Exclusive Possession – CH 031

Chapter 31.

I was only momentarily stunned when the explosion occurred.

Almost simultaneously, I felt an immense, invisible force crashing down on me from all directions. A tearing, bone-crushing pain assaulted my entire body; I had a burning sensation in my chest and a metallic taste in my throat, and I vomited a mouthful of blood. My entire mask instantly became a sticky, crimson stain, and my face was splattered with blood.

“Miss—” I heard Adop and the others exclaim in surprise. At the same time, my blurry vision was filled with silver light, and the suffocating feeling of faster-than-light jumping hit me. Everything went black before my eyes, and I lost consciousness.

I did not know if I was unconscious or asleep. My head was throbbing with pain, like someone was constantly drilling a sharp awl into it. My whole body was burning hot, and a certain spot on my shoulder was particularly throbbing with pain.

That heat was very familiar; it was Mu Xian’s spiritual energy. It suddenly became incredibly intense, fiercely enveloping and scorching me, leaving me in a state of scorching torment.

“Kill him.”

Just when I was in unbearable pain, a vague and unfamiliar voice popped into my mind.

Who was talking to me? Who did I kill? I tried desperately to hear more clearly, but my head throbbed even more. It was like I was trapped in a painful and bizarre dream, and I was even hallucinating.

“Ah—” I could not help but scream.

“Miss, Miss!” A familiar and anxious voice rang clearly in my ears. I opened my eyes abruptly and saw a round metal head backlit to me, with a thin body crouching by the bed.

“Morlin?”

He nodded, and I breathed a sigh of relief. The pain all over my body seemed to dissipate as I regained consciousness.

I looked around. It was an unfamiliar cabin, and there were only the two of us.

“Where’s this?” I asked. “Where’s Mu Xian?”

When that name came out, the image of his plane crash flashed through my mind, and a sharp pain suddenly gripped my heart. I was momentarily stunned.

Morin replied in a low voice, “This is a space fortress above the wasteland. You’re safe now. When Captain Adop performed the jump, you suddenly vomited blood and fainted. I checked, and you fainted because you were subjected to a certain amount of mental energy impact.”

“It seems the commander’s mental field was also severely shaken when the plane crashed. And you… had a small amount of his mental energy on you, which is why you were affected. You’re alright now.”

A strong tremor in the mental energy field?

I felt a heavy lump in my throat.

Just how intense was the pain he endured at that time that even his mental energy field was severely damaged?

Where was he now?

Morin’s pure red eyes looked a little blank and somewhat repressed.

“They said… to retrieve the wreckage at all costs.”

wreckage……

Does he mean that Mu Xian’s chances of survival were very slim?

My mind went blank. The only sensation I felt was that his spiritual power still enveloped my entire body, and the wound on my shoulder continued to radiate heat.

That feeling was warm and soft; was it the lingering spiritual power of Mu Xian still lingering around me?

“I will take you to the command center,” Morin said in a low voice. “Mop and the fleet’s vice commander instructed that once you wake up, they will send you back to the capital first.”

**

The narrow corridor was brightly lit, bustling with people. Everyone was in a hurry, their faces solemn, and even some burly soldiers had red and swollen eyes, as if they had just been crying.

Morin walked ahead without saying a word, and my mood became increasingly depressed.

Pushing open the door to the command center, one saw several officers sitting in front of computers around the perimeter, while a small group of soldiers stood in the center, watching a floating screen.

The screen was showing footage of Mu Xian’s plane crash—being shot, falling, burning, exploding…

Suddenly, a wet sensation welled up in my eyes, and I lowered my head to look away.

“Miss,” someone called out. I looked up and saw it was Mop.

He was standing among the group of soldiers when he saw me and immediately walked over with a middle-aged man.

“Miss, I’m Fleet Vice Commander Eun.” The middle-aged man was handsome with a calm demeanor, and his voice was gentle and respectful.

Mop looked at me and said softly, “Miss, Vice Commander Eun’s now in command of the fleet.”

I nodded. “Mu… Commander… he…” I took a deep breath. “Is he still alive?”

