Chapter 115: Choice
Bai Zhouyun clearly knew that he was supposed to be in prison, but... this place looked nothing like the prison he had been locked up in before. So where exactly was this?
"Awake?"
A voice suddenly rang out, startling him so badly that he immediately sat upright. Turning his head, he saw a man sitting casually in a chair with one leg crossed over the other.
He recognized him.
"You? Why are you here? Were you arrested too?"
The man sneered.
"You think I'd get caught? We were the ones who got you out. What an idiot. And after taking such a tiny dose, it still took you four or five days to wake up. You're really useless."
"Even after becoming a High-Tier Ability User, you're still trash. Your physique only improved a little. According to our tests, you've barely reached the minimum threshold for a High-Tier Ability User. If you were even a tiny bit weaker, you wouldn't qualify anymore. Though your ability did improve somewhat. You used to be able to do nothing but light fires. Now you can at least throw a fireball."
Although Bai Zhouyun had no idea what was going on, he wasn't stupid. He could tell the man was mocking him.
Still, he knew better than to provoke them.
He had heard enough rumors about this organization to understand that openly clashing with them would only bring disaster.
"What did you bring me here for?"
The man spread his hands.
"Isn't it obvious? To congratulate you on escaping with your life. Don't tell me you actually wanted to spend the rest of your life in prison."
"Oh, right. After we rescued you, the Empire officially issued a wanted order for your arrest."
He curled his lips into a grin.
"So now you have two choices. Go home... or stay with us."
Then he smiled even wider.
"There's something else you should know. Everyone in the Empire now knows you're a wanted criminal. They're all hoping to kill you and collect the bounty. You know, the last person who killed a wanted criminal received ten million credits. So tell me, Young Master Bai... do you think you're worth ten million credits?"
"I'd say your bounty will probably be even higher than that last criminal's. But I won't spoil the surprise. That's for you to find out yourself. We're very open-minded."
Bai Zhouyun stared at him.
They had rescued him, but their motives were obviously far from pure.
They were giving him a choice on the surface, but the moment he walked out of here, he'd almost certainly be dead.
Hadn't the man just said the entire Empire was eager to hunt him down for the reward?
Bai Zhouyun knew exactly where his own limits lay, even if he was somewhat prideful.
Even if he somehow escaped unnoticed...
Where could he possibly go?
He couldn't return to the Bai family.
That was a joke.
The Bai family lived on the Capital Star, where security was the strictest in the Empire. Going home would be equivalent to walking straight into a trap.
Maybe before the prison break he'd still had a chance.
But now...
Having escaped prison only to be captured again would truly mean the end.
Besides, the Bai family clearly had no intention of protecting him.
When he had first been arrested, they immediately distanced themselves from him.
That had dealt him an enormous blow.
Even though he really had committed a crime...
Wasn't everything he'd done so that he could become worthy of Nan Yu?
Everything he had said during the trial had been sincere.
He truly believed it.
It was just that no one else did.
Everyone thought he was merely making excuses for his crimes while trying to smear Nan Yu's reputation.
Nan Yu's reputation on the Capital Star was unbelievably good.
Even people who weren't particularly fond of him still treated him politely, simply because no one could guarantee they wouldn't someday need the help of a High-Tier Mental Power User.
Therefore, everything Bai Zhouyun said had to be false.
Even if some of it happened to be true...
No one would believe him.
Taking a deep breath, Bai Zhouyun asked,
"If I choose to stay... what will I have to do?"
He wasn't naïve enough to think these people had risked so much merely to provide him with shelter.
They definitely had another purpose.
As it turned out...
He had guessed correctly.
"Good."
"You made the smartest choice."
"If you're staying, then naturally you'll be working for us. From now on, you'll work under me. As long as I have food to eat, I won't let you starve."
A feeling of defeat filled Bai Zhouyun's heart.
His engagement to Nan Yu was over.
He didn't even know whether he'd ever see Yun Feiyu again.
Now that he'd chosen to remain here...
He had no idea what sort of life awaited him.
All he could do was slowly learn from this man everything he would need to know, along with the work that would become his responsibility.
During that time, he was given a completely new identity and a brand-new optical computer.
At first, he assumed it would be heavily restricted.
Instead...
It worked exactly like an ordinary one.
It could browse the net.
Contact people.
Chat.
Do everything a normal optical computer could.
But after his initial excitement faded...
He realized there wasn't a single person left for him to contact.
Even worse...
He quickly discovered that they hadn't lied to him.
