First Interstellar Guide Chapter 80: True Spirit Body

Chapter 80: True Spirit Body

Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations

Editor: Karai

The Mimic Octopus, this type of marine spirit body, was extremely rare. It could change its body’s color and shape at will and mimic various marine creatures in different environments. And as a guide’s spirit body, the “Mimic Octopus” also had the ability to mimic other humans.

Since there were two appearances of the president, then, the fake one was very likely mimicked by the Mimic Octopus spirit body acting as a guide. After all, imitation was not 100% replication, so details like finger length were exposed by Lu Zexuan.

However, with such a high degree of similarity, it was already enough to deceive 99% of people. Lu Zexuan speculated, “Is it possible that he intentionally disguised himself as the president to deceive some people into joining the Dark Night Organization? After all, the president’s identity is very useful. With the president appearing, many people would be more inclined to believe the promises they make.”

Yu Ran said, “The key is whether the real president living in the Presidential Palace knows about this?”

If he knew about the existence of this “fake president” and, furthermore, if he instructed the other person to act on his behalf, then it was a simple matter of a big shot finding a “stand-in,” and the president and the Dark Night Organization were in cahoots.

But if the real president was completely unaware of the existence of the “fake president,” being kept in the dark, then it indicated that the Dark Night Organization had not yet infiltrated the Presidential Palace. They were rallying support under the guise of the president! Ultimately, they would definitely get rid of the real president. The person skilled in imitation could then replace him and easily be re-elected.

To understand the president’s stance clearly, they would have to see the real President Harrison.

Lu Zexuan said, “If we go to the Presidential Palace to find the real president and verify whether he is aware, it would alert the enemy. The Dark Night Organization would know that we’ve discovered the secret of the real and fake presidents and would surely silence us. So for now, should we continue to wait and act according to their plan?”

Yu Ran agreed, “Yes, let’s pretend we don’t know anything.”

They exchanged a glance and quickly cleared their minds.

Having someone to cooperate with and discuss matters was much better than going it alone. This time, the ability to discover the secret of the real and fake presidents depended on Lu Zexuan’s keen and precise observation. Those people from the Dark Night Organization often said “sentinels are a burden,” but in the end, it was the sentinels who exposed their disguises, wasn’t it?

In the following days, Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan maintained a very regular schedule of going to and from work on time.

Lu Zexuan had now become the commander of the Eagle Legion and was not suitable to continue living in the collective dormitory of the White Tower. So, the two of them moved out of the White Tower’s dormitory and went to live in the Lu family’s mansion in the suburbs. It was quiet there, which was convenient for them to discuss matters privately.

Lu Zexuan’s office was located in the branch building of the Eagle Legion’s capital star. He had to deal with many complex military affairs every day. Unexpectedly, the daily life of a legion commander was so dull and busy.

When he was young, he used to secretly complain about how busy his parents were and how they had no time to come home. Now that he was in his father’s position, he realized how difficult his father had been living all these years, and he had gained a better understanding of his father.

One day, Yu Ran used the token given to him by Lu Zexuan to secretly summon a major general of the Eagle Legion to the legion headquarters.

It was perfectly normal for the commander to have discussions with subordinate officers, and today there were more than ten major generals summoned, this one being just one of them. No one knew that this major general’s wife was a woman with a dragonfly spirit body, the deputy director of the Federal Information Intelligence Department, and one of the members of the Lu family’s special agent team.

The young sentinel knocked on the office door and respectfully saluted Lu Zexuan, “General Lu.”

To avoid eavesdropping, Yu Ran directly connected to her brain with mental tendrils and asked in her mind, “Have you found out what we asked you to investigate?”

The sentinel replied, “On the afternoon of May 28th, Professor Morvi did indeed leave the capital star, and there are security records of his entry and exit on Planet B73.”

Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan exchanged a glance.

On May 28th, Yu Ran had taken Lu Zexuan to B73 Base under the pretext of traveling to meet Morvi. Yu Ran had instructed the special agent team to investigate Morvi’s whereabouts those days to confirm whether the person they met at the base was indeed the real Morvi.

