The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

“Prop up your calf, I’ll give you a quick injection. We’ll deal with it properly once we’re safe.”

“That guy is extremely sensitive to mental energy. I’ve been intercepted by him several times just now, all at close range. Be careful.”

Jiang Hui’s head felt like it was about to explode, but she forced herself to focus. She heard Huan Xian speaking, instinctively responding, though her brain didn’t have the capacity to process everything. She only vaguely registered his movements and constant vigilance.

She could even sense his mental energy swirling chaotically, far more erratic and aggressive than ever before.

“Shh—found it.”

Huan Xian instantly fell silent, as though a switch had been flipped. The previously volatile mental energy vanished without a trace.

Jiang Hui didn’t overthink it. Her only focus was on finding the enemy as quickly as possible and executing their original plan. If she could at least see it through, this trip wouldn’t feel like a waste.

As for her leg injury—well, that was just an unfortunate accident.

—

“Did it hit? Did it hit?!”

Mu Kun had somehow managed to squeeze next to Huo Qi, pushing Xiao Li aside without a second thought.

Xiao Li naturally wasn’t happy about it. In his eyes, that spot was his exclusive position. Over the years, he had always followed behind Huo Qi, learning from him. Now, someone suddenly appeared to compete with him for that place, and it was impossible for him to feel pleased.

However, arguing with Mu Kun, a young girl, felt a bit inappropriate. Left with no other choice, he reluctantly moved to another spot, sulking.

Huo Qi didn’t respond, seemingly still immersed in the sensation of that recent shot.

To be honest, it had been an unprecedented experience.

For humans, the five senses serve as the foundation for perceiving the external world. Over time, with the progress of civilization, humanity began developing their brain capacity, learning to sense the world through mental energy, surpassing reliance on the simple five senses.

Generally speaking, well-known sharpshooters in the interstellar era excel in both aspects—mental energy and the five senses. In fact, the former is usually even more critical.

In this interstellar age, where individuals with powerful mental energy abound, humanity relies heavily on this ability to explore their surroundings. Mental energy enables actions and perceptions that are impossible under normal circumstances.

Conversely, sharpshooters who primarily rely on the five senses are relatively rare.

Among the five-sense shooters, most specialize in vision, possessing extraordinary static and dynamic stereoscopic eyesight—almost a natural talent.

To illustrate, in the distant Eighth Star Epoch, there were once three legendary five-sense sharpshooters. The most famous among them eventually reached the pinnacle of fame, earning an eternal place in the Empire’s history books. As long as the Empire endures, the legacy of this remarkable individual will continue to be celebrated.

Their full history is too extensive to delve into here—one could fill an entire book and still fall short. For now, let’s focus on their early achievements as a five-sense sharpshooter.

According to data from the Ninth Star Epoch on fully awakened individuals, their visual range typically spans up to five kilometers. This, of course, assumes ideal conditions with no obstructions, where they can clearly see their surroundings.

In wars or on certain foreign planets, what they often encounter are complex environmental terrains. In such situations, vision is inevitably obstructed by sand, stones, plants, or uneven landscapes. On some special planets, there may even be effects from local climates or magnetic fields. Under such circumstances, it’s impossible to achieve a clear line of sight spanning five kilometers.

However, humans don’t rely solely on vision. There are also hearing, smell, taste, and touch. The other four senses are harder to directly interpret. But if someone can combine them to create a comprehensive sensory field, they can form a three-dimensional perception of the environment. This requires not only inherently sharp senses but also a strong ability to connect them. It takes long-term training to develop such an ability.

Those who understand how to use their five senses for shooting are called five-sense sharpshooters, distinguished from ordinary shooters. Even without relying on mental energy, these individuals can still lock onto targets within a certain range.

Coincidentally, Huo Qi is one such talented five-sense sharpshooter, and his strength lies in his hearing rather than his vision.

Huan Xian’s marking ability is indeed formidable, to the point that it has effectively sealed off the movements of Huo Qi and his entire team, making them hesitant to use their mental energy for fear of falling into Huan Xian’s trap.

However, what Huan Xian never anticipated was that Huo Qi, despite having his mental energy sealed, was still able to locate enemies two kilometers away using only his five senses.

Of course, Huo Qi doesn’t rely solely on his five senses. Given the distance, his sensory field would be blurry. Otherwise, he would have targeted Jiang Hui instead of Huan Xian, who appeared to have no apparent flaws.

It was also Huan Xian’s overconfidence in his abilities that led to this. Since acquiring this ability, he had rarely encountered anyone capable of escaping his mark. He didn’t realize that the other person not only escaped but also severed his marking connection and even managed to steal the information about his location by tracing the residual trace of his marking.

With these combined elements, the opponent eventually pinpointed Huan Xian’s location and used a rare long-range breath-dampening rifle to land a hit on him.

The moment the bullet arrived, Huan Xian sensed something. However, he was still too inexperienced—or perhaps he just hadn’t anticipated that someone could operate in such a way, breaking through his defense signals. Luckily, Jiang Hui was there to cover for him, or by now, they would have already been hit, with only one in three chances remaining.

For Jiang Hui and the others, who had initially planned an ambush, this was a huge blow, like failing to steal a chicken and losing rice instead.

Everything they had just read was immediately turned into a shot. Huo Qi’s targeting of this daring enemy became blurry once again, but he was confident that the opponent had only a small chance of avoiding the shot. Although faint, he could clearly feel that the mental energy from that side had suddenly become chaotic for a moment.

It seemed that the shot had been successful.

He couldn’t help but wonder what the opponent would do next. Would they continue, or…?

Huo Qi’s gaze was calm as he sensed the faint presence around him being withdrawn entirely. Only then did he deliberately release his own mental energy.

“Bang—” Suddenly, his expression changed. He lowered the rifle and tilted his head to dodge as a bullet grazed his face, barely touching his rear shoulder bone, leaving a warm sensation in its wake.

Huo Qi could feel the simulated chest armor bracing for impact. That bullet had been so close, just shy of being recorded by the armor.

And that was just the beginning.

“Bang, bang, bang—”

Three consecutive shots. It seemed that the opponent had completely changed their low-profile approach, adopting a much more aggressive and high-profile style.