Qin Mo keenly sensed the change in her emotions.
As if he had figured something out, he immediately took an ability detector out of his spatial button.
Yunyang placed her hand on it with practiced ease.
She had only just begun the test when Kalunden boarded the starship.
Si Zhao had gone back to the lounge to replenish her mental strength. Seeing Yunyang occupied with some kind of test, Kalunden didn’t disturb her. He gave her a slight bow before striding over to Wu Zhengming.
He slapped a hand onto Wu Zhengming’s shoulder.
Wu Zhengming was an SSS-class ability user, after all. He had detected the scent of the money leopard even before Kalunden boarded the starship, so he had been prepared.
Kalunden didn’t startle him in the slightest. Instead, he turned around and gave Kalunden a light kick.
“You took your sweet time. Hurry up and help me command for a while. If I don’t get a break soon, I’ll become the first commander in Federation history to die of exhaustion.”
Kalunden rolled his eyes.
“Now you know what tired feels like? Weren’t you fighting to come to the Insect Star just a moment ago?”
That was what he said, but Kalunden still quickly synced up with the situation on the battlefield and took over Wu Zhengming’s position.
Wu Zhengming let out a sigh of relief and walked over to sit in the lounge area where Yunyang was.
He kept a certain distance from Yunyang, but thanks to his excellent eyesight, he could still clearly see the result displayed on the ability detector.
He could understand the B-class rating. But what was this “unknown ability”?
No, that wasn’t the important part. Lady Yunyang had actually awakened an ability—and had already advanced it to B-class?!
Wu Zhengming stared at Qin Mo in shock. Then, he secretly raised a hand and pointed at Yunyang before pointing at the ability detector.
Qin Mo noticed the gesture and looked at Yunyang questioningly. Only after she nodded did he give Wu Zhengming a confirming nod.
Wu Zhengming became extremely excited.
There were very few female ability users in the Federation. The only one he knew of was the Empress. He never would have imagined that Lady Yunyang had awakened an ability as well!
He simply had no idea what kind of ability it was.
An unknown ability… It was probably an ability that had never been recorded before, right?
Wu Zhengming’s curiosity was written all over his face. He was practically itching to drag Qin Mo aside and ask what kind of ability Yunyang had awakened.
By then, Yunyang had also seen the result, and her brows relaxed completely.
Her Blessing ability had successfully advanced to B-class!
Yunyang couldn’t wait to test the effects of B-class Blessing. As luck would have it, the door to Si Zhao’s lounge opened at that very moment.
Without another thought, Yunyang immediately used her ability on Si Zhao as she stepped out.
Si Zhao felt the change in her ability and halted mid-step, her entire body going rigid.
Yunyang rose and went to meet her, taking Si Zhao’s arm with a smile.
“Sister Zhaozhao, how do you think my Blessing is working now?”
Si Zhao stood dazed for more than ten seconds before suddenly snapping back to reality and pulling Yunyang into a tight embrace.
“Yangyang, you’re a treasure of the Federation.”
“My ability has increased by at least fifty percent!”
Even Si Zhao was stunned by that figure, and Yunyang herself found it hard to believe.
When Blessing had still been C-class, it had increased the abilities of a single S-class ability user by only twenty to twenty-five percent. When used on an SS-class or SSS-class ability user, its effects had been greatly reduced.
It had only advanced from C-class to B-class, yet its effects had actually doubled?
Once Si Zhao released her, Yunyang hurriedly pulled her over to sit on the sofa and asked Fu Shiyi to time the duration.
Every time her ability advanced, the duration of Blessing increased a little.
With such a dramatic increase in its effects this time, could it be that the duration hadn’t increased at all?
As it turned out, Yunyang’s guess had been correct.
Half an hour later, after Si Zhao sent the Federation soldiers whom Yunyang had purified back to the battlefield, the Blessing effect on her came to an end.
She immediately told Yunyang the news.
Yunyang looked at Fu Shiyi, who promptly announced, “Thirty minutes.”
