The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

Jiang Hui hadn’t expected that while the front side had been successfully separated, the back would be so difficult.

No wonder Xierman was moving so slowly; she had thought it was because he was afraid of hurting the wound on that side.

Seeing the Instructor’s eyes squinting more and more, Jiang Hui decided to circle around to the back and take a look.

It wasn’t easy at all. The cockpit wasn’t too large or too small, but with three people crammed inside, it already felt a bit tight. Moreover, with one of the three in such a critical condition, Jiang Hui and Xierman had to move very cautiously, fearing they might unintentionally cause further harm and send the Instructor to his death for good.

Carefully making her way to the back, Jiang Hui saw that the instructor’s back was still bleeding continuously.

The stinger had not been driven straight through; instead, it had entered at an angle, piercing the front and then exiting slightly slanted from the back. Judging by the amount of blood and the size of the wound, Jiang Hui could tell it might have hit an artery, which was why the bleeding wouldn’t stop.

Xierman had been as careful as possible, but even so, the Instructor had lost a lot of blood, and the bleeding was only increasing. Xierman didn’t dare continue any further.

Jiang Hui stood there for a moment, feeling a wave of panic. She quickly turned around, planning to find something else to speed up the separation process. Time was running out, and she could feel the Instructor’s life force growing weaker.

Jiang Hui noticed the Instructor’s eyes lower, their gaze shifting towards a pile of debris. Following the Instructor’s line of sight, she saw nothing but a heap of wreckage.

Confused, she looked back at the Instructor, who then glanced up at her with what seemed to be surprising agility.

For some reason, Jiang Hui felt as if that brief, emotionless look conveyed the message, “You’re really slow…”

Fine. Reluctantly, she turned her attention back to the pile of debris and started sifting through it. To her surprise, she found… a dagger?

Immediately, she understood what the Instructor had intended. Judging by where the dagger had fallen, it seemed the officer had tried to use it earlier but hadn’t succeeded.

Without knowing what material the dagger was made of, Jiang Hui gave it a try, and sure enough, it worked wonders. Xierman, dumbfounded, watched as Jiang Hui swiftly sliced through the stinger protruding from the Instructor’s back with the dagger she had somehow retrieved from the rubble.

At this point, Xierman started doubting his own usefulness. This seemingly frail classmate was incredibly efficient and capable of making decisions on her own. He felt utterly unnecessary in the situation.

“Come help support the back, I don’t have enough strength. I’ll pull from the front,” Jiang Hui called to him, noticing his dazed state. She tucked the dagger into its sheath and, after a moment of hesitation, placed it back in her bag.

With that, she jumped to the opening near the cockpit’s viewing window, ready to provide the necessary pull from her side.

The whole process was incredibly difficult because the cockpit was located at the very front, almost isolated. To get out of the cockpit, they would have to go through some “high-altitude work,” constantly facing the danger of falling more than ten meters to the ground.

At this point, Jiang Hui no longer thought the items in her bag were useless. She and Xierman managed to use a single rope to haul three people up from a nearly smooth, edgeless surface.

However, it was impossible to lower three people down from a height of over ten meters, so…

“Xierman, where’s your transportation?”

?!

“You don’t seriously think we can just walk down from this mech, do you?” Jiang Hui’s face darkened. Even without the severely injured instructor, getting the two of them down was a daunting task. What was Xierman thinking? He didn’t seem particularly bright at the moment.

But she could understand — he was still a real kid, after all. It was possible that he had been scared stiff by everything that had happened. She wasn’t doing much better herself; her legs felt weak, and the whole situation felt unreal.

“You can take it out now. We need it,” Jiang Hui said, frowning when Xierman still hadn’t responded after a while.

“……”

“Wait, you’re not telling me you lied to me, are you?!” Jiang Hui suddenly raised her voice, shooting him a glance.

She thought it was entirely possible that Xierman had lied. He had seemed suspicious from the start, like he was hiding something, and now his behavior only fueled her suspicions. Jiang Hui had every reason to believe he was deceiving her.

Unconsciously, she clenched her fist, not realizing that her expression had turned less friendly. If she weren’t still supporting the injured instructor, she might have already dropped everything and confronted Xierman directly.

Xierman quickly waved his hands, “No, no, I didn’t lie to you. It’s just… just… there’s a little problem. Ugh, fine, I’ll show you.”

Jiang Hui was skeptical, but she gave him a chance to explain.

“…Can I just strangle you now?” Half a second later, after seeing the so-called “transportation,” the girl practically gritted her teeth as she spoke to him.

It was a makeshift solution, a temporary fix. Xierman hadn’t anticipated that it would end up being used like this.

But what good would anger do? Technically, he hadn’t lied to her, since the thing in front of her could indeed be classified as transportation.

“So, can this thing even run?” Jiang Hui asked, turning to him.

“It can! It’s actually really useful. You could try it,” Xierman explained, trying to defend himself.

Jiang Hui felt her forehead twitching with irritation, but she held back her outburst and asked again, “Do you know how to operate it?”

Xierman shook his head.

Jiang Hui could no longer hold back: “You brought over a thing that you can’t even drive and tried to convince me it was a means of escape—fine, I’ll admit I was foolish for believing you. But now you’re telling me you don’t even know how to turn it on… What on earth did you bring this thing for? To wait for the school to inspect it and deduct points? Blah blah blah…”

Xierman knew he was in the wrong and didn’t dare to retort, mumbling, “I’ve seen others start it up. I’ll give it a try; maybe I can manage.”

She had believed his nonsense, so if they had encountered a star beast halfway through, wanting to use this so-called transportation to escape, they would both have been doomed by now.

At this moment, Jiang Hui realized her own foolishness; she had trusted Xierman without verifying anything. This was perhaps the most fatal mistake she could have made, and she secretly vowed never to make such an error again, to never be so easily swayed by someone else’s words.

Especially after witnessing the ferocity of the star beasts and the dire situation of the instructor, she was increasingly aware of how dangerous this world was. In this era of advanced technology, creatures far more vicious than ordinary beasts had evolved—star beasts that could appear unexpectedly and snatch away your life, just like that.

Before Jiang Hui could calm her agitated emotions and communicate with him, she suddenly noticed that the instructor seemed to have regained consciousness and was now looking at them—weak but alert. Perhaps it was just her illusion, but Jiang Hui seemed to read a hint of disdain in his expression?

Jiang Hui: …

—————————

The inner turmoil of a certain Jiang, who is cold on the outside but anxious on the inside: Ahhhh, I want to strangle you, you idiot! Who do you want to kill? Why did I ever believe you? I’m so stupid!

A certain thirteen-year-old Xierman: I want to save the instructor!

Mace: Help me up; I can still live. But if I die, it must be because of an idiot…

P.S.: Hahaha, everyone, please go easy on these two reckless fools. I know some people might dislike Xierman in this segment, but this character is designed as a pampered young master who doesn’t understand the ways of the world. He’s also two years younger than his peers, overly protected, which leads him to act without much consideration. His audacity stems from a lack of experience, and they’re still young; they will gradually grow and change. This plot can also be seen as a story where fools have foolish fortunes, where two foolishly bold characters inadvertently save the day, and it’s also a testament that Mace’s life was meant to be spared.