ABST Chapter 9

Imperial Capital Port.

 

Kang Quan was still waiting for Elansno to come out.

 

“Three hours have already passed, and there’s still no news from the Admiral.”

 

The sky had darkened. Three hours had passed without any sign of the Admiral, but StarNet’s trending topics were in an uproar—

 

#Elansno Wears Suppression Ring Into Imperial Capital For Punishment#

 

#B6 Sector Bombardment Follow-up, Furious Emperor Rosh Gives Severe Punishment#

 

#Elansno Suppression Ring#

 

All such messages had gradually reached a boiling point two hours ago. Kang Quan had initially tried to suppress public opinion, but to no effect. He then realized the manipulators behind this StarNet discussion were probably the royal family.

 

Before the B6 sector bombardment, he had tried to dissuade the Admiral, but unfortunately hadn’t succeeded. His Majesty’s summons this time was to demonstrate the royal family’s stance, to give the Federation citizens an explanation…

 

The Admiral might truly face severe punishment.

 

Dr. Kane: “Adjutant, did Captain Lan give you any reply when you asked him to look after the Admiral? If the wound medication’s components have truly lost effectiveness as I predicted, the longer the delay, the more the Admiral’s injuries may worsen.”

 

“Let me check.”

 

Just as Kang Quan opened his messages, Lan Zhouhe’s reply came through: [Adjutant Kang Quan, I brought wound medicine as you asked, but didn’t wait for the Admiral to come out. His Majesty ordered me to patrol, so I couldn’t help. My sincere apologies.]

 

[Understood, thank you.]

 

After replying, Kang Quan glanced toward the palace: “I have a bad feeling about this…”

 

The sky darkened, and large masses of dark purple thunderclouds gathered above the port.

 

…

 

*Drip.*

 

A room entirely surrounded by diamond-shaped mirrors.

 

Blinding light reflected off the mirror surfaces, clean without a speck of dust.

 

In the center of the room stood a glass cross. A man in military uniform was bound to it, his silver hair disheveled, head lowered.

 

Blood drops falling from his shoulder pooled shallowly on the mirror below, like an offering to Satan.

 

Elansno struggled to lift his eyelids, his eyes slowly focusing. The mirror below reflected a face—

 

His mask had been removed.

 

His muddled brain vaguely registered a thought: so this is what he looked like.

 

So familiar, yet so strange…

 

The moment he regained consciousness, the chip pressed against his temple suddenly emitted weak electrical currents. Elansno trembled as the chip rooted in his brain domain released waves that human ears couldn’t hear, but which transformed into sharp blades that could slice through mental fluctuations.

 

Elansno suddenly went rigid, struggling frantically. The chains wrapped around him clanged loudly, pulled taut, and memory fragments buried deep in the ruins exploded thunderously.

 

They flashed before his eyes one by one.

 

Like a vicious beast having its tendons ripped and bones broken, incomprehensible low growls spilled from his throat, hoarse and terrifying. Unfortunately, the suppression ring still around his neck left his limbs powerless, unable to break free.

 

The mirror on the ground reflected his purple eyes filled with moisture, as if covered by a layer of sorrowful mist.

 

It was a wisteria forest.

 

Wisteria petals danced in the wind, dreamlike and illusory, falling to the ground like a purple lake.

 

Two identical-looking children crouched under the largest tree.

 

The shorter little boy cupped a handful of petals: “Brother, why aren’t there any violets?”

 

The older brother beside him said: “Though violets are the Empire’s national flower, they’re now extinct. All this wisteria is planted here only because the color is similar.”

 

The little boy made a sound of half-understanding: “But brother told me he likes violets best.”

 

His brother smiled and ruffled his hair: “Violets represent mystery and fantasy, just like A-Nuo’s eyes. Brother likes A-Nuo, so that’s why he likes violets.”

 

Though he said this, there was regret in his brother’s eyes that violets were extinct.

 

The little boy threw away the petals and, behind his brother’s back, picked up an extremely small stone from the ground. He laboriously ground it into the shape of a seed and stuffed it into his brother’s hand.

 

“They’re not extinct! This is the violet seed the priest gave A-Nuo,” the little boy said loudly, watching his brother’s astonished expression.

 

“Brother won’t be sad. Plant it well—A-Nuo wants to see the flowers bloom.”

 

“Alright, brother promises you.” He carefully tucked the seed away close to his body.

 

The dreamlike memory fragments shattered into pieces, a black web slowly devouring deeper and deeper.

 

Salty tears fell into the winding pool of blood on the ground. Elansno murmured unconsciously, half-sobbing, half-pleading: “Can’t… can’t forget…”

 

He couldn’t forget this memory—it was the only lie he had ever told his brother, something he hadn’t yet had time to explain.

 

Brother…

 

——

 

The brewing thunderstorm crashed down, and the Imperial Capital port filled with damp mist.

