Chapter 114: Hidden Star Society

"Here, this thing’s yours."

Under a torrential downpour, Liu Ma casually tossed the Mechanical Bible toward Chen Kong.

Chen Kong fumbled to catch the heavy tome—one that had haunted him all night—and stared at it with growing curiosity. The golden cover, adorned with endlessly spinning gears, immediately marked it as something extraordinary.

After a moment, he asked, "Old Liu, you’re just handing this to me? Won’t your boss dock your pay for this?"

Liu Ma waved it off with a shrug. "Dock it. I don’t live off salary—I live off company stock." He smirked. "I’m out here doing missions only because I need to complete my Perfect Awakening as a Stellar Source."

With that, he pulled out his data terminal and began tapping furiously.

A few seconds later, Chen Kong’s terminal vibrated violently. A file labeled [Stellar Mark] began downloading.

When he opened it, his pupils contracted instantly.

Inside were the very details he’d been desperate to uncover—information about Stellar Core Awakening.

But as he read, doubt crept into his mind.

The records were all from the perspective of Stellar Beasts. Every success story listed was a Beast. Not a single one involved a Stellar Prodigy.

"Where did you get this file, Liu Ma?"

Now fully dressed and shaking rain from his hair, Liu Ma replied, "Three years ago, Kalolin used her old quantum network access from the base to send it directly to our terminals."

"Except you changed your terminal’s identity code right after that—so she never managed to reach you."

"Is that so..." Chen Kong mused. Then, more urgently: "Did she say anything when she sent it?"

His tone was grave—this question felt vital.

Liu Ma paused, then said, almost casually: "She did say one thing. If you ever meet someone else with a Stellar Mark, don’t act rashly. Don’t get close. They… might not be friends."

"I thought about it a lot. Could there be others like us who’ve had Star Core Surgery?"

"But after all this time, I’ve only met a few Stellar Prodigies. No one else with a Stellar Mark."

"Still… Kalolin doesn’t act without reason. If she warned us like that, it means she has seen something."

"Otherwise, she wouldn’t have said it."

Chen Kong opened his mouth—

"I’ve met one."

Boom!

A thunderclap split the sky, illuminating Liu Ma’s stunned face and Chen Kong’s rigid expression.

And behind Chen Kong, a figure had silently appeared—cloaked in the rain, her face hidden beneath a pure white mask.

On the mask’s surface, the intricate pattern of the Andromeda Star Path glowed faintly, unnaturally.

"Watch out!" Liu Ma lunged, grabbing Chen Kong’s shoulder and yanking him behind him.

His right arm instantly shimmered with golden armor—Golden Bull Demon—and he unleashed a devastating punch.

The force of the blow tore through the rain, sending a ripple of shattered droplets outward—aimed straight at the masked woman’s face.

But the punch, one that even a Level-2 Perfect Stellar Envoy like Chen Kong would hesitate to block, was caught—with one hand.

Despite the vast difference in size—the woman slender, delicate, her fingers like porcelain—she held the blow effortlessly.

Liu Ma’s face twisted in effort, veins bulging, muscles straining.

Yet she gave only a faint, dismissive comment:

"Strength… decent. But only decent."

Clang!

A sound like a plucked lute echoed through the storm.

With a slight twist of her wrist, she pulled.

Liu Ma—two meters of armored muscle and fury—was flung backward like a ragdoll.

Chen Kong rushed forward, bracing his hands against Liu Ma’s back. Together, they skidded across the flooded ground, leaving a long trail of water before coming to a halt.

Liu Ma spat blood, his eyes wide with shock.

That single motion—one hand—had injured him.

If she’d fought seriously…

His expression darkened. He finally understood the abyss between them.

Chen Kong’s face was no better.

Because now, he saw it.

The woman’s left hand—clutching a battered, unconscious figure.

Vivian.

Her prized Silver Gleam II combat armor was riddled with jagged, sword-like scars. The exposed inner frame bled—thick, crimson fluid dripping down the metal, painting her like a living statue of blood.

If Chen Kong hadn’t heard her faint heartbeat and shallow breath, he’d have sworn she was dead.

To take her down without a trace.

To intercept Liu Ma’s full-powered attack with such ease.

This masked woman… was no ordinary opponent.

His eyes locked onto the mask.

The Andromeda Star Path pattern.

A jolt struck his mind.

"Hidden Star Society…" he whispered.

The moment the words left his lips, the masked woman’s brow twitched.

She dropped Vivian like trash.

In a blur, she vanished—leaving only a ghostly afterimage—then reappeared directly in front of Chen Kong.

Their faces were inches apart.

Chen Kong could feel the cold radiating from her—like standing before a predator wrapped in human skin.

A Stellar Beast.

Every hair on his body stood on end.

"Where did you learn those three words?" Her voice was calm. Too calm.

It carried no emotion—only cold, inhuman detachment.

As if she wasn’t looking at a person.

But at an insect.

One wrong answer, and she’d crush him without hesitation.

But before Chen Kong could speak—

Liu Ma exploded into motion.

The shadowy silhouette of Shadow War Horse roared behind him. His fist transformed into Golden Bull Demon, blazing with golden light.

This time, no restraint.

The punch tore through the air—

But the woman didn’t flinch.

She flicked her finger.

A translucent, ghostly string materialized in midair.

"Settle down."

Pling!

The sound cut through the storm like a blade.

A sonic edge—invisible, deadly—sliced through Liu Ma’s chest.

Sparks flew. Metal screamed.

Liu Ma’s body flew backward, crashing through two concrete walls before collapsing into rubble.

Blood poured from his wound—deep, raw, bone exposed.

She didn’t look at him.

Her long, pale fingers lifted Chen Kong’s chin.

"Tell me," she repeated, voice soft, icy.

"Where did you learn Hidden Star Society?"

Rain poured down.

Chen Kong stared into her mask—into the cold, unblinking void behind it.

He was standing on the edge of death.

One wrong word… and it would be over.

But before he could speak—

A soft laugh echoed from the rooftop of the abandoned factory.

"Such insignificant stars hiding in the glow of civilization. You really think you’re—"

The woman reacted instantly—raising her hand, preparing to fire a sonic blade.

But before she could move—

A hand seized her wrist.

Stopped her.

She turned—her eyes locking onto the figure now standing beside her.

Another masked man. White. Silent.

The same white mask.

The same Andromeda Star Path.

For the first time, the woman—the Andromeda Star Path—showed something like shock.

Just as Chen Kong and Liu Ma hadn’t seen her move…

She hadn’t seen him appear.

No sound. No trace.

He was there—now.

No hesitation.

The Andromeda Star Path woman raised her other hand.

She would make him pay.

With blood.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end