Chapter 39: Testing the Source Weapon
Translated by Addis of Exiled Rebels Scanlations
Editor: Karai
12:00 p.m. The spaceship carrying Yun Yinghui arrived at the station. Yun Yingzhi’s eyes sparkled as he stared toward the exit, eagerly waiting for Yun Yinghui.
Everyone in Yun Yingzhi’s party was striking, but among them, Nangong Qing—the finance officer’s son—stood out the most. Still, even with his prominence, the person drawing the most attention was Yun Yingzhi. People occasionally glanced at him, trying to guess his identity and muttering that he was incredibly good-looking.
Soon, Yun Yinghui emerged through a special passage. It had been over a year since Yun Yingzhi and Yun Yinghui had last seen each other. Overjoyed, Yun Yingzhi tossed the bag holding twenty source weapons aside and dashed toward Yun Yinghui.
Nangong Qing and the others froze for a moment, instinctively glancing at the bag Yun Yingzhi had thrown. Half the gift boxes spilled out of the black bag.
Jia Qingwan, the beautiful young woman in the group, asked, “Yingzhi, what did you drop?”
Nangong Qing paused, “Probably nothing important, right?”
“Bought so many, and they’re all identical… must be gifts he prepared for someone,” Jin Taichu said, picking up the boxes and putting them back into the bag.
Everyone assumed the contents weren’t anything crucial. Their eyes then shifted toward Yun Yinghui. From their distance, they could see Yun Yingzhi clinging to Yun Yinghui like an octopus.
Yun Yinghui lifted him gently and said softly, “Zhizhi, you’ve grown so much, and yet you’re still so clingy?”
Yun Yingzhi pressed against Yun Yinghui, rubbing his left cheek, then his right. Their brotherly closeness was on full display.
Jin Taichu, slightly envious, muttered, “I watched Yingzhi grow up, but he’s only ever close to Yinghui.”
Jia Qingwan rolled her eyes. “Of course. Back when Yingzhi was small, he called Yinghui ‘Mom,’ and Yinghui responded. If you were both his mom and dad, he’d be just as close to you.”
Everyone glanced between her and Yun Yinghui, puzzled by the notion of him having been a little kid calling someone “Mom.” Thinking about it, they realized Yun Yinghui had truly given so much to Yun Yingzhi. Yun Yingzhi continued rubbing against Yun Yinghui’s cheeks before reluctantly stepping down.
After greeting the group, they boarded a large floating car. Yun Yingzhi pressed close to Yun Yinghui, clinging like a little shadow. Yun Yinghui gently stroked his hair. It was lunchtime, and they decided to head to a hotel to eat.
On the way, Yun Yinghui and Nangong Qing’s group discussed front-line battles. Yun Yingzhi listened quietly until suddenly… He remembered the gifts he had prepared for Yun Yinghui. He nudged him.
Yun Yinghui looked at him, rubbed his hair, and met his gaze. “What is it?”
Yun Yingzhi’s small face glowed with joy, as if shouting “Praise me!” He exclaimed, “Brother, the gifts I promised!”
Yun Yinghui, “Hmm?”
Yun Yingzhi held up two fingers proudly. “Twenty source weapons! And there will be more later!” He was already thinking about the prequarterfinals, ready to gather more “wool.”
Yun Yinghui’s lips curved slightly. “Good, I’m looking forward to it.”
Yun Yingzhi tried to continue, “Brother, look at what I got you…” but then stopped mid-sentence. His eyes twitched, and his body swayed.
Yun Yinghui reached out to steady him, concern in his eyes. Nangong Qing and the others noticed Yun Yingzhi’s wobbling and felt a pang of sympathy—this was the weak little bunny they remembered from childhood.
Yun Yingzhi looked at Yun Yinghui, then at his empty hands, his face a picture of despair. “Brother… it’s gone.” His voice cracked as if he were about to cry.
Everyone looked at him, worried and confused.
Yun Yinghui asked gently, “What’s gone?”
