Chapter 248: Yun Sheng’s Spiritual Power... An Abnormal Collapse
Chapter 248: Chapter 248: Yun Sheng’s Spiritual Power... An Abnormal Collapse
Bai Ye stopped in his tracks and slowly turned around, a flicker of surprise in his eyes.
He looked at Si Jin, whose expression was frank and open. There was no hint of reluctance or hostility, only an air of cool indifference.
After a moment of silence, Bai Ye gave a slight nod. "Thank you," he said in a low voice.
He walked over slowly, picked up a bowl and chopsticks, and pulled out a chair on the opposite side to sit down.
Xing Che glanced up at Bai Ye, who was now sitting across from them. He pursed his lips but didn’t say anything.
’Anyway, the more people there were, the more openly he could cling to Yun Sheng. Besides, he wasn’t the one who cooked. Since Si Jin had already given his approval, it wasn’t his place to disagree.’
For once, the meal was surprisingly peaceful.
Perhaps it was because they had been subsisting on nutrient solutions in Zone 10, making a hot meal a rare treat. That, combined with Si Jin’s genuinely superb cooking—savory and flavorful—meant no one was willing to break the peace.
There were no undercurrents, only the subtle sound of bowls and chopsticks clinking, and the faint aroma of food filling the room.
A moment later, the four of them finished their meal, stood up together, and walked toward the spiritual power detection pod on the second floor of the aircraft.
The detection pod was located in the rear of the aircraft. It was a sleek, silver-white machine with a high-tech aesthetic—the latest military-grade model from the Star Alliance, boasting top-tier airtightness and precision.
Bai Ye stepped forward to the control panel, entered his authorization, and the pod door slowly opened.
"Just go in and lie down. Relax your mind, don’t resist."
Yun Sheng nodded, lay down in the detection pod, and closed her eyes.
The transparent pod door slowly closed. The instrument started up, and a pale blue spiritual power scanning beam enveloped her.
At first, everything was normal, and the data on the panel pulsed steadily.
But a few seconds later, the values on the instrument panel suddenly skyrocketed. The spiritual power curve shot past the warning line, and a sharp alarm blared!
"BEEP... BEEP BEEP!! Spiritual power overload... Warning! Spiritual power overload!"
A glaring red light instantly filled the entire cabin.
Yun Sheng’s body suddenly tensed, her brows furrowed tightly, as if she was enduring immense pain. A suppressed groan escaped her throat.
"Yun Sheng!"
The faces of the three men changed simultaneously.
Xing Che was the first to explode. He whipped his head around and grabbed Bai Ye by the collar, his eyes filled with rage and panic.
"What did you do?!"
Though Xing Che yanked his collar tight, Bai Ye didn’t struggle. His face was terrifyingly grim, his eyes locked on Yun Sheng in the pod. His voice was cold and hard.
"I didn’t."
"If it wasn’t you, then who was it?!"
Xing Che’s eyes were practically splitting with fury, his grip threatening to crush the man’s throat.
Just then, Si Jin took a step forward and, with a cold face, yanked Xing Che away.
His face was glacial, his aura terrifying. "Let him go. Bai Ye wouldn’t stoop to such tricks."
Xing Che whipped his head around. "You trust him?"
"I trust his character," Si Jin said, his gaze sharp and cold, but exceptionally firm. "He and I have fought countless times. He’s proud, but he has a bottom line. He wouldn’t do something so despicable, and he certainly wouldn’t tamper with Yun Sheng’s safety."
’Bai Ye might try to arrest him for becoming a Dark Sentinel and a Star Alliance fugitive, but Si Jin could see Bai Ye’s character and his genuine feelings for Yun Sheng clearly.’
’He would never do something that could harm Yun Sheng!’
Xing Che’s fist froze in mid-air. He gritted his teeth, about to say something, when another suppressed, pained whimper came from the detection pod.
