The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

“You guys say—” Jiang Hui was following Huan Xian’s instructions, trying to treat her own wound, but her actions were halted immediately by Huan Xian, who was supervising her.

“Hiss… what I mean is, it seems that the second round of energy recharge only has a little over one star hour left. I wonder if the others know about this time limit.”

The others looked thoughtful, but they couldn’t offer any specific answers, since none of them had connected to another main energy block. The only one with such an experience was—

“No,” the only person who knew the answer said firmly. “L3 only reported a limited recharge capacity.”

After being untied, Clarens had been unusually quiet, finding a spot neither too close nor too far from the group, clearly showing that he wasn’t part of their team.

Given the circumstances, their initial interactions couldn’t be described as pleasant. His slightly rejecting attitude was expected. But now that he had become a member of their team, not only did he give them three chances to survive, but he also eliminated the possibility of this powerful enemy turning his gun on any one of them.

It was clear that they had gained more than they lost.

As for whether he would cooperate fully… there was nothing they could do. After all, even within the team, everyone relied on their own abilities and took what they needed. No one had to hold absolute authority over their teammates.

At first, Jiang Hui thought she might need to ask a few more questions, and if he didn’t respond, she could have Xierman communicate with him. She had noticed that Xierman seemed to have a way of getting along with Clarens.

Sure enough, being naturally sociable really is the nemesis of all types of personalities. Even Jiang Hui, who initially didn’t expect it, ended up becoming friends with him. It seemed like they had skipped over quite a lot of things…

Clarens casually answered the questions posed by those who could tentatively be considered his teammates for now. He then subtly shifted his gaze to Jiang Hui’s pants leg, where a bandage was wrapped around her wound, faintly tinged with red. After a brief moment, he quickly looked away.

In truth, Jiang Hui’s ability to read people still needed improvement.

She had interacted with Clarens more times than anyone else in the group, even more than the others present. However, because Clarens always wore a stern expression and didn’t enjoy communicating, often unapproachable and distant, Jiang Hui’s impression of him had become quite rigid—proud, confident, and powerful, with all the traits of a typical strong person.

And indeed, those traits were accurate, but Clarens had grown up in a relatively complex family environment. Pride was something deeply ingrained in him, but there were other things he would never show. It was a place where one had to wear a mask to survive, and if he constantly exposed his true self, he would have likely been “devoured” by that enormous entity long ago.

Clarens was different from Huo Qi. He was so proud that he refused to acknowledge anything or anyone beneath his level of sight.

Unless someone had the ability to truly reach his level, they would probably never be seen by him.

His world was truly free of dust, so to speak.

Therefore, the precondition for conversing with him on equal terms was—defeat him, forcing him to acknowledge you at eye level, or even look up to you.

Capturing Clarens wasn’t something Jiang Hui achieved alone; it was a collective effort by the T186 team. Together, they had defeated this proud loner and forced him into doing many things he was unwilling to do.

In Clarens’s eyes, these were failures, and his eyes, which seemed incapable of reflecting anyone, had now been tainted with the image of the T186 team.

Since he had lost, he had no choice but to admit it. He wasn’t someone unwilling to accept his own failures.

The moment he dropped his weapon and walked toward the T186 team, Clarens had already conceded, accepting whatever consequences came with this defeat.

Therefore, when he accurately read the range and landmarks of the main energy block for the T186 team, it wasn’t out of threat. Even though he had been restricted, he never once considered sabotage, not because he couldn’t, but because he hadn’t. Even before officially joining the team, he had quietly helped them scout the way.

He had actually already admitted that he was a member of the R186 team.

Now that they were on the same team, how could he be so petty and stubborn over a matter of face? Naturally, he would say whatever needed to be said.

Of course, due to pride, he still wasn’t too willing to show a good attitude toward the others. These guys were just too wild—he had never seen anyone behave so roughly, like bandits carrying people away. Couldn’t they just talk things over properly?

And his journey in the competition wasn’t over yet. Even though he had “lost” and been brought into a team, the competition wasn’t finished, so he still had a chance.

Being in third place was not the limit he was aiming for. He wanted to surpass Huo Qi, then Jiang Hui, and everyone else trailing behind him. He wanted to step on all of them and reach the distant peak.

He wanted absolute victory. This was something he would never change, no matter what.

Meanwhile, Jiang Hui, who was unaware that her new teammate still planned to settle things with her in a one-on-one battle, was rather pleased with the shift in his attitude.

After getting the answer, Jiang Hui nodded thoughtfully and said, “But with this sudden warm reminder, could it be because this is an unlimited charging point? If that’s the case, do you think the other energy points don’t have this feature?” Her eyes lit up.

Huan Xian shook his head, seeming doubtful: “We encountered several main energy blocks during the first round of supply points. Later, we found the unlimited charging point, and it gave a time report, but it was an exact hour. It’s possible that the reporting system is random. Plus, the second round of supplies is different from the first. We can’t be too quick to draw conclusions.”

“Hm… actually, I don’t think it matters whether the others know about this information,” Zhou Xiuwen said thoughtfully.

At his words, everyone, including Clarens, who seemed to have been ignoring the conversation, turned to look at him.

Zhou Xiuwen had merely spoken casually, not expecting his comment to attract the team’s attention, and he suddenly felt a little embarrassed: “I—I mean… well, this broadcast point wouldn’t be lying to us, right? Since it says the charging will end in just over an hour, the others must be in the same situation.”

Currently, the situation was unfavorable for them, whether or not the other competitors were aware of this information.

L11 is located in a remote area, and the only two points that can reach it in a short time are L6 and L3, along with scattered soldiers lurking nearby.

As for the other energy points… Zhou Xiuwen traced a line connecting L12, L10, L1, and L5, showing that any participants outside this line would need at least forty star hours to reach L11 if they wanted to “slay the dragon.” They would need to leave immediately and maintain a continuous, non-stop pace to achieve such speed; otherwise, the time required would be even longer.

“How much time do they have left to waste getting here?” Zhou Xiuwen couldn’t help but smirk coldly.

He had no idea how different he was from his usual self at this moment, nor did he realize how much he resembled someone who had given him life.