The Interstellar Queen of Scavengers

Chapter 1462: Chapter 1462: Family

Ji You suddenly remembered something—something that had happened a long time ago, something she had almost forgotten. To talk about it, she had to go back to before she entered Lanyue Star Military Academy. Back then, Ji You had earned a bit of money, so she bought herself a set of training equipment and some Herbal Medicine Bags for Body Building, but because of an operational mistake, she almost kicked the bucket.

No!

In fact, if the Iron Plate hadn’t suddenly appeared and saved her, Ji You figured there wouldn’t even be a trace of her left now.

The Iron Plate...

This incident also made Ji You believe that the Iron Plate would jump out at critical moments to save her life, that it was a life-saving treasure. But later, she ran into danger many times, like the Level 8 Viper Worm, the Level 8 Sea Iron Bull... yet the Iron Plate never appeared again, which made her start doubting this assumption.

What exactly were the conditions for the Iron Plate to suddenly pop out and save her?

Ji You couldn’t figure it out.

It was like a mystery—impossible to guess, impossible to understand. Ji You simply stopped thinking about it and let it be.

But!

When Sheng Qingyan was in mortal danger, the Soul Device she had made suddenly burst out with power and gave him a chance to breathe, essentially saving his life.

Where did that Soul Device come from?

It was made by Ji You’s own hands. And what was the key to successfully making a Soul Device? The Array Diagram. The more stable the Array Diagram’s structure, the more likely the Soul Device would succeed, and the better the effect.

Others didn’t know, but Ji You was very clear: every Array Diagram for every Soul Device she had successfully made so far had been cut from the Iron Plate.

That’s right.

She had only taken a tiny segment of the pattern, not the complete pattern on the Iron Plate.

Every time the Iron Plate appeared in her Spirit Space, the duration was too short—so short that Ji You could only take a quick glance. She had absolutely no way to carefully and thoroughly study it in one go.

And—

Ji You’s spiritual power was too weak. So weak that even if the Iron Plate stayed in front of her eyes, she could only look at it for that one glance, not even half a second more. Once she exceeded that time, Ji You would get dizzy, nauseous, her vision would go dark in waves, and very quickly, her spiritual power would be completely drained.

Forcing herself to stare at those complex patterns on the Iron Plate dealt heavy damage to her spiritual power. She had tried once to forcibly extend the time, and afterward Ji You had felt awful for several days, as if she was about to die, so she didn’t dare to try again.

...

All of the above meant that Ji You had only taken a tiny segment from those intricate, sprawling patterns on the Iron Plate. Just that one small section of pattern could already greatly increase the success rate of the Soul Devices she made, and the quality of the Soul Devices she produced was higher than that of most soul artifact makers.

Then what if she had the whole thing? If one day Ji You’s abilities were strong enough for her to fully reproduce all the patterns on the Iron Plate, just how powerful would the Soul Devices she made become?

At this thought, Ji You’s heart pounded wildly.

Moreover, the Iron Plate could save lives, and Soul Devices made from a short section of Array Diagram copied from the Iron Plate could also save the wearer’s life at critical moments.

Was this just an isolated case? Or did all the Soul Devices she made share this effect?

There were too few examples to prove anything; she needed to expand her experimental ”materials.” However, the situation back then had been extremely dangerous, and Sheng Qingyan himself had triggered that hidden effect of the Soul Device in a daze. Plus, at the time he had been wearing three of Ji You’s Soul Devices, and all three were scrapped on the spot. This left Ji You a bit conflicted: did others have to wear at least three Soul Devices made by her, or would one alone be enough?

Or maybe low-level soul artifacts required quantity, while Intermediate and High-level Soul Devices didn’t?

...

There were too many questions, but that didn’t affect the excitement, elation, and joy in Ji You’s heart. She pressed a hand over her wildly pounding chest and suddenly felt that there was so much more she could do.

The first priority was to expand the scope of her experiments.

Ahem, ahem...

As for these ”experimental materials,” of course she had to start with the people around her.

Putting away the other random thoughts, Ji You closed her eyes and tried hard to sense the Iron Plate deep in her mind, but she still couldn’t feel anything at all, couldn’t find a trace of it.

It was hidden tight, as if it didn’t exist in the first place.

After repeating the experiment a few times, Ji You announced her surrender.

Then.

Ji You switched tactics. She stopped looking for the Iron Plate and went looking for Xiao You instead. She could be sure that Xiao You existed separately inside the Iron Plate. It didn’t matter if she couldn’t find the Iron Plate; as long as she knew Xiao You was there, that was enough.

”Xiao You...”

In the enclosed space, Xiao You suddenly stood up when she heard this voice. She looked toward the only source of light in the darkness, her eyes lighting up: [Sis, I’m here.]

Hearing that sweet, soft little voice, the taut strings in Ji You’s heart instantly loosened. Then she laid out all her speculations one by one to Xiao You.

Xiao You pondered for a moment, stared at the light source, and said: [Sis, your guess is somewhat possible. I’ve been inside the Iron Plate for so long and still know nothing about it. The only thing I can be sure of is that as your strength grows, this space will expand along with it. The speed of expansion is very slow, almost invisible, but there’s only one situation that can make the Iron Plate Space expand rapidly, and that’s Soul Devices—and they must be Intermediate or High-level Soul Devices. Ahem... because low-level soul artifacts don’t really have any effect for you anymore.]

Ji You frowned slightly, listening intently.

Xiao You went on: [Every time the Iron Plate appears, it has to be when you’ve bought something good, like a Soul Device or something. Let’s call this behavior ”Charging” for now. When it comes out to ”charge” and replenish its energy, that’s the moment you can see it. But as for me, inside of it, I don’t feel anything particularly obvious. I don’t know whether my position has moved or not. Only after it finishes charging can I feel that the small space I’m in has expanded a bit. As for how much it expands, that depends on how strong the item used for this round of charging is.]

Ji You listened carefully and said, ”Yeah, that part we already know. And Iron’s been getting picky lately—won’t eat anything but Soul Devices. Stuff like Candy Beans and Cloud Mist Tea, it can’t even be bothered to come out for.”

Thinking of this, Ji You said with a hint of disdain, ”It’s a piece of Iron Plate. What’s it doing being so picky? Clearly it has no idea how hard it is to put food on the table.”

When Xiao You heard her say that, she could almost hear the gritted teeth behind the words, and her heart ached even more for her sister. It was really, really hard for Sis to support the family.

Her, the Iron Plate, Six Strands Sisi, Little Golden Dragon...

So many mouths to feed, all relying on Sis alone.

Xiao You pressed a hand over her burning heart and said softly: [Sis, I...I’ll work hard to shoulder the burden of supporting the family.]

Ji You felt deeply moved, but she had only been speaking casually and hadn’t meant to complain to Xiao You. She really didn’t want this kid taking it to heart.

Xiao You was actually extremely stubborn. Once she really took something to heart, not even ten oxen could drag her back.

Ji You hurriedly said, ”Xiao You, raising you and supporting the family makes me very happy. We’re one family; how can we talk like we’re not? From now on, we’ll support the family together!”

One family?

Xiao You’s faint gloominess vanished in an instant. Her eyes sparkled as she nodded hard: [Mm!]