Chapter 308: Chapter 308: Discussion
"Why would Ning Xuan take off by herself, hide her whereabouts, and just vanish? Yu Mingche, you’ve been by her side this whole time. Did you do something to make her unhappy?" Ying Yaoshi demanded of Yu Mingche.
Yu Mingche remained silent. He’d been replaying everything Ning Xuan had said recently, but he couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary.
Just then, all three of them simultaneously received a letter that Ning Xuan had scheduled to be sent. They quickly finished reading it.
The letter began by telling them she would contact them if needed. It went on to defend Yu Mingche and Lin Mo, informing Ying Yaoshi that her decision had nothing to do with either of them and that he shouldn’t direct his anger toward them.
In the letter, Ning Xuan also asked Yu Mingche and Ying Yaoshi to help Lin Mo conceal the secret of her puppet and keep anyone from getting near it. She explained that she had programmed the puppet body to distinguish whether a patient’s issue was related to spiritual power or a high Mutated Value. It would then administer the appropriate medication for routine treatment. The medicines were all concocted by Ning Xuan herself and were highly effective. The puppet body would be able to perfectly carry out her healing duties in her stead and, under normal circumstances, its true nature wouldn’t be discovered.
As for why Ning Xuan had done this, there was only one reason: she no longer wanted to be limited to healing-related duties. She wanted to join the fight, to see what a Star Domain war was really like, and to improve her overall combat skills.
But under her identity as a Female Controller, no legion would ever allow her on the front lines. Likewise, none of her Contractors, including Yu Mingche, would stand by and let her do something so dangerous.
"What do we do now?" Lin Mo asked, looking at the other two.
"If she wants to go to the front lines, she must be disguised as a man. Tens of thousands of starships pass through the Space Sea Area every day, carrying countless men. If we don’t want to alert anyone with ulterior motives, we can’t conduct a large-scale search. We can only wait," Ying Yaoshi said with a sigh.
"To ensure Ning Xuan’s safety, we have to make everyone believe she is right here at the Second Corps Headquarters Base. Lin Mo, you must maintain the cover story on your end. I’ll arrange for people to assist you immediately. It is imperative that no one with an unknown identity gets near the puppet," Ying Yaoshi stressed.
"I’ll have Chen Nan go over. Chen Nan is also one of Ning Xuan’s Contractors, so he can be trusted. After all, Lin Mo still has his military duties and can’t stay with the puppet at all times. When Lin Mo is occupied, Chen Nan can take his place and stay by the Contractor’s side," Yu Mingche proposed.
"Didn’t we just agree not to let a fourth person in on this?" Ying Yaoshi asked with a frown.
"Only the three of us need to know the full details. But logically speaking, even if Ning Xuan had enlisted, she wouldn’t be without an attendant. So many people have their eyes on her right now. If we’re going to hide the truth, the puppet can’t be left unattended. General Ying can’t go to the second battlefield, and I need to watch over the Central Star Villa. I can stop by occasionally, but I can’t stay for long. Di Youlin, Yun Han, and Lan Xin are all occupied as well. When you think about it, Chen Nan is the most suitable person for the job. Nine-tailed can go with him too," Yu Mingche said.
"Let’s not be too hasty sending him over. Wait a month or two. In the meantime, I’ll start gathering all intelligence from every Star Domain Battlefield. If anything unusual comes up, I’ll share it with you both. We can analyze it together and see if we can find any useful information. To ensure our communications are secure, we’ll need to use an encrypted channel," Ying Yaoshi said to Yu Mingche and Lin Mo.
"I’ll also gather intel on any unusual movements among the major families, monitor public discourse, and collect any useful information. I’ll share anything I find with you both."
The core of their plan was to conceal Ning Xuan’s disappearance, leading everyone to believe she was still at the Second Corps Headquarters. Meanwhile, the three of them would secretly gather intelligence to try and pinpoint her whereabouts.
Once their discussion was over, the three of them cut the connection. At that moment, Ning Xuan was in a cramped cabin. It was furnished with four beds—two sets of bunks—and she was sitting on one of the top ones. The room was dark, damp, and filled with a foul odor. The wretched conditions made Ning Xuan’s brow furrow in disgust. Whenever she’d traveled by starship before, it was always in a clean, spacious, luxurious cabin. She found it difficult to adjust to such a filthy environment.
The starship she had boarded was a troop transport heading to the front lines of an S-Class battlefield. Her current identity had been prepared in advance and would hold up to any scrutiny.
"Hey, you! Scarface!" a horse-faced man yelled, pointing at Ning Xuan while leaning against the doorframe. "Yeah, you. The boss has taken a liking to you. Get down here and make his bed."
Two other men stood with him, leering at Ning Xuan. The horse-faced man’s lecherous gaze lingered on her collar. Ning Xuan’s fingers, which were gripping the corner of her blanket, tightened abruptly. The foul environment had already soured her mood, and now these guys were asking for trouble. With a sudden movement, Ning Xuan vaulted off the bunk and sent the horse-faced man crashing to the floor with a single punch.
The man fell backward, his head hitting the floor with a loud THUD and kicking up a cloud of settled dust.
Before the other two could even react, Ning Xuan lashed out with two swift kicks, knocking them to the ground as well.
Using spiritual power for fights was forbidden on the troop transport, but brawls involving good old-fashioned physical violence were ignored.
Ning Xuan was dressed in the typical style of a young commoner man, with her hair cut short and her chest tightly bound. A black scar, created with Ghost Vine, ran across her entire left cheek, stretching from her brow bone to her jaw. She had also darkened her skin by several shades. She’d looked in the mirror before. ’Even if Yu Mingche and the others were standing right in front of me,’ she thought, ’they wouldn’t recognize me like this.’
The men had seen Ning Xuan’s slight build and never imagined she could be so vicious. Her fists felt harder than steel.
She planted her foot on the horse-faced man’s right hand, grinding down until his knuckles made a sickening CRUNCH. The man howled in agony, his face twitching. "AGH! It hurts! It hurts! Let go!"
"We’re all roommates here! We were just messing with you, just a joke! Don’t overreact!" one of the other men chimed in. "If the disciplinary officers see this, they’ll haul us all in for a lecture. We’ll all be in for it then."
Ning Xuan let out a cold laugh. "A joke? Oh, I love a good joke. Aren’t I joking with you right now?"
She pressed down harder with her foot. "AGHH!" Another squeal, like that of a stuck pig, filled the room.
"Is it funny?" Ning Xuan asked, her voice devoid of warmth.
