VAP - Chapter 106
Chapter 106: The Federal Marshal's Journey is the Sea of Stars (2)
Needless to say, the only one who could have done this was the room's original owner.
Yue Du's gaze fell beside the pillow, where a silver bracelet lay. It was likely the optical computer bracelet device commonly used in this era.
The interstellar era had a complete information network, so she no longer had to rely on leftover letters and others' evaluations to maintain her disguise, as she had in the previous cultivation world. She only needed to connect to the network to obtain all the information about the original owner.
For some unknown reason, the original owner had turned off the optical computer and all the housekeeping robots. The room was utterly silent; not a single device had been spared.
Yue Du turned on the optical computer and connected to the network.
About three minutes later, she opened her eyes, feeling somewhat conflicted.
The owner of the room was named Yue Yao, and she had just turned eighteen yesterday.
Yue Yao lived on Lanka Star, one of the six satellite planets of the Federation's capital. Her family was well-off; her parents were ordinary people who ran a small company and had never deprived her of any material comforts.
In terms of emotional support, however, "neglect" was the only word to describe it.
They rarely came home, and when they did, they hardly spoke with their daughter. The most common thing they said to her was, "If only you could awaken as a Sentinel or a Guide."
Yue Du: "..."
Were they trying to make their child a shut-in?
Yue Yao grew up in this kind of family atmosphere.
She was usually quiet and taciturn, resistant to interacting with others, but because her family was well-off and she was pretty and delicate-looking, she got by just fine at school.
If there was one thing that made Yue Yao stand out, it was her fanatical, almost pathological, worship of the Federal Marshal, Sheng Xuejiu.
Although Marshal Sheng was synonymous with high risk, inspiring awe and keeping people at a distance, she had no shortage of admirers. These fans had organized the Marshal Sheng Interstellar Fan Club, which primarily gathered on Sheng Xuejiu's personal (and unofficial) website. It had over ten million registered members, and it was rumored that there were even people from the neighboring Empire mixed in.
And Yue Yao was the president of the Lanka Star chapter of the Interstellar Fan Club.
Looking at her posts on the star-net, ninety-nine percent were about Sheng Xuejiu. The other one percent consisted of prayers that she would awaken as a Guide—which, strictly speaking, was also related to Sheng Xuejiu.
Because.
"The Marshal still hasn't found her Guide."
"No Guide is worthy of the Marshal! If I were a Guide... I would have no regrets if I could perform a mental soothing for the Marshal just once, even if I died a minute later!"
Harboring such thoughts, Yue Yao spent every day hoping to awaken.
But just yesterday, she had turned eighteen.
A Guide's awakening period is generally before adulthood, and its duration varies. For someone who shows no signs of awakening before their eighteenth birthday, the chances of a later transformation are less than one in ten million.
Yue Yao spent her birthday alone. Then, at nine o'clock the next morning, she posted a status update on her star-net account: "I did my best. I'm sorry, Marshal."
She then shut down all her networked devices, swallowed a potent poison from the Spiral Star System purchased on the star-net's black market, and quietly committed suicide.
This was the reason for Yue Du's conflicted feelings.
She certainly disapproved of someone who would end their life so rashly, but considering she herself had been recycled as a System after committing suicide, it felt a bit like the pot calling the kettle black...?
Regardless of her thoughts, Yue Yao had already gotten her wish. No one could have saved her; otherwise, Yue Du wouldn't be here.
Yue Du sighed.
On the translucent screen projected by the optical computer, numerous unread messages blinked in the corner. They were all comments left after Yue Yao had posted her farewell.
Some people were confused, while others sensed something was wrong and anxiously urged her not to be impulsive, asking if anyone knew the chapter president's real-life identity.
However, Yue Yao had never revealed her real-life information to anyone she'd met on the star-net, so the question went unanswered.
Someone started tagging the Lanka Star Net Police and calling the police hotline, requesting that they identify the chapter president's address and conduct a rescue as soon as possible.
Just then, Yue Du heard a knock at the door. The optical computer automatically connected to the residence's security system, displaying two pop-up windows.
One was a text notification.
"Reminder, you have a visitor! Identity information is set to public. Confirmed as Lanka Star Police and an emergency responder from Lanka First Medical Center. Grant access?"
The other was a video feed.