 

It wasn’t until the rain nearly stopped that Kang Quan received Emperor Rosh’s order transmitted to the administrative office—

 

Admiral Elansno would remain in the Imperial Capital for punishment for half a month. First Army military affairs would be temporarily transferred, handled by his subordinate officers and Adjutant Kang Quan, with major matters postponed.

 

“What?!!”

 

After the news spread, Dr. Kane, who only cared about his patient, was furious: “The Admiral is running a high fever, and still has to be punished for half a month? What punishment? Imprisonment or execution? The Imperial Capital is the administrative office’s domain. Falling into their hands, how can the Admiral come to any good?!”

 

“This is all the information I have. The Imperial Capital’s lockdown is too severe,” Kang Quan rubbed his brow. “However, His Majesty has always favored and trusted the Admiral. Hopefully this is just much ado about nothing.”

 

Though he said this, he had no confidence himself. After all, they only had the administrative office’s order—they hadn’t received any message from the Admiral.

 

“So what do we do now?”

 

Kang Quan: “You stay here with a team. If His Majesty summons you, go immediately. I’ll return to base to arrange matters for the next half month and wait for the Admiral to come out.”

 

The situation inside the Imperial Capital was unclear, and the Admiral had countless enemies. They could only hope he would emerge safely.

 

——

 

Lan Xia seemed to sense something and looked up at the hazy night sky.

 

“Teacher, up ahead is the Northwest Sector.”

 

Algiers and the others stopped at the entrance to the Northwest Sector.

 

This place was chaotic and disorderly, with no soldiers stationed to guard the sector, only people belonging to different anti-Federation forces coming and going in a hurry. Seeing Algiers’ group of forty to fifty people, they only gave a few extra glances.

 

“Teacher?”

 

“…Mm, let’s go in.” Lan Xia came back to his senses.

 

Shou Bing was still unconscious. He had woken once in between, still trying to commit suicide, and was knocked unconscious again. He was carried into the city by everyone taking turns.

 

The Northwest Sector had three largest powers: one was the Xinghui anti-Federation organization, the second was the Mercenary Alliance, and the last was Gray River.

 

Xinghui was currently the largest anti-Federation organization in the Northwest. After Suto’s elimination, it showed signs of becoming the leading force.

 

The Mercenary Alliance lived by taking on assassination, escort, and other missions for payment, while Gray River was an organization specializing in intelligence trading, with an extremely mysterious boss behind it.

 

Besides these three, there were no fewer than thousands of other large and small forces, forming a complex web.

 

If Algiers’ group of forty to fifty people didn’t want to join other forces, they could form their own small organization.

 

“Teacher, where do we go next?”

 

If Lan Xia wanted Dawn to develop independently and grow strong, he naturally couldn’t lead this group of children to join other forces. To establish a foothold in the Northwest, there was only one path.

 

His gaze turned toward the lawless zone in the northern part of the sector, his expression thoughtful.

 

.

 

One hour later.

 

The stronghold of a small power’s leader in the northern city was cleanly taken out.

 

The violently broken iron gate creaked mournfully in the wind like a pitiful erhu tune. Lan Xia retracted his door-kicking foot, avoiding the flying dust.

 

He looked at the small leader cowering inside and said: “Go, drag him out.”

 

His especially gentle tone formed a stark contrast with his methods.

 

“…”

 

In a daze, Algiers gained another layer of understanding about his teacher. He pulled several brothers still in a dreamlike state behind him and tied up that unlucky small leader.

 

No intense gunfight, no grand fanfare—this place officially changed hands.

 

The Northwest Sector’s rule was that whoever had the bigger fist had the say. People here submitted to the strong, with an almost fanatical obsession with conquest and being conquered.

 

The small leader’s territory in Rat Ridge City had originally been seized by him. Now that it was taken by someone stronger, not only did he harbor no resentment, but after recovering his senses, he became extraordinarily obsequious.

 

After settling Shou Bing, Lan Xia left this place to Algiers and took a few people to familiarize himself with the surrounding environment.

 

“Sir! Sir, this side is the outer black market. Usually, the brothers buy second-hand guns and ammunition here. You just give them some money and they’ll comply—they wouldn’t dare cross you!”

 

The small leader bowed and scraped, following behind Lan Xia.

 

The vendors in the outer black market had no merchant qualification protection. It was most chaotic, a mixed bag, with plenty of people who would forcibly rob if a sale fell through.

 

Lan Xia scanned both sides of the street. Most items sold here were ammunition and such, but of extremely poor quality—all leftover goods.

 

The good stuff was concentrated in the hands of major powers. To establish a foothold in the Northwest, manpower and weapons arsenals were indispensable fundamentals.

 

Similarly, for Dawn to develop, they needed these things, but the defective products from street stalls wouldn’t do.

 

Lan Xia withdrew his gaze: “Take me to the general store. I need to purchase some things.”

 

Small leader: “Right away!”

 

Since they would be living here for a while, Lan Xia bought quite a few daily necessities. Before leaving, he glimpsed a row of flowerpots placed in the corner.