As soon as I finished speaking, everyone around me seemed to stop what they were doing and silently looked up at me. Only then did I notice that many of them had red eyes.

Vice Commander Eun remained silent for a moment, his eyes seemingly filled with tears, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Please rest assured, we will not give up searching for him.”

My heart sank completely.

***

A dozen minutes later, Mop and Morin accompanied me to the deck, where five fighter jets were already on standby. I saw Adop standing next to the first plane, saluting me.

Mop said, “Miss, the Wasteland’s already in a state of war. I will send someone to take you back to the capital first.”

I was still a little dazed and nodded, “Take care, everyone.”

Morin suddenly choked up: “Miss, if you want to cry, just cry. Do not hold it in.”

I was taken aback. He misunderstood; I did not intend to cry.

I was just… feeling sad inside.

“I’m fine. You all focus on rescuing him.”

“But…” Morin was head hung low. “It’s already exploded…”

“Morlin, shut up.” Mop’s somewhat cold voice rang out. “The wreckage has not been recovered yet, so shut your stinking mouth.” His stiff, expressionless face was devoid of emotion, but his voice was so steady and resolute that it sent a shiver down one’s spine: “So what if the Commander really died in the explosion? We will not give up, and the Empire will not give up. I will go and plead with His Majesty the Emperor to find the Time Clan.”

My heart skipped a beat—the Time Clan? What did that mean?

Morin questioned with a somber tone, “The Time Race? That’s just a legend! It’s not real! A race that can manipulate time and travel through space and time? They do not exist at all. For hundreds of years, no one has ever seen them!”

Mop said coldly, “Even if it takes my entire life, I will find them! I will beg them to take me back to before the explosion and rescue the commander. He will not die. He absolutely will not die!”

Morin looked at him blankly and replied, “Okay, I will go with you to find him and bring him back.”

Looking at their silent faces, I felt a pang of pity.

The Time Clan, a legend?

They were unwilling to accept Mu Xian’s death, so they pinned their hopes on a legend.

But it would be wonderful if we could actually find such a race.

**

The plane flew smoothly through space, and the space fortress and desolate land behind it grew farther and farther away.

I sat alone in the back cabin, staring blankly at the bone blade in my hand.

This was just given to me by Morin. Apparently, after I used it to hurt Kenya last time, Mu Xian did not forget to take it back. Because it “had been inserted into another man’s body,” he did not give it to me again.

And now, it was very likely that it was the only remaining corpse of Mu Xian.

Although I would not cry like others, the thought of his plane crash and our slightly sweet and bittersweet kiss before the accident made my heart feel wet and sinking, filled with a suffocating pain.

Some things had changed. When did it begin?

Logically, I should be able to go back to Earth now that he was dead, but why was I not happy at all? Instead, I was sad.

What was he trying to say when his plane crashed?

I did not know how to play Huayao…

What would you not do? Would you not forget me? Would you not ever come back?

I could still feel his spiritual power emanating from me.

I wonder how long a person’s spirit remains after death? How long would it linger in me?

**

“First jump countdown: 10, 9, 8…” Adop’s voice came, and I simply closed my eyes and stopped thinking about anything.

Because I had just suffered a mental shock, Morin suggested that Adop send me back to the capital in three separate jumps so that I would not be overwhelmed by the energy field from a single jump that was too far away.

A few seconds later, we had arrived in another star system. Adop said, “Miss, rest for a while before making the second jump.”

I did not answer.

I suddenly felt something was wrong.

The warm, enveloping mental energy field seemed to have weakened, and the pain in my shoulder seemed to have eased considerably in an instant.

Could it be that his remaining spiritual energy had already begun to dissipate?

Kill him. The voice echoed in my mind again; only now it was more indistinct.

I was startled and pressed my back against the cabin wall. Who was speaking? Why could I hear them?

The second jump was executed quickly, and we arrived in a snow-white nebula.

“One more jump and we will reach the capital,” Adop said in a deep voice.

“Wait!” I looked up abruptly. “Wait a minute before jumping.”

“…Yes,” Adop agreed, though he seemed puzzled.

I felt something was wrong; there was clearly something wrong with it.

