Chapter 45

When the light blade erupted, Chen Ang briefly touched the Force, which did not surprise Qui-Gon Jinn. The Jedi were not the only group sensitive to the Force, and Chen Ang had the qualifications and ability to connect with it.

However, the underlying fact was astonishing. Not only was Chen Ang not a Force-sensitive, he didn't even have midi-chlorians. He was, like the Yuuzhan Vong, completely insulated from the Force in this universe. He should not, and could not, touch the Force, unless the nature of the Force was different from what everyone had speculated.

The relationship between the Force and midi-chlorians was not as close as everyone thought.

Chen Ang tried to feel the Force but found that although the barrier between him and the Force had weakened, it still felt like a thick layer of glass separated them. He silently circulated his internal energy and discovered that the nature of his internal energy had become more refined, even acquiring a hint of the characteristics of the Living Force.

This was quite normal. Both the Living Force and internal energy were manifestations of the life essence in some way. Their mutual imitation and integration were natural. Internal energy could transform into the Living Force, a hypothesis Chen Ang was almost certain about.

When internal energy and the Force merged, what could possibly obstruct the channel of communication with the Force? Midi-chlorians could be a bridge to the Force, but the Living Force could also serve this purpose. When internal energy fully aligned with the Living Force, the Unifying Force would open its inclusive embrace.

All life has the Force, which does not refer to midi-chlorians but to the expression of the life essence. Anyone can communicate with the Force, which is the core of the Living Force concept. Chen Ang's transformation undoubtedly demonstrated this.

Chen Ang spread his palm, revealing some small abrasions from when he tried to control the Force, causing the sword hilt to shatter. Normally, Chen Ang could control the muscles at the ends of his nerves to temporarily hide such marks, but this time he had a better option.

He subtly circulated his internal energy, and an indescribable aura quickly approached his palm. When he opened his hand again, the broken capillaries had healed, and his skin was smooth and flawless, showing no sign of the previous wound.

Force healing!

This was the first Force skill Chen Ang had simulated, and it seemed to work well. The healing properties of internal energy were no less effective than those of the Living Force. Combined with Chen Ang's master-level medical skills, which blended Eastern and Western techniques, it was virtually invincible.

With his superior control over his body, even severed limbs could potentially regenerate. Of course, the effect would be much less when used on others.

"It looks like we have no choice but to flee in a panic! You have the Trade Federation's pursuers, and I have Jabba's bounty hunters after me. If we stay together, the risks will double," Chen Ang said, picking up useful items from the ground and smiling.

Before Qui-Gon Jinn could respond, his communicator on his shirt rang urgently. Obi-Wan's anxious face appeared on the screen, "Our ship has been destroyed by the Trade Federation! Their pursuers have indeed caught up. Thanks to the warning, our losses were minimal, but the Queen's ship has been destroyed..."

"No problem, come to our location!" Chen Ang interjected lazily.

"We have pursuers behind us!" Obi-Wan looked back anxiously, and one could see dozens of menacing hover vehicles floating behind him. The Naboo Queen's guards were systematically obstructing their pursuit under cover.

Before Obi-Wan could explain further, a domineering voice came from behind Qui-Gon Jinn:

"Let them come, one by one, without hesitation!"

Chen Ang held his alloy blade upside down, gazing at the rising dust in the distance. Behind him stood a group of elderly, injured mercenaries, each with numerous scars, struggling to breathe with every step. One of them, a paralyzed old man, floated to Chen Ang's side in a hoverchair.

His chair's electronic voice asked stiffly, "This time, the boss will have to pay more! The Trade Federation's droid army is a tough opponent. Your offer needs to be increased by three levels."

Chen Ang slapped the door of the hovercraft open and pointed to the array of weapons inside, "All of this is for you! Take as much as you want. It's not just three levels, it's three times as much!"

He slapped his hand down roughly, "There are some small things you'll definitely like!"

Watto, flapping his wings, floated behind him coldly, "It's all because of you! You've already messed with Jabba before the podrace even started, and now you want to give away goods for free. Do you know that these things could buy each of those useless people ten lives, and I have a share in this..."

"You can stay if you want! I'm not forcing you. Consider this your ticket on the ship," Chen Ang shrugged indifferently.

Watto's face turned purple with anger, "I don't want to be pickled by Jabba or fight his beast. Remember, you broke our contract, and you will bear the full responsibility."

"The debtor is the boss! Have you heard that before?" Chen Ang distributed the weapons, not looking back at Watto, "If you don't want to lose everything, follow us honestly. Otherwise, you won't get a single credit."

