"What do you mean, ’robbing the cradle’? Don’t be so crude, old man."

"Still denying it? I just saw that little female. She’s so young and delicate, as lovely as a peach blossom in early spring. For such a beautiful young female to be targeted by you... what a tragedy..."

The old man rattled on, but Yan Huoshui only focused on the first part. "You saw her? She came to the library?"

The old man was speechless. So he’d said all that for nothing.

However, it was rare to see Yan Huoshui so eager, and the old man found it amusing, deciding to deliberately tease him.

"Guess."

Yan Huoshui’s brow twitched. "Watch yourself, old man. Don’t scare her. She’s timid."

"You brat! Is that any way to speak to your elder? Aren’t you afraid I’ll tell her about all your dirty laundry? The little female will be so scared she’ll run for the hills."

"Oh? Is that so?"

Hearing this threat, Yan Huoshui relaxed instead, casually plucking petals from the flower in his hand. "Coincidentally, the Admiral’s Wife asked me before if you were still sneaking off to the battlefield. Let’s see... you must have slipped away once last month, right? And twice the month before that. You even killed a few members of the Insect Clan and injured your back in the process..."

"Alright, alright, stop talking! You rascal, you’ve been in prison all this time, yet you still managed to plant other spies around me."

The more the old man listened, the more uneasy he felt. He sucked in a sharp breath, suddenly suspecting that even the students snacking in the library were Yan Huoshui’s informants.

He took off his glasses in annoyance. "Fine, I’ll take good care of that little female for you. You just focus on healing."

With that, he immediately ended the call.

After hanging up, he still felt uneasy. He waved a hand and shooed all the males out of the public hall, claiming they were too noisy.

Some of the males had deliberately chosen this place to pursue females, but hearing the old man’s words, none of them dared to utter a peep.

This was because the current library administrator was actually the retired Admiral, Lu Dinfeng. Eighty percent of the military had been his former soldiers, including even He Hanshi.

If they happened to displease him, they could forget about ever joining the military.

After all the males had left the library, Lu Dinfeng looked at the few remaining females and was finally able to relax.

’That kid isn’t interested in women; there’s no way he’d have anything to do with these females.’

Shi Lan was still unaware of what had happened outside. She had taken a few books directly to a private reading room. The room had soft chairs, a water dispenser, and excellent soundproofing, so she quickly became engrossed in her reading.

This time, she had picked out books about female spirit bodies and male spiritual power collapse.

She used the table of contents to find the information she needed.

She lost track of time until the light outside the reading room window gradually faded and the room’s lights began to brighten. Only then did she let out a long sigh.

After finishing her reading, Shi Lan suddenly understood why the Empire went to the trouble of imprisoning these few individuals with strong spiritual power and high collapse risk so far away.

The books recorded a past tragedy: an expert with Level 2S spiritual power suffered a collapse, escaped from their cell, and slaughtered everyone in the prison, along with most of the inhabitants on the planet.

One of the more terrifying aspects of a spiritual power collapse was that the afflicted person lost all consciousness. Moreover, the episode seemed more like a forced breakthrough of potential. An individual who was originally Level 2S could exhibit the destructive power of Level 3S or higher, capable of tearing apart incredibly tough Mecha with their bare hands.

A tireless, irrational god of death was truly terrifying.

That was why Black Ming Star Prison was created.

The protective materials used for the prison were made from a rare, non-renewable energy source. More than half of the entire supply was spent on the prison’s construction, just to contain the few individuals currently held there.

As for whether it was possible to cure those with High-level Spiritual Power collapse, none of the books she had read contained any successful case studies. There was even an incident where a Level S female who approached to provide treatment was accidentally killed.

Just thinking about it was quite terrifying, Shi Lan felt.

Now, she suddenly understood why so many people avoided Black Star at all costs. Although the prison’s materials were secure, you only get one life, and no one was willing to bet on the possibility of a single mistake.

’Thinking about it this way, as the Prison Director, I’m really in the most dangerous position.’

At this thought, Shi Lan once again considered Jiang Yan’s advice to find a new job.

