ABST Chapter 6

——He didn’t want to see light existing in those eyes.

 

Elansno narrowed his eyes and smiled: “You hate the Federation for eliminating Suto and killing your father, right? Don’t you find your father’s sudden death incredible?”

 

His tone was gentle: “Let me tell you a story.”

 

Suto’s young master, Shou Bing, was an introverted and shy person. It was precisely because he was too introverted that Suto’s former leader despised him as useless.

 

Shou Bing worked hard to do something for his father, often leaving the base to bring injured civilians back for treatment.

 

The Second Army, responsible for eliminating Suto, planted spies among these wounded people. Some left after recovering, while others stayed behind, infiltrating the kitchen responsible for the army’s food supply.

 

Poisoning was a crude but effective method. The toxins were mild and hard to detect, but accumulated over time, penetrating deep into the bones.

 

On the day the Second Army officially launched their attack, the spies added an inducing agent to the food that triggered the full outbreak of the accumulated toxins.

 

…

 

“That’s impossible!”

 

Shou Bing was near suffocation, his pupils beginning to dilate, his voice growing weaker and weaker.

 

He didn’t believe this person’s lies!

 

 

“How… cough cough… how could it be because of me…” How could it be possible that he had harmed his own father, harmed Suto?!

 

Elansno: “Why wouldn’t it be possible?”

 

“When the Federation decided to deal with your Suto, your preferences, habits… all the information was already laid out on the administrative office’s desk.”

 

He whispered maliciously near the teenager’s ear.

 

“Suto was indeed an iron fortress, but there were still loopholes in the end—

 

You, Suto’s young master, personally created that loophole.”

 

“You’re about to die anyway, why would I lie to you? I’m being kind by letting you die with understanding, yet you still don’t believe it.”

 

Elansno had no reason to lie to him.

 

Just as victors disdain to lie to stray dogs.

 

So…

 

The teenager trembled all over, his hands and feet ice cold. All the silent thorns seemed cast from sand and stone, crumbling completely under this sudden impact.

 

His brain was dying from lack of oxygen.

 

He was completely stunned.

 

Elansno’s tone carried a smile as he whispered: “You personally killed your father.”

 

“And harmed everyone in Suto.”

 

“They must really resent you. Heroes who should have died gloriously on the battlefield, formidable figures who could make the Federation wary, dying without dignity or value.”

 

“You shouldn’t hate the Federation.”

 

Elansno savored the teenager’s heartbroken expression and uttered his final words—

 

“You should hate yourself.”

 

After this sentence, he watched as the light that had been gathering in the teenager’s eyes suddenly scattered. Held by the neck in mid-air, his dirty black cloak swayed in the wind like a gray, worn-out puppet.

 

How boring.

 

Elansno thought, if someone had stabbed his weak spots like this, unless he saw it with his own eyes, he definitely wouldn’t believe it, and would tear the person who stabbed his weak spots into a thousand pieces.

 

What a fragile glass-hearted brat.

 

Just one second before Elansno was about to kill—

 

Bang bang bang! Bang! Bang!

 

Dense bullets suddenly shot from the rooftop on the right!

 

An assassination?

 

Elansno instinctively deployed his mental barrier, but his hand suddenly felt empty.

 

Shou Bing had been snatched away!

 

His eyes turned cold as he suddenly looked up, his gaze meeting a pair of cold golden eyes and a face wearing a face mask.

 

Elansno was stunned.

 

The distance between him and this suddenly appeared person was less than a fist’s width.

 

They had brushed past each other at close range.

 

The extremely close distance was instantly pulled apart.

 

The newcomer had taken advantage of the moment he deployed his mental power to snatch Shou Bing from right under his nose.

 

His figure was refined and agile. Not lingering to fight, he leaped several times toward the outskirts of the city while calling back to another attacker who was entangled with Kang Quan: “Let’s go!”

 

The latter immediately retreated upon hearing this, firing a burst of shots to cover their rear.

 

Kang Quan turned and hid behind cover, his brow deeply furrowed. He looked up toward Elansno’s direction: “Admi…”

 

His pupils contracted sharply as he lunged forward, grabbing Elansno’s shoulder.

 

“Admiral, watch out!”

 

—Still a bit too late.

 

A bullet pierced through Elansno’s left shoulder.

 

Blood instantly soaked through his crisp military uniform.

 

Elansno stumbled from being pulled.

 

In the distance, patrol troops hearing the gunfire turned and rushed toward them.

