The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

Everyone present, especially Major Hank, looked visibly grim upon hearing this.

Although they had previously received intelligence about the presence of this king-level beast, connecting all the evidence now made everyone uneasy. Most of them had experience on chaotic battlefields, and they could easily sense something unusual.

Typically, the combat capability of Sulfur Ants isn’t very high, but they are known as “masters of scent” among ant-type star beasts. They can secrete a sulfuric acid compound that interferes with neural balance, temporarily create barriers in an area, and block or disrupt signals within specific zones.

—This is why the school was unable to receive any distress signals from Mace and the others.

While it might be explained that the Sulfur Ants’ abilities caused Mace and his group to go undetected a few miles from the endpoint, what about this king-level Sulfur Ant?

How could a king-level beast with an overall S-rank rating lead a group of star beasts that are at best rated C-level? Even if they are of the same species, it wouldn’t be possible. Moreover, the pheromones of the two parties don’t match at all, making it clear that this king-level Sulfur Ant was deliberately mixed in with this group of C-level star beasts.

Who would do such a thing, and for what purpose? In nearly a century, nothing like this had ever happened at Beska Intermediate Academy, leaving everyone feeling troubled.

“Continue,” Major Hank said, pressing back against his chair. The slight creak was enough to draw everyone’s attention, and the room fell silent.

“Besides gathering the necessary evidence and data, we also managed to retrieve some footage from Lieutenant Mace’s damaged mech port. Although much of it is corrupted, a few segments are still visible. Would you like to review them now, Major?”

“Project it here.”

Upon hearing this, the officer on the other end of the line adjusted the setup, transferring the footage to the meeting room with the help of the forensic team.

The port device seemed heavily damaged; most of the transferred footage was brief and blurry. At times, the scenes were indistinct, while other times only the audio could be heard. Yet, the intensity of the situation was clear, even from the fragmented visuals and sounds alone.

The penultimate clip drew Major Hank’s attention—he watched it three or four times, frowning thoughtfully. After a moment, he turned off that segment and proceeded to the fourth one.

This final segment was the longest and also the calmest, with a quietness that felt unsettling.

In this footage, Mace was already gravely injured. A massive pincer had pierced through his upper ribcage and lung, with blood dripping steadily from the claw, pooling on the ground and staining the entire frame with red.

The scene felt long, as though the shadow of death stretched each moment. Everyone in the room was seasoned, having faced life and death countless times, losing comrades and defeating enemies alike. But watching a fellow soldier’s life slip away—even in a recording—was profoundly unsettling.

The room was filled with a heavy silence.

Until… a different sound suddenly broke through the stillness.

Major Hank raised an eyebrow, and Stark turned toward the screen, recognizing a somewhat familiar voice.

It seemed the two young rescuers had arrived just in time. Though they had already heard the story from those involved, seeing it unfold was an entirely different experience.

Though the focus remained on the dying Lieutenant Mace, the lively, clear voices of the kids, out of place in the somber setting, began to dissolve some of the darkness and tension in the room.

Tan, the first-year instructor, shook his head and chuckled. “Those kids sure have nerves of steel. If there had been more star beasts nearby, all that noise would’ve just attracted them.”

Of course, he was speaking from hindsight. In reality, it was over now—the kids had been lucky, encountering no more star beasts and successfully rescuing the officer. Tan was simply making an observation.

The video continued playing—

The footage inside the cockpit was still blurry, but the figures outside could be seen working intently to dismantle the upright window of the control pod.

“…Looks like there’s lateral resistance holding it in place, so let’s try over here.” There was a careful prying sound as the person tried various angles to apply force. Though their movements were slightly unpolished, there was an unexpected smoothness to the process, suggesting they had at least a basic understanding of mecha structure.

Everyone watched as the person outside seemed to easily dismantle the upright window of the S-rated mecha, almost as if it were child’s play.

“Captain Stark, if I recall correctly, you mentioned this one is from your class… Seems they’re pretty handy,” Major Hank remarked. He wasn’t well-versed in these things, but he knew that this level of technical skill wasn’t usually something combat operations students were expected to have; it was more in line with a mecha engineer’s expertise.

“The right side of the window frame shows signs of heavy impact; the joints are loosened as a single section, so removing it wouldn’t be too difficult…”

Major Hank almost laughed, thinking, ‘I wasn’t even saying anything negative.’ He just wanted to commend the student for having good instincts, but Stark was quick to jump in, as if worried the engineering division might snatch up his talented student.

Actually, there was no need for that. While Major Hank couldn’t fully appreciate the technical aspects of mecha repair, he admired the composure and calm that this student had displayed under pressure.

He had only mentioned the student because Stark’s attitude toward them seemed a bit unusual. Now, it did seem a bit odd…

The person in the video had managed to pry open the cockpit window, allowing light to flood in, illuminating the dim cockpit and its occupants, as well as clearly revealing the student’s face.

Wait a minute… this kid looked oddly familiar to him as well. Major Hank pondered this with interest.

As the footage continued, it showed the series of actions involved in discovering and rescuing the injured. The entire sequence didn’t take long; in fact, it was impressively quick. For these two untrained young students, achieving this level of response was commendable.

Jiang Hui’s calm decisiveness and Xierman’s action-oriented quick reflexes left a strong impression on many in the room.

‘Clap.’ Major Hank suddenly clapped his hands together. “I think we absolutely shouldn’t overlook this part. While it may seem unnecessary now, I still think these two deserve some extra credit, don’t you?” Though he phrased it as a question, his tone left little room for doubt.