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Chapter 301: Furball + Stress Test

Xia Fei’s warship came penetrating through an amazing angle, the sharp bow of the ship acting like a keen and sharp knife, a light cut that tore a gap in Li Mo’s stern.

Flames shot out.

Li Guan went leaping up from his seat. His face paled as he stared at the screen, then his one hand went to his chest and massaged it vigorously.

Li Mo was ultimately his son, and he was the first in line to inherit Planet Conglomerate. It would be a great loss to his entire family if something were to happen to him.

The crowd was all petrified.

No one could have guessed that Xia Fei would make such a severe violation of the event rules in front of so many people. If Li Mo were to die as a result of this, Xia Fei would not only be permanently removed from the Golden Finger Cup, there would also be no way for him to escape the legal ramifications.

Xia Fei had a sinister smile on his face. He was not an idiot; he would not openly kill Li Mo. What he wanted was for the latter to pay just a slight price for his actions.

The reason why everyone could see the glow of flames was Xia Fei choosing to cut right into the side of the fuel injection system. When the warship moved, the thrusters would shoot forth two plumes of fire, and due to Xia Fei’s actions, these two flame plumes could no longer be gathered and instead spread out.

It was akin to the relationship between a faucet and a showerhead; the flow of water from a faucet was greater than that of a showerhead. After Xia Fei had damaged Li Mo’s warship, it was no longer able to concentrate its thrust, making the entire ship move awkwardly and slowly, with its speed dropping down to a mere ten percent of its original speed.

The image on the screen neared, and Li Guan only heaved a sigh of relief when he saw that his son’s warship had only lost its propulsion and had not exploded. At least, he was still alive.

Up on the command deck, Xia Fei was all smiles as he lit a cigarette, admiring that glow of wild flames in front of him with great satisfaction. He seemed very pleased with his actions.

Phantom roared with laughter. “Well done! I’ve long since found that twerp irksome, but I’m afraid that the Association of Machinists will ban you from their tournament for life.”

The corners of Xia Fei’s mouth arched to form a smirk. He simply replied, “Do you think I care? So what if I can’t participate in the future? Everything comes with a price; what matters the most is that I’m in a great mood today. I’m eager to see just Li Mo’s look of ill-tempered exasperation.”

Phantom nodded excitedly. “You’re right; seeing the championship fly off when it’s right before his eyes.. That twerp must be so angry that everything is rushing to his head. You’ve really given him a tight slap this time.”

Xia Fei’s eyes were gleaming with icy contempt. “Actually, I wish that I could kill him, but now’s not the time. I must first let him experience devastation and loss.”

“Eh?!” Phantom exclaimed. He turned to stare at Xia Fei’s chest, a curious expression on his face.

Xia Fei felt uneasy being scrutinized like that, so he asked, “What are you looking at?”

“That egg in your bosom. It’s absorbing...” Phantom knitted his eyebrows and said.

“What is it absorbing?” Xia Fei anxiously asked in surprise. That egg that Xia Fei had grabbed from the Blood Matrix was hidden in his bosom. He had not had the chance to find anyone to examine it yet. Now that there were changes to this strange egg, XIa Fei was naturally in shock. After all, he had no idea what sort of creature could be inside it.

Phantom gulped. He had an incredulous look on his face. “That evil energy that you gave off when you attacked Li Mo. That egg is absorbing the evil in you.”

“How did you see that?” Xia Fei’s finger fished for the fluffy egg and placed it on the table. He observed it with his eyes, but he could not see anything.

“I’m a spirit; of course, I can see it,” Phantom answered nonchalantly. “When you sneaked into Li Mo’s home the other time, I noticed that the egg showed some peculiar motions, but I was initially uncertain since it had a very low degree of absorption, but today it’s very obvious; If I’m not mistaken, this egg has grown.”

“He relies on evil energy to grow?” Xia Fei found this hard to believe. There were plenty of strange and fantastical beasts that were being described in the Beast Spirit Codex, yet Xia Fei simply could not think of any beast stated inside that depended on evil energy to incubate no matter how hard he racked his brain. Just what sort of animal was this?

That was when that furry egg on the table suddenly shook.

“Oh, no, it’s going to hatch! You need to use your Beast Spirit Codex to control it if it’s an evil organism and kill it immediately if you can’t control it!” Phantom yelped.