This intelligence was crucial.

Professor Morvi, as the dean of the Academy of Sciences and a renowned scientist, was usually engaged in scientific research in his laboratory. It was not easy to impersonate him in the Academy of Sciences; it was easy to slip up in front of too many research personnel. Therefore, the Morvi in the Academy of Sciences must be genuine.

And on May 28th, Professor Morvi from the Academy of Sciences did indeed visit Planet B73 for “inspection” reasons. That meant the Morvi they encountered on Planet B73 was genuine. But how would his spirit body be explained? Wasn’t it supposed to be a healing-type porpoise?

Lu Zexuan analyzed, “The outside world rumors that Professor Morvi is a healing-type spirit body, an adorable little porpoise. But has anyone ever received his individual treatment? What if his spirit body is actually of an attacking attribute, just disguised as a porpoise?”

It was not uncommon for high-level guide spirit bodies like S to have shape-shifting abilities. Yu Ran had previously deceived Adeline of the Dark Night Organization by saying, “My Nine-Tailed Fox can transform into a White Fox.” However, there were certain limitations to spirit body transformation; it had to be of the same attribute as the creature it transformed into. For example, a tiger could transform into a kitten but not into a snake or a turtle.

Yu Ran pondered, “A small porpoise, when enlarged… what does it most resemble?”

Lu Zexuan’s pupils suddenly contracted, “Could it be an orca?”

The porpoise family comprises a wide variety of species. porpoise commonly seen in zoos are small and adorable, with little attacking power. They even perform various shows for humans, greatly adored by children. The spirit body is the guide for the small porpoise, solely focused on healing, a hundred percent.

However, within the porpoise family, there also exist terrifying marine predators. The orca, the largest species within the porpoise family, is also known as the largest among all known spirit bodies. Male orcas weigh over 5 tons, possessing sharp teeth and ferociously preying on other whales and giant great white sharks, rightfully earning the title of oceanic ruler.

At that moment, the horrifying aquatic attack that engulfed Yu Ran’s original forest… Was it from the oceanic ruler, the orca? Was Professor Morvi’s true spirit body, could it possibly be the orca?!

Recalling the scene at the Sanctuary’s opening ceremony, with that little porpoise by Morvi’s side, Yu Ran felt a chill down his spine—yes, orcas and porpoise belong to the same family, sharing many similar characteristics.

The S+ guide can allow the spirit body to make simple changes in appearance. He shrunk and reshaped the orca, making it almost indistinguishable to the naked eye!

The attacking guide also possessed a certain level of healing ability. Morvi had always proclaimed himself as a healing guide, then shrinking and reshaping the orca to carry around, coupled with his daily dispensing of spiritual chicken soup, many students subconsciously believed—he was a gentle grandfatherly scientist, a mild-mannered healing guide.

No one knew, this person was the most brutal attack guide!

Lu Zexuan also deeply experienced the fierce attack Ranran faced at that time. The two managed to overcome the crisis together. When Morvi finally retreated, the tsunami had already swept to the foot of the snowy mountains. Just a few more meters and he would have seen Yu Ran hiding in the depths of the forest.

Recalling the scene at that time, both of them shivered with fear. If Morvi’s spirit body was an orca, then all of this could be explained.

Yu Ran said, “The orca is the most powerful attacking spirit body among the oceanic guides. My Nine-Tailed Fox is the strongest in the Flame category. Since water elements restrain fire, I almost got exposed when he suddenly attacked me.”

Lu Zexuan’s expression grew grave, “So, our opponents consist of an orca with the most vicious attacking power among marine creatures, and an excellent mimic octopus?”

Yu Ran replied, “Yes, at least two S+ guides are with them. The guides and sentinels they’ve recruited are even more unpredictable.”

The strength of the enemy exceeded their expectations.