After that jump, my mental energy field suddenly weakened a lot. This made me feel uneasy.

A vague thought flashed through my mind, seemingly a very important one, but I just could not grasp it. What was it?

Adop and the co-pilot waited, puzzled, while the other escort planes hovered silently around us. I took a deep breath to calm myself, trying to figure out what was wrong. My mental energy suddenly weakened twice and jumped twice…

A sudden realization dawned on me—I knew something was wrong!

If the remaining spiritual energy in my body changed over time, it should gradually weaken at a steady pace, instead of suddenly decreasing twice like it had now.

This showed that the weakening of the force field was due to distance—we performed two jumps.

Why?

Why did the force field weaken the farther I was from the wasteland?

Is it because… I was getting further and further away from Mu Xian.

So you could actually sense his presence?

Is it possible… if I follow the direction in which my feeling was stronger, I could find him?

And I’ve never had auditory hallucinations before, so why was I hearing that “kill him” voice in my head? Could this voice be related to his mental field? Could it be… a voice he heard?

So… he was still alive? Someone wants to kill him? He was in danger?

This idea was absurd, yet it inexplicably excited me.

“Adop, can you jump back to where you were just now?” I asked in a trembling voice.

“Huh? Why?” Adop asked in surprise.

“Please jump one more time,” I said slowly.

My guess was quickly confirmed—because when we used two more jumps to return to the wasteland, my strong mental energy returned.

Adopp remained silent and puzzled, awaiting my command.

“Take me to see the deputy commander and Mop,” I said firmly.

**

When I stepped into the command center again, everyone looked at me in surprise. Morin was the first to exclaim, “Miss, you…”

My heart was pounding. In a trembling voice, I told them my findings and speculations, then said, “I think Mu Xian might not be dead yet. I can sense his spiritual energy field. Maybe…maybe I can find him. But we have to be quick, because he seems to be in danger.”

Everyone stared at me in shock. Morin excitedly covered her cheeks, while Mop and Eun fell into deep thought. Afraid they would not believe my feelings, I was about to continue when suddenly, Eun looked up as if startled awake, quickly adjusting the floating image.

We were all watching him. His brows were furrowed, and he seemed puzzled, yet also subtly agitated. After a while, he suddenly paused the image, zoomed in, and stared intently at it.

The image froze at the moment Mu Xian’s plane collided with the enemy ship, his nose just touching the other plane’s fuselage.

“Miss is right.” His voice was slightly breathless. “It’s really possible that the Commander’s not dead.”

His words surprised everyone even more, and many people’s faces lit up with excitement. My heart started racing even faster.

“Miss, come here. You all come here, too.” He pointed to the floating screen in front of him.

“I had been watching the commander’s flight footage because something felt off. I noticed that before the impact, his flight path took some abrupt and irrational turns, unlike his usual flying style. At first, I thought the aircraft was damaged and he could no longer control its flight path properly.”

But what the young lady just said reminded me—I suspect the commander’s impact was precisely calculated! Look here—I’ve seen the structural diagrams of this type of warship. The commander’s impact point was exactly in the warship’s pump compartment. It was a narrow pipe, but it had a very robust fire-resistant coating.

He then switched the screen to show the warship shattered into four or five pieces, pointing to one of them and saying, “Due to its structural design, the entire pump compartment was encased in this piece of wreckage when the explosion occurred. If the commander had made the precise angle of impact and managed to eject from the engine room before the explosion, he and his seat could have crashed into the pump compartment, and he might have survived!”

A hush fell over the room, but I felt a surge of emotion coursing through my chest: “So… you mean, it’s actually possible he’s still alive?”

Eun took a deep breath, calming his slightly agitated tone: “This is almost an impossible maneuver for an ordinary pilot. But if the pilot’s the commander, then it’s possible! If you can sense the commander’s location, Miss, we can take off now!”

“Great!” The surrounding officers erupted in cheers. Eun, Mop, Morin, and many others looked at me expectantly.

I nodded, feeling both excited and nervous, as if I could hear Mu Xian’s whispers before the plane crash again.

Did he say at the time, “Hua Yao, I will not die”?