The Strongest Brain in the Interstellar

“Huo Qi’s team just left L7,” Zhou Xiuwen, who had been keeping watch, suddenly announced.
“Just now?” The others, including Clarens, who wasn’t very mobile, all turned to look.

“Yes.”

About thirty star minutes had passed since the recharge period began, and only now did Huo Qi’s group start moving. Meanwhile, the map showed that many other participants had already begun to move. It seemed the energy point he was at had fairly lenient recharge restrictions.

“Clarens… Clarens?” Xierman asked softly from the side.

“…”

“Did you fall asleep?”

“What do you want?” A resentful voice replied, almost too weak to carry emotion.

“Uh, I just wanted to ask—it’s fine if you don’t want to answer—just, uh, how much was the recharge quota you overheard at L3 earlier?” Xierman asked cautiously.

He didn’t hold much hope for an answer. After all, their actions were no different from banditry—dragging Clarens into their team and tying him up all the way. Anyone would feel full of resentment in his place.

“…”

As expected, there was no response. Xierman felt a little disappointed but not surprised. Just as he was about to give up, a slightly stiff voice suddenly broke the silence: “10%.”

“That’s way too little. Good thing we didn’t go in,” Xierman said, stunned.

Jiang Hui also overheard the conversation between Xierman and Clarens, but she didn’t comment.

This was an unspoken agreement within their team. Unlike other groups that insisted on holding group meetings for every decision, they preferred to operate independently, each contributing their strengths. They would finalize a broad strategy, and if everyone agreed, they’d execute it without unnecessary debate.

Xierman had his own way of communicating with Clarens. Similarly, Jiang Hui could discuss other topics with Huan Xian. Each handled their own matters without interfering with one another.

But L3 only having a 10% quota… That reminded Jiang Hui of something important.

This round of resource replenishment was indeed vastly different from the last one. The total energy blocks were laid out clearly—they knew how many there were, their approximate locations, and even who was guarding them. The only information missing was the recharge quota restrictions for each point.

To avoid an early confrontation with the team considered the strongest in the field, Jiang Hui and the others chose to strategically avoid them.

However, despite their careful planning, they had overlooked a critical factor—one that every participant in the simulation had to face: the recharge quota restrictions at energy points.

If L3 only had a 10% quota, could it be that some of the other eleven energy points also had low quotas, such as 10%, 20%, or 30%?

If L11 turned out to be one of these low-quota points, many of their plans and related calculations would lose half their effectiveness. They’d have to reconsider several aspects of their strategy later.

But there was no helping it. The only way to find out an energy point’s recharge quota was to check it out in person. However, none of them wanted to expose their location too early, so they could only endure for now.

Besides, even if L11 only had a 10% recharge quota, so what? As long as they could recharge even a little, it would suffice. They believed this round of resource replenishment wouldn’t restrict them to just one star hour’s worth of time. If the results at L11 weren’t satisfactory, they could simply move on to another point. There were plenty of energy points in the area—they could tackle them one by one.

This wasn’t just a problem they faced; it was a gamble all the participants had to take.

“How long would it take us to get from here to L11?” Jiang Hui asked.

Huan Xian adjusted the titanium sand table—a directional tool often used in military settings. By importing a map, it could create a 3D model to simulate routes and travel times based on input data. Jiang Hui thought of it as a kind of interstellar navigation system.

They uploaded the energy point distribution map displayed on the canopy and estimated their desired energy point’s location based on their own activity rate. Though it wasn’t perfectly accurate, it didn’t need to be—it only had to provide a general idea.

Since Huan Xian was the most familiar with the tool, he operated it throughout their journey. Soon, he had the data ready: “It’ll take about fourteen to eighteen star minutes.”

The time wasn’t too long. With their current remaining energy reserves, they could easily make it to L11 even if their reserves were down to single digits.

What they now had to consider was what changes might occur in the field during the fourteen to eighteen star minutes it would take to travel there.

Jiang Hui shifted her gaze to the map displayed on the canopy above.

Only their team knew that two of the top three scorers were from their group. This was their greatest advantage.

In addition, they had Huan Xian. Though he was ranked eighth, his capabilities were well-known to the group. Calling him a “hidden master” wouldn’t be an exaggeration. Having him as an ally instead of an enemy was a stroke of luck, and he was even part of their team.

This left Huo Qi as their primary concern.

The fourth-ranked participant was Lin Maowu, a somewhat unfamiliar student from the command division, with a high score of over 230. Fifth and sixth places, Abu Shouri and Mu Kun, were both from Huo Qi’s team, with scores just above 200—clearly formidable opponents.

The seventh-ranked participant was a student from Jiang Hui’s second class, though she wasn’t very familiar with him. Positioned at energy point L8, in the southeast, while they were in the northwest, it seemed unlikely they’d cross paths anytime soon.

The ninth and tenth participants were both from the third class, their names long and unfamiliar. Jiang Hui knew even less about them. Xierman seemed to know a bit, but his information wasn’t particularly useful.

The top ten were all formidable individuals. None of them would be easy to deal with.

Fortunately, most of these individuals were scattered in the upper-middle section of L3, keeping them at a distance from Jiang Hui’s team. By the time they reached L11, there was little chance these people could arrive in such a short time.

As of now, apart from their own group, the only potentially threatening participants who had left their starting energy point were Huo Qi and his team.

Jiang Hui glanced at the map and quickly developed a sense of the situation.

She speculated that Huo Qi’s team, starting from L7, wouldn’t have too many choices. Most of the energy points and participants were concentrated to the right of L7. If Huo Qi’s group had any strategic sense, they’d head southeast.

By eliminating energy points that were too far, too isolated, or definitely off the table—like L3 and L1—their likely choices narrowed down to L10 and L6.

Jiang Hui could only hope they’d go to the further point. That would make things much safer for her team.

But unfortunately…