As expected, with such a great increase in Blessing’s effects, its duration had not increased.
Still, the effect could be renewed once it ended, while it could not be stacked. Given the current situation, that was not necessarily a bad thing.
Si Zhao clearly thought the same. Besides, half an hour was more than enough.
She looked once again at the light screen hanging to one side of Yunyang. Butler Four had been lying low inside the underground insect nest the entire time, so the footage was still updating in real time.
At present, two-thirds of the insects were fighting the Federation troops on the surface. With the reinforcements Kalunden had brought, the insects’ advantage in rank was no longer so obvious.
If the Federation wanted to kill the Insect Queen, now was undoubtedly the best opportunity.
Si Zhao lowered her eyes, a look of determination flashing through them.
Soon, she looked up again at Yunyang.
“Yangyang, I want to see the layout of the insect nest.”
“All right.”
Yunyang immediately gave Butler Four an order.
There were fewer insects inside the nest now, greatly reducing the risk of Butler Four being exposed. It could also expand the range of its movements somewhat.
The images on the light screen shifted as Butler Four began moving. Si Zhao watched while committing the layout to memory, all while dividing her attention to monitor the Federation soldiers whose contamination levels had exceeded ninety.
Fortunately, she had always been skilled at multitasking. She managed to purify the Federation soldiers without delay and also memorized the general layout of the insect nest.
Si Zhao calculated the distances in her mind.
With the fifty-percent increase provided by Yangyang’s ability, the distance she could traverse was just enough to reach the Insect Queen’s location.
It might be pushing the limit, but there shouldn’t be any major problem.
The Federation troops were growing bolder with the reinforcements. If she infiltrated the insect nest and killed the Insect Queen now, the insects would surely collapse into disarray.
The operation would be extremely dangerous. If anything went wrong, she might never make it back.
But for the sake of the Federation, she was not afraid to take the risk.
While Wu Zhengming and Kalunden were switching shifts, Si Zhao tugged on Yunyang’s hand and said in a low voice, “Yangyang, use your ability on me later.”
Yunyang had known from the beginning that if the Insect Queen did not show herself, Si Zhao intended to infiltrate the insect nest.
But the only beast husband still accompanying Si Zhao was He Youchuan, and Si Zhao’s spatial ability could not carry anyone else through space. If only the two of them went into the insect nest, it would be far too dangerous.
Yunyang pressed down on Si Zhao’s hand.
“Sister Zhaozhao, how about waiting until the insects retreat? I can control Rose Shadow and go with you.”
When the insects retreated, they would open the entrance leading to the underground insect nest.
If Rose Shadow followed them while cloaked at that moment, the chances of being discovered would be very low.
Si Zhao shook her head.
“Yangyang, the Federation troops don’t have the advantage.”
“And once the insects retreat, the Insect Queen will have more support at her side, making our chances of success even lower.”
Yunyang knew that Si Zhao was right, but selfishly, she couldn’t bear to see Sister Zhaozhao put herself in danger.
Sister Zhaozhao and He Youchuan were unlike Butler Four, which could remain invisible. If they were discovered, the Insect Queen would only need to hold He Youchuan back to easily restrain Sister Zhaozhao.
“Sister Zhaozhao…”
“Yangyang, I didn’t stop you from coming to the Insect Star.” Si Zhao looked at Yunyang seriously. “So I know you won’t stop me either.”
“Don’t worry. My daughter, Si Yanning, is already capable of standing on her own. Even if something happens to me, the Federation won’t fall into chaos.”
Si Yanning was Si Zhao’s only daughter, created by Si Zhao and He Youchuan.
Although she had not yet reached the age to awaken her mental strength, Si Yanning was already capable of helping Si Zhao handle all kinds of affairs with ease.
Yunyang knew that. But emotionally, she couldn’t stand by and watch Sister Zhaozhao take only He Youchuan with her into danger.
Was there some way... to get Sister Zhaozhao to bring a few more people along?
