Jiang Zheyu boarded the Empire’s military Starship.

The Little Princess of the Empire was still down below, waving her arms forcefully. "Jiang Zheyu, come back soon!"

But the Starship’s hatch was already closed, so Jiang Zheyu didn’t hear her.

Zexun stood below, watching the Starship recede until it became a tiny dot and finally vanished from sight.

Only then did he turn and slowly walk away.

’I have to find a way to get to Zone -1.’

Zexun’s hobbies were actually quite extensive.

In fact, his family’s corporation also researched subjects related to the Beastification Value and spiritual aspects of Beastmen.

If he could produce some results, he would be able to go to Zone -1.

The Starship flew away from the Imperial Capital Star. The planet gradually shrank until it became a faint star in the cosmic river.

The Starship traversed the cosmic river.

During the half-month journey, Su Yan began teaching Jiang Zheyu some self-defense skills.

「The Starship’s training room.」

"Come on, take that dagger and stab at me. Use the technique I just taught you," Su Yan said slowly, standing across from Jiang Zheyu.

"This dagger is real. Shouldn’t we be using a fake one instead?" Jiang Zheyu asked hesitantly, looking at the sharp blade in her hand.

"No need." Su Yan smiled, shaking his head gently.

Jiang Zheyu tightened her grip on the dagger and looked silently at Su Yan. "Are you looking down on me? You think I can’t hurt you?"

’In terms of pure physical strength, I really can’t hurt Su Yan. But with my spiritual power, it’s another story. How dare he look down on me!’

Su Yan gave a helpless chuckle. "No, I just want you to get used to the feel of a real dagger. After all, there’s a difference between a fake one and a real one. If we’re going to practice, we should do it for real."

He then slowly added, "Don’t be afraid of hurting me. Beastmen have very strong Healing Abilities. A little nick or scratch is nothing."

Hearing Su Yan say this, Jiang Zheyu naturally had no more objections.

Soon, Jiang Zheyu got into position and rushed forward, dagger in hand.

A female’s strength is no match for a Male Beastman’s, as females are generally weaker. So, Su Yan was teaching her a method of using softness to overcome hardness, combined with swift dodges. All she had to do was find the right moment to plunge her dagger into an enemy’s weak point to secure an easy victory.

The key was to aim the sharpest point at the enemy’s softest, most vulnerable spot for a quick win.

Jiang Zheyu aimed the dagger straight for Su Yan’s neck, but he dodged with extreme speed. The blade immediately came at him again in a sharp, horizontal thrust. As Su Yan raised his hand to grab her arm, Jiang Zheyu remembered the technique he had taught her. She went with his momentum, allowing her arm to follow the force of his grab. After neutralizing his strength, she reversed her grip and slashed viciously under his arm.

A scratch appeared on the sleeve of Su Yan’s combat suit, but it hadn’t broken the skin. Her strength was too weak.

Su Yan fell silent for a moment.

He let go of her arm, and Jiang Zheyu quickly retreated a few steps.

Su Yan looked at her and spoke again:

"Mm. Continue."

So, Jiang Zheyu resumed her practice with Su Yan.

After a short while, Su Yan fell silent again.

"Am I just too terrible at this?" Jiang Zheyu asked quietly.

"Let’s practice dodging and escape techniques," Su Yan simply said, changing the subject.

Jiang Zheyu really wasn’t cut out for fighting. Her strength was too low, so her only options were to use her flexible body to dodge attacks and escape holds.

"Okay." Jiang Zheyu also felt like she was only doing things by halves.

Physical attacks really weren’t her forte. Not unless she used her spiritual power, in which case she could easily harm her opponent.

So, learning to dodge and escape was a better fit for her current situation.

And so, for the rest of the half-month journey, Jiang Zheyu continued learning dodging and escape techniques from Su Yan.

’Although, with my spiritual power, I probably don’t need these skills... or I could just use my looks to catch an opponent off guard.’

However, the half-month journey was incredibly boring, so she went along with Su Yan’s lessons anyway.

Finally, after half a month, they arrived at Zone -1.

"Zone -1 and Zone 2 are both rather dangerous. The Zerg Race can appear anywhere, at any time," Su Yan said, his expression serious. "We’re heading to the Research Institute now. It’s heavily guarded, so it should be relatively safe."

Su Yan’s brow was still furrowed. He really didn’t want Jiang Zheyu to come to dangerous places like Zone -1 and Zone -2.

"Okay," Jiang Zheyu nodded.

The probability of encountering the Zerg Race was much higher in Zone -1 and Zone -2.

During the half-month journey, they had been attacked by a single bee-like Zerg. Jiang Zheyu could feel the spiritual power emanating from the Zerg Race, which could make a person feel muddled and confused.

Luckily, as a Level 5s Spiritual Power User, she wasn’t significantly affected.

She had only felt a bit disoriented because she had been caught completely off guard.

Now, Jiang Zheyu kept her Spirit Barrier raised at all times, no matter where she was.

"Once you’ve finished healing the spiritual power of those Beastmen, hurry back. I can’t rest easy with you here," Feng Qi said with a frown.

"Mm-hm," Jiang Zheyu nodded in agreement.

’I don’t like being this close to a place with so many Zerg, either.’

’People like to stay in their comfort zones, and I’m no exception. If you can live a comfortable life, who would want to face these disgusting Zerg?’

The Starship landed.

This part of the planet was utterly desolate. All that could be seen was the white-walled Research Institute, surrounded by rubble instead of trees.

The sky on this planet was perpetually dim.

Scattered rocks, patches of weeds, and the cold, white walls of the Research Institute.

For hundreds of miles around the Research Institute, there was hardly a soul in sight. In fact, there was no one to be seen at all.

The wind stung her face as it blew past. The air here was as dry and sharp as a blade.

The moment Jiang Zheyu stepped off the Starship, she sensed something was wrong.

Faint, almost imperceptible fluctuations of spiritual power were coming from the ground.

Although the spiritual power was very weak—or rather, it was being actively concealed—it was nearly impossible for most to detect. 𝘧𝘳𝘦ℯ𝓌𝘦𝒷𝘯𝑜𝑣𝘦𝓁.𝒸𝘰𝓂

But with her Level 5s spiritual power, Jiang Zheyu noticed it instantly.

’Why would there be spiritual power fluctuations coming from the ground? It couldn’t possibly be a Beastman buried in the dirt, so it had to be the Zerg Race.’

The farther they walked, the more Jiang Zheyu could feel the spiritual power fluctuations rising from below.

"Su Yan." Jiang Zheyu grabbed his sleeve.

Su Yan turned his head to look at her. "What’s wrong?"

Jiang Zheyu’s expression was tense. "Su Yan, there are Zerg beneath our feet."

In the very next second, without a moment’s hesitation, Su Yan trusted Jiang Zheyu completely. He swiftly swept her into his arms as the Hongying Mecha materialized around him, his voice cold and stern as he shouted, "Zerg underground! On your guard!"