155: Chapter 155 Li Yuan was treated as a mother by Olivia.

He withdrew his attention from the public channel, but his thoughts remained on the silver-haired girl. He drew his Light Bow once more, firing arrows imbued with Thundercloud Storm into the sky, maintaining the increasingly violent thunderstorm zone above the eastern defense line.

Each arrow consumed 100 points of energy, which was a mere pittance to him. Thunder roared and electric snakes danced wildly as swaths of Spore Pods twisted, ruptured, and fell amidst the hurricane and lightning strikes.

But from the corner of his eye, he never stopped watching the small dot moving slowly on the surveillance screen.

She was getting closer and closer.

One hundred and fifty kilometers.

One hundred kilometers.

Fifty kilometers.

The Zerg Tide remained stationary at the warning line two hundred kilometers away, like silent black statues. Only she, riding that dark-gold Zergling alone, crossed the empty wasteland filled with craters and scorch marks between the Zerg Tide and the base.

Her speed wasn't fast; she even seemed somewhat leisurely. From time to time, she would stop and look around curiously, watching the intersecting beams of light in the sky, the distant firelight of explosions, and the oddly shaped defensive fortifications on the ground, as well as the personnel, vehicles, and robots running to and fro.

She didn't look like a warrior approaching the heart of an enemy army, but rather like a child visiting an amusement park for the first time, finding everything fresh and new.

Twenty kilometers.

Ten kilometers.

Five kilometers.

She had already entered the edge of the base's outermost security perimeter. Some automated sentry turrets swiveled their muzzles to lock onto her, but they didn't fire—the AI's instructions were clear: as long as she showed no aggressive intent, ignore her.

Three kilometers.

One kilometer.

Finally, she arrived before the pale blue, translucent energy shield that enveloped the entire North Star Base.

A soft halo flowed across the shield's surface, and through it, one could vaguely see the base's towering buildings, shuttling vehicles, and busy personnel. Outside the shield was a battlefield; inside the shield was a relatively safe sanctuary.

Olivia stood up from atop the elite Zergling's head.

The Elven Wings on her back flapped gently, and she naturally left the Zergling's carapace, floating lightly into mid-air.

She drifted unsteadily toward the shield, stopping less than half a meter from the pale blue energy barrier.

Then, she reached out a hand.

It was a fair, slender hand with long fingers and neatly trimmed, clean nails that showed a healthy pink hue. With pure curiosity, she gently pressed her palm against the surface of the shield.

Olivia's hand met no resistance whatsoever.

There were no ripples of energy repulsion, no alarms from the defense system, and no prompts for identity verification.

She simply... passed through.

It was as if the energy shield, capable of withstanding naval cannon fire, was merely a harmless layer of light and shadow to her, an ajar door.

Her arm passed through the shield, then her shoulder, followed by her entire body. Like passing through a curtain of water—or rather, like returning to her own home—she entered the shield's interior naturally and without obstacle.

The base shield continued to operate steadily, and the energy readings showed no abnormal fluctuations.

Chen Jingyi's fingers froze on the control console. Her mind raced instantly, pulling up all logs and identification protocols for the shield system.

The Alliance of Ten Thousand Races' base shield was not a simple energy barrier. It was a complex integrated defense system that combined Friend-or-Foe (IFF) identification, energy deflection, physical blocking, information filtering, and more.

Its IFF mechanism was not based on simple 'appearance' or 'energy signatures,' but performed dual verification deep into the levels of genetic sequences and soul fluctuations.

For 'allied forces' registered in the system—including all Alliance students participating in the trial, as well as their equipment, vehicles, and drones—the shield would open specific 'channels' to allow free passage to avoid interfering with tactical maneuvers.

This identification was hardcoded into the shield generator's core logic and was nearly impossible to deceive, as genetic and soul signatures are unique and non-replicable.

And now, Olivia, this former Zerg Queen, an individual who theoretically should be marked by the system as a highest-priority hostile target...

Passed the verification.

The system identified her as... an 'allied unit' with permission to pass?

How is this possible?!

Unless...

An unbelievable thought flashed through Chen Jingyi's mind: unless this girl's current genetic sequence and soul fluctuations were... exactly the same as a registered 'allied unit' in the system database? Or, had reached the system's criteria for being 'human'?

But that was even more impossible! A Zerg Queen and a human were worlds apart on the genetic and soul levels!

Just as Chen Jingyi's brain momentarily stalled due to this illogical situation, Olivia, having passed through the shield, landed steadily on the ground inside the base.

Her feet stepped onto the pavement made of high-strength alloy, the heels of her black high-heeled boots making a crisp 'clack' sound against the metal.

She looked around curiously, her ice-blue eyes sweeping over the nearby engineering robots that had frozen in place due to her sudden intrusion.

Olivia seemed completely oblivious to the frozen atmosphere around her and the gun muzzles and cannons pointed her way.

Her gaze bypassed those obstacles, bypassed the complex buildings and facilities, as if pulled by some invisible thread, and landed straight on... a firing platform on the base's eastern defense line not far away.

There, Li Yuan had just fired a volley of Lightning Arrows. He was catching his breath, raising a hand to wipe non-existent sweat from his brow—a purely habitual action.

Their gazes met across a distance of several hundred meters against the backdrop of the chaotic battlefield.

Olivia's eyes suddenly lit up.

It was a light of pure, ultimate joy, like stars suddenly igniting, as if she had found a lost treasure.

The smile on her face instantly widened, changing from her original faint, satisfied smile into a brilliant, cloudless, even somewhat childishly joyful grin.

The Elven Wings on her back gave a powerful flap!

Her body turned into a silver stream of light, diving straight toward Li Yuan's position!

Like a swallow returning to its nest, or a moth to a flame, with a surge of boundless delight, she plunged straight into...

Li Yuan's embrace.

The massive impact left the caught-off-guard Li Yuan unable to keep his footing. With a muffled groan, he was tackled directly to the ground, his back slamming hard against the alloy floor.

Olivia sprawled entirely over him, her arms tightly encircling his neck, her silver head buried in his chest, rubbing against him vigorously and contentedly.

The movement was much like a puppy that had found its master, or a hatchling finally returning to its mother's embrace.

She carried a strange scent, a mix of light floral fragrance and some kind of fresh energy. It wasn't unpleasant; instead, it provided a sense of security.

Li Yuan was knocked dizzy, his mind a complete blank. He instinctively wanted to push the person off him, but as soon as his hand rose, he heard a call filled with infinite attachment and joy from his chest:

"Found you..."

Olivia looked up, her ice-blue eyes curving into crescents, reflecting Li Yuan's bewildered face. She smiled radiantly.

"...Mother!"