Chapter 92: Unlucky Wretch
If a person could name themselves, then the former escort ship captain of the Mycroft Expeditionary Force, Ke Lei Le, would unhesitatingly append every lucky word to the end of his name, regardless of how it sounded—like Ke Lei Le·Good Fortune, Ke Lei Le·Lucky Star, Ke Lei Le·Golden Rule, and so on.
But in reality, Ke Lei Le felt that if a person's name truly had a descriptive suffix, his would definitely be Ke Lei Le·Unlucky Wretch.
Because he was truly unlucky.
Waking from a long slumber, his soul trembling slightly, allowing his "self-will" to revive—after being hit by a stray bullet due to bad luck, causing his ship to explode; after having his Soul Abyss Orb knocked away due to bad luck, not being found by the rescue team in time; after drifting deep in the void due to bad luck, and recently falling unconscious as the energy protecting his soul in the Soul Abyss Orb ran out—the first thought in Ke Lei Le's mind upon awakening was gratitude toward fate.
"Thank the God of Luck—if there is one—I'm alive!"
What? Curse fate? No way, no way. When a person is this unlucky and still blames heaven and others, if there truly were a deity governing luck and despair, cursing them would only make things worse. Anyway, praise costs nothing, so a few words wouldn't hurt.
At least he could still wake up now—that was enough for a thousand thanks.
"Wait... where is this?"
However, thinking he had been found by the rescue team and sent back to the Jetram main base for revival, Ke Lei Le felt relaxed at first, but soon realized the situation was different from what he imagined.
"Green... nutrient fluid?"
Opening his stiff, sore eyes, feeling his whole body unresponsive, Ke Lei Le tried to observe his surroundings, but all he could see was a green filter—after a while, he realized it was a layer of green nutrient fluid, and he was inside a large glass tank filled with it.
This was wrong!
Alarms rang in Ke Lei Le's heart. He was a trained soldier of the Expeditionary Force and knew that the revival spring at the main base wasn't green... Well, that wasn't certain—the spring's color depended on the mood of Commander Lord Radcliffe; it could be any color he wanted. But regardless, even if the revival spring were green, he shouldn't be sealed in a tank!
Opening his eyes wider, Ke Lei Le began to adjust to the light here, and his blurry vision gradually cleared. He could now see that he was in a corner of a room. The walls and ceiling were made of white chitinous material, while the floor was silver-gray. The room was filled with various complex biological structures growing from the inner side of the chitin, like tables and chairs. Besides that, Ke Lei Le also noticed that his body, which should have been destroyed, had regenerated—the fact that he could open his eyes and move them was proof.
—He had probably been picked up or captured by some alien civilization.
Due to his training, this possibility quickly surfaced in Ke Lei Le's mind. He also knew this wasn't the time to panic. The most important thing now was to find someone to communicate with—at least they had preserved his soul and helped regenerate his body, which shouldn't be entirely malicious. Even if there was malice, Ke Lei Le knew he couldn't resist, so it was better to try communicating first.
So he struggled to raise his stiff hand and forcefully knocked on the 'glass tank' enclosing him.
Bang bang bang!
The vibration came, and the feel was unexpected. The 'glass' was very sturdy, with a tough texture—more like some special transparent biological material than silicon crystal. The brief knocking made Ke Lei Le feel as if the 'glass' were alive.
Soon, the alien civilization being he was waiting for appeared.
"Awakening pretty fast... I thought it would take at least ten more days." (Alien language)
With a rustling sound of flesh proliferation, an individual gradually 'grew' out in the white chitin room—from Ke Lei Le's perspective, a mass covered in tentacles, like a sea anemone, seeped out from the chitin, then tangled and condensed into a 'solid form' resembling a human.
Though it sounded somewhat disgusting and terrifying, Ke Lei Le's impression wasn't bad. Mainly because the tentacles were all silver-white and translucent, and their tangled shape was orderly, giving an alien yet fluid biological beauty. Since this flesh entity mimicked a human form with flowing tentacle-like hair, it looked more like a female.
"Hmm... not bad. Looks like the recovery is almost complete. My skills have indeed improved again."
The sea anemone-like tentacle creature (hereafter referred to as Sea Anemone) trembled its tentacles, seemingly confirming Ke Lei Le's current condition. It thought for a moment, then directly connected mentally: "How do you feel, Mycroftian? If you feel okay, I'll drain the nutrient fluid."
"Alright... I think."
