The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

This classmate, Jiang Hui, was truly a very strange person. Not only did his invincible abilities seem useless in her presence, but the feeling she gave him was also quite peculiar.

The encounter between the two of them started by chance, neither of them expecting it to last long, after all, they didn’t know each other at all.

But one didn’t think too much about it, and the other didn’t expect it either.

Huan Xian had never known that someone could be so quiet in his presence. Not only could he not read any information from Jiang Hui, but she also seemed ‘too’ still.

It wasn’t that she didn’t speak; she would say what needed to be said, and she wasn’t the type to remain silent all the time. Sometimes, she was very quick-witted.

Her stillness was reflected in her overall demeanor: calm, composed, and silent like a mountain, never easily disturbed. When she didn’t make a move, she wouldn’t, but when she did, it was a decisive strike.

Although, with her current strength, it was still far from being able to defeat an enemy with a single blow, there was a faint sense that such a potential was emerging. She spoke little but acted more, often quietly thinking and planning, seeking the optimal path.

In the short time they had worked together, this person had subtly given him a feeling of reliability.

He actually wanted to trust someone—a person who, at first glance, seemed like an ordinary individual who hadn’t gone through much hardship or cruelty. Someone like him… Huan Xian didn’t know whether to laugh at himself for still harboring such illusions or to laugh at his own naivety.

He decided to just watch for now, to wait and see… although he wasn’t sure exactly what he was hoping to see.

Zhou Xiuwen’s appearance was unexpected for him. He hadn’t thought that Jiang Hui would have another teammate, but then again, with Jiang Hui’s abilities, it’s clear that many people would want to collaborate with her. After all, working with this classmate Jiang Hui was truly a pleasant experience.

This classmate named Zhou Xiuwen was quite normal. From him, Huan Xian could read a lot of information. His emotions were shallow, and they changed clearly—he was clearly not someone with deep schemes.

Zhou Xiuwen seemed to have an extremely high level of trust in Jiang Hui, to the point of almost being fully convinced by her.

With Jiang Hui as the link, the three people with different personalities moved in unprecedented harmony, and there were no conflicts along the way.

Though, compared to Jiang Hui, Huan Xian still maintained a somewhat subtle sense of distance toward Zhou Xiuwen.

Just as Huan Xian thought that this status quo would continue, their relationship quickly reached a turning point.

Jiang Hui reacted quickly, and the three of them used an incredibly crude but effective method to survive that water crisis.

However, Huan Xian, who had never taken this competition seriously, went through an extremely brutal experience.

He never knew that his ability could backfire on him, causing him to suffer a terrifying sensation as if being submerged.

For someone who didn’t know how to swim, the horror of drowning lies in the deadly suffocation, in the helplessness of struggling, in the pain of water rushing into the mouth and ears under high-pressure currents.

But for Huan Xian, in addition to all of the above, he was forced into a situation where he was trapped in an energy wave, like a net of water, tangled with various mixed energies and information. It was as if countless invisible hands were forcing multiple streams of power into his mind. It was all-encompassing and agonizing.

In his short life of just over ten years, Huan Xian had never experienced anything so terrifying and painful.

He was in so much pain that he couldn’t help but let out a low moan, which, in turn, caused the water to rush into his throat, bringing another kind of sensory pain—equivalent to a vicious cycle.

He didn’t know how long it had been, nor how much longer he could endure.

In the blur, Huan Xian could only feel a force around his waist, gently pulling him, preventing him from drifting away with the immense impact of the water.

A vague figure floated not far from him, its limbs constantly moving, just as powerless as he was, drifting helplessly in the water.

The figure gradually drifted closer, coming nearer and nearer, but at that moment, Huan Xian had no energy to discern the other’s intentions.

He stared blankly at the figure, vaguely sensing an undeniable fear and a shallow sense of worry emanating from the person.

“Do you need help?” In the chaos, Huan Xian heard the person ask.

In the end, all difficulties could be endured. After finally escaping the water disaster, Huan Xian saw Zhou Xiuwen give him a look while carrying Jiang Hui on his back. For a moment, he couldn’t quite describe what he felt.

Though he knew that Zhou Xiuwen probably had other considerations in not saying anything to Jiang Hui, the fact remained that the other person had helped him.

This was also a… strange person.

Their situation didn’t improve after that. They were pushed forward by the ever-changing environment, and the three of them, who had been getting along so well just moments ago, were now thoroughly disheveled from the ordeal.

Jiang Hui’s caution, resourcefulness, and strategic oversight, Zhou Xiuwen’s attentiveness, cooperation, and silent assistance—Huan Xian found himself becoming somewhat of a burden to the team. This was something he had never imagined.

Of course, he hadn’t expected that he would, unknowingly, become so deeply involved in this competition, willingly moving forward with his newly formed teammates.

—These were his teammates.

Huan Xian suddenly recalled the conversation he had with his class adviser, Min Hao, two weeks ago. At the time, the adviser had just learned about his special abilities.

He had thought that once Min Hao found out, he might encourage him to endure or keep a low profile, as that had been the advice given to him by the military.

But Min Hao had sought him out only to ask about the situation at the time. After learning that he had been the one who passively caused the trouble, the adviser had calmly reassured him and told him that he hadn’t done anything wrong in the fight. The students who had violated the rules would be appropriately punished.

Until the end of the conversation, the adviser never offered any opinions or comments on his abilities, focusing solely on the matter at hand.

It was clear that this teacher wasn’t particularly skilled at heart-to-heart talks, but his heart was just and fair.

However, he ultimately had no intention of intervening in the fundamental conflict between Huan Xian and his classmates. He had considered the situation from Huan Xian’s perspective, as well as from the perspective of the other students. The adviser understood the situation had two sides, and he knew he couldn’t intervene or resolve it.

Huan Xian should have been grateful because his class adviser was such a fair and open-minded teacher, but instead, this made him feel a strange sense of distance from the world, further alienating him from warmth and people.

Why? Why was he being treated this way? A small voice inside Huan Xian’s heart asked him.

“Perhaps others fear your power, but you should never fear yourself,” the adviser had said to him in the end.

Huan Xian paused for a moment, then turned and walked away without looking back.

Looking back now, Huan Xian vaguely understood.

It turned out that there were people who were not afraid of his abilities, and he wasn’t destined to be feared. Ultimately, there were those who were willing to accept and protect him. Suddenly, Huan Xian felt an urgent desire to use this power to protect his teammates.

He wanted to win, to gain the glory he deserved in this competition—together with his teammates, in his own way.

—————

Note: Everyone, please don’t rush the romance. It’s temporarily unavailable, as the emotional development in this story is not the main focus. Jiang Hui still has her long journey through middle school, university, and a distant period of achieving success—before reaching the peak (which might happen). So, it’s a long way to go.