Xia Fei nodded gravely. He pulled out the Lifeseeker Tri-dagger. The unique dagger from the Assassin Sect was extremely sharp and he figured it should be enough to deal with the egg, for such a small creature should not possess too much of a lethal threat.

The fuzzy round ball shook even more vigorously. It was evident that the creature within was struggling desperately, attempting to break out of its cocoon.

Xia Fei watched it with all his concentration, his dagger to the side, ready to take its life at any moment.

Xia Fei and Phantom had both thought it was an egg, so there should be some unknown creature inside it, but they were wrong. It was not an egg because a single red eye grew out from its furry body, then a second eye, and finally a small mouth.

It looked at Xia Fei like a new born baby, its gaze innocent and mischievous. That little ball effortfully waddled to Xia Fei’s side and tried to climb up him, but it unfortunately was too weak, panting heavily after climbing for a few short moments.

Xia Fei and Phantom were speechless. It had absorbed evil energy to grow, yet it actually turned into a cute ball of fur, looking completely innocent and harmless.

Xia Fei hesitated and extended a little finger toward it. Phantom was nervous; what if this little ball of fur bit him? There was no telling whether it had venom or none.

The ball of fur excitedly opened its mouth, extending its small and pink tongue to lick Xia Fei’s finger. Xia Fei felt his fingertips itch a little, and he involuntarily thought back to a mongrel that he had raised a long time ago. That little thing was not at all a threat but was, instead, just a cute ball of fur.

After licking Xia Fei’s finger for some time, the little creature used its own fuzzy body to rub against Xia Fei, as if wanting him to give it a hug.

Xia Fei looked at Phantom, and Phantom looked right back at him. The two did not say a word.The two thought that some ugly monster would appear, so neither had expected that it would actually be a small round ball.

Xia Fei held the creature in his palm and softly asked, “Hey, little guy, just what the hell are you?”

Phantom suggested, “Give him a name.”

Xia Fei muttered, “What should I call this little ball of fur?”

The little creature in his palm suddenly used its tongue to lick XIa Fei’s hand, seemingly very excited.

“Looks like it likes the name furball, so let’s call it Furball,” Xia Fei said with a grin.

Furbal seemed to understand what Xia Fei was saying as it licked his hand furiously once again.

That was when the onboard communicator suddenly had a call coming through. Xia Fei kept Furball into his bosom, and that little creature shook its body a little before going to sleep. As a newborn, it was still very weak, and it needed plenty of sleep to replenish its energy.

“Xia Fei, report to the chief referee’s office immediately. We hope to get a reasonable explanation for today’s incident,” the chief referee, Years of Floating Light, said with a cold face.

Xia Fei nodded. He shut off the screen and got his warship to land.

While he was dealing with Furball, Li Mo had already landed his warship first. There was no way for him to achieve any good result even if he forced himself to carry on with the event after his ship lost its ability to generate propulsion. Besides, it was highly unsafe to pilot a warship into space after its fuel injection system had been damaged.

The moment Xia Fei got off his ship, Li Mo came charging right at him, all enraged, throwing a string of expletives at Xia Fei.

The broadcast had caught this entire scene on video, transmitting it perfectly to every single viewer across the Alliance. Up on the stands, Li Guan sighed as he muttered to himself, “So what if you lost the event? Why must you also lose yourself?”

Standing up, Li Guan left without saying a word. As a member of high society, Li Mo should not have cursed Xia Fei so openly in front of the entire Alliance no matter how angry he was. In Li Guan’s eyes, this entire incident had severely damaged his family’s reputation.

Xia Fei smiled as he cheekily taunted the still fuming Li Mo, “What? Do you want to bite me?”

...

In the chief referee’s office, the screen was showing this year’s Golden Finger Cup’s award ceremony. Li Mo had gotten a third place finish as a result of his retirement from the final event.

Seeing Li Mo stand on the lowest segment of the podium while grinding his teeth, Xia Fei revealed a satisfied smile.He turned his head to the frowning Years of Floating Light, “Esteemed chief referee, I’ve already said all I wish to say; this was definitely an accident. I suddenly lost control of the warship, so what could I do? Besides, I’ve already done all I could to minimize the damage caused to the point that no lives were lost from this terribleness.”

“Then how would you explain that vanguard blade you’ve fitted onto the bow of your ship?”