Fortunately, Yu Ran wasn’t a pushover either. When Morvi suddenly attacked, he kept the Nine-Tailed Fox engaged with Morvi while simultaneously hiding the snowy mountains and having the White Fox expand the forest boundaries. Multi-tasking, he was somewhat flustered.

Once they truly clashed, with Yu Ran’s double S spirit body in its complete form, even facing Morvi alone wouldn’t put him at a disadvantage. What he truly feared was the mimic octopus lurking in the shadows. With a 99% similarity in mimicry ability, it posed the greatest threat.

Thinking this, Yu Ran said in his mind, “Both of us are mentally linked, immune to being imitated or deceived. But from now on, we can’t easily confirm the identity of anyone we meet, including our loved ones. We need to cross-check details.”

Lu Zexuan nodded solemnly, “Don’t worry, I’ll observe carefully.”

For instance, if the mimic octopus were to impersonate Lu Zexuan’s mother to approach them, and they mistook her in an unguarded moment, that would be disastrous. That’s also the most terrifying aspect of the mimic octopus. Its attacking power might not be as strong as the orca’s, leaning more towards healing. But its unparalleled ability to mimic others could allow it to silently observe and plot without anyone noticing.

***

Another week passed in the blink of an eye, and it was now mid-June. The presidential election process for the 500th year of the Star Calendar officially kicked off. The Capitol Building was brightly lit these days, with media reporters streaming in and out, and all news on television was about the presidential election.

S+ guide Harrison and S-level sentinel Mike Bartlett were the most powerful contenders for the next presidency. Next, the two would embark on a nationwide tour, rallying the votes of the people.

The voting for ordinary citizens would end by the end of July, while for Evolvers, it would be delayed by half a month, ending in mid-August. On August 15th, the Federal Congress would convene a general assembly of all members to count the votes of the two candidates and announce the candidate for the 101st presidency.

Recently, discussions about the presidential election were everywhere in the capital.

“I think President Harrison should be able to win re-election. He has accomplished quite a bit during his tenure, and his approval rating is quite high.”

“Not necessarily, right? He’s a guide and has already been re-elected twice. Having a sentinel president would definitely lead to more lenient policies for sentinels!”

“I’m a sentinel, and I support Mike taking office. Why should guides be protected, living luxuriously in the capital, while we sentinels are on the front lines, risking our lives to fight those monsters every day?”

“Exactly! President Harrison has too many favorable policies for guides. Now, 80% of guides work in the capital and have never seen what the monsters on the front lines look like. Guides and sentinels should fight together. Just because they have weaker bodies, does that mean they must be protected? What about us sentinels? Are C-grade sentinels not entitled to treatment?”

“Anyway, I’m a sentinel, and I’m voting for Mike.”

These discussions also reached the ears of Yu Ran and Lu Zexuan. It seemed that sentinels had long been resentful of the current federal system.

The enlistment rate of guides was seriously insufficient. Eighty percent of guides did not attend military academies, preferring instead to stay in the capital engaged in less risky jobs such as medicine, research, and education. This led to a severe shortage of field medics, and most front-line sentinels did not receive timely treatment.

In recent years, the sacrifice rate of C-grade sentinels had even exceeded 50%.

Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran would also discuss current affairs in their minds, “President Harrison indeed overly protects guides during his tenure. If he competes fairly with Mike this time, he might not be able to win re-election, after all, most sentinels won’t support him.”

Yu Ran said, “So, he does have the motive to control sentinels and garner votes.”

These politicians, for the sake of so-called “votes,” sometimes stop at nothing.

As the two were chatting in the office, suddenly, there was a knock on the door. Lu Zexuan said, “Come in.”

A guard entered, saluted Lu Zexuan, and said, “General, Chief Zhu Tianyi of the Investigation Division said he has some questions and would like to talk to you in person. He asked me to inform you.”

Lu Zexuan and Yu Ran exchanged a glance. Chief Zhu, who they hadn’t seen in a long time, suddenly paid a visit—what could this be about?