However, one of the books mentioned that animal-type spirit bodies couldn’t cure those with High-level Spiritual Power collapse. This was because the males’ mutation was also animal-based. Spirit forms of the same type could potentially repel each other, with the repulsion growing stronger at higher Levels. This made it easier for females treating such males to trigger a spiritual power collapse, whereas those with a lower degree of collapse would not be affected.

Perhaps a female with a non-animal-type spirit body could have a chance at a cure.

Although it was only mentioned briefly, Shi Lan connected this to the plot of the original book. Thinking of her own mushroom spirit body and the heroine’s Plant Type, she felt it was worth a try. At the very least, the fact that the prison had been peaceful for the past month was a good start.

’Of course, when it comes down to it, my own life is still more important.’

Shi Lan’s mind was in turmoil. She put down the book, stretched, and didn’t rush to a decision.

She left the reading room, handed the books to a library robot, and went to the administrator’s desk to pick up her student ID.

Lu Dinfeng was still there. Shi Lan greeted him, "Grandpa Administrator, I’m here to get my student ID."

Lu Dinfeng beamed upon hearing "Grandpa," unable to close his mouth. ’This little female is just too likable.’

He handed her the student ID, smiling as he said, "Student, do you know Yan Huoshui?"

Shi Lan nodded. "I do. Why?"

"Oh, it’s nothing. That kid knew you were coming to the school and specifically asked me to look after you."

"That boy... still so ’warm-hearted’..."

Shi Lan let out a little "ah" of surprise. ’Warm-hearted? How is that different from what Jiang Yan said this afternoon? I’m starting to wonder which version is the real one.’

Lu Dinfeng, completely oblivious, said, "Isn’t he? Come on, this old man will take you out for a big meal."

"Oh, no, that’s too much trouble..."

Shi Lan felt a bit embarrassed; after all, they didn’t know each other.

"It’s fine. I see that Yan Huoshui kid as my own adopted son. Since he asked, I can’t betray his trust."

Lu Dinfeng might talk tough, but he knew Yan Huoshui’s path hadn’t been easy and sincerely hoped he could find a female he liked. That’s why he was being so enthusiastic with Shi Lan.

Shi Lan couldn’t refuse, so she had no choice but to follow him to the cafeteria.

However, the cafeteria they went to in the evening was different from the one at noon. This section was open only to teachers. The menu was much more extensive, and the cafeteria was nearly empty. Aside from the cleaning robots moving back and forth, it was exceptionally quiet, with no need to queue.

Lu Dinfeng ordered several dishes that were popular with females and then prompted Shi Lan to order more. She looked at the prices on the menu, swallowed hard, and shook her head.

"I’m fine with anything."

"You’re being too polite, child."

Seeing this, Lu Dinfeng ordered a few more dishes.

Two people, eight dishes. Shi Lan couldn’t imagine how they would finish it all. She was about to say they didn’t need to order more when Lu Dinfeng seemed to read her mind and said, "The female dishes here are more delicate and come in smaller portions. Don’t worry, we can finish it."

Hearing this, Shi Lan didn’t say anything else.

However, when the food arrived, she found it was still more than she had imagined. Fortunately, her appetite had grown quite a bit recently, so it probably wouldn’t go to waste.

Over the meal, Lu Dinfeng shared many stories about Yan Huoshui. "That kid... he’s been an orphan since he was young. He was a Space Star Thief for over a decade, clawing his way up to become their leader. The first time we met, he pointed a gun at my head and said he’d kill me if I didn’t give him a billion Star Coins."

Lu Dinfeng chuckled at this point. "Just a young punk, but he had a lot of nerve. Later, our ship was attacked by the Insect Clan, and we accidentally crashed on a Deserted Star. I was seriously injured and almost died, but he was the one who put down his gun and saved me."

"He’s all bark and no bite, a good kid at heart. So, I recruited him..."

Lu Dinfeng said a lot more, and so, Shi Lan once again heard about a different Yan Huoshui—one who was the complete opposite of the "Living Yama" Jiang Yan had described that afternoon.

She couldn’t help but ask out of curiosity, "Then why does everyone at school call him the ’Living Yama’?"