The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

If Jiang Hui hadn’t known for sure that there was no real food to be found in this training ground, she might have assumed, just from Zhou Xiuwen and Huan Xian’s relaxed posture with their tubes of nutrient paste in hand, that they were on a casual camping trip.

She instinctively extended her mental energy to sweep the area around them, rubbing her forehead as she asked, “The sun’s been up for a while now—why didn’t you wake me?”

Though phrased as a question, Jiang Hui’s tone was casual, almost self-reproachful. Zhou Xiuwen had only gotten an hour or so of sleep, and Huan Xian, she wasn’t even sure he’d managed to sleep at all. Meanwhile, she had slept peacefully for over three hours. Here she was, well-rested, while they’d kept watch for her. How could she not feel a little guilty?

“Sleep’s nothing to worry about—we had it covered. You can trust us, right? Everything’s perfectly fine,” Zhou Xiuwen replied with a grin.

“There’s been no activity nearby, and no one’s come by,” Huan Xian said in a flat tone.

Jiang Hui wasn’t sure if he was tired or simply hadn’t slept at all; he looked visibly out of sorts. He wasn’t upset with them, but his expression and demeanor clearly showed something was off.

Today, he didn’t even attempt his usual cheerful, carefree demeanor. His face was solemn and distant, as if lost in thought.

With anyone else, his expression might have seemed like anger over her oversleeping, but Jiang Hui didn’t interpret it that way. She had already glimpsed Huan Xian’s true nature beneath his various masks. Since meeting him, she’d realized that his cheerfulness, playfulness, and friendliness were simply a façade.

The real him rarely showed emotion—a blank, calm presence, almost like an empty page.

Watching Zhou Xiuwen chat comfortably with him without any apparent tension made it clear to Jiang Hui that Huan Xian likely wasn’t harboring any resentment. He was probably just sleep-deprived.

“Yeah, it’s strange,” Zhou Xiuwen added, following Huan Xian’s observation. “Earlier, in the training field, every few steps you’d run into opponents. Even if no one was nearby, you could at least hear some voices in the distance. But now, since we got out here, it’s been silent. It’s like everyone vanished—no sound, no movement at all.”

Both Zhou Xiuwen and Huan Xian had strong mental awareness, but in such an exposed environment, neither dared to let their guard down completely. They both stayed vigilant, ready for any sign of activity around them.

What struck them as particularly odd was that even now, with daylight fully breaking for over an hour, there was still no sign of anyone. The fierce competitors, who’d been battling so intensely just a day before, seemed to have vanished.

This wasn’t something they’d anticipated.

No matter how alert they stayed, they couldn’t keep exhausting themselves over nothing. So, after keeping watch in tense silence for so long, they finally allowed themselves a small amount of rest while still remaining cautious. Saving energy was crucial; who knew what might come next?

And as for Jiang Hui… both Zhou Xiuwen and Huan Xian were well aware of how much she had pushed herself along the way. She’d been relentless, never wavering, even while dragging them through the most challenging moments. They could only imagine how much of her energy had been drained. Feeling guilty, Zhou Xiuwen and Huan Xian decided to let her sleep as long as possible and refrained from waking her until she naturally woke up and climbed down from the high-ground tent.

Hearing their concerns, Jiang Hui found it a bit odd as well. But after thinking it over, she ventured, “Maybe… maybe they’re all sleeping, too?” Zhou Xiuwen and Huan Xian paused, surprised—they hadn’t considered that possibility.

At first, Jiang Hui was just making a casual guess, but as she said it, it started to make more sense.

Really, it had been over twenty hours now, and no one had slept for an entire day and night. Even the toughest person would struggle with that. They needed sleep—so why wouldn’t everyone else need it too?

After the intense battles over resources in the supply field, maybe everyone else just wanted a bit of rest, and so they had all finally stopped moving around for a while.

Jiang Hui thought to herself that this was a rare moment of equilibrium, so she suggested to Huan Xian, “Why don’t you go up and get some rest? I noticed you didn’t sleep at all last night. Right now, nothing’s going on, so Zhou Xiuwen and I can keep watch. You should go up and lie down for at least an hour.”

But Huan Xian shook his head, and though his face remained expressionless, a faint smile suddenly appeared. “No need. Even if I did, I wouldn’t be able to sleep. I should be able to hold out, and honestly, if we all rest up too long before heading out, we’ll lose the advantage of traveling while it’s still quiet.”

Jiang Hui knew he was right, but she couldn’t help worrying about whether he could really go without sleep.

Instead of responding further, Huan Xian shifted his gaze to the pile of firearms beside him, deliberately changing the subject. “So, what are we going to do with these?”

That had been Jiang Hui’s dilemma throughout her watch during the first half of the night.

How should they deal with these supplies?

Their packs were almost full, and they had a limited capacity to carry additional firearms on their bodies. Taking the whole bag of weapons was out of the question. At the same time, leaving them here for others to find didn’t sit well with them either.

It wasn’t a matter of selfishness, but in a competitive situation like this, any resources you leave behind could end up benefiting your opponents, potentially even giving them the means to attack you later. It was harsh, but undeniably true.

However, trying to carry everything would be a burden. They’d have to ditch their own supplies—ammo, nutrition packs, and other essentials—to make room for all the guns, which they might not even end up using. Just thinking it through made it clear that this wasn’t practical.

She had mulled over it for a long time but put it out of her mind once she rested. This morning, she’d probably just avoided thinking about it altogether until Huan Xian brought it up.

Jiang Hui shrugged helplessly. “Well, do you guys have any ideas? We can’t just dig a big pit and bury them, can we?” Admittedly, that might work as a last resort, but it would be labor-intensive. Plus, if a sharp-minded opponent came by, they’d likely find it, making their effort pointless.

Zhou Xiuwen shook his head, indicating he didn’t have a better solution either.

The two naturally turned their gazes toward the person who had raised the question, just in time to see him reach out and untie the knot on the package, revealing the firearms inside.

What was the point of opening it now? Did he actually have a plan? Jiang Hui looked at him with suspicion.