 

Kang Quan quickly assessed Elansno’s wound condition, his heart sinking slightly. He immediately contacted Silicon Blue City’s garrison commander and notified the military doctors to prepare.

 

Those two people just now had obviously come specifically for Suto’s young master.

 

He should immediately lead people in pursuit.

 

But now that the Admiral was injured, everything else could be set aside.

 

The Admiral was the First Army’s anchor—as long as he remained in position, the entire Northwest situation would remain stable, so nothing must happen to him.

 

The garrison troops drew closer and closer, the surrounding noise gradually growing louder.

 

Elansno showed no reaction.

 

Blood drops fell from his fingertips into the sewage, slowly spreading ripples. His eyelashes trembled.

 

“Admiral? Admiral?!”

 

Kang Quan called out twice in a low voice.

 

He hadn’t expected that Elansno wouldn’t be able to dodge that bullet.

 

As if awakening from a dream, Elansno frowned slightly. He had been lost in thought, not even bothering to concern himself with those two people of unknown origin.

 

After a long while.

 

He removed his glove and extended his right hand, lightly touching the wound on his left shoulder. He easily got blood on his fingers, the sticky sensation of blood still present as he rubbed his fingertips together.

 

It hurt.

 

But…

 

His fingertips moved down half an inch, from the wound to his heart.

 

Elansno murmured in confusion: “How strange…”

 

Such a strange feeling.

 

Kang Quan was slightly stunned.

 

Outside Silicon Blue City.

 

Algiers removed his face mask, handed the gun to someone nearby, and helped Lan Xia settle the person they had just rescued in the stone cave.

 

Shou Bing had already fainted, his face pale and bluish, breathing weakly.

 

His upper body clothing had been removed, and the dirty cloak thrown aside, immediately exposing a large area of bruising on his back from being stepped on.

 

Jin Daike gasped, quickly taking out medical supplies to examine him. “Who did this? How vicious—if the force had been any stronger, his internal organs would have been crushed.”

 

“…It was Elansno.”

 

Since returning, Lan Xia had been somewhat distracted, pulling down his face mask and standing guard at the cave entrance, his voice lighter than usual.

 

Algiers came to his side: “Teacher, what’s wrong?”

 

“Nothing,” Lan Xia said. “Previously, most of the information about Elansno came from other sources. That was the first time I’ve had such close contact with him.”

 

The feeling was somewhat different from what he had imagined.

 

They had arrived in Silicon Blue City two days ago and noticed more patrol soldiers than usual in the city. After inquiring, they learned that the young master of the recently eliminated Suto organization was fleeing within the city.

 

 

Suto, previously the backbone of anti-Federation organizations, with their only surviving young master now in distress—they couldn’t possibly not rescue him. Unfortunately, they found Shou Bing one step later than Elansno, so in the emergency, they had to take the opportunity to attack.

 

Fortunately, the process went very smoothly.

 

Thinking of this, Algiers was somewhat puzzled: “Elansno, like you, is also an S-level evolver. When you snatched the person from his hands just now, he clearly showed no reaction at all. Are there different levels of strength among S-level evolvers too?”

 

Lan Xia looked at his own palm, then after a moment, shook his head: “I’m also very puzzled by this. At that distance, I could only focus on saving the person. If he had acted, he definitely could have injured me.”

 

“Was he injured?” Algiers speculated. “That’s why he didn’t have time to react.”

 

Lan Xia: “Injured?”

 

Algiers: “Right, Elansno commands the First Army. Within the Federation there are factions that don’t like him, not to mention anti-Federation organizations. He’s experienced countless assassination attempts, so occasional injuries wouldn’t be strange.”

 

That didn’t seem right.

 

Lan Xia recalled for a moment, then sighed: “Forget it, let’s not talk about this. Once Shou Bing wakes up, we should leave here quickly. When Silicon Blue City’s guards react, this place won’t be safe either.”

 

“—Hey! What are you doing?! I worked so hard to save your life!” Jin Daike’s angry voice came through.

 

Hearing this, Lan Xia and Algiers hurried back into the cave in a few steps.

 

They saw Shou Bing gripping a syringe, pointing the needle toward his own major artery, about to pierce it.

 

Lan Xia flashed in front of Shou Bing, snatched away the syringe, cleanly knocked the teenager unconscious with a palm strike, while calmly saying: “Give him a sedative injection, let him sleep for a few days to calm down properly.”

 

Jin Daike quickly complied.

 

Algiers frowned: “What’s wrong with this guy!”

