Chapter 431 414: Saving People

"I heard you. So what kind of reaction should I have?" Lin Hui retorted. "Should I be like you? Sitting on the floor, getting all emotional, refusing to eat or drink? Should I let my own condition deteriorate before we even know how to handle the situation?"

Ding Yiran was stunned by the question.

For a moment, he was frozen, just sitting on the floor, watching as Lin Hui quickly finished preparing a few simple dishes, brought them to the dining table, filled the rice bowls, and set out chopsticks and spoons.

Red Pattern Star was no remote mining asteroid, trash planet, or penal colony. Its atmosphere was stable and suitable for growing all sorts of resources, so natural vegetables and meat were easy to come by and not expensive.

As a mid-level employee in a large corporation, the Ding family's patriarch ensured they enjoyed a decent standard of living.

In fact, just being able to live on Red Pattern Star was a sign of a respectable lifestyle.

Now, on the table, sat a plate of stir-fried loofah and egg, a dish of shredded pork with green beans, and a bowl of kelp and pork rib soup. A faint, fragrant aroma drifted through the air.

CLICK.

The fake Ding Luo had clearly smelled the food. She came out of the bedroom and plopped down at the table.

Ding Yiran scrambled to his feet and silently took a seat at the table as well.

Lin Hui sat down with them.

"I just finished making the dishes that were planned. Give it a try, see if you like it," he said calmly.

"..." The fake Ding Luo gave him a strange look, finding it somewhat difficult to comprehend his line of thinking.

She picked up her chopsticks and quickly stuffed some food into her mouth. It was surprisingly good.

"What are you thinking?" she couldn't help but ask.

"I'm not thinking much of anything. The Endless Divine Race is an existence that ordinary people like us can't possibly stand against. Even if we did have a plan, what could we do?" Lin Hui retorted.

"...That's true... You're just insects, incapable of doing anything. You, at least, have the self-awareness of an insect," the fake Ding Luo said mockingly.

"Where is she now!?" Ding Yiran, who was sitting beside them, suddenly shouted. "My sister, where is she now!?"

"What do you want to do? She's already in the Endless Divine Domain. What could you possibly do?" the fake Ding Luo sneered.

"You've been willing to tell us this much, so you don't want anything to happen to my sister either, do you!?" Ding Yiran shot back, having surprisingly seen through her stance.

"And what does that have to do with you?" The fake Ding Luo was unconcerned. She hadn't hidden her position or intentions, so it was only natural that he'd figure it out.

"I'm going to save her!" Ding Yiran said quickly. "I want to go to the Endless Divine Domain. Please, can you take me with you!?"

"Take you there for what? To die?" The fake Ding Luo laughed.

"...I'll... I'll think of a way!" Ding Yiran gritted his teeth. "No matter what, I refuse to just stand by and watch something happen to her!"

"Foolish," the fake Ding Luo said, shaking her head, not bothering to deal with him anymore.

'In her eyes, this kid is no different from an immature brat.'

'The quietly accepting Ding Lin, on the other hand, is much easier on the eyes. Compared to a blustering fool who overestimates his own abilities, self-awareness is a far better quality.'

"Can you tell us what the execution process involves?" Lin Hui asked, eating his meal slowly and deliberately.

With Ding Yiran as a point of contrast, the fake Ding Luo's impression of Lin Hui was clearly much better, and she was now willing to speak with him properly.

"Fine. It's not like you can do anything even if you know, but... when the time comes, I'll set up an inter-realm livestream so you can see her off one last time," the fake Ding Luo said in a low voice.

After a pause, she continued.

"The re-evaluation just ended. It confirmed she has a negative score, which means she could pose a potential threat to the race. So, it's been reported to the Divine Race's Legal Department. In about half a year, the department will issue a specific punishment, detailing the time, place, and method. After all, Ding Luo isn't some ordinary member of the Divine Race; she won't be convicted and executed that quickly. The whole process will probably take another two years or so."

"Two years..." Lin Hui fell silent and said no more.

With this buffer of time, Ding Yiran also calmed down a little.

Silence returned to the dining table.

After the meal, the fake Ding Luo made an excuse about needing to go out for some fresh air and left.

Lin Hui told Ding Yiran to put the dishes in the automatic washer, then got up to leave as well.

"Brother! What are you really thinking?" Ding Yiran couldn't stop himself from asking.

"I'm not thinking about anything in particular," Lin Hui said flatly.

"You..."

"We need to verify it. Haven't you noticed? So far, this is all just her side of the story. We need to check through other channels to see if it's true, to see if our sister is really in trouble," Lin Hui replied.

"Huh...?" Ding Yiran came to his senses. It was true; everything they knew so far had come from the fake Ding Luo alone. But the problem was, they were just ordinary people. How were they supposed to verify any of it?

"There's plenty of information about the Endless Divine Race online. They're celebrity heroes, after all. First, let's do some thorough research and see if a rule like this actually exists. If we can find another member of the Endless Divine Race to ask, that would be even better," Lin Hui said.

"Ah... right, you're right, that makes sense. I remember my school has a dedicated 'Endless Club' full of members interested in the Endless Divine Race. I'll go ask them," Ding Yiran immediately thought of a plan.

"Okay, go. Be careful, and don't reveal your real situation." At this moment, Lin Hui seemed more like the older brother.

"Okay..." Ding Yiran had no mind for such details right now; his head was completely filled with thoughts of how to verify the information.

Ding Yiran rushed back to his room and immediately started contacting the club on his personal smart terminal.

Meanwhile, Lin Hui returned to his room, seemingly to rest. In reality, his true body set out once more, flying at full speed to another region of Red Pattern Star, where he randomly found a member of the Endless Divine Race fighting a Nether Energy monster.

