The nurse earnestly twisted open the cap of the nutrient supplement, then carefully poured the nutrient liquid into a glass bowl. The light blue liquid flowed like ocean water, dreamlike yet foul-tasting. Chu Ran stared at the bowl an arm's length away, sniffed, and still caught the smell of a month-old athlete's sock.
"I have a suggestion," Chu Ran said numbly. "If..."
"If you drink this nutrient supplement worth ten thousand credits," the nurse interjected deftly, cautiously placing the glass bowl on the small tray table, "then you only need to drink it for five more days. But if you spill even half a drop, you'll have to drink it for fifteen more days."
Chu Ran choked, staring at the bowl before her with deep resentment.
"Drink up," the nurse said gently, like the wolf grandmother in a fairy tale. "You wouldn't want Dr. Sun to come crying with a pile of data sheets about his research funds being completely wiped out, would you?"
"I think academics shouldn't have a gambler's mentality," Chu Ran said woodenly. "If you lose a bet, you cut your losses in time."
"You've already said that to Dr. Sun thirty-nine times," the nurse interrupted with a smile, "but Dr. Sun still wants to gamble one more time."
Chu Ran's face twisted slightly, unable to help recalling the inhumane mental bombardment she'd suffered after waking up a month ago.
"Do you know how many people suffer from Spiritual Power Destruction every year?" Dr. Sun had been excited, spittle flying, pointing at the presentation he'd stayed up all night making, weeping as he spoke. "No fewer than a hundred! In the three hundred and fifty-two years since the Federation was founded, no fewer than thirty thousand people have suffered Spiritual Power Destruction, seventy percent from the military, twenty-five percent from Explorers. Most importantly, among them are over a thousand elite with S-rank Spiritual Power!"
"No one has recovered through medical treatment, not even after taking a Divine Fruit. The only person who recovered their Spiritual Power allegedly stumbled into the Divine Ruins!"
"Two hundred years ago, Central Medical College even made restoring damaged Spiritual Power the top priority among major research topics! Over the years, the Federation's major families and institutions have invested enormous manpower and resources into researching Spiritual Power Destruction!"
"The day after your test results came out, a Central Star starship landed on the Seventh Star. My humble clinic was nearly raided," Dr. Sun had gripped Chu Ran's hands tightly, tears streaming. "If I hadn't acted decisively and invited Professor Hu to intervene, it's hard to say where you'd be now."
"You can't count on the Chu Family," Dr. Sun had gritted his teeth. "The moment they found out, your bastard father used every channel to pressure me into taking you away, without any regard for your frail condition. It was I who argued forcefully, risking myself, defying power, that kept the Chu Family at bay!"
Dr. Sun paused, ultimately unable to be dishonest. "Of course, your mother also played a part."
The descendant of a second-class martyr not only failed to receive proper care but ended up in the Garbage Dump and nearly died at the hands of the Zerg—this was essentially slapping the military in the face. More importantly, this martyr's descendant had managed to invoke a spirit despite her damaged Spiritual Power. The Chu Family had destroyed a genius!
It was said that when the military representative from Central Star learned of this, he gave the Seventh Sub-Star Corps Commander a thorough dressing-down and couldn't control his temper, kicking Chu Heng, who had come to explain, flying.
With the backing of Professor Hu, a former three-term dean of Central Medical College, and pressure from the military and the Andrew Family, the Federation government did not take coercive measures, but urgently dispatched dozens of experts to the Seventh Star.
In just ten days, the expert team analyzed the reason Chu Ran was able to recover her Spiritual Power using the Divine Fruit: complete destruction of brain neurons. Previously, patients with Spiritual Power Destruction had no more than fifty percent neuron damage. When brain neuron damage reached one hundred percent, the Divine Fruit would rebuild the neurons. Put simply, she grew a new brain.
To prove this conclusion, the Federation conducted experiments on complete brain neuron destruction and Divine Fruit repair in Blackstone Prison. The results matched, but they were of little practical value. Artificially inducing complete brain neuron destruction without harming other parts was extremely difficult. To create patients with complete brain neuron destruction, Blackstone Prison emptied the lower cells. The final three experimental subjects, after taking the Divine Fruit, had their Spiritual Power permanently stuck at F-rank.
Federation Spiritual Power had nine ranks, with SSS being the highest and F the lowest. Giving a Divine Fruit to an ordinary person could create a genius. Giving a Divine Fruit to someone with Spiritual Power Destruction, even if successful, would result in a failure. Within a few days, the Federation halted sixty percent of Spiritual Power Destruction research projects. Thirty thousand people was a large number, yet small. Dr. Sun's project was one of those halted. But Dr. Sun didn't give up; he insisted on using the remaining research funds to complete the project. Chu Ran faced even more gossip.
"What a pity. She could drive off a C-rank Zerg, so the spirit she invoked must have been high-level. She could have had a bright future."
"And then recovering her Spiritual Power—she was in the spotlight, but now most projects have been halted."
"It shows she was never destined for it! What are you looking at me for? Am I wrong? She was probably born with high Spiritual Power, but tests showed only E-rank. Then, at the critical moment of life and death, she unleashed her potential, only to have her Spiritual Power destroyed. She used a Divine Fruit and became the first to recover her Spiritual Power, but it's permanently stuck at F-rank."
"Hey, a life of ups and downs, only to return to F-rank."
"Shut your foul mouth! It's not her fault! He Yi once helped you!"
"Alright, it's good that she survived."