“The gifts… the gifts I was going to give you… they’re suddenly gone.”
Jin Taichu realized it must be the bag Yun Yingzhi had thrown when he saw Yun Yinghui and was about to tell him, but Yun Yingzhi continued, “Brother, I even bought the most expensive gift boxes for you.”
Jin Taichu swallowed his words. The black bag he held wasn’t the “ordinary” packaging, so everyone realized the gifts were indeed valuable to Yun Yingzhi.
Yun Yinghui reassured him softly, “Zhizhi, think carefully… where did you put them?”
Jia Qingwan tentatively said, “Yingzhi… is it a black bag with a bunch of identical…?”
Yun Yingzhi’s eyes lit up with hope as he looked at her. She paused, noting that he had emphasized “most expensive gift boxes,” and continued cautiously, “The gift boxes… is it that one?”—pointing at Jin Taichu.
Yun Yingzhi’s gaze met Jin Taichu’s, and he saw the black bag in his hands.
“Yingzhi, you dropped it earlier, but Taichu picked it up,” Nangong Qing explained.
Jin Taichu handed the bag to Yun Yingzhi. Everyone thought: General Yun likely didn’t give him much pocket money, which was why even buying the most expensive gift boxes was the best Yun Yingzhi could do. Though inexpensive, it was still a precious gift from him.
Yun Yingzhi thanked Jin Taichu and presented the black bag to Yun Yinghui with all the care of giving a treasure. Yun Yinghui accepted it softly, “Thank you, Zhizhi. I really like them.”
The others were curious about the gifts, but it wasn’t the time to open them publicly. The conversation resumed. They talked about the current Starshine Competition and how high-quality source weapons could make the front-line soldiers’ jobs easier—just like “Stellar.” Yun Yingzhi grinned at the mention of “Stellar,” thinking of Master Alvin’s pseudonym for him. Then he remembered his casually-made four-level source weapon from the preliminaries, which had surprisingly made the cut and would be among the ten weapons evaluated live tomorrow.
Just as he prepared to mention this and ask Jin Taichu to help with the evaluation, Nangong Qing spoke first, “Yinghui, you said A13167 is your family member. Which one is he?”
Yun Yinghui froze… Yun Yinghui silently gazed at Yun Yingzhi. Nangong Qing and the others froze for a moment, their eyes following his. Their thoughts synchronized instantly.
No way… It can’t be… Impossible… They remembered the body type of that contestant from the live broadcast. It was incredibly strong, completely unlike the Yun Yingzhi they knew. From the rumors, they had also heard that contestant A13167 was notoriously short-tempered—anyone who glanced at him the wrong way would get snapped at instantly.
How could someone like that possibly be the fragile little bunny we remember?
Just then, Yun Yingzhi’s cheeks turned red. He lowered his voice, shy and bashful, and said, “Mom and Dad don’t like source weapons. Whenever I make one, they get really angry, so I kept it a secret and entered the source weapon competition on the sly.”
Nangong Qing and the others went speechless. Yun Yingzhi leaned on Yun Yinghui and continued, “Also, I got the Starshine Competition notice today. I made it through, and for the upcoming rounds, I might need you guys to test the source weapons I make during the competition.” He looked at them with hopeful eyes.
Seeing him like that, who could refuse? They all agreed without hesitation. On the surface, they appeared calm, but inside, they were utterly stunned. The person who wore three-piece cotton outfits, who ate and slept constantly, and who shamelessly collected freebies, was… their Yun Yingzhi?
When they had previously heard about contestant A13167, their first thought had been, Wow. Now, knowing it was Yun Yingzhi, they couldn’t help but shoot Yun Yinghui accusing glances.
Some, like Nangong Qing, even sent private messages to Yun Yinghui, scolding him.
Was little Yun Yingzhi deliberately taking advantage of the competition? If you hadn’t failed to keep an eye on him, he wouldn’t have needed to resort to this!