Watto was speechless, not because he couldn't argue, but because he had just remembered this man's track record. Chen Ang had single-handedly killed over a hundred space pirates under Jabba's command. Such a dangerous person was not someone he could provoke. He had been blinded by the power of money just now, or he would never have spoken like that.

The injured old mercenaries, working together, forced open Watto's treasure chest. Inside, a dozen crystal-clear culture dishes lay quietly, each containing an egg-shaped organism that pulsed like a heart in the nutrient solution. The menacing appearance and mysterious scientific aura made the veterans hesitant to act rashly.

Chen Ang held an electronic telescope, observing the distant line of dust, "Hurry up, we don't have much time left! Obi-Wan and the others are fighting a retreat, and it looks like they have suffered significant casualties."

"But, how do we use this thing?" A limbless Cathar, using its bare tentacle, picked up one of the culture dishes, asked curiously.

"Press the red button, and when the red light comes on, throw it on the ground!" Chen Ang answered, pulling out two spare light blade handles from behind and attaching them to his waist.

The Cathar tentacle trembled and pressed the red button. A blood-red solution suddenly filled the culture dish, and the egg-shaped organism inside began to tremble violently. Gray neural threads extended out, probing the nutrient solution. When the solution turned completely red, the red light flashed with a shrill buzz.

The Cathar's tentacle twitched and retracted like lightning, letting the culture dish fall to the ground.

The material, which could withstand powerful laser blasts, shattered like glass, scattering everywhere. The egg-shaped organism inside leaped out, its gray neural threads exposed to the air. In the tense silence of the onlookers, it suddenly pounced on the Cathar.

"AAAAH!" The Cathar screamed in agony as the egg-shaped organism easily inserted its neural threads into its mouth. The organism on its face silently melted and spread over its body. The Cathar convulsed, eyes rolling back, and fell to the ground, twitching.

The injured mercenaries took a collective step back, watching the Cathar carefully, fearing any sudden changes.

"Hyper-weapon activation, bio-tech release!" Chen Ang issued the command to the biological weapon on the Cathar's body through the communicator.

Glowing with electricity, wires and machinery emerged from the depths of the egg-shaped organism and plunged into the Cathar's body. A surging force, like a snake, wriggled inside the Cathar, and small flesh-colored tendrils sprouted from the base of its severed tentacle.

"Regeneration of severed limbs!" The old mercenaries watched in shock, whispering to each other.

The blue-glowing wires spread along the tentacle to its tip, and a powerful magnetic field emerged from the Cathar's body. A small box nearby opened on its own, revealing neatly arranged knuckle plates.

The plates floated in the air, sensing the magnetic field from the wires, and rapidly attached to the tentacle, forming a steel whip-like appendage, like an exoskeleton, protecting the tentacle. Blue electricity spread along the tentacle, and the metal-spiked steel tentacle began to spin rapidly as the magnetic field changed.

The Cathar's unconscious body instinctively twitched, and the two-meter-long tentacle, now extended to nearly ten meters, drilled into the rock like a drill. With the movement of four or five steel tentacles, the electric and kinetic energy shattered everything within ten meters that was larger than a fist.

Its eyes glowed with a blue light, and it leaped from the ground, floating in the air using the magnetic field of the tentacle. The dangerous and menacing tentacles, like snakes, wriggled around it. The Cathar opened its eyes in confusion, looking at the others who had moved far away, "What's going on? Guys? What happened?"

None of the mercenaries who were close to it paid attention, using every part of their bodies to drag, pull, pinch, and push, desperately trying to get to Watto's chest. The paralyzed old mercenary's hoverchair was equipped with a super-large blaster, pointing at the crowd.

The stiff electronic voice urged, "Move back, move back, or I'll shoot, or I'll shoot!" The Cathar watched in amazement as these old rascals used every trick in the book to get a culture dish, completely disregarding any sense of camaraderie.

Dozens of small spheres in front of Chen Ang shot out, glowing with blue electromagnetic fields, and rapidly flew toward the distant dust. A blue-white electromagnetic beam enveloped them and shot into the distance.

Soon, a powerful electromagnetic storm swept in, and the communicators of the mercenaries and Qui-Gon Jinn burst into black smoke, completely burned out.

Several robot troop carriers in the sky plummeted, crashing into the sand dunes. The Naboo Queen and her group, like a line of small black dots, quickly approached.

Chen Ang and Qui-Gon Jinn stood side by side, like a large gray eagle, and lunged forward together.

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