Jiang Lijin sat in the chair, maintaining her previous posture, motionless. A dull ache pulsed from where her heart lay.
Two overwhelming torrents of emotion—the profound grief buried deep in the original owner's soul, and the shock she herself truly felt—collided in that moment with a thunderous force.
Jiang Lijin closed her eyes, her eye sockets aching with a stinging pain. She clenched her jaw, trying to suppress the swell of feeling, but warm liquid still escaped uncontrollably from the corners of her eyes, sliding down her cheeks to splash against the back of her hand.
This was the first time she had cried since arriving in this world.
Seth watched her thin, trembling shoulders. His own eyes turned red, his throat feeling as if it were stuffed with sand. "A Jin..."
Tianyan and Tianque both changed expressions simultaneously.
Tianyan's usual careless smirk vanished completely. He stepped forward quickly, crouching in front of Jiang Lijin, and gently took her icy-cold fingers in his hand.
"Boss, don't hold it in," Tianyan said softly, his voice carrying a rare tenderness. "If you want to cry, just cry. There's no one else here."
Tianque said nothing. He simply walked silently to her side, knelt down, and pulled a clean black handkerchief from his pocket. His movements were slightly clumsy but incredibly gentle as he wiped the tears from her cheeks.
In his always-cold crimson eyes, barely concealed concern now churned like a storm.
"We're here," Tianque murmured, his voice hoarse yet unshakably firm. "From now on, we'll all be here."
Jiang Lijin took a deep breath of the iron-tinged air and let Tianque finish wiping away her tears.
The warmth from Tianyan's palm flowed into her continuously, driving away the lingering chill. She looked at the twin brothers before her, and that empty corner in her heart seemed to fill with something.
"Alright." Jiang Lijin exhaled a long, foul breath. Her voice was thick with congestion, but she forcibly gathered her emotions. She pulled her hand back, patted Tianyan on the shoulder, and casually ruffled Tianque's white hair. "I'm fine. The past can't be changed. Let's talk about something we can fix now."
She stood up, regaining her usual composure.
"My parents gave their lives so I could survive. I'm not going to spend every day mourning." Jiang Lijin looked directly at Seth. "Let's get to the point. How much longer can the Source Core hold?"
Seth was taken aback. He watched the girl before him, who had so quickly regained her calm, and a flicker of astonishment crossed his eyes before turning into relief. She could still shed tears, but she had already been forged into a sharp blade.
"At most three months," Seth said, gripping the edge of the hibernation pod as he struggled to stand straight. "The Empire drained eighty percent of the Source Core's energy back then. It should have run dry three years ago. Your parents' sacrifice barely maintained the ecological cycle for another three years. But without a new energy injection, depletion is inevitable."
Three months.
Tianque's knuckles bulged as he gripped his sword hilt.
Jiang Lijin tapped her fingers lightly on her knee. "So, either we get back the Source Core stolen by the Empire within three months, or we find a substitute to plug in its place. Right?"
"It's not that simple." Seth shook his head, his voice dry. "The Source Core is alive. It chooses its master. The part the Empire took has long been forcibly decomposed by their Academy's technology and supplied to different regional elites— including the previous Emperor, who probably absorbed a good chunk of it. Even if you could extract all the energy back, it can't be reintegrated."
Seth didn't yet know that the old Emperor was dead.
Xiao Yi's treads ground over the nutrient residue on the floor, producing a sticky sound. It slid over to Jiang Lijin's feet, and its holographic screen lit up with an emoji of a raised hand.
"Report, Host! This butler just ran some calculations." Xiao Yi's mechanical voice echoed through the empty forbidden zone. "The probability of rebuilding the Source Core by blowing up the Empire is zero. But if we're looking for a substitute, this butler has an immature little suggestion."
Jiang Lijin glanced at it. "Spit it out."
Xiao Yi's screen flashed through a complex stream of data, finally locking onto a few photos: Baal, Tinia, Chiron, and also Tianyan and Tianque.
"The Source Core is essentially a high-purity spiritual energy aggregate," Xiao Yi analyzed with great authority. "Host, you are the only 3S-class female. Your spiritual power has absolute purification and soothing properties. And these several partners of yours— all 3S-class males— possess spiritual energy reserves comparable to small stars."
Seth stared at the photos on the screen, his gaze lingering on Chiron's face. His breathing stopped.
"Chiron?" Seth pointed at the screen, his fingers trembling. "My son? You... you've bonded with him?"
Jiang Lijin rubbed her nose and didn't deny it.
"Not just Dean Chiron," Xiao Yi added, stirring up trouble with delight. Its mechanical arm gestured as it introduced each one. "This is Baal, Supreme Commander of the Federal Military. This is Tinia, heir of the interstellar richest family, Yuntan Group. And these two right in front of you, the black-market overlords. They're all Host's legal partners!"
Seth's vision went dark, and he nearly collapsed back into the hibernation pod.
He had slept for ten years, only to wake up and find that the last hope of Blue Star— the daughter of his old friend— hadn't just been bullied by the Empire, but had actually collected the most powerful males across the entire galaxy. And she hadn't even spared his own son.
Tianyan couldn't help but smirk. He stood up, casually slinging an arm around Tianque's shoulder. "Uncle Seth, times have changed. It's our Boss who calls the shots now."
Jiang Lijin ignored their joking around, her focus locked on Xiao Yi. "Tell me the main point. How do we substitute?"
Xiao Yi dismissed the photos and switched to a serious hacker-face. "Host, you can act as the energy hub. Channel the spiritual energy of these several 3S-class males into the ground beneath Guixu. Transform it through your purifying power to reignite the Source Core. Simply put, treat them like high-power charging banks."
Seth snapped back to reality, his brows furrowing into a knot. "Theoretically feasible. But it requires an extremely vast energy transmission network, and the process is incredibly dangerous. The slightest mistake, and not only will your spiritual sea collapse, but those males will be drained dry as well."
"Then it depends on whether they're willing." Jiang Lijin's tone was casual, but her eyes were exceptionally clear.
If it meant their lives, she would never do it. But if it was just borrowing some energy— enough to save Blue Star, to save herself, Tianyan, and Tianque— then this deal was a sure win.
"Uncle Seth." Jiang Lijin changed how she addressed him, walking up to the hibernation pod to face the elder directly. "You rest and recuperate here. Leave everything outside to me."
Jiang Lijin turned and headed out. "Tianyan, contact the Main Star. I want to know the progress from Su Han and Chiron's side."
Tianyan matched her pace, fingers quickly working on his terminal. "Understood. But Boss, Guixu has no Star Network signal..."
"Xiao Yi," Jiang Lijin cut him off.
"Received!" Xiao Yi displayed a signal tower icon, its mechanical arm pointing straight at the dome. "The backdoor the Main Brain left isn't closed yet! This butler will set up an encrypted direct line to the Main Star for you right away!"
