A Chemist's Interstellar Saga

Chapter 44: The Most Miserable Insectoid
Chapter 44: The Most Miserable Insectoid

Pritchett moved closer and closer, but Arix remained unfazed. Instead, a smirk crept onto her lips as she sneered, ”Bugs are just bugs, after all. Not too bright, are you? If you get another chance, make sure to kill me first, or you’ll be the one to die.”

Arix’s right hand, the one without the bracelet, gently touched her left elbow. Then, she twisted it fiercely.

RIP!

Arix grunted in pain as blood dripped from her left elbow to the ground.

Pritchett’s pupils dilated in shock, staring in disbelief as Arix tore off her own arm. She even left the bracelet intact, taunting him as it dangled before his eyes.

”Guess I’ll need to carry a surgical knife next time,” Arix muttered, casting a pained glance at her severed arm. She then turned and shot Pritchett a vicious grin. ”Now, who’s the prey now?”

”How did you...” Pritchett realized the danger and tried to flee.

But Arix, ever vengeful, didn’t give him the chance. Her psychic power, long prepared, erupted and wrapped Pritchett in a crushing grip.

Arix slowly walked up to Pritchett. She then reached out, and tore off his left arm as well.

”Ah! You crazy woman! If you’re going to kill me, just do it!” Pritchett howled in agony.

”Kill you? Why would I waste such a valuable specimen?” Arix sneered. ”Rest assured, I’ll make sure the research institute keeps you alive, suffering for eternity.”

With that, she used her psychic power to seal the blood vessels in her wound. She tucked her severed arm under her armpit and dragged Pritchett back to the training base.

As she walked, she muttered, ”I wonder if my arm can be reattached later. Should I clone a new one instead? But that’s so expensive.”

Listening to Arix, Pritchett spat out a mouthful of blood in fury and fainted.

Arix noticed he had become heavier. She rolled her eyes, and muttered, ”This guy? And he thinks he can be a spy?”

...

Drexel was the first to notice Arix’s disappearance. He had just finished his training and emerged from the psychic power training field, only to find Arix missing. He nearly lost his mind with worry.

He couldn’t bear to imagine what would happen to their family if Arix couldn’t be found.

While Drexel was still frantically searching, the high-ranking officers of the Fifth Legion and the training base also received the news. They were thrown into a frenzy.

Arix was the only one in the Alliance with psychic power at Supergiant+ level. After returning to the Kering family, she had been hailed by many as the future hope of the Alliance.

If she was lost forever, it would not only devastate the Kering family but also deliver a heavy blow to the entire Alliance.

While everyone frantically searched for Arix, she was already on her way back, gasping for breath as she dragged Pritchett along like a dead pig.

After a few more steps, she paused and eyed Pritchett’s limbs, contemplating whether to disassemble him to lighten the load.

Just as she was about to make her move, an Alliance soldier suddenly emerged from the bushes.

Arix looked warily at the stranger, fearing that he might be another insectoid. If so, there was no way she could make it back.

Thankfully, the soldier simply opened his opticomputer and compared her face to a photo on his screen.

After confirming her identity, he touched the earpiece in his ear and said, ”Jerboa, Jerboa, this is Antelope, do you copy? I’ve located the target in the woods on the back hill. The target is injured and requires medical assistance, over.”

”Roger that, Antelope. Please stand by. Support is on the way, over,” a male voice responded through the earpiece.

”Roger, over,” the soldier replied before turning to Arix. ”Miss Kering, the medic and captain are on their way. Just hang on for a little while.”

”Alright,” Arix relaxed, realizing this stranger was an ally.

She glanced at Pritchett and let go in disgust, dropping him to the ground, where he landed face-first in the dirt.

Not long after, a warship descended on the scene. Kellan and Drexel disembarked with fifty soldiers.

Arix stood covered in blood, missing one arm. That made the entire group surround her with concern.

”Arix, we’re so worried about you!” Kellan’s tension finally released at the sight of her.

”Arix, what happened to your arm? How did you end up like this?” Drexel asked.

Seeing her two caring brothers, Arix no longer pretended to be strong. She immediately wailed, ”It hurts so much! It’s all this damn insectoid’s fault!”

Following Arix’s finger, Kellan and Drexel saw Pritchett lying on the ground, barely alive. Kellan’s gaze turned sharp, while Drexel, filled with rage, rushed forward and started pummeling Pritchett like a punching bag.

”Dare to hurt my sister? Go to hell!” Drexel kept raining blows on him.

Pritchett was beaten awake. Realizing the dire situation he was in, he quickly begged for mercy, ”Stop, stop! I’ll tell you everything, okay?”

Seeing that Drexel was about to beat Pritchett senseless, Arix hurriedly intervened, ”Drexel, don’t kill him! I still want to send him to the research institute.”

Kellan looked at his unruly siblings with a headache, though he didn’t seem inclined to stop them. He wanted to spoil them just this once.

”Arix, you’re still injured. Go back and receive treatment. I’ll handle things here,” Kellan said warmly.

”Alright. Just make sure you send him to the research institute,” Arix urged.

”Got it,” Kellan replied with a resigned smile.

Satisfied, Arix climbed onto the stretcher, cradling her severed arm, and two Alliance soldiers lifted her into the warship.

...

The fact that their instructor had been parasitized by the insectoid triggered shockwaves between the two bases, and the higher-ups of the Fifth Legion were furious. The insectoid’s recent kidnapping of Arix not only crossed the Fifth Legion’s line but also the Alliance’s.

After learning of the incident, the Alliance President immediately issued three orders to the Fifth Legion:

Clear out the remnants at the training base to ensure the safety of the students. Fight back against the insectoid invasion at all costs. Grant the Student Officer rank to Arix Kering from the Hecaris Military Academy.

Following the president’s commands, several individuals disappeared overnight from the Fifth Legion’s training base. Some were janitors, some were instructors, and others were just assistants.

Those who were aware of the disappearances kept silent. Even if they happened to stumble across an arrest in progress, they would just turn and walk away as if they had seen nothing.

The ones who got the shortest end of the stick in this purge were the spies sent by the Empire’s warmongers. They had only just been embedded in the training base and hadn’t even begun their operations before they were caught.

...

Unaware of the turmoil outside, Arix had just reattached her arm and wrapped a bandage around her neck. She was relaxing comfortably on her hospital bed, engrossed in a livestream on her opticomputer.

The streamer was a Moon-Class mecha engineer who was meticulously explaining the finer points of building Moon-Class mechas. The more Arix listened, the more captivated she became, occasionally tipping the streamer.

”Thank you, MechaMonster, for the feather! Appreciate the support.”

”Thanks for the sports car, MechaMonster!”

”Thanks for the castle!”

The streamer was grinning from ear to ear. While explaining the mecha assembly process, he made a point to ask Arix (aka MechaMonster) if she had any questions.

Arix had many uncertainties, so she typed her questions, and the streamer eagerly answered each one.

Once enlightened, Arix was generous with her money. She immediately sent ten castles in a row. The stream was instantly flooded with spectacular effects from the high-value gifts.

After finishing her gifts, Arix glanced at the time and followed the streamer before reluctantly logging out of the app.

Kellan was supposed to bring her food soon, and she couldn’t let him see the opticomputer in the room.

Knock, knock!

Just as Arix closed the app, there was a knock on the door, causing her to hastily tuck her hands under the blanket.