Hummingbird asked, “What do we do next? Xiao Tang said he saw Major Lu and Yu Ran take the starship and leave.”

“Wait,” Mohr adjusted his glasses and looked towards the mist-shrouded depths of the forest, saying softly, “These spiders in the forest don’t seem hostile to us and even helped us treat our wounds. Let’s not harm them. Next, we rely on the fruits, water sources, and some edible mushrooms in the forest to sustain us for a while. I believe Major Lu must have arrangements and won’t just abandon us here.”

With Mohr stepping up to stabilize morale, everyone’s emotions calmed down considerably.

Lu Zexuan must have had some plan that made it inconvenient to bring them along, so he deliberately knocked them out and left them here. They would wait for Major Lu here since the starship was gone, and they couldn’t leave the planet anyway.

Tang Ce grinned, “Since we’re here, let’s just treat it as a vacation!”

Everyone turned back to look at him.

Suddenly, Hummingbird put her hand on his shoulder, “Xiao Tang, why do I feel like you know a bit too much?”

Crocodile nodded in agreement, “Major Lu moved so quickly; I hadn’t even reacted before he stabbed me. How did you know to play dead in advance?”

The sentinel who had been tripped by Tang Ce suddenly spoke up, “Were you intentionally tripping me? Your ‘corpse’ was as cold as ice, but you kept staring at me without blinking, which scared me.”

Tang Ce found himself surrounded by everyone and awkwardly backed away, “Um, let’s talk about this calmly, okay?”

Hummingbird clenched her fists, saying, “We sentinels communicate with fists.”

Several people pounced on Tang Ce, who immediately fled, clutching his head, “It’s unfair to outnumber me like this!”

Seeing everyone chasing after the pretending-to-be-dead Tang Ce, Mohr couldn’t help but smile faintly—no matter the situation, the members of the Eagle Special Forces could always quickly adjust their mindset and face everything optimistically, a tradition that had persisted in the team for many years.

In adversity, only by not giving up hope could opportunities arise.

“Major Lu, Yu Ran, rest assured, I will lead everyone to survive well.”

***

The Eagle starship smoothly arrived at the Capital Space Station at 7 p.m. As a special forces starship executing emergency missions, the Eagle had the highest-level pass issued by the Federation and could land urgently. The security personnel at the Capital Space Station immediately cleared the Eagle upon recognizing its pass.

Yu Ran piloted the starship back to the White Tower.

Personnel from the White Tower Command immediately came to meet them. They had expected Lu Zexuan to have captured several galactic monsters for research purposes. But unexpectedly, only three people from the Eagle Special Forces returned?

The commander asked solemnly, “Major General Lu Zexuan, what happened?”

Lu Zexuan lowered his head and repeated the explanation Yu Ran had taught him, “While we were on the Dorado Constellation on a mission, we were surrounded by galactic monsters. The horror of those monsters far exceeded our expectations. All 51 soldiers of the Eagle Special Forces… perished.” He paused, his voice hoarse, “I only managed to escape with Yu Ran and Xiao Long.”

Lu Zexuan had been covered in blood from the “killing teammates” incident on Red Spider Planet. At this moment, he looked extremely disheveled, truly fitting the appearance of someone who had been through a bloody battle.

The commander looked at him in shock, “But weren’t you supposed to have limited attacks from the clawed monsters on Dorado Constellation? How did you get surrounded again?”

Yu Ran’s eyes turned red, choked with emotion as he said, “There were more than one type of monsters on that planet. This time, we encountered some birds that performed aerial assaults. Their beaks were as sharp as knives, and they attacked in flocks, bringing down all our aircraft…”

He seemed to recall the terrifying scene, tears streaming down uncontrollably.

The commander looked at Lu Xao Long, “What do you say?”

He stood at attention, “I… I was on the starship at the time, responsible for guarding it. The team’s airships were constantly being shot down. Major Lu fought desperately against those monsters. In the end, only… only three of us survived.”

The three had already agreed on their testimony. Anyway, there were no other witnesses, so no one knew what had happened at the time.

The commander saluted Lu Zexuan and said, “I offer my deepest sympathy and condolences to the fallen soldiers. General Lu, the three of you go back and rest first. I will report your ordeal to the White Tower headquarters. Compensation for the fallen soldiers will also be arranged for their families as soon as possible.”

After seeing off the officials from the White Tower, General Lu Tengyu personally came over.

Looking at his son’s dazed expression, he gently held Lu Zexuan’s shoulder, “How could this happen?”

Lu Zexuan lowered his head and said, “Father, it’s my incompetence. I failed to protect everyone.”

General Lu’s voice was hoarse, “It’s not your fault. No one could have predicted that there would be so many monsters capable of aerial attacks on that planet… sigh, with so many teammates sacrificed, don’t be too hard on yourself. I’ll take care of the aftermath.”

He looked at Yu Ran and noticed that Yu Ran’s eyes were already red from crying.

Concerned, General Lu asked, “How about you, Ranran? Are you injured?”

Yu Ran shook his head, choking back tears as he said, “I’m fine, it’s just that Mohr, the Zhao brothers, they… they were eaten by those monsters while trying to protect me…” At this point, his whole body trembled, as if unwilling to recall that gruesome scene.

General Lu felt extreme pity. Poor little C-rank guide, experiencing such a nightmarish scene, must have left deep psychological scars. He looked at Lu Zexuan and said, “Take care of Ranran. I won’t assign any more tasks to you in the near future. Rest well.”

Yu Ran nodded, “Thank you, General.”

One group of officials after another came to visit the three survivors, and even the rarely seen Presidential Palace sent representatives to offer condolences. The news of the 51 soldiers sacrificed by the Eagle Special Forces spread quickly and became explosive news in the federation.

For a while, people were discussing fervently. Some believed that humans could not expand indefinitely, forcibly occupying resource planets, and that galactic creatures monsters also had intelligence. Humans should respect them, otherwise there would be more and more soldiers sacrificed. Others believed that humans were a highly civilized and technologically advanced race and should become the masters of the interstellar era. Some even suggested that the military should directly dispatch legions to bombard the Dorado Constellation…

The two sides engaged in fierce debates, and major forums also launched prolonged verbal battles.

Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan’s superb acting skills fooled everyone. No one thought they were lying, nor did anyone realize that Lu Zexuan was being controlled by Yu Ran. Except for Xiao Long, who knew the truth and spent his days in constant anxiety, fearing he might be silenced.

Two days later, Yu Ran’s “sister” appeared near the White Tower. Officially, she came to “visit her brother,” but in reality, she was sent by the organization to find Yu Ran and evaluate his performance.

In the mental world, Yu Ran calmly said, “They will definitely inspect our mental landscapes. Nine-tailed Fox, White Fox, be prepared. White Eagle, return to your master.”

The eagle swooped down from the peak of the snowy mountain, circled above the forest, and then returned to Lu Zexuan’s mental landscape.

The area was desolate, with nothing but scorched earth. White Eagle looked around at the bleak and dilapidated scenery, immediately getting into character. He assumed a vacant expression and stood in the center of the wasteland, turning into a statue resembling an eagle.

Yu Ran nodded in satisfaction, “Very good, keep it up.”

Lu Zexuan looked at Yu Ran anxiously, “Be careful later.”

Yu Ran replied, “You too.”

The two exchanged a glance, prepared themselves, and walked out of the White Tower side by side.