VAP - Chapter 122
Chapter 122: The Marshal's Journey is the Sea of Stars (18)
After the meal, a robot came to the door again to clear the tableware and tidy up the table and chairs.
Sheng Xuejiu pulled Yue Du over to the sofa in the small living room, where they sprawled out.
That's right, sprawling.
Speaking of the two of them, they were usually paragons of elegant and proper posture. For Yue Du, it was a necessity from her former profession. As for Sheng Xuejiu, she was accustomed to being a high-ranking military figure and had naturally developed the crisp, dashing aura of a soldier.
However, since it was just the two of them, why bother with all those rules and regulations?
They did whatever was comfortable—slouching, leaning, curling up—and it had a certain lazy beauty to it.
After lounging for a while, Yue Du said, "Let's do the spiritual combing now."
Sheng Xuejiu was more agreeable after filling her stomach. She rubbed the side of her face against Yue Du's waist a couple of times, and only after feeling the other woman's body tremble slightly in response did she reply, "Mm. Let's be clear. Even if we found it wasn't dangerous last time, we can't be careless this time."
Yue Du said, "I know, but I insist that you won't hurt me, not even in an abnormal mental landscape."
Sheng Xuejiu was noncommittal.
Only she herself knew best just how terrifying she could be.
The moment she entered Sheng Xuejiu's mental landscape, Yue Du's delicate brows furrowed.
Compared to her last visit, the landscape was now clearly more aggressive and chaotic.
The colors of the composition had become more glaring and exaggerated. The bloodstains and blurry wreckage on the ancient battlefield seemed to have increased, and even the biting cold wind had intensified by an order of magnitude.
The brightness in the space hadn't changed, however. Yue Du reasonably suspected this was because it simply had no room to get any brighter.
Familiar with the way now, Yue Du crossed the path of seemingly sharp but actually harmless stones and arrived beside the still-pure-white temple.
This time, the cat wasn't there; it was probably outside playing with the white deer. Without that touch of vibrant life, the entire space felt even colder and sharper.
Yue Du placed her fingers on a stone pillar of the temple, feeling the fine, cold texture of the stone, like touching a piece of jade.
She quietly closed her eyes.
The Guide's gentle yet irresistible spiritual energy flowed out from her fingertips. It climbed the stone pillar, swept over the building's dome, and, with the temple as its center, spread out in all directions like transparent ripples of water.
Spiritual combing. To put it simply, it involved using spiritual energy to sort through the chaotic and complex information a Sentinel stored in their mental landscape, discarding the useless and organizing the useful.
This method could effectively suppress a Sentinel's irritable emotions.
But Sheng Xuejiu's situation was different from that of an ordinary Sentinel.
Sheng Xuejiu wouldn't lose control, because her mental landscape wasn't chaotic. It was just that the scene was too bizarre, its aggressiveness astonishingly strong. This filled her own spirit with an irrepressible lust for violence that required battle and blood to alleviate.
Different symptoms naturally required different methods.
The spiritual energy continued to expand, and everything in its path seemed to be covered in a hazy film of water.
After confirming that her spiritual energy had spread to its absolute limit, Yue Du stopped and opened her eyes.
A mental landscape has no boundaries, so it was impossible to cover the entire boundless space with tangible spiritual energy.
Reaching this point was enough.
Well then...
Let's begin.
The ripple-like spiritual energy vibrated slightly. At first glance, it gave the illusion that the entire world was shaking.
Looking more closely, one could see tiny traces of blood being stripped away from the battlefield under the spiritual energy's cover, merging into the ripples, and vanishing without a trace in an instant.
The harsh light seeped into the ripples, and its brightness dimmed slightly.
The biting wind passed through the ripples and was no longer bone-chillingly cold.
Even the sharp-edged stones on the ground seemed to have been worn down a little.
Many other imperceptible things were changing as well, and this silent transformation continued for a long time.
Suddenly, Yue Du's legs gave way, and she nearly collapsed to her knees. Thankfully, the stone pillar was there to support her.
"...This is too draining," Yue Du murmured.
A blood-red glint flashed in her deep amber eyes and quickly disappeared. Her eyes then returned to their gentle and rational appearance.
The spiritual energy was swiftly withdrawn. Yue Du rested for a moment with her eyes half-closed, then stood up straight again.
Looking around, the changes to the landscape weren't obvious, but with a System's perception, she could naturally detect the difference between this world and how it was before.
