Ark, after I died, the operators started to love me.

Mike filled in the blanks on the form one by one with his pen. All he wanted to do now was get back as soon as possible and leave.

The Great Knight's Territory was wonderful, but too many unexpected events happened to him.

"In addition to these basic items, I also need to purchase off-road equipment for eight people. It would be even better if oxygen cylinders could be provided."

"I'm sorry, the office of the Grand Knights doesn't know how many supplies are in the large camp in Sami, but I can process it for you first. You can pick them up directly when you arrive at your destination. If you don't find what you want, the money will be refunded to you."

Xingji glanced at the list; Mike had written down very professional supplies, and it seemed he was also fully prepared to go all out.

Standing silently to the side, Feathered Serpent began to make plans in his mind.

Xingji is an astrologer, and star observation is a family tradition. It's not that she didn't learn it well, but rather that some unexpected changes seemed to have occurred in this land, causing her star observation skills to lose their original effectiveness.

If none of these things can attract the attention of a historian, then Horhaja has failed in his duty.

A moment later, Mike left happily with the supplies list, partly because he was happy that the matter was settled, and partly because he was glad that he hadn't been exposed.

Watching the man leave, Holhaia stood beside Blue Liboli and said calmly, "This man has a secret."

Everyone has secrets.

Xingji was somewhat troubled. According to what she knew, the number of explorers heading to the far north to explore the northern lands had increased dramatically recently.

Under normal circumstances, very few people would be willing to do this.

The snow-covered lands of the north are also deadly, hardly any better than this land.

Even experts need to think carefully about their escape routes.

These people were not professional explorers at all; they had come to the far north on another mission.

What exactly happened in the north?

This cannot be said; laymen can only guess, relying on some rumors they catch.

"Starry Sky, if I'm not mistaken, we might be in big trouble this time."

"This is the Great Knight Territory. We're only doing this part-time. We'll return to Colombia after a few days."

"Then we will forever miss the truth."

It's clear that Xingji isn't interested in any of that; what's truly worrying her is the unusual celestial phenomenon above her head.

If I had to describe it in one sentence, the events surrounding Stellar's infection with Oripathy can be described as the birth and fall of a genius.

19. A Life Passing Through the Stars

Of course, the fall of the genius mentioned here does not refer to "the third stage of Dou Qi". Xingji showed an extremely high talent for learning and mastering astrology from a young age and once became a rising star in the Columbia astronomy circle. However, no one expected that this rising star would fall so quickly.

Back then, Xingji, driven by her parents' expectations and aspirations for the future, had always followed the path of family tradition. However, fate played a cruel joke on her.

At the time, Xingji's younger sister, Xingyuan, was participating in an important scientific research experiment. An accident occurred, the experimental product was leaked, and Xingyuan unfortunately became infected.

As the older sister, Xingji was both worried and relieved. She was worried about what would happen to her younger sister in the future, but she was relieved that although the people who participated in the experiment suffered heavy casualties in the accident, her younger sister was miraculously safe and sound.

The greatest fortune for this land is that it was a false alarm.

As for becoming infected, it's a done deal, and Xingji is just taking it one step at a time.

However, this accident completely destroyed her life at that time.

Not long after Xingyuan became infected, Xingji suddenly discovered that small black stones had also grown on her body.

She clearly had never come into contact with Originium, and her usual protection was extremely strict, so how could this have happened?

No matter how you look at it, that's how it happened. After the younger sister became infected, the older sister followed the same path.

Just as Xingji was feeling dejected and lost, she suddenly noticed a change in the way her parents looked at her.

If they had previously regarded her as the brightest star in the sky, now, there was an extra emotion in the eyes of Xingji's parents: fervent anticipation.

It turns out that becoming an astronomer is not the end goal. Most astronomers infected by Originium discover more previously undiscovered astronomical mysteries than before they were infected, something that non-infected individuals cannot do.

Therefore, Xingji's parents also believed that Xingji could take this opportunity to go further.

At that time, Xingji was filled with sadness and doubt. He was shocked when he heard the news and immediately began a new round of observations as his parents had instructed. However, the result was beyond everyone's expectations.

Starry Sky failed.

She tried many times, but still failed.

This means that past experiences are no longer effective for her.

After becoming infected, she did not become a better astronomer; instead, she lost her original ability to observe the stars.

This endeavor relies not only on experience but also on talent. Now that Xingji has lost its talent, all its previous experience has lost its foundation and has become a castle in the air.

At the same time, Xingji's parents' attitude towards her changed drastically once again. Their enthusiasm disappeared, followed by endless disappointment, and they even forbade her to continue observing the starry sky.

"You've already failed, don't do this again."

"No matter how many times you try, it will be fruitless. Give up."

"You are not suited to be an astronomer."

Thus, after losing her parents' support, Xingji's distress was unspeakable. Everything she had dreamed of and all the efforts she had made in the first half of her life vanished like a dream after becoming infected.

As the younger sister, Xingyuan understands her older sister's predicament. Although her older sister doesn't say it, she keeps thinking about it, but there's nothing she can do. Becoming an infected person is an irreversible fact, and she can only live each day to the fullest.

Fortunately, Rhine Life did not abandon the two infected researchers; instead, it provided them with even greater assistance.

Under the leadership of Christensen, the former head of Rhine Lab, a scientific expedition team was established to conduct detailed exploration and geological surveys of the mountains, rivers, and northern and southern regions of this land. Outstanding astronomers like Astronomy were naturally among them.

