Cannon fodder in the Interstellar

Ruo Manni couldn’t help but reflect on how things had changed since her rebirth. Back then, she’d been too weak and low-profile, and to avoid exposing her true nature, she didn’t dare confront Aoi Dan directly, even though she knew Aoi Dan wanted to harm her. But only a few years later, with her current strength and status, Aoi Dan was now like dirt beneath her feet, easy to trample on at will.

It was likely because Aoi Dan no longer even registered in her eyes that Ruo Manni had almost forgotten about her. Still, despite feeling above her now, Ruo Manni was determined to settle the grudge of her past self.

Killing would be too simple an end—making Aoi Dan live miserably was a far more satisfying revenge. Now, with resources and loyal people at her disposal, it wouldn’t be hard to act without leaving a trace, staying within the bounds of the law while exacting her retribution.

As Ruo Manni walked, she began mulling over her plans. They would all be graduating soon, and once everyone left Xuan Gu First Military Academy, with its protective environment, getting to Aoi Dan would be much easier. She was considering her options when her distant expression caught the attention of her friends.

“Ruo Manni, if there’s anything difficult you need help with, you can count on me to take care of it,” Hebrew Adam finally spoke up.

“With me as her brother, Ruo Manni doesn’t need to bother you for anything,” Hua Deli retorted.

“Oh, it’s nothing—I was just lost in thought.” She couldn’t exactly bring up her plans for revenge in such a public setting.

Hebrew Adam sensed her response wasn’t entirely honest, but to avoid pressing her too much, he decided to wait and observe.

But Hua Deli wasn’t as restrained. As everyone entered the classroom, he pulled Ruo Manni aside to talk privately.

Since Hua Deli was her older brother, no one found it odd that he wanted a private word with his sister; their friends just went into the classroom understandingly.

“I just saw a familiar figure, which reminded me of someone. Brother, do you know about my past on Topaz Star? Do you remember the girl who entered Xuan Gu First Military Academy with me back then?” Now that it was just the two of them, Ruo Manni spoke directly.

“The girl who got in with you from Topaz Star, Aoi Dan?” Hua Deli asked.

“You know her?” Manny was surprised.

It was unexpected that Hua Deli knew Aoi Dan. Had Aoi Dan not given up and tried to pursue Hebrew Adam all these years? Or worse, with Hebrew away from school, had she switched her attention back to Hua Deli?

A complicated, almost disgusted expression crossed Hua Deli’s face.

“How do you know her? Did something happen?” Ruo Manni’s curiosity sparked as she sensed drama in her brother’s reaction.

“She used the excuse of being your neighbor to get close to me. I wanted to see what she was after, but… she’s way more persistent than Brittany Beery.” Hua Deli shuddered, recalling her clingy tactics. Even Mina-Olli was driven up the wall by her antics.

“Wait—you didn’t know she was trying to harm me back then?” Ruo Manni asked in surprise.

“Yes, we knew. After we began questioning your identity, we investigated your past life on Topaz Star, and we uncovered everything that girl did to you. So, when she started trying to approach me by claiming to be your ‘neighbor,’ I decided to see what she was planning and eventually help you get some payback. But I never got the chance—she nearly drove me insane first,” Hua Deli said, clearly haunted by her persistence. It was part of why he was less outraged than Dean Atchison over Hebrew Adam’s troubles with Brittany Beery.

“She pestered you for years?” Ruo Manni was shocked that Aoi Dan would go to such lengths.

“Later, Cousin Qi discovered that Aoi Dan was involved in a bounty assassination scheme. Most of the information about you and Hebrew was leaked by her. Originally, Cousin Qi and Cousin Xia set your and Hebrew’s information as Level 3 classified. If it hadn’t been for her leak, the Dark Organization wouldn’t have paid so much attention to you, let alone put a bounty of one billion credits on you. So Aoi Dan was captured, and after an interrogation, Cousin Xia dealt with her,” Hua Deli explained.

Ruo Manni felt her heart tighten at hearing Aoi Dan had ended up in the hands of the First Prince.

It was likely that the First Prince had realized Aoi Dan was a reincarnator, which is why he personally conducted the interrogation; someone as busy as him wouldn’t normally get involved in such minor matters.

Ruo Manni had always been extremely cautious around Aoi Dan, never revealing her own “foreknowledge,” so she was confident Aoi Dan hadn’t discovered her reincarnated identity.

Still, a hint of anxiety lingered in Ruo Manni’s heart, knowing that the person who interrogated Aoi Dan was the reincarnated First Prince himself.

In the novel, her original character disappeared without a trace en route to the Imperial Capital, so it was likely the First Prince in his previous life never knew of her existence as his cousin, let alone had the chance to observe any differences in personality between her two lives.

But with Aoi Dan, it was harder to be certain. Though Ruo Manni had mostly avoided her since reincarnating, there had been a few brief interactions. And in her first few months at Xuan Gu Military Academy, if Aoi Dan had been watching her from the shadows, Ruo Manni couldn’t be sure if she’d noticed anything.

Ruo Manni didn’t want anyone to know that she wasn’t the original character, not even the reincarnated First Prince.

Given her remarkable rise this time around, it was easy to guess that she would definitely attract the First Prince’s attention. Ruo Manni figured that without her realizing it, he must have already sent people to investigate her thoroughly.

Remembering the time she was seriously injured during training on the island, when the First Prince had Hua Deqi and Dr Paul bring her that invaluable potion, Ruo Manni finally relaxed.

The First Prince definitely hadn’t doubted her identity; otherwise, he wouldn’t have given her such a precious potion.

Thinking back, Ruo Manni was immensely grateful that she had been so clever right after her reincarnation. From the very beginning, she had made sure to attribute all her significant changes from her previous life to Aoi Dan.

So shortly after arriving at the Imperial Capital Star for special training, Ruo Manni seized the opportunity to tell her friends about Aoi Dan’s plot to harm her and deceive her into using that second-generation gene potion.

Looking back now, Ruo Manni felt she had been incredibly astute at that time, laying a solid foundation. Even if someone wanted to investigate, they would attribute her fate in this life—how it had turned out so differently from her previous one—to the second-generation gene enhancement potion.

“When did that happen?”

“About two years ago, so you really don’t need to seek revenge on her anymore,” Hua Deli said.

Ruo Manni sighed in relief again. Over the past two years, she had frequently communicated with the First Prince, and he had never shown any signs of suspicion or asked her any strange questions.

So much time had passed; whether the First Prince had ever doubted her during Aoi Dan’s interrogation, it should have all been settled by now.