Chapter 81: Enemy Attack

At Yujin Base in mid-December, the sky hung heavy with thick, oppressive clouds, pressing down like a suffocating weight. Tian Dao sat atop a hill, silently gazing up at the storm-laden heavens. Though his eyes were concealed beneath a black eye mask, his vision remained unimpaired. He waited patiently—calm, still—for the coming storm.

“Tian Dao, why’d you run off here again?” came a soft, sweet voice.

A purple-headed missile shot out from the hillside, wobbling slightly before hovering beside Tian Dao.

Looking at Jing Ruli perched atop her Dream Pillow, Tian Dao smiled. “The base was boring. Just needed some fresh air.”

“Is that so?” Jing Ruli shifted into a duck-like pose on her pillow, tilting her head. “I think you’re just bored because Kalolin’s been holed up in Quantum Space.”

Tian Dao didn’t deny it. He had felt restless—empty, even—since Kalolin left the base. So he’d come out to wander, to breathe, to clear his mind.

Seeing him fall silent again, Jing Ruli suddenly produced a rainbow-colored candy from the pocket of her pajamas, as if by magic.

“Here.”

Tian Dao raised an eyebrow. “Huh? You’re not charging me for this time? No manual labor fee?”

Jing Ruli pouted. “Hmph. Who said I didn’t ask for payment? I’m just giving it to you now. I’ll collect the full amount—plus interest—later.”

She crossed her arms proudly, lifting her chin. Her tuft of hair bounced in the wind as she declared, “Besides, don’t underestimate my business sense. If I weren’t stuck in this base, I’d be the richest woman in the world by now!”

But what she didn’t realize was the way her pale violet eyes sparkled—wide, innocent, utterly unshrewd. To Tian Dao, it wasn’t the gaze of a future billionaire. It was the gleam of a perfectly green, utterly ripe sucker.

He couldn’t help but tease, “If you’re going to collect interest, why don’t you tell me how much you’re charging?”

“Huh?” Jing Ruli froze. Her hair stilled. Her brain short-circuited.

Then, on her Dream Pillow, she began furiously counting on her fingers, frowning deeply—her expression absurdly comical, like a squirrel frantically hoarding nuts but unable to count past ten.

Tian Dao struggled hard not to laugh. But his effort was wasted—Jing Ruli spotted it immediately.

“Tian Dao! What’s that look for? You’re laughing at me!”

Truth be told, he’d managed to hold it in… until now.

“No—no, I didn’t—really, I—pfft—”

“Liar! You did laugh!”

“Mistake! A total misunderstanding! I’m not laughing at you! I just… I just ate a Dream Candy, and it made me think of… happy things!”

“Impossible! You definitely laughed!”

Fine. If she wanted a fight, he’d stop pretending.

“Alright, fine! I was laughing! Hahaha!”

“Jing Ruli, are you dreaming again? How’d you even get the idea you’d be the world’s richest woman? You’re not cut out for this!”

She stiffened—hard. Her fists clenched.

“Yaaah! I’ll fight you!”

Furious, she lunged forward from her pillow, half her body hanging off the edge, and unleashed her “Dream Butterfly Octopus Punch”—a move she believed to be devastatingly powerful.

Tian Dao didn’t even flinch. He simply raised one finger, gently pressing it against her forehead. The punch shattered mid-air, useless.

Short arms, short reach—no matter how hard she swung, she couldn’t touch him.

“Mmmph! Mmmph—!” After exhausting herself, she collapsed, utterly defeated, flopping back onto the pillow, tongue lolling out in exhaustion.

But pride wasn’t dead—just wounded.

“Tian Dao… just wait. I may be soft like cotton, easy to push around… but Kalolin isn’t!”

Her voice trembled with childish fury. “As soon as she wakes up, I’m telling her everything! Then you’ll wish you’d never messed with me!”

Tian Dao, however, didn’t respond. His gaze had already shifted—drawn to something beyond her.

Jing Ruli sputtered. “You monster! I came here to comfort you, and you hurt me? You’re heartless!”

Just as she was about to unleash another round of righteous threats, a thunderous boom split the sky.

CRACK!

A blinding flash of lightning tore through the cloud cover, ripping a jagged hole in the storm-laden heavens.

Before Jing Ruli could react, Tian Dao yanked her by the back of her pajama collar, dragging her sharply aside.

His arm swept past her nose in a blur—then cracked into the spot she’d just occupied.

BANG!

In a flash of dust and debris, a two-story-tall rock shattered into fragments, raining down in a storm of stone and mist. The shards splattered across her tiny bear-print pajamas.

Jing Ruli stared upward, stunned.

Hundreds of massive rocks were now plummeting through the clouds, one after another, hurtling toward the base below like a meteor shower from hell.

The rock that had nearly hit her? Just one of many.

If Tian Dao hadn’t pulled her back—she’d be dead.

Her face, once bright with childish cheer, now twisted with raw terror. The peaceful island she once knew—the quiet haven of Embers—had become a living nightmare.

Explosions. Screams. Chaos.

She’d once believed her dreams could go on forever.

But now, staring at the devastation below, she knew.

Her dream… was over.

“Tian Dao…” Her voice trembled—not just from fear, but from the sheer weight of it all.

Tian Dao looked up, eyes unblinking, as if seeing something far beyond the storm.

His eye mask was gone. His pale blue irises reflected the apocalyptic sky—like a world ending in slow motion.

“Jing Ruli,” he said quietly, “go alert everyone.”

Before he finished, another boulder came hurtling down—perfectly aimed at them.

Tian Dao waved a hand.

The rock twisted mid-air, veering off course—slamming into the ground beside them with a thunderous impact.

“Just tell them… we’ve got guests. Uninvited ones.”

“Got it!” Jing Ruli nodded firmly.

Then, the star patterns on her Dream Pillow flared to life.

In an instant, the two-meter-long pillow began expanding—rapidly, violently—growing into a five-meter-long, fully inflated dream cushion, enveloping her completely.

Dream Travel · Full Open!

Channeling her full Stellar Energy, the pillow transformed into a streak of white light, shooting downward toward the base at blinding speed.

Along the way, Jing Ruli twisted and turned in impossible ways—dodging boulders that rained from the sky like deadly hail.

Just as she neared the base, two massive rocks appeared together—converging on her from opposite angles, leaving no room to dodge.

But then—her pillow melted. It flowed like liquid, shifting and reshaping, allowing her to slip through the narrow gap between the rocks with flawless precision.

She landed safely.

Tian Dao’s lips curled into a faint smile.

He was impressed.

Because while Jing Ruli seemed like a carefree, clumsy child—her true power was undeniable.

Among the 36 Stellar Prodigies, she ranked No. 3—second only to Tian Dao and Chen Xing, and far ahead of even the hidden talents like Kalolin.

Her innocence wasn’t a weakness. It was her nature.

And her strength? Unmatched.

While others trained relentlessly, she slept through classes, napped during drills—yet still achieved second place in the foundational Stellar Energy Value assessment.

Only one other person in the entire Stellar Plan had done the same.

And that was Tian Dao.

But few knew the truth.

While everyone assumed Tian Dao was born with maxed-out innate Stellar Energy… so was Jing Ruli.

She, too, was a natural-born powerhouse.

If only she weren’t so… uninterested in fighting.

If she’d ever chosen to train, the title of No. 2 might have been hers.

But she didn’t want it.

She didn’t need it.

And that was the real secret of her power.

—

PS: Originally planned to release this chapter with the next two later, but decided against it. This one stands strong on its own.

The remaining two chapters will be uploaded before midnight.

(End of Chapter)

Chapter end