“I had that fitted because I thought that the organizing committee would be hiding the token in some terrible environment, such that I needed to find a way to break through potential obstructions.”

“Then how would you explain the modification of your ship’s propulsion output tube? You clearly knew that doing so would easily cause your warship to lose balance the instant you accelerated.”

“In order to achieve the greatest speed, I had to take some risks. I didn’t imagine that I would lose control and crash into others so soon.”

“Now you’re just engaging in sophistry.”

No matter how the judges attempted to pester and inquire over the incident, Xia Fei maintained his innocence. There was evidence if Xia Fei admitted to the deed. No one could do anything to him otherwise.

Years of Floating Light waved his hand helplessly. “Fine. you may leave.”

XIa Fei nodded, saying his goodbyes to all the judges before turning around to leave.

“Old Years, how are you going to deal with this matter? Xia Fei most definitely did it on purpose.”

Years of Floating Light gravely remarked, “Strike his name off. Ban him from tournaments forever.”

“Isn’t such a punishment too light?”

Years of Floating Light stared at the man who suggested it. “Then what else can we do? Send Xia Fei to the judicature? We don’t even have any proof.”

......

Xia Fei returned to the living quarters to collect his things. The Golden Finger Cup had already ended, so there was no need for him to stay around anymore.

The people were all shooting Xia Fei unfriendly glances. At the end of the day, the image of Xia Fei’s viciousness was forever captured in the minds of the spectators just from his intention to drag Li Mo down with him after retiring, but none of them had any idea about the animosity between the two.

After storing all his clothes and items into his spatial ring, Xia Fei stroked Furball, which was tucked in his bosom, and left the quarters, only to bump into Constantine, who was leaning against the corner of a wall.

Smiling at Xia Fei, Constantine nodded, “Thanks.”

Xia Fei shook his head. “No need to thank me. I can guarantee that I did not crash into Li Mo for your sake.”

“No matter who you did it for, the fact remains that you’ve really given me a hand this time. You know; if I failed to obtain the championship, I’d have to marry a fat and bearish woman as my wife upon my return. That’s the agreement I have with my father, the king, but because of your actions, I’m free. I can now choose the woman I like, and that is something very important to me,” Constantine explained.

He fished out a black metal badge from his chest pocket and handed it to Xia Fei. “If you ever get the chance, come over to the Blood Candle Kingdom to find me. Drinks are on me. What I gave you is my family’s emblem, with the safest route to the Blood Candle Kingdom recorded in it. Few know of this route.”

Xia Fei nodded. “If I recall correctly, the Blood Candle Kingdom is near the Death Trio Star Region, isn’t it?”

Constantine replied, “It isn’t far.”

Xia Fei chuckled as he kept that badge engraved with the royal emblem. “Perhaps we will really have a chance to meet again.

With that, Xia Fei waved goodbye and left. Constantine strolled over to a window and looked from his high spot, spotting Avril waiting for Xia Fei below.

“Lucky guy, you’ve really helped me greatly this time,” Constantine muttered to himself.

...

Military, secret experimental research facility.

The atmosphere in the place became tense when the redhead Chief of Staff Williams and Chief of Navy Layton arrived on site. Everyone was desperately bustling about, no one wanting to leave a bad impression in front of these two among the famed military triumvirate. Since it was necessary for people to abide by military rules as they were working with them, there was a saying that had privately spread among the masses: ‘Better to provoke the King of Hell than to bother the three wolves.’

The three wolves referred to the staff officers’ department head wolf Williams, the Admiralty’s head wolf Layton, and the king of wolves, which was the number one in charge of the Alliance military, Tai.

The military was like a wolf pack, and Williams, Layton, and Tai were the leaders of this wolf pack. They were the strongest, most cunning, and the most intimidating existence to the enemy. Furthermore, the three men, who had been working together for decades, kept a very good relationship with one another; they coordinated perfectly with one another, and many would compare them to the golden age when Marshal Duris and his son Duris Jr. were in charge.

There were countless officers who came to fame during the long and hard war between the insectoids and the Pan-Human Alliance. The Duris father and son were one such legend; they appeared for the humans in their most dire time of need, leading the fleets until they were just a warp jump away from the insectoids’ territory. The Pan-Human Alliance had never once fought so close to their territory, and that was the closest the military had ever been to the insectoids as well.

