One video, one notice, caused an uproar.
Within ten minutes, the number of news articles on StarNet exploded exponentially.
"S-class Zerg invasion of the Seventh Sub-Star?! Is this something a human should be hearing?"
"I slapped myself and found out I wasn't asleep."
"How could the Zerg ignore the protective shield and invade the planet? Did something go critically wrong with the shield?! Quick, check if the protective shield on the Fourth Sub-Star is okay!"
"Shocking scandal: The vice president of the Spiritist Association on the Seventh Sub-Star is actually a Zerg incubator, a Zerg spy!"
"Wait, are my eyes deceiving me? What absurd thing is the person above saying?"
"The vice president of the Spiritist Association is a Zerg spy? Hahaha, if that could really happen, then why are we even fighting the Zerg? Might as well open the doors and let them in!"
"Upstairs, stop your 'hahaha' and go check the latest government notice. The vice president of the Spiritist Association on the Seventh Sub-Star really is a Zerg spy!"
"Damn, this is a dark joke come to life! What the hell were the Seventh Sub-Star government, military, and the higher-ups of the Spiritist Association doing? Were they all blind?!"
"Wait, didn't you see the time of death at the end of the video? It perfectly matches the time of the Zerg invasion!"
"When I saw Commander Huang, I knew what choice she would make. Sigh, my uncle also refused to retreat back then."
"Wait a minute, check the latest notice. That Chu Ran actually recovered her Spiritual Power using a Divine Fruit!"
"Is your news that slow, upstairs? Anyone with a clue already knew about this a long time ago. But the experimental results were useless, so it wasn't widely reported."
"Yeah, the Federation invested a ton of manpower and resources into researching how to restore destroyed Spiritual Power, but it turned out to be a dead end. But surely some factions have been keeping an eye on her. Commander Huang and the others went to great lengths for Chu Ran, recording that video before their sacrifice."
"No, wait. I have an acquaintance on the Seventh Sub-Star who said that Chu Ran ended up channeling a god, and it was thanks to her that the Zerg invasion was repelled!"
"What?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"
Before this news could spread widely on StarNet, the authorities forcefully banned a large number of accounts.
No matter how astonishing it was that Chu Ran's Spiritual Power had increased to the point where she could channel a god, no faction dared to make a rash move now.
Leaving aside all the previous mess, with the video of Commander Huang and the others before their sacrifice, and the fact that Chu Ran was the greatest contributor to repelling the Zerg invasion, no faction was insane enough to propose using Chu Ran as a research subject.
As for whether that might be possible after the public's attention fades...
Lei Jianguo looked at Chu Ran's latest examination report and smiled with satisfaction.
Spiritual Power assessment: B-class, growing with her physical condition, with a high possibility of continued growth.
As for the god she had channeled, the Central Star Research Institute analyzed the video frame by frame but could not find a power similar to any known god. However, they could confirm that the channeled god was at least S-class.
An unknown S-class god, in a sense, was even more important than the explosive growth of Chu Ran's Spiritual Power.
The Research Institute had long proposed that Chu Ran's Spiritual Power Destruction was a natural outcome, and the subsequent replicated experiments were all human interference. Therefore, there was indeed a very small possibility that Chu Ran's Spiritual Power could increase again.
Of course, no one had anticipated that it would increase to the point of channeling a god.
But this was meaningless for research on restoring Spiritual Power, because the limiting factor was the initial state of Spiritual Power Destruction—it all depended on fate.
"The Central Star Research Institute believes this is very likely a divine system unknown to the Human Federation. They suggest accelerating Chu Ran's physical enhancement to provide more data for studying this unknown divine system."
Lei Jianguo nodded in agreement. The stuff from Central Star was truly good; Chu Ran wouldn't suffer at all using it. As for whether it would be overkill? Currently, there was no other Spiritist who could channel an unknown series of gods, so those guys wouldn't ignore the importance of sustainable development.
"Is the Explorer Association also getting involved?" Lei Jianguo looked at the next page of the report, his expression somewhat complex.
Chang Han was lying on another sickbed and glanced at him. "An Exploration Master died protecting her. How could the Explorer Association just ignore that?"
"You should know that the Explorer Association is much more united than those idiots from the Spiritist Association."
"They're like a pack of wolves; they won't overlook the death of any member."
Chang Han looked out the window and sighed. "They say that at the memorial service five days from now, the Explorer Association will also send high-ranking officials."
Lei Jianguo couldn't keep his smile this time. "I hope they understand what 'the deceased are the greatest' means."
It's not a recent thing that the Explorer Association has a bad relationship with the Federation government and the military. Every high-level meeting tends to end in fights.
Chang Han didn't say anything. He received a message from Chang He, who seemed to have passed the final trial at the Explorer Concentration Camp.
Speaking of closeness, he was now closer to the Explorer Association.
"How's Gao Yuan doing? Has he pulled any tricks?"
"The live stream was turned off." Chang Han yawned.
Hearing this, Lei Jianguo started to pull out his IV needle to get out of bed. "What's that kid up to? Doesn't he want to be under public scrutiny?"
"Chu Ran turned it off herself." Chang Han quickly stopped Lei Jianguo.
Did this guy think he was made of iron? The Spiritual Power test results weren't even out yet, and he was still messing around.
As shrewd as Gao Yuan was, how could he do anything sneaky while he was under the spotlight?
"After she watched that video, she broke down crying and turned off the live stream."
Gao Yuan had been talking to her about a lot of things, but she hadn't listened to a single word.
After the live stream was off, Gao Yuan hoarsely drank water and stared blankly.
Thinking of the list of sacrifices on the Seventh Sub-Star, Lei Jianguo's expression grew heavy. "It's our fault."
If they had discovered the Zerg spies earlier, so many people wouldn't have died.
Chang Han quickly stopped him. "Don't say that in front of the Central Star representatives. Those guys from the Spiritist Association are just looking for someone to blame."
Edwood had made a significant contribution this time but would still face punishment, let alone others.
He thought for a moment and added, "You're all alone, and you've saved up all that private money for nothing. Might as well use it to rebuild Old Street."
Once it's rebuilt, I can move in.
As for the money in his own account, Chang Han counted the digits and decided they all had to be left for Chang He as a reserve fund.
Becoming an Explorer was more expensive than being a Spiritist.
Since the Chang Family didn't have connections in the Explorer Association, they couldn't let him lack money.
He wondered if Chang He would come back this time.
Chang Han opened StarNet—he needed to prepare a few more thick clothes for him.
On the other side, Chu Ran finally calmed down.
Gao Yuan breathed a sigh of relief.
If she had passed out from agitation again, he might as well hang himself.
"Get some good rest. I'll explain the situation to you another day, okay? Be sure to rest well."
The door closed.
Chu Ran hugged her knees and buried her head in her arms, like a grown bird returning to the warm nest of its youth.
Author's note:
None