All eyes silently blamed Yun Yinghui. Yun Yingzhi earnestly thanked them and added, “Please don’t tell Mom or Dad, or they’ll get upset.”
Everyone agreed, though a massive question mark slowly formed in their minds. They had long heard that Yun Yingzhi had very low mental stamina, not suited for being a source weapon manufacturer. How had he become one? And how had he passed the Starshine Competition preliminaries?
Amid their puzzled gazes, Yun Yingzhi looked at Jin Taichu. His cheeks, already red, turned even redder. “Taichu, I remember your ability is a Gold-type, right?”
Jin Taichu confirmed with a “Yes,” reaching out to fondly stroke Yun Yingzhi’s hair. “Yingzhi remembers.”
Yun Yingzhi smiled bashfully. “Just now, the Starshine Competition contacted me. The four-level source weapon I made has been selected for live evaluation tomorrow.”
This revelation left everyone—Yun Yinghui included—extremely surprised. Most of them had watched the broadcast. They knew the “wool-collecting emperor” had casually manufactured his four-level source weapon. No one expected that very casually made weapon to be chosen as one of the top ten from the preliminaries.
A serious thought struck them: if Yun Yingzhi’s casually made weapon was this strong, what about the other nine fifth- and sixth-level source weapons he had made while “collecting wool”? They realized Yun Yingzhi’s talent for crafting source weapons was even greater than they had imagined.
Nangong Qing and the others subtly glanced at the black bag Yun Yingzhi had given Yun Yinghui. Jin Taichu asked, “Yingzhi, are the source weapons inside from the preliminaries?”
Yun Yingzhi nodded. “Nine of them are.”
When cost wasn’t a concern, he could have made more, but he didn’t enjoy endlessly repeating the same weapon design. He preferred creating unique source weapons. Right now, he was considering how to simulate the Zerg Queen’s psychic waves: trapping a Zerg army in a psychic barrier, feeding them false commands, and letting them destroy each other.
Yun Yingzhi thought viciously: if there was no war, Yun Yinghui wouldn’t need to go to the front lines. He could stay on the imperial planet with him and watch over the two fragile little ones. And with the mighty Yun Yinghui around, no one could bully the little bunny or the little egg.
Soon, the floating car stopped, and everyone went to eat. Nangong Qing and the others had wanted to test the source weapons with Yun Yinghui, but he refused.
After sending the others off, Yun Yinghui took a reluctant Yun Yingzhi to the hospital for a checkup. The results showed both little ones in his belly were healthy.
The doctor said, “If nothing unexpected happens, based on the second-form Little Bun, both babies might be born within half a month.” He added, “Sir, you might consider being admitted to the hospital a week early.”
Yun Yingzhi calculated the dates. It was December 14th. Half a month later meant… The little ones would likely be born before the end of December. The earliest recommended admission would be around December 23rd. But the Starshine Competition prequarterfinals ran for seven days, from December 21 to 27.
Giving up seven days of wool-collecting during the prequarterfinals made Yun Yingzhi’s chest tighten, almost suffocating him. He cautiously glanced at Yun Yinghui.
Yun Yinghui frowned. “He can be admitted starting today.”
The doctor smiled, “Sorry, the earliest is a week early. Bed availability is tight; usually admission is allowed only three hours before labor. But your case is special because the two little ones are different forms. A week early is the absolute limit.”
Yun Yinghui nodded and took Yun Yingzhi away. That evening, after dinner, Yun Yinghui walked Yun Yingzhi back to Fansa Academy. On the way, he casually asked if Yun Yingzhi really didn’t remember who that person was. Yun Yingzhi shrugged and changed the subject. Yun Yinghui tapped his forehead lightly and sent him into the academy, watching his figure disappear, deep in thought.
Once the little ones were born, Yun Yinghui worried Yun Yingzhi couldn’t manage both alone. But he only had a two-month leave. What would happen afterward? He thought of Nangong Qing and the others. Just like before, they could probably help care for Yun Yingzhi and the two little ones. He remembered contacting them about the source weapons Yun Yingzhi had given him.