The aggressiveness had diminished. Directly correlated with that, the host's mental state should have improved considerably.
Yue Du made a final record of the current state, then exited Sheng Xuejiu's mental landscape and returned to reality.
"It was a bit tiring, but it worked."
Facing the Marshal, Yue Du summarized.
As it turned out, Yue Du's decision to eat her fill beforehand was very wise. Mental fatigue affected the body, and mental exertion also led to physical exertion.
The specific manifestation was that the food she had just eaten with such great pleasure now felt as if it had never been there.
Yue Du was hungry again. She was hungry the moment she came out, and so tired she didn't even want to lift a finger.
Sheng Xuejiu ordered the food cart again, had Yue Du lean against her, and fed her bite by bite.
In between bites, Yue Du asked, "Do you still have that irrepressible desire to fight?"
"It's faded."
"Any other feelings? Like weakness, fatigue, low spirits, and so on."
"Does really wanting to bite you count?"
Judging from the host's deliberately suggestive tone, this "bite" was clearly not just a simple bite. Yue Du's face flushed for the first time in a long while. "It doesn't count!"
Sheng Xuejiu said regretfully, "Oh, then I don't have any special feelings."
It was effective, and preliminary deductions suggested no side effects. Yue Du's experiment this time could basically be declared a success.
The method she used was actually to strip away the parts of the landscape thick with violent colors, absorb them into her own spiritual energy, and convert them into system junk to be completely destroyed.
This stuff wasn't considered an impurity, so it couldn't be eliminated. But keeping it was useless, and it could easily lead the host's disposition astray—of course, it was also possible that the host's already warped disposition had given rise to this stuff in the first place.
After all, this was the Wrath of the Tyrant. It was normal for it to spontaneously generate all sorts of inexplicable, irritable states of mind.
For now, the method Yue Du had tried was the most suitable and effective.
However, this matter led to a certain, most direct consequence...
The host had become too lazy to fight the Zerg.
Cadina Star, in the Federal high-ranking officers' conference room.
Admiral Samo said in astonishment, "What did you say?"
His Quantum Beast sat beside him. It was a large, white-furred Samoyed, which was currently gaping with wide eyes, wearing the same expression as its master.
Sheng Xuejiu repeated with rare patience, "It's just as I said. I'm not going this time; I'm staying on Cadina. If the Zerg can't get close, everyone's happy. If the Zerg come knocking, then I'll teach them a lesson."
Admiral Samo: "..."
Weak, pitiful, and helpless.
The main Federation forces were permanently stationed on Cadina Star to defend against Zerg attacks, rarely initiating conflicts.
But on rare occasions, after figuring out the route of a Zerg squad, they would launch a surprise attack, taking out as many as they could.
Just like this time.
Before the meeting, almost everyone had assumed that the Marshal would serve as the commander and main attacker of the assault team.
Mm, although Her Excellency the Marshal was always lazy and hated trouble in her daily life, she was quite proactive on the battlefield.
She usually wouldn't refuse this kind of operation.
But today, she just said she wasn't going...
Sheng Xuejiu lied without batting an eye. "My mental landscape is special, it's not like you don't know. What if it acts up while I'm off-planet?"
The problem is, your landscape has been special for more than a day or two!
Why did you suddenly start caring about it?
Sheng Xuejiu said, "Heh, before I met my dear, I didn't care if I died. But not anymore. Any objections?"
Samo immediately shook his head. "None, none at all."
Then he revealed a slightly goofy smile.
With Sheng Xuejiu not participating in the operation, command would fall to Admiral Samo. He might complain and look flustered, but inwardly, he was eager to give it a try.
What Sentinel didn't crave battle?
Even a seemingly harmless Samoyed—looked forward to biting off the limbs of a giant insect!
The assault squad led by Admiral Samo set out.
An hour later, the assault squad sent back a request for support.
Sheng Xuejiu: "..."
Yue Du: "..."
After a moment of silence, Sheng Xuejiu said disdainfully, "At least he wasn't chased back by a Zerg Queen."
Yue Du said, "Perhaps there are other reasons. Samo is an admiral, after all. It's unlikely he can't even handle a single Zerg Queen."
The Marshal thought about it and agreed, then sighed.
She released the Silver Lion from her spatial button. The enormous mecha stood silently and majestically on the open ground, ready for battle at any moment.
"Coming with me?"
"With pleasure."
Yue Du said, placing her left hand in the host's outstretched palm.