Cold sweat continuously beaded on Yun Sheng’s forehead, and her body began to tremble uncontrollably. Her face was frighteningly pale.
Xing Che instantly forgot about questioning Bai Ye and rushed to the pod door, his palms slamming against the cold wall.
"Shengsheng, hang on! I’ll get you out right now!"
His eyes were red, and his fingertips were already reaching for the emergency lock on the door, about to forcibly dismantle it.
"Don’t move! Forcing the door open will trigger a spiritual power backlash!" Si Jin’s voice was urgent and deep, like a bucket of cold water poured over his head.
Xing Che’s hand froze in mid-air, the veins on his temples throbbing, but ultimately, he didn’t dare to move.
At this point, Bai Ye had already strode to the control console, his fingertips flying across the panel as he entered a series of passcodes.
The data on the screen jumped wildly, the blue light inside the pod grew dimmer, and the instrument’s alarm was piercingly shrill.
Si Jin stood by the pod, his palm pressed against the transparent wall. His gaze was locked on Yun Sheng, his entire being exuding a biting chill, yet he maintained a final sliver of calm.
’He knew that any panic now could get her killed.’
But the instrument’s alarm continued to shriek madly, the red light blinding.
Inside the pod, Yun Sheng’s face grew paler and paler. Her brows were knitted tightly, her breathing rapid and faint. Her spiritual power fluctuations were like an out-of-control tsunami, rampaging inside the detection pod.
"Ugh..."
After a small, pained whimper, her body convulsed once, and she passed out completely.
"Yun Sheng!"
The three men cried out in unison.
Bai Ye’s heart sank. He quickly activated the sedative release program as the detection pod’s spiritual power was cut off.
"BEEEEEEP..."
After one long tone, the alarm finally stopped.
The pod door slowly slid open to the sides.
Si Jin and Xing Che rushed forward at almost the exact same moment.
"Yun Sheng!"
"Shengsheng!"
Yun Sheng was curled up inside, her face ashen. Her forehead was slick with cold sweat, her lips had a purplish tint, and her entire body seemed to have been hollowed out, lying limply in the detection pod.
No matter how they called her, she didn’t react. Not even an eyelash flickered.
A chaotic spiritual power lingered around her body, as if it had been churned up by something, or as if she herself were desperately contracting in self-defense, shutting out everything from the outside world.
Si Jin’s heart tightened. He cautiously extended a wisp of his spiritual power. The moment it touched Yun Sheng’s aura, his expression changed drastically.
’Too chaotic...’
’It’s a chaotic mess, like threads ripped apart by a hurricane. He couldn’t find the source, and he didn’t dare probe any deeper, afraid that one wrong move would trigger an even more violent backlash.’
He quickly withdrew his spiritual power, a bone-chilling cold in his eyes.
Xing Che also immediately tried to use his own spiritual power to soothe her, but the moment he made contact, he was repelled by the violent and chaotic fluctuations.
His face was deathly pale, his heart filled with a panic and rage that had no outlet.
Beside them, Bai Ye remained frozen in front of the console.
The screen was a mess of garbled code. Yun Sheng’s spiritual power data had completely collapsed and was entirely unreadable.
His knuckles were clenched tight, his heart ice-cold and so heavy he could barely breathe.
"Bai Ye, what the hell is going on?!"
Si Jin whipped his head to look at him, his eyes terrifying, his expression so awful it looked like he was about to attack.
’Although he was certain Bai Ye wouldn’t resort to sabotage, the accident had happened because of Bai Ye’s suggestion, and it was difficult for him to stay calm and not blame him.’
Xing Che also glared at him furiously, his fists clenching so hard they creaked.
Pinned by two gazes filled with hostility, Bai Ye’s Adam’s apple bobbed. He pressed his lips together firmly, his voice dry and heavy.
"Her spiritual power... has had an abnormal collapse. The previous tests on the Capital Star were all normal. This has never happened before. I... I need time to verify where the problem is."