 

“Having his long-held beliefs destroyed by Elansno, he can’t bear that it was because of his own kindness that he harmed all of Suto,” Lan Xia glanced at Shou Bing’s still-clenched fists and couldn’t help but sigh. “Suto’s former leader protected him too well.”

 

Kindness was a rare quality in chaotic times, but sometimes it was also a foolish persistence.

 

When he and Algiers were carrying out the rescue plan, they had heard what Elansno said to Shou Bing.

 

Whether it was true or false remained to be verified, but indeed, Elansno had no need to deceive a child he could crush at will.

 

So the credibility was extremely high.

 

Algiers: “But he’s still mistaken about who his real enemy is.”

 

Lan Xia nodded: “Those involved are often confused. Let him sleep for a few days to calm down.”

 

Nearly an hour had passed since rescuing Shou Bing. If they stayed longer, the risk of exposure would be too great. Several sturdy young men took turns carrying Shou Bing, and the group secretly and rapidly left the area under the cover of the forest.

 

It wasn’t until evening that they emerged from the forest.

 

Standing at the forest’s edge, their view suddenly became extremely expansive.

 

Ahead stretched endless wilderness ravines, vast and magnificent.

 

The wasteland still bore artificial traces from mineral excavation, but it was still one of the few places where nature grew wild without excessive human intervention.

 

Eagles circled over this distant territory.

 

Under the outline of the last sunset glow, everyone’s shadows were cast on the ground, slowly lengthening.

 

Algiers: “Tomorrow after crossing this desert, we’ll reach the Northwest Sector.”

 

The Northwest Sector—the Federation’s most chaotic region. A chaotic stage where fragmented anti-Federation separatists, space pirates, and mercenaries mingled hope with despair, blood and sin.

 

They would fight for a place there.

 

Lan Xia nodded: “I’ve sensed the area—there’s no one here, it’s very safe. Everyone’s tired, right? Set up camp behind the rocks to rest and eat something to replenish energy.”

 

Algiers called a few brothers to set up a fire and took out supplies collected in their storage devices: canned meat, beer, fresh meat that wouldn’t keep, chili powder, pepper, mustard, and sauces piled up. Everyone prepared to have barbecue.

 

Before long, the aroma of grilled meat wafted out. The skewers were roasted until hot, the meat pieces were fragrant and dripping with oil. Some even brushed beer on the meat, creating a unique flavor.

 

After rushing about for so many days, suddenly relaxing, this group at their most energetic age could really make a ruckus. Some even danced and sang around the fire.

 

From ancient times to the space age, humans always seemed to preserve some ancient forms of entertainment.

 

Everyone was quite happy, except for Shou Bing who was still unconscious.

 

“Teacher, what would you like to eat? Just have them grill it,” Algiers smiled, holding a large handful of iron skewers.

 

Lan Xia smiled: “I’ll go check the back, you all eat and relax properly.”

 

He went directly to the back of the camp. The light from the fire in front passed through the tent, illuminating the back area with flickering light.

 

On his arm were quite a few needle marks left from the past three days—two to three injections daily. The bruises left after injections were particularly striking on the inner side of his arm.

 

After a moment, his right palm pressed against the faintly aching area of his stomach, taking an extremely light breath.

 

The penetrating wound that had passed through his abdomen when rescuing Algiers and the others at B6 sector had long since mostly healed, but his stomach was immune to medications and treatment, so the damage there wasn’t so easily cured.

 

It hurt constantly.

 

The nutritional components slowly converted to bodily nourishment, and the slight dizziness from low blood sugar gradually disappeared.

 

Cold moonlight passed through the treetops, coolly scattering on the surrounding cold stones. The young man leaned half against the tree trunk, absent-mindedly looking at the syringe held between his fingertips, seemingly lost in thought.

 

Mottled moonlight like thin frost fell on the hem of his windbreaker. His profile showed some pallor, giving him an unexpectedly fragile appearance, quite different from his usual composed demeanor.

 

Suddenly, a cautious voice came through.

 

“Teacher, are… are you feeling unwell?”

 

It was Jin Daike.

 

The little girl stood a few steps away, holding a box of sweets with a conflicted expression, wanting to come closer but not daring to.

 

Her gaze fell on Lan Xia’s fingertips, looking somewhat puzzled.

 

The syringe was mostly hidden by his sleeve, with only a bit of the needle’s cold gleam showing.

 

Lan Xia stiffened slightly, almost instinctively hiding his right hand behind his back.

 

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Author’s Note:

 

Teacher Lan Xia: (cat hiding paws jpg.)

 

Double update tomorrow.

 

Still the same as before, will add more depending on the situation after going premium.

 

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