Whether on the Empire's official website or anywhere else on the StarNet that reported news, his wanted notice was everywhere.
He truly had nowhere left to go except this organization.
While Bai Zhouyun sat staring blankly at the StarNet and wallowing in self-pity, the man who had spoken with him quietly stood up and left.
Even after the door had closed behind him...
Bai Zhouyun never noticed.
As soon as the man turned around, someone was already waiting outside.
"Well?"
"Did you convince him?"
The man snorted.
"Was that supposed to be difficult? He's really stupid. Really foolish. But every once in a while, he somehow manages to make the right choice."
"True enough. But why go through all the trouble to rescue a piece of trash like him? Because of that garbage, we lost one-third of the people we'd planted inside the prison. I've already lost contact with them over the past two days. The remaining ones are still sending routine coded messages to indicate they're safe, but judging by everything, they don't know what happened to the missing ones either."
"Obviously because we brought him back as an experimental subject. Wasn't I the one who handled him when he came to use the prohibited drug?"
"Right. I know. You accidentally gave him the most advanced version developed by our laboratory. Originally, you planned to test it on disposable test subjects first."
"Exactly. But after arguing with you, I got so angry that I grabbed the wrong drug. By the time I realized my mistake, that piece of trash had already returned to the Capital Star. I couldn't exactly go to the Capital Star and kidnap him then, could I?"
"So you decided to wait and observe. Who would've thought such a worthless idiot would actually turn out to have value?"
After that, they had captured many more people to test the same drug.
Yet not a single one succeeded.
Those disposable test subjects truly lived up to their name.
Disposable.
Use once.
Throw away.
Every single experiment failed.
Every death was horrifying.
One Ability User completely lost control after his mental power went berserk.
Using nothing but his own hands, he grabbed his upper and lower jaws...
And tore his own head in half.
He died instantly.
That alone showed just how much force he had exerted.
"I have a feeling he'll continue surprising us."
"So what do you think?"
"The only successful experimental subject produced by our newest drug."
"Wouldn't it be wonderful if we personally observed every change he goes through from now on?"
The other man thought for a moment before gently stroking his cheek.
"Yes."
"So then... was sacrificing those people in the prison worth bringing back one successful experiment?"
"Worth it."
He hadn't considered it before.
Now that he had...
He no longer cared about the losses.
He simply left with the other man to continue working.
Meanwhile, Bai Zhouyun spent over two hours browsing the StarNet before finally shutting it off and collapsing onto the floor.
He lay there listlessly, staring blankly at the ceiling.
He had no idea what someone like him could possibly do inside an organization like this.
His strength wasn't enough.
He wasn't particularly intelligent.
Whenever he came up with bad ideas, he usually needed to consult his equally questionable friends first...
Thinking about it...
He really was useless.
He couldn't do anything well.
But he couldn't simply wait to die.
Since they had actually assigned him work...
He had to seize that opportunity.
If he contributed nothing...
Wouldn't they decide he was just wasting food and resources?
Only then did Bai Zhouyun remember the man's final instructions.
Stay here and rest.
Don't wander around.
Someone would come tomorrow to move him somewhere else.
After all...
From now on, they were comrades.
Bai Zhouyun nervously licked his dry lips.
Walking over to the table, he grabbed a bottle of water and gulped down several large mouthfuls before eating all the food that had been left there.
Only then did he turn his attention to the room's only bed.
If it had been in the past...
He wouldn't even have glanced at a bed this small—not even a quarter the size of the one in his home.
But now...
Having a place to sleep was already good enough.
Perhaps the drug still hadn't completely left his system.
As soon as he lay down, he fell into a deep sleep.
At this point, even if someone suddenly walked in and stabbed him...
He probably wouldn't wake up.
...
After another ten-plus days of travel, Nan Yu finally sensed that the spacecraft was preparing to land on a planet.
Inside the cockpit, he also witnessed one of Ye Xing's unbelievable maneuvers.
From approaching the planet...
To completely bypassing the starport's inspection systems and the magnetic field in the atmosphere...
To descending as though the spacecraft had become invisible...
Not a single person noticed their arrival.
Even the military stationed on the planet seemed completely blind.
Not one of them detected Ye Xing's ship.
What exactly had he done?
Nan Yu had watched the entire process from beginning to end...
Yet he understood absolutely nothing.
Before he could think further—
"Let's go."
Ye Xing said,
"I'll take you to see him. See whether you can still..."
Nan Yu interrupted,
"Let's examine him first. He's an Ability User whose Mental Contamination has already reached S-rank. I honestly don't have much confidence."
