The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

“A group of people led in circles.” Lin Qi shook his head, not at all surprised. He had considered this possibility when he saw Clarens easily being subdued.

He just hadn’t expected the whole process to go so smoothly. The time gap was played well—while the other little ones might feel frustrated, they would only need to expend more energy to catch up over that small distance they had been left behind. He was increasingly looking forward to the scene when these kids would finally confront each other.

“Arrogance leads to defeat.”

The few people actively talking in the conversation looked surprised at hearing these words from someone who rarely spoke.

It was a rare occasion for him to comment on the competition. Was this the third or fourth sentence he had said? The last one seemed to have been hours ago. His silence had made them almost think he was mute.

But then again, Captain Stark had always been a stern figure. He rarely changed his expression, and it was uncommon for him to be moved by anything. He hardly ever offered evaluations of any student or person.

The only ones he seemed to care about and comment on were probably his own students—he truly focused on his responsibilities, which commanded a sense of respect from those around him.

Stark’s words held truth.

Pride and arrogance make one easy to defeat—there were countless examples that proved this point.

Even if they weren’t directly concerned with this particular event, they still agreed with it.

However, some people are able to focus on themselves, while others are sensitive and can easily be triggered by a casual remark from others.

“Captain Stark is quite certain with his words. It seems like he’s confident that his own student will stay at the top. The competition isn’t over yet, so speaking so decisively—if they lose, it would be embarrassing.”

Zou Yi immediately became agitated. Was this person doing it on purpose? Normally, no matter how much he tried to anger him, Stark wouldn’t even respond. But now, he was enjoying the show more than anyone else, seizing any opportunity to target his student.

He thought his student was so impressive, but it was only because of compensation points. If you deducted those, his student would be below Huo Qi, not even matching Clarens’s ability.

Such a person, whose abilities weren’t even on par with Huo Qi’s and who foolishly injured himself… Instead of taking care of his own student, Stark was here giving advice about someone else’s student. What was Stark trying to say?

Instructor Tan sighed and rubbed his forehead, unwilling to speak further. Lin Qi raised an eyebrow and shifted his gaze, clearly uninterested in watching this one-man show.

The others either covertly watched the drama unfold or, accustomed to it, simply turned their eyes back to the competition. The atmosphere in the room grew tense.

But this time, Stark seemed to have no intention of ignoring it. He finally took his eyes off the big screen and looked directly at Zou Yi for the first time, replying, “Did I say anything?”

‘Pffft—’

The onlookers in the shadows nearly burst into laughter. It was rare to see Stark acknowledge Zou Yi, and they figured that the normally composed officer was too lazy to argue with a young, hot-headed kid. But unexpectedly, when Stark did address Zou Yi, it was with this response.

It would have been better if he hadn’t answered at all… Zou Yi would definitely explode with anger.

Sure enough, Zou Yi became even angrier. “Are you playing dumb, Stark?! What gives you the right to say my student is arrogant? And what about your student? She injured her leg! Let’s see what she does next. The competition isn’t over yet.”

“When did I say anything about your student?” Stark pursed his lips, and his gaze naturally shifted to a specific scene on the central screen, focusing on two people in particular.

Zou Yi and the others followed his gaze and realized that the screen was showing the dynamics of Team R186.

What he meant was… he was talking about his own student?

Was he worried that his own student was advancing too smoothly and feared they might become arrogant? That actually seemed like something Captain Stark would say.
Exactly, this kind of remark fits Stark’s personality. So, it turned out he was just concerned about his own students, and Zou Yi and the others had misunderstood.

But for some reason, everyone found it even more amusing. Watching Zou Yi’s face turning a mix of green and pale, puffing up then deflating helplessly, a few familiar officers exchanged glances, struggling to contain their laughter. The “interaction” between these two was often quite funny.

By the way, besides the other three members, two of the members in Team R186 seemed to be Stark’s students—one ranked first and the other third. Their talent was outstanding, making people envious. No wonder Captain Zou Yi was always dissatisfied.

They remembered that the top-ranked student was someone Stark seemed to care about. There had been rumors a month ago that Stark had gone to the principal’s office specifically for this student, and today, he had made two trips to the control room. It seemed that this student was no ordinary one. They weren’t sure if they were a relative from Stark’s family, but maybe they could find out later.

———————————————

“Those guys are probably furious,” Xierman said carefully as he untied the ropes around Clarens, who was sitting on a rock.

Before this, Jiang Hui had already added Clarens to her team. With Team R186 officially formed, it meant their second-stage objective had finally been completed.

It wasn’t easy; now, only the energy recharge remained. But…

The completion of this task seemed to be just around the corner.

Should one say they were truly lucky, or that opportunities are always given to those who are prepared?

When they finally cleared all the obstacles and arrived at L11, exhausted but determined, they were immediately stunned upon connecting to their first energy point.

Beep beep

“Successfully connected to the total energy block L11. This is an unlimited recharge point. Friendly reminder: The second round of energy recharge will enter the countdown and will end at 01:12:26 star time.”

Doesn’t that mean the recharge limit at L11 is 100%? Does that mean if they stay here until the recharge is over, this round will be completed?

And with so little time left for the recharge to end… they should stay here and not leave, just stick around until it’s done.

Jiang Hui snapped out of her immense joy and remembered that she still needed to add Clarens to her team; otherwise, tying him up like this wasn’t a good solution.

Moreover, given the current situation, it seemed more advantageous to form a formal team immediately. The longer they waited, the more it would become an issue. Better to do it quickly, or it would turn into an unnecessary conflict.

Of course, right now, Clarens didn’t seem particularly friendly. But she believed that team camaraderie could be built over time, so there was no rush…

Zhou Xiuwen and Huan Xian also quickly came to their senses. They silently “cleared” the area around them, then set up a simple defense around the energy point, planning to stay here for the long haul.

Everyone quickly took their roles, working in sync, and soon they were settled in and quietly recharging. As for the feelings of the other participants, that was no longer their concern, which led to the scene that everyone had seen earlier.