Ferdinand, the head of the Energy Department, regarded Xingyuan as his most precious treasure and considered him his successor.

Just when Xingji thought she was embarking on a new chapter in her life, fate played another cruel joke on her.

In 1099, the head of the Energy Department was arrested and imprisoned. Xingyuan quit his job early and then went to Rhodes Island.

In the same year, Rhine Lab's former head, Christensen, collaborated with the government to secretly develop energy weapons, and eventually even launched himself into the sky.

As a result of this event, Rhine Lab was reorganized. Astronomy, unable to react in time, could only passively accept everything. Meanwhile, the head of the scientific expedition department went deep into the North and disappeared into the depths of the Sami Icefield. No one knew where he was, or whether he was dead or alive.

Rhine Life underwent a dramatic change overnight. Starry Sky, temporarily unemployed and on a semi-vacation, went on vacation to Rhodes Island under the arrangement of her colleague, Himer. It was at that time that she met someone.

Although he was thin and small, he possessed tremendous energy within him.

He made Ifrit, who often went into a frenzy, obedient.

The current president, Celia, greatly admires him, and Joyce has a close relationship with him.

Rhine Labs was able to be reborn in Colombia, preserving most of its previous research projects, thanks in large part to a secret conversation between this person and the Colombian president.

No one knows what happened during that conversation, as only the vice president was present, and it was impossible for the vice president to reveal what was discussed.

If that were all, Xingji wouldn't be interested in him at all.

During her vacation, the young woman named Liboli lay on the deck gazing at the stars and sketching a star map, which was unfortunately seen by this man.

The two sat on the deck, enjoying the evening breeze, and talked about the constellations in the sky, the relationship between people and stars, and beautiful fairy tales.

On a whim, Xingji showed the man her hand-drawn star map. She originally thought he was clueless and could only offer a few words of praise, but to her surprise, he spoke eloquently and even pointed out two blank spots in the star map.

Those two blank spaces had puzzled the astronomical community for many years. There were no clear stars in the sky as markers. How did he know that?

When Xingji filled in the hypothetical constellations with some skepticism, he suddenly realized that the star chart was becoming more complete and also vaguely sensed something unusual.

The constellation positions described by this man were actually off by at least ten thousand years.

From that time on, the girl Liboli became interested in him.

However, tragedy struck again.

he died.

He died in an accident that was not an accident.

Like a shooting star streaking across the sky, dazzling and bright, yet fleeting.

The heartbroken Star closed her eyes and told herself that perhaps all the tricks fate had played on her were meant to tell her that she should not get close to anyone or have any lofty ideals, otherwise she would become unhappy.

So Stardust left Rhodes Island and Columbia alone, and came to the distant Casimir, believing that this would eliminate the calamity.

20. 200 favorability points is not Mike's maximum potential.

As for how the feathered serpent came to her side, Xingji couldn't say for sure; perhaps the creature had ulterior motives.

In short, if she doesn't want to leave, let her stay.

Holhaya glanced at Xingji, who was deep in thought, and knew that Liboli was getting stuck on a rut again.

I don't know why, but this race is always like this, sometimes clueless, sometimes so stubborn it's maddening.

She doesn't seem to have the right to say that.

"Don't you know how to do divination? Use your astrology to divine about that person from earlier. I can see that you are indeed very interested in him. Maybe it can help you get out of your current predicament."

“I never said I was having difficulties.”

Faced with Xingji's stubbornness, Horhaya simply smiled: "You left Rhodes Island alone and refused Rhine Lab's appointment of you. Don't you think you're a jinx? You believe that all the tragedies that have happened are due to the calamities you brought."

Upon hearing Horhaya's words, Xingji immediately stood up, clenched his fists, and glared angrily at the woman. If he hadn't forgotten his rapier today, he would have definitely given her a good beating.

"Don't be nervous, little bird. I know you know a sword technique called Starshine Sword, but you're an office worker and haven't practiced swordsmanship for a long time. Can you still unleash your full strength?"

Horhaya's fingers danced lightly, and azure energy swirled in her palms. She was a feathered serpent, a legendary divine being, and could cast spells even without a staff.

Seeing that Xingji's face was getting worse, Yuzi said again, "I'm not here to turn against you. We've been together for so long, you know I have no hostility towards you. And now I'm also very interested in that person. You said in your divination that something good would happen today, and now most of the day is gone. Where do you think this good thing should fall? Or is it the person who just came in?"

Holhaya's description temporarily suppressed Xingji's anger. As a researcher, she knew that impotent rage was useless in uncovering the truth, and she did not believe Holhaya's manipulation.

Astrology is merely a prediction of the future; it should actually be considered more of a psychological phenomenon and cannot be taken as a reliable basis for judgment.

"If you're interested in that gentleman from earlier, I remember his name is Mike. You can go find him."

Feathered Serpent propped his head up with his hand, leaning back in his chair, his long legs, covered in thin black stockings, crossed over each other: "Of course I'll go find him, but I want to hear your opinion first. This is also a reminder to you, so don't blame me for not warning you later."

The feathered serpent's confident assertion only fueled Xingji's doubts.

What kind of wicked idea is this woman up to now?

Back when she was at Rhine Life, she had a fierce battle with the head of the ecology department, Muirsay, and who knows what earth-shattering things she might do next.

When Horhaya met Xingji, his attitude softened, so she added fuel to the fire: "You see, you won't lose anything by having your fortune told, so why not?"