It showed a live feed of the scene outside, where a man in a Star Police uniform and a woman in medical attire stood with grim expressions, looking as if they were prepared to break down the door at any moment.
Right. The rescue.
The corner of Yue Du's eye twitched.
Only after repeatedly explaining to the two visitors that her post wasn't a final goodbye, but that she was genuinely just tired of being a fan and "didn't want to love anymore," did they leave, still half-doubting her.
Before leaving, they lectured her not to post such easily misunderstood messages again.
Yue Du said sincerely, "My apologies. It won't happen again."
After seeing them off, Yue Du returned to her room and first posted on the optical computer: "I'm fine, no need to worry."
Having posted that she was safe, she didn't need to reply to anyone for the moment. Yue Du sat on the edge of the bed and began to carefully sort through the details of this world.
At the same time, she waited for the Main System to assign her mission.
An hour later, the mission was assigned.
Just like in the previous two worlds, Yue Du was required to undertake an independent System mission: find the host.
This time, she wasn't forbidden from revealing information about the System and the mission, but there was also no mention of how to bind the host. She didn't know if there was some deeper meaning to this, or if it was simply a matter of familiarity after the first two times.
Yue Du decided to first assess the powers she currently possessed.
It was probably due to the world's restrictions, but in this world, her powerful, lethal abilities were unusable. When she tried to use her Esper Abilities, the most she could do was wash her hands or light a small fire; anything more was impossible.
However, a good deal of her raw physical strength remained. Combined with the information she had acquired, Yue Du had every reason to believe that this world's "Sentinels" were fans of close-quarters combat.
Yue Du needed to attempt to awaken.
This decision was based on two considerations.
On one hand, a natural chasm existed between the Sentinels and Guides of this world and ordinary people. To get close to Sheng Xuejiu, she needed to at least be on equal footing with her. Take Yue Yao, for example: her worship of Sheng Xuejiu was completely fanatical and selfless, yet she had never once met the Marshal in person.
On the other hand, only this world's native power system could be utilized to its full potential here.
Even if she was ultimately found to be an ordinary person, it was better than never having tried at all.
That being said...
The awakening process for Sentinels and Guides was different from what she'd seen in previous worlds. It wasn't triggered by external factors, nor could it be controlled. Instead, the body awakened on its own, usually during adolescence.
But Yue Du's body was already that of an adult!
Even if she could awaken on her own, there was no telling when it would happen. If it took longer than the deadline for her independent mission, she'd be out of luck.
Yue Du fell into deep thought.
Suddenly, an idea popped into her head:
Pretend to be a Sentinel.
It sounded far-fetched, but in practice, it was highly feasible.
The two primary characteristics of a Sentinel were extremely sharp senses and superior physical prowess.
In terms of senses, it was doubtful that even the most elite Sentinel could perceive more than she could.
In terms of physical ability, she was a former Tribulation Transcendence Stage cultivator. Even suppressed by this world's rules, she was more than a match for an ordinary Sentinel.
But there was still one problem: the Quantum Beast.
A Quantum Beast was the materialization of a Sentinel's or Guide's spiritual power, also known as a spiritual body, and it took the form of various animals.
These Quantum Beasts shared characteristics with their masters. They had their own consciousness, and some even exhibited a degree of intelligence.
However, some believed that a Quantum Beast's consciousness originated from its master's subconscious. This theory was widely accepted, though there was no evidence to prove it.
Only Sentinels and Guides could see Quantum Beasts; to ordinary people, they were like a pocket of air, invisible and intangible.
Yue Du didn't sense any animal-like presence nearby, nor could she be sure if the visual enhancements provided by the System could detect them. Perhaps the Silent Watcher could?
She would try it out when she went out later.
About half an hour later.
Yue Du stood on the street, looking around. Within her field of vision, five or six people were being followed by gray, shadowy masses.
They varied in size and shape; these had to be the Quantum Beasts.
No matter how she thought about it, the Quantum Beasts that actual Sentinels and Guides saw couldn't possibly be mere gray shadows.
Yue Du recalled seeing someone on the star-net say their partner's Quantum Beast was incredibly soft, cute, and wonderful to pet. If she claimed to be a Sentinel but could only see shadows, her cover would be blown easily—
Yue Du silently returned home.
It was best to think this through more carefully.
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