Chapter 30: Anger Unleashed

The living room fell into a sudden silence.

"What do you mean?" Lin Yue gripped Yang Sen’s hand tightly. "Brother Yang Sen, there are more than a dozen of us here. How can you say only one person can leave?"

Someone chimed in anxiously, "I heard Yang Lin say her farm is at the Forestry University. That campus is so huge, there’s no way it can’t fit us all!"

"Brother Yang Sen, you know this safe zone is no different from hell. If we stay here, we’re as good as dead!"

"Before you came back, we heard the broadcast looking for people to move supplies to Liutuo Mountain. The family next door was taken away at gunpoint! Maybe they’ll come for us next!"

"That place is so far away—once they take us out there, it’s no different from being dead!"

The crowd’s emotions spiraled out of control. Yang Sen’s attempts to soothe them were futile, so in a moment of desperation, he pulled Lin Yue out of the room and locked the door behind them.

"She chose you."

Lin Yue’s sobbing ceased, and the complaints she was about to spill died in her throat. "Really?"

"Really. Until she finds the person Sister Miao is looking for, the farm will guarantee your safety, food, and lodging. You’ll be their cook."

Lin Yue wiped her face with the hem of her shirt, her eyes still clouded with hesitation. Did this mean that once they found Lu Qingyun, she would be kicked off the farm?

*Bang! Bang! Bang!*

The people inside, unwilling to give up, pounded relentlessly on the door.

"Yang Sen! Go beg Tang Miao again! Tell her to take all of us!"

"Uncle Yang! I want to go too, boo-hoo! Uncle Yang!"

"Take us all with you!"

Lin Yue grabbed Yang Sen and hurried downstairs. She couldn't wait another second. The woman called Tang Miao had produced flocks of chickens, ducks, and geese at a moment’s notice. The brutes in the safe zone were terrified of her; if she made it to that farm, Lin Yue would be safe. She was sure she would find a way to stay there for good.

Meanwhile, at the farm, Tang Miao began taking inventory. The samples collected by the people from the Red Fire Safe Zone had chaotic, disorganized labels on their various bottles and jars. Tang Miao instructed Zhang Xinxou to take Lin Chaofeng and the others to transcribe the information and re-label everything.

She herself headed to the breeding area, purchasing a large number of chicks, ducklings, and goslings. She reorganized the zones based on different batches to simplify tracking and future sales.

While transcribing the new labels, Zhang Xinxou and her team made a startling discovery and immediately called Tang Miao over.

Hidden among some of the plant samples were small scraps of paper. When unfolded, they bore messages like "Save us" and "SOS." Furthermore, the bottoms of the small plastic jars had been etched with sharp objects, carving out crooked "SOS" marks.

Everywhere a note could be hidden or a mark could be carved, they found something; someone had even torn a piece of fabric and written "SOS" in blood.

The companions were in despair, seizing every opportunity to cry out for help.

Tang Miao paused, her gaze sweeping over the dense cluster of distress signals before she rested her fingertips upon them.

"Ta—Tang Miao, what should we do?" Zhang Xinxou felt a chill run down her spine, her lips trembling.

This sight was more chilling to her than when she had first seen Tang Miao kill someone. Logically, the safe zone was supposed to be a place of safety.

Song Mingchen tightened his face and tossed the scrap of paper aside. "We can’t possibly save them all. If we save one, there will be two. We’ll never finish saving them, and this place isn't a refugee camp."

Lin Chaofeng’s brow furrowed, his expression conflicted as he slowly clenched his hands into fists. Song Mingchen was technically right, but Lin Chaofeng couldn't shake the feeling that hearing such words left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"Discard the samples that had cloth strips in the jars. Keep the rest and continue sorting the labels." With that, Tang Miao turned and walked away.

*Come out.*

[Host, I am here.]

What is going on? What was the result of the application, and when can this be resolved?

[I apologize, Host. Due to interference from forces outside this civilization’s system, your third auxiliary tool, "Steel Refined from Hundred Fires," has been corrupted by psychic energy and has fallen into the hands of Li Yong.]

[The corrupted tool has no side effects on the user himself and grants him special abilities, but it will cause disturbances to the mental state of those around him.]

[The specific manifestations of this interference are the amplification of desire and enslavement. Furthermore, this interference is irreversible.]

It sounded familiar—amplifying people's negative emotions and using mental interference to make others unconsciously fear and obey the wielder of the tool. Tang Miao had seen similar reports in the military dispatches sent back by her mother’s fleet.

[Host, I regret to inform you that the application was not approved by your superiors. The coordinates of the auxiliary tool have been updated in your map. As long as you locate it, you can purify it with your own psychic energy.]

You want me to pay the price for your mistakes?

[I apologize, Host.]

There were not many SSS-level psychics in the interstellar realm, but every one of them held a high position, possessed power and honor, and was revered by the galaxy. Tang Miao was the most unique among them; she possessed maximum-level psychic power but could not go to the front lines to annihilate the Zerg like the others.

There was no shortage of healers in the interstellar realm, and they certainly didn't need her. Moreover, she was the only one in her family to receive the complete inheritance of the Star Tower; as long as her psychic power remained, she could live forever. In other words, in a low-level civilization system, Tang Miao would never truly die.

Anyone with half a brain could see that her starship crash was no accident.

Tang Miao stopped in her tracks, looking at the little ones digging diligently in the large dirt pit, and continued internally:

Since your superiors chose me, they must know who I am. This body is merely a psychic vessel for me in this civilization. If it were destroyed, my psychic energy would dissipate, and my family’s Star Tower would immediately recall me. From the moment I was sent to this civilization, my mother has likely been putting no small amount of pressure on your superiors. If she realizes I have been separated from my vessel, she will never give your superiors a second chance to target me. Tell your superiors: if they want their research to continue, they had better show some sincerity. I will give them exactly one day. If they cannot provide a plan that satisfies me, I can return to the Honor Tower of my family at any time.

[Host, please calm down! I will certainly convey your message exactly as intended.]

Report it word for word.

[Understood!]

To use a living planet as a test site and to design a plot against her, ensuring her psychic energy crossed the galaxy into this body without any loss—this was not something one person or even one family could accomplish. The network of interests behind this experiment was vast. Since they wanted her to risk her life, they had to ensure that her mission process remained free from the interference of forces outside this civilization's system.

"Miaomiao, what's wrong?"

Jiang Nanxing held one of the little ones in his arms while carefully tugging at the corner of Tang Miao’s clothing with his other hand.

Tang Miao pulled her thoughts back, looking down to see the little ones hiding in a hole they had dug in the dirt pit, only their heads poking out as they watched her stealthily.

She had made a mistake. She had forgotten that everyone was now connected to her to some extent through psychic energy; her emotions had a significant impact on them.

The little one reached out a chubby hand, looking wronged, and asked for a hug.

"It’s nothing. I was just lost in thought. Come on out, everyone, and go change your clothes. Our farm is going to welcome a new companion—I’ve hired a new cook."

The dormitory manager, who had been hiding in the distance, jumped up. "Roar!" What about me? Am I being fired?

"Of course not! You’ve been promoted. You’re now responsible for supervising her while she cooks!"