Half an hour later, Xie Xingyan finally regained consciousness. The moment she opened her eyes, Biyer immediately explained the dire situation.
"Elder sister, while you were unconscious, I discovered a strange black mist in your mind. It can devour your spiritual power and even launch attacks on its own. It feels extremely sinister."
After hearing Biyer's words, Xie Xingyan immediately mobilized her psychic ability to investigate. To her shock, she found that the thing in her mind was exactly the same as what had been inside Li Yuanyuan.
But even that brief probe left her skull splitting with pain, the familiar agony surging once more.
"Biyer, burn it directly with Different Fire, while it hasn't grown stronger yet."
"Elder sister, you must think carefully. That kind of pain is no different from tearing apart your soul piece by piece. If you can't withstand it, you might become a complete imbecile."
"Biyer, I refuse to be someone else's puppet. In this situation, I can't risk seeking help from the instructors. Only you can help me now."
In the end, Biyer agreed, knowing her sister was not someone who tolerated being controlled.
Inside the treatment pod, Xie Xingyan wrapped her spiritual power around her mouth to prevent herself from biting through her tongue in pain.
The unbearable agony struck almost instantly, like countless sharp blades slicing her soul apart. This pain surpassed everything she had endured in every previous world.
But the sharper the pain, the stronger her hatred for the Zerg grew.
If, before, joining the Legion had only been a mission objective, now it became her chosen battlefield for vengeance against the Zerg.
Within minutes, her entire body was drenched in sweat. Blue veins bulged across her forehead from the strain before fading. Her palms, clenched so tightly that her nails tore her flesh, were mottled with blood.
Fortunately, the ordeal was happening inside a treatment pod aboard the starship—otherwise, her condition would have been far more wretched.
Her unnatural convulsions inside the pod were also noticed by Instructor Melusa through the holo-feed during a meeting.
She immediately stood up, leaving behind only one sentence as she hurried out:
"My student's condition has changed. Continue the final exam discussions without me and give me the results later."
Melusa's steps did not falter. The reason she cared so much for this child was because she saw in Xie Xingyan her own younger self—both of them unwilling to bow to the shackles of talent, both relentlessly fighting for their chosen goals.
After the treatment ended, Xie Xingyan rested a while before cautiously probing her condition again.
To her astonishment, her sea of consciousness had expanded by one-quarter. Her soul had strengthened, and all the pain in her head was gone.
Meanwhile, back on the garbage star, Direna suddenly coughed up a mouthful of blood. A hidden psychic chain within her sea of consciousness snapped, shattering its balance and leaving it in violent chaos.
Staring at the worsening state of her mind, her ice-blue eyes filled with disbelief. This was supposed to be her race's rare innate gift—so how could someone break it?
Terror gripped Direna. If this person continued helping the other puppets she controlled, her spiritual sea would only deteriorate further.
She wanted to hunt down all the humans she had tampered with, but there were too many. Worse, the Interstellar Federation had intensified its pursuit of her, leaving her few options.
The festering wound on her back only added to her torment.
Back at the starship, Instructor Melusa entered the treatment room, cutting off further mental communication between Xie Xingyan and Biyer.
As Xie Xingyan sat up, she was met with her usually composed and elegant teacher's face—now tight with tension and concern.
"What happened to you in the treatment pod? Why was your body convulsing uncontrollably?"
"It's nothing, Teacher. I just had a nightmare, that's all."
Xie Xingyan knew her excuse was flimsy, but in her rush, she couldn't think of anything better.
Melusa did not press further. After all, everyone had their secrets—she herself was no exception.
"Tell me then—do you know why the Zerg Queen is so determined to hunt you down?"
"I've never seen that queen before. But I suspect it has to do with the incident on Aoki Star ten years ago, because her underlings were the same Langxue bugs I encountered earlier."
"I understand." Melusa nodded. "Since you've recovered, return to your quarters and await notice for the next phase of the assessment."
She immediately reported this new lead to the school authorities, requesting a deeper investigation.
Meanwhile, the instructors were still divided on the team evaluations.
One protested:
"Although the Zerg interference disrupted the original exam, without a proper conclusion, how can Xie Xingyan's team be declared the winners?"
Others disagreed, pointing out the clear differences between the two teams' conduct.
"I think Xie Xingyan's squad deserves recognition. When their captain was in danger, they didn't abandon her but risked everything to save her. The other team, in contrast, stood by coldly while their classmates were slaughtered by the Zerg."
The debate dragged on until Ryanqi, the highest-ranking instructor, made the final decision: both teams would undergo an additional round, joining the others in the exotic beast points competition.
In truth, Ryanqi favored Class A's Xie Xingyan. But under the circumstances, he couldn't show open bias.
When Xie Xingyan heard the decision, she wasn't surprised. After all, only two teams had been affected this time, and the academy wouldn't throw out established rules for the sake of just ten students.
Author's Note:
Some readers think the heroine has gotten weaker in this world. But that's not the case—it's the mission world that has become harder.
Otherwise, why would the system grant her double the points reward? Why did previous taskers all fail here?
This is a deliberately designed setback world for the heroine—to temper her resolve and keep her focused, rather than letting her grow arrogant after breezing through the earlier missions.