Yun Yinghui replied, “After tomorrow, once the four-level source weapon evaluation is done, we can test them together.”
Before hanging up, Nangong Qing said, “I’m really looking forward to seeing the effects of the four-level source weapons Yingzhi made.”
“Mm,” Yun Yinghui responded softly.
December 15th, at 8:30 a.m., the Starshine Competition officially posted the prequarterfinals advancement list. In addition, they released the list of the ten source weapons scheduled for evaluation at 9:30 a.m.
Students from Fansa Academy gathered to discuss. This year, 2,378 students from Fansa Academy’s Source Weapon Manufacturing Department participated in the preliminaries. Only 488 students successfully passed. Just the preliminaries had eliminated so many students, a result that surprised everyone.
According to the department’s students, many of those who had succeeded last year had produced even higher-quality source weapons this year but failed to advance in the preliminaries. Those students were furious and contacted the Starshine Competition for explanations, only to receive mountains of data in response.
Each source weapon had been thoroughly evaluated, and from the scoring records, students could understand exactly where their deficiencies lay. Compared to previous years, the competition had indeed become much stricter. The ten most outstanding source weapons from the preliminaries were selected for live evaluation. To everyone’s surprise…
Among the ten, most were seventh-level source weapons. But one weapon, incredibly, was… a fourth-level source weapon. The first thought of many students was: That level is so low.
Curious, Fansa Academy students clicked to view the details and saw the following:
Participant: A13167 (Fansa Academy student)
Name: Anonymous participant
Source Weapon Name: None
Source Weapon Level: 4
The students were shocked. They had never imagined that the contestant they remembered in a three-piece cotton suit was actually a young adult—and a student of their own academy. Who was this person? Did such a student really exist at their academy?
What made him remarkable wasn’t just the ability to produce source weapons quickly; he had managed to make a single fourth-level weapon stand out among numerous high-level weapons, ranking among the top ten in the preliminaries.
One student exclaimed, “Of the ten best preliminary weapons, the only ones from the Ten Great Military Academies selected are from our academy!”
“And the sole student selected remains anonymous!”
While speculating who the person might be, everyone unreservedly showered praise on Yun Yingzhi. Because of this record, contestant A13167 had already become a celebrity at Fansa Academy. Undoubtedly, this achievement brought immense honor to the academy.
Walking across campus, Yun Yingzhi felt like he was floating. Compliments came from all directions. According to the competition schedule, the evaluation would start at 9:30 a.m., with the first weapon being A13167’s fourth-level source weapon.
All students in the Source Weapon Manufacturing Department canceled classes to watch the live evaluation together. Even combat-oriented students, though they had classes, couldn’t concentrate and secretly watched the broadcast. Some classes even stopped attending lessons to watch alongside their teachers.
Meanwhile, elsewhere, Jin Taichu, a ranked soldier, didn’t want anyone to recognize him. Wearing a hat and mask, he arrived at the evaluation site provided by Starshine Competition at 9:00 a.m., exactly on time.
Other esper soldiers responsible for evaluating the remaining weapons had also arrived, greeting each other. The competition staff handed him the fourth-level source weapon and explained its features. The weapon had a standardized appearance, engraved with a lifelike little rabbit. Seeing it, Jin Taichu thought of Yun Yingzhi’s second form and smiled, finding it extremely cute.
The staff member said with a smile, “This weapon has already been evaluated. I will provide you with the results. You can consult its creator if you notice any details we might have missed.”
Jin Taichu quickly received the evaluation data. At first glance, he was shocked. He had already expected it to be high-quality for a fourth-level weapon, given that it had stood out among competitors. But reading the detailed records, he realized just how exceptional it truly was.
For attack-type source weapons, this was the most powerful fourth-level weapon he had ever seen. He thought: If Yun Yingzhi’s luck holds, he might actually be able to craft an eighth-level source weapon in the future. If so, I hope he can make one this good for me too.
