Starforce Warriors-Chapter 934: Scientific Research

The Grand Princess fell silent. A hint of resentment and disappointment flickered across her beautiful eyes.

“No matter what, I still like you. And I am sure that you will soon like me too.” She quickly regained her spirit and said with determination.

Li Xiaofei did not want to get entangled in this topic any further, so he changed the subject and asked, “By the way, did you recover the Time Jade?”

The Grand Princess shook her head.

She replied calmly, “We caught up with those renegade human-demons, and I had already managed to subdue them. But unexpectedly, they had hidden reinforcements capable of wielding a fragment of an Emperor’s weapon. I was no match for them and had to escape in time, but my subordinates suffered heavy casualties.”

“What?” Li Xiaofei used his excellent acting skills to put on a look of shock. “They could wield an Emperor’s weapon fragment? They actually had such a thing? Are you all right? Were you injured?”

The Grand Princess immediately broke into a radiant smile. Hearing Li Xiaofei express concern for her made her very happy.

“I’m fine. I escaped quickly, and they didn’t pursue me...” The Grand Princess smiled and continued, “It’s true, I didn’t expect that someone among the human-demons would have obtained a fragment of Sword Immortal Lin Beichen’s sword, nor for it to even have a touch of sentience. Of course, that’s not what’s truly terrifying. The truly terrifying thing was that another human-demon master appeared afterward, with a cultivation level so high that he could fully unleash the power of the Emperor’s weapon fragment. This person could become a major threat to us.”

“It’s a relief that you’re okay.” Li Xiaofei said, “But will you be punished by the ancestral court for losing the Time Jade?”

The Grand Princess shook her head. “No, since the other side used an Emperor’s weapon, it can be explained easily. Besides, based on my observations, the Time Jade was not on those human-demons. It was probably transferred elsewhere using some other method. As long as we keep pursuing them, we’ll get it back soon.”

Li Xiaofei saw the confidence in her expression and guessed that she must have already found some leads. But he could not press further, lest he arouse suspicion.

The Grand Princess added, “I will be going to the Holy Ruins in a few days to train and cultivate. When that time comes, you should come with me. I can use my resources to help you enter some high-level secret realms within the Holy Ruins to cultivate and search for treasures.”

Her eyes shone with anticipation as she looked at Li Xiaofei.

Li Xiaofei shook his head and said, “Thank you, Your Highness, but I’d rather rely on myself.”

“That’s the second time you’ve rejected me.” The Grand Princess pouted unhappily and said, “Am I that unlikable to you?”

Li Xiaofei said, “Of course not, I—”

Just as he was about to finish, there was a knock at the door. Before Li Xiaofei could say anything, the Grand Princess had already gotten up and opened the door.

Wei Xiaotian and Liu Shaji were standing outside. They had come over excitedly, ready to say something. But when they saw the casually dressed Grand Princess, and then glanced at Li Xiaofei who had just stood up, their expressions instantly became quite colorful.

“Ah, sorry, wrong room, sorry to disturb you.”

“You two carry on.”

They spoke in unison, then turned to leave.

“No need.” The Grand Princess spoke in her usual cold tone and said, “We’re done here. You can go in.”

With that, she turned and left.

Liu Shaji and Wei Xiaotian looked at each other. Then they charged into the room like mad dogs. One stood on either side of Li Xiaofei, grabbing him, and both demanded, “Spill it, how did you do it?”

“It’s not what you think.” Li Xiaofei felt a vein throbbing on his forehead as he tried to explain.

“Not listening, not listening.”

“Kings recite the sutra.”

They both interrupted Li Xiaofei in unison, grinning slyly. “Come on, tell us how you managed to win over the Grand Princess. If you have such a miraculous method, don’t you think you owe us some lessons?”

Wei Xiaotian even lamented, “Man, that’s not brotherly loyalty. I told you I was going to pursue the Grand Princess, and yet you beat me to it... Bros before hoes, you traitor.”

Liu Shaji, with his oddball thinking, said, “Look at the bright side, it doesn’t really matter. Little Li, as an honorary member of the Death God's Eye clan, bagging the Grand Princess is basically the same as me bagging her. It’s all good.”

Li Xiaofei couldn’t be bothered to explain anything to these two idiots. He now genuinely suspected that idiocy might be contagious. Wei Xiaotian, that old silver-tongued rascal, had spent too much time with Liu Shaji and was starting to become more and more like a 'chicken' himself.

These two had gone after the Time Jade from the banquet, but hadn’t even managed to catch a single hair from those assassins. That was only to be expected. After all, they were not locals, had no familiarity with the terrain, and lacked an intelligence network to provide them with real-time updates. If amateurs like them could catch Zhu Zhixun and his men, the latter might as well just lie down and wait to die.

“The passes have almost all been approved. In three days, we can enter the Holy Ruins,” Wei Xiaotian said, his expression growing serious. “According to the previous plan, once we’re inside, we’ll each go our separate ways and avoid interfering with one another.”

Li Xiaofei replied, “All right.”

His main purpose for entering the Holy Ruins was to find Si Kongxue and his daughter. He was also ready to coordinate with Zhu Zhixun and the others to rescue the trapped Sword Immortal, Lin Beichen.

Despite how chummy Wei Xiaotian had been acting lately, Li Xiaofei still kept a mental guard. He knew they weren’t truly on the same side. He still hadn’t figured out what exactly Wei Xiaotian was scheming, so absolute trust was out of the question. So, going their separate ways after entering the Holy Ruins was a logical choice.

After they finished discussing the plan, Wei Xiaotian left the room. Liu Shaji, however, lingered sneakily and said, “You know, the Reapers’ human transformations are quite fascinating. A successful transformation can possess every human trait...”

Li Xiaofei looked at him and said, “Why are you telling me this?”