Ye Xing's expression didn't change.
If Nan Yu had confidently claimed he could definitely cure him...
Ye Xing would have become suspicious.
Instead...
Nan Yu's uncertainty made him believe the chances were actually very good.
Following Ye Xing to the spacecraft's exit, Nan Yu watched as the hatch opened.
His first reaction was to raise both arms in front of his face.
But after waiting a moment...
Nothing happened.
Confused, he looked forward.
The violent sandstorm outside was completely blocked by an invisible barrier surrounding the spacecraft.
Not a single grain of sand entered.
Ye Xing handed him something.
"Wear this."
"The sandstorm won't affect you."
Nan Yu accepted it, clenched it in his hand, and followed Ye Xing outside.
The moment he stepped into the storm, he clearly felt some invisible force pushing all the blowing sand away before it could touch him.
Behind them, the spacecraft hatch slowly closed.
Nan Yu glanced back once before continuing forward.
After walking for about two minutes through the thick sandstorm...
He finally spotted a small house.
"This place definitely doesn't get visitors."
Ye Xing shook his head.
"No."
"People still come."
"Weak Ability Beasts appear inside these sandstorms. As long as they're Mid-Tier Ability Users, they can form hunting parties and come here to kill them."
Nan Yu blinked.
"There are Ability Beasts here? Doesn't the military report and eliminate them? Isn't it dangerous to just leave them alone?"
"The military stationed here knows about them."
"This planet is extremely barren."
"Development is poor."
"There are many impoverished residents."
"The Ability Beasts can't reproduce in large numbers."
"The military constantly monitors their population."
"If the number exceeds the safety threshold, they'll hunt enough of them to bring it back below that limit."
"So many people here survive by hunting those Ability Beasts?"
"Yes."
"This planet has almost no resources."
"The only valuable thing it possesses is the Ability Beasts hidden inside these sandstorms."
"If they were ever exterminated..."
"This planet would truly have nothing left."
"So this is one of the Empire's remote frontier planets?"
As far as Nan Yu knew, Ability Beasts usually appeared only on planets near the borders.
Ye Xing looked at him with slight surprise.
"You know quite a bit."
"But I won't tell you where this is."
"Even if you return, you won't be able to find it."
"There are countless planets in the Empire with environments like this."
"And don't bother trying to calculate the distance from the travel time."
"Do you know how fast my spacecraft flies?"
"Do you know how long you were unconscious while I brought you here?"
Nan Yu twitched his lips.
"Hmph."
He had never said he intended to come back and cause trouble.
Even if he did...
It would be pointless.
Just as Ye Xing said, finding him wasn't impossible.
But by the time they located this place...
Ye Xing would probably already be gone.
The more people chased him...
The more it felt as though Ye Xing regarded all those hunting him as complete amateurs.
"Alright."
"Don't be angry."
"I was just saying it casually."
"I simply don't want you wasting your time trying to find me."
"You won't."
"Still angry?"
Of course Nan Yu was.
But he was even more curious about the person Ye Xing wanted him to treat.
Without saying anything else, he followed him into the house.
The inside was clean, quiet, and completely different from the filthy storm outside.
"Where is he?"
"I'll examine him first."
Ye Xing nodded.
"Come with me."
Nan Yu followed.
"Just so we're clear."
"If I can't do it..."
"You have to make sure I get back to the Capital Star safely."
Ye Xing nodded without hesitation.
"Don't worry."
"No problem."
Nan Yu had assumed the patient would be hidden inside some underground bunker or secret room.
Instead...
He was simply lying in the master bedroom of this modest two-bedroom house.
Ye Xing opened the door.
Inside, someone was tightly bound to the bed.
It was almost painful to look at.
Although the person was securely restrained...
His struggles were weak.
His face was twisted in agony.
His eyes were vacant and unfocused.
One glance was enough for Nan Yu to gain a rough understanding.
Still...
As always, he needed to inspect the person's Mental Sea before making any judgment.
Ye Xing understood the rules governing Mental Power Users.
After opening the door, he remained outside.
Nan Yu walked in alone.
Ye Xing quietly closed the door behind him and waited outside.
Nan Yu glanced at the closed door before looking toward the unfamiliar man bound to the bed.
So...
This was the person most important to Ye Xing.
Nan Yu had absolutely no memory of him.
They had definitely never met in his previous life.
Only now did he realize...
The Ye Xing before him was completely different from the Ye Xing he had known in his previous life.
Could it be...