Military scientists generally believed that it was unfortunate that the military triumvirate was born during this era of peace, unable to fully exercise their talent in military affairs; otherwise, they might even become renowned generals just like the Duris father-son pair.

Williams and Layton went straight to the laboratory control center, and it was a bespectacled old man, with a head full of white hair, who received them, looking very much the part of a veteran scientist.

“Is Tai here yet?” Layton asked.

The old scientist was startled. He pushed his glasses up the bridge of his nose. “Will Minister Tai be here as well? Why was I not notified of this?”

Layton coughed. “Tai’s whereabouts is a military secret, so how would you be informed? You’d better not mess this up, or else Tai might just eat you alive if he were to get unhappy with you.”

The old scientist immediately became frightened and unsettled hearing Layton say that. Williams lay his arm across the old man’s shoulder as he walked him into the room. “Don’t worry so much. Minister Tai is actually very easy to talk to. Just do as I say and everything’s going to be fine.”

The old man hurriedly nodded his head, completely grateful to Williams.

With the doors closed behind them, Williams took out a box of maple candy and placed two in his mouth. “Layton, what are you being so nervous for? We’re only recommending Tai the energy-shield booster; whether he ends up using it or not is his problem.”

Layton furrowed his brows. “Well, the effect that the energy-shield boosters grants needs not be said, but it’s too bad that Quantum Holdings is small in scale; I’m afraid it won’t have the capabilities to provide the products for the entire military. Tai is from a conservative military family, so he may have a very hard time agreeing to include such a small and nameless company as an A-list supplier of the Alliance military.”

Williams was nonplussed. “Then what are you so anxious for? Worst-case scenario, we won’t be using it on our ships.”

Layton sighed. “To think you’re someone who leads men. The energy-shield booster is like an exceptional soldier in itself, so why would any commander not want to recruit the best troops for themselves? Won’t you be anxious too if you are to watch as a good soldier get recruited into another army?”

Williams chuckled. “So that’s what you’re worried about. While it’s true that Tai is quite the traditionalist, he isn’t the sort who is deathly rigid to change. As long as something’s good enough, I do believe that Tai will still consider it. Even if Quantum Holdings is small and doesn’t have any experience providing any products to the military, the quality of its product can’t be denied. Besides, even if Tai doesn’t designate Quantum Holdings as an A-list supplier, it can still be a C-list supplier, supplying for a local navy in small batches.”

Layton pouted. “I would of course want the main fleet to have first dibs of something good. What’s the use of giving it to some local army?”

Saying this, that was when a big black burly man came storming in the room.

The man was muscular, his broad jaw seemingly cast from steel, prominent cheekbones and a pair of sharp eyes which shone with determination. His pure wool uniform had six shiny golden stars, which denoted his unique position in the military. He was the only six-star general in the entire Pan-Human Alliance, Tai.

Because they were currently in an era of peace, no one had the rank of marshall in the Alliance, which meant that the highest post in the entire military was a six-star general.

Tai took off his cap and revealed his dome of silvery hair. They were like steel needles, straight and spiky, similar to rows of guards standing straight. This was also why Tai had another nickname: the silver-haired general.

Tidying his uniform a bit, Tai sat down right in the center of the room and asked in a deep voice, “What is it that you want to show me in person?”

The usually carefree Layton turned extremely serious when he saw Tai, while Williams was still his smiling self.

“Layton and I have discovered really decent equipment called the energy-shield booster. It’s able to increase a ship’s defensive value by thirty percent. If four of these shield boosters are used to form a defensive array, it’s even able to bump that up to seventy percent,” Williams smiled as he explained, pulling out the information data that he had already prepared from his briefcase and handed it over to Tai.

Tai was slightly startled, taking the documents over and giving them a quick scan as he asked, “Isn’t there a like demonstration? I’ll take a look at these while it happens.”

Strict and vigorous was Tai’s unique characteristic. Rarely would he ever do just one thing. Even when he was having his meal, he would also have the habit of reading reports. He even enjoyed doing combat simulations while he was in the shower.

Williams nodded and used the intercom to give the order to start the experiment.

The control center had a large full length glass window for them to watch the first test area. Tai held the document in hand as he walked over, saying, “The parameters are good. Have you done a level-5 stress test yet?”

Williams’ expression changed almost instantly as he exclaimed, “Tai! You wish to put the energy-shield booster through a level 5 stress test? Isn’t that a little too harsh?”