 

His steps paused slightly. He stopped to carefully select the most pleasing one, declined the small leader’s eager offer to carry it for him. Lan Xia caressed the pot’s edge, a smile appearing at the corner of his mouth, his mood quite good.

 

Unfortunately, his good mood didn’t last long.

 

Faint commotion came from the territory he had just seized. The room where Shou Bing was placed was in chaos. Ice crystals violently spread across the floor, and even the air condensed into tiny frost flowers.

 

Algiers: “Stop him! Don’t let him go crazy!”

 

“Go get teacher!”

 

“Sedative!”

 

Shou Bing’s eyes were red, having lost all reason, roaring like a wild beast. It took five people to barely restrain him on the bed.

 

Jin Daike already had a bruise on her forehead. The sedative in her hand pierced Shou Bing’s vein but had no effect whatsoever.

 

“Everyone stand back!”

 

Purple mental power swept the entire scene, violently shaking and shattering all the surrounding ice crystals. Lan Xia strode in, pointing his joined fingers at Shou Bing’s brow. Shou Bing froze, his pupils suddenly dilating.

 

“Algiers, seal off this place, don’t let anyone else in!” Lan Xia glanced at the dazed small leader. “Have someone watch him.”

 

The small leader was pressed into the corner, eyes blindfolded, ears blocked, once again receiving the full tied-up treatment.

 

Algiers looked at the frost covering Shou Bing’s body: “Teacher, what happened to him?”

 

“If I’m not mistaken, he should have inherited leader Suto’s genes and is also an S-level mental power evolver, but he’s currently still in the breaking mirror period. If no one guides him, he might experience a mental storm like what just happened.”

 

Algiers said in shock: “S-level evolver, mental storm?”

 

“Yes.”

 

Mental storm was an exclusive term for S-level evolvers in the breaking mirror period. Once it manifested, they would fall into madness, unconditionally attacking everyone around them—extremely dangerous.

 

Normally speaking, mental power had no attributes. Shou Bing was a special case—his mental power actually contained such dense cold energy.

 

Moreover, this cold energy could actually flow along with the mental power and invade others’ bodies. Truly domineering to the extreme.

 

The frost condensing on Lan Xia’s fingertips began to spread, cold to the bone.

 

“Daike, go prepare some hot water. Algiers, guard the room. I need to help unblock his mental power.”

 

He wrapped Shou Bing in mental power. The teenager’s frame was slender, and having been continuously knocked unconscious these past few days, he looked haggard like a poor abused little animal.

 

Lan Xia sighed. His mental power invaded Shou Bing’s body. Ice-white and pale purple mental powers intertwined with each other, and gradually, the violent factors in the air began to slowly decrease.

 

Algiers was an A-level mental power evolver. Although his mental power couldn’t externalize, he could still keenly perceive the change in the atmosphere, and once again directly felt his teacher’s strength.

 

No one made a sound to disturb them. Except for the small leader sobbing in the corner, everyone else breathed lightly. Jin Daike brought in a bucket of steaming hot water, placing it gently beside them.

 

The mental grooming began to wrap up. Frost flowers also condensed on Lan Xia’s hair tips.

 

He slowly withdrew his hands, and the mental power swirling around him dispersed.

 

Loosening his wrists that had gone numb from the cold, Lan Xia said: “Alright, throw him into the hot water.” Strong mental power but a body that couldn’t keep up—it was easy to develop problems from the cold.

 

Everyone hurriedly lifted the ice-cold and rigid Shou Bing, carefully placing him in the water. The water’s temperature obviously began to drop, and only then did the thin frost covering Shou Bing begin to melt.

 

Lan Xia reminded: “Soak him until his body temperature returns to normal before taking him out.”

 

He controlled his mental power to dispel the cold energy attached to his body. The frost flowers on his hair tips turned into water droplets. Everything went smoothly, except when the mental power circulated to the abdominal meridians, it was extremely sluggish.

 

That cold energy clung like maggots to bone, winding around his stomach that had been pierced by shrapnel and healed extremely slowly.

 

Algiers said attentively: “Teacher, do you need hot water?”

 

“No…”

 

His abdomen suddenly cramped with pain. Lan Xia’s voice paused as he coughed up a mouthful of blood laced with cold.

 

This coughed-up blood stunned not only Algiers but Lan Xia himself. He instinctively hid his blood-stained hand behind his back.

 

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Author’s Note:

 

Teacher Lan Xia: (Cat hiding paws jpg.)

 

Algiers & Jin Daike: Puppy paws.

 

——

 

Hey, Lan Xia is just Master Gong’s alter ego. To keep the overall story from breaking immersion, what’s presented to you treasures is mostly just his psychological descriptions as the older brother.

 

After considering for quite a while, I still adopted this writing method. You can see it as Master Gong playing two roles alone, immersive acting—he’s just a drama king.

 

**

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