Hiranuma Yusho's squad had chased through the wind and snow for half a day before spotting, from a distance, a pack of mutated beasts and mutated plants slaughtering each other on the snow-covered ground. Off to one side, there seemed to be traces of something that had been burned.
"It's definitely the Qilin!"
This kind of trick, using others to do the dirty work, was a tactic they knew all too well.
"Go around them. We keep chasing."
Hiranuma Yusho could see the star beast was visibly agitated and restless, focused only on catching up to the Qilin as quickly as possible. Did they have any idea they'd been spotted?
Li Qin, watching this unfold through his live stream feed, tilted his head slightly. Should he let them meet? Or would it be better to hunt them down one by one?
While he was pondering this, a sudden "knock, knock, knock" came from the door.
"Hello, mental screening."
The voice sounded like it belonged to a young woman. A new person today?
Li Qin momentarily shut down his light-screen and stood, walking over to open the door with a practiced smile already fixed on his face.
"Why so late today?"
The moment he opened the door, Elizabeth sensed something was off. Her screening skills were sharp by now—this person's mental energy was strange.
Dean Xue had told her to trust her instincts... she needed to report this as soon as possible!
Because she was so tense, her right arm trembled violently when he pulled the door open. Li Qin's gaze slowly traveled from her arm up to her face, fully concealed behind the protective suit.
"Switched to a young lady today? What's going on? Where's Old Li from before? You sure you can handle this?"
"Don't worry! She's been properly trained by the Academy of Sciences."
The four soldiers standing beside Elizabeth were also in full protective suits. They answered Li Qin's question while deftly avoiding any mention of Elizabeth's name or her mental power level.
These comrades had been quarantined in the containment center for over two weeks now, which wasn't easy for them. She was one of the few people they got to see each day, so they always exchanged a few brief words.
Elizabeth forced herself to stay calm. According to the dean, these were soldiers who had been on the mission to the unknown nova star, and they'd been in the isolation containment center for half a month. All their scans had come back normal...
Li Qin's gaze lingered on her face shield for a long moment.
"Well then, let's begin."
Elizabeth controlled her breathing, took a step back, and steadied herself.
Li Qin raised an eyebrow, puzzled.
"No scanning device today?"
"...No. I'll do the scan."
"Ah? Looks like this young lady has some serious mental power! Can you screen for bug infestations directly?"
"There's a bit of a malfunction with the scanner. I'm just here to help out."
Elizabeth replied, forcing herself to push through, while more cautiously extending her mental energy toward him. As long as he wasn't high-tier, she could manage... wait, why was there nothing there?
"So when can we leave? The commander-in-chief said today last time, but yesterday he said it would be postponed again. The First Military District is really short-staffed right now..."
"Soon, soon."
Where was the bug hiding? Her mental energy had already swept through the man's entire brain region...
"Oh, well, that's good to hear."
Because the examination was taking too long, the soldiers escorting Elizabeth were starting to sense something off. They looked back and forth between Li Qin and Elizabeth, gripping their rifles tighter. Was something wrong?
Li Qin shifted his weight to his right leg, swapping his stance.
"Is there a problem?"
Elizabeth hesitantly withdrew her mental energy.
"...No."
"Ah, good. Then let's move on to the next person."
The soldiers beside her finally breathed a sigh of relief. They all knew Li Qin—it was tragic enough that he'd lost his teammates in the last operation...
Just as they were about to turn and escort Elizabeth to the next screening subject, Li Qin suddenly lunged forward and grabbed Elizabeth's arm.
"!!!"
"Your voice! Are you Elizabeth from Santorini? I've seen your matches!"
"What are you doing! Let her go!"
"Let go, or I'll shoot. 5, 4..."
The four soldiers didn't hesitate for a second as they raised their rifles and aimed at the dead center of Li Qin's forehead.
Elizabeth's eyes widened in terror as she layered her mental shield as thick as she could. His grip was incredibly strong!
In a panic, she used a binding-release technique to break free from Li Qin's grasp. The four soldiers immediately placed themselves in front of her.
"Li Qin of the First Military District, stop right there! This is your first warning!"
"Are you alright!?"
This young lady was currently the person with the highest mental power in the containment center. What did Li Qin think he was doing?
Elizabeth was still shaken. That man... had he been trying to tear open her protective suit?
Good thing she'd learned a few tricks from Fu Xingyuan, and her binding-release speed was fast enough...
Li Qin, now locked down simultaneously by the mental power and rifles of all four soldiers, naturally dared not make another move. He raised both hands in surrender.
"Sorry, brothers. We're cooped up in here, the only thing we've got to pass the time is watching the military academy league. Got a bit too excited seeing a real person."
He truly hadn't expected a young girl to react so quickly.
"That was impulsive of me. I just really admire your performance in the league..."
"Step back! Get back in your quarantine room!"
One of the soldiers barked.
"Uh... fine."
Li Qin finally retreated back into his room, closing the door behind him with an apologetic expression.
"Let's go."
Elizabeth didn't linger a second longer. She led the four soldiers away at a quick pace. After they walked a short distance, one of them spoke up.
"That's not the direction of the next screening subject's room..."
It wasn't until they were inside the elevator that Elizabeth spoke again.
"Everyone, go through decontamination first. Be thorough—don't miss a single corner. That man has a problem."
That man... Li Qin!?
"He's been infested with a bug too!?"
The four soldiers immediately snapped to attention.
"How is that possible?"
Haven't all his previous scans come back clean? And he just touched Elizabeth! One of the soldiers quickly checked her protective suit.
"He touched you on purpose? Are you okay? Is the suit intact? Any dizziness or confusion?"
Elizabeth tapped open her light-screen and placed a video call to Wen Nanfeng.
"He didn't succeed. I layered my mental shield nice and thick.
There's no larval bug in his brain, but looking at his overall state... I lean more toward what the dean called 'contamination.' In short, that person's mental energy doesn't match who he claims to be."
"...We'll go with you to see the dean."
"Decontamination first."
"Understood."
Back in his quarantine room, Li Qin stood facing the door for a long, still moment.
Hmm. Looks like he'd been found out?
He shrugged his shoulders. Well, this body was about used up anyway. The timing was perfect now.
He turned and walked into the bathroom, took a quick two-minute rinse, and changed into fresh clothes.
Li Qin then walked to the window, keyed a few commands into his light-screen, and yanked the window wide open. The gold in his eyes was nearly spilling out.
"The revolution begins now..."
