Chapter 74: The System Is Useless; The Teacher Is the Real Cheat

Ye Hai shook his head.
“I’ve only heard of it, never seen it myself.”
Donald paced back and forth, looking rather anxious.
He muttered under his breath, “Have they all awakened from their slumber?”
“Or is it just a few individuals who have woken?”
“Let’s hope it’s not the completed form…”
At last, Donald shook his head, glanced around at everyone, and spoke, “About the Psychic Federation…”
“For now, don’t mention it to anyone—just pretend you know nothing.”
“Their target isn’t humanity, at least not yet.”
“In a while, I’ll need to leave for a time. When I return, I’ll tell you all the details—right now, even I don’t have all the answers.”
“But you must remember my warning…”
“If, at this stage, you cross paths with the Psychic Federation…”
“Even if every Corpse Collector gathers together, you must never oppose them—not even if there’s only one of them.”
“The only thing you can do is run—run as far as you can.”
“If even one of you escapes, that’s enough.”
It was the first time in all these years that Donald had addressed them with such gravity.
Everyone felt the seriousness of the situation.
They couldn’t help but frown, each falling into their own thoughts.
Ye Hai mulled over Donald’s words carefully. Although Donald seemed reluctant to discuss the Psychic Federation, his words were filled with enough implications to make Ye Hai’s heart tremble.
Ye Hai couldn’t help but murmur, “With our current strength, all we can do is run?”
Pushing the matter to the back of his mind for now,
Ye Hai then told Donald about the visit from Titch and Nangong Yixiao.
Donald looked at Ye Hai with mild surprise and asked,
“All these years, you’ve been cautious—so cautious that even the Plati Black Market never noticed the extraordinary nature of the Corpse Collectors.”
“And yet this time, you’re suddenly exposed to two alien powers at once?”
Ye Hai shrugged, speaking with resignation, “The expedition to the Radiated Lands was simply too dangerous. Even if Erita hadn’t appeared, I was forced to go all out…”
“There was no time to worry about eyes watching from above.”
Ye Hai recounted his entire experience in the Radiated Lands to Donald.
Donald looked at Ye Hai with a complex expression.
“You are the most gifted among all my students…”
“Though you didn’t inherit my research field like Lister did, I still believe you will be the brightest among them.”
“Your cautious nature will make you an outstanding leader; you won’t easily lead your followers into danger.”
“But you’re not lacking in courage either—every action you take has a clear purpose…”

“Even with such great power in your hands, you remain restrained, never arrogant or complacent.”
“Now that the Corpse Collectors have been entrusted to you, you should make your own decisions…”
“I, this old man, am not a qualified leader.”
“I know you’ve always had ambitions to reach for the stars… Whether you think now is the right opportunity or not, more often than not, fate doesn’t give you enough time to prepare…”
Ye Hai scratched his head helplessly, leaning back into the sofa.
“The Corpse Collectors are still too weak right now…”
“If it weren’t for the fact that, on the Zombie Star, energy weapons are heavily restricted, and that we possess the technology that allows us to take root here… I believe what descended upon us this time wouldn’t have been cooperation, but gunfire.”
“And now, with those long-dormant enemies all surfacing together, I can sense a great storm is about to sweep through the Zombie Star.”
“In this storm, the Corpse Collectors could easily be ground to dust with a single misstep.”
“This forces me to work with those aliens!”
“I have to develop the Corpse Collectors as quickly as possible, at least to the point where we can defend ourselves.”
“I don’t know whether working with them is ultimately seeking a tiger’s help, but I truly have no better options.”
Donald smiled and shook his head, saying,
“You need to adjust your view quickly.”
“Don’t limit your sights to the small Corpse Collectors…”
“A group of a thousand may count as a major force on Zombie Star, but if your goal is the stars…”
“A thousand is far too few—barely enough to crew a flagship.”
“Whether you’re up against intelligent mutant swarms or enemies in the cosmos… you must command a tremendous force!”
“How else can you stand against the great powers?”
“Zombie Star has been silent for too long; someone must come to change this world that once shone in the Leviathan System…”
“Perhaps it will be an alien power, or the mutants, or the Psychic Federation.”
“But it could also be changed by one of my students… At least I know, in your hands, Zombie Star can only become better!”
“I remember you once told me a profound saying… ‘When poor, safeguard your own virtue; when prosperous, help the world.’ The philosophy of Sea Wolf Star is always captivating…”
“Now, what you should consider is the fate of the entire planet, not just the little Corpse Collectors!”
Ye Hai rolled his eyes dramatically. While Sea Wolf Star’s culture was indeed similar to that of the Flowering Nation, that saying was hardly the philosophy of Sea Wolf Star.
The old man must be mad—was the fate of Zombie Star really something a mere ant like him should be pondering?
All he wanted was an interstellar fleet, a quiet corner, and a life without being bullied… As for venturing into the stars, what did that have to do with changing the whole of Zombie Star?
So Ye Hai replied, resigned, “Boss, you give me too much credit. I don’t have the ability to save a planet, and never once had such an idea.”
“I just want a fleet. Even if I have to base it on this godforsaken Zombie Star, if I can’t win, I’ll run without a second thought, abandoning every root I’ve laid down here…”
Donald laughed heartily and said, “No, Ye Hai, you don’t know yourself as well as I do…”
“If that day ever comes, as long as any one of us remains in the base on Zombie Star, you won’t be able to abandon us and flee alone… You’d never forgive yourself.”
“I’m over one hundred and forty years old—I rarely misjudge people.”
Ye Hai waved his hand, not wanting to continue the topic.