Ke Lei Le felt pretty good now, aside from a bit of dizziness and the floating sensation from being soaked. So he answered decisively. But soon, when all the nutrient fluid flowed out through the drain and Ke Lei Le, who had been floating, stood on the ground with his real body, he immediately regretted it.
"Pain pain pain pain pain—Damn, why does it hurt so much!!!"
The moment his soles touched the ground, Ke Lei Le felt a piercing pain that ignored all willpower, directly striking his brain and soul. In an instant, this former expeditionary captain, who hadn't even screamed in pain when dying, couldn't bear it and curled up on the ground—but the next moment, an even more intense soul pain forced him to stand up again.
Whether the contact area of the soles or the whole body is larger is a no-brainer for a human; he had no choice but to stand.
At that moment, Sea Anemone extended a tentacle and placed it on Ke Lei Le's shoulder. With this contact point as the source, Ke Lei Le felt the pain begin to dissipate, and all sensations returned to normal.
"Looks like I made a small error during the modulation."
Sea Anemone approached Ke Lei Le, its dozen or so tentacles probing him. Soon, it found the cause and nodded thoughtfully: "I see. Your soul is damaged, and it's incompatible with this new body I created. There's a conflict between flesh and soul. Your prolonged existence in a soul-only form has damaged your soul, causing some poor contact now... But aside from that, there's no major issue. My repair technique is indeed quite good."
—This issue is huge, isn't it?!
Ke Lei Le was shocked. What the alien lifeform said was like 'Although this game character model is wrong, the UI is uncoordinated, the system is full of bugs, and even the ship can fly into the sky while sailing, it's a good game because it can start'—or in other words, 'Although this technique can cause qi deviation, mental confusion, and even dehumanization, it's still a good technique because it can be cultivated.'
How twisted must their worldview be!
"Mycroftians are so fussy."
Ke Lei Le forgot that their communication method was mental contact; their thoughts were their dialogue. His internal complaints were faithfully transmitted to Sea Anemone. In response, Sea Anemone's tentacles trembled, and its mental signal conveyed a feeling of 'cold glance,' then continued: "When each of our young is born, they must endure mana radiation exposure 1,700 times the tolerance of standard carbon-based lifeforms. This radiation can directly tear apart genetic factors. Only individuals who awaken the 'Mana Absorption' talent can survive; those who can't are defective products."
"Just pain from soul-body disharmony, not real damage. It's just an illusion. Learn to adapt, little one."
"...Well, you're not wrong."
What else could Ke Lei Le say? The other party wasn't entirely wrong—it was just pain without real damage; he could just endure it. Though it sounded just like something the Marshal would say.
Ke Lei Le knew that, at least, there was no malice in the other's mental signal. They had indeed saved him and created a new body for him... Setting aside how they did it for now, even if they hadn't taken him, whether the Mycroft rescue team would have found him was uncertain—this was still a debt of gratitude. Ke Lei Le was silent for a moment, then directly bowed and thanked: "Regardless, you saved me, and I am very grateful."
"However, if possible, could you send me back to the star domain of Mycroft civilization? I guarantee that our side will provide a reward that satisfies you, and I will also contribute personally. Also, though it's a bit presumptuous, may I know your name and race? You will gain the friendship of the Mycroft people."
When saying this, Ke Lei Le's attitude was neither humble nor arrogant. From an individual perspective, kneeling to thank would be fine, but he was a soldier of the Mycroft Expeditionary Force—at least Ke Lei Le considered himself so—so he absolutely could not disgrace his race and affiliation.
Even if his attitude was a bit arrogant.
"Quite an arrogant little one."
In response, Sea Anemone showed unexpected disinterest. This tentacle creature, mimicking a human female form, slowly 'sat' on a strangely shaped chitin chair. Its mental fluctuation showed no excitement or ripple, instead exuding a lazy tone: "I saved you not for the friendship of the 'Mycroft people,' nor for my race, but purely for personal desire. As for sending you back, it's not impossible, but recently there seems to be some major chaos within the territory. The border is tightly sealed, and I don't have permission to go out. Unfortunately, that's the case."
Probably because it sat down, the silver-white surface of Sea Anemone's body changed color, turning into a lazy 'beige.' Its mental fluctuation softened: "As for my name and race? Telling you is fine—I am called 'Ai Er Ma,' also known as 'Generic Unit 19090763.' And my race."
At this point, Ai Er Ma's mental fluctuation paused, but then continued somewhat indifferently: "Of course, it's the only species in the 'Amos Royal Court'—the 'Amos People.'"