The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

“If Huan Xian finds out about this, he’ll definitely scold me into oblivion,” Xierman said with a bitter smile.

Jiang Hui said nothing but extended her mental energy to probe the direction they had come from, attempting to discern Huan Xian and the others’ movements as they left.

In the end, they couldn’t follow Huan Xian’s instructions to split up and escape separately.

As Huan Xian had said, they were a team. In this competition, their fates were intertwined—none of them could escape alone.

Even if the two of them successfully left the danger zone, as long as Huan Xian and the others remained exposed to risk, their squad’s fate would still hang in the balance.

Huan Xian had urged them to flee for two main reasons. First, Jiang Hui’s current poor condition meant she was utterly incapable of withstanding such a fierce encirclement. Second, dispersing the risk was a strategic move. Jiang Hui’s state had already become R186’s biggest liability and weakness. Having her leave was undoubtedly the most effective solution.

The remaining three—Huan Xian, Clarens, and Zhou Xiuwen—were no easy opponents. If they managed to follow Jiang Hui’s memory and locate L11, their peril would be significantly reduced.

Although Jiang Hui was worried about Huan Xian and the others, she could no longer influence or change their situation from a distance. All she could do was trust them.

Her greater concern was her own side. With Xierman dragging along her half-disabled self, even if they temporarily escaped danger, they were still at a severe disadvantage. If the group that had encircled them earlier shifted their focus toward them, the two would be hard-pressed to handle the situation.

No matter how physically capable Xierman was, dragging Jiang Hui meant he couldn’t possibly outrun someone unburdened.

Huan Xian and the others had considered this too, but they had no better solution either. They could only trust Jiang Hui and Xierman to hold their ground.

Thus, Jiang Hui’s final plan was to hide—find a place nearby to stay concealed—and later regroup with Huan Xian and the others at the L11 site.

They couldn’t go far anyway, and her worst fear was soon realized. The group of enemies that had been encircling them earlier appeared to have changed course, now heading toward Jiang Hui and Xierman’s location.

Jiang Hui quickly estimated that if the enemy had truly locked onto them, it wouldn’t take more than ten star-segments for their pursuers to catch up. By then, it would be too late to hide.

Fortunately, as if heaven had lent them a hand, they stumbled upon an area dense with towering trees, many of which reached dozens or even hundreds of meters into the sky. The foliage was lush, the branches densely packed and close together. From below, the canopy wasn’t completely impenetrable, but it made an excellent hiding spot.

Jiang Hui recalled that she and Zhou Xiuwen had previously used the tactic of hiding in trees to launch attacks. The tools they had used for that were still intact, thanks to Jiang Hui’s foresight during her earlier preparations. She now had them readily available.

After a brief discussion, Xierman agreed to Jiang Hui’s plan. Together, they climbed a particularly leafy tree, hiding in its thick canopy. Their spot was well-covered, with multiple tree trunks and branches overlapping in such a way that it was almost impossible to spot them from below.

It really is true that what you fear the most often comes to pass. Jiang Hui had been hoping that the people would simply have chosen the wrong path, one that happened to bring them closer, but the reality was that the group came to a sudden stop right in the middle of the towering woods—they had barely hidden themselves when this happened.

If these people had discovered them… it didn’t seem that way. Jiang Hui had already guessed who the group outside was, and given their nature, if they had discovered Jiang Hui and Xierman, it would be strange if they didn’t act immediately.

But if they hadn’t discovered them… the fact that they had stopped here didn’t seem like they had missed something. Time was precious, and if they hadn’t discovered something, they wouldn’t have wasted time lingering in this spot.

Why don’t they continue moving that way?! There are at least a dozen people over there, isn’t that more tempting than these two unknowns?

Jiang Hui wanted to take a deep breath, but she knew that if she did, everything would be over. So, she had to hold it in, her chest swelling with suppressed breath, before forcing it back down.

Suddenly, the person who had been carrying her and was now protecting her side gently pressed her shoulder. His usually bright eyes were now filled with alertness and a calmness that seemed at odds with his appearance.

A strange wave of energy flowed from his palm, through her shoulder, and spread throughout her body.

This wasn’t a power related to spiritual energy; no, it should be called rhythm.

In an instant, the faint ripples of water hidden in the cold raindrops, the sounds of sand shifting in the wind, the silent pulse of life within the tree trunks, and even the gentle vibration of a falling leaf swaying in the breeze—all the microscopic movements of nature seemed to become perceptible in that moment.

They accepted her, or rather, she accepted them, merging with them, becoming a part of them.

Jiang Hui felt as though she had forgotten how to breathe. Her sense of existence, in tune with the rhythm, grew faint and gradually dissipated, until she felt nothing at all.

In the quiet woods, the two of them silently gazed at each other. Though their eyes still held the same sharpness, their auras and energy had vanished in an instant, blending with the surrounding nature, hidden in the omnipresent air.

The footsteps of the people outside came to a sudden halt, as if they were questioning something.

Jiang Hui and Xierman could feel a powerful, almost tangible spiritual force spreading through the woods. It wasn’t as pervasive as Huan Xian’s, but its presence was incredibly strong. Jiang Hui felt her own spiritual energy, as if provoked, suddenly jolting inside her mind. However, she quickly suppressed it with sheer force.

She couldn’t help but feel relieved that, after more than thirty hours of training, she had learned how to sense her own spiritual energy and made great progress in controlling it. If this had been two days ago, she would likely have been exposed right away.

And then there was Xierman. She never would have expected him to have such a skill. No wonder he had managed to evade the pursuit of the star beasts before, taking a separate path to come find her to save Mace.

The spiritual energy of these uninvited guests swept through the area, scanning over their location twice, making them both break out in a cold sweat. Fortunately, Xierman’s exceptional stealth techniques allowed them to slip by unnoticed. It seemed that, for now, they hadn’t been discovered.

Jiang Hui was certain that the group had sensed them, but they didn’t know exactly where they were, so they kept trying to use their spiritual energy to force them into revealing themselves.

Therefore, they had to endure more than anyone else—endure until the enemy gave up, or until… she couldn’t control herself and counterattacked.

The footsteps grew louder, and she could hear the distinct sound of metal scraping against the guns.

“Click—”