Chapter 814: Chapter 240: Invader_4 - Space Odyssey from Abandoned Mining Space Station

"This also counts as a way to reclaim some extra assets from the rich." Chen Ming suddenly couldn’t follow anymore and asked, "Reclaim assets? Isn’t the Fan Chao Research Institute an independent institute?" "Of course not, it’s a research institute directly under the Empire." "Directly under the Empire..." Bai Quan explained to Chen Ming, "Government, military, and the Empire’s ruling party, those are three different concepts. Generally, when we say ’directly under the Empire’, we mean directly under the Empire’s ruling party." "I know, I just find it a bit surprising. You know that hamster of mine, right?" "Yeah, the pet mouse at the Fan Chao lab. Still don’t know where you picked it up." "Rimu Star." Chen Ming briefly answered Bai Quan’s question, then said, "The problem is the hamster. I really didn’t expect a lab directly under the Empire to be researching this. I always thought the Fan Chao Research Institute studied all sorts of weird stuff precisely because it was independent." "Uh..." Bai Quan also suddenly realized something about this was off, and said uncertainly, "Maybe someone inside is doing this on the side in their spare time." Chen Ming just felt something was odd and asked casually; he didn’t dwell on it with Bai Quan. Because there was something else he cared about more. "By the way, is that ten thousand Contribution Points fixed?" "You know my situation. I don’t need anyone to help me, I can absorb it myself. There’s no way I’ll let them examine me. If I’m not taking any of that, can’t we make it cheaper?" Bai Quan couldn’t give an answer right away. "This... how about I go ask for you?" "You can’t decide this yourself?" "Matters involving Psychics aren’t just internal to our Fourteenth Legion. Resources for all Psychics are unified across the entire Empire, and this involves the Fan Chao Research Institute. This really does need to be asked." "Alright, then we’ll talk about it later." Chen Ming tossed the terminal aside and sat down at his usual spot for classes. All he could say was that the stuff listed on that webpage was really quite a lot—at least, there was no way he could finish looking through it now. He could only mark the things he was interested in for now and see if he still had any Contribution Points left to exchange for them later; he had other things to do at the moment. Three days later. Bai Quan arrived at Chen Ming’s place as usual. But today was the day he had told Chen Ming in advance that they’d be heading somewhere else. Just like before, Bai Quan pushed open the door to Chen Ming’s room and saw Chen Ming already fully prepared to depart. "How’s the prep going?" Chen Ming patted the suitcase beside him and said, "Everything’s in here. I put a copy of the logs for the Synchronous Accelerator Core I gave you yesterday in as well." "Wasting nearly a month of a Psychic’s time that could’ve earned top-class research merit—I’m really curious whether Lou Wei dares to shoulder that responsibility." Bai Quan laughed and patted Chen Ming as he said, "You’re basically trying to get him killed." "Alright, let’s go. Fire up your ship." Half an hour later. Chen Ming and Bai Quan, along with a few Guards and Bai Quan’s secretary, boarded the Stardust Level ship that Chen Ming hadn’t piloted in a long time. While boarding, Bai Quan repeated their itinerary for this trip, "First we’re heading to a Prosperous Star Realm called Meteor. We’ll meet up with Lou Wei and the others there and hand over the data you have, then we’ll go on to the colony site." "Are we jumping straight there or taking it slow?" "Of course we’re taking it slow. You think hyperspace jumps are free to maintain? If you arrive early you still have to wait for them, so why not make them wait for you instead?" "Fair enough." Chen Ming quickly set the route and arranged matters for the other personnel traveling with them. Then he brought Bai Quan to his room aboard the Stardust Level ship. After using Spiritual Energy to isolate a classroom and a study, Chen Ming resumed the day’s lessons. Even when out on business, there were some things that couldn’t be put on pause. The Stardust Level ship traveled alone through Superspace, and was expected to arrive at the Prosperous Star Realm capable of assessing the value of the data in three days. But only a third of the journey had passed. On the second day, in broad daylight, that long-dormant danger sense suddenly stabbed into Chen Ming’s brain. The avatar currently aboard the Stardust Level ship was about to face danger. Chen Ming’s expression changed. His true body immediately set aside all work at hand and focused all his attention on the avatar. At that moment, Bai Quan, who was in the classroom teaching Chen Ming, noticed the change in his expression. He had just opened his mouth to speak when he saw a Nanofiber Suit wrap around Chen Ming’s body in an instant. And a Protective Suit appeared on him as well, whether he liked it or not, bringing with it a sense of reassurance. "What’s going on?" Chen Ming didn’t respond. His eyes were slightly closed as he devoted himself to sensing the source of the danger. But for some reason, this time the danger sense didn’t clearly point to any one place. It wasn’t the kind of threat that completely enveloped the entire Stardust, nor was it something too far away. It just couldn’t be pinpointed. The source of danger was shifting, as if it existed in every corner. Suddenly, a faint Spiritual Energy Fluctuation was picked up by Chen Ming. "A Psychic." Chen Ming immediately moved a bit closer to Bai Quan. In front of a Psychic, an ordinary person like Bai Quan was extremely fragile. Only by staying close could he find a way to protect Bai Quan. The first thing Chen Ming tried was to use the ship’s 3D imaging to locate the intruder, but the 3D projection showed no signs of any other people moving around. None of the ship’s monitoring devices had captured any trace of an intruder either. All Chen Ming could do was release a large amount of Spiritual Energy Fluctuation around him, coiling it outward as he kept trying to locate the source of that Spiritual Energy Fluctuation. But before he could find the intruder, he suddenly noticed the ship’s overall temperature rising, entropy increasing. "It’s Hu Yi." Chen Ming reminded Bai Quan once more, and his other hand reached toward his waist. There was a Purgatory Core in the satchel at his waist. Right then. In the ceiling above Chen Ming’s head, in a patch of dimness the lights hadn’t completely banished, a pitch-black hand wrapped in Black Mist slowly reached out. The hand gripped a long sword radiating Spiritual Energy Fluctuation and slashed fiercely at Chen Ming’s neck.