It was Yue Du's first time riding in a mecha, and she was in a miracle of Federation history, the crystallization of high-end military technology—the Silver Lion.
The Silver Lion's cockpit was very spacious. It had two modes, combat and living. The Marshal was currently using the living mode, so the cockpit had become a beautifully decorated and comfortable bedroom with basically everything one could need.
It was worth mentioning that the object that took up the most space here was a large double bed.
It seemed Sheng Xuejiu had spent a good deal of time lazing around here.
The atmosphere inside the cockpit was very relaxed. In this leisurely atmosphere, the Silver Lion flew to the location where the assault squad had sent its distress signal.
The first thing that came into view was Admiral Samo's large white dog mecha, which was struggling in a fight against two Zerg Queens.
That's right, two of them.
The intelligence was wrong. This small Zerg detachment had two Queens. It was just that one of them was a poison-type Zerg, small in size and difficult to distinguish among a pile of ordinary Zerg.
However, no matter how small it was, it was still a Queen.
Samo had already spotted the Silver Lion and hastily sent a communication: "Marshal! I've got them tied down! They're escorting something!"
Sheng Xuejiu said simply, "Received."
"Got them tied down" meant the Queens weren't eager to fight and were trying to slip away.
Queens not eager to fight plus escorting something meant that something was very important.
The chain of logic was flawless.
Sheng Xuejiu paid no more attention to the struggling Samo. She locked onto one of the Queens.
In an instant, a light symbolizing plunder lit up in the Silver Lion's eyes, which were made of metal and special materials.
At the same time, in Yue Du's original world.
Yue Hao was on her way home.
She had just finished her evening class. The sky was already completely dark, but there were quite a few people on the street.
For some reason, Yue Hao remembered what her sister had said before she left, telling her to be careful and even mentioning hiring a bodyguard.
Yue Hao had a somewhat carefree personality, but she knew what was important. Walking alone at night, she always felt a little uneasy.
Maybe I should pack up and move back to the school dorm tomorrow? she thought. My sister isn't here anyway, so I don't need to go home to cook. I can just eat in the cafeteria.
Yue Hao did her best to avoid deserted side streets, but she had to pass by the entrance of a certain alley.
She walked past the alley entrance, and before she had gone far, she heard faint sounds from behind her, seemingly mixed with the sounds of blows and pained gasps.
Yue Hao paused.
Before she could react further, the sounds stopped. Someone walked lazily out of the alley. It was a tall woman, completely shrouded in shadow, her face obscured.
Yue Hao backed away warily.
The person took two steps forward, appearing at the edge of the area illuminated by the streetlight. In just an instant, Yue Hao recognized the face.
It was the girl from her elective class, the one named Qi Jiu.
"Three people, waiting over there. Probably wanted to corner you," Qi Jiu said nonchalantly.
Yue Hao asked, "...Are you talking to me?"
Qi Jiu raised an eyebrow, looking like she didn't really want to bother with her, but still replied, "No, I'm talking to the air."
Okay, so it seemed she was talking to her.
A possibility suddenly occurred to Yue Hao.
She looked left and right, then lowered her voice. "Hey, did my sister send you?"
"Your sister?" Qi Jiu asked.
As if a particularly interesting topic had been brought up, the woman seemed to perk up considerably. The lazy demeanor that made her look like she could fall asleep on the spot instantly vanished.
"So that's how it is," Yue Hao said. "I get it now."
"Get what? Did your sister mention me?"
"She mentioned it vaguely..."
After a brief hesitation, Yue Hao felt she had grasped the truth and said, "My sister said she was going to hire a bodyguard. That's you, right?"
Someone she had never seen before and had no impression of, yet she appeared in her elective class.
She helped her take care of the villains lying in wait.
And she knew her sister.
This person must be the bodyguard her sister mentioned, the kind that protects from the shadows.
Such high-end security... her sister really must be an agent for some secret government department!
"Bodyguard?" Qi Jiu repeated.
She looked thoughtful, then suddenly said, "Right, Xiao Du asked me to come."
Yue Hao was speechless. I actually guessed right?
"More importantly, where does Xiao Du live?" Qi Jiu spun a flawless, casual lie. "She said that since I'm the bodyguard, she's responsible for my room and board."
"Really?" Yue Hao asked.
"What else? What good would it do me to lie to you?"
Yue Hao thought for a long time and believed her.
She led the bodyguard her sister had hired—who seemed to know her sister well, even calling her Xiao Du—back home.
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