“I don’t know, maybe you’re right…”
“But right now, I have no strength for expansion. Even though cooperation with Giant Tree Star and Chaos Star can provide enough food!”
“But expansion isn’t just about feeding people…”
“Military power, technology, resources—I have none of them.”
“Especially on a hellhole like Zombie Star, only overwhelming force can give people a sense of security and stabilize development—otherwise, it’s all empty talk.”
“With the strength I have now, it’s fine as long as we don’t run into intelligent mutant swarms…”
“But if we truly clash, I might not even be able to keep the twenty thousand from the Plati Black Market safe.”
“You saw it yourself—when Liana couldn’t control the high-tier mutants, the five of us Corpse Collectors struggled even against this moray eel of yours!”
“And this thing is only an eighth-tier creature.”
“Among those intelligent mutants, many can’t be assimilated by Veronica—maybe because the queen ant gene was replaced with the ant queen gene, Veronica has been weakened a lot!”
“The main reason I came this time is to ask for your help—see if you can strengthen Veronica. It’s crucial to whether I can cultivate a very important virus!”
Donald paid no mind to Ye Hai’s words.
With a sweep of his hand, the flesh on either side of the laboratory’s moray eel split open.
When they saw what was inside, everyone leapt up in shock.
Ye Hai stared blankly at the laboratory walls, swallowing hard before asking, “Boss… what is this?”
Within the parted flesh, row upon row of Tyrants, Lickers, Hunters, and some mutants Ye Hai didn’t recognize were embedded along the inner flesh of the moray eel, their blood vessels fused with its own.
Donald spoke proudly, “As your teacher, I always have to think of my students’ future!”
“My field is the fusion of genetics and mechanics… I’m also a military weapons specialist.”
“This moray eel is a mobile biotechnological fortress…”
“There are two hundred Tyrants here… three hundred Hunters… five hundred Lickers… and some special semi-organic, semi-mechanical mutants…”
“One biotechnological fortress contains twelve hundred bio-weapons!”
“I’ve also made a sea serpent and a sea urchin… each about as well-equipped as this moray eel…”
“I haven’t just been wasting my years in the lab!”
“With this kind of force as your foundation, I believe it’s enough for your rise…”
“Go all out… Help me change Zombie Star… This is my homeland, once the most beautiful world in the Leviathan System!”
Ye Hai was stunned…
He’d come from another world, with a system… In ten years, he’d only managed a single Tyrant and five Lickers… This time, he’d brought back Veronica and the G-virus and felt rather smug!
But his teacher, having only encountered the original Solar Staircase Virus for five years… had quietly accomplished all this.
So the system was useless… his teacher was the true cheat code…
System: You’re the useless one! Even with a system, you’ve managed to live like a dog!