Liu Shaji smirked, wearing the expression of a scholarly know-it-all. He leaned in with a conspiratorial air and said proudly, “What I mean is, those high-level Reaper females, even if their transformation isn’t perfect, still have all the sensory characteristics of human women. A touch makes them wet, a thrust makes them soft, and their moans sound incredible. Their stamina is amazing, and very long-lasting. But since the time was too short, the trial period wasn’t enough, so I haven’t figured out whether or not there’s reproductive isolation...”

Li Xiaofei was speechless. A vein throbbed on his forehead as he said, “So this is what you’ve been busy with for the last two days?”

“What else?” Liu Shaji shot back, “Don’t you think it’s important? Bro, think long term. Look at the bigger picture. I think the Reapers’ human transformation project is a deadly and extremely dangerous conspiracy. It’ll have a huge impact on the human world, so we must sacrifice our bodies and dignity, and investigate thoroughly to find a weakness.”

Li Xiaofei’s heart skipped a beat. Liu Shaji might have looked unreliable, but he actually had a keen mind. Often, sharp insights were hidden within his seemingly outlandish words and actions. Just as he said, Li Xiaofei had to admit that the Reapers’ trend toward human transformation posed an enormous threat to humanity. If a truly perfect transformation emerged one day, how would humans ever tell friend from foe?

Moreover, once perfect human transformations could possess human emotions and even cultivate human martial arts, humanity’s greatest innate advantage would be erased, and it would absolutely spell a catastrophic disaster. Human transformation was the evolutionary path devised by Reaper high command.

“You must seize this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.” Liu Shaji, using his most serious tone to say the most shameless words, continued, “A top-tier bloodline, high-level Reaper like the Grand Princess of the Hui Yao clan, whose transformation is so advanced, is a rare research subject. I was very interested in studying her, but unfortunately, she’s not interested in me. I don’t have a chance, but you do. Seize the opportunity to win her over and bring her to the lab. Conduct a thorough study, gather data, and research your findings. While you’re at it, see if you can break reproductive isolation...”

He rambled on without stopping. But Li Xiaofei felt a vein throbbing on his forehead. “Hold on, what lab are you talking about?”

Liu Shaji said, “The bed, of course.”

Li Xiaofei was speechless. Earlier, he had indeed flirted a little when he’d been alone with the Grand Princess, pretending to be concerned.

But in truth, that was just playing along and laying the groundwork to build a small connection that could be useful later. But to truly approach it like Liu Shaji, with a so-called scientific research spirit and turn it into an experiment, he just couldn’t do that.

Even if he knew the woman in front of him was a transformed Reaper, and perhaps her true form was a hideous beast, Li Xiaofei still felt it was wrong to toy with feelings like that. He had many female friends, but he had always treated them with genuine respect and never with the intention of exploiting them. He glanced at Liu Shaji but said nothing.

Time passed. For the next day and a half, Zhu Zhixun did not contact Li Xiaofei. Nor did anything else particularly noteworthy happen.

The Hui Yao clan and the port authority had joined forces and were searching high and low for the Time Jade, conducting large-scale raids on suspicious humans. Many human slaves had been thrown into prison.

Meanwhile, the most explosive piece of news was that the Dusa clan’s chief steward at the port residence, Lao Rui, had actually colluded with the humans by selling her own origin poison, the Stone Eye, to them. This was the reason so many people had been poisoned at that night’s banquet.

The news shocked everyone. The Dusa clan was a long-established King-level family, highly renowned across the entire ancestral star system. Unlike the Hui Yao clan, which was trying to elevate itself, or the Yeniao clan, which was in decline, the Dusa clan was a genuine top-tier noble house.

Their ranking among the hundred Reaper tribes was extremely high. Who would have thought that there would be a traitor willing to collude with the humans in such a prestigious bloodline clan, one that had lasted tens of thousands of years?

The residence elder, Lao Xinhua, apologized publicly and offered compensation. As for Lao Rui? She was reported to have committed suicide out of guilt. The Hui Yao clan and the Dusa clan reached a settlement agreement, but the ripples from this incident continued to spread.

Unfortunately for the Grand Princess, the Time Jade had not yet been found, and the clues were still insufficient. The entire port was abuzz with tension.

On the afternoon of the second day, Zhu Zhixun contacted Li Xiaofei, informing him that the resistance was fully prepared and had decided to enter the Holy Ruins the day after tomorrow. They had made all the necessary arrangements and would be taking the Time Jade with them. After discussing the details, they finalized their plan.

On the third day, the Grand Princess made a grand departure, publicly announcing that she would lead her personal guard into the Holy Ruins. The various noble houses held a large-scale send-off ceremony for the occasion. All the port’s aristocrats came to see her off.

Li Xiaofei found this a little strange. After all, the Hui Yao clan had only just begun to show signs of revival and was still far behind a long-established King-level family like the Dusa clan.

Yet somehow, everyone seemed to show the Grand Princess a great deal of respect, treating her as if she were an unshakable authority wherever she went. It was quite interesting.

As a King, Wei Xiaotian had to appear in person. Thus, he brought Li Xiaofei, Liu Shaji, and the other subordinates along to see the Grand Princess off.

“I have some good news to tell you,” At the send-off ceremony, Wei Xiaotian grinned slyly, his tone full of mystery.

Li Xiaofei felt a sense of unease in his heart and asked, “What good news?”

Wei Xiaotian teased, “You’ll find out soon enough.”

A moment later, Li Xiaofei’s face turned pale. 𝑓𝘳𝑒𝑒𝓌𝘦𝘣𝘯ℴ𝑣𝘦𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Didn’t you say you wouldn’t be entering the Holy Ruins with the Grand Princess’s group?” Li Xiaofei demanded, exasperated. “So what the hell is this now?”