"That tickles. Stop."

Su Yaoyao gently pushed the black panther’s head away. The more she looked at it, the more familiar it seemed. ’Why does it look so much like Reg’s pet, that little cub, Leopard?’

’But Leopard isn’t this big. Still, I need to focus on the task at hand.’

But the large black panther was thrilled to see her. It planted its front paws firmly on Su Yaoyao’s shoulders and, no matter how much she pushed, stubbornly refused to get off.

It even stuck out its long tongue, licking wildly at her cheeks and neck.

The warm, wet sensation spread as the sharp barbs on its tongue scraped against her skin, bringing a tingling, unbearable itchiness.

Su Yaoyao couldn’t help but giggle, wriggling to get away.

"Okay, good boy. I need to figure out how to soothe Reg."

The black panther quieted at her words but still refused to leave. It lay on top of her with its head against her chest, its round amber eyes gazing up at her pitifully as if begging to be petted.

Su Yaoyao raised a hand and stroked its large head. The panther squinted in pleasure, nuzzling her palm.

After calming the panther, Su Yaoyao looked up at the tangled ball of yarn. ’If I just untangle the knots and smooth out these threads, will that be enough?’

She raised her hands, releasing pearly-white spirit silk from her fingertips. The strands wrapped around the complex ball of yarn, beginning to untangle the knots one by one.

She could feel the frantic, restless Spirit World beginning to stabilize.

But then, the knotted mass of spirit silk seemed to gain a will of its own, frantically coiling around Su Yaoyao’s threads. The two sets of spirit silk tangled and fused.

A strange sensation suddenly coursed through her body. Su Yaoyao had no idea that her spiritual power and her physical body shared the sense of touch.

She felt as if her entire body was being bound and caressed, her power greedily siphoned away. Escape was impossible; she could only bear it.

In the real world, Bai Lian watched as Reg’s beast form slowly receded, revealing his original appearance.

Bai Lian’s eyes were filled with longing; when he looked at Su Yaoyao, it was as if he were seeing a savior.

’Could his own Rage Value, which he had suppressed for so long, be purified by Yaoyao just like Reg’s was?’

But he soon realized something was wrong.

Beads of sweat covered Su Yaoyao’s forehead, and her body had begun to tremble faintly.

This was a sign of overexertion from the soothing; Su Yaoyao was reaching her limit.

Seeing this, Bai Lian endured the pain from his wounds and slowly rose to his feet. He knew this was the best time to get Reg under control.

He tightened his grip on the Rage Suppressor, lunged forward in a single stride, and accurately injected the suppressor into Reg.

As the suppressor took effect, Reg slowly collapsed to the ground, unconscious.

Only then did Su Yaoyao break free from the bond and sever the Spiritual Link. Her strength finally gave out, her vision went black, and she collapsed toward the ground.

With lightning-fast reflexes, Bai Lian caught Su Yaoyao in his arms. He gazed down at her unconscious form, his eyes filled with anguish.

"Yaoyao, you silly girl... how could you rush into something so dangerous?" Bai Lian murmured, not daring to imagine what might have happened if Reg hadn’t been stopped.

Bai Lian carried Su Yaoyao out of the confinement room.

Pani hurried over to them, his face filled with concern when he saw the unconscious Su Yaoyao. "Admiral, what happened to Yaoyao?"

Bai Lian shook his head. "She just overexerted her spiritual power. It shouldn’t be anything serious. Let’s take her and Reg back to the medical department."

Once everyone returned to the medical department, Pani immediately began to examine Su Yaoyao and Reg.

Bai Lian sat to one side, tightly gripping Su Yaoyao’s hand, his eyes filled with guilt and worry.

He silently vowed that he would never let Su Yaoyao fall into such danger again.

The faint humming of the diagnostic scanner became the only background noise.

Pani stared intently at the screen as various physical indicators appeared. Su Yaoyao’s body showed no abnormalities; her temporary unconsciousness was caused simply by overusing her spiritual power and the resulting physical exhaustion.

But as for Reg’s vitals...

Pani’s eyes widened in shock! His pink ears perked up. Pointing at the screen, he yelled, "Admiral! Quick, come look at this!"

Bai Lian walked over and looked at the data Pani was pointing to.

[Rage Value: 65%]

Bai Lian stared intently at the screen, his eyes filled with utter disbelief.

His lips trembled slightly, as if he wanted to say something but was momentarily at a loss for words.

A single session of spiritual soothing from Su Yaoyao had caused the stubborn Rage Value to drop so drastically. It was simply beyond his imagination.

"This... How is this possible?" Bai Lian finally managed to say, his voice thick with shock and confusion.

He turned to look at Su Yaoyao, still unconscious on the bed, as if he could find an answer in her peaceful expression.

Su Yaoyao’s fair face seemed a little pale now, her long eyelashes casting faint shadows on her eyelids. She looked so delicate, yet who could have imagined that she held such formidable spiritual power within her?

Pani was equally emotional. His small, round tail swished restlessly behind him. As a medical professional, he was well aware of how stubborn the Rage Value could be.

Over the years, he and his team had tried countless methods but had only managed to develop the Rage Suppressor, which could only temporarily suppress the Rage Value, not lower it.

For those with a high Rage Value, regular, long-term injections were necessary, but patients would develop a resistance, and the drug’s effective duration would become shorter and shorter.

One day, they would go completely berserk—a fate no S-Class or higher male could escape.

But Su Yaoyao’s appearance was like a ray of light shining into a dark abyss.

"I know why the spiritual power scanner malfunctioned! That machine’s upper limit is S-Class. Yaoyao’s spiritual power is definitely above S-Class!" Pani’s voice grew slightly louder with excitement.

"Maybe she’s the key we’ve been searching for all this time—the one who can completely solve the problem of rage!"

Pani’s mind was already racing with possibilities. If Su Yaoyao’s spiritual power could be fully utilized, perhaps all the elites and soldiers throughout the Empire who were plagued by rage would finally have hope.

Bai Lian slowly nodded, but at the same time, a deep worry welled up inside him.

Su Yaoyao’s spiritual power being so strong was a good thing, of course, but it also meant she would face more dangers and challenges.

If the powers lurking in the shadows were to learn of Su Yaoyao’s special ability, they would surely stop at nothing to claim her for themselves.

He remembered the scene of Su Yaoyao nearly meeting with disaster during the Spiritual Link, and a wave of lingering fear washed over him.

"Pani, keep this matter quiet for now." Bai Lian’s gaze turned firm and sharp. "Su Yaoyao’s safety must be absolutely guaranteed. I cannot allow her to be put in danger again."

Pani nodded gravely. He understood Bai Lian’s meaning. If word of this leaked, Su Yaoyao would become a target coveted by all factions, and the consequences would be unimaginable.