Chapter 70
Chapter 70
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 70
Chapter Title: Ruanfang Paalam
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Ruanfang Paalam.
The first Psionic Awakener in the history of the Amphibian Cooperative.
During his tenure as chairman of the cooperative, he drove rapid reforms that elevated the long-neglected field of biotechnology to a practical level—the Cooperative's foremost authority on the subject.
The 2nd PATO Chairman.
Despite bearing some of the most dazzling titles among all frogs, his daily life remained remarkably frugal.
Every morning upon waking, he checked that the temperature and humidity regulators were functioning properly.
Failing to maintain this stable environment would leave an Amphibian little more than a corpse, making it the most crucial start to his day.
After loosening up in the public pond, he took a light meal.
His diet, eschewing any gourmet indulgences, consisted solely of a few nutrient-packed insects—just enough to meet minimum requirements.
"Satiety breeds laziness."
True to his creed, only the barest scraps—enough to call impoverished—ever graced his table.
Thanks to Lushaka's custom bio-engineering services, he could shorten these monotonous meals with these highly nutritious bugs.
Next came meditation, before the other staff arrived.
PATO was still mostly staffed by ordinary folk without Psionic ties, so few grasped the importance of meditation.
Had he been born in the Holy Nation, he surely would have risen as one of their top battle priests.
His austere yet pristine routine honed a mind already blessed with phenomenal talent, growing ever more formidable day by day.
A few years after taking the helm of the committee, it became hard to find anyone in PATO with stronger Psionic powers.
Not mere brute-force growth in raw Psionic strength, but a mind refined and disciplined to an astonishing degree.
He perfectly matched the Prophet's ideal recruit.
An ordinary Psionic Awakener couldn't catch up even gorging on Ozz—a powerhouse who could deflect small missiles with his abilities.
A superhuman who crushed most health issues underfoot and could outlive PATO's dissolution.
He died.
Cause of death: mysterious.
Needless to say, an uproar ensued.
It wasn't even the dead of night.
Broad daylight, with the entire PATO staff already at work.
When the star blazed at its fiercest.
It was lunchtime. After a light meal, as always, he began meditating during the free hour.
With the agenda focused on Deneb Federation matters, most PATO committee members were away visiting the Federation.
Only a few attendants and secretaries kept quiet vigil by the serene pond.
As he pressed on with his mental training in that tranquil setting, his body suddenly toppled sideways.
Medical teams were summoned at once.
But the moment he collapsed, his quick-thinking secretary checked his pulse amid the shock—and he was already in cardiac arrest.
No amount of medical intervention could revive him once the teams arrived.
Even Lushaka could replace lost organs or body parts with ease, but resurrecting a dead organism proved far trickier.
A mild heart stoppage? They could repair the dead brain cells and restart the heart, leaving him a bit addled but walking on his own two feet.
Not this frog. He never saw the world again.
A simple funeral was held—frugal as per the late chairman's tastes, with every detail attended to—followed by an immediate investigation.
Autopsy on the chairman's body revealed no anomalies whatsoever.
His corpse resembled a sleeping man more than a dead one.
Simply put, his heart had stopped supplying blood, but every organ was pristine, unmarred by injury.
Old age? Absolutely not.
A Psionic Awakener dying of natural causes? Nonsense.
Even treating him as a mere unawakened civilian, galactic-era medicine deemed him far from his expiration date.
Assassination?
With a body this intact? Hardly.
PATO's internal probe could only conclude "mysterious death."
I pursued my own line of thought.
My countless "selves" scattered across the galaxy scoured records for similar fatalities.
And found them more easily than expected.
One nation stood out, where such deaths occurred routinely.
So commonplace that locals dismissed the phenomenon even when told outright.
They died in droves, but only a handful ever witnessed it directly—hence their ignorance.
The Holy Nation.
Ascension.
The rite where an Oztlan devotee, reaching the pinnacle of the mind, sheds mortal limits to journey to Oztlan's paradise.
But that was overly religious framing.
In familiar Si1-L0-K terms: A Psionic reaching critical threshold loses all bodily control and dies. Exact trigger unverified.
The Holy Nation held periodic Ascension rites.
Mighty Psionics strong enough to shake star systems embraced the glory and ecstasy of transcending flesh to join Oztlan.
The Prophet guided their spirits safely to Oztlan.
That was Ascension.
Death in an instant, without bodily trauma.
Searching the entire galaxy, nothing matched the chairman's end closer than this rite.
But the chairman was an atheist.
Oztlan be damned—he was the one pushing for barriers along the Holy Nation's borders.
Such a man committing suicide for some paradise courtesy of Oztlan?
Ridiculous.
Yet by PATO's logic, that was the limit of what we could deduce.
Ransacking his private quarters, study, and office turned up no suicide note or leads.
He just... dropped dead out of nowhere?
No choice but to consult the experts.
I visited the Prophet for the first time in ages.
"Ah, that brilliant mind belonged to PATO's chairman? I remember it vividly. A powerful spirit visited from beyond the Holy Nation recently."
Astoundingly, the Prophet confirmed it outright.
(Proving it was the exact same mind as the chairman's? Unverifiable.)
"From the direction between Hyperlanes 3 and 4 toward Oztlan. Truly joyous—Oztlan's grace reaches every corner of the galaxy."
Coincidence would be nice, but straight that way lay the Deneb Federation.
(Point a telescope that direction, and there it was.)
"He was an atheist."
"One can't know such things. No matter how mighty your mind, you can't peer into another's faith. The chairman must have harbored devotion to Oztlan deep in his heart."
Fair point.
For all my talents, mind-reading wasn't one.
Still, what drivel.
"You know Psionics can awaken without Oztlan worship, right? I'm certain. He was an atheist. The Holy Alliance enjoys Oztlan's 'benefits' and look at them—think PATO has any faith there?"
"Friend, pointless debate. Whether those vermin worship Oztlan holds no interest for me. I offered them chances; they refused. Same with the chairman. Oztlan extended opportunity; he seized it. What more facts matter?"
Arguing post-mortem was indeed futile.
But if it happened again in PATO?
Oh, off to join Oztlan. Good for him, case closed?
What kind of nonsense was this?
"Guess I'll inspect that star myself."
Time to probe this Oztlan star directly.
Sweep from core to corona—bound to uncover something.
From periodic "sermons" funneling Psionic power to the star, to "Ascensions" offering minds en masse.
A normal star was just a long-lived ball of self-sustaining fusion—so why all this?
I needed answers.
"Tread not where you mustn't, friend. Would an unbeliever stand before a god?"
"Quick peek, pal. In and out before you blink—no worries."
"PATO personnel are forthwith banned from Oztlan Star System. Guards! Broadcast across the Holy Nation."
What.
"Queen, should any mischief be detected, you shall face the wrath of the Holy Nation's leader, the Conqueror, Oztlan's Proxy—this Prophet. Needless to say, none of your minions dare approach the divine."
"Hmph. That resolute? Fine, I'll stand down. But tell me how to prevent these 'Ascensions.' You know the chaos if PATO citizens start dropping dead?"
"Wise choice, Queen. Resolving this through talk—remarkable. PATO boasts a shrewd leader indeed. Preventing Ascension is unprecedented, but as your friend, I'll look into it personally."
Sure, sure. Guess I'll investigate as a Holy Nation citizen.
You're weaker than me anyway.