Interstellar Farming: I Make Potions and Climb to the Top
Chapter 306: Lost Contact
The cold calm on Ning Xuan’s face was completely at odds with everyone around her. "Zhang Jingyi," she said, "when I cleared your meridians, I told you not to be so eager for quick results. Your spiritual power grew too fast for your body to handle. You didn’t listen."
"No! Why?! You must have a solution. Otherwise, how did you go from newly awakened to S-Class in a single year and come out fine?" Zhang Jingyi’s face was drained of color, but her eyes held a suppressed, frenzied jealousy.
"You don’t believe me? This is the consequence." Ning Xuan smiled faintly, her expression full of scorn.
"You must have a way. If you can save me, our Zhang Family will give you a generous reward." Zhang Jingyi’s voice was faint and airy as she stared intently at Ning Xuan.
"I already told you how to survive, didn’t I? You were the one who refused." Ning Xuan straightened her jacket and, under the respectful salutes of the soldiers who had come to escort her, calmly walked toward the Flying Car.
"Don’t go! You must be lying to me! If my Companion Spirit dies, how will I live?" Terror filled Zhang Jingyi’s face.
During the initial treatment, Ning Xuan had seen the Zhang Family dismiss her warnings. So she had told them in advance: if Zhang Jingyi’s spiritual power grew too quickly and her body could no longer handle the strain, they would have to kill her Companion Spirit to save her life.
Both Zhang Jingyi and her parents knew of the solution Ning Xuan had proposed back then.
Zhang Jingyi’s condition had been deteriorating for more than half a year, yet they still hadn’t made a decision, clearly unwilling to take that step.
Ning Xuan walked straight toward the large military Flying Car. The soldiers automatically parted, forming a path for her with respectful deference.
The hatch slowly closed behind her, blocking the crowd from view. An officer followed her inside, and the hatch locked with a CLICK. The pitch of the massive black Flying Car’s engine suddenly climbed. An ethereal blue light flared, and the powerful downdraft made it difficult for those on the ground to even keep their eyes open.
Amid a cloud of dust and debris and a piercing whine, the vehicle shot straight up, quickly shrinking to a tiny black dot against the sky before disappearing completely into the gray clouds.
Ning Xuan was gone. Yu Mingche, Yan Fuzhen, and the others entered the villa, and its main gate closed, leaving only the ashen-faced Zhang Jingyi and the other members of the Zhang Family, their expressions a mixture of emotions, standing at the entrance.
"Brother, we’ve been delayed long enough by Jingyi’s situation. Miss Ning is gone now, so there’s no point in blocking her gate any longer. We should head back," someone in the crowd said. They, too, had hoped the Zhang Family would gain an S-Class Controller.
But in the past six months, the Zhang Family had exhausted every resource and tried every possible method to no avail. Every Doctor who examined Zhang Jingyi had said they were helpless. Combined with what Miss Ning just said, it seemed Zhang Jingyi’s only options were to wait for death or kill her Companion Spirit to survive.
If she chose to survive, her spiritual power would be devastated. Even if she lived, she would be crippled for the rest of her life. That being the case, they were naturally unwilling to waste any more time here.
"Father, my employment application was rejected," a young man in his twenties among the Zhang Family clansmen suddenly said.
"Why? Didn’t you already pass the physical and the interview?" the young man’s father asked anxiously.
"Because I was part of the group blockading Miss Ning’s residence. Photos were sent to the company." The young man shot Zhang Jingyi a dark look.
"My case is just the beginning," the young man said, turning to the others. "Uncles, cousins... I’m afraid your careers will face some turbulence as well."
"Why? I thought Ning Xuan had no powerful background. Even if her Contractor, Yu Mingche, is a Seventh Rank Governor, that’s just a high-status position. Yu Mingche doesn’t have a powerful family backing him, so how could he possibly influence various companies or the military?" the young man’s father asked, perplexed.
Few members of the Zhang Family were involved in politics; most were spread throughout the economic and military sectors. Furthermore, in recent years, no true leader had emerged from their younger generation.
"Uncle, I just received a termination notice from my company..."
"I just got transfer orders from the military..."
"Me too..."
"And I..."
Hearing the members of the younger generation report one career disaster after another, Zhang Jingyi’s father’s face grew pale. He couldn’t understand how things had escalated to this point. He absolutely refused to believe that Ning Xuan could wield such influence.
’Could Yu Mingche have done something behind the scenes?’
According to Federation law, government officials were forbidden from abusing their authority to threaten or suppress others. If he found any proof that Yu Mingche was behind this, he would report him to the Elder Council himself.
The day after Ning Xuan left, Yu Mingche kept watch inside Villa No. 17.
"General Manager, we’ve received many invitations to banquets for you. Would you like to take a look and decide on a reply? I’ve already screened these; they’re all from relatively important figures." Feng Linran placed a stack of exquisite invitation cards on the table in front of Yu Mingche.
"They’re all here for Ning Xuan. The Zhang Family camped outside the gate for ten days. News about Zhang Jingyi was bound to reach interested ears. I suspect the Zhang Family won’t have it easy from now on." Yu Mingche picked up the top invitation. It was from Gu Qingfeng, the Family Head of the Gu Family. The Gu Family was one of the Elder Council’s Seven Great Families, with influence spanning the military, government, and commerce, and holding a very high social standing.
"Miss Ning can help originally weak and sickly women improve their physique through Cultivation, even awakening a Companion Spirit and allowing their spiritual power to grow rapidly. An ability like that is simply unheard of, and yet, it’s real. Everyone witnessed Zhang Jingyi’s transformation over the past year. With all the commotion she’s caused recently, Miss Ning’s reputation has well and truly spread," Feng Linran said with a sigh.
Just then, Yu Mingche’s Light Computer began to flash. He looked down and saw a holographic communication request from Ying Yaoshi.
Ying Yaoshi wouldn’t contact him unless it was urgent or important. Yu Mingche immediately accepted the call, and the tall figure of Ying Yaoshi, clad in a combat uniform, materialized before him.
"Yu Mingche, where did Ning Xuan go? Did she tell you? Did you have anyone follow her?" Ying Yaoshi demanded, his face a mask of anxiety.
"The Contractor went to the Second Corps Headquarters Base. Isn’t Lin Mo there? The Second Legion just came to pick someone up, and Lin Mo was on the Flying Car. I wanted to send people to follow the Contractor, but she wouldn’t allow it. My plan was to wait for her to arrive, then send people to meet up with her," Yu Mingche explained hurriedly upon seeing Ying Yaoshi’s anxious expression.
"She didn’t go to the Second Corps Headquarters Base. I put a tracker in the Mysterious Ring. According to its last signal, she’s somewhere near the Space Sea Area. I’ve lost contact."