Already curious about the weapon Yun Yingzhi had gifted Yun Yinghui, he now became even more eager to see it in action. Jin Taichu was in a shared group chat with Yun Yinghui and their friends.
Jin Taichu: I’ve arrived at the evaluation site.
He sent a photo of the fourth-level weapon to the group.
Someone commented: “Looks ordinary.”
Nangong Qing: “Standardized design. Common appearance.”
Jin Taichu shared all the weapon’s skill data.
Jin Taichu: “These are the evaluation records from the competition. Now I finally understand why it was selected.”
Nangong Qing: “Our little Yingzhi is amazing!”
Jia Qingwan: “Shocked!”
Soon, everyone started bombarding Yun Yinghui with questions about why they had never known about Yun Yingzhi’s talent in this area.
Meanwhile, Jin Taichu privately contacted Yun Yingzhi. It was 9:10 a.m., right during Yun Yingzhi’s class. He secretly opened his personal terminal to read Jin Taichu’s message.
Jin Taichu: “Yingzhi, I’ve just arrived at the evaluation site.”
Yun Yingzhi: “Thanks, brother!”
Jin Taichu sent him the official evaluation results and asked, “The evaluation starts at 9:30. Look through the record—are there any skills missing?”
Yun Yingzhi’s mind was entirely on “wool-collecting.” He barely remembered casually crafting that weapon at the time. After thinking for a moment, he replied: “Brother, I don’t remember. Can you send me detailed photos of the engravings? I’ll try to figure it out.”
Jin Taichu was momentarily speechless. Clearly, Yun Yingzhi had made this weapon without much thought. Yet even this casually made weapon was remarkably strong. Following Yun Yingzhi’s request, Jin Taichu photographed the engravings.
Soon, Yun Yingzhi analyzed the images and provided insights. He added: “Usually I link the engravings for combined skills so an esper soldier can activate them instantly. But I was in a rush back then, didn’t get the details perfectly. That’s probably why the evaluators missed some things.”
Jin Taichu thought: If Yun Yingzhi had paid more attention, this weapon might not have been the first of the top ten to be tested. But a regular esper soldier might not have been able to showcase its full attack potential anyway.
He praised Yun Yingzhi in the group chat: “The weapons he made will surprise you even more.”
The staff reminded Jin Taichu to enter the evaluation site to test the tenth-ranked source weapon from the preliminaries. He adjusted his hat and followed the staff into the testing area. The first site was outdoors, with eighteen test mannequins lined up at the front. Floating live-streaming cameras orbited the area, capturing every angle.
A female announcer in uniform spoke: “Now we begin evaluating the tenth-ranked source weapon from the preliminaries. Before testing, let me briefly introduce this weapon. It was created by Fansa Academy student A13167, the only current student among the ten selected weapons. It is level four and contains six engravings. Now, let’s welcome the esper soldier invited by A13167 to test this weapon.”
The camera shifted to Jin Taichu as the testing began. All test mannequins switched to fourth-level test mode. Jin Taichu activated the weapon’s first skill.
A pleasant announcer voice explained: “This is the first skill, an area-of-effect attack. Since the participant did not name it, we will temporarily call it ‘Sword Qi Circle.’ The skill radiates layers of sword energy outward from the esper soldier. Its strength depends on the amount of source provided by the soldier. Theoretically, with enough source, the attack could surpass the fourth-level limit and reach fifth-level power. However, such overlevel attacks consume significant source. Unless facing multiple powerful opponents,…”
Suddenly, each test mannequin triggered identical prompts.
“Exceeded fourth-level limit. Please enter next-level test mode.”
“Exceeded fourth-level limit. Please enter next-level test mode.”
The announcer paused, voice trailing off: “….”
Everyone present froze, whispering among themselves: “….”
Viewers watching the live broadcast were equally stunned: “….”
This Title is available for faster chapter releases through paid Patreon membership. Any proceeds go to keeping the website running. Check it out HERE.