This person hadn't survived?
Or perhaps the treatment had failed?
Whatever the reason...
This man must have disappeared.
Otherwise, Ye Xing wouldn't have worn that expression whenever no one was watching back then.
Honestly...
Ye Xing was a true talent.
Although saying so felt somewhat unfair to all the countries whose Mental Power Users he had kidnapped...
Nan Yu genuinely believed he was exceptional.
If Ye Xing could change his identity and appearance before joining their legion...
It would be like adding wings to a tiger.
Nan Yu shook his head.
That idea was completely unrealistic.
Everything depended on whether the person most important to Ye Xing could recover.
Putting those thoughts aside, he walked to the bedside and looked at the man who continued making faint struggling movements despite being unconscious.
Judging from his facial features...
He must have been very handsome before this happened.
Could the two of them actually be in that kind of relationship?
If so...
That could potentially be useful.
Nan Yu placed both hands on either side of the man's head before releasing his mental power.
Very quickly...
His mental power entered the man's Mental Sea.
After carefully examining it, he discovered something surprisingly straightforward.
The problem was simply that the Mental Contamination had accumulated beyond all limits...
Reaching S-rank.
The treatment was equally straightforward.
Use the fastest and most direct method possible.
Completely eliminate every trace of Mental Contamination inside the Mental Sea.
Nan Yu estimated the amount of mental power he currently possessed.
He couldn't do it.
No matter how talented he was...
He was still only a Mid-Tier Mental Power User.
That fact couldn't be changed.
The last time he had treated an S-rank patient, he had nearly collapsed from exhaustion and required a long recovery afterward.
Besides...
That patient had only just reached S-rank.
This one was different.
He had probably remained in this condition for years.
Nan Yu alone simply wasn't enough.
But...
If he had the Nianshen Grass...
Then perhaps...
He could try.
If it failed...
He could always sever the connection to his own mental power.
Although that would cost him some mental power, it could always be recovered through cultivation later.
Having made his decision, he walked to the door.
Bang!
He flung it open.
Holding out his hand toward Ye Xing with complete confidence, he said,
"Give me back my space button."
"There's something inside that I absolutely have to use."
He deliberately said nothing more.
He wanted to see...
Whether the person inside was truly more important to Ye Xing than everything else.
To Nan Yu's surprise...
Ye Xing didn't hesitate for even a second.
He immediately took out the space button and tossed it over.
Nan Yu caught it with some suspicion.
At first, he thought it might be a fake.
But he quickly confirmed that it was genuine.
The Nianshen Grass was still exactly where he had left it.
Nan Yu silently looked at Ye Xing before saying,
"Prepare some food for me."
"Once I've eaten, I'll go inside and give it a try."
"If it takes a long time..."
"That means the treatment is succeeding."
"You must stay outside."
"Don't come in halfway and interrupt me."
Ye Xing hurriedly prepared a meal and placed it on the table.
Then he enthusiastically urged Nan Yu to eat.
After taking a bite of the homemade dishes, Nan Yu praised him.
"Your cooking is genuinely amazing."
"It could compete with the chefs at Zhenxiu Pavilion on the Capital Star."
"Did you learn all this specially for the person inside?"
He had only said it casually.
Yet for the first time in both this life and the previous one...
Ye Xing actually blushed.
Nan Yu stared at him in fascination.
"You actually blushed?"
Ye Xing also realized he had become overly emotional.
But he couldn't help it.
From Nan Yu's reaction...
There was clearly hope.
Which meant...
As early as today, or at the latest tomorrow...
He would finally be able to communicate with the person he loved most again.
Just wait a little longer.
Just a little longer...
Very soon...
Very soon...
Nan Yu watched Ye Xing's expression constantly changing before quietly finishing every dish on the table.
His stomach full, he walked back into the room.
Before closing the door, he reminded him once more.
"Remember."
"Until I come out..."
"Don't let anyone come in and disturb me."
Ye Xing nodded solemnly.
"I promise."
Taking a deep breath, Nan Yu shut the door.
He moved a chair beside the bed and sat down.
This time, he took the Nianshen Grass out of his space button.
He had promised himself he wouldn't use it again before graduating and officially joining a legion...
But circumstances were different now.
Using it just this once...
Should be alright.
Sitting in the chair, he held the Nianshen Grass in both hands.
As for treating this Ability User...
He intended to directly release his mental power outward.
That way...
He could make use of both the Nianshen Grass and his own mental power simultaneously.
The probability of succeeding in a single attempt would be much higher.