"Yeah, the Garbage Dump was cleaned out again this time; she's already lucky."
These comments were eventually suppressed by the military, quietly fading away like the Zerg invasion of the Garbage Dump and the Chu Family's shady dealings. Dr. Sun's project funds increased a bit.
Thinking of the chaos of the past month, the nurse's tone softened. "Not many days left. Hang in there!"
"I recall that Professor Hu is very open to accepting others' opinions," Chu Ran struggled.
The nurse looked at her with pity. "Professor Hu has always believed that when it comes to one hundred percent efficacy, color, taste, and even price are insignificant."
"Drink up."
She spoke the coldest words in the gentlest tone.
Chu Ran took a deep breath, picked up the glass bowl, and downed it in one gulp. The sour, stinky smell of sweaty socks jumped around her mouth. Chu Ran felt like a pickled dead fish. ...Ugh. Chu Ran quickly covered her mouth—not a single drop could come out.
The nurse took an orange-flavored candy from her pocket and handed it over. "You can have this in ten minutes."
Chu Ran covered her mouth with one hand while taking the orange candy with the other, her eyes half-closed, devoid of desire or ambition, as if she could ascend to heaven at any moment. Fortunately, before she passed out, Dr. Sun's excited voice came. "Little Chu Ran, your Spiritual Power rank has reached E-rank!"
Chu Ran's eyes snapped open.
Dr. Sun's face was full of joy. As he walked into the ward, he couldn't help doing a little spin, his white coat flaring open like a blooming flower. "Hard work pays off!" Though Chu Ran's Spiritual Power rank was just barely touching E-rank, it was still a great improvement.
Chu Ran quickly calmed down. It was likely because her Spiritual Power destruction wasn't artificially caused. Seeing Dr. Sun and the nurse's happy expressions, she didn't say anything to dampen their spirits.
After a moment, Chu Ran asked, "Has the military found out who drugged me?"
"According to the military," Dr. Sun said, his expression turning serious, "it was a chef from the Chu Family. But when the military went to arrest him, they found he had committed suicide."
"It must be the Chu Family silencing him!" the nurse said angrily.
Dr. Sun didn't respond. The Chu Family had covered their tracks too well; the military found no other evidence.
"I understand," Chu Ran said, not surprised by this outcome.
Dr. Sun patted her shoulder. This was something she had to come to terms with on her own.
"By the way, before Chang He left, he wanted to see you."
Chu Ran was slightly surprised. "Where is he going?"
"He's going to become an Explorer," Dr. Sun said with some emotion.
Chu Ran was silent for a moment. "I owe him."
Through StarNet, she had learned about the state of the world she was in. According to StarNet records, the struggle between humans and the Zerg had lasted over five hundred years. No one knew who the original masters of this star system were, but everyone knew that humans and the Zerg would never coexist peacefully. The Zerg didn't eat humans, but the Zerg Beasts they raised could evolve into low-rank Zerg by devouring humans. To increase the number of Zerg soldiers, they drove large swarms of Zerg Beasts to invade human settlements. Additionally, both humans and the Zerg needed energy mineral resources. Humans relied on energy minerals for survival, and the Zerg relied on them to hatch the next generation. Every newly discovered energy mineral star sparked war between humans and the Zerg.
Due to innate physical differences, humans were at the mercy of the Zerg for a long time. To better resist the Zerg, the Federation was established in Star Year 2742. After its founding, high-precision thermal weapons developed explosively, allowing humans to barely fend off Zerg invasions and reduce casualties. But in Star Year 2792, the Zerg Queen was born, and the number of mid- and high-rank Zerg rose sharply, quickly breaking the balance the Federation had struggled to maintain. That period was called the Dark Age. According to statistics, up to a million humans died at the hands of the Zerg each year, and there were even tragedies where entire human planets were slaughtered.
In Star Year 2840, humans discovered the first Divine Tomb. Inside were many unknown creatures and minerals. In Star Year 2894, the father of Creations, Hua Tu, ground a stone from the Divine Tomb into a sword shape and infused it with Spiritual Power. The sword was enveloped in a yellow mist, and when swung, it brought wind and rubble, closely matching a mural in the Divine Tomb. Creations were born.
The emergence of Creations completely changed the outcome of the struggle between humans and the Zerg. Creations were far more effective against mid- and high-rank Zerg than thermal weapons. Those who used Creations were called Spiritists. In Star Year 2901, a Spiritist surrounded by Zerg suddenly burst into red flames, killing a mid-rank Zerg with a punch. The entire squad he led survived. This was the first appearance of a Spirit Invoker. Spiritists with S-rank Spiritual Power and above could use Creations to invoke spirits and wield divine power. From then on, Spirit Invokers became the Federation's strongest combat force and the last line of defense against the Zerg.
Explorers, on the other hand, were those born without Spiritual Power or with very low Spiritual Power. They chose to enhance their physical strength through body training, while using light mechas and thermal weapons to boost combat effectiveness. Compared to Spiritists, Explorers had a death rate ten times higher on missions.
"There's no such thing as owing. You saved Chang He's life," Dr. Sun waved his hand. "Besides, Chang Han was right—if it hadn't been used on you, this Divine Fruit wouldn't have lasted anyway."
"Moreover, what does it matter if you don't have Spiritual Power?" Dr. Sun looked out the window at the bright sunlight, his expression calm. "The statue of the Exploration Master An Sheng still stands in Star Plaza."
"This is an era where divine power reigns supreme, but we are not gods."