He defeated them both, monster and all, bundled them up, and dragged the pile away, wrapped in a current of air.

「In a chaotic asteroid belt tens of millions of kilometers from Red Pattern Star.」

Lin Hui casually tossed the tall, golden-armored woman onto an asteroid. With one hand, he toyed with a golden crystal he had just refined from the Nether Energy monster.

"My apologies for inviting you over in such a manner." He sent his words to her via a tremor of his Heart and Spirit.

"It's not Divine Power, and it's not Nether Energy... What are you? Don't tell me you're from the Mixed Race?" The tall woman's face was covered in blood, all from the beating she'd received for being stubborn and refusing to believe he was stronger.

Lin Hui appreciated her tenacious and unyielding spirit, so he had rewarded her with a beating even more vicious than the one he'd given the Nether Energy monster.

Through multiple tests, he had discovered that these members of the Endless Divine Race and the Nether Energy monsters were all incredibly durable. As long as they weren't instantly vaporized without a trace, they could recover quickly.

Ordinary fatal wounds had little effect on them.

"Mixed Race? What's that?" Lin Hui had rarely heard this term.

"All of them... anyone not from the Divine Race, the Dragon Court, or Yanwu... they're all considered Mixed Race. This includes human rebels, the remnants of other groups we've exterminated, and hidden alien species..." the tall woman answered, breathing heavily.

"Alright. I have a question. Does your Endless Divine Race have an internal ban on emotional connections between your people and humans?"

"That... yes, there is. It wasn't taken seriously before; most just turned a blind eye. But after Xia Weizhao, the higher-ups started paying attention." The tall woman paused, answering with some confusion. "Are you a rebel? Did a member of the Divine Race close to you get into trouble? I can help you investigate, just don't hurt me!"

"Why the sudden enthusiasm?" Lin Hui was a bit puzzled.

"Enthusiasm?" The woman gave a bitter smile. "If you had stated your purpose earlier, I probably would have cooperated from the start. For frontline city managers like us, living side by side with humans day in and day out, even the most cold-blooded person will develop feelings. In fact, you could say that over ninety percent of frontline Divine Race members have people they consider important and cherish in the Human Realm. And some of the rebels became rebels precisely because a Divine Race member they cared about got into trouble, making them feel the Court was unfair and resentful."

"..." Lin Hui thought for a moment and understood. It was true. Living together day after day for a long time, it was impossible for any sentient being to remain completely devoid of emotional connection.

"Regarding the emotional deviation audit, the specific details are like this..." The woman then explained the clan's specific procedures and rules one by one, which were basically consistent with what the fake Ding Luo had said.

But when she was finished, Lin Hui didn't let her go. Instead, he asked a new question.

"One more question. How does one enter the Endless Divine Domain?"

"If you want to save someone, you can't go in yourself. Even if you are of the Mixed Race, your entry into the Divine Domain would cause a huge commotion, which would only escalate the problem," the woman said seriously. "We've encountered similar troubles before. In situations like this, the best approach is to hire a member of the Divine Race and bribe key officials. With just a small push at the right moment, you can legally and legitimately use the rules to achieve your goal, without causing a major disturbance."

"Oh? That does sound like a good method. Could you please explain how that would work?" Lin Hui was suddenly interested.

"You can hire me." The tall woman puffed out her chest. "When it comes to fighting, I'm no match for you, but in this area, I have some confidence."

"What's your name?"

"Yan Qiushi."

"Can you tell me more about these 'rebel humans'? Where else have you seen people like them?" Instead of immediately asking about the rescue plan, Lin Hui changed the subject.

"Rebel humans are mostly from the upper echelons of human society, born into prominent and powerful families. They control vast resources, influence, and power. That's how they're able to amass so much technology and build themselves into individual powerhouses comparable to us in the Divine Race. Usually, these people are princes of some planet or heirs to a major conglomerate. Their backgrounds are incredibly formidable, and their identities are mysterious. As for how to find them, I don't know either. You're the only true rebel human I've ever met," Yan Qiushi replied.

"Very good. In that case... what payment would you require to be hired?" Lin Hui brought the topic back around.

He made a quick calculation. Red Pattern Star was located in a fringe Star Realm, a habitable planet within a circle of mining and penal worlds in human territory. Among habitable planets, it was considered lower-middle tier.

Even if Ding Luo was captured, she would be taken back and tried by the Divine Race's Legal Department affiliated with the Red Pattern Star system. Rescuing her wouldn't be the biggest problem; the key was how to handle and place her after the rescue.

In truth, Lin Hui hadn't planned to step into the spotlight so soon, but the matter with Ding Luo ultimately had to be resolved.

And this "Mixed Race" that Yan Qiushi mentioned had piqued his interest.

'If I use the Mixed Race as a cover... I could rescue her and, at the same time, investigate the details of that golden aura. That would be perfect.'

He had a hunch that the source of the golden aura might be in the Endless Divine Domain.

The Endless Divine Race could potentially be another new resource point for him to rapidly advance his Blood Seal evolution.

Although this race was very strong and would be difficult to deal with, it didn't matter.

This time, he already had a preliminary plan.

After familiarizing himself with the steps of long-distance transmigration, Lin Hui already had an idea. If he could contact his teacher, Qimei, for support, and then pull in the Purgatory Duke, Extreme Cold Heaven, and Haiming from his homeland, he could use this vast, High Energy Level world as bait. He should be able to negotiate the formation of a small vanguard for the Calamity Force...

Of course, the prerequisite was to first confirm whether the Endless Divine Race truly possessed the strange golden aura he needed.

And there had to be a sufficient quantity of it. Otherwise, making a big fuss and expending all that energy for an insufficient return wouldn't be worth it.